Ruins.
The first thing that was associated with this word was a treasure.
Treasures that were so great that they could change your fate in a blip. Great enough to turn even a weak awakener into a formidable one.
Naturally, Ruins inspired stories of hope.
The stories that kept even a person at the bottom keep going.
'My life still has hope. Maybe it'll turn around for the better one day.'
Most of the awakeners that entered the Royal Garden with Varian shared the same view. They viewed it as an opportunity to change their life for the better.
While the public opinion, including these princes, wasn't incorrect, in the end, it was only that.
An opinion. An interpretation of the ground reality.
'And what ruins really are?' Varian exhaled lightly as he recalled his experience since he entered the ruins.
Golden Room.
A place for the young devas to test their aptitude and decide their role in life—general, prince, emperor, and…Scion.
Azure Plains.
A place for the devas to get a 'gift' when they come of age.
Lake of Illusions.
A hunting place for young devas.
"Ruins…" Varian opened his mouth and said lightly. "Are devas' home."
This was where they used to live.
Every trial and treasure humans encountered were their daily life encounters.
That's why…
{Welcome To The Royal Garden}
Varian's perspective of the giant forest flipped on its head.
He stopped viewing it as a trial to gain rewards and reach the ruler's abode. Rather, he viewed it as a garden managed by the royal family of devas.
Zaap!
Varian shot a small lightning arc at a tree. A translucent barrier appeared and bounced off his attack.
'That's why the trees in the garden are given special protection unlike the ones in the valley. Devas don't want the trees in their garden to be destroyed.'
It's a bit similar to how humans used to fence their garden but in deva style.
'Style that means even level 7s can't do anything about it.' Varian smiled wryly and focused back on the topic.
'So, the beasts in the garden are the beasts reared by devas.'
They weren't like crude wild animals, but more like, 'pets'.
Pets such as giant humanoid monsters, nine-headed hydras, and dragons…
Varian clicked his tongue. 'Power truly limited my imagination.'
BooM!
"Saa—arggh."
Following a loud explosion, a scream echoed throughout the forest.
Another awakener died. The death count was rising with every second.
Varian shook his head and tapped his chin. 'None of the tests so far are designed for humans. The golden room is a test for deva teens, azure plains is a coming of age ceremony, the lake of illusions is a hunting ground…
So, if I think along those lines, then the Ruler's Abode is a palace where normal devas could meet their ruler, then this garden is something like an entrance test that checks the qualification of the incomers.'
In the terms of the old earth, it was like a subject needing to pass a test to meet their king or a citizen acing a test to meet their president.
The test was obvious. Keys.
But.
'Since this is a garden, we aren't expected to kill the emperor's pets and get the keys to meet him, right?'
Varian's head spun as he imagined such a scenario.
If the teams did succeed in killing the beasts and getting keys and finally met the emperor, he'd kill them in range.
'Thankfully, he's not alive.'
Regardless, his deduction so far proved that there must be a method to get the keys without killing the beasts.
'Think. Think. Think.' Varian looked around and tried to find any clues.
There was a forest, a flying restriction serving the role of a cage, a giant entrance that needed keys…
KaBoom!
A giant cloud of dust rose in the forest and the ground started to shake.
All of a sudden, the aura turned chaotic and the sound of air being torn apart reached Varian.
"Huh?" Raising his head, Varian saw two men and two women rushing out of the forest.
Two of them were body awakeners who ran extremely fast. The other two were elementals in their elementalized form to boost their speed.
Varian guessed their rough trajectory and distanced himself.
Whoosh!
"Roar!"
As expected, a giant monster was chasing them. Even after they exited the forest, it didn't stop.
The team continued to sprint, but the distance between the monster and them continued to shrink.
The team members were in chaos.
"Fuck!"
"We shouldn't have attacked it!"
"But it's sleeping. It was the perfect chance. If it woke up, it'd have attacked us!"
"Idiot! A level 7 won't know when we approached it? Of course, it does. It didn't attack us. We did."
"Roaar!"
Countless ice spikes manifested in the air and shot at the team. They managed to dodge most of them, but the few that hit did a number on them.
The team's speed slowed down further and they started to bleed heavily.
"Fuuuck! How are we going to escape?"
With slowing speed, the gap between them and the monster began to shrink rapidly.
"Roar!"
Boom!
"Think of something."
"Roar!"
Boom!
"…My hand!"
"Roar"
Boom!
"W-We'll die!"
The team got more and more injured with each attack. A few more hits and they'd be done for.
"Damn it!" The man leading the team cursed out loud and his gaze shot towards the huge entrance.
To be precise, at the blue vortex at the center.
"…One last sprint!" He shouted and bent his knees.
Whoosh!
His team members followed him without hesitation and reached the blue vortex.
"Roaar!"
The ice spikes reached them the next moment, but before they could strike them, the team jumped into the vortex.
Whoosh!
Just like that, they went back to the valley.
"Roooa.." The monster stayed for a few minutes before heading back to the valley.
Varian who watched the whole thing unfold was surprised.
But an even more surprising thing happened next.
The vortex flashed. The two men and women came back again!
