The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

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The moment Aurora had mentioned that the so-called Trial by Fire was held in a mystic realm, Evelyn already had a faint guess in her heart.

Most mystic realms were naturally formed, and had their own set of laws. Some were incredibly complex, while others were completely mundane. Whether one contained a great deal of opportunities or nothing but sand was anyone's guess until they actually stepped into it.

However, entering a mystic realm was also a gamble, since it was more or less a portal, there was no way to know where it led, or if a return journey was even possible.

Most mystic realms ceased to exist after some time, either collapsing in on themselves or evolving to completion, thus cutting off all the portals of entry and exit. Some, however, continued to exist for a long time.

Aurora slowly explained everything she knew about Lumenzarha's 'Trial by Fire' to Evelyn, and the more she learned, the more she realized that if not for Gwendolyn, she really would never have tried to go there.

The true purpose of this 'Trial by Fire' was for the royal family to cultivate leaders for themselves, and the marriage 'reward' was really only there to tie down their loyalty firmly to their side. 

This mystic realm contained a variety of areas inside, all with their own challenges and rewards, and no one knew which area their particular batch would be teleported to when they entered. It could only be entered once a year, and remained open for three days.

These challenges were nothing special, just like their rewards, so both their allure and threat level were low.

The requirements for exiting would also only be conveyed once the people had already entered, and while it was rare, there had been a few cases of people going missing inside.

Those who exited before the trial ended were considered passed, and those who were ejected after the time ran out naturally failed.

Aurora pursed her lips in thought. "I think… based on what we know, the mystic realm will change when you enter. Otherwise, it makes no sense for Gwendolyn to ask you to go there."

After all, whether it was the minuscule rewards from the trial itself or the marriage to the royal family of Lumenzarha, neither would help Evelyn much.

As for how Gwendolyn knew that the mystic realm would have a different reaction to Evelyn's entry, neither of them could be sure.

Evelyn nodded after thinking about it. "Since she's so old, it's possible that she'd entered the mystic realm once herself, and no one knew about it. Maybe it's different for the thrones, after all, and the opportunities inside might be enough to boost me to awakening."

Even if that wasn't so and the trial really remained the same, Evelyn wouldn't lose much since in that case it would only last three days.

But that was unlikely, since if Gwendolyn had really wanted to mislead her, there were better ways to do so.

The biggest problem Evelyn had was that the 'candidates' were all required to take a 'team' with them to the mystic realm, and while the compensation for the winning teams would be paid for by the royal family, the losers could only fend for themselves.

On the surface, this requirement was to 'ensure survival in case of unexpected changes in the mystic realm', but really it was only there to seed the 'better' candidates by the royal family.

The pink haired girl sighed. "Why are the team requirements so strict?"

Aurora frowned. "If I go with you, I don't think anyone will be able to stop us from entering, but…"

Of course, Evelyn knew. With the situation as it was now, even if Evelyn dared to leave the academy, she had to make sure that her whereabouts remained concealed.

After all, even if Gwendolyn was attracting the attention of the Lord of Bones, it wouldn't take the man long to reach her as long as he knew she was unprotected, and at that time, her situation would become truly desperate.

Although Gwendolyn mentioned that Aurora could protect her once or twice from the Lord of Bones, Evelyn was in no mood to risk her teacher's life like that.

The pink haired girl sighed. "Forget it. I'll talk to my friends and see what they think. If not… I can always hire some mercenaries."

Aurora nodded. "It's better this way. After all, since she mentioned you can grow to the awakened stage in a short period of time, it's possible that your teammates would also be able to grow. Instead of giving the opportunity to others, it's better to give it to your friends."

Additionally, this would also prevent her from dealing with too many strangers, which would have increased the risk of exposure anyway.

Evelyn nodded as she suddenly thought of something. "Teacher, um, do you have more of those cloaks you gave me earlier?"

Recalling how none of the professors had been able to recognize her under the cloak's concealment, Evelyn believed that it would be for the best if she could have such a thing with her when she went out.

Aurora knocked on her student's head with a smile. "Do you think your teacher gives you things that can be easily mass-produced? There is only one."

Evelyn coughed, feeling a little embarrassed. "I-It's okay, then. I'll look through Nadia's collection. I'm sure there must be something."

Hearing her name, Nadia nodded sagely from the shore, though Evelyn had no idea if she really understood what they were talking about.

Aurora frowned. "No need. I'll arrange some concealment artifacts for you soon."

Although she realized that the mermaid was friendly to her student, she still didn't know how strong their bond was.

From what she had seen, the mermaid's attitude was similar to a child's, and snatching her things would undoubtedly reduce goodwill. It was better to save her favor for when it was actually needed instead of wasting it like this.

Before Evelyn could open her mouth to protest, Aurora interrupted her with a sigh. "You shouldn't treat her poorly because she has the mind of a child. Children are often more sensitive to emotions than adults."

Of course, Evelyn understood that her teacher would normally never say such a thing, as she preferred not interfering in her student's personal matters.

The only reason Aurora went so far must be because she had been watching the 'Siren's Call' for a long time, and Nadia had never come out to meet with her.

Perhaps, Aurora doubted the reasoning behind her intimacy with her student. After all, Evelyn was not the first person to enter the lake, and if Nadia was truly as simple as she seemed, why hadn't she ever befriended anyone else?

Could it be that in thousands of years, no one had reached the same depths of the lake as Evelyn? Knowing how strong some of the people who entered were, Aurora knew that couldn't be the case.

After all, many of them had strength that far exceeded that of her student's current state, and they had also taken many precautions before entering, compared to Evelyn's hasty dive.

This was especially so when considering the fact that even Gwendolyn was cautious against Nadia's existence, and even if she was truly without any ulterior motives, they should still not be careless at this point.

"I will go bring Bree back."

Evelyn could only nod helplessly before she dipped back into the lake to face Nadia with a sigh. "Don't worry, she's just a little cautious and aloof by nature."

The naiad tilted her head curiously, and Evelyn didn't know if she really understood her words, but she still continued with a smile. "If anything, she must think I might take advantage of you and wrong you, and thinks you're such a pitiful little child, ah."

Looking at Nadia's innocent eyes, Evelyn grinned. "Speaking of taking advantage, all these treasures you decorated with me look really good, especially this bow, ahh!"

She hadn't even checked it out yet, but Evelyn could feel that it was incredible now that her spirit power was no longer blocked.

Thinking about her little friend's stash at the bottom of the lake, however, Evelyn couldn't help but hold the little naiad's shoulders affectionately. "How about we play a game?"

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When Aurora returned, she was stunned to see a huge pile of artifacts by the side of the lake.

Evelyn was splashing her feet in the lake with a grin when a bluish-green-haired girl emerged from the water once more and handed her a crystalline tiara with a smile before diving back in.

If Aurora still couldn't figure it out, she would have known Evelyn in vain. 'T-This greedy little swindler!'

But looking at the mermaid's delighted expression each time she fetched something out, Aurora couldn't help but pause in her step, wondering if she should really interrupt them.

In the end, she could only sigh. "Forget it, maybe she'll find something she'll need later and it will end up making a difference."

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