Within an uncharted location, immersed in a glow of white luminescence, a kneeling statue rested. Its head was inclined towards the earth, shackled by numerous chains that shimmered in a golden hue.
These chains, radiant with gold, confined its neck, arms, legs, and entire body, while their other ends were embedded into the ground, ensuring the statue remained fixed in place.
Still, a separate beam of orange light, resembling a screen or a window, hovered slightly away from the statue.
[ I didn’t inform the Host about you. Shouldn’t you be grateful? ]
『Hmph, thank you 』A playful, girlish voice emerged from a distant white pillar, positioned away from the orange window that floated in mid-air, aligned toward the pillar where a white silhouette appeared to clutch the structure.
[ Aren’t you bored living here all alone? ]
『 I will not fall for your tricks, Evil System, go away. 』The voice retorted, sensing the ill intentions in the system’s voice and not believing the system after already seeing how cunning it was.
[ If you don’t fall for my tricks, then what about me? >.< ] 『 What riddle are you playing? Leave before I shut you down 』the angered voice retorted, causing a visible wave to fill the whole place released from that pillar, holding itself back since this system had helped it by not revealing everything to Ryuk. [ Acting tough? Here, I am going, but leaving this chessboard here. I will come to teach you, wait for me! ^_^ ] 『 Don't even dare to enter my Domain /ᐠ｡- ｡ᐟ 』the voice yelled as its loudness decreased, and the silhouette behind turned its attention towards the floor where a black-and-white board with several chess pieces was placed. The small white fingers gripped tighter on the pillar as a small figure of a girl child, wearing a white glowing frock, moved out and made her way toward the board. [ Oh, so is this how you look? ] Suddenly the orange window popped in mid-air before it started to hover around the white glowing child, moving around her. 『 Go help daddy, then come teach me 』the voice ignored the suddenly popped-up system and focused on arranging the chess pieces. Not knowing how to play, the figure placed all the white pieces on the white columns and the black pieces on all the black. [ Yesh, let me help you get a few thousand mothers, then I will ask the host to adopt me >.< ] 『 Why adopt? 』the voice felt confused but lifted its head to observe the hovering system window. [ You are naive, I will teach you everything. Let me first arrange someone to keep the host busy. Bye~ ^_^ ] . . . . . . [Host, this could be your best chance to thoroughly analyze her body (^O^)↝] 'Did you just enter my consciousness?' Ryuk allowed the system to roam freely across his body, letting it continue analyzing the thing sealed within him. However, after noticing that it had hidden a few details about Shunya, he began to doubt whether the system could really be trusted. [ Yes, Host, but it is only to secure our futures. <(￣︶￣)> ]
“Which sect or affiliation do you belong to?” Ryuk, ignoring the System, inquired of the elven woman standing at a distance from him, looking at her as he loosened his folded hands before placing them on the table.
“Y-young Master, I am from the main peak of the Celestial Phoenix Order.” The woman revealed, slightly glancing towards the table to notice the strength of all the others as she again turned her gaze downward, noticing that everyone appeared weaker than her here.
But her intuition sensed that this man and that golden-eyed woman earlier were dangerous.
“Hm, tell me about the Trial of the Immortal Phoenix,” Ryuk inquired about the name he heard from that manager about the entrance exam for the Celestial Phoenix Order. Though he didn’t care to become some disciple, mostly his intentions were to infiltrate without getting into any hassle.
Knowing about the presence of Jenny in Upper Town or maybe in the main peak of the Phoenix Order, he just wanted to see where exactly she was and then deal with things. But before that, he needed to at least know about the entrance test.
Actually, behind all this, he doesn’t have some small desire for mere revenge on a nobody like Jenny. If it were just revenge, wouldn’t using Regina and her battalion to directly attack the Jade Dominion bring much faster results?
He was here only due to Drishti’s words about having him get a teacher here, and while doing so, he collided with Jenny and promised her a few fire shows. So, it was normal that she would also get burned in this fire by accident.
But to make it all seem like an accident, he was acting low-key for now to see what the limits of strength the people of this place possessed, and he would find strongest people on the main peak.
There, after complete confirmation, he would call his battleships.
Until then.
“Trial? Young Master, are you interested in participating in it?” The woman raised her eyebrow as she glanced towards the masked man, her mind feeling the confusion of meeting someone heading towards the Trial of the Immortal Phoenix inside the Middle Town.
Naturally, she had come down to the Middle Town to have some things to purchase, as unlike Upper Town, where things are too expensive given the presence of rich people, in Middle Town things were priced according to the individuals belonging to common backgrounds or low income, making it a money-saving thing for her.
But who would have expected that she would encounter someone this strong and handsome?
Indeed, even though she was a Dark Elf with a bloodline that hardly ever made her feel attractive towards a human male, she somehow found this man, who was masked and not even revealing his face or complete physique, attractive.
Firstly, she assumed that he was an incubus, but seeing how he didn’t have a horn under that straw hat made her feel confused but also confirmed that he was a human male.
“Not necessarily, but for now, tell me about the trial.” Ryuk, who had already seen through the physical changes occurring around the woman, had let his body suppression on his pheromones go for a few moments to see what effect he had on this woman, who belonged to a different race. As he expected, just like how his body scent worked on Bella, it also seemed to have some effect on this Dark Elf.
“Y-yes, Young Master, the Trial of the Immortal Phoenix commences at the border of Upper Town from where the huge range of the Celestial Phoenix Order’s main peaks starts, beginning with the first mountain which tests Qi Sensitivity and Affinity, Mental and Emotional Fortitude, Comprehension of Cultivation Techniques, and finally Combat and Physical Prowess.” The woman informed about the levels of tests that occur on the different peaks on a vague basis, not dodging in detail, knowing it would take more time for him.
“Qi affinity?” Ryuk inquired as the woman lifted her head to look towards him, understanding that maybe he was going to ask her about how an individual without Qi could pass the trial. Leaning forward, Ryuk inquired, “Then how did you get into the main peak?”
‘?!’
“Th-that’s,” the woman was taken aback as from his words it was clear that he had seen through her understanding that she was not a native of this place. Unlike these people who were masters in Qi, she wasn’t. Additionally, she even doubted that he had seen through her race too, causing her to continue, “My mother was from the Jade Dominion.”
Revealing the information, the woman felt that it was crucial information that could make it clear that she was half-elf and of impure bloodline.
Sorry again, I know I am a piece of shit. I have self-realization since I am also a reader. My schedule is messed up, and I have no proper time or daily updates on either of my books. I am trying, and yes, I promise I am free all day long without anything to do, yet I sit idle and do nonsense instead of writing. I am sorry, and I am trying to get this habit out of the box.
