A Little Group
"What did you say? Who are you looking for?" Heather looked puzzled, not quite understanding what the other person meant, but after a moment's thought, she realized what they were referring to.
"I remember now, are you talking about the one I met at the Emerald Market? She even stole the things I wanted to buy from the warehouse."
Seeing this, the woman who had asked the question smiled and then said:
"To correct you, that Proxy didn't steal; she robbed it outright. It was the Deity behind her who intervened and breached the Emerald Market's defenses."
Heather then learned who was behind the incident at the Emerald Market, which surprised her.
"Oh! Is that so? She's really brave."
The Divine Power carried by the Proxy can break the protection of the Spirit Realm, so when Heather first went up to the Spirit Realm, she was warned not to use her power on those places protected by the Spirit Realm.
This was a compromise and agreement between the Deity and the lords of the Spirit Realm, and Heather was always accompanied by someone when she went to the Spirit Realm, except for this Trial.
This is to prevent the Proxy from harming those things protected by the Spirit Realm.
Now, the Proxy Heather met at the Emerald Market has broken this agreement, and it's easy to imagine that the agent will face targeting from multiple forces in the future.
"That's right. My purpose in coming to this Trial is to find that Proxy, not to stop those people from passing this Trial like you do."
Heather touched her head before saying:
"The tasks given by the Deity can be different..."
Heather suddenly realized something, and then said in shock:
"Wait, you mean that person is also in the Trial right now?!"
The woman facing Heather nodded, Heather immediately exclaimed with delight:
"It's good that she's here. I was planning to settle accounts with her; she took what I wanted last time..."
Although Heather had never beaten Fran even when she was with Valerie, Heather still thought the outcome of another fight was uncertain.
It wasn't that Heather had surpassed herself during this period; she believed the key to the problem lay with Fran.
Since the other party dared to rob the Emerald Market, there is a high probability that their Deity had given Fran a large amount of Divine Power before setting off, making their strength far exceed that of a normal Proxy.
Furthermore, given the information Heather had just received—that the opposing Deity was the mastermind behind the robbery of the Emerald Market —it wouldn't be unreasonable for the opposing Deity to help their own Proxy in the process.
In short, Heather believed that Fran definitely received more Deity assistance at that time, which led to their defeat.
Now that even the Deity can't provide much support, Heather believes Fran's strength has definitely declined significantly.
"That doesn't make sense, does it? If you're looking for Proxy of other Deity, why are they following us?" Rachel, who was standing next to Heather, noticed the problem in her words and pointed it out directly.
Since the other party claims to be looking for an Proxy is not here, that doesn't explain why they are following them.
The woman in the purple robe smiled and then said:
"The Star-Engraved Turtle's Proxy beside me has a divination skill comparable to an Astrology School mage from the Alliance."
"He divined that it was best for him to join this group; it was his optimal choice."
"I came with them, so naturally I had them do a divination for me. The result showed that it was best for me to stay with this group, and the person I was looking for would come to us."
Heather frowned, then said:
"Why don't you just divine the location of the Proxy? Why do you need to divine this kind of thing?"
Heather meant, why don't you just find the Proxy's location directly and go there? Why do you need to divine how to find the other party and go through all this trouble?
"Miss Heather may not understand the principles of divination and Prophecy Spell," the man behind the woman said.
"True divination and prophecy are not about getting information about what you want to know."
"If you could know everything you asked, wouldn't that be equivalent to being omniscient? Can't I just ask how to make myself invincible on the continent?"
Heather was speechless after what the man said; she scratched her head and remained silent.
"Normally speaking, even if you want to find someone you've only met once, it's very difficult here because you've had very little contact with them."
"Moreover, the power gained by the Proxy comes from the Stars, which is consistent with the origin of divination, making it even more difficult to predict an Proxy."
"Miss Heather, if you hear any fortune teller or Astrology School master claiming that they can divine at will, even with a 100% success rate, then you should be careful."
"Although I am not a member of the Astrology School, I strongly agree with Astrology School philosophy, which is to treat prophecy as a way to obtain more information, rather than placing all our hopes on it."
"Normally, when we make a prediction, the best approach is to ask, 'What is the best course of action?' This is the true way to use prophecy and divination."
The man's explanation left Heather speechless. After a long silence, she finally spoke:
"Alright then, if you want to come with us, then come along."
