The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　However, in this day and age, the level of a mage's power is becoming a very important criterion.

　Under these circumstances, Charles had no choice but to seek change.

　He reflected on his own shortcomings and finally determined that the biggest reason why he gradually drifted apart from Elizabeth on the path of magic was his lack of "uniqueness".

　What is "specificity"?

　Pandora's "white dragon" and Winnie's "ice element" are what he understands as "uniqueness".

　But he didn't have that "special quality".

　The magical spirits he created lacked any particular inclination and were extremely mixed. This mixture meant that they could not form a coherent system.

　Magisters who cannot develop their own systems will ultimately only be able to follow in the footsteps of others and inhale their exhaust fumes.

　Charles realized this, which is why he wanted to activate and sublimate his own "destiny" through the "hidden trial" of St. Mary's Academy, so as to obtain "guidance from fate".

　But so far, it seems he has not succeeded.

　"Did something unexpected happen during the hidden trial?"

　Dak couldn't help but ponder.

　He was already aware of St. Marian Academy's "Hidden Trials." This was one of the hidden "mysteries" within St. Marian Academy—a trial ritual that existed even before the advent of magical technology. In the past...

　Students at St. Marian Academy can activate their "Destiny" by passing the "Hidden Trial," thereby receiving "guidance from fate."

　The so-called "guidance of fate" is simply about improving one's fortune.

　However, finding the "hidden trial" within St. Marian's Academy is itself a manifestation of good fortune.

　Therefore, it is actually difficult to say whether a person with good fortune verified their fortune through the "hidden trial" or gained their fortune after passing the "hidden trial".

　However, in the age of magic, the so-called "guidance of destiny" finally found concrete manifestation at the level of magic.

　The activated "fate" also found its purpose.

　The starkly different behaviors before and after passing the "Hidden Trial" prove the true power of the "Hidden Trial".

　use.

　Characters like Klein Moretti and Gina Grant were able to form the "Fool's" destiny and create a systematic "Tarot" deck only after passing the hidden trials of the "House of Fools".

　The same trials exist in the Noble Academy, the Knight Academy, and the Magic Academy.

　Charles used a special method to find the hidden trial of the House of Nobles.

　However, he encountered an unusual situation while trying to complete the "hidden trial".

　He couldn't tell whether it was something from the "Hidden Trial".

　But in the end, his soul was injured during the "hidden trial," forcing him to escape the trial, where he was picked up by a patrolling golem.

　Since the secret has already been revealed, there's no point in trying to cover it up anymore.

　When questioned by the professors, Charles simply recounted the entire process in detail.

　From the moment he arrived at St. Mary's Academy, he had been searching for the "hidden trial" of the noble academy. But until last night, he had found nothing; even after using all the methods he had previously gathered, he had been unable to elicit the trial.

　However, last night, when he continued searching the castle without much hope, he suddenly found it!

　"Last night was right after the first round of the Academy Championship ended."

　"This is the most active period for 'divine influence' within the academy in recent times."

　"Charles only suddenly found the hidden trial last night, which is most likely related to this."

　The overall approach is actually very clear.

　Darke was already very sensitive to these kinds of events, and he quickly made an analysis based on his own experience.

　"It certainly seems to be true," Principal Arte agreed.

　"We can get a general idea of ​​the situation by having Charles search for the hidden trials again."

　Dark offered another suggestion: "We can give it a try."

　Principal Arte reiterated his agreement.

　However, given Charles's current weakened state, he will need to rest for at least a few days before he can move again.

　However, if it can be proven that Dark's conjecture is correct, it will be a huge benefit for the academy.

　Those students recruited and trained within the Hidden Serpent organization might also be able to trigger the "Hidden Trial" using the same method as Charles.

　And there are at least two more such times in the near future: this Sunday and next Sunday.

　Especially next Sunday, the activity level of "God's Influence" will definitely reach its peak.

　At that time, the minimum requirement to trigger the "hidden trial" will likely be even lower!

　As Dak pointed these things out one by one, Principal Art's eyes gradually lit up.

　Professor Sylph and Professor Cazell both wore expressions of surprise. It could only be said that their minds, blessed by the goddess of wisdom, were indeed working much faster than before.

　After careful consideration, Dark said, "But given Charles's current situation, entering the hidden trial is quite risky... Was it the same in the past?"

　“No,” Principal Arte replied decisively. “Even if the trial fails, there will be some loss of soul power at most, but it will all be within the range of natural recovery. Charles’s case is indeed the first time.”

　Dark said decisively, "That means the anomaly Charles encountered during the trial was unusual. We cannot allow students to enter the trial unless we investigate it thoroughly."

　Principal Art nodded in acknowledgment.

　Professor Sylph and Professor Cazell then approached Charles again to question him more deeply.

　Although Charles woke up early for some reason, his soul was still weak and his thinking ability was very weak. When faced with the professors' questions, he basically answered subconsciously.

　Otherwise, under normal circumstances, he would at least seek some exchange of benefits, or even deny it outright and not inform the other party.

　Under these circumstances, Professor Cazell guided him through his experiences little by little with words, eventually emptying him of all the information he had about what had happened.

　Dak listened intently and finally gained a more detailed understanding of what Charles had experienced the previous night.

　Charles has collected various methods for finding the "hidden trial".

　Although most of them are nonsensical, one of them is actually useful.

　That was a divine object belonging to the "Three Fates," the quill pen of Skuld, who was in charge of the "future."

　Although, before last night, the quill pen, which was claimed to be a divine object of destiny, had not reacted at all.

