"Aeon, Congratulations, you passed the trial and did it with excellent performance." Lady Telyssa said with a bright smile.
"What were the right requirements to pass the trial?" Alex questioned, knowing that the one minute in the nightmare illusion was completely false.
"The requirement to survive your nightmares for one minute was a lie, but not at the same time."
"You stayed in the illusion for six hours, and in that time, you would have experienced your worst fear."
"The time you stay in the illusion does not matter, but what determines your result is how you control your emotion after you wake up from the illusion of your nightmares."
"You needed to control your emotions in under one minute after waking up, and you did it in just 9 seconds, which is an outstanding achievement." Lady Telyssa said, looking way more excited than Alex.
'I need to get the Life pod technology.' Alex thought, taking his nightmare very seriously.
"You should try to act happier as from the founding of the Oder centuries ago, less than a 1% of members have cleared the trail of illusion in under ten seconds." Lady Telyssa said, seeing Alex's blank look.
"I am happy with the results," Alex replied, stopping his train of thought.
"Now that you have completed the trail Let's make you a member of the Thunder Knight Order."
"You must take a simple Law Oath to complete the first step, so repeat after me." Lady Telyssa said and started speaking the words of the law oath.
"I [Hidden One] with the world laws as my witness, make the oath to never betray the Thunder Knight Order and will stay loyal to humanity," Alex said, completing the law oath.
"I welcome you into the Thunder Knight Order." Lady Telyssa said, handing Alex a white badge with three purple lightning bolts carved into it.
Alex accepted the badge and used his blood to bind it to himself, and instantly he received a few system notifications congratulating him on successfully becoming a member of the Thunder Knights Order.
'The title has some cool effects, but it is useless to me.' Alex thought, checking the new title he had received.
The title had similar effects to his Legend Title but on a very low level, but it did give him authority to get help from the order by paying 50% of the fee in gold coins.
The Thunder Knight Order had its own personal quest and merit points system, like the adventurer guild system, that the member could use for various means.
"Now you are a Thunder Knight, and it comes with few responsibilities."
"The Thunder Knights Order has fourteen factions, and Rurvan and I belong to Sixth Ranked faction 'StormBearer' with our specialty being Magic."
"All Thunder Knights are free to do as they please and not join any faction, but they are required to earn a certain number of Merit points depending on their strength and Rank in the Order."
"Those who join the faction are also required to earn a certain number of merit points, but they could be exempted from this duty if their faction leader or Elders want to."
"If you join my faction, I will free you from the regular duties and give you a few privileges." Lady Telyssa said with a bright smile.
'I planned to join one of the low Ranking factions because there won't be any competition because, with my capabilities, I will shine like a star and receive a lot of favor from higher-ups.'
'But If I can get what I want from her faction without getting involved in the politics, then it's good to join her faction.' Alex thought as he weighed his options.
"You do not need to make any decision right now because, as a new member, you are free from any duties for the first thirty days, and in that time frame, you can do research and choose what is best for you." Lady Telyssa said.
"I will join the StormBearer faction," Alex said after thinking of the pros and cons of his decision.
Alex needed to join a faction to spread his fame and make him popular among the Thunder Knights because it would significantly help his plan.
"You sure about your decision?" Lady Telyssa asked, a bit surprised by Alex's quick reply.
"I need to announce your results to the Order, and after three days, you will be allowed to join a faction." Lady Telyssa said, seeing Alex nodding his head in confirmation.
"The candidates who have a great performance in the trial can not join any faction for three days, and it is done this way to give all the factions a fair chance to make their offers." Lady Telyssa said, seeing Alex's confused look.
"I am not required to stay in the city for the next three days, right?" Alex asked, as this was not part of his plan.
"You can leave because the messengers of the interested faction could easily locate you using your badge but keep your badge out of the system space." Lady Telyssa replied.
"Now, Lets me tell you what my faction is willing to offer you.' Lady Telyssa said.
----------------------
(30 Minutes Later)
"I am a man of my word, so don't worry. I will join the StormBearer faction." Alex said, standing outside the city gates.
"As I said, If you get a better offer from one of the higher factions, don't agree to their offer immediately and talk to me first," Rurvan said.
'The competition between the factions must be very intense for him to warn me so many times even after offering me such amazing benefits,' Alex just gave Rurvan a blank look before turning around and leaving the area.
'This should be far enough,' Alex thought after reaching the mountain range far from the city.
"Elder Darion, This is the destination," Alex said, opening the location of a mega city in the middle of the ocean.
After a moment of calm, Alex felt a hand on his shoulder, and all he could see was darkness and feel his body suspended in the air with zero gravity.
The Gladiator Arena had one branch on each continent, and each was built on a private island a small distance away from the main continent.
Alex couldn't travel to the Gladiator City using teleportation because they didn't have any, and even using the fastest available flying ship to the public would take him a few days.
The Gladiator City housed millions of adventurers, but they still didn't have the teleportation center, and the public reason was that only warriors should go to the city.
The real reason was that every teleportation center was in control of the ruling power of that continent, and to use a teleportation center on any continent, one needed to provide identification.
This gives the ruling power complete information on each individual who uses the teleportation centers, and a dark business like the Gladiator arena with major illegal activities and connections doesn't want such a thing.
'This method is much slower than direct teleportation, but it is much more comfortable and convenient.' Alex thought.
After staying in the pitch dark for ten minutes, Alex regained his sight, and what greeted him was a dark wall stretching for a few kilometers in the distance.
'The Gladiator City Acidosis.' Alex thought, remembering some old memories.
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