Ryu and Reis were back in Kolmnid Farms.
"What are we doing back here so soon? Shouldn't we talk to Josec and Aurora first?" Reis asked.
"We probably wouldn't understand anything Josec has to say just yet which is why I had you ask Master Raygaard for permission to the Passage Of The Galagan" Ryu said.
"You speak like you already know what Josec is going to say" Reis noted.
"I have no idea of what you're talking about" Ryu said with a whistle.
"You're definitely hiding something Ryu" Reis said.
"Even if I were, it would be no fun to tell it to your face straightaway. A certain wise man once said, 'the value of a riddle is in the quest for its answer and not necessarily the solution itself'" Ryu said with a laugh.
"Fine, I give, where do we find the Passage Of The Galagan?" Reis asked.
"It's here on Kolmnid Farms" Ryu said.
"Wait a sec, the same Kolmnid Farms that grows crops and ornamental plants?" Reis asked.
"And the same Kolmnid Farms where the Limelight Devices have been raised" Ryu said.
"But I know this place like the back of my hand and I've never encountered any Passage Of The Galagan" Reis said.
"You're letting your eyes deceive you Reis. Do you recall the general category of people that inhabit Kolmnid Farms?" Ryu asked.
"If I recall correctly, they are people from the world of Kolmnid, making the vast majority of them…ninja" Reis said.
"Precisely, and one very vital rule you learn as a ninja growing up in Kolmnid is that…not everything is as it seems. Look over there and tell me what you see" Ryu pointed behind a Tent.
It was the Tent Tanya and the others were in.
"Wait a sec…is that…" Reis rushed to where Ryu had pointed. "…a pit?! But I've never seen this pit before. Judging from its depth it's not something that could have been dug in a single day" Reis said.
"You're right about that however…that pit has always been there…you Reis were simply not looking hard enough" Ryu said.
"I should probably get someone to cover this up. It looks pretty dangerous" Reis said.
"Ryu laughed.
"What the heck are you talking about? This pit is one of the wonders of the Farms. You should probably take a leap" he said.
"Sounds far too dangerous to try out on a whim. I've even heard of a tale of someone who leapt down a pit and ended up in a different world entirely" Reis said.
"Well I'm going to push you" Ryu said and suddenly pushed Reis into the pit.
"Ryu, you monster!" Reis screamed as he fell into the pit.
Ryu leapt in after him.
They landed on soft grass.
"I just felt the ground sink slightly beneath my feet" Reis said.
Then he looked around. They were in a large underground cavern however the cavern was just as bright as the Farms above it. What was even more surprising was the fact that there was a forest growing and thriving within the cavern.
"You're insane Ryu! We could have seriously hurt ourselves! Besides, look where your recklessness landed us?! There's no way a forest growing in an underground cavern is a natural occurrence! It's just like that tale!" Reis complained.
"Sheesh, you worry too much. What are you? A girl?" Ryu teased.
"If this is the place Master Raygaard spoke about, then we can't tread haphazardly. I felt the ground sink beneath my feet when I landed so I figure we might already have triggered a misstep per landing" Reis said.
Reis looked around. There were three girls walking about in the cavern and they were talking to one another.
"I was walking about in Kolmnid Farms and I sort of…uh…fell in a pit and here I am" a girl with pink hair and eyes said.
"What is with this Academy? Just when I thought I knew every nook and cranny, a new location just suddenly pops out of nowhere" a girl with blue hair and eyes said.
"Hey Ryu, I just thought of something" Reis said.
"What is it?" Ryu asked.
"Those girls have probably been here for a while and judging from how freely they're walking about, they probably have no idea of the dangers they're triggering in the Passage Of The Galagan which means, they either have no interest in accessing the Passage or they have already been denied access by the Guard" Reis said.
"Your point being?" Ryu asked.
"My point being that if the trial Master Raygaard gave us is really meant for us, we have no control over missteps triggered by other people's actions. If this trial is meant for us, there would be some level of fairness involved which means situations like this would have been taken into consideration" Reis said.
"I see, if other people are walking about here, we can't be blamed for missteps triggered by their actions and there is no guarantee that this place will ever be completely empty" Ryu realized what Reis was getting at.
