Kana’s cottage.

Lena and Ren sat down for breakfast. Ren downed a cup of tea while gorging down on eggs with red yolks.

“The Trial of Righteousness is a test to search for talented individuals. It is a challenging, complicated and extremely dangerous set of tests. There’s no minimum age limit. But, you need at least two contestants to participate in the trial.” Lena had calmed down by now. Her clear speech and motionless tail couldn't make this more evident.

Ren attentively listened to Lena’s explanation.

“The trial takes place in another dimension and it varies with the contestants’ age, strength, talent, racial attributes and luck as major factors. That is why it is futile to prepare for a trial beforehand. However, as an inclination, having more strength at a younger age usually makes the trial easier.”

“The greatest deterrent to participating in this trial is the danger it poses. There is a great possibility of death, and death in the trial world translates to death back here as well… That is why I don’t recommend it.”

Ren struggled to hide his smirk. He could use this information to force Azen to help him. After all, if the body perished, both their souls would perish. Unfortunately, before he could establish a plan, Lena poured cold water onto his enthusiasm.

“Ren, I’m sorry to say this but you’re too weak to compete in the trial. On top of this, we are nearing the yearly Edahi tournament. All skilled practitioners are preparing for the competition, and thus no one will help you in the trial. At least, not until the competition is over... Ah! I almost forgot!”

“There is one last requirement. Each contestant must be capable of lifting a load of 200kg with ease. This is the base strength required to participate in the trial.”

Ren struggled to hide his urge to curse. At present, he doubted if he could lift even 10 kg, much less 200 kg.

He smiled bitterly. The last requirement pushed him to think of methods to enhance his strength.

“Sis Lena, are there any other methods to meet the emperor?”

Lena pondered for a while before shaking her head.

“No! Even if you have grave news that alters the fate of the forest, you can only pass it to the Council of Order. Only the Council of Order can enter the Mother Tree and thus, meet the Divine Emperor. That is why I told you, meeting the Divine Emperor is impossible.”

Ren fell silent. Facing such circumstances, he could only attempt the Trial of Righteousness and rely on his luck. But his present strength was inadequate.

“Sis Lena, what are the methods available to increase one’s strength?”

Lena sighed. She understood that Ren hadn’t abandoned his idea. Nonetheless, after some considerations, she chose to help him. After all, Ren couldn’t compete without help from others of his age. No sane individual would help him in this suicidal endeavor.

“Ha... I’ll take you to the Edahi Libra- Uh, never mind. I’ll bring the books here.” She rubbed her forehead, vividly remembering the commotion from the previous day.

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A few minutes later, Ren sat before a table with four heavy books. He had obtained a new room to himself on the upper floor of the cottage. Although he couldn’t read any of the books, the books had magic formations that converted the contents of the book into audio. It only required magic crystals, which Lena did not lack.

Without wasting any time, he dove into the books.

Time flew by and he skipped lunch.

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Evening

Ren placed the last book aside and sighed. As expected, the three books spoke of the common methods to gain strength. However, to Ren, none of these methods were feasible.

The first book spoke of enhancing the physical strength of a person by absorbing natural energy and improving one’s physique. They called it Physical Arts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t absorb even an iota of energy. He wasted no time with this book.

The second book involved Magic Arts. Initially, Ren felt optimistic about this branch. However, the entry requirements poured cold water on his optimism.

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In the world of magic, knowledge equated power. Unfortunately, Ren did not have the time to listen to innumerable books, learn all the basics and practice it from scratch.

Even at a conservative estimate, it would take him many months or even years before he finished mastering the basics and began with actual spell casting. Furthermore, he couldn’t skip any of the basics. Poor foundations could spell disaster as a mistake at any level could kill an ignorant mage.

By the time he learned magic, Azen would have devoured him whole.

And the third book… Reading it only served to infuriate Ren. He spent many hours listening to it before realizing its futility. Each section of the book dealt with taking advantage of special bloodline or racial characteristics for each individual species. Only at the end of the book, did he realize that the authors cared little for human beings. They did not spare even a page for humans. Even cats and dogs had dedicated sections. This fact nearly drove him insane.

As for the last book called ‘Honing’, Ren dropped it after the first page. The author mentioned that it would take years or decades of practice before a practitioner successfully enters this path. It was dedicated to talentless demi-humans who could only depend on hard work and time to succeed.

Ren strolled around his room. Thoughts of sneaking into the ‘Mother Tree’ tempted him.

