[Vol. 8] Chapter 119: The Second Trial of the Selection
Surprisingly, Hongyan was able to stay calm. Even though she had clearly seen someone she had been searching for a long time, she didn’t rush forward to meet them in such a public setting. It seemed that her training during this time had really helped her grow a lot.
That was a relief.
Without trying to meet old friends or reveal her identity, Violet simply found a random corner with her dragon girl and stood quietly, waiting for the first trial outside to fully end. As expected, there weren’t many people left.
Sure enough, after about another half an hour, only a few more candidates, less than ten, came in one after another. Then, with a loud sound of a bell, the holy knights guarding the entrance to the arena shut the doors together. The booming sound echoed loudly, shaking the air.
The hundreds of candidates in the arena all stopped meditating or chatting and stood up. Their expressions became sharper and more serious.
"Her Holiness the Saintess has arrived!"
With the loud and united shout from all the holy knights, a figure slowly walked out from the back.
She wore a beautiful holy outfit and held a short staff in her hand. Around her delicate wrist was a faint golden ring that looked like it was made of metal but shined like fine jade. She stood proudly in front of everyone, gently brushing back her long pink-gold hair and smiling kindly.
If the previous Judgment Saintess Frederica had the feeling of a hidden sword. Sharp, strong, but calm and controlled, someone who made the wicked feel fear and gave the weak a sense of safety…
Then this young girl with pink-gold hair, who had just arrived, gave off a completely different feeling.
She was soft and warm, like sunlight that shines on everything. She didn’t feel dangerous at all. Instead, she gave off a peaceful and comforting presence, as if just standing near her could make pain and sadness disappear, helping people relax without even realizing it.
With such a clear aura, plus the shout from earlier, even those who had never seen her before could guess who she was.
Sure enough, the pink-gold-haired girl introduced herself soon after.
“Hello everyone, I’m Philomena Lambert, the Redemption Saintess and the host of the second trial of the selection. Reaching this point means you are already among the most outstanding heroes in the world today. On behalf of the Church, I offer you my congratulations.”
“Oh, no, no… Your Holiness is too kind. We were just lucky.”
“Yes, Your Holiness is always so busy, and yet you came all the way from the Capital just to host the trial for us. We are truly honored, haha…”
Seeing the gentle and kind Saintess bow politely to them, the candidates quickly returned the greeting. But many of them seemed a little nervous now.
Because, truth be told, of the Three Saintesses of the Holy Empire, the one you really didn’t want to offend was not the powerful and rule-focused Judgment Saintess, nor the leader of the Saintesses, the Bright Light Saintess.
It was actually this one, the kind and harmless-looking girl standing before them.
Everyone had heard the stories. Each of the Three Saintesses held a holy artifact and had their own special power. Even though the Redemption Saintess had the weakest fighting strength of the three, her healing ability, thanks to her artifact, the [Ring of Salvation], was far beyond the other two.
In fact, when it came to healing, she was the strongest in the world, second only to the Goddess herself, if there was even a "second" at all.
Also, the Redemption Saintess is in charge of the Flower City, a place known as a healing paradise. She also leads the Holy Healing Order, the most skilled healing group in the Goddess Church. You could say that almost all healing work related to the Church is closely connected to her. In a way, she holds great power.
When traveling outside, no one can guarantee they or their loved ones will never get hurt. So, of course, no one wants to offend the one and only Saintess known to have the power of “Resurrection”.
Miss Philomena, the youngest of the Three Saintesses in every sense, seemed used to being treated with such respect, one could even say flattery. She didn’t waste much time and simply nodded slightly before speaking:
“Everyone, you’re too polite. Let’s not spend time on formalities. Now, let us begin the second trial of the Chosen Hero Selection. I’ll first explain the rules.”
Unlike the cold and strict Judgment Saintess, who barely gave any guidance, the Redemption Saintess waved her hand to the side. Immediately, several holy knights came forward, carrying a large and strange-looking machine. It seemed to be made of mixed metals and other materials. They carefully placed it in front of the pink-gold-haired girl.
“You’ve all gone through the first trial, so by now you should have realized that the Goddess is not only looking for strength in a Chosen Hero. A strong will, good character, and wisdom are just as important. This second trial is meant to test how well you respond to sudden and unexpected events, it’s a full test of your overall abilities.”
As she spoke, Philomena walked over to the strange machine. It had six thick “horns” sticking out in different directions and looked a bit like a giant earthquake detector, though no one could tell what it actually did.
She placed a golden crystal, glowing with pure light energy, into a slot at the front of the machine.
“ZZzz~!”
Like a magic machine being powered up, the huge six-sided device, which stood several meters tall, lit up brightly the moment the crystal was placed inside. The six “horns” projected beams of light forward, forming six glowing, door-shaped portals floating above the ground. They looked like they were made from light and shadows, beautiful and mysterious.
This amazing sight instantly caused loud gasps and shouts among the crowd. But Philomena, who had clearly seen things like this many times before, calmly explained.
“There’s no need to be surprised. This trial was personally designed by the Goddess and completed with help from the Church. The power of the divine is something most people can’t begin to understand in their lifetime. So all you need to know is how these things work and how this trial will go.”
She pointed at the six glowing doors floating in the air, all centered around the strange machine. Each door had a different design.
1 ) One shone with golden light and looked holy.
2 ) Another had sharp edges and gave off a dangerous feeling.
3 ) One even seemed cold and eerie, as if it led straight into a ghostly underworld.
No one knew where these doors led or what they did. The only clues were the six different symbols floating above each door, which might give some idea of what they were for. But…
“Uhh… does anyone know what those symbols mean?”
“Nope, I can’t read that stuff. Someone get a scholar over here to explain!”