“Welcome to the Arcanist Hall, Blood Soldier N 06 08499.”

  “You are in the Trial Space of the Mystery Trials. Please select the difficulty of the Trial.”

  “You cannot select a difficulty 2 levels beyond the level you have already cleared.”

  “The difficulty level of the Trial will decide the degree of obscurity of the Artificial Mystery. The higher the difficulty, the more obscure the Artificial Mystery would be.”

  “You must disclose the lineages your Roots are based on before beginning the Trial.”

  “Additionally, you can choose to specify the lineage you are more familiar with, but it must not be one of the lineages that your Roots are based on.”

  “Specifying a certain lineage for the Trial will result in deduction of Trial points.”

  “Points deducted for specifying your preferred lineage will not affect the status of ‘Perfect Clearance’ of the Trial, or any other rewards.”

  “The total points earned will be calculated on how quickly you comprehend the Artificial Mystery, and how efficient the prototype of the Mystery you create will be…”

  “Recreating half of the Mystery’s true effects will be considered as perfect clearance.”

  “The reward for perfect clearance of the first Trial is 10 Blood Coins, which will be increased to 20 Blood Coins for the second Trial, 30 Blood Coins for the third Trial…”

  “If you fail to gain a perfect clearance, your reward will decrease according to your performance.”

  “Failure to create a prototype of the Mystery will disqualify you from the Trial.”

  “Failure to reproduce at least one tenth the original effect of the Mystery will be considered as a failure of the Trial.”

  “Failure or disqualification from the Trials will result in forfeiture of rewards.”

  “Perfect clearance of all ten Trials will be rewarded with additional 500 Blood Coins, and 1 Low Grade Arcanist Medal, which can be used to redeem any Initial Stage Arcana, or resources of an equivalent value.”

  “Breaking records will grant you an additional amount of Blood Coins, equivalent to what you would have gotten for a perfect clearance for that level.”

  “If you break a record for the entire city, you will earn an additional Low Grade Arcanist Medal.”

  “If you…”

  Alnea went through the rules of the Mystery Trials, paused, thought for a few moments, and then went through the rules once again. And again. It was not until he was sure that he had not missed any details that he stopped going through the instructions of the Trials, and let out a sigh.

  “…Cecilia should not have any problem comprehending Mysteries. Probably.”

  “At least she would not be as troubled by the Trials, as she was by the Trials of the Glyph Halls.”

  “…That’s true,” Alnea said, smiling to himself, as he recalled how haggard Cecilia had been when she had come out of the Trial Space of the Scholar Trials. Though she probably would not be much better after completing the Trials of the Arcanist Hall. Comprehending Mysteries…

  “I had thought of many possibilities, and had even wondered if the Mystery Trials will test our perception and comprehension of Mysteries, but I never expected the Trials to be so direct.”

  “…Keeping things simple and direct is always the most efficient way of handling things,” Yuri said. “I am more surprised by how the Glyph Trials were so complex.”

  “…I think that the Glyph Trials were easier. All that we had to was to carve some Glyphs. Comprehending Mysteries, and then creating their prototypes… Can everyone really complete it in just their first try?”

  “If the Mysteries were natural, then probably not. Since it is just an Artificial Mysteries…”

  “You know about Artificial Mysteries?”

  “…They are not a secret. You know about Spirit Domain, right?”

  “The inherent ability that Wanderers gain after their Spirit reaches the Supreme Rank? What does that have to do with Artificial Mysteries?”

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  “…Artificial Mysteries are basically Mysteries that Wanderers create after their understating of Mysteries and their Rules reaches a certain level. If Mysteries are like projections of the Origin Sea’s Rules, then Artificial Mysteries are projections of a Wanderer’s understanding of those Rules. These projections are not directly related to the Origin Sea though, and thus, cannot exhibit any supernatural phenomenon, unless Wanderers open up their Spirit Domains, and support those projections with the prototype of Rules they have created in their Domains in the Origin Sea.”

  “…We can really create Mysteries Artificially?”

  “Isn’t the proof right in front of us?”

  “…So, if we don’t like certain Mysteries, we can just create one of our own?”

  “Did you not listen to anything I said? Only Supreme Wanderers can create Artificial Mysteries.”

