In front of her was an expansive stretch of land that seemed to go on forever. It wasn't just her as similar people's stood all around her, eager to get the show on the road.
Vivienne's eyes shifted all over the scene as her eyes finally landed on Tavian and a strange individual that stood not far from him. It was clear that he wasn't a simpler person.
Given that she lacked a tier mana disc core, she couldn't tell what tier he was ok but seeing how wary how most people were around him, it was safe to say that it wasn't low.
A disadvantage that she had which could prove a problem and an advantage for her. Given that she couldn't determine the tier of an individual or a beast, she couldn't feel whether it posed a threat to her thus their presence didn't affect her the same way it did for regular mortals.
And with it show could engage herself in more adventurous and ballsy moves which the others couldn't.
"I know that most of you are wondering who the person behind me is thus I'll give him a chance to introduce himself." Tavian spoke up as he stepped down.
The individual was sharply dressed, a cold and apathetic air around him as his eyes surveyed the crowd in front of him. His eyes rested on three particular individuals briefly before he spoke up.
"I am aware that none of you are aware of who I am thus I'll introduce myself. My name is Erevan and I'm as you probably have guessed it a representative from the capital Ashendelle."
His tone was cold and precise as he went on. "As for the Matoreas test, I hope that you all give it your all. However we will have to make an adjustment for this year."
"Oh?" It was a common response that could be heard reverberating through the air. "There has been a sighting of strange creatures within the woods this all of you will be required to travel in at least groups with party members of two."
'So that's it, Tavian.' Vivienne mused as she already knew she was going to pair herself with. "However, should you be potent enough, you will be required to pair with someone who is of a lower caliber than you."
"Any death major injury resulted from this will result in deduction of points which brings me to the point awardation."
He gestured his hand behind him and to which as on cue, a wooden board was presented to them all.
It had all the details of the amount of points one would require to qualify in order to proceed for those in the top five and for those who hadn't, the amount required to make themselves be able to earn a spot in the top five.
[{The duration of the Matoreas is three days}]
[{A tier one beast will be awarded ten points, any deviations of one will be fifteen points}]
[{A tier two beast will be awarded fifty points, any deviations of one will be sixty points}]
[{A tier three beast will be awarded a hundred points, any deviations of one will be a hundred and ten points}]
[{A tier four beast will be awarded two hundred points, any deviations of one will be two hundred and thirty points}]
[{Deviations of such creatures include perchance having an element in them. For corrupted beasts will be double their point awardation of their regular counterpart}]
[{For those wishing to qualify to move onto the second half of the Sphinx trials, one will be required to get at least the same with the one they would wish to exchange with in terms of position on the ranking}]
[{As for this in the top five, you will he required a minimum of five hundred points to proceed. Failure with this and your position will remain empty or replaced with another contestant who qualifies.}]
Julian knew that he had to work hard in order to avoid such an outcome.
Sure he was on the fourth position, right below Lirale however seeing that the person behind him was a tier three on the fifth array, there was no room for comfort.
He glanced around and set his eyes on his sister. They had been hunting in the wild this their teamwork could be above those around them. "Do you want to finish this?" He asked with a smile.
"Sure but considering that you were able to rank fourth means that you have the tools to fend for yourself. Consider this an internal strife between us. The moment we are out there, we each take our separate ways."
"...If you say so." Julian could only agree, seemingly dejected however beneath that facade was a smile. He had some cards that he could afford to play in front of anyone else yet thus such an outcome was suitable for him.
As for breaching the requirements thing, they only needed a suitable excuse and out in the wild, there was plenty of options for them to pick.
Erevan glanced at Vivienne and Julian who were making their way towards the forest behind them before their figures disappeared, some of the first to go in before they were followed but the rest.
Thirty minutes later, the once populated ground was empty of any participants. Erevan and Tavian had already made their towards Tavian's home, seated in a garden enjoying the beautiful landscape of the garden.
'To think that an actual rampaging beast would emerge is fortuitous.' Tavian gleamed a smile as he took a light sip of his tea. "So who do you think will win the Matoreas test?"
He was met with a question from Erevan. "Clearly my son however that Vivienne could pose a problem but nothing to worry myself over." Erevan narrowed his eyes looking at Tavian.
"It would be most impressive if Vivienne is able to make the required mark to qualify. Given that she lacks a mana disc core, I wonder how she's able to manipulate her talent."
"I still haven't been able to decipher that riddle as well." Tavian added as he read Erevan's expressions. He was still cold however judging by his tone, he could tell that he had set his sights on Vivienne.
