Outside the illusory world, within a great hall, a group of people were seated inside. All of them emitted a strange and majestic aura. Even Ferrell, who could easily control the atmosphere, could just barely be able stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those big shots.
All of them had their gazes to the screen of light that projected everyone within the illusory world.
The golden-haired young man, Prince Almond Daswind, was also at this great hall. Currently, his gaze was fixed towards the projection of his own brother sleeping like nothing worrisome was happening. Disdain flashed on his eyes.
There was a black-robed woman beside, her face couldn't be seen to a mask covering her face. She also stared at the projection before saying, "Looks like something interesting is going to happen later, Prince. Do you think your brother will be able to pass the exam?"
Almond was still silent, his eyes staring fixedly at his staring brother. Then, the events on the screen changed to another person. Finally, he answered, "Based on my so-benevolent younger brother's personality, I don't think so. That man named Alzer answer is really clever and scheming. To think he could think a plan like that on the spot."
Obviously, Almond and the woman beside him already figured out Alzer's unknown plot. If one thinks in another angle, they would also be able to realize his plan. In fact, within this great hall, almost all people knew what Alzer was planning. After all, all of them were clever powerhouses who schemed countless times to reach their current level.
"In any case, we'll just have to see if there will be unexpected changes." Almond continued.
The mysterious black-robed woman didn't reply and just stared at the screen, deep in thought.
***
Charles opened his eyes before stretching his arms. He felt refreshed. After all those hours of grinding points and recruiting people, he finally got a time to rest. He stared at the sky as he instantly calculated the time. There are only ten minutes left before the end.
Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly saw a worried-looking young man running towards him.
"Your Excellency, something bad happened!" the young man said after getting near to the prince.
"What is it?" Charles was caught off guard by this. Then, he suddenly had a bad feeling rising within him. He didn't know what it is but it made him uneasy.
"S-stella disappeared! It appears she was kidnapped by someone, Your Excellency!"
"What!?" Now Charles was shocked by this information. His thoughts became chaotic. After a moment, he forcefully calmed himself down as he stared at the young man, saying, "Where did she disappeared?"
"According to Lucy (a member of Charles' group), she last saw him going to the river. She asked him about it and Stella replied that she'll just wash herself for a bit." the young man replied, recalling about the information that he received earlier.
"Is that so? Let me the way to the river." Charles commanded, with a slightly forceful tone. Even though he's trying his best to calm down, he still couldn't suppress his worry. When he think about the pitiful young girl, he couldn't help but feel concerned.
The young man nodded and followed his command, not paying attention to the fact that the prince used a slightly more forceful tone. It was understandable for him. As far as he could see it, the prince and Stella was quite close.
One and a half minute later, they finally reached their destination. Charles saw a group of people in an uproar. He could hear their murmurs and gossips.
"The prince is here!" A certain member announced his arrival.
In an instant, all their gazes turned towards the prince. Within the group, he has the highest authority. He has the rights to command the entire group.
When Charles arrived, a muscular man named Colt walked towards him as he said, "Your Excellency."
"Colt," Charles nodded his head as he recognized this man. Other than the young man who reported him the situation, Colt is the one who he trusted the most. "Is there addition information about what was happening?"
"Yes, Your Excellency." Colt nodded solemnly.
"Really?" Charles' eyes lit up as he said agitatedly. "What is it? Tell me?"
Colt didn't answer him as he took out a blue crystal cube from his pocket. Then, he gave it to the prince.
"This is…a communication crystal!" Charles exclaimed as he recognized this item. Communication crystals, just like its name implied, can produce a screen projection that lets a person communicate with another in a long distance. Communication crystals were produced in two pieces. That way, they would be able to call the other person who held the other communication crystal.
Colt has no time to speak because, in an instant after Charles' exclamation, the communication crystal floated as it projected a screen of light on the air.
The crowd, including Charles, turned their heads at the screen of light before their expressions simultaneously changed. It was because within the screen of light, one could see a young man full of wounds. They could recognize him. He was also one of the members of the group.
"Yo, prince. It looks like you finally received the communication crystal." A young man appeared on the screen as he revealed a peaceful smile.
"It's you!" Zach shouted with hatred. His eyes turned red, the memories that had happed earlier was burned in his head. "It's him Your Excellency! He is the Demon who tortured me!"
"Demon," Charles muttered as he continued staring at the screen. "What are you thinking? Why did you captured him?"
"Hmph!" Alzer snorted. "Don't pretend to be an idiot. Hand over all your points and I'll spare him alive!"
"What!?" Charles was shocked when he heard this. Now he understood what that black-robed man means earlier. Alzer was using his kindness to threaten him. At this moment, his heart suddenly wavered. The earlier five cases already caused a chaos in his heart. And now, he fell into a dilemma. He has two choices. That was to hand over the points and the man will be saved. However, that also means that the people here will fail the exam without a doubt. The second choice was to keep the points and let the man die. That will benefit many but he wouldn't be able to bear that a person will die because of him. Now Alzer's threat tested his inner justice.
