Chapter 525: Where Did They Go?

Julius opened his eyes to see a massive forest of astounding beauty. It was so vibrant and colorful. A stark contrast to the dark and empty void he had been in just moments ago.

He noticed right away how much life mana was in the air. It was absolutely throbbing with life mana. Each plant and tree was releasing so much life mana, he thought he might drown from the sheer amount of it.

Another thing he noticed was how good it smelled. It wasn’t just the smell of flowers, but there was this very distinct musk that was pleasant on the nose. It reminded him of warm sandalwood and cinnamon.

He closed his eyes to breathe it in and smiled as he relaxed.

Too bad it didn’t last for very long.

“Of course, I would get stuck with the masochist,” an annoyed voice spoke out.

Julius recognized that voice. It was the same one he heard from the mountain cave. It was the same one who had slammed him into the ground. He looked up excitedly. He hoped to get the chance to meet them again.

“Oh! Mr. Spirit!” Julius said with a bright smile, looking around, searching for the voice.

“I told you that my name isn’t Mr. Spirit.” The voice didn’t even sound annoyed at Julius anymore, merely resigned.

“Oh yeah, Kaelther mentioned that your name was Terradon or something, right?”

He heard the voice sigh loudly. “Of course he did, stupid bastard.”

Before Julius asked any questions, he bowed deeply. He didn’t know where the voice was, so he just bowed toward the largest tree off in the distance.

“I wanted to apologize once again for my impudent behaviour,” he said, with as much sincerity as he could manage.

He heard the voice sigh again. “I told you not to worry about it.”

Julius picked his head up and smiled. He always knew this individual was a big softy.

“So what does this mean for me? Are you the person who is managing my trial?”

“Yes, for the time being, I will be the one who proctors your trial since you chose this particular path,” Terradon said.

Julius chewed on his lip and looked around. “Um, no offense, but I didn’t think you would be the one who proctored the Life Path Trial.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I thought you were some kind of earth spirit. So it wouldn’t make sense.”

“Just because I can use earth magic doesn’t mean I can’t use life magic. Look at yourself, you can use several other affinities, not just your life affinity,” Terradon pointed out.

“Touche,” Julius admitted before frowning. “So what is this trial I will be taking?”

Julius didn’t get a response right away, but instead felt a gathering of energy in front of him. He squinted at this collection of energy with a curious eye. Then a light bloomed, blinding him briefly. Then suddenly he was standing in front of a man. The man wasn’t what Julius had been expecting to see.

Based on the voice, Julius had been expecting someone who looked a bit more… distinguished, or old if he was being more blunt. The voice sounded gravely and deep, not something he would associate with the young boy in front of him.

He looked like he couldn’t have been much older than Julius. Although Julius suspected this definitely wasn’t the case. For all he knew, Terradon was a thousand years old.

Okay, maybe not that old, but still. It was hard to tell.

“This is what you look like?” Julius muttered.

“What? You got a problem with that?” Terradon asked testily.

“No, no. You look exactly how you sound,” Julius lied with a wide smile.

“Hmph.”

Julius continued on smiling as he observed Terradon. The man, or rather boy, was young as stated before, and he also had some of the softest-looking chestnut hair Julius had ever seen. It looked like the perfect nesting spot for some birds.

However, what really stood out were the set of antlers on his head. Or Julius thought they were antlers. They were essentially small, little horns with several jutting branches. They were adorable, and Julius wanted to touch them.

Unfortunately, he didn’t think Terradon would appreciate that very much. He might have looked adorable, but it was apparent that on the inside, he was more like Dante than a young boy.

“Umm, so the trial?” Julius asked again, trying to shift his focus away from the cute horns.

“The trial has already been created for you,” Terradon said with a frown. It was like he knew that Julius was staring at his horns and wanted to say something.

“Did you create the trial?”

Terradon scoffed. “Of course not. If I did, I would have made it as hard as possible so you would fail, you masochist.”

Julius gasped dramatically and clenched his chest. “What? I thought you said you forgave me before?”

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it’s taken without the author’s consent. Report it.

Terradon crossed his arms and tapped his forearms. “I said that it was fine, but I didn’t say that I forgave you.”

Julius looked away. “Has anyone said you hold grudges?” He grumbled quietly.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“So are you supposed to tell me about the trial?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah, and if you stop looking at my antlers, I will tell you,” Terradon said with a frown.

Julius hadn’t realized he had been staring again. “Sorry,” he said, not feeling sorry at all.

“The trial is a simple one. I’m guessing it was created for you, taking into account your simple and masochistic nature.”

Julius stuck his tongue out. “Rude.”