273 Vegetation

'So my guess should be somewhat true…'

The only way Clara could have managed to sense something which wasn't really that  noticeable easily with her eyes closed like this would be that she did indeed have a special perception ability…

'It can also be somewhat similar to the village chief's situation as well…'

Thinking back to the fact that even normal natives might have some sort of innate talents, it wasn't that far fetched for hers to be also one such innate talent, after all, there was no way to know the actual limit of innate talents as they came in all sorts and forms. Even back in reality, there were people that excelled on certain specific things, but it was just that it wasn't as exaggerated as it was in the 'Lost Realm'.

While there was also the possibility that she was somehow combining both a talent and a stat limit breaking ability to achieve that effect, it wasn't realistic enough for a normal person to have all these distinct gifts…

'Unless she is a real genius in hiding…'

"Good job Clara!"

As Sean quickly complimented Clara, he hastily moved towards the little stick that looked like it was some sort of a sapling, looking at with deep interest.

'Weird…'

The way Sean reacted was kinda off, while the fact that Clara who was staring at me all the time during the tournament completely dropped that act and didn't even bother to look at me other than a very few times was also kind of strange…

'They should be just a weird pair of siblings then…'

Doubting too much could be lethal, but not caring that much could also bring along one's doom. As such, I didn't really bother myself with it but just kept it as a mental self note…

'While I do need to utilize them well, there is no need to trust them too much…'

We were completely strangers after all, strangers that were only gathered for the sake of common interest, so it was a given to be on guard, otherwise, there was no way to tell if you would get back stabbed as soon as you uncover the treasure.

'Though, that's not what we are going to uncover this time…'

I was still wondering about the how and what questions about the nature of the testing gate, not to mention what followed it, but if there was at least something that I could be sure of, then it was that we were likely to stumble on the path to a demon base…

"So, as mentioned on the set, it says we should use the items themselves to touch the 'Sign of Vegetation', which should be this sapling since Clara didn't seem to sense anything else…"

Sean said as he took out a cucumbersome looking armor, which was obviously his part of the set.

"Let's get this done with then…"

Mountain sounded a bit impatient as he took out the greatsword that was hung on his back, Clara took out the slip that she hung on her neck like a necklace, While i took out the crossbow from my bag…

"We need to do this together… Ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Sure."

"On my count, 3… 2… 1!"

Following Sean's lead, we simply made the items touch the stick, which wasn't that hard of a task, especially for Sean who only had to wear the glove part of the armor and use it to touch the stick…

However, after standing still with the items touching the stick for about a minute or so nothing happened…

"Are you sure about this junior? Don't you want to check your notes again to make sure we are doing it right?"

Mountain distanced his greatsword away from the stick as he looked at Sean with a questioning expression, before he turned towards Clara and said, "Or maybe this isn't the right 'Sign of Vegetation'?"

While he did look sarcastic for a second, but he seemed to be actually concerned as if he wasn't that hot headed about it anymore, maybe in fear that he would miss the 'Legacy' or something…

"Give me a s…"

Yet, just as Sean seemed to answer, a blinding green light shone from the stick like sapling, blinding even me…

`~~`~~`~~`

'This is…'

[ A set of data has been sent to the system evaluator from an unknown source… ]

'Huh?'

Hearing the familiar notif once more, I was a bit surprised as I quickly processed what was happening…

'Direct trial?'

On the first special gate that I found, not only did I have to go through the normal process of clearing a normal gate, but I also had to go through 99 mini gates with the later ones being exceptionally big!

However, as soon as we arrived at this one that I couldn't identify as a gate through 'Eye of Knowledge' to begin with, we were able to skip the first part that took me so long back then as we somehow gained direct access to the trial supposedly left behind by the ones who suppressed the demon bases…

[ You have been transferred to the 'Trial of Vegetation' ]

Unlike the last time when the system apparently scanned the set of data to make sure it had no malicious intent, this time, it seemed to go directly into the 'explaining the situation' part…

'Seriously though, this trial's name is kinda lame…'

Compared to the cool looking name of the 'Trial of Ice & Fire', this 'Trial of Vegetation' looked more like an old farming challenge…

[ Passing the Trial is required to move to the gate's actual destination ]

[ You have been attacked by 'Illusory Light' ]

[ The confusion effect of 'Illusory Light' has been nullified as you possess 'Intelligence' & 'Wisdom' that's far higher than required… ]

[ Complete nullification failed due to the influence of 'Space Distortion'... ]

[ You are currently trapped in a semi-space rift… ]

[ You need to find the 'Eye' of the 'Illusory Light' while enduring the attack of the 'Vegetation' in order to pass the Trial and leave the rift! ]