As she flew over the platform, her expression shifted into a grim one, realizing that they had decided not to kill themselves.
"Tsk." She clicked her tongue, evidently pissed that they chose the first option.
"You all chose to take on the waves?" she asked, her eyes scanning the entire floor as she spoke. But no one responded. Their faces hung low, covered with pain and anger.
She saw this and she knew something had happened. To know what exactly, she closed her eyes and began watching the scenes that had taken place while she was gone. When she finally opened her eyes again, a light of anger flashed through them as she gazed at Aren. She quickly wiped it away and put on her neutral expression.
"You managed to make everyone stand on the first choice. Impressive," she stated.
Aren didn’t respond. He looked at her with caution, fully ready to move if she tried anything, but she didn’t.
Instead, she clapped her hands together, and immediately the entire platform transformed into black squares. No more white death squares.
"Congratulations to all of you. You have survived the second stage of the trial," she said.
A soft smile formed on her face, radiantly beautiful, but none of them could see her as anything beautiful anymore, not after what she had put them through.
They were all shocked when she said they had passed. They stared at her with confused eyes, trying to make sense of it. Didn’t she say they would have to fight through ten waves?
Seeing the confusion forming, she continued.
"The offer I made to you wasn’t true. If you had decided to kill a hundred, those that remained would all have moved on, but would all lose out on every reward possible.
"But taking the first option secured all of you the opportunity to move on and also receive rewards at the end. The trial wants you awakened to be capable of reasoning for yourselves and showing worthiness at crucial times. Obedience is good, but the ability to fight against impossible odds is greater.
"You might not understand why these concepts matter, but in time, you will."
When her words sank in, everyone felt the gravity of what she had revealed. If they had killed a hundred people, it would have been for nothing. A lump formed in their throats as they realized how easily they had considered murder. How acceptable killing had become.
"You should all be grateful to him," she said, pointing at Aren. "For whichever reason he stopped you, he managed to give you all the best possible ending to this stage."
"Now, without further ado, it’s time I hand over the five Angel Seals," Elton said.
She lifted her hands and five seals appeared above them. A hunger, a longing, formed in the hearts of everyone standing there, but many of them knew deep down they had not performed well enough to earn one.
The seals shot through the air, one to Elena, one to Leon, one to the blond boy, one to a black-haired girl who was a B-tier, and the final one to Aren.
He grabbed the seal the moment it touched his hand.
[You have gained an Angel’s Seal]
The others that didn’t get the seal were pissed at the outcome, but like with many other things, they swallowed their anger, because aside from the B-tier girl that got it, they couldn’t even dream of fighting the rest of those that got it.
Now that they had finally finished what this stage had to offer, it was time to move on to the next. Elton pointed at the crystal.
"Now all of you can head to the crystal and head into the next floor. I’ll be there waiting," she said.
One by one they walked to the crystal and placed their hands on it, getting teleported instantly as they touched it.
When they opened their eyes, they saw themselves standing in what looked like a massive underground campsite. Hundreds of large tents lay out across the rocky floor, the entire place illuminated by the small glowing crystals that hung from the roof of this cave.
Despite it being a cave, it was still spacious. The air was cool and there was a soft breeze.
Inside the camp were several storage boxes stacked, and then there was the crystal sitting at the center.
After everyone had come to this shocking place, Elton appeared. She looked at them, all of them looking around in awe at the place they had found themselves.
"This is the next stage of the trial, and for this stage, things are taking a very different turn," she said, and then lifted her hands, showing two fingers.
"Currently, inside this cave are two crystals sitting at opposite sides of the cave, and in between them is a network of cave structures of different sorts.
"What is the goal of the two crystals? Simple, it’s a game of capture the flag. There is another group of awakened, ones from another sector. They have also finished their stage two and are now here as well to play a game of capture the flag.
"The goal of this game is to destroy the enemy’s crystal first, and that would mean you have won and move on to the next stage.
"There is no time limit for this trial, and you are better off using your time to plan and scout, to better understand where you are before attacking. The entire environment can play in your favor if you know how to use it."
After she explained, the faces on each of their faces turned heavy, knowing that they would have to go against another team of awakened. It was bound to be a very dangerous stage.
Elton saw the looks on their faces and smiled softly. She wasn’t done yet. "Sadly, the other awakened team isn’t the only thing you have to worry about here. There is more.
"This entire floor is an ecosystem for lots of insectoid monster races, who attack sound and body heat and love human flesh. Their strength ranges from very weak to town-shattering strong, all depending on which you meet or which comes to you."