Flames that refused to be extinguished, and flames that kept devouring anything and everything they touched. That was the first thought that came into his mind, when Alnea saw the flames spreading into the already scorched and ruined forest like a wildfire. There were no trees for them to burn, no grass or dry wood for them to feed on, yet, for some reasons, they refused to be snuffed out.

  On the contrary, as their battlefield expanded, they seemed to be becoming even more ferocious, devouring the ground, and even the parched air. He could already see the air, wavering with heat, being drawn into the flames. And that was when their battle had just begun. In time, as their battle would continue, the scale of destruction they left behind in their wake would only keep on growing, until…

  “Let’s go,” Alnea said, withdrawing his gaze from the flames, while subduing the waves in his Heart. Even though he knew that he could not be blamed for what was happening, he still could not help feeling a little guilty. Especially when he recalled the pleas that the trees had sent him. They had asked him to become their guardian, only for him to bring them destruction. But he did not regret his actions. Neither did his Heart become stained by his guilt.

  As a Wanderer, and even more so as a person with a Curse Fate, he was bound to experience similar situations in the future. Some that would present him with a helpless choice, and others, that would force him to see the consequences of his actions burning the world itself. Situations, that would test his conviction. And if he gave in to those situations, then his path as a Wanderer would come to an end. His Oaths, left unfulfilled. Be it the Oath to become the greatest of all the Wanderers, or the Oaths he made to people in his Heart… The Oaths to his master…

  Slashing through all the unnecessary thoughts and guilt within his Heart, Alnea concentrated his Spirit on his Blood Card. Or rather, on the empty air above his Blood Card, where he saw his Assistant Pannel. A blood red curtain, that only he could see, detailing his progress of the Final Trial. Something that he skipped entirely, and went directly to the last option, choosing to leave the Final World.

  In the next moment, his Blood Card began giving a faint glow, as did the Blood Cards of the girls, soon growing bright enough to blind all their senses. Or that was what he assumed, when he lost all senses of his surroundings. But he was not too worried about the girls. He had seen their Blood Cards activate, and could feel the fluctuations of Mysteries around him. Their Trial was over. As was their stay in the Final World.

  Yet, for some reason, the blood red light that wrapped around him like a cocoon did not bring him back to the corridor that he had used to enter the Final World. Or maybe it did, but he was just not able to see it. After all, the light did not fade away even after he felt the familiar sense of nausea. Instead, it kept pulling him in a certain direction. At least, that was how he felt. It could also be an illusion.

  Then again, travelling in between different spaces always felt like an illusion. Mostly because how it went beyond all common sense, confusing both, his sense of direction, and his sense of time. Fortunately, he did not have to deal with the jarring contrast in his senses for long. Especially since he did have to walk through a ‘corridor’. Just a few moments after he was dragged into the barrier between worlds, he was thrown out of it, experiencing the familiar sense of disunity and nausea once again.

  Thankfully, this time, he was not thrown into a swamp. Though it would still be embarrassing to let his teammates see him kneeling on the floor. Or throw up. Suppressing his sense of disunity, Alnea took advantage of the cocoon, that had yet to fade away completely, to quickly get back onto his feet, only to learn that his efforts were meaningless. Because there were no teammates around him to see his embarrassment. Neither were there any other Wanderers. Or anything else for that matter.

  When the last of the cocoon’s light faded away, the only thing left before him was darkness. An endless darkness, that had no beginnings or ends. Kind of like the darkness in his Domain. Except, it was not exactly the same. The darkness around him was not empty. Neither was it desolate, like the darkness in his Spirit World. It was more like the darkness in… a Trial Space. And as if to confirm his guess, just a couple of moments after the cocoon faded away, an Assistant Panel popped up in front of his face.

  “Congratulations, Blood Soldier N 06 08499, for clearing your Final Trial…”

  Alnea blinked, and shook his head, before staring at the first line on the Assistant Panel once again. There were no changes. After a couple of moments, he rubbed his eyes and looked at it again. The results were the same.

  “Congratulations, Blood Soldier N 06 08499, for clearing your Final Trial…”

  “…Are you seeing what I am seeing?”

  “Did you like the surprise?”

  “…Was it you? How did you do it? When did you do it?”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “…Calm down. Take a breath. You can ask your questions later. For now, just relax. And enjoy.”

