Death... and me

The next test was the Mirror Realm. It was an illusory realm where it was hard to tell whether the things one saw were real or not. Well, one could already guess what the twins’ group did with that. It was once again time for Luan to shine. Especially since this realm also blocked one’s Divine Senses.

With that, Kentucky, Celis, Rean, and Roan’s group joined together. Roan, Rean, and Kentucky then activated the Light bending skill while Luan used his eyes to help with the test. The objective was simple, find one’s way out. There had been tests with the same objective, but each one had a different challenge to reach that objective. This one just so happened to be one of them.

It went without saying that Erla and Min only appeared near Rean and Habac once they entered the Mirror Realm. Before they entered it, they kept themselves far away from each other. 

With the Light bending skill, let alone Fanso’s Silver Horn Sturgeon race. No one saw the twins’ group passing by as Luan guided them through the Mirror Realm. This realm itself didn’t have any danger other than the other participants. Since none of them could tell where the twins’ group was, there were no dangers whatsoever. The real challenge was to find the way out amidst the illusions, which was easy for Luan.

And just like that, the Mirror Realm was completed by their entire group before they separated from each other once again. The test was over so quickly that the next participants who completed the realm didn’t appear before several hours had passed. 

Well, as one could imagine, Fanso and the other Sturgeons were completely lost in the Mirror Realm. Forget about finding Erla. They couldn’t even find the way out to start with. They did find quite a few other participants, but even those ones were hard to say if they were real or not.

Once again, the test gave the participants an entire week to be completed. Nevertheless, only 5% or so did find the way out. Most of them were due to luck, with very few really having some method to finish it. The eyes of disappointment on the faces of those who would have to start all twelve tests again were obvious.

Fanso couldn’t care less about the tests, though. All he could see was that Erla was already outside of the Mirror Realm by the time he failed that test. What did that mean? It meant that Erla had completed the test. Simple as that.

There was a problem now, though. It was impossible to tell whether someone had cleared all the tests before this one or not. If one didn’t say it out in the open, no one would find out. Of course, someone might have paid attention to the participants, but during other tests, it was hard to tell whether they came out of the Dimensional Realm because they crushed their badges or because they completed it.

Fanso couldn’t help but think, ‘From what we know, Erla came into the Jhiod Sect’s building eleven months ago. If she succeeded in all the tests until now, she only has another test to pass before she can join the Jhiod Sect. However, did she really pass all of them? Even Blansin outside didn’t know that.’

Fanso then looked at one of his race members. ‘Go outside and tell the elders about the situation. We couldn’t find Erla in the Mirror Realm, and we don’t know if she will complete twelve tests in a row with this next one. We need to know what we should do.’

The guy quickly nodded and sped out of the Jhiod Sect’s trial building.

In the hotel where the elders were staying, one of them noticed when his race member stepped out of the building. Not long after, they heard the message Fanso sent them.

“They still couldn’t find her?” Tilte was truly losing his patience.

“There was nothing we could do, elder Tilte.” The Sturgeon felt helpless. “We truly looked for her everywhere, both in the Mirror Realm and the Life Syphon Forest. Fanso thinks that Erla probably has some concealment skill or item that makes her invisible to us.”

Tilte narrowed his eyes in response. “She has the Clendes Heart. It would make sense if her father and the other elders of the White Scaled Carp race gave her many items to protect herself.”

The young Sturgeon then asked, “Elder Tilte, Fanso is asking about what we should do in this situation. If Erla truly passed the previous eleven tests, then she has only to pass the next one to be able to join the Jhiod Sect.”

Blansin, who was listening to the conversation, immediately asked. “Which one is the next test?”

“The Thunderstorm Breakthrough,” the subordinate answered. “It’s a Dimensional Realm where storms of lightning are present everywhere. There’s no ground for one to step on. You need to really fly through the storm clouds and try to avoid the most dangerous points. It’s one of the tests where most deaths happen. After all, when one is hit by the bolts of lightning there, you’ll probably be dead before you can think about crushing your badge. Our Silver Horn Sturgeon race will be especially at risk since we’re weak against Lightning Element.”

“The same goes for Erla,” Blansin mentioned. “We must take the risk, elder Tilte. If this is really her last test, we will be finished if she passes.”

Tilte pondered over it for a bit before reaching a decision. “Seems like I’ll have to talk with the Jhiod Sect elders there.”

Blansin and the others were taken aback. “Are you going to tell them about Erla’s heart?”

Tilte shook his head in response. “No, that would definitely be worse. Instead, I’ll have to pay for their help.”

Blansin became confused. “I always thought that trying to buy the Jhiod Sect’s recruitment elders was a futile effort.”

“Usually, it is,” Tilte agreed with Blansin. “However, if the offer is big enough, a mutual understanding could possibly be achieved.”

The Sturgeon that came with the message then asked, “What about Fanso and the rest of us, elder?”

Tilte nodded and said, “Go back and enter the test. If the negotiation doesn’t work, I’ll have to rely on you to capture Erla at all costs.”