AN: Thanks to all those who are following the novel. I hope we can all keep it up, <3.

*****

The turmoil caused by the sudden tremor of the entire central continent sent the people into panic.

Thankfully, the royal family led by Her Majesty the Queen was able to put the situation in order in just a few hours.

At the capital city of the magical beasts.

Within a luxurious mansion, surrounded by several high-rise buildings, and located within an estate that spanned hundreds of kilometers, several prominent people gathered in the great hall.

Reyes, a middle-aged-looking man stood amidst several figures as he watched the scene playing before him with a dark smile.

He was the previous crown prince and was supposed to be the current King, however, one of his stepbrothers, specifically his hundred-and-twenty-third little brother, suddenly displayed an outlandish talent rarely seen before in the history of their royal family. Supported by his remarkable feats, he could only oblige to relinquish the King's position to him.

He bore through the shame that consequently followed and could only remain in his brother's shadow.

As he watched that great brother of his kneel with a crestfallen expression before his very eyes, the sides of his lips uncontrollably rose slightly, as he flashed his set of two canine teeth in a gloating smile.

During the past year when he was absent, he couldn't instigate the other Royals, as while it was true that King Joe had neglected his responsibilities for over a year, it was ultimately for their safety that he did it.

What about now?

King Joe knelt at the center of the hall as he hung his head in shame. His wife, the person currently holding the most authority sat on the throne, as she held her two daughters down forcefully beside her. Her only son, who was well past his adulthood stood behind her with an unreadable expression.

"Eeah..eeah..." Little Joe let out from the embrace of the kneeling King.

"I am sorry, Dian." the once noble voice of the mighty king was now filled with guilt and if one paid attention, one would be able to make out the sadness expertly hidden within it.

The Royals whispered among themselves as they watched the scene play out. Some of them showed expressions of anger as they despised the King for kneeling before a woman, even if the latter was his wife. To them, such a love was pure stupidity. In fact, if it wasn't because of King Joe's generals who supported the Queen, her reign during the last year wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

After a minute of silence during which the King continued to lower his head in shame, the Queen finally spoke.

"Who is that boy you are holding?"

Even though the answer was clear for everyone to see, as not only did the little boy resemble the King greatly but also emitted the aura of the Royal Basilik bloodline, the Queen and the others still looked intently at the king, waiting for him to confirm it himself.

"He is my Son." the King spoke without any hesitation.

A ruckus exploded among the Royals.

If it wasn't for the proof before their eyes, they wouldn't have believed King Joe who was always praised for his total devotion to his wife would return with an unknown child, especially when they thought he was in danger for their sake.

"A-And who is the mother?" it was clear the queen mustered the courage to ask such a question.

After a brief moment of silence, King Joe failed to hide the slight trembling in his voice as he choked out the word:

"Dead."

The whole place was instantly silenced.

The slumped shoulders that had never shaken before, together with the aura of deep sorrow surrounding their King, caused a wave of different emotions to wash over the hall.

However, while the others were shaken to their core, Reyes felt his heart filled with joy at his brother's misfortune. Hoping to see the situation devolve the more, Reyes shifted his eyes toward the queen with expectation as he looked forward to her angry reaction, only for his eyes to widen and his eyeballs to almost bulge out of their sockets.

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The Queen flew from her throne, leaving her three children behind only to appear before the kneeling Joe and embrace him.

The sound of sobbing soon filled the hall.

While the others were stunned at the unexpected development, the two princesses quickly chased after their mother, before embracing their father whom they had wholly missed for over a year.

King Joe embraced by three warm hands couldn't help but shed tears, without a care for his status. He was reminded that while he had lost somebody he held dear, he still had a family who loved and cherished him.

"I missed you." his wife's words entered his ears causing him to squeeze the hand supporting her waist further.

His daughter's arms wrapped around his neck, caused a warm smile to find its place on his face.

Retreating from his embrace, the Queen stretched her hand towards little Joe who was silently watching them with twinkling eyes, to which the king didn't stop her.

"I will treat him as my own!" her solemn voice that sounded less than a proclamation and more like an oath resounded within the great hall.

