As perfect circular ripples spread across the water, the first wizard to undergo the trial slowly rose from the depths of Spirit Mirror Lake.
Glowing crystals intertwined in purple, red, and blue orbited him like miniature stars.
Then came the second, the third...
More and more wizards participating in this selection trial emerged one after another from the illusory reflections of the Three Towers, like moths breaking free of their cocoons.
Three-colored crystals floated around each of them, some numerous, some few, some bright, some dim.
Before long, countless dazzling lights burst into bloom over the vast, mirror-smooth surface of Spirit Mirror Lake.
From afar, it looked as though a boundless, glittering sea of stars had broken free of the deep sea's shackles and was rising slowly and majestically from the lake.
At that moment, the High-Rank Wizard of Spirit Mirror Lake presiding over the selection trial stepped forward high in the sky, his face expressionless.
"Silence."
Terrifyingly amplified by a magic array, his commanding voice rumbled through the entire hidden realm like tangible thunder.
"The standards for this trial have been set: only those with a soul aptitude rating of at least five stars and an overall rating of at least ten stars may enter Spirit Mirror Lake!"
The instant his words fell, he swept the staff set with an enormous gemstone in his hand.
Dense networks of ancient Rune Magic Arrays instantly appeared in the void like blood vessels.
A vast, invisible, utterly merciless power of rules descended swiftly like a curtain across the heavens, beginning the cruelest selection.
"Aah-! No!"
In an instant, the magnificent sea of stars was brutally scattered.
Large numbers of trial participants who failed to meet the standards screamed in anguish as that power ruthlessly cast them down.
Huge, dark blue fissures split