"Such a bizzare person could definitely rouse interest within the capital..." He mused as he clutched his head, as if agreeing to someone who wasn't there. 'Does this mean that she'll be classified as an exception and pass automatically?'
Tavian couldn't help but think of this. Other than the gruesome task of going through the Sphin and Matoreas tests, if one was considered an exception by the representative, then they would simply cut to the end and have a meeting with the queen.
However such a person was rare and only a three ever actually gaining such a privilege. It could be considered a cheat to most not to mention the privileged individual could ask anything from the queen.
"But we can only wait." Erevan posed out of the blue as if coming back from a thought that took him hours to get through.
...
"Argh!!" The sounds of a monster could be heard coming to its end. It was a tier two beast however the victimizers didn't seem all that invested in it.
"This is where we part ways, brother." Vivienne mused as she turned around, ready to leave. "The best of luck, Vivienne." Julian said as he saw Vivienne's figure dissipating into the unknown of the forest.
"As well, brother." And with that her figure disappeared leaving Julian with the tier two beast. It was a stray dog however nothing too special about it. It lacked any deviations on it thus he felt that it was beneath him.
...Four hours later...
*Isilindil's perspective*
"Here, a tier three deviant beast." A member from his party pointed out as he presented a mana disc core of the creature to Isilindil to which he carefully tucked away.
'So that's how my father went about it, hiring mercenaries to pose as contestants and do the dirty work for me. At this rate I'll be over the limit in two hours.'
A devilish smile flashed on his face as he recalled how many points he now had. 'A deviant tier three and four regular tier two beasts landing me with three hundred and ten points.'
'The deeper we delve, the stronger the monsters will be thus the rate of progression can only increase from here.' He mused as he looked at the forest in front of him.
Some of the "contestants" that went along with it also nabbed some tier mana disc cores however nothing too significant to pose a threat to Isilindil but also nothing too mediocre to make the gap questionable.
"I sense another beast deeper into the forest, a tier three beast no doubt." One of them commented and the party of three charged deeper. 'I wonder how much Vivienne has at this point?'
A fleeting thought ran through his head before resuming to the task at hand.
*Vivienne's perspective*
'Four hundred points.' Despite her staggering amount of points, she didn't seem pleased with herself as she looked at the forest in front of her.
'All the tier four beasts around here have all been exhausted, it would seem that I will have to delve deeper for more. Also, were the beasts Tavian talked about actually there or were they just a tactic he used.'
She had already hunted down two tier four beasts however she was met with a downer as there were no more. Given her advantage in spatial manipulation, her movement was unmatched in comparison to the rest thus having a great advantage over the rest.
Given she has the allowance, she decide that she would hunt only tier four beasts,the rest were substandard to her. And with a thought, her figure flashed out of sight and deeper into the forest.
Julian on the other hand wasn't that far off from the two as he had three hundred points from hunting three tier three beasts. However who faced the hardest time was Lirale given her condition.
Since she had already fought so hard for third place, she couldn't let go of her position thus she was forced to participate instead of recuperating. Given the damages that she received from Vivienne, her body was yet to regain it's full strength.
Not to mention she couldn't use her special state till she was back to her full form. Sitting at two hundred points, she could tell that the others were ahead of her but by how much was something she couldn't decipher.
The day came to a close ending the first day of the three days that they were suppose to use in the Matoreas test. Several hotchpotch of camps could be seen however most of them were still not that far from Bramblewood.
Vivienne however instead of a camp, she accessed her other world with her spatial talent. For her, the world was doused in darkness before it was replaced with a hazy golden arc that stretched from one end to the other.
Other than the arc, there was no form of light in the void that she was in. Her figure suspended as she contemplated what to do next.
...
"I can't believe that we haven't found a single tier two beast let alone a tier three beast." One of the contestants voiced out his frustration.
So far they only came across tier one beasts which they picked up however it couldn't amount to anything substantial like the other tiers.
"I guess those at the top are fierce going into this competition. We should consider ourselves lucky that they left scrap for us instead of taking the whole dish." A lady said as she looked into the fire the three head set up.
"What are you talking about Mariel?" The third spoke looking at her with a confounded look on his face. "Do you think that I'm wrong, Garson? Because the strongest always reign supreme and we just so happen to find ourselves in their way."
She added on which seemed to let down the mood of the group. "Of course we knew the moment we embarked on this journey that we had very slim of not no chance of winning but that doesn't mean that we'll give up." Turel mused as he dug into his meal.
"We should save our energy into hunting creatures for tommorow. I'm sure that we're not the only group that's facing this problem, given how many there are-"Before Garson could finish his statement, the three heard a strange shuffling coming from the darkness.