Reyes watched this heartwarming moment with clenched teeth and hatred flashing in his eyes.

But suddenly his eyes shone as he shifted it back to the throne.

There, the prince stood motionless, with no emotion on his face. While he tried to hide it, how could the wary light flashing within his eyes escape the sight of somebody like Reyes?

A sly glint flashed within his eyes and the evil smile returned to his face, however, nobody had the time to notice it, causing it to go unnoticed.

That is but one person!

Joe watched the scene playing before him from a third-person perspective. No matter how he shouted and tried to intervene, nothing happened.

However, unlike before, the current Joe looked totally different.

The usual timidness on his face was no longer present, and his hardened face couldn't hide the deep resolve resting deep within his white reptilian eyes.

So many matters finally made sense to him.

'No wonder, I felt pain whenever I transformed.'

'No wonder I was able to bond with the pitch-black snake.' it was a matter that had always plagued his mind. It was general knowledge that only humans could use secret techniques to tame the beasts and it was unheard of for another beast to take one of its kind. But now that he knew he was partly human, the situation didn't seem that strange anymore.

Shifting his eyes to one of the little girls hugging the king's neck, Joe whispered, "No wonder you were able to leave me behind easily. Turned out we aren't exactly pure siblings."

Shaking his head, Joe discarded such a thought. His two sisters had always treated him with love, and never once did he feel like an outsider when he was with them.

However...

Joe's eyes fell on the boy still standing beside the throne, "I will make you pay for what you did to our family!"

He swore to himself.

It was then that King Joe beckoned to his firstborn, "Child, don't you miss me?"

With light steps, the prince moved toward his family before joining them in their embrace. All the while, the evil smile remained on Reyes's face.

"I swear by my mother, FIONA DES LUMINOX, that you and the people who killed her will die by my hands!"

Swore Joe as he knew just where to start.

Rook's image flashed within his mind, "I will start with your son."

The scene around him slowly disappeared at the same time that a blinding light erupted from his body.

The same thing was happening outside, within the misty lake. However no matter, how the light shone, they couldn't affect the other figures near him as if they were blocked by an invisible barrier.

.....

Joe wasn't the only person going through a trial, as a few others were also undergoing a great transformation no less than his.

Kai found himself reliving his past. Under the night starry sky and with only silence as his companion, he repeatedly unsheathed his katana before swinging it at a fast speed and sheathing it a second later. His every movement was fluid and too quick to follow with the naked eye.

He did this a hundred times!

A thousand times!

Ten thousand times!

A hundred thousand times!

A million times!

He kept repeating the same action over and over again until he lost count. In this world of his own, he didn't seem to get tired and could train to the best of his ability.

Immediately when he surpassed a million times, a great change occurred.

His katana started trembling and the moment he unleashed it again, it released a fierce cry before forcefully leaving his grip and flying to the sky. At the same time, countless silver energy in the form of thread surrounded Kai's body before forming some sort of cocoon around me.

"I am the sword!"

His usually indifferent voice now dripping with power resounded from within the silver Cocoon.

.....

While the mind trial of the majority of Arlo's group was going in a positive direction, the same couldn't be said for one particular person.

Ella's usually tired eyes were red from crying. All around her was a world of red, and the corpses of her seniors were the only sight that greeted her.

"Where were you when we needed you?"

"I loved you like a little sister."

"No, please, I don't want to die. Save me..."

Different voices echoed simultaneously around her, and under their constant barrage of words, Ella slowly weakened before finally falling to her knees.

"I am sorry..." her weak voice was drowned by the corpse's shouts.

.....

Theodore shook slightly as he passed his trial.

He was able to get a head start and arrive at the lake at least twenty minutes before the next party.

As he walked out of the misty lake, his eyes widened in plain admiration at the new biome before him, 'The treasure area didn't fail to live up to its name!'

However, his attention was soon attracted by something else, causing him to shift to his side.

With his eyes slowly widening, Theodore watched the golden-haired boy who looked the same age as his little princess, walk out of the misty lake barely a second after him.

What further drew his attention was the tears that streaked down his silver eyes like water from a broken dam.