"My chosen one..." Lappei blinked cutely from where she formed, "Why have you called me? I... I was resting, you know? I need to conserve all the energy I can..."
Lappei's voice became a whisper as she noticed the pearl in my hands.
"...A regenerating mana crystal?!"
She rushed up to me and viewed the pearl from up close.
"Is this... Is this the sacrifice you speak of?"
She looked into my eyes, full of hope and joy. She was like a starving and dehydrated person lost in the desert. And this mana pearl was a sip of water.
It was adorable beyond imagination.
"This? Why do you think I would sacrifice something this rare to you?"
I couldn't help but play a bit.
"B-but—!" Lappei tried to speak, but I placed a finger on her lips.
"No buts. Why would I give this to you when all that I get from being your chosen one is the ability to see so little into the future?"
I hid the precious mana pearl behind my back.
Just a little idea of what mana pearls could do, well, they were basically rechargeable batteries. Normal mana crystals were one-time-use batteries, while these ones are high-end power banks.
The gods accept these mana pearls from their believers and use them to create consciousness clones. Since mana pearls were rechargeable, they usually drained the pearl of regular mana before injecting their own special mana within them.
This creates the base of a consciousness clone. From there, a rather complicated set of tasks must be completed, but none of which require any special resources.
With this in mind, the way Lappei wilted like a dying flower from having her aspirations crushed made my heart tighten with excitement.
...But that was all the fun I would have for now.
I tapped Lappei's shoulder and smiled innocently and faithfully.
"I'm joking. I originally looked for this item just for you, my goddess." I handed her the pearl, "I made a promise, did I not? As long as you have faith in me, I will keep you away from death."
This exchange was essentially a display of my own faith. The greater the sacrifice, the more of my faith is transmitted to her, empowering her being.
But Lappei still pouted, "Hmph, then I accept it."
She swiftly took the pearl away from me, seemingly afraid I would change my mind. With her cheeks still adorably puffed up—creating a juxtaposition with her slender and voluptuous form—she then began to dissipate into a faint white fog.
"Goodbye, my chosen one." She said, curtly.
...I think I made her mad. She was probably hurt by the fact that she could not provide me with greater powers. How cute.
"Oh and, please be careful of Hevendrone's underlings..."
Her voice echoed from her dissolving form. A reminder that I indeed needed.
"Right. F*ck." I cursed. There was that issue. "But I'll think about it later..."
I still had a forest to escape from and an entrance examination to finish.
...
Needless to say, with my knowledge of this forest, I made it out with ease.
A hooded wizard had been waiting for me as I exited. I was completely untouched by the beasts of the Mana-Made Forest.
They nodded at me, albeit with a little hesitation, and gestured in a direction with their sleeve-covered arm.
I bowed at them before heading in the dictated direction. I walked with the Mana-Made Forest to my left and the rest of Aethercaller to my right.
I circled the circumference of the forest until I arrived at the altar I had been at just half an hour earlier.
There, Deuzetai was sitting on a chair, reading a book.
He then noticed my presence and raised a brow. He scanned me for a moment and squinted. I could guess his thoughts. He was probably analysing the possibility of me encountering nothing but the air in the forest.
Beasts should have been our foes as we moved through the forest, testing our survival abilities. My coming out without encountering a single beast probably made Deuzetai question his tests.
But, after glancing at his crystal ball, he realised that there was nothing wrong with his plans. The evasion of beasts was also a skill that could be counted in survivability.
I simply stood there, waiting for Deuzetai to make a decision.
"Hm," Deuzetai hummed, "You have passed. Wait at the side for your fellow examinees to complete their own tests."
I nodded and did as I was told.
I sat down on the grass, just a few feet away from Deuzetai. I then closed my eyes and began meditating, not wanting to waste a single second of my life.
...
Time passed.
The students slowly arrived, one by one, even more battered and bruised than earlier. It was quite brutal how Deuzetai did not allow them to rest in between tests. He did not even allow any healing wizards to aid in the recovery of each examinee.
I loved the way Deuzetai did things.
When asked, Deuzetai would simply say that it was a matter of endurance and learning how to manage one's injuries. It was another test in and of itself.
Lily had arrived after me. Claw marks had appeared on her short robe, slashing into the leather tunic she wore around her chest.
When she made it to the altar, her brows scrunched together upon seeing my pristine state. She probably wondered how I was already sitting there, unbothered by anything and simply indulging in meditation.
"You have passed. Sit down and wait for your fellow examines." Deuzetai spoke to Lily without looking away from his book.
Virion was the next to arrive. His battleaxe was still dripping with blood, sending a stench to permeate the area. He incurred no injuries, but he was sweating profusely and gasping for breath.
He had emerged from beside the altar with a few beasts chasing after him.
Deuzetai glanced at the charging beasts before looking at me, Virion, and Lily.
"Deal with it. Don't let their blood taint Liefanissus's altar or we all die here."
I thus had to spring to my feet and unsheath my dagger.
"Yes, High Professor." The three of us prepared for battle.