"Further implying that there must probably be something about us that differentiates our missteps from those of other people" Reis said.
"It's probably our crystal keys" Ryu said.
"Explain" Reis asked.
"The crystal keys contain a list of our lessons learned, locations we have access to and these are all unique per member of the Ark which implies that to some extent, our crystal keys are also a proof of identity" Ryu explained.
"Let's check our crystal keys" Reis suggested.
They took out their crystal keys and scrolled through. There were a list of lessons and accessible locations as well as stats relating to their roles aboard the Ark. Among the lessons was a lesson entitled 'A Test Of Resourcefulness'. Its client was listed as Master Raygaard. An explanation of the trial was displayed in Raygaard's words exactly and below this was a counter for missteps. The counter displayed the number '2'.
"I'm certain I haven't moved since I landed so I could have only made one misstep" Reis noted.
"This test was given to the both of us and so I'm certain this counter here has probably been adjusted for collective responsibility which means my mistakes are your mistakes and your mistakes are my mistakes" Ryu explained.
"Makes sense but it also implies that we can only afford to make seven missteps each" Reis noted.
"This test was really planned out" Ryu said.
Reis nodded.
"I'm certain that our devices must work in conjunction with the traps here somehow to keep an accurate record of our missteps and if our crystals are also a proof of identity as you said, it explains how our actions differ from those of other people in here. It is possible that the traps only trigger once this lesson is accepted and it probably only triggers for the ones who accept this lesson" Reis noted.
"It will most certainly take more than seven steps to reach the Passage Of The Galagan" Ryu said.
"If you at least know where it is, it saves us the trouble of searching for it" Reis said.
"Yep" Ryu agreed.
"Let's utilize our advanced sights. I'll use my Ryuugan (Dragon Eyes) and you can use the Eyes Of The Kaignis King. Protocol Ocular would be a bit of overkill" Ryu suggested.
Reis nodded.
"Ryuugan!" Ryu called as his eyes assumed the likeness of the Dragon.
"Eyes Of The Kaignis King!" Reis called and his eyes turned fiery with crimson slits for pupils.
"I see. So this is how the forest is thriving underground" Reis exclaimed in awe.
"You finally see for yourself how Limelight works?" Ryu asked.
"There are numerous pores connecting the roof of the cavern to the ground in Kolmnid Farms. These pores are minute and cannot be seen above ground due to the brightness. However, when sunlight falls through these pores into the underground cavern and hits the Limelight devices, diffraction and amplification occurs giving this underground forest enough sunlight for photosynthesis" Reis explained.
"Yup, that explains how the Limelight Devices can be used for agriculture…however they have another function as well…" Reis said as his eyes narrowed.
"Yup, it should be obvious to you now that the path before us is clear" Ryu said.
Reis nodded. The Limelight Devices were suspended in the air and everywhere they were suspended, there grew green grasses. There was however a long, narrow path over which there were no Limelight Devices and on this path, ornamental grasses that looked like flowers grew.
"The path we're supposed to be treading is the path of flowers, this long and narrow path. The Limelight Devices during diffraction and amplification also generate a certain spectrum of Light that conceals the devices and renders all the grasses identical thus concealing the path we're meant to tread. Without advanced sight like the Ryuugan or the Eyes Of The Kaignis King, all the paths look the same and one cannot differentiate the paths that trigger traps from the path that is devoid of any traps" Reis said.
The two students followed the trail of flowery ornamental grasses and soon arrived at the entrance to a Passage. Before the entrance stood a Guard.
"Okay, halt right there you two! No one goes past me!" the Guard said as he raised up his hand to gesture to them to halt.
"We've been granted access to the Passage by Master Raygaard" Ryu explained.
"I'm certain Master Raygaard would not grant you access without first testing your resourcefulness. He did notify me of that earlier. He also said to let you pass if your count of missteps showed a figure below fifteen" the Guard said.
Reis and Ryu showed the Guard their lesson and the counter.
"Impressive! Only two missteps?! It's impossible to begin this trial without triggering a single misstep at the very least which implies that you only made a misstep each! That's amazing!" the Guard said in surprise.
"Can we pass?" Ryu asked.
"Certainly, the Passage is safe since your total misstep count is below fifteen" the Guard said and stepped aside.