On the bench, Ethan found himself deep in contemplation.
The elderly woman beside him still wore a kind smile, as she took grains from her pocket to feed the pigeons at her feet.
Seeing the pigeons sparked a thought in Ethan's mind.
To the questioner, sometimes the correct answer isn't what's important, but rather the answer they wish to hear, the answer they perceive as true.
Pigeons symbolize peace; with that understanding, the right answer to the question should be...
Ethan began to speak, but instead of presenting the answer he had just formulated, he said something entirely different.
"If I were your butcher friend, I might grab my butcher knife and kill all the thieves who wished to harm his wife."
Upon hearing Ethan's response, the elderly woman's face turned very grim. She sighed heavily and asked, "Can you explain your thought process?"
Ethan smiled as he answered, "Certainly. The fact that the thieves dare to kidnap the butcher's wife indicates that they could potentially harm others' family members as well. Moreover, the thieves are inherently bad people."
"You don't look like a brutal person," the woman remarked, a trace of lament in her voice.
Ethan shook his head again, stating, "It's not about brutality, but protection. Just like soldiers resisting invaders in a war; their choice to eliminate the enemy is not borne out of brutality but in a bid to defend their homeland and the people behind them. It's a matter of responsibility."
"Your words make sense, but I highly dislike this answer," the woman replied, her tone becoming stern.
Following this, under Ethan's steady gaze, the elderly woman began to emit a golden glow, transforming from an aged figure into a golden-haired young girl.
The golden-haired girl, with a serious expression, addressed Ethan, "For the second trial, your rating is F-, the lowest rank."
"Wait!"
"This isn't fair!"
Hearing the rating the golden-haired girl assigned, Ethan immediately objected.
"Hmph, I am the trial's assessment officer, my word is law. Initially, I thought that you, having chosen a difficult level trial, were a person of remarkable courage, but I didn't expect you to be so brutal!" The golden-haired young girl spoke indignantly.
Ethan felt somewhat helpless and tentatively asked, "What if my answer was to persuade the thieves to release the butcher's wife, and then have the butcher teach them the art of butchery? This way, they could earn a living through butchery and integrate into society as normal people, couldn't they?"
The golden-haired girl paused, questioning, "Was that your genuine thought just now?"
"No, but I guessed that it should be the answer you wanted to hear. However, my true thought is still to kill those thieves. I've seen too many cases of betrayals; I don't much believe that the thieves could be persuaded to release the butcher's wife. There may be those who are virtuous, and if encountered, I would hold them in the highest regard," he continued, his tone resolute. "But I will never be such a person."
"The blade in my hand is to eradicate evil!"
After speaking, Ethan held no hope for a positive assessment of his trial. Yet, he had to voice these words.
The golden-haired girl seemed somewhat deflated, her enthusiasm waning. "I didn't expect you to decipher my thoughts. However, I won't change your trial evaluation. But due to your honest expression, coupled with your brutal nature, another individual has taken a keen interest in you. They asked me to give you this as a reward."
"What is it?"
Before Ethan could inquire further, he saw a long blade thrown towards him, forcing him to dodge quickly in fright.
Witnessing this, the golden-haired girl burst into laughter. Clearly, it was intentional.
"What is this?"
Without dwelling on the golden-haired girl's prank, Ethan picked up the long blade from the ground and asked.
He felt a remarkable aura emanating from the blade.
"A blade."
The golden-haired girl uttered these words, offering as good as no explanation.
However, within Ethan's sight, some information materialized on the long blade.
[Sano's Longsword (Rough Draft)]
[Level: Divine Artifact]
[Description: This is an unfinished long blade, but it already exhibits the sharp edge of a divine artifact. The sword possesses formidable cutting ability, able to easily sever steel. If placed in the hands of a master smith, it might be reforged into an even more powerful divine artifact. Of course, it could potentially be destroyed in the process.]
"Who is Sano?"
After reading the information on the long blade, Ethan couldn't help but ask curiously.
The golden-haired girl looked visibly annoyed, complaining, "Why do you have so many questions? I'm not your question machine!"
Ethan was startled by the golden-haired girl's explosive demeanor, and chose not to speak further.
