Trial I

The university had a great many public facilities—benches, chairs beneath shady trees, small round tables scattered here and there, sometimes with boxed tissues placed on top, and bronze trash cans beside them with their lids tightly shut.

On the trunks of roadside trees in certain areas were emblems resembling the sun. It was said that they concealed a story that had circulated throughout the university for generations. Whoever could unravel the secret hidden within the emblem would find the treasures and legacies left behind by former upperclassmen.

This was a tradition Miskatonic University had passed down all along. Every graduating student would unconsciously leave a gift for those who came after them.

Some of these gifts were merely used daily necessities, while others might be reading notes.

But there were exceptions. A very small number of students would, as if playing a prank, leave behind enough wealth for any student to live comfortably through four years of university. Or perhaps genuine mysteries of tangible significance.

"So this is why we came running around this godforsaken place?" Mike looked helplessly at Hissley. Since they had arrived together, the kindly dormitory supervisor had assigned them to the same room. There were not many girls in the dorms anyway, and plenty of rooms stood empty.

Two others walked beside them: Lu Sheng, and a lanky bespectacled boy.

Naturally, they had not come to wander aimlessly through the Sacrificial Forest. Legend said this was the woodland with the greatest and densest concentration of Sun Emblems, and it was also the school's assessment site for applying for the adult written examination.

"Didn't I hear Uncle Jack say this was where he took his exam? Since we came together, we definitely have to cheer him on together!" Hissley clenched her little fist and declared loudly.

Yet