Chapter 197: Mystic Realm

Chapter 197: Mystic Realm

The moment Aurora had mentioned that the so-called Trial by Fire was held in a mystic realm, Evelyn already had a faint guess in her heart.

Most mystic realms were naturally formed, and had their own set of laws. Some were incredibly complex, while others were completely mundane. Whether one contained a great deal of opportunities or nothing but sand was anyone's guess until they actually stepped into it.

However, entering a mystic realm was also a gamble, since it was more or less a portal, there was no way to know where it led, or if a return journey was even possible.

Most mystic realms ceased to exist after some time, either collapsing in on themselves or evolving to completion, thus cutting off all the portals of entry and exit. Some, however, continued to exist for a long time.

Aurora slowly explained everything she knew about Lumenzarha's 'Trial by Fire' to Evelyn, and the more she learned, the more she realized that if not for Gwendolyn, she really would never have tried to go there.

The true purpose of this 'Trial by Fire' was for the royal family to cultivate leaders for themselves, and the marriage 'reward' was really only there to tie down their loyalty firmly to their side.

This mystic realm contained a variety of areas inside, all with their own challenges and rewards, and no one knew which area their particular batch would be teleported to when they entered. It could only be entered once a year, and remained open for three days.

These challenges were nothing special, just like their rewards, so both their allure and threat level were low.Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com

The requirements for exiting would also only be conveyed once the people had already entered, and while it was rare, there had been a few cases of people going missing inside.

Those who exited before the trial ended were considered passed, and those who were ejected after the time ran out naturally failed.

Aurora pursed her lips in thought. "I think based on what we know, the mystic realm will change when you enter. Otherwise, it makes no sense for Gwendolyn to ask you to go there."

After all, whether it was the minuscule rewards from the trial itself or the marriage to the royal family of Lumenzarha, neither would help Evelyn much.

As for how Gwendolyn knew that the mystic realm would have a different reaction to Evelyn's entry, neither of them could be sure.

Evelyn nodded after thinking about it. "Since she's so old, it's possible that she'd entered the mystic realm once herself, and no one knew about it. Maybe it's different for the thrones, after all, and the opportunities inside might be enough to boost me to awakening."

Even if that wasn't so and the trial really remained the same, Evelyn wouldn't lose much since in that case it would only last three days.

But that was unlikely, since if Gwendolyn had really wanted to mislead her, there were better ways to do so.

The biggest problem Evelyn had was that the 'candidates' were all required to take a 'team' with them to the mystic realm, and while the compensation for the winning teams would be paid for by the royal family, the losers could only fend for themselves.

The only reason Aurora went so far must be because she had been watching the 'Siren's Call' for a long time, and Nadia had never come out to meet with her.

Perhaps, Aurora doubted the reasoning behind her intimacy with her student. After all, Evelyn was not the first person to enter the lake, and if Nadia was truly as simple as she seemed, why hadn't she ever befriended anyone else?

Could it be that in thousands of years, no one had reached the same depths of the lake as Evelyn? Knowing how strong some of the people who entered were, Aurora knew that couldn't be the case.

After all, many of them had strength that far exceeded that of her student's current state, and they had also taken many precautions before entering, compared to Evelyn's hasty dive.

This was especially so when considering the fact that even Gwendolyn was cautious against Nadia's existence, and even if she was truly without any ulterior motives, they should still not be careless at this point.

"I will go bring Bree back."

Evelyn could only nod helplessly before she dipped back into the lake to face Nadia with a sigh. "Don't worry, she's just a little cautious and aloof by nature."

The naiad tilted her head curiously, and Evelyn didn't know if she really understood her words, but she still continued with a smile. "If anything, she must think I might take advantage of you and wrong you, and thinks you're such a pitiful little child, ah."

Looking at Nadia's innocent eyes, Evelyn grinned. "Speaking of taking advantage, all these treasures you decorated with me look really good, especially this bow, ahh!"

She hadn't even checked it out yet, but Evelyn could feel that it was incredible now that her spirit power was no longer blocked.

Thinking about her little friend's stash at the bottom of the lake, however, Evelyn couldn't help but hold the little naiad's shoulders affectionately. "How about we play a game?"

When Aurora returned, she was stunned to see a huge pile of artifacts by the side of the lake.

Evelyn was splashing her feet in the lake with a grin when a bluish-green-haired girl emerged from the water once more and handed her a crystalline tiara with a smile before diving back in.

If Aurora still couldn't figure it out, she would have known Evelyn in vain. 'T-This greedy little swindler!'

But looking at the mermaid's delighted expression each time she fetched something out, Aurora couldn't help but pause in her step, wondering if she should really interrupt them.

In the end, she could only sigh. "Forget it, maybe she'll find something she'll need later and it will end up making a difference."