As they went back to their quarters, Hae-Hyuk took Jin and Min-Su with him for a talk. He sat with them and said: "Let me explain a bit more about what will happen from here on out. As you are now aware of, you guys will be my champions and the winning price is a one-million-year-old treasure with the most suitable element for me. I really need it which is why I will be explaining everything, ok?"

Both Jin and Min-Su nodded. Hae-Hyuk continued: "The trial is a bit more complex than being the first to reach the top of that mountain. The truth is that only one being will be able to get to the top"

Min-Su asked somberly: "Does that mean one of us will die for sure?"

Hae-Hyuk shook his head sideways as he denied that. He went on to say: "Giving up is an option after reaching a certain place. Anyways, this is what will happen. You guys will be randomly dropped at the foot of the mountain. There are four areas you will need to cross to get to the top. As you saw when we were outside, that mountain is special"

"That mountain is in a chaotic state. Due to that, the elements are going crazy there. Many things are ever-changing but some things won't. They are the different areas. The first one at the foot of the mountain is a forest filled with miasma. That forest is alive and the miasma always has some peculiar elemental properties that affect the mind. That being said, no champions have ever died to either of those"

"Don't attack the forest and it won't attack you, ok? It is very important to understand that. If someone attacks you, just run. The forest will deal with him. I don't think there would be anyone so foolish but who knows? What matters is to get out of the forest quickly"

Min-Su asked: "Why? Is there a time limit? It's a race?"

Hae-Hyuk nodded and went on: "Not quite. There will be a cloud of death element behind you. If you take too long and you end up in there, you're doomed. Which is why speed is very important. The mountain resets itself every single day with that cloud. You are dropped an hour before the reset begins. In total, you have no more than five hours to reach the top"

"After the forest, there are three options. A desert, a tundra and a volcanic area. You guys won't have the time to pick so whichever you end up in, rush forward. There are some wild life in there but they shouldn't be much of a threat. What you need to be on guard against is the element itself"

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"Beyond that, there is the abyss. It is a vast ravine in the middle of the mountain drawing a circle around it. There are bridges here and there. You must find one as it's the only way over"

Jin could nearly fly thanks to his technique using wild elements. He didn't think he needed the bridge and said: "I can just fly over"

Hae-Hyuk pointed his finger at him as he said: "No! You can't. There are many elements all over the place preventing you from doing that. Gravity, Pressure, Attraction, Magnetism... The bridges are the only way up and there are only thirty-two of them. But the worst is that only one being can cross them before they disintegrate. They are one-time use"

Jin couldn't help but add: "So, it's a race"

Hae-Hyuk nodded in the end. But he disagreed. It wasn't solely about speed for there was a fourth area. He said: "Up till here, it might be. But once you cross the abyss, you reach the final area. The death cloud won't reach that place. The cliff there can't be scaled and you will have to enter the insides of the mountain. There will be a door in front of every bridge"

"The door lead to the next trial which is a battle of attrition. Once every one of the thirty two champions enter or five hours have passed, the doors will close and it will start. That's where you can give up, by not entering and remaining outside. Someone will come pick you there. But be aware that if you dare do so, I will kill you myself"

As he said so, both Jin and Min-Su felt a chill. They instinctively knew that Hae-Hyuk wasn't joking. He really needed the treasure and if they gave up, he would no doubt kill them himself. After giving so much to them, if they didn't manage to get him some returns...

It was better for him to warn them now lest they think themselves clever when it came down to it. He let them digest this truth before he continued: "Once inside, puppets at the 9th stage will be sent to face you in a spacious room. It will be a one-on-one. And you will have to win or die. Puppets will be continuously sent out until only sixteen champions are still alive. You need to defeat the puppets quickly without wasting energy. The earlier you finish them compared to your rivals, the longer you can rest after every battle"

"Finally, after that, a spiral staircase will appear that leads up. From there, you will face the other champions until only one is left, at the very top"

Hae-Hyuk looked at his two disciples. It was finally going to be time for his efforts to pay. He had trained and given a lot for those two to succeed. They better not disappoint him after all his sacrifices. If they failed, he would likely forever be stuck at this realm. He couldn't tolerate a failure.

He got up and said: "For the next week, the sacred ceremony will take place. You guys stay put in this room and meditate"

Hae-Hyuk left the room. Min-Su and Jin looked at each other. They were both felling complicated emotions. They had been dumped with too much information too quickly. This was very hard to take in. Especially the truth that only one of them might get out of this alive.

Hae-Hyuk might have seemed warm at times but he had always been a cold and calculative cultivator. One doesn't reach his level by being generous and venerable. Jin had known that fact but it still didn't feel good when the man broke the act.