The group exchanged one of their spirit stones for the weaker medicinal pill the spirit had mentioned before. The hawk waved its wings and something happened.

The pill materialized out of thin air while the stone disappeared, once more displaying the being’s ability to manipulate space to some degree. At this point, though, they felt numb to the strange phenomena.

Red grabbed the strange dark pill and brought it over to Rimold. The rogue took the item from him and shoved it down Rog’s throat, almost putting his entire hand inside the man’s mouth in his franticness.

Once they confirmed the hunter had swallowed the medicine, they stepped back and waited. Soon enough, something happened to his body.

“It’s working!” Allen pointed at Rog in joy.

Indeed, his burning scars started to disappear as the pill’s medicinal power worked its magic. Rog’s ruined flesh began to sew itself up, leaving behind new smooth and pale skin, which didn’t seem to fit with the hunter’s tanned and rough look. Still, ten seconds later and all his burn injuries completely disappeared. The man, however, remained unconscious.

“Is he going to be okay now?” Allen asked the hawk.

“He will live.” the spirit nodded.

The young master nodded. He looked back at Red and Rimold with a reluctant expression. “S-So I guess this is it, huh?”

“No need for stupid farewells.” the rogue said with a scoff. “The brat made his choice, so let’s not wait any longer.”

The man picked out a few items from Rog’s belongings and tossed it towards Red. This included the box of pills they had acquired from the bears. “Take it. We don’t know what they do, but they might be useful in a pinch.”

The youth nodded and pocketed the box.

“Oh, here!” Allen also stepped forward and handed him another box. “There’s that talisman. I-I think you could use it…”

The young master looked like he wanted to say more, but Red shook his head at him and the boy fell back in silence.

Rimold looked over at Reinhart. “I suppose you’re staying too, right?”

The knight smiled in response. “You can take the core with you, if that’s your concern. I’ll still want my part later, though.”

Rimold didn’t disguise his intent and just nodded. He walked over to the red monster core and stored it in his backpack.

The rogue looked back at the hawk. “Me, the young master, and the wounded guy want to leave.”

“Before you do so, is there anything else you’d like to exchange for your remaining spiritual stones?” the spirit asked.

Rimold hesitated. However, in the end, he shook his head. “We’ll just take the stones.”

“Very well.”

The hawk waved its wings, and two of the remaining four stones flew towards Allen and Rimold. The duo stored the items and looked at the spirit in anticipation.

“I’ll be teleporting the three of you near the entrance to the inheritance ground.” the hawk said.

“That’s too dangerous!” Rimold frowned. “There might be bandits around there!”

The spirit sighed in a human-like manner. “My teleportation capabilities are limited from this far. However, I can still sense whether there are individuals around the entrance to the underground, so I assure you that for this moment the three of you should be safe.”

The rogue didn’t look too satisfied with the hawk’s response. However, he still nodded. “Just take us out of this hole.”

The spirit nodded and began to wave its wings. A trail of mist-like energy surrounded Rimold, Allen, and Rog, and a complex pattern appeared beneath them.

The young master noticed what was happening and looked over at Red with concern. “Red, remember! You have to liv-”

Before the boy could finish speaking, a flash of light came from beneath his feet and the next moment, they had disappeared. Red sighed to himself and turned around to face the spirit.

“Before we proceed, I want to ask both of you the same question.” the hawk said. “Do you wish to exchange your spirit stone for something?”

Reinhart lifted his hand up. “I need a healing pill for my shoulder. My injury is not as bad as the other guy, though, so something weaker will do.”

The spirit nodded. “That will be one third of a spirit stone. Is there anything else you wish to exchange for?”

The knight scratched his beard in thought. “Can I exchange the rest for protection talismans?”

“Certainly. I can only give you two of them, though.”

Reinhart smiled. “That’s more than enough.”

Soon, their exchange was complete, and the knight swallowed the pill down without hesitation. Red watched as the man’s injured shoulder quickly recovered back to a functioning state.

The spirit’s attention was then turned towards Red. “What about you?”

Red frowned in thought. He pointed at the two reward boxes he had just received from his companions. “Can you tell me what these talismans and pills are and how to use them?”

“Yes.” the hawk nodded. “But it will cost you.”

“… How much?”

“One fifth of a spirit stone.”

Red hesitated. He wanted to ask the being why it cost so much just to tell the purpose of items that already belonged to him, but he was aware it was pointless to discuss with the spirit.

In the end, he nodded. “Fine.”

The hawk waved its wings and a trail of spiritual energy made its way towards Red’s ears. A voice suddenly seemed to be transmitted directly into his mind.

“This is a talisman of wind spiritual bestowment. This item in specific has many uses, but the most common one is to enhance one’s weapons with destructive wind energy for a limited amount of time. You may do this by…”

The hawk went on to explain how to activate the talisman, while Red had a confused expression. He looked over at Reinhart, and he noticed that the man was also staring at him with a curious expression. The boy suddenly understood.

