Cate looked away but couldn't forget the captivating figure she had just seen. She had known from the moment she first saw Mary that the young woman was a beauty, but this was far beyond all her expectations.
With only a single bed, they had to share it. They lay in silence, but this only intensified the situation between them. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a blunt knife, yet neither of them acknowledged it. Cate had lived for a very long time and thought she had risen above these kinds of feelings. She was wrong, and Mary was the one who had proven it to her.
The night felt short, and yet, to Cate, it seemed like an entire year had passed. She barely got any sleep.
The next morning, the lead examiner looked more stunned than usual. The magicians sent to capture magical beasts had returned, and more than a few of them had died in the Edgeless Forest. The examiner hadn't expected this and believed that something else had happened in the forest. However, since she had no proof even after investigating, she had no choice but to move on to the final test.
"The final test is very simple," she said, looking at Cate. "All you have to do is pass through the Edgeless Forest and reach the headquarters of the Avalon Society, which are on the other side of the forest. The journey is only a few tens of kilometers long, but there's a reason it's called the Edgeless Forest. Good luck to you all." The lead examiner didn't wait for any questions before disappearing in a blaze of fire.
The participants were still in a daze over how dangerous the test was when the building began to crumble around them. The mansion had been raised by the lead examiner, and now that she was gone, she saw no reason to leave it standing. Cate was already walking out of the hall when the other participants finally came to their senses.
"How did you know she would collapse the building?" Mary asked.
Cate smiled. "It was clear that the examiner was in a bad mood from the very start. She must be looking for an outlet for her anger. Someone like her being put in a position of authority is a recipe for abuse."
The Mage-Born nodded in agreement. Most of the people were able to make their way out of the mansion, but three unlucky fools were crushed to death.
"Let's go," Cate said.
The Edgeless Forest was one of the most dangerous places in the Immortal Realm. Powerful magicians had entered and never returned. Even magical creatures like vampires and werewolves, whose power was well-known, felt dread at the prospect of crossing this forest.
Cate could see the confusion on the faces of most people, but she didn't care. Along with Mary and the Mage-Born, the three entered the forest and began their journey. The Edgeless Forest appeared to be just like any other forest, with trees of all kinds and a rare, verdant beauty.
Cate led the way, and to the surprise of both Mary and the Mage-Born, she was carefree about the entire matter. She walked while making light conversation with Mary. The Mage Born, on the other hand, had his swords drawn and moved while looking left and right, his senses on high alert.
Mary seemed to trust Cate a little too much as she did nothing to ensure her own safety. She believed that Cate would get her through this mess no matter what and allow her to join the Avalon Society.
The three walked for an entire day, and when night came, Cate decided they should rest there. Mary and the Mage Born didn't object, since the forest was much more dangerous at night. Walking around in the darkness was the wrong choice, and almost everyone knew it. Those who didn't were about to find out.
The three set up a simple camp but did not build a fire. As for food, they had brought none. The three stayed silent the entire night, and in their silence, they heard the screams of many people being killed by creatures too abnormal to have names.
In the morning, the three simply continued their journey. After just a few hours, they came across a camp that had been devastated by something they couldn't identify. There were four dead bodies at this camp. These people had been ripped to shreds, their intestines and eyes missing. Their limbs were scattered everywhere, and the air seemed to carry echoes of their dying screams. There was still a fire burning at the center of the camp. A badly burned rabbit was on a skewer that was being rotated by magic. These dead participants had used magic to rotate the skewer and to set the fire.
Cate just shook her head at these fools. Setting a fire in a place about which you didn't have all the information was something only a fool would do.
Cate wanted to move on, but Mary insisted that they bury the dead before doing anything else. Cate didn't oppose the suggestion, even though she would never have this kind of sympathy for people unrelated to her.
As the three of them dug a large pit to bury the corpses, Cate was clearly unfocused as she went through the entire process with her eyes locked on Mary. It was as though Cate was trying to learn about the truths of the world from Mary. The Mage Born noticed this but said nothing and even pretended not to have seen anything. Mary was pink-faced throughout, and when they were done burying the corpses, Mary used a cleaning spell to ensure that the dead remained dead and were not disturbed by animals and spirits beyond the mortal plane.
The three moved deeper into the forest, and after another few hours of marching, Cate realized something was wrong. "Do you hear that?" Cate asked.
Mary and the Mage Born both strained their ears but still couldn't hear anything.
"The birds have stopped," said Cate.
This was when Mary and the Mage Born realized all sound had stopped. They were the only ones making any noise. Even the sound of the wind that was clearly shaking the trees had somehow disappeared.