  “…We cleared the Final Trial!”

  “That, we did,” Yuri said, chuckling along with his unrestrained laughter. “For a while, even I thought that we were going to fail. But we somehow cleared it at the end.”

  “…I still cannot believe it. How did you do it?”

  “…It was not me.”

  “…Then…”

  “It was Vestia’s idea, so I will let her do the explanation. But that can wait. For now, you need to relax. The Trial is over. Everyone is safe. So, you can let go of your Aspects, Alnea.”

  “…How did you know?”

  “I saw it when you were activating your Blood Card…”

  “It’s that peeking bastard, isn’t it?”

  “…Evi did not say anything to me, but since you have brought him up, we might as well talk about him.”

  “I do not want to talk about that stupid ring.”

  “…You know it is not his fault. He did not mean to peek into your thoughts. That is just how he is made. How long are you going to be upset with him?”

  “But that peeking bastard—

  “Alnea.”

  “…Fine. I will talk to him. But later. Right now, let me enjoy this moment by myself.”

  “Promise?”

  “…Promise.”

  “…I am sorry for forcing you—

  “I know. You do not have to apologise. But I would be happier if you can trust me next time.”

  “…I will.”

  “…Come on. Don’t sound so glum. We cleared the Final Trial. It is time for us to celebrate!”

  “…Indeed,” Yuri said, with the gloom fading away from her voice. “Though, before we celebrate, how about we look at the rewards of the Trial?”

  “…That’s not a bad idea,” Alnea said, chuckling along with Yuri, as he shifted his attention to the Assistant Panel.

  “Congratulations, Blood Soldier N 06 08499, for clearing your Final Trial.”

  “Main mission: Taking the point where you entered the Final World as the centre, explore at least a hundred kilometres in each direction within thirty days.”

  “Mission requirement: At least one member of your team must explore a place with their Spirit for it to be considered as explored.”

  “Area explored: 100%.”

  “Status: Completed.”

  “Side mission: Defeat the challengers trying to stop you from exploring the Final World. The more challengers you defeat, the greater the privileges you will earn as a Blood Commander.”

  “Challengers defeated: 1503.”

  “Time taken: 29 days, 3 hours, 47 minutes, 5 seconds.”

  “Current Privileges: ★★★.”

  “Congratulations, Blood Soldier N 06 08499. Your status has now been upgraded to that of a Blood Commander. To enjoy your new privileges, please go to the Blood Hall to update your Blood Card and get a new identity number.”

  “…There is nothing here about rewards…”

  “Look carefully.”

  “I have already looked over it twice.”

  “Did you read the note at the end?”

  “Note?” Alnea mumbled, glancing down at the bottom of the Assistant Panel to find the note that Yuri mentioned. One that was written in a faint purple hue. No wonder he had missed it earlier…

  “Note: Please scroll down to see the breakdown of your rewards.”

  “Breakdown? At least tell us our rewards first!”

  “…Just scroll down.”

  “…Alright,” Alnea said, and scrolled down, prompting the symbols on the Assistant Panel to quickly rearrange themselves.

  “Initial privileges: ☆.”

  “Trials of the Blood Hall.”

  “Perfect clearance of all Trials: ☆.”

  “Clearance of all Hidden Trials: ☆.”

  “Final Trial.”

  “Main mission: ☆.”

  “Side mission: ★.”

  “Total Privileges earned: ★★☆.”

  “Final privilege: ★★★.”

  “Note: Please scroll down to see the breakdown of privileges.”

  …When did he clear Hidden Trials? And why was there still no information about them? He had already cleared the Final Trial. Why was the Lost City still hiding such information from him? It was not as if he could use that information to go back and clear more Trials… On second thought, he probably understood why the city still refused to tell him about the Hidden Trials. Maybe if he increased his privileges… Though, what exactly could those privileges do?

  “…Privilege Clearance.”

  “☆: Blood Soldier.”

  “★: Blood Commander.”

  “★☆: Elite Blood Commander.”

  “★★: Blood General.”

  “★★☆: Elite Blood General.”

  “★★★: Blood Lord.”

  “★★★☆: Elite Blood Lord.”

  “★★★★: Blood Master.”

  “★★★★☆: Elite Blood Master.”

  “★★★★★: Blood Progenitor.”

  “Note: Challengers with a lower status can have a higher privilege clearance…”