{Welcome To The Royal Garden}
"...Garden?"
Everyone opened their mouth in shock as they looked at the seemingly endless forest in a new light.
If on earth, no, even on the entire solar system, this thing would qualify as a medium-sized forest. That too just from what the scouts saw at a height of two hundred meters.
There's no telling how large the whole forest was!
"Are you fucking kidding me?" A man swore and flipped his hand.
A fireball conjured and shot towards the trees.
"If I just burn down your garden, our mission will become easy." He sneered with confidence.
Whoosh!
As the fireball approached the trees, it grew from the size of a fist to that of a truck.
The colorful leaves of the trees shone brightly under the fire and when everyone thought they were going to burn—
Plop!
The fireball was knocked back as a transluscent barrier covered the trees.
"…What?"
The man who threw the fireball flinched and took a step back.
The others were equally surprised.
If this forest prohibited them from using powers, they wouldn't be able to get the keys at all.
Seeing the doubts growing in their eyes, Princess Nora shrugged and stepped into a path between the trees and raised her hand.
A fireball brighter and hotter than the earlier one appeared in the air and blasted the empty path ahead of her.
Boom!
The path was scorched for nearly half a mile while the trees were protected from the aftermath by the same translucent barrier.
She walked out and smacked her lips. "We can still fight inside. Only the plants got VIP protection."
The mood of the crowd improved visibly.
Still, they couldn't hide their amazement.
A forest was called a garden and that garden's trees couldn't even be scratched.
As expected of devas.
As they were about to enter the forest, another line appeared on the bright screen and drew their gazes.
{Prove Your Worth To Enter The Palace}
It was a very straightforward sentence. Then, the screen buzzed and remained still, as if announcing the end of the short announcement.
"...The announcement is useless." Even though most of them thought so inwardly, only Charles said it out loud.
A gate that needed keys. A forest that had keys, and coincidentally filled with beasts.
Was there a need to say more?
"Alright, I think the teams can work togeth—" Prince Curtis' proposal was cut off by Charles' amused voice.
"There are only fifty keyholes."
A silence filled the region. Except for the gentle rustling of the branches, not even a trace of breathing was heard from the hundred-odd humans.
Without a single word, every team prepared themselves.
Then—
Whoosh!
A huge cloud of dust rose into the air and like warhorses rushing into the battlefield, they rushed into the forest.
Even the bastard who didn't get into any team ran behind.
Except for Varian.
He was so excited that he overtook everyone in the valley and reached this place first.
But after calming down, he began to think.
"The valley is by no means an easy journey." Varian's eyes narrowed.
From the murmurs of the teams earlier, at least 30% of the ones who entered the valley never made it here.
It didn't mean they all died. But that they simply weren't able to reach the place by 45th.
If just traveling through the valley was that difficult, there's no reason for this trial to be easier.
If there's anything his experience in ruins proved, it's that the trials got progressively harder.
"That's why…"
Booom!
Following a loud explosion, a giant red cloud rose into the sky in the forest.
Varian's gaze shot up and he noticed three black dots in the sky. He focused his gaze and the 'view' zoomed in.
Three burnt men spasmed violently in mid-air as they bled profusely.
"…Those three are high level 7s, right?" Varian was considerably shocked.
Ka! Char!
The sounds of a flame crackling followed and the three half-burnt men quickly waved their hands.
Two of them formed wings of lightning behind their shoulders and caught the third man who failed to form his wings.
Kaaa!
The sounds of fire crackling increased and a red light shone in the center of the green forest.
The faces of the two men paled and they quickly flapped their wings, shooting straight into the sky.
Whoosh!
Right in the area they were previously at, a large fireball blasted, and a huge shockwave spread.
Feeling those shockwaves, Varian understood the reason those three high level 7s were beaten to such a pathetic state.
'The pressure it gives is equal to those three.'
"Whaa—" A scream sounded from the air, prompting Varian to look up.
The three hit the two hundred meter height limit and had their auras deactivated. So, right now, they're in a free fall.
"Fuuuuck!"
"Saave!"
"Ahhhh!"
Their shrieks echoed in the forest.
Even though elementals had weak bodies, they shouldn't be so worried. Even if their bodies were weak, their injuries wouldn't be life-threatening.
But the problem was…
Boom!
Twisting in mid-air, the trio narrowly avoided another fireball.
If they fell like this, they'd fall in the middle of the forest.
"Seriously…" Varian shook his head and snapped his fingers.
An invisible force radiated from him and pulled them towards the edge of the forest. After confirming that there were no beasts in the first one mile of the forest, he let them fall from a hundred meters.
Coughing pretentiously, Varian said. "Even though you won't know I helped you, I did it anyway. Even if you beg for me to reveal myself, I won't. But thank me in your heart—"
Boom!
The trio already crashed and three cries followed.
"Ouch!" A painful cry.
"My legs!" A sad cry.
"My balls!!!" A tragic cry.
"…" Varian's face stiffened as he recalled one guy falling in the posture of doing splits.
"Oops." Varian clicked his tongue and a serious expression formed on his face. "Even if you offer me artifacts, I won't reveal my identity."
Acting like a true hero in the shadows, he ran into one of the many paths in the forest.
Whether it was to clear the trial or to escape from the tragic cries, only he knew.