CHAPTER 46: ABYSSAL DESCENT

"Let the Test begin!" Magister Dango shouted.

The moment his final declaration echoed, the glowing circular platforms beneath the feet of every candidate vibrated... and then, sank inwards.

A unified scream filled the arena as hundreds of bodies plummeted into pure, drowning darkness.

The wind howled violently around us as we dropped, yet there was no such feeling of weightlessness. No rush of air across the skin.

It was as though the abyssal valley we were plunged into swallowed every sound and sensation, replacing them with humming silence.

The platform on which we stood disappeared, leaving each candidate to float on circular formations.

One by one, every one of us disappeared into different locations, guided by the invincible circular formation beneath our feet.

The abyss was not one place — there were thousands of realms in existence.

Shifting dimensions.

Brute trial realms.

Test designed by people with far too much creativity and far too little sympathy, brought to life by the enchantment of magic.

None of us knew what was waiting, but we knew one thing—

To survive no matter the odds.

To succeed.

...

Landing wasn’t painful.

With the help of the circle formation, it was silent.

The formation vanished as my boot hit the stone. The surroundings around me slowly brightened with pale-blue flames lining the walls like threads.

This place I have fallen into resembled a dungeon, made up of a long stretch of corridors, all leading further into pitch blackness.

I looked around me for any danger signal but sensed none.

Wind was extinct in here.

No monsters visible.

No echo of even a droplet of water.

There were definitely no threats sensitive to my instincts.

This place could be attributed to an absolute void, except for the presence of visible and glowing stones.

’This is wrong.’ I thought. ’Maybe I will find something if I keep up my pace forward.’

With no direction in mind, I began to make moves forward, keeping my senses heightened at the same time. A swift attack could lunge from an unexpected range.

Seconds passed, stretching to minutes long, yet the dungeon remained eerily hollow.

No matter the direction I took through the many passages visible, I didn’t sense a trap, a presence, or even a debris of stone falling to the ground — no sound at all.

I halted in my steps. I wanted to think things through again before I continued.

Maybe nothing was really coming because no external sound had been heard.

Looking down at the ground, I found a stone resting peacefully. Then, I kicked the stone far into the darkness.

Still no sound.

But before I could return my leg, something clicked.

My boot sank slightly into a pressure plate I hadn’t known existed.

I froze.

Wrrrrrmmmm...

A glowing magic circle spread beneath his feet, ancient runes knitting themselves together to a secluded line of force.

Before my instincts could scream at me to leap away, the ground around me erupted.

There was no immediate reaction after that, but the crumbling on the walls caught my attention to look around.

Seven narrow slits in the walls snapped open.

Seven magical devices shot outward, hovering to land at strategic, perfect positions in the circle formation that had extended to encircle me.

Once they landed, they stood firmly like the large candlestands used for illumination purposes in a primitive fantasy world.

Their base and stems glinted gold, and their different tips shimmered with flames, water, lightning, wind, earth pulses, shadow gleams, and raw arcane.

They locked onto me.

Instantly, I summoned my sword, which had blue hues running along its edges, holding it in a slant stance, ready for what was to come.

Even though a tiny crept of fear had tinged into my consciousness.

"Am I trapped?"

...

Elsewhere in the abyssal realm, Miriam’s landing kicked up a swirl of sand.

But instead of a dungeon, she found herself in a lit area — an island-like plain, surrounded by calm sea waves glowing with fluorescent lights.

The sea breeze combed through her hair.

She blinked and looked around — left, and right.

Then immediately sighed.

"Nope. I am not doing this," she raised her voice a bit, as if arguing with someone.

Instead of wandering around, instead of raising her guard, instead of preparing like every sane candidate would...

Miriam sat down on an incline-protruding spot of the plain.

Right there, on the sand.

She loosened the small cloth she had tied around her neck, shook the dust from it, spread it down neatly and sat cross-legged with her back leaning against the plain’s surface.

