Elliris stepped into the white vortex, feeling as if she had been transported to a strange realm that did not exist in the mortal world.
Mist surrounded her on all sides, and before her lay a single, wide stone path leading toward her destination.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, she finally saw the end of the straight stone road.
“That is…” Elliris looked at the scene before her in surprise. It was an otherworldly coliseum.
The main structure of the arena was largely constructed from white jade star-veined marble. It featured three layers of staggered arcades, and every archway was engraved with faded magical runes.
Stepping inside cautiously, Elliris looked up at the sky, which was still obscured by an endless mist.
The spectator seats of the coliseum were empty. The main podium in the center was covered by some sort of field that blocked her vision, leaving Elliris unsure if anyone was watching.
She looked at the sandy ground in the center, where charred magical furrows intersected with the claw marks of some unknown giant beast. These were likely marks left behind after a fierce battle.
Elliris could not help but swallow hard as she began to guard her surroundings.
‘At this point, I should put up some buffs first!’
**[Holy Prayer: Shield]**, **[Holy Prayer: Fortitude]**, and **[Holy Spirit Armor]**!
When in doubt, stack buffs; it was the basic survival instinct of a priest before a battle.
A moment later, the magic circles at the edge of the arena suddenly reacted. An ominous, dark aura gradually released from the complex rune formations below.
***
“The dangers appearing in the secret realm of the Sela Temple are related to your future destiny and are tied to your strength. The opponents you will encounter here are the enemies fought by the ancestors of the Omnia God Race, and there are various uncertainties here.”
“Remember what I told you, my daughter. You must be extremely cautious within the secret realm.”
“I am sorry, Elliris, but this is all the guidance of fate. What I can tell you is that this is different from the trial of the Frost Phoenix that Nino encountered. Entering the Sela Temple’s secret realm definitely carries a risk to your life…”
‘Remember.’
These were all the instructions her mother, Felicitala, had given her recently. Her mother had emphasized them again and again, fearing she would forget.
Thinking of her mother’s description of the God Race’s secret realm, Elliris considered another matter.
Her mother had previously mentioned that after passing the trial of the Sela Temple, she would have many opportunities to meet the Goddess.
She placed a hand over her chest, her heart growing anxious despite herself. It was not just about how she should face a deity she had never met, but also her doubts about whether the people outside the secret realm could defeat the Knight Princess.
Elliris took a deep breath. At this moment, it was impossible not to feel nervous.
But beyond the nervousness, there was a growing thirst for strength—or perhaps an indescribable excitement.
‘Could it be that I have realized a battle intent similar to Sophia’s?’ In the past, even if she made extensive combat plans, she only treated them as urgent troubles that needed to be handled, facing them with a passive and reluctant attitude.
She truly did not understand now whether it was he who had changed Elliris, or if Ai Lei had changed her.
Regardless, all the confusion and fear in her heart had vanished along with the mists of the secret realm.
—
Back in the arena, after the light from the magic circles faded, groups of Skeleton Soldiers and small Liches appeared.
‘Is it really like this? It seems that if I want to overthrow the Pope later, dealing with these annoying creatures will be unavoidable.’
The lifeless undead minions marched slowly toward Elliris.
Facing the scene before her, Elliris quickly recovered her composure and reacted swiftly.
**[Flame Burst Bomb]**!
She knew that a small Fireball spell would not be able to deal enough damage to a group of enemies. After a moment of thought, she chose this mid-tier fire magic. Its area of effect was suitable to cover the entire group of undead.
She raised her staff, and the temperature in her right palm rose sharply. A medium-sized sphere of compressed magical flame condensed in front of her before she immediately released it.
The small Liches had just begun their magical chanting, but under Elliris’s **[Incantation Acceleration]**, the **[Flame Burst Bomb]** took effect in only half the usual time. They were simply too slow!
A large number of “roasted bones” were ignited. The heat gathered along with the mana pressure at the center of the **[Flame Burst Bomb]**, and once triggered by Elliris’s magical command, it instantly exploded into a massive sea of fire.
Elliris’s research into fire magic was constantly improving. Using a mid-tier fire spell like **[Flame Burst Bomb]**, the power could now match her previous high-tier spell, **[Inferno Nova]**.
Seeing the large number of undead minions cleared in a single strike, Elliris puffed out her petite chest with pride.
“Weak! You’re not enough of a challenge at all—” But before she could finish, she swallowed the rest of her words. At a time like this, she had to avoid setting flags as much as possible.
A new hexagram magic circle appeared ahead. What would strike this time?
A blue light flashed with a piercing chill, and a Frost Troll Warlord appeared in the center of the coliseum.
It seemed the previous minions were just an appetizer. The second trial brought a boss-level monster.
‘Did the ancestors fight this guy before? I feel like the difficulty has jumped several levels starting from this second stage.’
Before Elliris could even complain, the Frost Troll Warlord let out an earth-shattering roar infused with a fear effect, causing her to freeze in place.
‘Oh no!’
Elliris fell into a crowd-control state, and she did not even have time to perform her usual pre-battle analysis with her Appraisal Eye.
The troll naturally would not miss this opportunity, swinging the bone mace in its hand as it lunged toward her.
Elliris forced her will to move, then activated her Divine Mark, casting **[Light Binding]** at maximum speed.
The absolute mechanism of **[Light Binding]** meant that any target at a lower level than Elliris would be forcibly suppressed and bound, unable to break free on their own. It was undoubtedly the best choice for the current situation.
“Sebrine… Dark Gate… Protection… All a joke!”
The troll commander, whom Elliris did not know at all, let out a low, raspy growl from his throat while immobilized, but his words revealed information he knew.
“Dark Gate? Sebrine! May I ask who you are…”
Before she could finish her question, the Frost Troll Warlord’s dominant weapon-hand had not been fully suppressed due to Elliris’s haste, allowing him to still move.
He slammed his bone mace onto the ground, and over a dozen sharp ice spikes instantly rose from beneath the sand of the arena. He had activated his frost magic.
“You are… an Omnia God! Unforgivable!”
Due to her low Agility stat, Elliris had no way to dodge this sudden attack. She could only choose to tank the ice spikes using her shield and defensive buffs.
She tried her best to dodge, but the shield around her body developed severe cracks—evidence that Elliris’s **[Holy Prayer: Shield]** was being depleted.
‘Tsk, this guy is really troublesome!’
**[Elliris, HP: 3850/3850, MP: 8915/10145 (Shield Value: 275/1116)]**
“I don’t know how I offended you, Mr. Troll, but I’m certain my ancestors must have given you a harsh lesson given that temper of yours. In other words, you’re already dead, so stop being a nuisance.”
Elliris spoke with a resentful glare. She did not know what grudge her ancestors held against him, but at this moment, she had to keep fighting and moving forward. She was still concerned about the current situation of Nino, Catherine, and the others outside the secret realm.
“Please stop with those bitter words, Mr. Troll. I came here for one purpose: to pass the trial. Beyond this place, there are many important people waiting for me.”
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