Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 96 - Replica Dungeon

Kiel awkwardly pocketed his exam pass.

"Take a seat." The female motioned towards the edges of the room filled with empty egg chairs. That's when Kiel realized that the chairs in the center of the room were already occupied.

The people slumped in the chairs were wearing Muni professor uniforms and looked like they were sleeping.

Kiel nodded to the female and chose a random empty chair. He stepped towards the chair but then paused in his tracks and turned his head towards the female.

"May I have the honor of knowing your name?" Kiel couldn't help but ask.

He had to catch onto this strand of intel, perhaps it would lead him to more information on the nature of Aethernea?

The woman stared at Kiel wordlessly, her expression just as blank and apathetic as before.

Just when Kiel thought that she wouldn't respond, she finally opened her mouth: "I am... Mageheart."

Kiel blinked several times in confusion. Mageheart? What kind of a name is that? Is that some sort of a nickname?

Kiel smiled politely in response and made his way towards the chair.

When he finally sat down, the female spoke up. "Let me know when you become ready for me to transport you to the site of the exam. When the process starts, you will experience a sudden loss of feeling for a brief moment. Don't panic, that is normal."

Kiel gazed at the lady, expecting her to continue talking. He expected her to explain that they will be allowed to use up to two magical artifacts in the exam. He expected her to ask which ones he wanted to bring. In preparation for the question, he had even taken out a metallic egg from his pocket that the Elaru had given him yesterday.

Since the only magical artifact Kiel possessed was the ring, Elaru decided to temporarily lend him her egg-shaped artifact. She said that she didn't need it and wouldn't use it anyway. However, it might come in handy to him. Since his exam was a battle type exam, in case he was injured and needed to take a breath, or if he needed to block a powerful attack, he could use the egg.

The egg could establish a strong protective barrier around him that could stop anything from entering inside, be it a physical object, a person, mana, or magic. However, since it wasn't a divine artifact, it couldn't keep it up indefinitely. It would eventually run out of power.

Depending on the power of the attacks against it, it could last from 20 minutes to several hours. However, since the duration of his exam was 30 minutes, he couldn't stay inside the barrier for long anyway. Otherwise, the exam would end.

When she offered the egg to him, for a moment, Kiel thought about refusing. He wasn't used to receiving anything from anyone. Getting such a precious ring from her was already making him feel like he owed her, he couldn't shamelessly continue receiving her resources.

But then he remembered, she wasn't just anybody – she was his partner, his ally. The more powerful he became, the better it would be for her as well.

They were in this together.

Therefore, sharing of resources is only to be expected.

Thus, he accepted the egg. Seeing Elaru's sincere, bright smile only made him feel like it was the correct choice.

She then proceeded to spin the different parts of the egg like a Rubik cube until it was adjusted. She said that it was a form of a password. That only the person who knew the right way to align all the parts would be able to activate the egg. She left a single ring not adjusted at told him in which position he needed to rotate it for the egg to activate.