Mystical Journey

The moment they heard he was the infamous supervisor's disciple, all three people hesitated slightly. The first person who stepped forward earlier turned timid immediately and retracted his outstretched hand.

"Then why is he still standing here despite being ranked last?! You're doing this illegally! I refuse to accept this!" The young girl yelled loudly unexpectedly.

"You refuse?" Nilo narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Garen but saw that the expression on his face was unperturbed, as though the current situation here had nothing to do with him at all. Suddenly, an ill feeling rose up in his mind when he thought of another member of the sect who was very similar to him.

I strived for your reputation but you remained indifferent without being flattered or even showing the slightest hint of gratefulness? Fine! That's just fine!

Nilo had always been petty. Now that he was unhappy as well, the four people including Garen looked like eyesores to him.

"I refuse to accept this!!" The girl continued to scream loudly.

"Then just refuse!"

A stern look flashed in Nilo's eyes before he raised his palm up high and drew it towards the girl below.

Bang!

The stress of the invisible force field sent the girl flying at once. A splash of blood sputtered out in mid-air before she crashed violently against the sharp corner of the high platform. She rolled down and fell on the ground face up.

When Garen saw this scene, his mind tensed up slightly. He felt as if something was amiss and that his previous assumptions were beginning to show traces of being confirmed. Now that the selection quota had been fulfilled, those who had not succeeded would need to wait until next year before they could return. If he had to wait another year, would that mean that he would be left behind by his peers?

He glanced at Nilo and noticed that his facial expressions were becoming more contorted. The feelings in his mind which indicated that something was amiss became clearer.

Suddenly!

"All four of you can just get out now!" roared Nilo in a low voice irritably. Four invisible force fields were shot out in front of his body suddenly. The force fields wound themselves around the four people including Garen and flew out immediately.

Sure enough!

Garen was speechless. This was an unexpected disaster. He could vaguely feel that his assumptions had probably hit the nail on the head again…

While his body was suspended in mid-air, he felt a bout of dizziness from the lack of balance. While determinedly steadying his body, he saw that a few people in the crowd who were standing there earlier now had joyful expressions on their faces because of the misfortune that had befallen him. His mind remained speechless. Despite his best efforts to downplay everything, he could not shake off the bad luck of stirring up trouble.

It seemed as though he had been constantly encountering misfortune ever since Red Moon planted that unknown Willpower inside him. Terrible incidents had befallen him one after another continuously, simply making him a comet of disaster.

There was a 'bang' before all four people were thrown out far away again. Garen took a protective stance naturally. After rolling a full circle on the ground, he stood up quickly and did not resemble someone who was in a difficult position at all.

The examiner who admired Garen more than the others sighed faintly when he saw this.

"That person possesses the rare glowing abilities…" he continued to comment. The examiner himself was also threading on the path to become an expert in modifying glowing types. Therefore, when he saw that Garen was of this rare type as well, he was internally somewhat protective of him.

"That's enough talk of that. Trash like him who can only resort to using tricks will still be useless no matter how much they practice. He'll only be a waste of resources if we let him through," Nilo waved his hand. "This matter ends here. How many people does our sect select every year? Do we still lack someone like this?"

The examiner was helpless and did not speak anymore.

On the other side, Garen's face became slightly contorted. However, it was unrealistic for him to truly use his strength to force these elites to submit. The only thing that he could excel in now were the Big Wild Wolves. Unfortunately, the strengthened Big Wild Wolves only possessed Level One combat power that was close to Level Two at the most. Without an experimental platform, he could not use his Level Three Energy Machinist abilities to create an experimental piece of elite Energy Machinery at all. Thus, he had no other choice but to use tricks.

When he noticed that the examiner seemed as though he had given up completely, Garen's heart sank. If everything was delayed for a year, Garen did not know how much his progress would lag behind in comparison to the others. At his current age, a single year would mean a world of difference to a year in the future. His body would grow and mature in this year and the time that had passed would never return. This information was part of the Energy Machinist's general knowledge. Once they had reached twenty-five years of age, the maturing of their rains would stagnate completely. Therefore, every year before they reached the age of twenty-five was a time where they could change their destiny.

Nilo did not even glance at the four people that he had flung outside. Instead, he merely raised his head and looked at the faraway sky.

In the direction of a different contest platform that was far away, a long cry echoed over now. It sounded like a loud yell of a bird.

At that moment, a huge snowy white Giant Hawk flapped its wings and flew towards the heads of the crowd. In a few short moments, it slowed down from its initial great speed. It spread its large wings open and covered the people below while its ferocious talons clawed at Nilo's head.

There was a whooshing noise before a ray of blinding white light was released from its two talons. The light enveloped Nilo and the other selected candidates. It wrapped them up and they disappeared without a trace.

The Giant Hawk turned and circled the area before flying towards the direction where it had come from. It flapped its wings a few times before disappearing at the horizon.

The remaining people stood on the ground and looked at the Giant Hawk that had flown far away. Some of them sighed admiringly with emotion.

The four people including Garen that had been thrown out arranged their clothes and packed up. Garen glared coldly at the girl who kept shouting her disapproval earlier before turning around and leaving. This was truly unacceptable. He could merely find a job first and pass the year for now.

This world was unlike the previous ones because it was exceptionally difficult for him to develop himself. Moreover, he had jumped into a completely unknown territory and could not even gain much support from his Potential Points. Furthermore, his incomprehensible bad luck had caused him to fall into this state now as well.

