The day moved by quickly.

The time spent in Main City was an eventful one, filled with sightseeing and shopping.

Pim was nibbling on a piece of cured meat, while Polka stood nearby, her shoulders slumped, her dreams of buying a nice dress cut short due to their steep prices.

Raff stood near a series of stone steps leading to the church's headquarters. He had little need to spend any of his money. He was looking at his watch, waiting for the other's to congregate, so they might ascend the steps.

Next to Raff, Brit was frowning.

She had spent the day casually browsing the items of the vendors.

Though she wasn't disinterested in buying something from the vendors, she had resolved to give up her material life and devote herself fully as a disciple of the church.

With four of the five people gathered it meant that they were now just missing one person.

"What is that man taking so long for? He's stopped in front of every vendor so far; it's like he's addicted to spending money," Raff said, sounding annoyed.

Ged, meanwhile, was negotiating with a vendor a small distance away. A small mountain of trinkets was stacked on the table in front of him. Having spent most of the money his parents had given him, his bag, which once held only his essentials, was now overflowing with odds and ends—many items Ged would have a hard time justifying as to why he purchased them.

Once Ged started buying, he couldn't seem to stop himself, and now he was down to his final 5 silver coins.

"7 silver, and I won't go any lower," the seller said, his expression firm.

Ged was not one to back down from a challenge, and he was determined to purchase everything on the table. He decided to negotiate with the vendor to have him lower his price.

"Please, seller, would you make an exception for me? I only have five silver left to spend."

Unfortunately, Ged's lack of skill in bartering had cost him more money throughout the day than it saved.

The vendor sighed pitifully. "Take away two items, and I'll sell the rest for five."

Ged made a pained face as he looked at the heap of trinkets.

Unable to decide what to put back, he glanced at the seller, hoping for a change of heart. But it soon became clear that he had failed in his negotiation. Forced to downsize his hoard of goods, he took a deep breath and steadied his mind, preparing himself for a difficult decision.

Raff's patience had reached its boiling point. He turned to Brit. "We'll be here all day waiting for Ged. Brit, can you go tell him we are leaving?"

Brit frowned, "why can't you go?"

Raff had a strange expression on his face.

"I've already told him off twice today. The guy is beyond my control; he won't leave a shop without buying something."

"I used to wonder how street vendors made a profit in this city, but after meeting Ged my mind has been opened. I'm now inspired to open a shop myself," Raff joked.

"I'm thinking a woman's touch is needed to get him moving. Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll never make it to the trial on time," Raff said, shaking his head.

Brit was unconvinced but decided to comply with Raff's wishes anyway. Wanting to ascend the steps as soon as possible, she walked over to check on Ged and see what was taking him so long.

Ged was holding a poorly carved wooden frog in his hands. "Put back this wooden frog?" he sighed, ready to give the frog back to the vendor. "No, that's not possible." Ged retracted his hand, gently placing the frog back onto the table with the rest of his things.

He stared at the mountain of trinkets, deep in thought.

Brit was now a few meters away, approaching Ged, eyeing the table of trinkets with a frown on her face.

She spoke sternly, "Ged, we're supposed to arrive at the church soon. We're ready to leave. If you don't come now, we'll have to leave you behind."

Startled by Brit's voice, Ged realized what she was here for. "I'm leaving now. I just need to finish this," he said, hurriedly deciding which items to remove.

As Brit examined the items Ged was buying, she was appalled to find they were all junk. "What the hell are you trying to buy?" she exclaimed, picking up a cracked bowl.

Ged smiled, trying to explain himself. "That bowl needs some work, but it's made from high-quality clay."

"It's cracked. What use is a bowl that can't hold water?" she retorted.

A bit of panic came to Ged's face, before the grassy green hill calmed him down.

"It may be broken now, but I plan on fixing it up later," Ged tried to explain himself.

Brit sighed, not saying anything further, she picked up a cloth bag from the table. "What's this then?"

Ged felt threatened by Brit scrutinizing his purchases, constantly the green grassy hill was flashing in his mind. "Those are Moonshade Orchid seeds. They're beautiful flowers that bloom only in the evening. My mother had them in her garden. They're a sight to see."

