Chapter 96 : Chapter 96

Chapter 96. The Team

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Ailante, the son of the ‘Gray Dragon.’ I will lead you through this trial.”

Ailante spoke with confidence as he swept his gaze across the crowd, not letting it linger on any one person.

“The Gray Dragon? Who is that? Do you know?”

Fulan had never heard of that title. Judging from the name alone, it sounded rather impressive, but she had no idea what it actually represented.

“Uh…” Welinte froze for a moment, as if trying to recall something. “Actually, I am not too sure either. There are too many high-ranking figures with titles like that where I come from. But I can confirm that it probably is not someone above the fourth tier.”

“I think he is most likely a third-tier professional. I have heard of the titles of anyone above that.”

“A third tier?” Fulan continued. “Then what is the point of him mentioning his father’s title?”

Anyone who knew the Spirit Realm understood that it was extremely fair. The kind of nepotism that existed in the Material Realm was almost impossible to achieve there.

Many people who advanced to higher tiers through the Spirit Realm found that their descendants rarely managed to do the same. The Spirit Realm simply did not care who your father was.

“It is about experience. What he means is that he gained some knowledge of the trial from his father, and that he can help us pass it. That is probably what he is implying,” Welinte explained. However, unease slowly began to grow in her heart.

Normally, a Spirit Realm explorer would never openly flaunt the experience their elders had gained from a trial like this. Once you used a method, others would quickly figure it out.

Any small trick that could increase the probability of passing a Spirit Realm trial could easily sell for at least ten gold coins. Because of that, explorers usually hid their methods carefully to prevent others from learning them.

Yet Ailante had spoken about it directly and even invoked his father’s title…

She understood that if Ailante failed to demonstrate any unique “experience” during the trial later on, then even if he managed to gather a large group now, those people would eventually disperse.

Everyone here had struggled in the Spirit Realm for a long time to obtain their current abilities and equipment.

They had also relied on both effort and luck to obtain a Trial Key. If following him could not increase their chances of passing the trial, then why would they bother staying?

Ailante’s earlier words did not seem to have much effect. The people around him merely watched him without taking any action.

He understood that he needed to reveal more if he wanted these people to join his team.

“Everyone…” He deliberately paused, drawing everyone’s attention once again. “When the trial description appeared in your minds, did you notice something…”

Fulan blinked. She had known that a Spirit Realm trial would not appear on a physical object but would instead appear directly in one’s mind. But then why had her notification appeared in that tattered book?

She suppressed her doubts and continued listening to what Ailante had to say.

“You should have seen the trial’s objective clearly. It says that we are to attempt to save this city. Anyone who contributes will pass.”

“That statement is very clear. The Spirit Realm does not actually require us to truly ‘save’ this city. It only wants us to try.”

“And that is not normal. Before participating in this trial, you may have heard what other Spirit Realm trials are like.”

“Cooperative hunts, slaying monsters, searching for a specific object, retrieving an item guarded by a monster, or completing a certain task…”

“All of those have clear objectives. If you fail to accomplish the objective in the end, then even if you performed very well during the trial, you still would not pass.”

“Have you noticed? This time, we only need to try. That alone proves that the Spirit Realm does not believe our current strength is sufficient to complete the task.”

At that moment, a lone Spirit Realm explorer who had been acting independently began to waver. He walked straight toward Ailante and stood behind him.

His action encouraged others as well. After a brief discussion, a group of three also walked over to Ailante.

However, the remaining people chose to hold their ground and continued watching him.

“There is another point. Did any of you notice the basic information about the trial that appeared before we entered?”

“This place is located within the coordinates of the Spirit Realm known as the Radiant Dreamscape. The region stores dreams that are either glorious or sorrowful. You could say that anything might occur within this area.”

“So your usual strategy of analyzing the region’s characteristics and forming targeted plans will not work here.”

“The Radiant Dreamscape may even contain dreams originating from other regions of the Spirit Realm. Do not be fooled by how simple the description appears.”

“I can say with certainty that it must contain a great deal of hidden information. It might even contradict the content in the description.”

…

Ailante continued explaining his interpretation of the trial. His reasoning caused another two-person group to hesitate before eventually walking over as well.

Welinte watched the scene in front of her and turned slightly toward Fulan. Fulan simply shook her head.

She could not go over there, because she was participating in the Spirit Realm trial as a formal-tier mage.

She understood that joining them might increase her chances of passing the trial at the most basic level.

But that was not what she wanted.

Teacher Yiqi had already told her that if she wanted to pass a Spirit Realm trial at the formal tier, she had to achieve results far greater than those of the other Spirit Realm explorers.

Her decision to team up with Welinte was only because they knew each other. She could at least ask Welinte about certain things, but beyond that, she had not expected Welinte to play any real role later on.

If Welinte ever hindered her actions, she would simply say that their team was dissolving. Passing the Spirit Realm trial was her top priority.

Because of that, she absolutely could not join Ailante’s team. Doing so would bring her no benefits and would instead restrict her movements.

“And the note in the description that there are no restrictions on Combat Techniques or spells further shows how difficult this mission will be. You must understand that…”

Ailante quickly calculated the time in his mind. Realizing that the trial was about to begin, he looked at the crowd and sighed.

“If any of you wish to join after the trial begins, you may come find me at any time.”

After saying that, he turned around and began discussing their strategy within the trial with his companions.

There was only one lone individual left in the area. The rest had formed groups of two or three.

Looking at the six people who had been persuaded by his words, anxiety crept into his heart.

“Seven people including me… That should be enough to pass the trial, but…”

He knew that if his goal were merely to pass the trial, then with his own strength and the experience passed down by his elders, he could easily accomplish that alone.

But passing the trial was not his true goal.

He was aiming for a special talent.

Different trials would ultimately affect the talent one obtained at the end. In order to find a Trial Key that met the required conditions, he had gone to great lengths.

Because of that, he was determined to obtain that special talent.