Ray

Nora removed a small dagger from her pouch, shadow travelling it towards the old man. The old man caught it with his hands, turning towards the three of them. Ray prepared to run, not having a lot of hope in his chances. Why did Nora attack in the first place? The old mana was too powerful for them to face. But before the old man could call an alarm, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the floor.

"The Xnarthan aren't the only ones that can use poison. I knew he would be too overconfident and touch the dagger." Nora said, rushing in. Ray followed, walking into a room full of artifacts. The artifacts weren't particularly powerful, but they were old, and valuable.

Ray felt mana in them, they were all Fae. But one stone in particular stood out. The stone didn't radiate mana like the other artifacts. In fact, it was muted. But Ray could see the mana held within, concentrated, controlled, but there. The Fae stone.

"I am going in," he said as he touched the stone and began the Trial.

Ray's surroundings cleared as he found himself in a room full of bees. The bees buzzed around him, almost stinging him, but not hurting him. Ray's first instinct was to set them on fire, but he let them be. The bees hadn't hurt him yet, and he could feel that they meant him no harm.

In fact, he could sense emotions from the plants and trees in the surroundings too. Not to mention the flowers. The trees had them, the vines, the air. A plethora of flowers occupied Ray's vision as he looked. The only problem, though, was the bees, they concentrated around him, gradually reducing his vision.

"Can you move away?'' Ray said, trying to communicate telepathically. The bees did not listen. Perhaps they needed something more emotional? After all, they weren't Sapient, they might not understand words. Ray sent emotive messages, sending the urge to move away, the irritation at them coming too close, the flashes of fear when a bees' stinger grazed him.

The bees moved away, clearing a path for him towards the next door. Ray walked on, wondering why it was so easy.

Error! Trial already passed!: subject has chosen the path of peace once more.

And now he knew the answer. The first part of the trial was path choosing, not a test. A path of war applicant would likely burn through the bees, but Ray chose to communicate. So it was the path of peace again.

The door opened and Ray stepped through, ready for what lay next. Three doors stood before him, each guarded by a different person. An ugly troll-like humanoid. A cute puppy and a beautiful girl. Ray wondered if he had walked into a children's book. The stories usually ended with the troll winning.

"What am I supposed to do here?" Ray asked. The three guards remained still.

Ray looked around, trying to find some clue as to what the room was. The walls were matt gray, having no other decoration. The room was clean, lacking dust or dirt. Ray couldn't even see any imperfection in the tiles. The room was clearly mana made.

Not surprising given that the entire Trial was likely an illusion itself. Wait, if it was an illusion, then why was he not able to see pink mana? Was it like Professor Revelia? How had she prevented him?

"Can you please help?" Ray asked the three again, weirded out by them staring at him while smiling. Were they even real? Or were they statues? Ray would feel stupid if they were just life-like statues.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The three did not reply. Ray stepped closer, intent on taking a look. The puppy looked up and barked, at least telling Ray that it was alive, though he still couldn't tell what it wanted.

"What do you want me to do? Is this part of the trial?" Ray asked again, looking at each of them.

But the three remained still- No, wait, the puppy's tail was wagging. Ray headed closer, approaching cautiously as he tried to pet the dog. But he felt that something was wrong. Why were the other two not reacting, while this one seemed so eager? Acting on a hunch, Ray stepped back, watching the three. The troll and the girl both turned to him, watching him too.

"I am not going to choose." Ray declared, bluffing. "I will stay here until you answer me."

"How curious." the girl said. "Does big brother really not want to just choose me?" she said, winking. Ray found her actions suspicious. Why was she so friendly suddenly?

"Could you please tell me what is going on, sir?" Ray asked the troll.

"No, and it is Mam." the troll replied, it's voice masculine enough to make Ray doubt it. But he also didn't know how genders worked in trolls.

'I apologize Ma’am, I didn't know." he said.

"An actual apology, how surprising." the troll said, making Ray hope that he would finally get some information. The minutes passed as a staring match commenced, Ray trying to beat all three gatekeepers.

"The gates are tests of character, the trial ahead will be based on the gate you choose. Had you selected me, the cute puppy, you would face beasts and have to protect me from them? The girl shall lead to a castle where you will face a Dragon-Phoenix child in combat.

And the ogre shall lead you to a test of craftsmanship. Now you will face all three together. The Trial does not appreciate outliers, not when you were informed of this part of the Trial's contents under Trial administration act, clause 17.1 as passed by the Fae Council in the year 193." the puppy said, huffing as all three gates opened and merged, leading to one gate that all three guards walked into.

Ray didn't even get a chance to say that he hadn't even heard of the Fae council, or the Trial administration act. Or the year 193 for that matter. The Empire counted years in reigns, not whatever metric the Fae were using.

Shaking his head at his predicament, Ray stepped through, wand brandished, as he got ready to fight what was waiting for him. The puppy stood there, on a path that led up a steep hill. A fortress awaited him on the top, the girl looking out the window. The troll was the only one missing.

"The first task is to protect me up the hill as I travel to my mistress." the puppy said as it began walking, not waiting for Ray.

Ray rushed to catch up, ready to protect the puppy. The first beast appeared within seconds, ready to kill the puppy. Ray pointed his wand and shot fire at it, burning it to dust, belatedly realizing that the beast wasn't even Tier 1. The puppy stopped in its tracks, turning back towards Ray.

"Why was I not informed that you have access to magic? Have the Fae council been overthrown?" the puppy asked, its voice deeper and more threatening than before.

"I- I wouldn't know. The Fae Empire fell thousands of years ago, it's the Fae kingdom now. " Ray said, now nervous.

"Yes, I know that, you fool! The Fae council was the one that passed that law-"the puppy approached Ray, sniffing him- "Where are you from? Hmm, you smell of Fae, but you don't seem to know what the Fae council is."

"The Empire- I mean, the Empire of Humanity. I was found here by my adoptive mother." Ray said, realizing that the Fae spirit, or the puppy, might not know where it was. Could it even see outside the Fae stone? "The Fae stone is currently in the Empire. I need the blood of a Fae Duke to heal my sister, she was poisoned by the Xnarthan using the blood of a Fae duke and Xer something"

To his horror, Ray realized that he didn't remember the name of the other species.

"Hmm, I can't guarantee anything. I will have to see after you've completed your Trial. The magic you are using, is it Human or Fae? Are you a hybrid of some kind?" the puppy asked.

"Norman- I mean, Norrellius said that my magic was Fae, just a watered-down version. And I don't think so? The System tells me that I am High Fae, but I didn't even know that Fae could have children with other species." Ray said.

"Fae can't. But the Fae of self aren't very accepting of such limitations. I wouldn't be shocked if they found a way in all these years. I will increase the Trial's difficulty to Tier 11 and pardon you any further transgression. But I fear you will have a hard time here, the Trial was made for a Tier 11 Fae, not a Tier 11 Human." the puppy said as the space unfroze. And more monsters appeared, this time Tier 11. Ray wondered what exactly the Fae spirit meant when it said that he would have a hard time...hopefully it would still be doable. For Anita's sake.