Chapter 1249 Spirit World [2]

In this world, spirits were generally divided into several broad types.

Beast Spirits were the most common. Wolves, serpents, birds, and countless other creatures fell beneath this category.

There were also Plant Spirits, Elemental Spirits, Construct Spirits, Undead Spirits, and several rarer classifications that Arianne's memories only contained limited information about.

Then there were Humanoid Spirits.

And among all the commonly recognized classifications, Humanoid Spirits had one of the worst reputations.

Most were weak. Painfully weak.

That didn't mean every Humanoid Spirit was useless. There were powerful ones. Giants, elves, ancient blood races, strange humanoid demons, and countless other creatures that resembled humans while possessing bodies and abilities far beyond them.

Some were even considered extremely desirable summons.

The problem was humans themselves.

Ordinary humans were widely regarded as the weakest Humanoid Spirits a Spirit Tamer could summon.

And unfortunately, Arianne seemed to possess the rare talent of summoning only humans.

Her expression gradually stiffened as more memories surfaced.

She hadn't merely summoned a human once and been unfortunate. This body had been enrolled at Silverleaf Academy for three years. Spirit Tamers here were allowed to perform a formal taming ritual once every year under the academy's guidance.

She had attempted it three times.

All three had produced humans.

The first had been an ordinary middle-aged man. He wasn't a warrior. He wasn't a mage. He wasn't even particularly strong. He had been a farmer.

Arianne's lips parted slightly.

The second attempt had produced a young man who at least knew how to use a sword. Unfortunately, that description made him sound considerably more impressive than he actually was. He had been nothing more than an ordinary guard.

Her third and most recent attempt had been the reason her reputation at Silverleaf Academy had completely collapsed.

A set of twin children.

Three years. Three opportunities. All humans.

Arianne slowly leaned back against the alley wall.

"Oh."

For several seconds, she said nothing else.

She finally understood what Hell meant.

This was the Hell difficulty. This was a terrible starting point.

She was an orphan with practically nothing to her name, studying at an academy filled with people who already considered her worthless. Her body was weak. Her resources were nearly nonexistent.

She had no powerful family supporting her. And in a world where someone's future was determined almost entirely by the spirits they could summon and tame, she possessed an ability that had seemingly decided to give her the weakest possible result every single time.

Arianne closed her eyes.

She suddenly remembered Michael's words before she entered.

The better your performance, the more influence it'll have on the Class you awaken and whatever additional rewards you receive.

Her eyelids opened again.

"This is a joke."

Arianne looked toward the mouth of the alley.

For the first time, the true weight of the difficulty she had randomly received settled over her.

Arianne pushed herself away from the wall.

Pain immediately spread through her ribs.

She grimaced but remained standing.

Fine.

She had already chosen this path because she wanted something she could call her own. It would be rather embarrassing if the first thing she did after entering was complain because the starting point was terrible.

Just as Arianne took another step, a familiar blue light flickered before her.

She stopped immediately.

[Trial Tasks Generated.]

[Completing any one Trial Task will grant you the freedom to leave the trial at any time.]

[Death will also terminate the trial.]

[The greater the number of Trial Tasks completed before departure, the greater your final evaluation and rewards.]

[Trial Task 1: First of Silverleaf]

[Graduate from Silverleaf Academy as the highest-ranked student one year from now.]

Arianne's expression stiffened.

"…What?"

Highest-ranked? Her? The girl who had spent three years summoning humans?

Before she could properly process it, the second task appeared.

[Trial Task 2: Break the Verdict]

[Defeat three students whose Spirit Tamer ranking currently exceeds yours by at least two major tiers in officially recognized combat.]

Her lips twitched.

Then came the final task.

[Trial Task 3: Humanity's Answer]

[Using Human Spirits as the core of your force, make a contribution significant enough to alter the outcome of a battle against the Demon Army.]

The alley became very quiet.

Arianne read all three again.

Her gaze eventually returned to the first.

"Graduate first in the academy."

She slowly looked down at her bruised body as she recalled every spirit she had summoned until now.

"…Hell."

This time, she said it with considerably more understanding.

The first task alone was ridiculous. The second task wasn't much kinder.

Arianne pressed two fingers against her forehead as she thought of the third task.

The Demon Army.

That was no school competition. The memories this body possessed about them were fragmented, mostly lessons and news brought into the academy, but even that was enough.

Cities had disappeared beneath Demon invasions. Veteran Spirit Tamers died every year holding defensive lines.

And the task wasn't merely asking her to participate. She had to change the outcome of a battle. With Human Spirits forming the core of whatever force she used.

Arianne stared blankly at the panel.

"So the first one is somehow the easiest."

That realization wasn't particularly comforting.

All three tasks revolved around the same thing.

Her humans.

Arianne stared at the three tasks for another long moment before finally sighing.

She looked down at herself again. Her uniform was dirty, one sleeve torn, and she could still feel dried blood at the corner of her mouth.

"…I should probably take a bath first."

There was no point trying to overturn her fate while looking like she'd been dragged through a ditch.

With that thought, Arianne began making her way toward the dormitory room belonging to this body, still sorting through the unfamiliar memories as she walked.

Meanwhile, outside the trial…

Michael had barely finished watching Arianne disappear into the blue vortex when several panels appeared in front of him.

His expression immediately became serious.

[Awakening Temple]

[Participant Registered.]

[Participant: Arianne Evermoon]