Episode 117 – Elaru’S Practical Exam (2/2)
On her third attempt, what came out of her throat was: ”I have many names…”
Her voice uncharacteristically apathetic, she continued ”But currently, I am Elaru Wayvin Refer to me as such”
The female fixed her eet lost in those purple eyes that resehts, yet, Elaru paid no attention to them at all
She didn’t even wait for the fes Instead, she went straight to the nearest empty chair and sat down
”Alright, Elaru Wayvin” The female confirmed in a voice even more apathetic than Elaru’s, as if it was a contest of who could make their voice sound more dead ”Which two artifacts do you wish to carry into the exam?”
Elaru, however, ignored her question and asked her own: ”Is this safe? I’ to die from this, am I?”
The white-haired woman continued to stare at her emotionlessly ”No one has ever died froeon”
Elaru looked up unconvinced, locking eyes with the feo?”
”That fatality was not due to the operation of the Replica Dungeon”
”Yeah, it was just bad luck” Elaru sneered, but the female didn’t seem to catch on to her sarcasm
”I suppose it could be attributed to bad luck” The white-haired beauty agreed straightforwardly
”Right, right I have no desire to losehow unlucky I am…” Elaru’s musical voice echoed in the black room with fake cheerfulness
The female looked at Elaru up and down and then replied blandly ”You are still alive I’d say your luck is pretty good”
Elaru’s soft sape ”Is this your attempt at a joke?”
”No I don’t have a sense of humor” The female continued to respond in a plain yet completely serious tone
Elaru placed her hand over her face and exhaled tiredly This conversation is completely pointless…
”Mageheart, will there be a problem with the replication process?”
”No The process will proceed as usual”
”Will you be able to sustain h the absence of my mind and soul?”
”Yes I ah h mana to sustain it”
”Alright Then start the exam”
”Which two artifacts do you want to keep?” The female repeated
”My necklace only” Elaru finally replied, holding her crystal pendant between her thuer
When the world once again appeared within Elaru’s eyes, she was standing in front of a tall sea of trees She blinked her long thick eyelashes several tiht in front of her
Theit difficult to tell whether his short gray hair was the result of his original color graying or if his hair color was originally gray
He was dressed in the Peacekeeper white and gold uniforn, h rank
The ray eyes looked down strictly at Elaru ”Good You are finally here, cadet We have no time to lose”
If the man had spoken to someone else, they would have surely looked behind theray-eyed ave her a clear overview of her surroundings, realized i to her
It took only aon
The practical exam she had chosen was tailored for future Peacekeepers So it wasn’t surprising that the person in front of her treated her as if she was a Peacekeeper under his coive her the details of the exam
Elaru decided to play along and did a salute of respect that consisted of placing a clenched right fist on top of the chest, where the heart ought to be It was a custoreet their superiors
The man nodded at her, pleased with her actions, and continued: ”Last night, a band of bandits broke in and robbed our victie”
The e expression as he spoke the word ”hostage”
But a moment later he resumed, in his usual strict and down to earth voice: ”Our investigation shows that the perpetrators are hiding within this valley We have narrowed down their possible hiding spot to a relatively small area Your mission is to find their exact whereabouts and rescue the hostage
Your utmost priority is to secure your own life as well as the lives of your partner and the hostage”
Partner? Elaru’s eyebrow shot upwards, but she didn’t interrupt the man’s speech A Peacekeeper would be harshly scolded if they were rude to their superior
”If you canthem any serious injury, you should do so However, if you feel it is beyond your capabilities, you are to shoot a signal flare, and we shall immediately send back up”
Author Note
I’ve lately been thinking a lot about what I initially wanted fro a list of things that need working on so that this first draft of Aethernea can be edited to perfection before it is released as a published book There will be e scale ones as wellThefro at snail’s pace, that there is not much romance in it, and that they dislike Kiel’s and Elaru’s personalities There are also co Kiel with her secrets and how Kiel seems like a sidekick
I would really appreciate it if you guys could think about what you would like to change in Aethernea to make it better and tell me about it What bothered you about it? What did you miss in the last 100+ chapters? Would you prefer the ro faster? Does the slow story pace bother you? What aspects of the characters bother you? Etc
And of course, which parts of Aethernea do you think are great just the way they are and shouldn’t be touched?
Please let hts on the matter so that I can make Aethernea better for everyone
(You can leave o to the Contact page and write e)
Co up in the next episode:
Why does this exam force me to have a mission partner? What is her role in this exam? Will she be helpful or a liability?
It took Elaru considerable effort to prevent a fit of giggles threatening to erupt from her throat
Orie bowed politely, her soft pink lips spread in a sincere slad to be of service”
”Correct” Elaru sround’?”