  “Still, as long as we reach the Supreme Rank, we can practically bend reality to our will…”

  “How can it be so convenient?” Yuri said. “If Supreme Wanderers were truly so powerful, then we would not have suffered so much against the Thralls and Oren Beasts. Neither would we have had to bow down to the Gods and Origin Beasts when they were still in the world.”

  “…Then the Artificial Mysteries…”

  “Without a complete understanding of all the Mysteries and Rules of the Origin Sea, the Mysteries that Wanderers create are fundamentally flawed. Not only is their strength and effect usually an entire tier lower than Mysteries of similar level, they cannot be used in conjunction with other Mysteries either. Not even with other Artificial Mysteries. In short, Artificial Mysteries cannot offer much help to Supreme Wanderers against enemies of their level.”

  “…So, they are basically useless?”

  “…I would not say that they are useless. Although they cannot bend the reality, as you would like them to, they can still be used by large forces to test and train the perception and comprehension of their juniors. Just like how Trials are testing our comprehension.”

  “…Let me get this straight. Only Supreme Wanderers can create Artificial Mysteries, right?”

  “…That is what I know.”

  “And they can do it only in their Spirit Domain?”

  “…Again, that is what I know.”

  “So, is the Trial Space a Spirit Domain?”

  “…Logically, that makes sense. But do you really think that the Trial Space is like a Spirit Domain?”

  “I am not sure. I have never seen any Spirit Domains…”

  “…Creating hundreds of thousands of parallel spaces, and running them all together, probably even the greatest of Supreme Wanderers should not have such a large Spirit Domain. Maybe, if you complete your Oath, and become an Origin Wanderer…”

  “I will.”

  “Then I will wait for you to become an Origin Wanderer, and show me your Spirit Domain.”

  “I will not keep you waiting for long… Probably only ten thousand years or so.”

  “Ten thousand years… I would have to reach the Supreme Rank to live till that day.”

  “Isn’t that obvious?”

  “…Do you have any other questions about the Artificial Mysteries?”

  “…You did not answer me earlier. How can the Trial Space create Artificial Mysteries? And is there any difference between the Mysteries created by the Trial Space, and the Mysteries created by Supreme Wanderers?”

  “…I left my home before I could become a Wanderer, and I have not begun challenging the Trials on my end, so I cannot answer your question. As for how the Trial Space can create Artificial Mysteries… I do not know. And probably even the Grand Wanderers guarding the city do not know anything about it. Maybe even the Supreme Wanderers who come here from time to time did not find anything. Or they would not have kept the city open to everyone. All I can say is that the city’s legacy is much more precious than we initially thought it was.”

  “…What exactly is the background of the Lost City?”

  “…That’s not something that we can speculate on.”

  “…Even you do not know anything,” Alnea said, smiling to himself, while imagining a pouting Yuri. “It is the first time I have seen you so deflated.”

  “I am just a human too. There is a limit to how much I can know.”

  “You have always seemed so omniscient to me though…”

  “That is because you have not been in contact with the world of Wanderers for long. Just wait for a decade. I am sure that you will catch up with me.”

  “A decade? That’s too long.”

  “I am not talking about just the miscellaneous knowledge about our world. If you want to give up your progress on the three paths, and focus on just accumulating more knowledge, then yes, you can catch up to me in a couple of years. But if you want to catch up to me in every sense, while not giving up anything in the process, then a decade is already a conservative estimation. Or do you expect me to stay still while you keep accumulating your foundations?”

  “…I understand, teacher Yuri. Forgive me for my mistakes.”

  “You…”

  “Alright, alright,” Alnea said, laughing away all his thoughts and worries. “My mistake. I will not tease you again.”

  “Do you think just an apology is enough?”

  “…Let’s talk about my punishment after we complete the Trials. I have a hunch that the Mystery Trials are going to be longer than all the other Trials combined. We have already wasted too much time as it is. If we delay anymore, I am afraid that by the time we complete the Trials, it would already be dinner time.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  “…I will agree to any punishment you give me later.”

  “Remember your words,” Yuri said, with a hint of mirth in her voice. “May Goddess Ilea be with you.”

  “May Goddess Ilea be with you,” Alnea said, before turning his attention back to the panel in front of him. Difficulty of the Trial, lineage of his Roots, and the lineage he preferred… Of the three, he filled up the first two boxes, leaving the third empty, before choosing to begin the Trial.