Thirty-two participants undertook the fourth trial, but not all of them succeeded in defeating their inner demons. By the time the pigolo Gutcha, the host of the competition, announced the end of the two hours timelimit, three participants had still not appeared at the end of the misty forest.

One of the mermaids, one of the Elves, and one of the MoonStar team were the three disqualified. The first two were brought back to their Guardian, however, the girl from Arthur and Lucy's team was in critical condition. Known as the Goddess of Green-Leaf or the Fairy, Shu Ru from the Mirage Era Hall. Once Gutcha got her out of that trial stage, he immediately took her to the parasite, who was as surprised as the pigolo.

Including the King of Green-leaf, all nearby guests were startled by Shu Ru, who looked on the brink of death. She didn't sustain any physical injuries, however, her skin was paler than snow, her breath heavy and slow as if she was suffocating. She was suffering from seizures every couple of seconds and her Life Essence was sucked dry, leaving naught by but a sliver, which was exactly what was keeping her alive.

"There's only one thing that can do this…"

Isadore frowned and was about to stand up and get a closer look but stopped as Arthur and Lucy teleported away, with Shu Ru, of course.

"Jeez, she looked like a breathing corpse. Hey, what could've done that?"-Edward

Fariya, after a momentary silence, muttered with a low voice.

"Time Wraith."

"Ha? What's that?"

Isadore turned his head and looked at Edward, a grave look plastered on his face.

"Mysterious monsters born from Time Laws. They relentlessly chase anything or anyone that plays with time."

"You mean time-travel? That exists too?"

Edward was befuddled, glancing at the spot Shu Ru was at, unable to hide his curiosity.

…

"What's wrong with her?"

Lucy was able to see the results provided by the Appraisal Skill, but as they were not satisfactory, she asked the frowning Arthur.

"It's a Time Wraith. I don't know how it got here, though."

He pressed his left hand on her chest and poured large quantities of Life Energy. Although Life Energy did make the girl's condition slightly better, it could not replace Life Essence.

Shu Ru was still half-conscious, breathing with difficulty, suffering from seizures, and groaning painfully.

"Master, Time Wraiths are coming." Warned Radolf, appearing behind Arthur, a sinister grey fog swirling around him.

Midolf appeared too, cursing inwardly as he lifted his head and glared at the roof. They were inside the tower, in one of the rooms that were allocated to the MoonStar Team.

The Quad-Spirit joined the two mythical beings, the three vanishing from the room and shooting toward the bright canopy.

The sky cracked and two silhouettes appeared from within a wormhole, their sizes bigger than the average human, rotten grey skin. The wraiths were faceless, croaking and screeching loudly, their lower body illusory and their slimy arms abnormally thin and long.

The two Time Wraiths stopped for a split second, their faceless head turning toward Midolf and Radolf, then the Quad-Spirit, which looked like a large misty black sphere.

"Smite the fuckers!" Roared Midolf, waving his hand in the air, causing the peaceful weather to change dramatically. Strong and unstoppable gales manifested themselves, actually affecting the Time Wraiths and pushing them dozens of kilometers away from the city.

Radolf and the spirit attacked in unison, the former transforming into his real appearance, a ferocious twin-headed bony lizard, which spat the signature black flames, covering the sky with them.

The Quad-Spirit relied on Dark Magic and Flames, invoking sinister darkness which trapped the Time Wraiths in jet black cube along with the black flames. An explosion erupted inside the cube, dark red flames raged left and right, so intense that the cube was tinged with a bit of red.

..

"Something must've happened. She didn't fight her inner demon. She's not in critical condition anymore but…"

As he removed his hand, Arthur clicked his tongue and stated with an angered voice.

"You think someone had a hand in this?"

"Unlikely."

"You said you were acquainted with her grandfather. He might know something." Said Lucy, her eyes falling on the now-unconscious girl.

"It's been a long time since I've met him. I'll ask Isadore first."

The second Arthur returned, Cristina almost jumped at him, appearing worried about Shu Ru.

"How is she?! Please tell me she's okay!"

It's rare to see the cold and arrogant Cristina act as such, she was tear-eyed and speaking with an unstable tone.

