The qualified people were sent to the room from earlier. Out of thirty-six who joined, only sixteen passed the second level. The silver-haired woman, who was praised by the fairy creature, remained absent-minded, still processing what happened three minutes ago.

Never did she imagine losing against them and in such a manner.

…

Going back three minutes ago, when Arthur mumbled something to the princess, Lucy joined hands with the remaining teammate, who was a tall man with a thick brown beard.

He's good at Earth Magic, precisely Gravity Magic, so with his help, she caught the half-illusory ball, which was about to pass through her only for her fingers to lit up with a mysterious flame, which rendered the ball unable to pass as easily as before.

This came as a shock to the silver-haired woman, who expected the ball to hit its target. Before she could distance herself from the prepared Lucy, the four of them initiated their plan.

The ball became ten times heavier with the use of Gravity Magic, the princess strengthened it using her pink energy, as for Arthur, he appeared behind his wife and placed his on her back.

The ball, which was already spinning in Lucy's hands, was enveloped by thin black threads which could barely be seen.

Another type of thread, a bit thicker than the black ones, came out of Arthur's index. It was soft and golden, it acted like a connection, allowing Arthur to control the ball even when it's thrown.

In addition to the pink energy, the ball became boiling hot as purple fire enveloped it, adding it to its power. Lucy swung her hand toward her sister, throwing an unstoppable flying ball.

The ground was lit with the purple fire as the spinning ball made its way toward the woman, whose body shone with a violent light.

She planned to pass through it rather than block it. The lightning-fast ball wasn't able to hit the woman, who easily evaded getting hit, however, just as it passed through her, it suddenly changed direction and returned to the way it came from.

The silver-haired woman's reaction was fast as she jumped to the side, however, the ball followed her with an ever-so-increasing momentum.

When she dodged it for the third time, the woman was dumbstruck to see six balls. They all seemed so genuine but she know it was but an illusion.

They were too fast for her to locate the real one so she was forced to try and dodge the six of them, which was an impossible task even with her Physique.

In the end, she was hit shortly after, thus ending the game once and for all.

…

Since the four of them were cooperating, she didn't know who used the illusion. It couldn't be the tall man so it was either the princess, Lucy or Arthur.

Her view of the siblings changed, they were hiding their true strength. She didn't blame them nor get angry, quite the opposite, in fact, she was excited to fight Lucy, especially.

It'll be unfair outside of the Secret Realm, however, in here, they had the same cultivation so it'll be an exciting battle, or so thought the woman.

It's a shame that the disparity between her and Lucy is too big, more so in this secret Realm, where Lucy's stat only decreased by a small amount.

"Congratulations to all of you! Your contributions, big or small, are much appreciated and you have entertained me!"

The fairy waved her small hand, handing the rewards of the seconds level. Surprisingly, Arthur got a skill point, some more valuable than any item.

As for Lucy, she got another ring, however, this one was exceptionally overpowered.

The three-legged Ring(Unique): Increase the rank of the user's fire by one.

If the user's fire mastery is already maxed, he/she will be granted a special kind of fire.

Once she equipped the ring, a row of notifications popped in front of the pleasantly surprised Lucy.

You have obtained the fire of the three-legged Golden Crow.

Lucy became excited as she read the descriptions of her new skills. Not only did she obtain the special fire of the golden crow, which is by no means inferior to the Phoenix fire or the Hell-Fire.

She was given two AoE skills; [Engulfing Sun] and [Golden Purgatory]. If they're combined with Arthur's vermilion bird's skills, the results are unimaginable.

Arthur has two skills points available but he refrained from using them for now. He tried to upgrade [Eyes of Tranquility] but it didn't work, unfortunately.

"Now now please calm down and listen to me."

She flew a bit higher and gazed down at all the contestants before continuing

"The third level isn't as easy as the first two so this is your chance to leave."

Despite her warning, none of the sixteen people left or showed any hesitation. Although the second level was just a fun game, the first level was by no means 'easy'.

It was deadly and many already died in that big maze.

The fairy happily clapped her hands when she saw their resoluteness.

"Very well, dangerous places always give generous rewards. The third level will begin in five minutes."

Emily, who passed the seconds level due to her high contribution, raised her hand and asked

"What's the third level?"

Although she appeared rather innocent and cute, this little devil is a born genius and is always scheming something. The reason Arthur didn't like her was because she always has ulterior motives and hides them extremely well.

It was the total opposite of Shu Ru, who's always calm and honest. It's no wonder many people call her a goddess or a fairy.

"Hehehe~~ Shrewd questions require honest answers!"

She put her index in front of her rosy lips and spoke with a low voice

"For the third level… you'll fight yourselves."

'Such a trial is a common in the towers of the System's universe but I doubt it's as easy as it seems.'

Claud commented after he heard the fairy's words.

Were he to fight himself, Arthur had complete confidence in winning, especially if he uses the White Tiger or the Vermilion Bird.

Five minutes quietly passed, some became nervous and others remained nonchalant, like the ghost, who sat in an empty corner and carefully wrapped the bandages around his hand.

Just like the second level, the sixteen contestants were teleported to another place. Each person appeared in a place, Arthur found himself in a green valley with a relaxing breeze.

Lucy was in a snowy area, the weather was extremely cold but it didn't affect her as she had the Pure Yin Physique. Actually, Shu Ru appeared in a library, which dumbfounded her.

Arthur surveyed the area but found nothing strange, there's no sign of a copy of himself or any other monsters.

'Did she lie?'

'Maybe… maybe not. We'll find out eventually.'-Claud

The place was vast and peaceful, to say the least. The valley stretched as far as th eye could see and even with his sharpened senses, he couldn't discover any abnormalities.

Arthur walked up to a thick tree and sat under it, closing his eyes and enjoying this moment of peacefulness.

…

Unlike Arthur, all the others already started fighting, including Lucy, who was staring back at a woman was had the same exact appearance as her.

Inside this world, her altered appearance was erased, her hair and face went back to normal. The stalemate lasted for a few seconds before the copy dashed at her.

Just from her copy's speed, Lucy was able to guess that the enemy has the same stats as her. Unlike her copy, who made use of the environment and activated the Pure Yin Physique, Lucy's body burned with golden flames which melted the snow and got rid of the chilling air.

Two sides, one fire, and the other ice, clashed against each other, causing this field of snow ti crack and vanish, leaving nothing but a bottomless chasm.

The fight continued for four hours, not because Lucy was struggling but because she used this opportunity to train herself.

The dark sky and the clustered clouds vanished as a miniature golden sun appeared, golden flames rained from above, covering the land and melting the snow.

The sun expanded until it exploded, causing unbelievable destruction and sending Lucy's copy flying miles away. Although this wasn't enough to finish her enemy, Lucy followed with a meteor shower, which destroyed what was left of this small world and killed her copy, finishing this once and for all.

Fifteen people fought their copy, only Arthur was excluded. He took a long nap and only woke up after everyone finished their fight.

'I think I get it.'

Claud spoke to Arthur, letting him know of his speculation.

'I don't think it's about fighting yourself but your inner demon, your fears, to be more exact. As a user of Dark-Anguish Technique and Dark Magic, your inner demon was reborn into a Tri-Spirit, which you have a harmonious relationship with hence the absence of any opponent in the third level.'