“Trials?” Damien wondered, uncertain about the meaning of the being's words. Just then, a voice called out, “What do you mean by that?” He turned to see it was the broad man from before who had attempted to attack him.

“I was getting to that,” said the spirit being, staring at the man. “There are going to be three different trials that you will all have to face. Each trial presents a unique obstacle. The first trial is called the Heart Trial.”

“During this trial, each of you must confront and overcome any mental blocks you may have. Don’t assume you don’t have any; I assure you that nearly every being in the universe does. Overcoming these obstacles will guide you to the next trial.”

Before the man could continue, someone spoke out, asking a question, “What are the reasons for these trials?”

Looking down, the spirit's face displayed annoyance. He raised his hand and pointed at the person who had asked the question—a skinny man from a group Damien didn't recognize.

As soon as the being finger was in line with the man who spoke, nothing happened at first, but all of a sudden, a sonic boom rang out, and the ground next to the man exploded, sending him flying.

“Now, please, no more questions until I finish explaining the trial and the reasons for it.” The room fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to the spirit being. Looks of fear and respect replaced the previous expressions of curiosity.

Noticing that everyone was silent and waiting for him to continue, he smiled and spoke again, “The next trial will test various aspects, including your ability to think clearly in dangerous situations, your willpower, and, finally, your talent.”

“For the final trial, you will be assessed solely on your combat abilities and potential. Now that I have outlined each trial and the aspects you will be evaluated on, let me explain the purpose of these trials and introduce myself.”

"First, I’d like to address a question that many of you might have when discovering places like this temple: Was it created by the system? While the system does have the capability to create such structures, it only does so in worlds that have not yet awakened to mana. This leads to another question: If that’s the case, does it mean that this temple was not created by the system?

The answer is no; it was indeed not created by the system. You see, this temple you are standing in has always existed on this planet. In fact, it was built millions of years ago and was one of the leading powers of the world." The spirit paused, a contemplative look on its face.

"This planet, which you call Earth, has a history that none of you can truly fathom. All I can tell you is that this is not the first time this planet has been awakened by the system." After he spoke, many people displayed expressions of surprise, while others simply refused to believe such a notion.

As he scanned the room and observed their reactions, he realized that, as he had suspected, most were unwilling to accept it, while a few were more open-minded. Just as he was about to finish looking around, his gaze landed on Damien.

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Immediately upon seeing him, the spirit's eyebrows raised before a completely stunned look appeared in his eyes. ‘That boy… he knows the true name of this planet, but how?’ the being racked its brain but could not figure out how someone could know such a thing. Especially a person born on the planet only a few hundred years ago.

‘Wait, no, he does not know what the name represents.’ The spirit seemed to be relieved upon realizing this and regained his composure.

Finally, after everyone settled their thoughts and discussions with those around them, a person spoke out: a tall blonde woman appearing to be an assassin based on her weapon and build. “Can you tell us the history you speak of?” she asked a questioning look on her face along with a tinge of curiosity.

“Unfortunately, I cannot share this knowledge with any of you, as it is too burdensome to bear. Learning it could lead to an early grave. However, your question does bring me to the reason for these trials. While I cannot disclose the entire history of this planet to all of you, I can share it with the one who performs the best. For now, that is all I can say. If you perform well, you might be the one to learn about the past.”

Once again, discussions broke out, and many were skeptical of the words of the spirit, they seemed somewhat contradictory. The spirit had said that learning earth's history would get them killed but then also said that some could learn it should they do good enough inside the trials.

Damien was also getting weird feelings about this whole thing but also thought the spirit was telling the truth; this temple seemed to have history, and the spirit watching over it did not appear to be system-made, or at least that’s what his instincts were telling him.

As Damien glanced at Ela, he asked for her thoughts on the situation. He discovered that she shared his concerns. “If you think about it, something doesn’t feel right. The force behind this temple must have had a way of preserving it that normal humans couldn't see or detect. They also left this spirit here to serve as a guide when the time came for someone to find the temple,” Ela said, a contemplative expression on her face.

“But if that’s the case, then this spirit must have been here for a very long time, far longer than I can imagine. Imagine being trapped in a place like this for hundreds of thousands of years, with no one to talk to, in bleak surroundings. Even someone as strong as this being could go insane, or at the very least, develop a strong desire to see the world again.”

Upon hearing her words, Damien understood what she was trying to convey. “I understand, but just be careful around him and take his words with a grain of salt.” Ela agreed, recognizing that fully trusting this spirit would be naive.

After a while longer, the spirit clapped its hands loudly, causing everyone to stop speaking and look in his direction. “I believe you have all had enough time to discuss, we shall now commence the trials. Those who do not wish to participate should leave now,” he said motioning his hand towards the exit of the temple.

A few had looks of hesitation about whether they should leave or not but eventually found their resolve and decided to stay. Seeing no one leave, the spirit smiled brightly evidently happy no one left.

“Good, this is the resolve you should all have to make it far in pursuit of strength. Now let the trials commence. Good luck some of you are going to need it.” finishing its words with a laugh the spirit waved its hands and the scene before Damien changed shocking him.

Getting his bearings, he glanced around having appeared in a forest. ‘The spirit said the first trial would be of the heart and the person taking it would have to overcome their mental blocks…’ Damien tried to think of what he could be and the first thing to come to mind was his mom's death.

As he continued to walk and look around, Damien eventually came across a beach with a never-ending ocean in front of him. He had a faint feeling of familiarity before a look of realization appeared in his eyes and he sighed.

“Fucking simulation”