Charles gritted his teeth before saying, "You can't do this. Don't you know that a single person's life is very important. Even if you really wanted to kill him, it will violate the rules!"
Alzer sneered, "I know about that but so what? Either you transfer all the points or this man will die. Since I will be crippled when I failed, I might as well accompany me to experience hell!"
"This…" Charles fell to a passive situation. His mind operated quickly as he analyzed the situation. But no matter how he saw it from different angles, the results are still the same. That was to choose one of the two choices.
When Alzer saw that Charles was still hesitant, he revealed a grown. This is troublesome. There are only less than five minutes left before the end. If he didn't managed to get a sufficient point to pass the exam, his future was doomed without a doubt. He could see that Charles' mental state is already shaking, but it was still strong and was even recovering. This is troublesome. Once he recovered his mental state, he might choose the first choice.
Since that's the case he might as well use his trump card. Thinking of this, Alzer said, "Looks like you won't concede even after this. Fine, you win in this round. Let's see if you can still maintain your composure after seeing the next person."
When those words entered Charles' ears, his heart skipped a beat. He already have a bad feeling about this. If he was mistaken then the other person is…
Indeed, his bad feeling isn't wrong. Alzer left for a moment before he brought over a girl tied in a rope, her hair was messy. Her face was full of tears, yet she couldn't even scream due to fear. While there was no wound on her body, she still looked very pitiful.
"Stella!" Seeing this, Charles finally lost his composure as he shouted. His mental state became very unstable as well. "Why did you implicate her in this!?"
"Hehe, why would I explain my motives?" Alzer chuckled. Actually it was very obvious, he got an intel that Stella was quite close to the prince. That means there's a high possibility of making him concede at this point. "The same condition. Either you hand over the points or I'll kill here. Make you choice."
"You!" Charles was filled with maddened rage. He was extremely agigated, didn't know what to do. He only thinks about the situation anymore.
Colt suddenly has a bad feeling about this as he shouted at the prince, "Don't listen to him Your Excellency, no matter how courageous he is, he will not break the rules. There's no way he would kill somebody!"
"Is that so?" Charles calmed down for a bit as he think of this point. Indeed, maybe Demon is just bluffing so that he will hand over the points. There's no way he will really do such a sinful thing in the public.
'Damnit! I'm already so close!' Alzer's face turned grave. He was already getting anxious. He calculated that there's only about two minutes left before the end. He has no time left. He needed to do something about this. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind as he smiled sinisterly. Looks like he has no choice but to do this.
"Your Excellency, I really admired you for keeping a beautiful girl by your side. As expected, the status of a prince is really high." Alzer said.
"Wait a minute, don't tell me…" Charles became even more uneasy.
"Since my future will be ruined, I might as well enjoy this moment." Alzer's smile became even more demonic. Then, he ripped apart Stella's clothes, revealed milky-white breast. "Oh damn, it seems you really picked a high-quality bitch in this exam. And now I have a chance to make a love with her! Haha, how lucky am I!"
"Bastard! I'll tear you apart!" Charles' deyes turned red as he unsheathed his sword, attacking the projection. However, the screen only distorted for a moment before it turned into normal.
"What kind of idiot are you, prince? You're actually attacking a projection haha. What a foolish boy!" Alzer laughed but his eyes still staring at Stella's body, full of hunger like a beast. He saw her tearful expression but he disregarded it. He didn't give a damn whether she like or not.
"Wait!" Just as Alzer was about to do something, Charles suddenly shouted.
Alzer stared at the prince, saw him with a weak-looking appearance. His hands and feet were shaking. At this moment, the prince said, "Fine, I'll give you all the points."
"What!?" Colt and the other group members shouted simultaneously in shock. They didn't expect that their trustworthy leader will make such decision.
"Your Excellency, are you serious about this? She's just a girl, you can just find any other girls with your status!" Colt said fiercely, finally removing all the pretenses and directly berating the prince.
However, Charles was unmoved, his face looking pale. Suddenly, his tattooed wrist shone and a huge light flew to the certain direction.
Within a cave, Alzer saw that his point increased by a ridiculous amount. Then, his ranking became number one in the list. This made him satisfied. No one can threaten him now. Calculating the time, there are only a minute left. It was not enough to hunt him down.
After inwardly celebrating for a bit, he said to the prince, "Haha, you're really kind, prince. Don't worry, I won't touch your woman anymore."
Prince Charles stared at the screen with a dead-like eyes, he felt a weakness spreading throughout his body. Then, he turned around and he felt the gazes of people around him. They are filled with disappointment, sorrow and rage. This is the first that he experienced something like this. He couldn't bear their painful gazes, so he hurried ran to a random direction.