"Why did I even have to attend this useless Academy Test...?" she muttered. "Entrance should be a bypass for all Elements."

She sighed. "I should have stayed home and pretended ill. That way I can sleep. Phew, I regret life."

She adjusted her hair after muttering those words.

Then her sitting posture.

Then the way the wind blew on her.

Then the sand around her.

Then the shape of a small rock near her foot.

She arranged everything meticulously, forming her own comfortable rest area.

She was completely unbothered by the life-threatening trial before her.

"Of course, if a monster appeared now, it might as well apologize and tiptoe around me," she giggled.

...

Far away, Lyra wasn’t meant with such luxury as Miriam.

Or, greeted first with a serene environment like Mobix.

She had no such peace.

She was in a marshy zone, with its ground shrouded in dark green fog.

Her blade snapped forward again, slicing nothing but air.

Something gelatinous slapped her shoulder.

Another hit her hip.

Another her back.

The creature was invisible, its slime-like body dripping acidic ooze that burned holes into the ground.

Thankfully, Lyra was sensitive enough to avoid such a disaster.

She spun.

A wave of frost exploded outward, confirming the presence of an outline, just for a second.

"There you are!"

She lunged at it, slipping under its attack. The ground splashed beneath her feet.

Golden flames shimmered along the edges of her blade as she swung it to clash with something soft yet resilient.

Good enough, her attack was precise, and caused the slime to escape its invisibility, landing with a thump to the ground.

Lifeless.

Lyra grinned. "Now tell me who is stronger?"

Unlike many others, she was having great fun.

Joy coursed through her veins as she saw the runes that formed above, right before her eyes.

...

All across the abyssal realm...

Other candidates found themselves in every kind of scenario imaginable:

Some found themselves in desert areas filled with moving dunes.

Some in forests where every tree was against their existence, trying to strangle them.

Some in icy labyrinths.

Some are in volcanic basins with magma wolves.

There were even those who found themselves on floating platforms with no way down... no solid ground to land.

Everyone seriously struggled.

Everyone fought for their lives.

Those who feared at first lost their lives. Still, fear lived in many.

However, the shock couldn’t leave the eyes of many.

They had tried their very best, and yet no achievement.

Still—

"She already earned some points?!"

Everyone who strived saw this achievement except Miriam, who was currently sunbathing.

...

Outside the trial realm, in the Arena, spectators leaned forward, eyes glued to the massive floating screen that displayed split views of every candidate’s trial.

High mages, especially those at the VIP table, watched and murmured among themselves.

Parents clutched their robes, anxious. Others comforted those whose children’s lives were gone.

Even so, every single person — every last one of them — paused at the image of Mobix’s dungeon.

"Ah—this boy is finished," a random uncle murmured.

"Seven-elemental arcane sentries? At the beginner stage?" a mage whispered.

"Is that even supposed? How can that be possible to appear?" another mage wasn’t in support.

"No wonder the Emperor cancelled his engagement — he lives with the worst luck," someone hissed.

Miriam’s mother nearly fainted watching her daughter lounging as though she were on a beach vacation.

"STAND UP!! DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, YOU USELESS CHILD!" she screamed at the projection.

"Dango, can you make my voice sound out there?" She turned to the Magister of the school, who shook his head negatively.

Some guards had to hold her down.

Lyra’s mother, however, was glowing with pride.

"My baby is already fighting! Look at that form! Look at her stance! Look at my warrior!" she cheered. "She’s even being rewarded with 15 Points!"

But then—

The entire arena shifted again as their attention got drawn to a particular scene on the large screen.

One by one, they began to rise from their seats.

Some gasped.

Others trembled.

A few took a step backward instinctively.

"What... is that...?" a mage whispered.

"Impossible..." another murmured.

"Is that really—no, no. It can’t be."

Every eye in the arena widened.

No one had expected what they saw.

There was only one among the many who remained calm in the situation, smiling mischievously.

"I knew it." Magister Dango nodded, satisfied.