The next morning, everyone gathered near Chris' hut. They said goodbye to each other as they prepared to embark on their individual journey. When they were ready, they walked toward the bamboo groove where they entered this garden.
"Wait! Where are you people going?" Chris called.
"We are going out to head to the trials' locations," Badass answered. He made his tone sound like he was answering a stupid question.
"That is not the way. Come here!" Chris said and started walking in a different direction.
Everyone looked at each other with faces that asked, 'Is there another exit from this place?'
"Let's see what he is up to," John said. They all went after Chris.
After walking for a few minutes, they came to a clearing with strange rock formations.
"What is this? Mini Stonehenge?" Paytowin asked.
Chris walked until he was at the center of the formation. There was a stone pedestal. He touched something on the pedestal. A portal appeared. They could see the scenery behind that portal.
"Hey, isn't that Heavenly Citadel?" Jet asked.
"You want the person who doesn't go to the trial to go here, don't you?" Chris asked.
"That will be me," Scarface said.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"There you go. Step through the portal, please," Chris said.
"All right," Scarface turned and looked at the others. "Good luck to you all."
"Hold the fort until we return, okay," Jack said.
Scarface nodded. He went to the portal and walked past it. Once he stepped through, he looked back. Jack and the others could see him behind the portal, but from his face, they knew Scarface no longer saw them or the portal. He put his hand forward to try touching the portal he had just passed through.
"This is a one-way portal?" John asked.
"One way except for me," Chris answered. He pressed several buttons on the pedestal. The scenery behind the portal changed. It now showed a plaza with a huge obelisk at its center. People were walking around the plaza. Most of them were dwarves.
"That's the plaza in Balgadur," Jet said.
"Gunner, what is your name again?" Chris called.
"David," David answered. He gave Jeanny another hug before walking toward the portal.
When he stepped through. He found himself on Balgadur's plaza. The people on that plaza were startled when they saw him suddenly appear out of thin air. David looked back. Yep, no portal. He took out Chris' disc and walked toward the obelisk at the center.
Back at Chris' secret garden, the scene behind the portal had changed again to a different location.
"You can go anywhere using this portal?" John asked.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Anywhere I want," Chris answered. "What? Do you think I stay here every day for almost two years? Do you think I am a real hermit?"
"So, you have been mingling among the civilians unnoticed?"
"Of course. No sense to create a world if I can't enjoy it."
"This is good," Four Winds said. "This portal saves us from wasting time to travel to the trial location."
One by one, they went through the portal as Chris continued to shift the portal to a different trial location. Finally, the scene behind the portal showed a row of dark trees with thick foliage covered by thin ominous-looking mists.
"This will be me," Jack said. He turned and lifted a fist.
Grace, Paytowin, Jeanny, and John bumped their fists with his.
"Good luck," Grace said.
"Don't fail," John added.
"Don't take too long," Jeanny told him.
"Let's race and see who passes the trial first," Paytowin said.
"Hehe," Jack grinned. He turned back to the portal and lifted his fist in the air. "I will go first, everyone. Let's meet again after we all pass!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})After stepping out of the portal, Jack found himself before the Lost Forest. He looked back. Like David, he saw no portal.
"Let's do this," he said and walked into the dark forest.
Once he passed the first row of trees, he could sense the difference in the atmosphere. His mana sense had greatly improved since the last time he was here. He could sense that he was already under the effect of the forest's enchantment.
He took out Chris' disc. It was now shining a soft grey color. Just like the Chris' Memory Stone that used light to point them through the bamboo groove maze, the glow from this disc also shone in a particular direction. Jack walked in that direction.
He walked for quite some time. From past experience, he knew this Lost Forest consisted of multiple interlocking cell spaces. His mana sense informed him he had moved through different cell spaces numerous times.
He didn't see the rats anymore. Chris and Wilted placed a hidden clues where one of the rats led those who entered the Lost Forest to the Village of Peace. This meant there was no hidden clue to his destination. One could only rely on luck or using the disc in his hand. Similar to Time Sage's trial entrance which he encountered by luck.
After walking for some more time, he found the mana before him to be familiar. After thinking for a short time, he remembered. This was the mana he sensed from the black zones scattered around the Lost Forest. The ones he sensed when he was in the corporeal state.
He remembered seeing rats going into these black zones. He saw no rats here, which meant this spot was special even among the black zones. The other black zones were probably traps.
He continued following the shining light from the disc and entered the black zone before him. As he did, he found himself no longer in the forest. He was inside a cavern with walls and a ceiling formed of dark smoke. Opposite him was a door. Guarding this door was an armored kobold. Its hands held two curved swords.
When Jack used his Inspect, he learned that the kobold was called War Kobold. It was a level 99 eternal humanoid monster. Jack figured if he didn't pass the Time Sage trial, the Therras Beast guarding the trial entrance would have increased its grade and level to the same as this war kobold.
Jack was glad to see the trial guardian. This meant the trial was still available for him.
The war kobold just watched as Jack walked toward the door. It didn't do anything to stop him. He walked past it and pushed the door open.
Once he passed through the door, he found himself losing vision. Everything around him became pitch-black.