However, it seemed the golden-haired girl realized her reaction had been inappropriate, as she quickly approached Ethan with a smile.
"Sano is a God of War, not in the common sense of the term. If you manage to step into the divine realm successfully, you might meet him. Of course, you need to work hard for now, and avoid dying on the path to becoming stronger."
"And also..."
"Remember my name, Aisya! Next time we meet, ensure to rein in those brutal thoughts in your head. Otherwise, I'll use space magic to split your body into ten thousand pieces and seal them in different spaces!"
Aisya declared fiercely, yet the malice in her words contrasted sharply with her incredibly beautiful face and somewhat petite frame, making her appear irresistibly adorable rather than threatening, and kindling a desire to pinch her small face affectionately.
"What kind of look is that?"
Aisya posed with her hands on her hips, extremely infuriated.
Oh no, she noticed!
A chill ran down Ethan's spine as he realized he had been found out.
He did not want to experience Aisya's space magic firsthand.
In haste, he assured, "Haha, I will certainly abide by Lady Aisya's directives and will absolutely not harbor brutal thoughts again!"
"Hmph, I hope you are telling the truth!"
Aisya said indignantly, her figure gradually fading before Ethan's eyes.
The scene where Ethan stood also began to dissolve, returning him once more to the waiting area.
"Aisya, the author of the 'Guide to Spatial Esoteric Practice'? I didn't expect it would be her... Moreover, according to the description in the trial quest, that guide contains the knowledge of a deity. So what is Aisya's true identity, a deity? But she doesn't quite seem like one; she seems more like a child..."
Ethan once again fell into deep thought.
Everything about the Hot Spring Ruins spoke of the extraordinary.
Could the appearance of the Hot Spring Ruins really be due to the Azure Empire?
No matter how powerful the Azure Empire was, it was impossible for them to create such a potent relic, a relic deeply intertwined with a deity — a living deity at that, not a deceased one. This could be corroborated by the words Aisya had spoken, mentioning the one who defeated Sano.
"This is getting more and more interesting."
Ethan couldn't help but exclaim.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Dark Lord Rock became the second person to appear in the waiting area.
Seeing Ethan, Dark Lord Rock froze, then looked towards the portal Ethan had chosen.
"That's indeed the hard level!"
"How did this kid come out first again?"
Dark Lord Rock's confusion was quickly resolved, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
On the portal corresponding to the hard difficulty level, a line of text had been deliberately inscribed.
[The test score for this trial is F-, the lowest score since the inception of the trial assessments, expressly noted here!!!]
Seeing this notice, Ethan couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Without a second thought, he knew that this must have been deliberately written by Aisya.
"How petty can this woman be! She calls me brutal, but I think she is the most brutal one, threatening to split someone into tens of thousands of pieces using spatial power at the drop of a hat," Ethan mentally ranted about Aisya.
Meanwhile, Dark Lord Rock had completely let his guard down, unable to restrain his laughter as he tried to console Ethan in between bursts of laughter, "Black Dragon, hahaha... You shouldn't mind this assessment score. But... hahaha, an F- grade, hahaha, that's practically the lowest, it has never happened before."
Looking at Dark Lord Rock in front of him, Ethan felt a bit of pity for him.
So, Ethan spoke directly, "Rock, you can just laugh outright, I don't care about this trial score, don't worry about me."
Upon hearing this, Dark Lord Rock burst into unrestrained laughter.
This scene rendered Ethan speechless but also verified one thing — receiving an F- rating in the trial assessment was absolutely a disgrace.
As the next few people came out and saw the specially highlighted comment, they couldn't help but burst into laughter as well.
Only Sherry, concern apparent in her eyes, asked, "Ethan, what happened?" She couldn't believe, under any circumstances, that Ethan would receive such an evaluation.
"Got on the bad side of a little girl," Ethan replied without going into detail, to which Sherry nodded, semi-understanding.
At this moment, the second trial came to an end.
This trial mainly involved answering questions, with evaluations given based on the responses or actions.
However, only Ethan understood that the real test began the moment those portals with different levels of difficulty appeared.
"Only those who have the courage to face difficulties can catch the eye of a deity."
This phrase, originally circulated in the Sunset Empire, seemed incredibly apt here.
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