"The civilians are either allies or unaware of their presence..." Thane reported.
Zarall then muttered. "We could’ve captured that one Immortal then and there."
It was done through telepathy, and Vale heard it, of course.
"And risk the other four scattering? We can’t take that risk... It’s better to capture all of them."
Zarall could only nod as he felt that capturing the enemies would be a lot harder now. There were only 2 Immortals mobilized right now, after all.
"Then what now?"
Vale’s answer was simple.
"Now we learn how many more are out there."
***
In the anti, the afternoon sun started casting shadows all over Clovis City in Shadow Domain. However, the city was still busy as most of the workers had just finished their jobs and would most likely spend so ti in various stores before returning ho.
At this ti, five figures sat in the corner of The Whispering Leaf, a teahouse favored by Marshall Academy’s elite.
It wasn’t just a clean and safe place, but it was also owned by the Academy itself.
At this ti, Armin, Vale’s disciple and the group’s de facto leader, swirled his tea absently.
His black academy robes now had a silver sigil of a First-Class Arcanist—a rank he’d earned through his study of Dark and Combat Arts
Across from him was Rehan, who was previously known as the son of the best Paranormal Investigator, but now, he was starting to make a na for himself...
"You’re thinking too deeply again..." He said. "Are you thinking about the Tower? Don’t think too much."
Armin smiled at this. "No... I’m thinking about how you still owe five thousand zen from last week’s spar."
Ely, known as the daughter of the First Captain of the Order of the Evanescent Vessels, snorted.
"Save the bickering. Did you all hear? Another Chaos Practitioner sighting near the Obsidian Forest."
After hearing this, they went silent for a mont.
Being able to catch Chaos Arts Practitioners was a huge achievent. However, the location was simply too far. There was no way for them to gain Academic Points for that.
Mira, daughter of High Priestess Helena of the Holy Arts Faction, spoke up... "The Arcane Dominion’s hunting them like beasts, let’s just leave it to them. My mother says they’re ’abominations against the natural order.’ We may not have the strength to stop them. Let’s leave it to the professionals and find easier tasks."
Aiden, son of the Top Rune Artisan of the World, shook his head. "Natural order? Please. The Holy Arts call our Dark Arts ’abominations’ too. It’s just politics."
Armin’s eyes glead as he heard this...
"Then let’s judge for ourselves. For now, how about we challenge it..." He said.
"Challenge what?" The others asked.
Armin then pulled a slip of parchnt from his sleeve—a mission notice from the Academy’s board.
As soon as he showed it, everyone realized what Armin wanted to do.
"Trial Towers is open today. And we’re challenging the Chaos Arts Tower."
The Trial Towers or the sixteen towers that ca from the Celestial Prison Realm, were located further south of the Marshall Academy.
Each of them represents the 16 different Arcane Paths.
These trials weren’t even, and as a matter of fact, 6 Towers were being avoided by the students.
One of them was the Chaos Arts Tower.
Rehan cracked his knuckles. "This’ll be fun. I think our last challenge was more than a year ago."
Ely chuckled at that. "Fun? I heard that the last team that entered ca out speaking backward for a week."
Of course, it was an exaggeration, but the Chaos Arts was indeed quite unpredictable, just like what its na suggests. It was chaotic...
Mira sighed. "At least it’s not the Holy Tower. My mother would actually disown ."
There was a long story behind it, and the others couldn’t help but pity her.
At this ti, however, Aiden was already sketching warding runes on his arms. He was already starting to prepare!
"Just rember—Chaos doesn’t play by rules. Expect the impossible inside... I think we will be safe as long as we work together."
Just like that, they finished their drinks, and after doing so preparations, they t at the Trial Towers after an hour.
They then passed through the several Arcane Towers, or Trial Towers, before they reached their destination.
The student guarding the Chaos Tower’s entrance—a junior with tired eyes—handed them a single talisman.
"Good luck!" she said while forcing a smile.
"If you can’t last any longer, activate this to escape. And rember—you can only challenge one Tower per month. So make it count, seniors."
Armin took the talisman with a nod. "Thank you."
This student was doing this for the Academy Points, and as a matter of fact, they also worked as guards before, so they could understand why she didn’t look good at all.
Then, without hesitation, Armin pushed open the obsidian doors.
"Brace yourself..." Armin warned.
Indeed, the mont they stepped inside, an imnse gravitational force slamd down on them.
Rehan’s knees buckled slightly, and Mira let out a sharp gasp—but within seconds, the pressure vanished as suddenly as it had co.
"A welcoming gift..." Aiden muttered, rubbing his shoulders.
This was the signature move of the Chaos Tower once soone entered.
After observing the ancient style of the chamber, a voice echoed from sowhere...
"Welco, challengers. The trial is simple: Escape and Survive." The voice said.
"Ugh... The hardest challenge. Unlucky." Mira muttered.
"No. I think this suits us the most. We’re the strongest in our batch... If we can’t clear this, no one would." Armin reminded.
Nonetheless, there was no need to explain more.
Suddenly, the corridor ahead rippled, and soon, the walls rearranged themselves, sealing off their exit and opening three new paths.
On the left, there was a hallway filled with floating, disembodied hands like the Ghost Hands Spell.
At the center, there seed to be a bridge leading to a void...
Then, on the right, they saw a mirror-lined passage where their reflections grinned back at them with too many teeth.
It was such a terrifying sight if it was the first ti you’ve seen it...
"Where to go?"
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