The Team
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ailante, son of the ' Gray Dragon.' I will guide you through this Trial."
"Ailante said confidently, glancing at everyone without lingering on any one of them," he said.
"The Gray Dragon? Who is that? Do you know?"
Fran had never heard of this title before. Although it sounded impressive, she had no idea what it meant.
"Uh..." Velint paused for a moment, as if recalling something. "Actually, I'm not too sure either. There are too many high-ranking people with such titles in our area, but I'm sure it's not someone above the Fourth Order."
"I think he should be a Third Order Professional. I've heard of all the higher-level professionals I've met."
"Third rank," Fran continued. "But what good is it for him to chant his father's name?"
Everyone knows that the Spirit Realm is extremely fair, and it is simply impossible for nepotism to exist in the Material Realm.
Many people who ascend to higher levels through the Spirit Realm rarely have descendants who also ascend through the Spirit Realm, because the Spirit Realm doesn't care who your father is.
"It's about experience. He meant that he gained some experience from his father that could help us pass the Trial Trial, something like that," Velint explained, but at the same time, unease began to creep into her heart.
Generally speaking, normal Spirit Realm Traveler wouldn't flaunt the experience their ancestors gained in Trial like this; after all, you'd know if you'd used it yourself.
It's important to know that any trick that increases the chances of passing the Spirit Realm Trial can be sold for at least ten Gold Coin, so Spirit Realm Traveler always keep their methods hidden to prevent others from learning them.
But Ailante said it directly, even invoking his father's name...
She knew that if Ailante didn't demonstrate his unique 'experience' in the Spirit Realm Trial afterward, he could disperse even if he gathered a large group of people.
Everyone here has struggled and fought their way through the Spirit Realm to acquire their abilities and equipment, and even managed to get the Trial Key through sheer luck. If you can't increase the chances of Trial, then why bother with us?
Ailante's words seemed to have no effect; the people around him simply looked at him without taking any other action.
He knew he needed to demonstrate more to get these people to join his team.
"Everyone..." He paused deliberately, drawing everyone's attention once again. "Did you notice that when the Trial's description appeared in your mind..."
Fran blinked. She knew that the Trial of the Spirit Realm wouldn't appear on an object, but would appear directly in her mind. So why was her notification appearing directly in this tattered book?
She suppressed her doubts and continued listening to what Ailante had to say.
"You should understand the objective of the Trial clearly: it asks you to try to save the city. Those who make a contribution will pass."
"It's very clear here that the Spirit Realm doesn't require us to actually 'save' the city; it just wants us to try."
"This is not normal. Before participating in this Trial, you may have heard about what other Spirit Realm Trial were like."
"Cooperative pursuit, monster slaying, item retrieval, obtaining an item within a monster-guarded area, completing a task..."
"And all of these have clear objectives. If you don't achieve the objective in the end, even if you perform very well in the Trial, you won't pass the Trial."
"Did you notice? This time, the target is so small that we only need to try, which is enough to show that the Spirit Realm doesn't believe we are capable of completing this mission."
At this moment, one of the lone Spirit Realm Traveler wavered. He walked straight to Ailante and stood behind him.
His actions inspired many others; after a discussion, a trio all headed towards Ailante.
However, the rest of the people chose to remain still and continue to watch Ailante.
"Also, I wonder if you noticed the basic information about the Trial you received before participating in Trial?"
"This place is located in the Spirit Realm Brilliant Dream Realm, a region that stores dreams that are either glorious or sorrowful. In short, you can encounter anything in this area."
"Therefore, your usual approach of developing targeted strategies based on regional characteristics is useless."
"The Brilliant Dream records dreams that may even occur in other parts of the Spirit Realm. Don't be fooled by how simple the description makes it sound."
"I can say with certainty that it contains a lot of hidden information, and may even contradict the information in the synopsis."
As Ailante continued to explain his understanding of the Trial, the duo wavered again and eventually made it through.
Velint looked at the scene before her, turned to face Fran, and Fran shook her head at her.
She couldn't go because she was a formally qualified participant in the Spirit Realm Trial.
She knew that in the past, she might have had a higher chance of passing the Spirit Realm Trial with only the minimum requirements, but she was aiming for the maximum.
As Teacher Ichi has already said, in order to pass the Spirit Realm Trial at the formal level, one must demonstrate results far superior to those of other Spirit Realm Traveler during the Trial.
Her teaming up with Velint was just a casual acquaintance; she could ask Velint a few questions, but that wasn't much of a use, and she didn't expect Velint to play any significant role later on.
If Velint hinders her actions later, she will simply say, "Let's disband," since passing the Spirit Realm Trial is her top priority.
Therefore, she absolutely cannot Ailante Elant's team; joining would not benefit her and would only restrict her actions.
"And the fact that the description mentions no restrictions on Combat Technique and magic further illustrates the difficulty of this operation. You must know..."
Ailante quickly calculated the time in his mind and knew that it was almost time for the Trial to begin. He looked at everyone and sighed.
"If you still want to join after the Trial begins, you can come find me anytime."
After saying that, he turned to his companions and began to discuss their actions during the Trial.
There was only one lone wolf on the field; the rest were teams of two or three players.
Looking at the six people who were moved by his words, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
"There are only seven of us, including me. I think we can pass the Trial, but..."
He knew that if his goal was simply to pass the Trial, he could easily pass Trial on his own, relying on his own strength and the experience of his elders.
But his goal wasn't just to pass the Trial; it was to acquire a special Talent.
Different Trial will ultimately affect the Talent obtained, and he went to great lengths to find the Trial Key that met the requirements, so he was determined to obtain that special Talent at the end.