"What, are you planning on becoming a gardener? Ged, we're going to be late for our trial. Stop with this nonsense and let's leave," she said, her voice carrying a hint of impatience.

Her words were like cold water poured over his head. The stress of the decision, coupled with Brit's harsh truth, caused the green grassy hill to stay fixed in his mind.

Brit, in the meantime, had put down the bag of seeds and was now holding the wooden frog in her hand. A deep, judging look appeared on her face as she opened her mouth to criticize his next item.

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"Ged..."

"No!"

Ged couldn't take it anymore. "I can't put back the frog. I'm not willing." He snatched the wooden frog from Brit's hands as if it were some precious treasure.

Brit gave Ged a surprised but pitiful look.

Taking out his last five silver coins, Ged handed them over to the vendor. "Sir, I've made my decision. The seeds and the bowl can go back. I'll take the rest."

He quickly gathered the remaining items and stuffed them into his bag, wary of Brit's further judgment.

The vendor smiled, thanked him for his purchases, and led them to the exit.

"Alright, we can leave now," Ged said, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

Brit sighed, refraining from speaking her mind. The two walked away from the vendor, heading back to the others.

Ged had fully recovered from their earlier debacle, and a stupid smile was once again on his face.

"Hey, Brit. I wanted to thank you for sticking with me these last couple of days."

He fumbled with his bag and pulled out a necklace with a ruby-like stone tied with string.

"I got this for you," Ged continued, holding out the necklace for Brit to take.

Brit looked blankly at the necklace in his hand. Had it been displayed on a store shelf, she wouldn't have given it a second look, but since it was given to her personally, she found it hard to look away.

She wanted to decline the gift, sticking to her oath not to become attached to material things, but looking at Ged's innocent smiling face made her unable to refuse.

After a moment of hesitation, she took the necklace from Ged and fastened it around her neck. The string, with its thin, rough quality, caused her neck to itch, and she constantly adjusted it to ease the discomfort.

"It looks great on you. It matches your hair perfectly," Ged complimented.

Suddenly, the necklace felt just right, and she stopped adjusting it. A warm smile appeared on her face.

She was about to reply with words of thanks when she noticed three shadows approaching them.

Raff, Polka, and Pim had finally noticed Brit and Ged's "special moment" and were now on their way over with mischievous looks in their eyes.

"Earlier, I didn't understand why you were spending so much money on those trinkets. Turns out, you were using it as a trick to flirt with women," Raff said teasingly, chuckling as he spoke.

"Color me impressed, Ged. Didn't realize you even had thoughts of such things."

Brit, feeling embarrassed, harshly replied, "Screw off, Raff! No one's flirting with anybody."

Ged remained smiling, it was as if he was oblivious to Raff's words. He reached into his bag and pulled out more items.

"I also bought some gifts for you guys," Ged said, smiling innocently. "I've enjoyed traveling with you these past few days. I saw these and thought you'd like them."

He handed Raff a pair of wooden cufflinks. Raff looked at the cufflinks with a suspicious look. "This kid is too naïve for his own good, giving cheap, ugly gifts to strangers he met only two days ago," he thought. Despite his thoughts, Raff didn't openly mock Ged.

Next, he handed a scroll to Pim. Pim looked at the title of the scroll with great interest.

"A chocolate cake recipe!" he exclaimed.

Pim began reading the cake recipe as if it were ancient scripture and gave Ged a thumbs-up. "Thank you, Ged. When I bake this recipe, I'll make sure to save a slice for you." His pudgy face glowed with excitement.

Finally, Ged turned to Polka and handed her a thick green bracelet designed with white flowers.

Polka struggled to keep the bracelet on her wrist since it was a bit too large, but she still treasured its design. "Thank you, Ged," she said, her face turning slightly red.

"Let's go and see what this church is all about," Ged said, leading the charge. He was the first to climb the steps to the church headquarters.

The stairs were crowded with similarly aged young adults, on their way up the stairs in a hurry. As midday approached, Ged and his friends were still making haste up the steps.

They were now halfway up the stairs. Ged could see the outline of the walls of the Church of Mount Existence's golden megachurch.

He gazed on in awe and anticipation as his feet raced, climbing two steps with every stride.

