Chapter 31: Greedy?
Inside the building, there was literally a huge warehouse stretching hundreds of meters. Piled up inside were lots of small stones. They had grayish tones. There was a subtle difference between them: most were light gray, and some were a bit darker.
As soon as everyone stepped in, they felt a strange sensation, like the whole place was vibrating.
"You're feeling the influence of these stones on space," the head Elder explained.
"These are Spatial Chaotic Stones. They exist on pretty much every high-level planet, but only in really small amounts. What's hard is finding one with high quality."
Some of them recognized the stones as the Elder continued:
"Yes, spatial rings are made from them," he went on. "But only the medium or high-quality ones have a stable inner space. The others, with the slightest interference in their internal space, explode. That's why they're useless for spatial rings — but they're good for other things."
"The test is simple. The Spiritual Guardians must use their ring's power to enter the inner space of one of these stones." Darian knew the elder was talking about his normal Ring on his forehead, but also wondered if his two special rings could be used as well. The elder continued. "The ring's power is way stronger than the stone's, and once they're inside, it's just a matter of the Guardian's will to break the internal space without triggering an explosion." He looked at everyone seriously.
"Like I said before, you'll have a full day. This test is all about total control for the Spiritual Guardian. You'll need to control the ring's power so it doesn't interfere with the stone's unstable space, and slowly enter it. Even the smallest mistake, and it's all over. You can use as many stones as you want — every one you enter perfectly, without blowing it up, will give you points."
Everyone listened closely, eyes on the stones ahead. At the very back, there were ten standing out.
The Elder added: "There are three types of stones: the lighter ones, about 90% of the total, are worth 50 points each; the darker ones, about 9%, are worth 100 points each; the last type, almost black, there are only ten of those, and they're worth 250 points each. I'd suggest not trying those — they take way too much time and effort, and failing is almost guaranteed. In the time it takes to do one, you could get several of the lower-level ones."
Everyone nodded. This was a test where speed and control of the Spiritual Guardian mattered most. Luck didn't mean anything here.