"Why aren't we going in yet?"
Marina glanced at Noir in confusion. He was dressed in a casual suit today, giving off an air of laziness.
"Here, you'll understand once you see it."
With that, Noir handed her the binoculars.
This Trial had appeared out at sea, a fair distance from where they stood. You could make out the entrance to the Trial from here, but not in detail.
Using the magnification from the binoculars, Marina looked again in the direction of the Trial.
There, on the surface of the sea, stood a towering golden gate. Dark golden mist continuously spilled out from the doorway, and dazzling rubies shimmered with a tempting light.
'...Nothing seems off.'
Just as Marina was thinking that, Noir's voice spoke up.
"Look down, at the water."
She tilted the binoculars downward and saw a chilling scene.
Beneath the golden gate, dark golden mist was billowing out… Where it touched the pale blue sea, the water slowly turned golden and then solidified, becoming part of the golden gate.
"The Trial is eroding reality!?"
"A High Trial!"
Noir shrugged as if to say, that's exactly it.
Handing the binoculars back to Noir, Marina's face immediately darkened.
The visible erosion alone was enough to prove that this High Trial wouldn't be easy…
As the two were deep in thought, a voice suddenly cut in.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kai, who had been watching the two speak cryptically, finally lost patience.
Could they speak normally for once?
Noir looked over at Kai, his gaze somewhat strange.
Even a child would know this stuff… and Kai didn't?
Still, he said lazily:
"It's how we classify Trials based on how they manifest in the real world."
"Low and Medium Trials don't affect reality and don't need any special conditions to enter. Their appearance is random—they can pop up anywhere."
"High Trials are different. Their arrival affects the real world."
"The longer they linger, the more the real world gets impacted. And they rarely revert naturally. Only Spirit Power can remove their effects."
"Also, you need special conditions to enter a High Trial."
"The requirements can be bizarre… sometimes it's a piece of candy, sometimes a digital device."
"As for Special Trials, they're completely unpredictable."
"Among the thirteen Special Trials discovered so far—Three led to the destruction of entire cities because they weren't cleared in time."
"That's where the term 'Special Trial' came from."
"Of the next five, even after a full-force assault with heavy casualties—half a city was still lost in each case."
"The remaining ones also caused significant damage."
"However, that doesn't mean we know how to handle Special Trials now. It's just that the strength of the Trials varies. Our classification system is still too crude."
Kai nodded, gaining a bit more understanding of this world.
"So what do we do now? Or was your whole goal just to let the water turn into gold?"
Even if Cards ruled this world, gold still had value; Turning seawater into gold wouldn't be a bad deal for someone like Noir.
Noir shook his head and said blandly:
"Take a look at this."
He tossed a transparent square box to Kai.
Kai and Marina were immediately drawn to it.
Inside the box, a shining lump of gold was oozing black slime. As the black ooze spread, the gold gradually lost its luster.
"I chipped that off the gate myself. When my subordinate handed it to me, it was still just a regular chunk of gold."
"But before long, it started changing."
Noir's voice echoed in their ears, indirectly answering Kai's question.
"Except for Cards, nothing from a Trial can really be brought out."
"Anything the Trial alters in the real world—Only appears similar on the outside. That said, inside, it's been completely transformed."
"There's no way to use it in the real world."
Kai nodded again. Indeed, nothing good came from a High Trial appearing.
As if sensing his thoughts, Noir added:
"That's not entirely true. High Trials may be much stronger—despite that, the rewards are just as substantial."
"For example, Phase Stones that let you escape a Trial—only appear in High or higher Trials."
"Also, when you defeat the Boss, besides Card rewards, you can get special items."
"Those things come with all sorts of strange effects."
"One Special Trial even had an item called the Millennium Eye. It's said to have the power to see into people's hearts."
Hearing Noir's half-joking tone, Kai frowned.
Millennium items? So this world wasn't simple at all.
"Enough chitchat."
"Let's go in."
Marina sounded anxious.
The originally flowing seawater was already being corroded by the golden gate into a foundation.
She could now see small yellow splotches forming below. In just these few minutes of conversation, it had already eroded that much… Way too fast.
Noir remained still, voice as lazy as ever.
"I don't mind, but are you sure you can even open the Trial?"
"It requires the Field Spell Card 'Zombie World' to activate, you know."
...
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