"All of you, wait a moment!" Just when a few of them were planning to leave, the last examiner that had remained called out and asked them to wait. "Are you interested in joining the next ranked sect? Although it's slightly weaker, you will still receive Star Core treatment."

"Are you joking?!" After being thrown out and getting humiliated, one of the men that looked like a white collar worker turned around and asked crudely. The other two merely ignored the examiner and left quickly without even turning their heads.

"Star Core?" Garen's mind stirred. He dusted himself off and walked over. From the corner of his eye, he could see that the white collar worker was looking at him as if he was an idiot. However, Garen was unconcerned and walked forward to talk to the examiner.

"I would never lie to you. We examiners are not sent from the sects where the examinations are being held. Instead, we are members of external sects that were merely invited her to be examiners. I have no reason to lie or trick you," said the examiner sincerely while stroking his white beard. "Of course, I would never force you if you were unwilling."

Garen had good feelings towards this examiner. He did not know why this man had spoken on behalf of him earlier. Although he did not succeed, at least his good intentions were something that Garen would remember.

"You're not someone that was sent by the sect to the arena?"

"You don't even know simple things like this. You're just another careless hick from the countryside," cursed the male white-collar worker before he turned around and walked away. He had quickly left for a different arena in another area with the crowd that was not lively anymore. The contest that was being held here earlier had ended already and the arena would only be reopened again tomorrow.

"Will there really be a Star Core?" asked Garen quietly.

"Of course. Although the choices are extremely little and there are only Star Cores of the lowest level, it's still better than nothing," replied the examiner while nodding. "What do you say? Are you interested?"

"Is it a frost-type sect?"

"If you're looking for frost-types, I can suggest a sect that you can go to. It should be rather suitable for you," said the examiner softly.

Garen asked some questions regarding specific information carefully.

Apparently, the second rate sect that the examiner was talking about specialized in inviting the remaining members that were initially selected by larger sects. However, it was obvious that their resources and other factors such as safety and database were not equivalent to the larger sects and were actually much worse than them. Fortunately, despite only having those of the lowest grade, they still had Star Cores nonetheless. Even if he was able to reach the Inherited Level by relying on this, he would still only achieve the lowest level. Moreover, the success rate of this particular Star Core was frighteningly low.

The second rate sect that the examiner was talking about was called Scarlet Snow Sect. It was a smaller-scale sect that was not far from Ice Rainbow Sect. They had about ten members and their sect was once brilliant. However, the faults of their Training Methods and Inherited books caused them to decline halfway, making them an inferior minor sect now.

Very few people were willing to join sects like these. The examiner had only asked Garen this additional question because he was good friends with one of the Elders inside.

"Scarlet Snow Sect…" Garen had always felt that this Energy Machinist Sect was slightly weird. It seemed as though certain parts of it was slightly familiar for unknown reasons. However, he was indifferent towards all sects. Perhaps the strength of the weakest foundations could be instantly increased immensely once they were strengthened by Distorted Seeds. Perhaps everything would be made much easier when he relied on his powers to find resources everywhere when the time came. Currently, he was lacking the Energy Machinist's important system education the most. The Star Core was something that he would only need much later on. Moreover, it was still very early now.

"Are there any entry requirements?" asked Garen. "I'm not young anymore and I don't want to waste any more time."

"There are no requirements. With your Appraisal, you will definitely become a candidate to be an Elder's disciple immediately upon joining. However, you'll need to think this through. Once you join this sect, this will be recorded in the Federation of Energy Machinists. You won't be able to change sects anymore in the future," the examiner mentioned kindly.

"It's very normal to not be able to change sects," nodded Garen. He was able to achieve Level Three by learning on his own and he believed that he would definitely be able to turn over a new leaf as long as he was given system training lessons!

"Could you take me there to have a look?"

"No, the sect's encampment is extremely secretive. However, I can tell you that this is the only frost-type second rate sect that I can recommend to you. The rest are of different natures and will not suit you," said the examiner frankly. "You need to consider this carefully. Perhaps it won't be late to return next year again."

"Next year?" Garen shook his head. "Alright, I'll join the Scarlet Snow Sect."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" answered Garen in a calm and concise manner.

The examiner sighed in relief. He had managed to finally get a third candidate for his old friend. He could report back on his task now.

The absence of Star Cores that were of good enough quality was equivalent to not being able to see hope of achieving Inherited Levels. Coupled with the fact that the Scarlet Snow Sect's powers were declining day by day. Therefore, no one was willing to join this sect that was gradually waning. Faults had appeared within more than half of their Inherited books. There were also issues with the Star Core and Inherited Secret Tactics which were two of the sect's most important things. Naturally, it was the rationale that no one would be willing to join this sect. Moreover, the other sects had conditions that were much greater and better than those of Scarlet Snow Sect.

However, Garen was unconcerned because he merely needed training for his Energy Machinist systems. Since he was already able to achieve Level Three by studying on his own, there would be no problems throughout the road ahead as long as there was someone here to help him. As for the Star Core, it would be enough as long as it was there. He could not delay this for another year because he was already too old and his assessed value would decrease. More problems would arise as his age approached twenty-five years. He felt that it would be impossible for him to breakthrough to the Level Four Energy Machinist Level after a year. Perhaps his assessment value would be even lower than his current value when he reached twenty-two years of age. His range of selections would decrease greatly as well.

The most important part was that he was still worried about the unknown Forbidden Willpower inside his own body. The thing that Red Moon had planted inside his body was abnormally tight. It was uncertain when misfortune would befall him again. A Star Core with a slightly lower probability was better than none at all, right? This was what he thought.