Chapter 80: The First Trial Concludes

As the Bone Dragon fell deep within the forest, a dazzling white light erupted, so bright that everyone shielded their eyes.

“Where is this…” After a wave of dizziness, Veronica looked around and realized they had already emerged from the palace.

Yet she was certain the palace itself was far from ordinary.

Turning back, she saw it still stood intact exactly where it had been before.

“Hmm.”

Iana, her eyes tightly shut, murmured softly in a troubled voice.

Her face was pale, brows furrowed deeply as if trapped in a nightmare.

Thanks to Veronica’s treatment, Iana’s condition had stabilized.

At least for now, she wouldn’t die unless she suffered more severe injuries.

“Is… is Iana going to be alright?”

Without Veronica noticing when, Lillian had already appeared behind her, peering anxiously at Iana.

Her eyes were filled with worry, as if afraid Iana might never wake up.

Veronica hadn’t expected Lillian to regain consciousness so quickly.

She didn’t answer Lillian’s question immediately.

Instead, she asked first, “How are you feeling? Do you need me to heal you?”

Lillian shook her head, “I… I’m just exhausted. It’s… nothing serious.”

“Iana isn’t in bad shape either. Since you’re awake, I’ll go find my teammates now.”

All the points from the Bone Dragon had been claimed by Lillian.

Veronica didn’t know the exact number, but it had to be substantial.

“Alright.” Lillian nodded.

As Veronica left, she glanced back at Iana and Lillian once more.

For some reason, a hollow feeling gnawed at her chest, like she hadn’t eaten in days.

The sensation was deeply uncomfortable.

“Where am I? Is this heaven?”

Iana mumbled softly, staring up at the blue sky after waking.

“Hea… heaven? What is that?”

“How did we end up in heaven? And that voice… Is that Lillian? Could she have come here too?” Still groggy, Iana had no clear understanding of her situation.

“I… I don’t know what you mean by ‘heaven,’ Iana. I just know we’re out now.”

“Out… out?”

Coming to her senses a bit, Iana asked Lillian in disbelief.

She had no idea how they had defeated the Bone Dragon.

“There seem to be two people over there. Boss, should we go ask them?” a male voice called from a distance, dripping with flattery.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Iana knew exactly who “boss” referred to—it was Kars, the one who had been trailing Princess Sophia earlier.

When Kars approached and caught sight of Iana and Lillian, a pleased thought crossed his mind: Oh, two beauties after all.

He put on a show of sophistication, giving an exaggerated noble bow.

“May I ask, ladies, have you seen a man pass by here?”

“He has short black hair, nothing remarkable in appearance. Oh, and I think his name is Ian.”

Squinting at Kars and his companions, Iana wondered if they had come to seek revenge on her.

She knew Kars had always looked down on her when they were near Sophia.

But she hadn’t expected him to chase after her for retribution.

Seeing Kars’s self-styled gentlemanly demeanor sparked a mischievous idea in Iana’s mind.

“I know the man you’re talking about.”

Kars beamed with joy.

He had been searching for Ian’s whereabouts for days with no luck—as if Ian had vanished from the world entirely.

Iana pointed toward the palace behind them.

“He’s inside that palace.”

“Thank you.” Without any suspicion, Kars and his men strode toward the palace.

Lillian looked on, confused. “Is this… really a good idea?”

That palace was dangerous; all three of them had nearly died inside.

No, if it weren’t for Elia’s support, they would have perished there.

“Don’t worry. This is just a lesson for them.” Iana stretched her body and took a moment’s rest.

Then, scanning her surroundings, she asked, “Where’s Veronica?”

“She left first, said she was going to find her teammates.”

“What day is it today?” Iana asked Lillian.

She had spent several days in the desert and then been trapped in the palace for days more.

It felt like the first trial of the Holy Trial was nearing its end.

“It’s the ninth day.” Lillian thought for a moment before answering.

“Ninth day… that means today is the last day, right?”

If Iana remembered correctly, the first Holy Trial lasted only ten days.

“Looks like we won’t be able to reunite with them,” Iana said, pulling out a map.

She saw that Yiserin and her group were still far away—there was no way to catch up within a day.

“Let’s hunt some demons today and rack up some points.” Iana took a few steps, but her body felt weak; even a few steps caused her excruciating pain, as if falling into an abyss.

“M-maybe we should just rest here for the night.” Lillian urged gently.

“I… I earned a thousand points for killing the Bone Dragon. We don’t need to rush for more points right now.”

“???”

Iana was surprised it was Lillian who had slain the Bone Dragon and earned a thousand points.

If that was the case, hunting demons wasn’t necessary.

One day passed.

Iana and Lillian found a comfortable spot to lie down and quietly waited for the first trial of the Holy Trial to end.

After all, they didn’t intend to compete for first place—second place was good enough.

***

At noon the next day, everyone inside the Secret Realm felt a wave of dizziness again.

“Not this feeling again.” Iana had lost count of how many times she had experienced this dizzy spell.

In the blink of an eye, she and Lillian appeared on the plaza of Saint Roland Magic Academy.

Dean Isabella stood on the raised platform, smiling warmly at everyone.

“Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the first Holy Trial,” her voice gentle yet filled with authority, echoing across the plaza.

“Now, I will announce the points rankings of each team.”

“The team ranked first is led by Ethelrina, earning 8,432 points.”

“Second place goes to Ian’s team, with 3,471 points.”

“Third place is Beiqi’s team, earning 3,346 points.”

“Fourth place…”

Let us give a round of applause to all the teams who have qualified for the second Holy Trial.

At the same time, representatives from the top three teams are requested to come on stage to receive their awards.