“Kneel and apologize?” The senior students looked completely dumbfounded.
“That’s right.” Lucas nodded seriously.
“Bowing to the dead is basic etiquette, isn’t it?” “I shouldn’t need to explain that much.” “Generally speaking, it’s three bows to gods and four bows to ghosts.
Of course, customs vary from place to place, but I imagine four kowtows should be enough to satisfy the ritual.” His solemn and serious expression made it impossible to doubt the truth of his words.
“Is that so?” “Then who do we kowtow to?” At that question, Lucas immediately looked deeply troubled.
“Junior, what’s wrong now?” The five seniors were on the verge of tears.
They could feel their body temperature continuing to drop.
“Seniors…” “You understand how this works.” “A medium is needed to stand in for the resentful spirit and receive your kowtows.” “But the problem is…” “Who would willingly act as someone who’s already dead?” “That would be terribly unlucky.” “Who knows what kind of misfortune might follow…” Everyone thought about it and realized Lucas ‘s words made sense.
Unless it was a professional shaman or priest who specialized in that sort of thing, what normal person would agree to play the role of a dead person?
But right now, they were on their way to the trial site.
Where were they supposed to find a professional shaman or priest?
Should they abandon the trial and return home?
Then they would have to wait another entire year…
The five grew even more conflicted.
At that moment, Lucas suddenly sighed deeply.
Then, under their eyes, he spoke with a look of noble sacrifice.
“How about…” “You kowtow to me instead.” “Although I’ll suffer a bit and probably take on some bad luck…” “We’re all heading out together to bring glory to our base city.” “We’re comrades who share honor and disgrace.” “So helping each other is only right.” “Will that…
really work?” The burly senior from before seemed hesitant.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of bringing bad luck to Lucas .
He simply felt humiliated at the thought of kowtowing to another person.
“Perhaps I was being nosy.” “If you’re unwilling, Senior, then you should tell Teacher Henry as soon as possible.” “Have him send you back early.” Lucas immediately acted as though the matter had nothing to do with him and returned to his seat, no longer mentioning it.
The other four panicked.
One of them, who was especially afraid of death and trouble, immediately cried out, “Junior!” “Junior, you can’t just ignore us!” “This year is my last chance to sign up.” “If I miss it, I’ll probably spend the rest of my life stuck in a tiny village-level base.” “It’s just kowtowing, right?” “I’ll do it right now!” “Junior, please accept my bow!” With that, he dropped to his knees and knocked his head against the floor four times in a row.
Strangely enough…
The moment he finished, his entire body seemed to relax.
The coldness disappeared.
His limbs became nimble again.
Immediately, he shouted in delight, “I’m fine!” “I’m fine!” “Thank you, Junior!” “Thank you!” The others hurriedly gathered around and asked about his condition.
After confirming that he really was fine, they rushed to kneel and kowtow to Lucas as well.
Seeing this, Lucas ‘s lips curved faintly.
Only after everyone had finished kowtowing did he recall Gastly.
The entire process happened without anyone noticing a thing.
Tian Yue, Tan Xiaoling, and the others found the whole scene absurd beyond belief.
Moments ago, those seniors had still been mocking and ridiculing Lucas .
In the next moment, they were all kneeling and kowtowing to him.
And that wasn’t even the strangest part.
After kowtowing, they looked genuinely grateful.
“Junior, during this trial, we’ll make sure to protect you.” “That’s right.” “If anyone wants to touch you, they’ll have to step over us first.” Lucas smiled shyly and modestly, looking utterly harmless.
Before long, they arrived at their destination.
The testing ground for this trial was a vast and boundless expanse.
The sky above was clear and blue, with white clouds drifting lazily through the air.
Looking into the distance, all they could see was an ancient forest stretching endlessly beyond the horizon.
Within the forest, towering trees over a hundred meters tall rose one after another like waves of lush green.
In the sky, flocks of flying ferocious beasts soared past from time to time, their sharp cries echoing endlessly.
Inside the forest, massive shapes could also be seen darting through the mottled shadows, leaving behind lingering roars.
“So…” “This is our trial site?” The same senior students who had been boasting just moments ago swallowed nervously at the sight of this ancient, primal wilderness.
Places like this were usually filled with countless ferocious beasts.
Among them, high-star beasts were not uncommon.
For young Trainers from small bases like theirs, even dealing with Two-Star ferocious beasts was already difficult enough.
If anything stronger appeared…
They would absolutely be done for.
Teacher Henry seemed to notice everyone’s anxiety.
He laughed cheerfully.
“Relax.” “Experts from the Federation have already swept through this area beforehand.” “Although it still looks completely wild, most of the creatures inside are only low- to mid-level One-Star ferocious beasts.” “Occasionally, you might encounter high-level One-Star beasts or low-level Two-Star beasts.” “There are Two-Star ferocious beasts too?” Michael’s expression changed.
Relying on his family’s wealth, he had purchased another Level 10 One-Star Mankey.
If the enemies were One-Star ferocious beasts, he wasn’t afraid.
But Two-Star beasts…
That was a different story.
“That’s right.” Teacher Henry nodded with a smile.
His gaze swept across the distant forest.
“On the road to becoming strong, how could there be no obstacles?” “If you were truly in the wilderness, the dangers wouldn’t be so reasonable.” “Forget Two-Star ferocious beasts.” “Three-Star, Four-Star, even Five-Star beasts could appear without warning.” “Only Trainers who can overcome the unexpected will make it to the end.” “Of course…” “If any of you want to withdraw now, that’s perfectly fine.” “I’ll take responsibility and drive you back.” “Sometimes, retreating in the face of danger isn’t shameful.” “After all, you’re all still young.” “It’s perfectly normal to cherish your lives.” A rare seriousness appeared on the chubby homeroom teacher’s face.
After a long silence…
“Um…” “Teacher.” “Since this is a competition, there should be judging criteria, right?” “Can you tell us what the rules are?” The speaker was actually Claire Reed, the girl who seemed the most timid among them.
From her tone, it was obvious she had no intention of backing out.
Her courage made Michael and the seniors, who had shown fear moments earlier, feel somewhat ashamed.
Teacher Henry smiled warmly at Claire Reed.
“Then I’ll explain the rules first.” “To begin with, you need to understand that you aren’t the only ones participating…” As he spoke, cries of surprise and noisy chatter sounded from the surrounding cliffs.
The previously deserted atmosphere was instantly broken.