---


    "Eh? What happened here?"


    This was Henry''s first question as soon as they got out of the Trial Gate. The War Gods were shocked upon seeing beast remains and smelled a thick stench of blood.


    "Oh, hey there. I got a bit busy here as you can see." Raven said as soon as he heard them walking closer to him.


    All of them were currently outside of the formation, which is currently in stealth thanks to Raven''s adjustments to it. Additionally, Raven just also finished dealing with another wave of beasts. In fact the War Gods even saw him finishing up thest one.


    "What''s going on? Why are there Smanders and me Elementals here?" Theo asked as he looked around, inspecting the remains of the beast Raven collectively in while they were still within the Trial Gate.


    "I don''t know either." Raven shrugged. "They just appeared all of a sudden and started attacking me. They also tried to destroy the formation, thankfully I managed to kill them in time and make adjustments to it. Still though, they came in waves. I figured I can''t just let them roam free therefore I cleared them up."


    "B-but, how can that be?" Logan spoke, "Why are there beasts now? Clearing up the trials are already troublesome, now you''re telling me we also have this to deal with?"


    "Well, even if you ask me, I won''t know how to answer you. I was surprised too, you see. They just came climbing down on the surface of the mountain out of nowhere." Raven said.


    He was originally hoping to ask them about what''s going on too but judging from their reaction, it was clear that they too were surprised by the sudden appearance of the beasts.


    "You didn''t set up the formation?" Charles asked as he looked around, searching for the formation to hopefully get some shelter.


    "Oh, it''s here." Raven said as he lifted his hand, forming a w and peeling off the ''air'' to reveal the interior of the formation, surprising the War Gods for a bit. "I made some enhancements on it. Come, let''s go inside."


    Raven then widened the gap and stepped in followed by the War Gods. Once inside, the hole closed up by itself, sealing them within and hiding them from the sight of the potential beasts that mayeter.


    The interior of the Formation was much betterpared before. Not only did it repulsed the zing heat off of them, it also provided them with afortable environment to rest. The weather inside was adjusted to suit their needs, it automatically changes too. What''s more is that, it''s hidden from the beasts and also hides their presence from them.


    Once inside, Raven lead them to the where he prepared the meals for them. The War Gods didn''t stand on ceremony and began chowing down the food that was prepared for them.


    Raven carefully observed them. Judging from their appearance, it seems that they got a bit lucky this time and got a fairly easy trial. However, he can''t be so sure.


    He could still see some injuries on their bodies. They look shallow and on the verge of recovering now that they''ve eaten the food. There were also signs of exhaustion on their faces but it wasn''t as severepared to the previous ones.


    "We had an okay luck this time around." Henry said after noticing Raven''s gaze. He could somewhat tell what Raven was thinking, it''s all over his face too. "It isn''t hard nor painful. It''s just very time consuming."


    "What kind of trial was it then?" Raven asked.


    "It tested our secondary expertise." Logan replied, "For me, that would Beast Taming. I was one of the best back at my home town, I''ll have you know. I tamed a ferocious Silver Battlewolf when I was but a little boy. Ah! That glorious moment!" He said with a thick nostalgia on his face.


    "It would be Alchemy for me." Theo stated, "I got a pretty decent fire affinity back when I was still young. It wasn''t much, in fact my parents deemed me worthless back then since we came from a n of Alchemists."


    "Well, I wonder about that. Specially now that you''re a me Keeper and all." Charlesmented. "For me it was Fortune Telling."


    "Fortune Telling?" Raven was surprised, "Prophets?"


    "Ooh! So you know about that, huh?" Charles were simrly surprised. "Yes, that''s right. I''m from a n of Prophets. People who just can''t keep it in their pants and wants to know everything. At the cost of lifespan that is."


    "I didn''t particrly like that though." Charles added, "I was an oddball when I was a kid. I got some seriously violent tendencies, which is very out of ce considering the fact that I was born in the n of Prophets. Some people even thought that I was adopted. But I was indeed from that n, I was just naturally violent I guess."


