Chapter 310: Trial
"Not a problem, Master. Let me tell you how the prophecy affected us... mainly the Crystallce of the royal bloodline," Aurora smiled, saying these words.
"See, because of the prophecy, the emperor couldn’t decide the next ruler from his own bloodline. Not just the emperor either... every royalty on the planet Cryonix follows this same method for choosing the next ruler."
Saying these words, Aurora paused.
"If they can’t be decided by blood, then how are they chosen? Are they selected by vote perhaps..." Dhruv asked, curious about their methods of governance.
"No Master we don’t follow the voting system..." Aurora muttered showing clear disagreement with this method of choosing the ruler.
"Then?"
"Well, it’s simple. You see, every single heir who wants to compete for the throne has to go through a trial. A trial which they must pass in order to become a contender for the throne."
’Woah! So even after passing the trial, they could only become a contender... isn’t that harsh,’ Dhruv sighed.
"The trial goes like this... after reaching Tier II, the heir is left in the wild to survive and build a small settlement, which they have to protect for around 3 years, or they can pass the trial by becoming a Tier V as well."
’Huh!... what a weird way to go around it.’ Hearing the strange trial, Dhruv couldn’t help but look at her in surprise.
"Leaving a Tier II in the wild... isn’t that cruel? Or is the danger level not that great?" Dhruv asked lifting his eyebrows.
"You see, Master, you are right, but only half. They left us in the wild, but not without protection. After all, we are royalty. For the first month, everyone is provided with a royal guard at Tier VI for their survival..."
"To make sure no one uses the guard for too much benefit, the guards are only allowed to save the heirs; they are not allowed to help them in any other way. They will just stand there and save you from the door of death."
Aurora explained the first step of the trial.
’Nice... so everything is well thought out. Having only five saves means one can’t even use loopholes to their advantage. Well, it is the least I can expect from royalty,’ Dhruv thought as he opened his mouth,
"What happens next?"
"You and the royal guards will be left alone in the wilderness. From there, you can either hunt monsters or gather followers. Every monster hunted or every follower gained gives a certain amount of royal points."
"One can then use those royal points to exchange items from the empire. I’ve used these points to exchange for the wall and two of the artifacts that are here," Aurora mentioned.
The moment Dhruv heard the mention of artifacts, he remembered what she was talking about. Looking at her, he asked,
"Yeah! Now that you mentioned it, I sensed two artifacts here. What are those used for?"
"Ohhh! You have seen these two. Well, the one in the basement is called [Flower of Deception]... it is used to create the field of illusion that is located between the bridge and here..." Saying these words Aurora looked at Dhruv with a hint of surprise.
"Master... if it’s not too much, can I ask how you were able to pass through the field? I can’t sense any artifact on you as well," she asked, trying to satisfy her curiosity.
"Well, I don’t have any artifact because I don’t need one... or it’s not like I can get one. You see, I have an illusion affinity which comes with illusion resistance. Well, you can guess what happens next."
Seeing her nodding, Dhruv thought for a moment. Considering the illusion, he had a question as well.
"Aurora, how powerful is that artifact of yours? I mean just before getting here, I was trapped in an illusion of a Tier IV monster and I was able to counter it. But again, I was trapped in your illusion. What is the tier of that artifact?" Dhruv asked.
"It’s good but not powerful enough to capture someone with Tier IV resistance skill. I think the reason you were trapped is because I have attuned the artifact in a way that, along with illusion, it also affects the soul, just very mildly."
Aurora answered, remembering how before activating the artifact she had to fill the orb with a high concentration of her soul mana. It takes about an hour to make a two-day worth of orb.
"ohhh! Now that makes sense..." Dhruv replied, nodding his head.
’Does that mean I can gain soul resistance as well...’ Dhruv was about to think further when Aurora moved on, explaining the next artifact.
"The next artifact located on the top floor is called [Casket of Aegis]. It’s an item that is used to create a shield around the city, which is strong enough to withstand the attack of a Tier V monster for about two hours," Aurora explained with a hint of sorrow.
’A protection-type artifact... wait, if she had this type of artifact then why didn’t she use it during my attack...’ Looking at her, Dhruv contemplated whether to ask the question or not.
In the end, he decided there was no hiding from what he did. Opening his mouth, he asked,
"Aurora... if you have something like that, then why d-didn’t you use it during my... attack?"
Looking at Dhruv with a hint of regret, she replied,
"Because it is not sustainable, Master. The artifact can withstand an attack from a Tier V for an hour or two, but after that, it needs about two or three days’ worth of mana absorption to be used again... or a Tier V core."
"As you guessed, we don’t have a surplus supply of Tier V, so I have to be careful how to use that thing..." Aurora sighed.
"Careful... but against what? Except for that Tier IV illusion monster I met on the way, I don’t think there is anything else that can threaten you..." Dhruv muttered carefully, remembering every enemy he encountered till now.
"W-What... you have not met it yet.." Aurora asked with a hint of surprise.
"Wh-what... whom did I not meet..." Dhruv replied, getting confused with her words.
"The Thunder, Master. The Thunder, a Tier V monster which reigns this dungeon..." Aurora replied.