"We need to hurry," Raff urged. "We are going to be late."

The five of them increased their speed, but as they scaled the remaining steps, the group began to split. Brit, Raff, and Ged now led the front, with Pim and Polka near the rear.

Ged was the first to reach the top of the stairs. In front of him was a stone walkway lined with golden pillars, leading to an unfathomably large golden structure. In front of the entrance, a group of people were entering through the doors. Ged couldn't help but crane his neck in awe of the church's majesty.

Raff and Brit were next to reach the top. They took some time to catch their breath. Ged looked at his exhausted friends, then went to check on Pim and Polka to see how far they had left to go.

Forty steps down, Ged saw Polka struggling as she climbed one step at a time. Even further down, he saw Pim.

Poor Pim looked as if he had just emerged from the ocean, sweating profusely. He had stopped to rest on a set of stairs, taking out a flask of water to rehydrate.

Seeing this, Ged decided to descend the steps to help his two struggling friends.

"Ged, just leave them. It's their fault if they show up late," Raff tried to stop Ged. "If you aren't careful, you'll miss the entrance into the trial."

"I'll meet you two inside," Ged said confidently, hurrying down the steps.

Raff looked at Brit helplessly, and the two of them left Ged to enter inside first.

Pim struggled to catch his breath, his legs wobbling from the exertion. "Pim, we have to keep moving. You can rest when we reach the top," Polka, ten steps ahead, yelled down to him.

Pim heaved large breaths, unable to respond.

"Pim, Polka!" Ged was running down the steps, trying to get the two's attention. "Are you two alright?"

Polka looked up at Ged with a tired smile. "We're alright, Ged. Silly, you didn't need to check on us."

"I was worried, I just wanted to make sure all five of us made it to the trial on time," Ged replied.

"Ged, I don't think I can make it," Pim finally piped up. "I'm not sure if I'm cut out for the trial," he said, hanging his head. "I'm not even fit enough to climb a set of stairs."

"Pim, don't say such things. The church isn't testing us based on our fitness. It doesn't matter whether you can easily climb stairs. As long as we arrive on time and do our best, I'm sure we will all be accepted," Ged replied, making his way to Pim's side to help him off the ground.

"Come, let's make it to the trial. I want to make sure none of us give up," Ged smiled.

"Raff said that this trial is nothing but a trial of faith. As long as we believe we can succeed, then all of us will be able to succeed together."

Through Ged's motivating words, Pim found new energy, and the three of them pressed on through exhaustion.

After a few minutes, only a few meters lay between them and the top of the stairs.

Pim felt soreness all over his body, gasping for breath with every step he took. But he didn't give up; he had it written on his soul that he would push through and become a disciple.

Ged, Pim, and Polka made it to the top, with Pim and Polka collapsing onto the floor, desperate to catch their breath.

"I can walk from here," Pim said, still catching his breath. He looked at Ged, a twinkle of gratitude in his eye.

After a brief rest, the three walked the stone path to the entrance of the church. It had just turned midday, and the front entrance, once busy with people, was now nearly empty, with all the other disciples already inside.

The door was unusual; it was pitch black and rippled as if made of water.

At the entrance stood three guards wearing cloth masks that hid their faces. Seeing Ged, Pim, and Polka approaching, one guard called out, "Prepare to show your acceptance scrolls."

The three stopped in place, each rummaging through their bags for their scrolls.

Pulling out three gold-tipped scrolls, they watched in awe as the scrolls lifted from their hands, hovering toward the guards.

Ged stared, captivated by the magical display. He recalled the rumors about the church and its fire-breathing priests, swallowing hard.

"The rumors are true," he thought.

The scrolls unfurled in front of the guards and burst into flames.

"Welcome to the Church of Mount Existence, new disciples," the guard announced, embers still flickering in air as he spoke.

Ged stood silent, still transfixed by the magic that had just unfolded.

"Please be aware, we do not allow bags inside the holy church. Let us take care of your belongings so you may quickly proceed, as your trials will start shortly," the guard instructed, holding out his hand towards Ged.

Snapping back to reality, Ged loosened his bag from his shoulder and handed it over. He glanced one last time towards Pim and Polka who were doing the same before quickly stepping inside.