‘I’m the only one hearing this.’

The spirit’s voice continued to talk to the boy. “These pills are called Burning Vein pills. They are used mainly to help cultivators to open certain special fire-aspected acupoints, but they can also be used to open normal acupoints, and they will be far more effective than an ordinary Vein Opening pill.”

The voice disappeared, and Red was left to ponder over this information. The talisman was undoubtedly very useful for the boy right now, and while the pills themselves were also valuable, they wouldn’t serve much of a purpose to him at this instant.

‘I suppose there was no way for Rimold to know that.’

“Do you wish to exchange for something else?” the hawk asked, this time for everyone to hear.

Red didn’t respond immediately. A few seconds later, he nodded at the spirit. “I would like to exchange for offensive talismans.”

The youth saw no point in exchanging for defensive talismans after seeing that they were of no help for Reinhart in turning the battle around and only allowed him to last against the monster for a bit longer. If the knight himself was already battered to that point, what would have happened to Red in his position, even with a defensive talisman? If anything, he had to avoid combat at all costs, and if he ended up in a fight, he had to finish it very quickly.

Hence why he chose offensive talismans.

“With what remains of your spirit stone, you may either exchange for two offensive talismans, or a single one of a higher quality.”

The boy hesitated again. Quality or quantity? It was hard to tell what he was going to face ahead, but Red doubted it would be any weaker than that fireleaf deer. Against that beast, one talisman was of great help, but it wasn’t enough to kill it in one blow. With that in mind, the boy made his decision.

“I’ll take the single one.” Red said.

“Very well.” the hawk waved its wings, and the boy’s spiritual stone disappeared.

In its place, a blue talisman appeared and flew towards Red. He grabbed the slip of paper and examined it. All of a sudden, the spirit’s voice sounded out in his head once more.

“This is a Chain Lightning talisman. It evokes a powerful lightning spell that can’t be blocked by conventional means and can penetrate most ordinary defenses to directly attack someone’s insides. The way of activating it is…”

‘Lightning?’

Red was surprised by the word. He had become aware of the existence of the element on the surface, but the boy had never truly witnessed it in person. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of scene activating this talisman would conjure.

The hawk addressed both Red and Reinhart. “Since you have exchanged your spiritual stones for your rewards, I must ask you for your explicit confirmation. Do you wish to continue on this trial even after being aware of the increasing dangers moving forward?”

Both the knight and the boy nodded without hesitation.

“Very well.” the spirit nodded back. “Then I shall explain some things. This following trial differs from the previous one, as in it is more of a race than a simple challenge.”

“What do you mean by that?” Reinhart frowned.

“That means that only the first person to reach the end of the trial will enjoy its greatest rewards.”

“And what happens to the others?” the knight looked worried. “Do they still keep what they get?”

“They do. But after the winner is decided, the inheritance ground will close, and everyone else will be transported out of it.”

“Well…” Reinhart looked at Red. “I don’t fancy our chances in a competition against Rickard.”

Red had to agree, but he wasn’t dissuaded from his course.

“You have no cause for concern.” the spirit shook its head. “Although strength is an important aspect of the following trials, it will not be the only thing that is tested.”

The youth was skeptical about the hawk’s words, but he had other matters to ask about. “Will I still be able to exchange for that pill even if I don’t win?”

“Before leaving, everyone will have the chance to exchange for rewards. That is, as long as you have spiritual stones in your possession.”

Red frowned. “And I suppose I’ll be able to earn them there?”

“Yes. As long as you pass the challenges.”

The boy nodded. However, he was still curious about a certain matter. “… So the person who reaches the end first gets the entire inheritance?”

The spirit sighed. “That is indeed the case…”

The hawk’s reaction confused both Reinhart and Red, but before they could question it, the creature continued.

“I know the two of you must be curious about the nature of this inheritance ground, but that information only concerns the person that wins this following trial. For the rest, you should just look at it as an opportunity to make a fortune if you’re able to brave the dangers.”

Red contemplated the spirit’s words in silence.

The hawk waved its wings. “Remember to take my master’s words to heart, and no matter how insurmountable these next few challenges may seem, you will still have a chance at success. This is what cultivators do after all, isn’t it?”

A teleportation circle started to form beneath Red and Reinhart’s feet.

“They risk their lives and comfort for a chance at the eternal, no matter how slim it may be.” the spirit said in a sad tone. “But it’s only proper. One should always prefer to live a short but interesting life rather than a long and tedious one.”

The being waved its wings one last time, and the circle beneath Red glowed. A moment later, the world around the boy twisted in a familiar manner.

It was at that point that the youth was suddenly reminded of something.

‘I never felt that spirit’s fluctuation.’

Then, the world went dark.