In the end, Heather agreed to let the two of them come with her, after all, they were all Proxy, and she had to give them some face.
"Oh, right," Heather said, as if she had just remembered something.
"By the way, what are your names?" Only then did she realize that she didn't seem to know these two people's names.
"Tristan." It was the Proxy of the Star-Engraved Turtle speaking.
"Ophelia." That was the name of the woman in the purple robe.
Fran, carrying her baseball bat, arrived at the second Trial site.
She has now killed the two Proxy who were outside the cluster, leaving only four Proxy huddled together.
This small group of four was the final obstacle for Fran to complete this Trial. She couldn't find a stable solution for the time being, so she decided to complete the Trial first.
The first thing Fran saw upon arriving here was the lush green meadow.
That's right, in this almost wasteland, she saw a large meadow appear before her.
"I remember this Trial was like hunting Magic Creature."
Fran briefly recalled the Trial information she had received from Zali, then looked around. Logically, there should have been a place where Fran could undergo the Trial, like in the first Trial, but there was nothing here except grass.
Even when Fran looked around, she couldn't see a single thing that might be Magic Creature.
She scratched her head, but still walked into the grassland.
The moment she stepped inside, she heard a deep, androgynous voice that was difficult to discern as male or female.
"Kill the three Spirit Realm creatures here, and you will pass the Trial."
Before Fran could think about these words in detail, she saw a phantom shadow flash before her eyes, and then Fran understood.
She saw three enormous figures suddenly appear before her, their bodies almost transparent, but gradually solidifying.
The two shadowy figures on the sides looked exactly alike; they were creatures with four limbs, enormous in size, and resembling strong oxen.
They have a huge horn on their heads, and their bodies are all black, as if they are bound by steel.
The creature in the middle was much larger than the other two. It had its hind legs on the ground and its forelegs dangling in the air. Its body was covered in gray fur, and its forelegs had large hands and sharp claws.
Fran looked at the three Magic Creature in front of her without changing her expression. She raised her hand, pulled out the baseball bat, and then gripped it with her right hand. Red light emanated from the bat.
After all, this was Trial to become Sunflame Knight, and just by seeing these Magic Creature, she knew she had to use Sunflame Arts.
After all, just by looking at those two identical Magic Creature, she knew that without using the Sunflame Arts, it would be unlikely to pierce their skin.
As for the Magic Creature in the middle, Fran was a little unsure.
Logically speaking, the Magic Creature here generally follow the rule that their strength can be roughly reflected in their appearance; things that look hard on the outside are usually also hard in reality.
The Magic Creature in the middle was covered in fur, so it didn't look like Magic Creature with amazing defense.
However, this Magic Creature appeared in the Trial. Based on the experience that these Trial are used to test the Trial participants' mastery of Sunflame Arts, Fran felt that this Magic Creature was most likely related to Sunflame Arts.
But looking at the creature's fur, she really couldn't figure out what use Sunflame Arts would be against such a hairy Magic Creature.
Unlike normal flames Sunflame spread over flammable materials, Sunflame is like a laser to Fran; it can crack metal upon contact.
While Fran was still pondering, the three-headed Magic Creature in front of her moved, and Fran then understood why she had placed a furry Magic Creature there.
The bovine Magic Creature on both sides were alright; their auras were just that of ordinary First Order Magic Creature, perhaps not even as powerful as the Earth Dragon that Fran had hunted before.
But the Magic Creature in the middle was different. It exuded an astonishing aura, and the moment its body solidified, it shot out.
Its powerful hind legs seemed to be made for this purpose; Fran could sense that its speed had now surpassed that of the Black Horse traveling at full speed.
"Just this speed alone is enough to classify it as First Order Magic Creature," Fran remarked with some emotion, sensing the airflow generated by its explosive flight.
Although the Magic Creature before her was quite powerful, for Fran at her current level, and even for Fran who hadn't yet reached a second-tier Profession...
The diamond-shaped crystal at Fran's waist glowed, and a thin wall of yellow sand appeared in front of Fran. The leaping Magic Creature crashed into the wall, while the sand showed no signs of being attacked.
The two bovine Magic Creature behind that Magic Creature hesitated to advance, their eyes reflecting the fear of the red light emanating from Fran's hand.