‘Why is this Divine Emperor so elusive? If I were the Divine Emperor, I’d get rid of these stupid rules.’ He inwardly grumbled before sighing.

‘The only method is Energy Manipulation. Although I can’t absorb energy, there is some energy present in my meridians. If I can somehow manipulate this energy, maybe it would be enough to lift 200kg.’ Ren pursed his lips. Even he felt a little skeptical of this path.

‘Stop doubting! There’s no other method. Physical Arts, Magic Arts, Bloodline Skills and Honing. Too many options but none of them work. How unfortunate... I’ll ask Sis Lena.’

He glanced out the window and noticed that the sun had almost touched the ground.

“It’s already dusk?! Ha… I’ll ask her tomorrow.” He laid on his bed and slept.

A few minutes later, his eyelids moved. A pair of blue eyes revealed themselves in the darkening night. Azen hesitated before returning to sleep. He chose to wait until midnight.

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Lena entered the room. Seeing the sleeping Azen, she sighed and exited. Soon, she returned with some food. Placing it on the table, she whispered.

“Ren… please don’t overwork yourself.”

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Midnight!

Azen’s hunt continued. He dove deeper into the forest and found his target… a pile of bushes and rocks. The cloud of darkness silently removed the obstruction, revealing an opening to a hidden cave.

Grinning, he dove into the cave.

A few minutes later, darkness slipped out of the cave. It disappeared into the forest, searching for its next nest of prey.

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“Arre they herre?” A white-armored lion asked.

“Yes. They must be… There! That cave. That's their hideout.” A silver-haired cat-woman replied.

The lion stared at the open hole and growled.

“What injustice do they plan to perrform in the open? Investigate!”

“Yes, Leader.” The cat-woman rushed into the cave. She returned after a while, frowning.

“It’s definitely a habitation but there’s no one here.”

“Evil has fled frrom Justice. Go! Justice cannot wait!” The lion laughed.

“Understood!” The cat-woman replied before sinking into the darkness. However, she couldn’t help but think back to the weird sight within the cave. She found cooked food, weapons, and other supplies. However, the disappearance of the enemy felt eerie. Why would they leave without taking any of their belongings?

The peculiar duo traveled across the forest, searching for enemy hideouts. However, with a few exceptions, most of the hideouts were empty, ‘abandoned’ without any proper reason.

As the night grew darker, the search of the duo led them to the 5th hideout. Out of the previous 4 caves, only one had enemy mercenaries. Those unfortunate mercenaries, who escaped Azen’s hands couldn’t escape the duo's wrath.

Nevertheless, the mostly empty hideouts evoked the suspicion of the lion.

“Is this the last one?”

“Yes, Leader.” The cat-woman studied the open entrance. She sighed and felt like this cave would be empty as well.

“Go!”

With silent steps, the cat-woman entered the damp cave. A thick muddy smell blocked her acute sense of smell. Like usual, this cave was silent. She shook her head and prepared to delve deeper into the cave. However, she noticed something and stopped.

‘Huh? A body!’ Alert, she hid beside a rock. Her lungs slowly stopped moving and her body stopped exuding any odor. Although the muddy smell prevented one from detecting her scent, she did not wish to take a risk. Soon, her existence nearly faded away. If one didn’t look carefully, they wouldn’t notice her presence.

With her black pupils fixed on the ‘corpse’, she waited. Noticing a bleeding neck, she wondered if it was alive. Remembering the previous hideouts, she guessed that someone would dispose of the corpse. Only this could explain their abnormal night.

Loyal to her expectation, her target arrived. A cloud of darkness drifted through the cave. It covered the corpse. A few seconds later, it departed, leaving behind ashes that slowly crumbled into dust.

The cat-woman's heart shook at this scene. Without hesitation, she jumped out of hiding.

[“Edahi Arts: Cage of Hell!”] She touched the walls of the caves.

Ssss! The walls melted and transformed into boiling lava. The weird phenomenon instantly spread throughout the cave, turning it into a literal cage of lava.

The lava dripped down the exit of the cave, blocking Azen within the cage.

Confined, the cloud of darkness floated in mid-air, incapable of touching the bubbling lava.

“Give up! You can’t escape! Who are you?”

Azen didn’t reply. He fired a ball of darkness at the exit of the cave.

Tsss!

The ball failed to penetrate the wall of lava. It disintegrated after merely creating a small crater.

‘I’m trapped…’ Azen’s face turned grave. His eyebrows creased as he caught a glimpse at his attacker's face.

'It's her?'