Following Vincent's footsteps as closely as possible, they took a lot of turns around the trees, sometimes moving to the left to take a left turn and sometimes moving to the right, inching closer to the castle that is located at the center of the forest. Sometime later, the light in their eyes brightened in happiness as they found out that the distance between them and the castle has decreased considerably. Now it looks like it is only a mile away from us, they thought. It was also at this moment that Vincent told them that they only need to move for an hour or so time to reach the castle, motivating them even more. Then, it only took around one and a half hours for them to reach next to the black gate of the castle.
An instant after they reached their goal, the fairy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, floating in front of them
"Congratulations to all of you for passing the Trial of Mystery! It's surprising to see youngsters completing the trials that many warriors of ancient and modern times have failed. I applaud you all for your wits and determination." Purple Fairy Melody said with a genuine happy smile, impressed to see such talented youngsters.
Vincent raised his hand and asked, "Umm, what about the rewards?"
"Oh, yes!" Melody pulled out several fruits from her tiny pockets, each the size of her body, and somehow she was making them float beside her. She then said, "Here you go."
The fruits hovered towards them, and they raised one of their hands to grab one each, sharing it equally among themselves without any qualms.
"What are these fruits?" John asked while looking at the fairy.
"These are the Continental Divine Fruits! They are only found on certain planets and one of them happens to be Lorena. The world of Lorena only gives birth to one such fruit every ten years. They are nourished by the vitality of the planet, and contains enough medicinal essence to forcefully open a person's energy channel! You only need to eat a single fruit to do so. Advancing to the next stage isn't a pipe dream for you lot anymore, isn't that great?!" The more the little fairy said, the more excited she got. It was almost as if she was feeling happy to give away the treasures of her masters to outsiders so that they can increase their strength. What a weird fairy. Her thought process was simply inconceivable!
"What a great deal. Sacrificing a thousand units of life force for this fruit was worth it, honestly." Vincent licked his lips, planning to consume it.
At that very moment, the fairy's lips parted ways and she uttered several words, "Would you like to take the next trial immediately or after tonight?"
"Wait, let us come to a decision first."
They talked with each other and ended up deciding on making a camp here to take a rest and sleep the night away.
"Later," Vincent said while looking at Melody, telling her that they would like to take the next trial tomorrow.
"Okay, then I will drop by early in the morning. I hope you will be ready by then. Goodbye!" Purple Fairy Melody said, waving her tiny hands at them before vanishing in a puff of purple smoke.
"Let's set up tents and rest!"
They pulled out a few accessories from their spatial storage, placing chairs and a tent here and there, planning to take a rest. Varth already had all of his energy channels opened, but no one knew about it, and so he acted like he obtained something absolutely marvelous to keep up with his act of being a weak youngster with not a lot of power whatsoever. John and Iris haven't awakened. They didn't have any energy channels in their bodies, so the fruit was useless to them right now. They stored it in their spatial storage treasures.
Vincent and Leilani, on the other hand, were itching to eat the divine fruit to open up their energy channel. Everyone who awakens naturally comes to possess one to ten energy channels in their body. However, all of them are sealed and need to be nourished even after being opened. A person can contain more energy in their bodies once they open energy channels. After all the energy channels in their bodies are opened, they are able to control their energy without the need to perform hand signs. This leads to a person performing Magic techniques silently, but not instantly. It's hard to control magic energy without any hand signs, after all. Furthermore, they can also use a unique technique to nourish and strengthen their bodies, advancing their physical capabilities beyond mortal comprehension.
Suddenly, Nevis came up to Vincent, telling him that he has something to say.
"Buddy, I have no use of this divine fruit. It's not like I can ever awaken. So, I can never hope to possess energy channels. I would like to give this fruit to you. In return, I would love it if I get handed something useful to me for completing the upcoming trials." Nevis couldn't contain supernatural cells in his body, so there was no way for him to awaken. Without awakening, a person can't gain energy channels. Thus, the divine fruit which can open energy channels pretty easily was like a pile of trash to him – absolutely useless!
"All right. Give it to me," Vincent said, accepting his offer.
"Take it, but don't forget to…" Nevis handed the divine fruit to Vincent before explaining the deal to him in detail. Vincent nodded, signifying he was fine with it. Later on, if something catches his eyes, then Vincent will not only give it for him, but if necessary, also get it for him, so that he can repay his favor.
Nevis went away, entered his tent, and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes to fall asleep. Not just him, but also John, Iris, and Varth. Only Vincent and Leilani stayed awake, sitting inside the tent the two of them shared.
The two of them picked up the Divine Continental Fruit, ready to take a bite out of it!