?


    [??? | A Land Afar]


    Amidst a raging ocean, isted from the rest of the world by walls forged of mountainous waves, surrounding the ind like a bowl, the sacrednd existed–it was colossal in size, but inhabited by no civilization.


    In the next few moments, a set of four portals opened up above the sacred ind, and through them, scattered to each corner of the mysticalnd, four figures arrived.


    "Waaaah–!" iling through the sky as his limbs hit jagged trees, the sturdy shielder, Everettnded with a thud on the grass below.


    –


    "What in the–" The silver-haired half-elf let out, finding herself falling upon an ashen region of the ind, "Release: Aqua Bed!"


    Catching herself before an unfortunate fall, Celly created a bed of water to fall upon without harm.


    –


    "Oooh?"


    Falling down onto the sand that encircled the outskirts of the ind, the man that wielded magenta lightning held no worry before touching down on the ground as a bolt of lightning. Sirius nced around for a bit, looking at the foreign ind.


    As the man looked behind him towards the sea that stretched off of the shore, he found a sight that was fantastical even to him.


    ''...Wow, talk about a sight. Just where the hell did I end up? It''s exciting!'' Sirius thought with a smile.


    In the distance, waves stood stagnant, reaching as high as mountains that nearly touched the clouds,pletely surrounding the colossal ind like magnificent walls of aqua. It was a sight that seemed impossible even in a world of magic.


    –


    "Woah!"


    Facing down at a bundle of trees that awaited him after the jarring teleportation used, Emilio used wind to engulf himself, allowing his body to gracefully descend as hended amidst the forest of yellow-leaved trees.


    ''I made it…I hope everybody elsended safely. They didn''t have any warning–sorry, guys,'' he thought.


    Looking around, he found himself surrounded by peculiar trees; they resembled colossal flowers more than trees–in fact, that seemed to be the case. The enormous, golden-leaved flowers towered over him, blooming with their vibrant petals.


    Each of these bright, golden flowers were like skyscrapers; each petal wasrge enough to act like arge sheet, obscuring the sky above.


    "Huh," he let out, enamored by the fantastical sight around him.


    It was hard to call it a "forest" or even a "jungle", but more like a garden built for giants. The floor of the uniquendscape was made up of sticky grass, seeming to be made gooey by the nectar that seeped from the colossal flowers.


    The substance squelched beneath his boots as he walked around, getting a feeling for the area before he breathed out. It was definitely more humid, making him regret dressing the way he did, though that was the least of his concerns.


    ''My main priority is to find the others–the trial hasn''t even started yet. Adam mentioned something just before he began the warping–something about looking out for a giant tree. Everything is giant here, though,'' he thought. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    There was no question that he needed to keep his guard raised, seeing as a warning from Adam of all figures about the environment was dire enough. It seemed that the environment of the Ind of The Grand itself was a sort of "proving grounds", weeding out aspiring sages before reaching the true trial.


    ''This is reminding me of my journey to bing an adventurer. I did it once, I can do it again–I''ll be a sage, along with the others–then we''ll be able to stand against our enemies,'' he resolved.


    Though as he began walking through thendscape of colossal flowers, a specific noise met his ears with a grating repetition–a buzz of wings, quickly approaching.


    ''Bees?'' He thought.


    It was unmistakably the buzzing of bees, though it was tenfold more jarring and loud of a sound, bringing him to a pause as he looked around.


    FWOOSH


    Just as he turned around, the air broke as multiple objects flew right by him–only avoided by a quick reflex himself as he moved his head. Shock was written on his face from the unexpected, swift attacking from an unknown source, though he was forced to dodge again as he rolled to the side as another assault came at sound-breaking speed.


    ''What''s attacking me?! It''s like there are bullets chasing me!'' He thought.


    Attempting to pick himself up, he could feel the vibrations in the airing before the attack came, sliding his foot against the nectar-slick ground to raise a wall of rock in front of himself.


    THUD. THUD. THUD.


    Through the protective barrier of stone, he saw pitch-ck drills sticking through along with the same, ring buzzing he heard before. Picking himself up this time, he looked around as the buzzing came from all around, noticing that the drills vibrated, breaking free from the stone wall.


    He finally saw what his enemy was, or rather, his many numbered enemies:


    ''You''re kidding me…'' He thought.


    Fuzzy, ck-and-orange fur with all-ck eyes were the creatures that initiated the predaceous assault: giant hos, the size of his chest with stingers the size of spears, fluttering by the colossal flowers. Even their stagnant movement while not approaching him was a blur to the untrained eyes, forcing him to keep up as dozens of these monstrously fast hos shed around.


    ''Hos?! Sonic speed hos?! This ce might as well be hell!'' He thought.


    Just as he drew his sword, a pair of the supersonic hos pierced towards him with their stingers primed for his flesh.


    CLANG


    Managing to intercept the fastly-moving stingers, he was surprised to find the edge of his sword not cutting through them. It was as if the stingers were forged of tough metal, contesting his sword.


    The erratic hum of wings was heard behind him as he deflected the two hos around him before spinning around, squeezing the handle of his sword. mes engulfed his de as he swiped it in a vertical arc, cleaving through a duo of the speeding, giant hos.


    ''That''s two! Let''s try this—!'' He thought.


    Flipping back as the supersonic creatures swept by like speeding bullets, tearing through the ground as their stingers missed, Emilio called upon one of his newly-acquired spells:


    ["Sapphire Whelp"]