The Devil's Cage

First, the big buff guy who asked the first question.

Second, the man with the black cloth wrapped weapon who asked the second.

Lastly, the man who also didn't moved his gaze when Kieran glanced over but remained silent during the questioning session.

The three of them dashed out to Nicil as soon as his words subsided.

The man who remained silent was the fastest, he easily took the scroll from Nicil's hands by raising his own, though moments later, he was forced to let go the the scroll.

A sharp blade aura slashed over the side of the scroll.

Souuu! Tssng!

The wind the blade aura brought up behind was strong, sending the scroll which was rolling on the ground flying upwards. The blade aura itself crashed onto the wall behind Nicil without any resistance.

A sword mark as long as 2 meters and could easily slip in a whole palm was carved on the wall.

Though, none of their gazes were placed on the powerful blade aura.

Most of the trial-goers attention was attracted by the scroll itself.

Even those who were slow reacted to the situation.

There was a scroll before them!

Everyone started to move out. Dozens of hands extended towards the scroll but a wide, thick palm was a step ahead of everyone else.

Not only did the strong palm took the scroll but the buff body of the palm let out a powerful shockwave that blasted a dozen trial-goers backwards.

The buff man was going to grin as he took the scroll but before he could truly smile, he felt the emptiness in his hand.

When the buffed man turned his head to his hand, he realized that the scroll suddenly went back to the man who remained silent without him noticing.

Another sharp blade aura was blasted at the man like shadow tracking his movements.

The weapon that was wrapped in the black cloth finally revealed itself, it was a four finger wide long sword.

The sword's body was clear like crystal but there wasn't a sword guard at the tilt but instead a metallic round weight with the size of a fist that took its place. One would need a set of special techniques to wield it for slashing.

The man who wielded the crystal sword fired out a total of three blade auras.

The first was fired at the man who remained silent.

The second and third were fired at the retreating course of his opponent, performing a seemingly perfect strike.

Then…

Whooosh!

The first blade aura swept pass the man who remained silent but there wasn't any blood splashing out but instead his figure burst off like a soap bubble.

"A clone!?"

The other trial-goers cried out in shock, turning their heads around.

They wanted to locate the man with their sight since he was the one who got the scroll first.

Although the man who remained silent showed quite decent capabilities, it didn't mean the others didn't stand a chance.

Numbers built up a formidable strength!

Soon, the other trial-goers proved that saying to be true.

"There he is!"

One of a trial-goers spotted the man who was already on the stairs heading up.

Right away, everyone else wanted to give chance but Nicil however opened his mouth despite all the commotion going on.

"Oh right, forgot to mention that, the scroll in my hand is just a sample. It's not one of the three scrolls to pass the trial."

Nicil wasn't speaking loudly but everyone else who was ready to give chase was stunned.

Everyone exchanged gaze, in lost of actions all of a sudden.

"You people thought that the Sanctuary will play such petty word tricks in the trials?"

Nicil glanced over everyone with a smiling face.

Especially when he saw the trial-goers ugly face as if they swallowed a fly, an extra layer of joy was added to his face.

When Nicil was planning the trial contents, he was already thinking how many of the trial-goers would be tricked. Now, his results proved that it was quite enjoyable.

Even though Kieran who Nicil thought would have gotten tricked by his words didn't even flinch, he had no regrets in his little trick.

After all, it was expected of Kieran possessing such sharp senses since he was the assistant and disciple of that Nikorei.

Nicil glanced over the embarrassed face of the rest of the trial-goers again, after taking a good look and enjoying most of it, he continued.

"I'll give you people some advice. It is quite cold here in Final Island during night, so you better find somewhere to stay warm. Aside from that, this hall plus the cottage above will be listed as forbidden areas throughout the three day trial, starting after ten minutes!"

"That means that after ten minutes, you people only can get back here at night during the third day. Should you return here anytime other than the given period, even if you have the scroll, you will be disqualified!"

Nicil finished his announcement and threw an admiration gaze at Kieran before he turned around and to return to the cottage.

After getting the gaze of admiration from Nicil, Schmidt couldn't hold it anymore as he stood in the corner..

"You've known it from the start?"

Just when Nicil was announcing the trial contents, Schmidt was unconsciously hinting at Kieran, ready to contend for the scroll but he was rejected with Kieran's shook of his head.

Out of the trust he had for his friend, Schmidt halted his thoughts as well. He remained silent in the corner and watched the show.

Now, the situation proved that Kieran was wise indeed.

"You are really something man!" Schmidt then gave a big thumbs up to Kieran.

"Not really. I am just waiting for the last one who get the scroll so I can go get the best out of their fight!" Kieran shook his head sincerely and spilled his own thoughts.

Instantly, when Nicil from afar heard what Kieran said, his figure staggered and almost fell down because of the revelation.

"Damn it! This guy did it on purpose! Just as resentful as that bastard cat, Tiki!"

Nicil turned over his head and thought about it when he saw Kieran with his smiling face.

Then the overseer went up stairs with a grumpy manner, disappearing in the corridor.

Schmidt's thumbs up was a little frozen when he saw such a scene.

He had to ask Kieran once more to confirm his thoughts.

"You really thought so?"

"Yup!" Kieran nodded without denying.

It was indeed the truth.

He was doubtful of the Sanctuary playing such petty tricks in their trials, but until the end, his intentions to contend for the scroll didn't change.

Schmidt gave out a bitter smile when he saw Kieran nodded.

The other trial-goers however had a strange expression all over their face.

Watching a monkey was was all good but when the monkey was themselves, the feeling was self-explanatory.

Yet, everyone of the trial-goers branded the time limit in their mind. Each of them headed up one after another.

Throughout the process, none of them came over to speak with Kieran or Schmidt.

When everyone else left, Kieran stood up.

"Let's go." He said.

When Kieran and Schmidt went up to the cottage, Nicil was nowhere to be found.

Obviously, the overseer was not eager to see Kieran at the moment.

Kieran and Schmid then went out the door.

The sky was already dark, the whistle of the north-east wind caused the already harsh temperature to plummet even more.

Schmidt couldn't help but shiver in the cold.

Even with [Secondary Elemental Damage Resist] Kieran felt a little cold.

He looked at Schmidt who was shivering and said, "Let's go, let's find us somewhere warm to tuck in. The cold night could be very long!"

"It's fine! I can hold myself together! We'll go look for the scroll first!" Schmidt shook his head.

The adorable chief officer didn't want to hinder Kieran's progress in finding the scroll because of his weakness, even more so when the other trial-goers were already on it.

"This trial though, it's not all about speed." Kieran pointed out something.

"What?" Schmidt couldn't react to Kieran's words all of a sudden.

"Think of the trial that you've gotten previously and think about the environment that we are in now." Kieran reminded him.

Schmidt promptly thought more into things.