    "That being said, even if I am like the way I am, I still learned how to properly tell someone''s fortune. In fact, I was quite talented with it too. However, I wasn''tfortable in the fact that I need to spend my own lifespan just to tell someone else''s fate. Adding the fact that some people just don''t understand the risks of peering through Heavenly Secrets, I just kind of left it behind. Instead I focused on fulfilling my violent tendencies."


    "It''s even worse now since he''s using his Prophecy in battle. In short, when you face him, know that he can tell what your next move is, so it''s a pain in the ass to fight against." Henrymented, earning a re from Charles.


    "Remember that this person was once the same person who was responsible for you. Now you can see what kind of shitty personality he has." Charles told Raven.


    "Hey! Stop ndering me! I just stated the truth aren''t I?" Henryined after hearing Charlesment. Charles didn''t reply but snorted instead and went back to his food.


    "Well, it would be Calligraphy for me." Henry then told Raven about his secondary expertise. "My father was a famous Scribe you see, and I idolized him when I was growing up. Unfortunately, due to an ident, he was unable to continue, there he became a teacher instead. He taught me well, and I still go back to it every now and then."


    "Ohhh!" Raven had an expression of understanding on his face, "Well, what were the requirements for you to clear the trial then?"


    "For me, it is to create a Passage that is filled with my Sword Intent." Henry replied.


    "Sound troublesome." Loganmented,


    "That it does. In fact, it might not only ''sounds'' troublesome." Theo added.


    "It took me three fucking years to do it. So yeah, it is troublesome." Henry snorted as he aggressively sliced of the meat on his te.


    "Mine''s hateful." Logan stated, "I have to tame an Arcane Wyrm."


    "Oh, goodness gracious. Poor you." Raven instinctivelymented.


    "Man, that sucks." Henrymented.


    "Stop it you guys, you''re making me cry!" Loganined while looking downcast.


    "Arcane Wyrm, it''s those right?" Theo asked, "The winged lizards that has knowledge of Fire, Ice, Thunder and Earth Laws from birth?"


    "Yeah, they are." Logan nodded softly.


    "Well, knowing that you''re still here with us, means that you managed to tame one so good job." Charlesmented, "Yet still, you must''ve been through a lot. Do you need a hug?"


    "Fuck you." Logan spat, causing the rest tough at his misery.


    "Hearing about your task makes me feel a bit better about mine." Theo said, "Well, that doesn''t mean it isn''t troublesome though."


    "What did it want you to concoct?" Raven asked.


    "Boundless Nature Pill."


    "Oof!" Raven''s face twitched after hearing that. Well, he had some experience on Alchemy himself so he knew about the Boundless Nature Pill.


    In short, that pill can already be considered as a Spiritual Treasure since - just like the name implies, it is filled with the boundless power of nature itself. This pill is not to be consumed, it works like a weapon almost since once it''s effects were trigger, it couldy waste to a whole.


    "Geez, what''s up with that? It seems that the trials were working against you." Charlesmented. "Now, spill. How many cauldrons have you ruined?"


    "Roughly 300." Theo said in shaky voice. "All of them exploded on my face."


    "Oh, poor you." Henrymented. "Don''t worry, I''ll find you some prettydies at the next checkpoint."


    "Shut it, you!" Theo''s face reddened as he heard Henryment. He then looked at Charles and asked: "Well, how about you? What was your trial?"


    "Well, it''s quite simple really." Charles said, "It revolves around Prophecy, the only difference is that, in there I didn''t need to worry about my lifespan being spent. I just needed to take 200 costumers and make sure to bepletely honest with them."


    "By being honest, you mean you need to tell them everything that you see? What happens if you see them dying?" Henry asked.


    "Well, it''s rules so...yeah, I need to tell them." Charles said while smiling wryly.


    "That''s rough buddy." Theo patted Charles'' shoulders.


    "Oh, well. It seems that you guys managed just fine. So just rest easy, okay?" Raven said as he stood up.


    "Where are you...oh, there are some me Elementals." Theomented.


    "Just take it easy. Leave those to me." Raven said as he stepped out of the formation.


    P