Opening the Trial

As Dago approached the white table and wicker chairs, a sudden crack! rang out like thunder from a clear sky.

It was as if he had struck something solid yet fragile. A sound like shattering glass echoed beside his ears, and the air before him formed strange transparent angles, as though a mirror had been folded over.

Before Dago could react further, his vision blurred. When he came to, he found himself surrounded by lavender and geraniums.

The white table and wicker chairs, which had been within reach, were suddenly far away again. It seemed he had triggered the garden's trial.

"Spatial teleportation?"

Dago frowned. Just as he was about to take another two steps forward, Selena's anxious cry came from afar. "Dago! Watch out behind you!"

He spun around, and his pupils abruptly shrank.

In his azure eyes was reflected a lush, beautiful flowerbed. At that moment, a transparent humanoid creature seemed to be struggling its way out bit by bit, crushing many of the lovely flowers beneath it.

The humanoid left a distorted, rippling trail in the air, like a moving mirror, and charged straight at him!

"Ice Crystal Cannon!"

Dago swiftly condensed an ice crystal shell in the direction of the charging Transparent Humanoid. The frost-wreathed projectile formed in the span of a breath, then shot out with a howl, leaving a distinct white trail visible to the naked eye.

Bang!

The Ice Crystal Cannon was directly struck by the incredibly fast Transparent Humanoid halfway through its flight, exploding into a cloud of icy fragments.

Dago's gaze tightened slightly. The Transparent Humanoid was even stronger than he had expected. Without hesitation, he turned and charged toward the white table and chairs.

He summoned the power of his formidable body. The muscles in his legs tensed fiercely before