Chapter 607 - Same Past and Present (8)

"You have to survive nine rounds of being hunted to death. There will be a hunter you cannot see or hear, chasing you for five minutes for each round. Fairies who have managed to pass the trial wrote down they hid from the hunter," Micah shuddered.

"There is an option of avoiding touching anything representing the ground. You cannot touch the surface of any object or the floors. With too many candidates dying, we have made adjustments," the person added.

Wasn't this like a combination of hide-and-seek and the floor is lava? Did these people not have any experience in any of those games?

"Do I really need Micah's approval? The trial doesn't seem that bad," I had some experience.

Micah greatly disapproved, "I will never agree to this contract."

"I can break your agreement together and you will be able to take the trial," the mediator suggested.

"At least make more adjustments for this child! She has to be one of the youngest candidates," Micah started to plead, not allowing me to jump in.

"Many experienced fairies fail to pass. You are leading her to her death. This girl doesn't know the sense of danger in taking the trial. She's too young to know anything yet," he emphasized my age.

"I can remove the first round for something to substitute it. I can match the level of difficulty so there is a chance at passing the trial if she survives," the mediator sighed.

"This is an exception due to her young age. It is true she is the youngest candidate to have the qualification to take the trial," he gave into Micah.

"So can you sign the contract now?" I was tired of waiting.

"I can still support her between the rounds?" Micah ignored me.

"You can. I will also provide the usual support items if she manages to survive the substituted first round," the mediator agreed.

Micah stared at me for a few minutes, almost crumpling the contract with his hands. Until he reluctantly pulled out a pen from the air, knowing I wasn't going to change my decision. He furiously began to sign his name, "you're leaving me with no choice."

I stepped to stand further away from Micah, noticing he was close to exploding. My eyes widened when the contract immediately vanished into the air after he lifted his pen. The mediator seemed pleased, "the first round will not allow you to use your mana. The pressure of gravity will triple, and you will need to survive inside the water. We are testing your survival skills."

"If you manage to survive through the first round, we will make further adjustments to create the possibility of you passing the other rounds," he believed I would die.

Micah ġrȯȧnėd, thinking among the same lines, "she's definitely going to die with her weak body."

"When does the first round start?" I wanted to get it over with.

"I can give you ten minutes to prepare. You guardian can give you some tips," the mediator stepped away to give us some space.

The mediator was more generous than I thought he would be. Micah wasn't with us when I managed to survive through the past incidents. Compared to them, being in danger for five minutes at a time seemed to be a reasonable deal. I was trying to obtain a legendary item, there had to be some costs ȧssociated with it. Micah placed his hand on his forehead, appearing like he was suffering from a looming headache.

"There's not much you can do. Just try to swim and push yourself upwards. The important thing here is being able to breathe in more air. Screaming for help will waste more of your energy when you need to conserve it as much as possible," Micah didn't have any expectations for me.

"It's like you're already preparing for my funeral," I found him depressing.

"Your stamina is disastrous, and the meditator purposely didn't reveal the time limit," he nodded.

"Would you like me to pass any last words to your family?" He offered.

"I won't die," I puffed my cheeks.

When the mediator returned, he gestured to me to climb the stairs with him. However, I shook my head, wanting to conserve more energy, "I can't climb that. Can't you teleport me there instead?"

"I can send you there right away," the meditator snapped his fingers.

I found myself choking on bubbles the next second, getting pushed by a massive force towards the ground. I struggled to open my eyes, everything weighing triple the usual amount. Desperately flapping my legs and arms, I tried to pull myself upwards, feeling like I was hooked by a heavy anchor holding me back. Pins and needles stabbed every part of my muscles, making me scream from the pain as I grabbed the water.

Micah was right, there wasn't much that I could do. I was almost helpless without any mana, a fight against time to see who would last. When I managed to break onto the surface, gasping for more air, I found some hands trying to pull me back into the lake. However, there was no luxury to think on how to avoid them. My lungs began to fill with lake water once I was pulled inside, my mouth being fȯrċɨbŀƴ opened to derive me of air.. My vision started to wobble as I tightly gripped my neck with my hands, finding myself choking to death.