Arthur sighed and reassured her that Shu Ru is no danger, speaking with a loud and clarion tone so that the curious people nearby could hear too.

"Boss, shall I continue?"

Gutcha appeared behind Cristina, bowing respectfully then asking.

"The fifth trial will be postponed till tomorrow. I need to inspect everything."

"Gotcha! I'll go announce that to everyone."

The pigolo, hideously smiling, gave another bow then vanished. Seconds later, his loud voice reverberated across the plateau, calming down the cheering crowd and instructing the participants to go rest.

…

"Hmpf! So his trials are not as safe as they're claimed to be!"

The Patriarch of the Dark Blaze Sect, inside a large inn room, snorted as he glared at the sky-piercing tower at the center of the city. Excluding him, there was the remaining participant of the sect's team, as well as the grand elder. The Grand Elder was a short old man, bushy and long white beard, an oversized pointy hat like those fictional wizard wear, and a thick five-foot-long wooden staff, shabby and lacking any decoration or magical runes.

"Patriarch, it would be wise not to insult the Parasite in here. Even the walls have eyes and ears."

"So what? It's not like he can attack me just because of defamation! That parasitic monster! Ha!"

Unlike the angry Patriarch, the Grand Elder was calm and unperturbed. He was sitting on a short chair and drinking an iced lemonade. The youth, named Holand Dark Blaze, the very son of the Patriarch of the Dark Blaze Sect, Rasnod Ak Dark Blaze.

Once Rasnod was done cursing Arthur behind his back, he turned to his son, his mood changing so suddenly.

"Son, you did well in passing those trials by yourself. Your father is proud."

Holand, as expected of the son of a great sect, was pampered since childhood, provided with the best techniques and elixirs. However, he wasn't arrogant, just an indifferent person who seldom speaks. He wasn't as talented as Cristina or Bora but, being able to survive on his own for two trials proves that he's got some commendable skill.

"That thieving wench was disqualified but the idiot remains. You need to force him out, understand?"

Holand silently nodded his head and made sure his father had nothing more to say before excusing himself out of the room.

Unlike his father, Holand wasn't interested in forcing Bora and Cristina out of the competition or bringing them back to the sect. He had another reason, a personal one, which he had told no one about. Yes, he wanted to bring one of them with him but not by using force, and that's why he was participating… all to prove that he's worthy.

******

"Try this!"

Bora was touring the bustling city along with the rest of his team, though his attention was wholly focused on pleasing Cristina, his childhood friend, and his crush. They were touring the bustling city, visiting all kinds of shops, buying foreign yet incredibly mouth-watering food(especially sweets), and checking the displayed artifacts, which were exorbitant and unaffordable by the MoonStar Team, even Rosea and Shu Ru, who hailed from pretty wealthy backgrounds.

Unfortunately for dear Bora, Cristina didn't like him romantically. She considered him a close friend, a brother, and she would always reject his confessions, which tended to happen once a month, at least.

The six of them stopped before a doughnut stall, Rosea offered to buy them one each. Even Ho Qing was enjoying himself, finishing the sweet pink doughnut in less than a minute and even going out of his way to buy five more, stuffing the box into his already full Storage Ring.

"A-ah! What are you doing here?!"

Bora, cheerful just a second ago, narrowed his eyes and stood in front of Cristina, shielding her from a solitary youth standing two meters away. The youth, named Hold Dark Blaze, had long black hair, an average face, but a unique demeanor, unaffected by anything, even danger itself.

Holand didn't speak back, at least for the first couple of seconds. He stepped forward, his eyes focused on Cristina and Cristina alone. No heed was paid to the scowling Bora, who seemed about to lunge at him at any given second.

The competition was starting tomorrow and the majority of the participants were touring the city and enjoying all it had to offer. The city was big so there shouldn't be coincidences like this one, where two teams would meet each other, though Holand was alone and not accompanied by his team members.

The young man bypassed Bora and stretched his hand, offering an exquisite silver box to the confused Cristina.

"A gift." He said, seemingly not noticing the surprised looks of Ardor, Bora, and the rest.

After doing what he wanted to do, he backed away and spoke again.

"Good luck."

Soon after, he vanished into the large crowd….