In the world of the Prison Star, anyone with a modicum of common sense knows the Purple Trial is a precarious gambit with odds of survival slim to none.

In the Wester Kingdom, the Purple Trial is a lethal challenge that no one has ever successfully undertaken, becoming synonymous with certain death. 𝒪𝐕𝗅xt.𝓬𝔬𝐦

Nevertheless, despite the apparent joy, Mayor Gideon did not consider this matter concluded.

Initially, the note brought back by Charles was inherently suspicious, and the mayor only dispatched someone to investigate it with a sense of desperation.

Therefore, the circumstance of the archer who plunged headlong into the Purple Trial is still uncertain.

Moreover, even if this culprit was indeed the murderer of the mayor’s son, his death would not halt the mayor’s impending plans.

Seeking revenge for his foolish son was incidental, the mayor’s true objective was to use this opportunity to eradicate the insubordinate Quest Guild, and subsequently foster the Adventurer’s Guild, which he controlled, in its place.

To be on the safe side, Mayor Gideon had no immediate plans to recall the personnel dispatched to the trial control area.

He yearned to discern the nature of this clandestine force operating in Sunny Town.

As for his underling who had proven ineffectual, the mayor had decided him useless.

However, in accordance with the principle of not wasting resources, before dispensing with this underling, the mayor intended to fully exploit his remaining usefulness.

“Omar, I am offering you a chance to redeem yourself,” said the mayor with a sly grin.

Upon hearing the mayor’s words, Omar, disregarding the residual pain in his eyes, immediately prostrated himself before the mayor like an obedient hound.

“I…I am ready to do anything!”

“Good, listen carefully… The Quest Guild has a foxkin girl named Emilia, the blonde one, you know her, right? With her beauty, it’s a waste for her to stay at the Quest Guild. Find Charles to guide you, bring some men, and bring her to me. Go now.”

“Right away. I’m on it!”

Oboka promptly scurried out, and the mayor was pleased with his show of loyalty. Unfortunately, a loyal fool is still a fool, and no amount of loyalty can redeem that.

Mayor Gideon had a unique method for ‘training his hounds’.

Those who remained by his side were tamed into submissive hounds who could not, and would not, object regardless of how he insulted or chastised them.

Now, the mayor planned to tame Emilia into his obedient hound, confident that Emilia, who was closely associated with the branch chief Oleg, could provide him with valuable information.

“Mayor, the carriage is ready. We can leave at any moment.”

The voice of the butler pulled the mayor back from his thoughts. He had instructed his butler to prepare to leave earlier in the day.

However, the mayor no longer planned to depart, sensing that the matter of the black archer and the mysterious note were attempts to lure him away from Sunny Town.

— (You want to lure me out of the city? Not a chance.)

For the mayor, remaining within the fortified confines of his mansion was the safest course.

“I will not be leaving tonight. You may leave.”

“As you wish.”

No sooner had the butler left, another servant hurried over and respectfully reported to the mayor.

“Mayor, a gentleman calling himself ‘Albert’ has arrived. We have welcomed him with the highest regard as per your instructions. Would you like to meet him?”

Upon hearing this name, the mayor leapt to his feet excitedly.

“Take me to him at once!”

With that, Mayor Gideon briskly made his way out.

This ‘Mr. Albert’ was a tier 3 combat occupation expert whom Mayor Gideon had paid a hefty sum to hire from GudeTown.

It was said that he even held a position within the Scarlet Family, one of the four great families.

Whether or not the mayor could resolve the issue with branch chief Oleg depended entirely on this Mr. Albert.

.

When Tyler regained his senses, he found himself standing atop an expanse of stony wasteland.

Overhead, the sky was a uniform grey, devoid of any clouds.

The barren land stretched infinitely in all directions, as though this slice of heaven and earth had no end.

In front of him, a stone pillar towered high, adorned with an inscription.

“Face fear, live towards death.”

.

(So I’m now inside the trial gateway …?)

Tyler recollected. Upon entering the Gateway of Trials, a brilliant purple light had filled his vision before he briefly lost consciousness.

The so-called Gateway of Trials could well be some sort of magic circle for teleportation…?

However, from the looks of his current surroundings, this place seemed more like an independent space. As the rumors had suggested, there indeed was no passage back to the world of the Prison Star.

Oleg had informed Tyler that anything could appear in the trial, but most of the time, the content of the trial was to defeat various demons.

(So where would the demons be…? Surely they wouldn’t expect me to find them myself?)

As Tyler pondered, a huge dark magic circle slowly emerged on the ground in front of the stone pillar.

Tyler immediately retreated a few steps with caution. When nothing happened, he had the leisure to inspect the magic circle.

And he was instantly confounded.

A cursory glance at the magic circle allowed Tyler to feel the hair-raising energy it contained.

Such a complex and intricate construct of magic far exceeded the knowledge he had learned from magic books. He could only discern a smidgen of it.

Click paragraph comment for a glance!

(The underlying structure is a hexagram… but the derivative structure based on the hexagram is far too complicated…)

(Twelve-phase incantations…)

(The core symbol of the sun, moon, and satellite…)

(Asymmetrical high-order magic decomposition body…)

(Negative and positive nested circuits…)

(Distributed unknown script configuration…)

(And the hidden evil eye center…)

Tyler’s comprehension could not keep up with the speed of his reading.

The more he scrutinized the magic circle, the more it felt like his consciousness was being pulled into it.

(No, this magic circle is too sinister, it doesn’t seem like something a human could construct…!) Tyler forced his eyes shut with his hand, attempting to extricate himself from this terrifying attraction.

Then, at that moment, jumping numbers appeared above the dark magic circle.

“60”

“59”

“58”

“…”

It dawned on Tyler that this was a one-minute countdown. Presumably, the demon he was about to challenge would emerge from the magic circle after the minute was up.

Subsequently, he swiftly retreated, keeping a distance of fifty meters from the magic circle. This distance was where Tyler could accurately target his enemies with his arrows.

As the countdown timer ticked away, Tyler drew out his arrow and readied his Fir Treant Long Hunting Bow.

His heartbeat gradually accelerated, a surge of adrenaline putting him in a state of heightened alertness and excitement.

(Come on, let’s see what kind of demon will appear.)

And so, the countdown reached its final three seconds.

“3”

“2”

“1”

As the countdown reached zero, a dark silhouette rose from the magic circle, steadying itself on the ground.

Simultaneously, the magic circle quietly sank into the ground, vanishing without a trace.