After reading the stele, Cecile frowned. 'I can understand the first and second sentences. But what does the third mean?'
Cecile saw that most people went right, and the rest went forward. No one was going to the left door. 'Do I want to be someone worthy? Who is someone worthy? It is a person that has the qualifications to be recognized, a person that can accept any and all kind of power and use it. They are able to challenge trials and remain victorious. That is someone worthy.'
Cecile shook her head, 'I'm not someone like that, nor do I want to be one.'
The Phoenix's blue eyes moved toward the right door. 'Do I want to be a Hero? What is a Hero anyway? They are a person that sacrifices themselves for the greater good. A person that pushes forward against all kinds of difficulties and remains victorious. They are someone that sees the world's essence and fights for justice, maintaining the highest grade of morality possible. A heart of gold, a pure soul. Admired by the masses, feared by their enemies. That is the essence of a hero.'
Cecile shook her head again, 'I do not want to be a hero.'
Cecile looked toward the left gate. Then, she pondered to herself, 'What do I want to be...?' After that thought, Yasenia's charming, smiling face crossed her mind. That pair of beautiful and seductive golden-red slit eyes looked at her lovingly, making her whole body feel happiness.
Cecile's facial features softened, and a smile hung on her lips.
'I'm someone that wants to protect her lover.'
'I'm someone that seeks strength to help their dearest.'
'I'm someone that gathers knowledge for her wife's research.'
'I'm someone that gave their whole heart to a dragoness.'
'I'm someone that challenged fate to be reborn so I could walk side by side with my soulmate.'
Therefore, Cecile decided to trust her intuition and chose the left door.
Unlike the previous times, because people had seen Cecile's trick in the spring, not many people followed her. They thought that Cecile was trying to fool them again.
The ones that followed were two people from the academy, a man and a woman.
Cecile didn't even turn and continued walking toward the left door. When she was about to open it, the man called her, "Yo, Cecile! Why did you choose this one?"
Cecile turned and answered calmly. However, her natural tone of voice was cold and indifferent, giving an apathetic aura. "Because I'm neither a hero nor someone worthy."
The two people blinked and thought about it. Were they like that? Did they want to be like that? It was a difficult path, and most likely, there will be many difficult challenges after crossing those two doors.
However, the temptation of becoming one of the two was high for the woman. Even if they weren't any of those now, who said that they couldn't become one if they overcame whatever these ruins threw at them? Therefore, the woman said, "I see. Thanks for telling us, Cecile. Still, I'm going to take the right door. Good luck!"
Cecile just nodded. She wouldn't bother to convince anyone other than Yasenia or those precious to her.
The man looked at the woman and frowned for a while. The two of them were a couple, so he didn't want to leave her behind. He sighed and said, "Thanks for your advice, Cecile. I know you are not a woman of many words. So the fact that you spoke and tried to tell us about it is enough. Do not die!"
Then, he turned and ran after the woman. Cecile looked at their back for a second and then turned. Each person will choose the path they think is most suitable, and she won't waste words to reason with them.
Moreover, she still wasn't sure if this door was the correct one or even if there was a correct door. Maybe all three doors are similar, and unless Cecile meets with that couple again, she wouldn't be able to know.
Cecile pushed the door and walked to the other side.
After she went through the door, another room of similar size greeted her. 'Huh? Why is there an identical room here?'
But when she looked around, she realized that only the shape was similar. The number and position of doors had changed. There were only two doors, side by side, on the opposite wall. The stele was in the middle of the room, and there wasn't a spring of any sort. Cecile read the stele, "Heroes always take the right path. Even if they doubt their worth, they will always end up choosing the right path. Those that go left will have to choose again."
Cecile was mildly surprised, "Is it trying to test my conviction?"
Cecile decisively chose the left door again. When she entered through the door, another similar room greeted her. The door behind her closed with a bang and disappeared. This somewhat startled her, 'Did I enter a trap room?'
Cecile looked around and didn't see a single door in the whole room, which made her frown. Her mind spun, trying to find an escape route.
However, before she did that, the wall in front of her suddenly lit up, and golden characters appeared on it as if a knife was engraving them. Cecile's alertness was at an all-time high during the process.
Cecile waited until it was completely carved and read it. "You are neither someone worthy nor a hero. Then what are you?"
Cecile thought for a moment and answered. "I'm a cultivator in search of strength."
The wall characters changed and asked again. "For what reason must you challenge the heavens? For what reason do you search strength?"
Cecile didn't even hesitate and answered, her voice full of conviction. "I want strength to protect my loved one and to live with her for eternity. To be able to keep her safe between my wings and give her a resting place in my embrace, or to help her push forward toward her goals and carry part of her burden."
