Third Trail Begins

I had the entire evening to myself, and I spent it intensely meditating and cultivating mana.

While meditating the next day, the sun's rays pierced my eyes to open.

"I'm up!"

I slowly arose and prepared myself for my morning routine. I wore my adventurer's outfit and strapped my sword to my waist belt. I went downstairs with my backpack to eat. I began walking towards the Holy Tree after paying for my food and returning my room.

The environment felt somewhat dense as I walked through the elven roads.

I tried to mimic Eve's ability to detect malice with mana sensing yesterday. And with that, I was able to extend my radius to about thirty meters.

It was effective, and the council appears to be keeping track of me. They have every reason to suspect me, given how many people would want to enter the council of assassins for intel alone.

So, sighing, I continued walking along the elven roads until I arrived at the Holy Tree.

The Guard led me to the base of the tree, where I found Eve and Master Waylen.

I sent my backpack to the Guard to take those to Master Waylen's office, "Hello there, Master Waylen! Hey there, Eve!" I greeted them both as soon as I approached them.

"Hey Eth!" as Eve called me back, Master Waylen gave of a smile saying, "Mm, you two seems to have getting along. Better today than yesterday! ".

We both  started to get embarrassed and replied, "We are just friends!" in unison.

"In any case, Ethan, are you ready?" Master Waylen asked with a serious face.

"Yes sir!" I replied confidently.

"Then don't be concerned about anything. Just give it your all. I'm confident you'll succeed!" As Master Waylen said, "Yes Eth, good luck!" Eve cheered me up.

"Right"

I took a deep breath and used Wind Walking with the wind blades as I walked over to the Holy Tree, manipulating wind elemental mana.

The tree was already massive when viewed from Master Waylen's office, but when viewed from this distance, the tree appears to span an entire city. It's massive.

At the bottom, there was a gate-like structure. That must be the entrance.

As I floated into the entrance in the Holy Tree's trunk, I looked back and waved to Eve as well as master Waylen.

"Phew…"

Eve joined her hands and gently sighed as she saw my figure disappear by entering inside the tree.

...

An extremely powerful mana pressure assaulted me the moment I stepped through the door. It wrapped around me in an instant, causing my body to sink slightly downwards.

As I lifted my head to look around, I cancelled the magic and my foot landed on the ground.

The tower's interior was roughly half the size of the plaza. Mana undulations in the tree's aura began to warp and take shape with substance. It felt as if my body was submerged in a sea of mana, filling me with awe and respect towards the tree.

I allowed the mana undulation to sweep across my body, and my mind became dizzy. I closed my eyes for a moment and on opening again, I was greeted by the sight of an endless golden world. as if Time have frozned here, the shining inside this place can only be described as 'Divine'.

This world was completely silent and peaceful. I instinctively raised my head to look for a wide path ahead.

It was the only landmark in this golden world, so it couldn't be missed, and it stretched on indefinitely.

"Ethan Asher," a young female voice was heard abruptly.

The voice continued to speak to me while I was listing it.

"You will go through the Assassination Final Trails. Only after completing the trials will you be able to truly forge ahead as a person and assassin with courage and determination. Best wishes!"

I'm not sure why, but the voice have a surge of warmth through me. I'm not sure why!

But, considering what the voice said, why does it say Final Trails instead of Third Trail?

Anyway, I should get going.

As I began to walk, I kept walking and walking and walking.

I came to a halt at a certain point, bending over with my hands on my knees and panting heavily from exertion.

But, as master Waylen mentioned yesterday, I don't see any assassins or anyone attacking me. Was he blabbering on about that?

Was he blabbering on about that?

...Sighs.

Whatever happens, I must continue on this path.

...

However, as I continued on this path, I became aware of a number of issues, the first of which was that I had suddenly lost all of my mana.

There was no trace of mana in my entire body, and even my reinforced body parts had lost their reinforcing. Is it possible? Is this a physical strength trail?

When I think about it, I feel like a normal person with no magic. But, thanks to my training, I can at least compensate for some shortages; I'm not completely reliant on reinforcing mana.

What was even more terrifying was that this place was far too quiet; it was deathly silent, with no sound or sight.

I had no idea how long I had been walking and I guess there is no concept of time in this world.

Now that I know this, the only thing I can do is keep moving forward, but as my should keep mana depletes and my physical condition worsens, I'm afraid I'll feel a crippling sense of loneliness.

In that sense, it is also a trail to see the lonely path of Murdering and Killing. Assassination involves the slipping of emotions after all.

I'm curious how a Holy tree became a trail holder for becoming an assassin. How does a Holy tree communicate with me? What is this place? Am I still inside the tree?

I couldn't think of anything else but wonder about figuring out all the answers. As a result, I took one step after another. I don't have much of a choice now do I?

***CHAPTER 28***