Chapter 213: It was… this easy…?
With a determined look on her face, Naomi continued walking. Unlike the others, she did not have any supernatural Artifact to guide her, heck, she didn’t even know where she was supposed to go.
All she had was this strange feeling inside her.
Whenever the corridor divided, she stopped and looked at every path.
Most felt wrong, she felt that same suffocating pressure she first felt when she considered taking them.
But there was always one path that felt warm.
Naomi didn’t know why she felt that way about a certain path, but since this was the only thing she had, she took that particular path every single time.
Forward, then right, then another right, right, right, left, left, right—
Naomi continued walking, moving purely on instinct.
Then, as she took another narrow right, ignoring the wider, more spacious left—
CRACK
She heard a sound.
She quickly turned around and saw a wide crack on the floor to the left, the path she had chosen not to take. The next second—
CRACK
The crack widened until finally—
The floor collapsed, falling into a dark pit beneath the maze.
Naomi stared at that sight in surprise.
That sight, however, gave her some level of confidence, her instincts were correct to some extent, she could trust them.
With that, she continued walking.
At one turn, the passage on the right looked completely safe, but something inside her warned her not to enter, so she took the left.
Seconds later, she saw blades cutting through the air in the path she had just avoided, she would have been eliminated if she had taken that path.
The same thing happened again and again.
Naomi chose one path while traps activated inside the others, floors collapsed, walls closed together, flames filled entire corridors.
From time to time, she heard candidates fighting somewhere nearby, but the route she followed always carried her away from them.
The maze, too, started becoming more and more confusing with every turn, some corridors curved without reason, others ended at walls, only for new openings to appear when Naomi approached them.
And with time, Naomi, too, became more and more confident in the paths she chose.
Her instincts were correct.
Something inside here was guiding her.
That strange, warm, and familiar feeling—
She could tell that she knew it, that she had felt this same feeling time and time again. She just couldn’t put her finger on it, she couldn’t tell where exactly this feeling came from.
All she knew was that right now, this was all she had, and the deeper she went, the stronger that feeling became.
Eventually, as she walked into a small chamber, she saw a silver object shaped like a coin on top of a stone.
And the instant she saw it—
Naomi’s expression changed.
"Is that... a Waymark...?"
For a few seconds, Naomi looked around carefully.
The purpose of the Trial was to collect three of these, so obviously, they were important. Things like these were usually protected by a guardian or forced different candidates to fight for them.
One wouldn’t find one right in front of them, so this was very obviously a trap.
But...
When Naomi tried to step closer to it, somewhat hoping her instincts would stop her—
They... did not stop her.
Heck, she even felt that strange, familiar warmth coming from the Waymark, almost as if it wanted her to take it.
’Is this... really not a trap?’
She wondered inwardly. She even wondered if her ability had stopped working and her luck had finally run out, but as she stood in front of the Waymark, Naomi decided to do what she had been doing all this while.
She trusted her instincts, slowly approached the Waymark, and picked it up.
The Waymark dissolved into silver light the moment it touched her hand, the light then flowed into one of the three empty circles on her arm, filling it completely.
"It... was real..."
Naomi blinked, staring at the glowing mark on her arm.
It was... this easy...?
She wondered in her head.
Soon, however, she shook her head. According to the screams she had heard so far, the Trial was most definitely not easy.
It was just... easy for her.
As for why that was the case, Naomi did not know.
"Wait..."
Naomi thought about it for a moment, then a very delusional but very real possibility appeared in her mind.
"Am I a main character after all?"
Her eyes brightened.
This was clearly the journey of Heaven’s Favoured. Naomi could see herself reaching the end and gaining the inheritance of a Sword Immortal.
"Should I think about what Sect I should join...?
Jade Beauty Blossom Sect?
Supreme Demonic Beauty Sect?
Dual Cultivation Sect?"
Her face turned red at the last possibility as her mind started imagining the time she had been spending with Lucian.
"Demon-Human Sect?
Demon-Human Marriage Sect?"
She started thinking more and, as if the very maze itself had had enough of her antics, part of the wall ahead shifted aside, revealing another path.
Naomi’s focus returned to the path. She once again felt the strange familiarity, so she walked inside without giving it much thought.
After several more turns, she heard the sound of fighting ahead, so she stopped.
CRASH
Something crashed against the wall.
Then a man shouted—
"Stop hiding and fight properly!"
"Hiding?"
A woman laughed.
"You poor, confused child. It is not that you are failing to see me."
Her voice echoed through the corridor.
"You are merely unworthy of witnessing my true position!"
"What does that even mean!?"
"It means you should look behind you."
The man cursed.
CRASH
Then another loud crash was heard, then another, then another.
Clearly, the man was losing.
Then the woman’s voice became louder and far more dramatic.
"Now witness the dreadful embrace of the Moonlit Serpent!"
Naomi heard the sound of something shooting through the air.
"What is this!?"
The man screamed, clearly terrified.
"It’s a rope."
And... for a short moment, there was silence.
Then the man snapped in anger.
"Then why the hell did you call it the Moonlit Serpent!?"
"Do you not know what creative freedom is?"