Cecile took a deep breath and said, extending her silver wings and unfurling her aura!
"I want to become her wings so that she can fly freely in this dangerous world!"
Cecile's words echoed around the room, and then everything became silent.
After a while, the room trembled, and two passages opened before her. Above the right one, it read. "You want strength? Overcome this trial, and you shall obtain it."
Above the left one, it read the same, "You want strength? Overcome this trial, and you shall obtain it."
Cecile looked at the two identical passways and thought about which one to choose. She didn't rush because this was important if she wanted to get what she wanted.
She looked around but didn't see anything useful. Then, she remembered what the previous two doors advised and muttered, "Heroes always take the right path. Since I'm not trying to become a hero, then..."
Cecile looked at the left path and decided to enter through there.
After she passed, the passage behind her closed with a bang! But Cecile didn't even turn. She was already determined to face this trial no matter what it threw at her. The corridor wasn't too long, and after just five minutes of walking, she could see the end of it.
Cecile crossed it, and a blinding light impeded her sight for a moment. When she opened her eyes, the desert welcomed her again. 'Hmm? Did those ruins expel me?'
The open area before her was way too similar to the desert outside, but when she looked closer, she could see the difference. On the sand, there were ruins with similar architecture to the structure above.
The heat was also higher than on the outside, and Cecile was sure that she wouldn't be able to fly more than seventy meters in height. There were gales that lifted sand and made the vision somewhat blurry, but it wasn't a problem for Cecile since her mastery of the wind element was high.
Then, on the air, those golden words appeared again.
"Survive for a week."
Cecile took out her bow and entered combat stance right after reading that. She flapped her wings and flew high up, carefully taking into account at what altitude the heat would bother her. Then, the soil trembled, and explosions of sand followed.
From those explosions, Cecile saw arachnid-shaped brown and gold-colored constructs appearing. Even if they followed the general arachnid shape, they were of different forms, sizes, and strengths. They had green glowing lines across their bodies, and their eyes also glowed green. They were like an army rising from the ground. The numbers weren't more than fifty, but Cecile knew that this was just the beginning.
Cecile was using her [Moon Phoenix Flame Dress] and [Crystal Ice Bow]. Her hands had the [Passing Cloud Gloves] Yasenia gave her. Her power and defense were high, and her attack speed ridiculous. When Cecile saw them, she didn't wait for them to escape the soil and began attacking right away. "[Explosive Moon Gale Arrow]"
*Swish! * *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
Like bombs falling from the sky, the arrows created silver-green spheres of destruction on touch, damaging even the sturdy defenses of the constructs. The smallest construct was three meters tall, with the biggest being almost twenty meters tall. The arrows that landed on the smaller ones blew them up without resistance. However, those that landed on the constructs with a height of ten meters or above didn't die in one arrow.
Still, the arrow explosions left craters on them, damaging them badly. The arrow barrage continued and destroyed fifteen of the almost fifty constructs and greatly damaged some of them.
Cecile's sharp Phoenix eyes spotted a hidden core below the rocky surface of one of the constructs. It wasn't that big in comparison, thirty centimeters in diameter at most. However, even after killing so few of them, Cecile realized that the cores of the ones she killed were in the same place.
She decisively changed arrow types to piercing arrows and fired another barrage after they completely got out. The arrows tore through the air with high speed and pierced the constructs from side to side. This attack made 20 of them stop moving.
Cecile was satisfied with this outcome and continued with this arrow type. A rain of arrows fell from the sky as Cecile's hand blurred and shot the projectiles continuously.
A minute later, all constructs lay dead on the ground. There were some that were harder and needed more than one arrow, which made her take more time with them. Still, Cecile didn't even use one percent of her energy dealing with them.
Five minutes later, another wave began. Cecile's hand moved again, mercilessly attacking them. She saw that they were slightly stronger and had an extra construct. Her face became solemn.
Even if the strength and numbers were insignificant, Cecile would be in deep trouble if this effect kept piling up wave after wave for a week. 'Hopefully, there is a limit.'
Cecile took a deep breath and thought. 'I will have to get used to the weaknesses of the constructs. Later they may even appear with reinforced carapace on the core area.'
She didn't annihilate the wave this time and let them attack her. The attacks were fast lasers from their eyes, manipulating the sand around them, and could also throw different projectiles toward her. Their physical strength was high, and their dexterity was impressive. Of course, compared to Cecile, they were currently utterly lacking. However, Cecile knew they would become a threat sooner or later, so she had to be careful.
The skills she was currently using were her old elemental coat and the basic but evolved elemental arrows, so she didn't tire herself. Although she could regenerate constantly, regeneration also had a limit. So she was going to use the least strength she could to kill each wave.