　But last night, as Charles wandered through the castle, the quill pen finally emitted a divine light and floated up.

　It doesn't write words to guide you like a "pen," but instead points out the direction directly like an "arrow."

　Charles became excited on the spot and followed the quill pen to a place in the castle, near the spot where he was found.

　There was indeed a secret passage entrance nearby. But Charles did not go inside.

　Or rather, he had no idea there was a secret passage entrance there.

　He simply followed the "quill pen" to the door of a classroom, and then carefully pushed the classroom door open.

　That classroom door, usually useless and even covered in dust, revealed a mysterious world when it was pushed open.

　Charles hesitated outside for a long time, and as the shadow of the world behind the door gradually blurred, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and rushed in!

　As soon as he rushed through the door, information about the "hidden trial" naturally flowed into his mind.

　That was the "hidden trial" belonging to the House of Nobles.

　Charles was overjoyed and immediately followed the instructions in the "Hidden Trial" text to carry out the trial mission in that world.

　The trial tasks in the "Hidden Trials" vary from person to person and are not applicable as a reference.

　But Dark listened carefully to the end.

　Charles suppressed his excitement after the mission began and carefully carried out each step of the task.

　His trial mission is set against the backdrop of an ancient royal conflict. His task is to use intrigue or other means to help the person destined to be king ascend the throne.

　have to say.

　This trial mission really resonated with Charles. He was deeply involved in it.

　As he continues to make choices, the plot of the trial world will be fast-forwarded, and the events that occur during the fast-forward will be described in words.

　He initially relied solely on political maneuvering, but later discovered he could utilize magical power. He then switched to using both political maneuvering and magical power, accelerating the progress of events and propelling the mission toward its ultimate goal.

　But later, he discovered that the text descriptions of the trial missions had become strange, and the "destined king" he supported was given strange titles, such as "the prince possessed by a demon" or "the king who wields forbidden power"... Seeing that the plot of the trial world was about to develop in a strange direction, he quickly stopped using magic power and made emergency corrections.

　During that correction process, he encountered another prince who was "possessed by a demon" and "used forbidden power," and was severely injured by that prince!

　After being seriously injured, he was still hunted down by men sent by the prince.

　He was fleeing in a false world, where the timeline sometimes sped up with the text-based narration, and his location jumped and changed according to the deduction.

　He quickly fled to the "border of the world," and in the written account, the "destined king" he supported was beheaded and displayed to the public.

　Facing terrifyingly powerful pursuers, he crashed headlong into the "border of the world," forcibly escaping from the trial mission.

　As his vision suddenly opened up, he found himself back at the classroom door. But the black vortex on the other side of the door was still churning, as if pursuers were about to break out of it.

　He was completely exhausted. He managed to run a short distance before collapsing and instantly losing consciousness.

　Immediately afterward, the patrolling golem, having detected the unusual commotion, approached. The world behind the door shrank and disappeared.

　Charles, pale-faced, finished recounting his ordeal.

　Sister Carlian helped him lie down flat.

　Professor Cazell pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "Could you describe the prince who severely injured you in more detail?"

Chapter 1256 Darkdemon and the Four Destinies (4k)

　in short.

　Charles found the "hidden trial" of the House of Nobles, but failed. However, the reason for his failure was unusual. It even caused him to suffer a soul injury, leaving him weak and unconscious. Let's trace the root of this...

　Professor Kazel went straight to the heart of the matter and locked onto the target.

　The prince who severely injured Charles was an outcast in the entire trial mission.

　According to Charles, he didn't even notice the prince's presence while the plot was unfolding. The prince appeared suddenly and attacked unexpectedly, catching Charles off guard and causing him to be severely injured.

　“If it happened again, I definitely wouldn’t make such a silly mistake!” Charles’s spirits lifted considerably at the mention of that guy. He listened to Professor Cazell’s question and described the prince’s appearance.

　Disappointingly, apart from appearing "possessed by a demon" and "using forbidden power" during the trial mission, the prince's overall appearance was not much different from the other princes.

　It felt as if another person had entered the "hidden trial" at the same time as Charles, then severely injured and defeated Charles, taking all the fruits for themselves.

　However, Principal Arte made it clear that it was impossible for two people to enter the same trial world at the same time!

　The underlying logic is that the "hidden trial" tasks are temporarily generated based on various factors of the trial participant.

　Even the trial participants themselves will encounter different trial tasks and worlds when they enter the "Hidden Trial" for the second time.

　Therefore, trials that occur at the same time cannot overlap. Nor can anyone enter the same trial world.

　But if that's the case, then what exactly is that prince who severely injured Charles?

　The NPC characters hidden within the trial quests ultimately prove not because they are powerful, but because Charles is too incompetent. These issues cannot be answered by a single example. Unless Charles is allowed to re-enter that trial world.

　Even if we can't re-enter that trial world, we should at least enter a similar world and experience it completely before making a judgment.

　The core of the evaluation lies in whether there is also a prince-like, overpowered character in the new trial.

　If the problem persists, it indicates a problem with the trial itself. If it doesn't, it suggests it's just a bug encountered accidentally.

　In short, Charles's experience, as it stands, is not similar to that of Dylan, the grassland spirit.

　Therefore, these two events cannot be viewed together.

　After obtaining all the information he wanted from Charles, Darke and several professors left the laboratory, leaving Sister Carian to take care of him alone.

　Regardless of the cause and effect of the incident, now that Charles has awakened, he is out of danger and all that remains is to cooperate with treatment to gradually recover.

　The main reason for this incident was Charles himself, and his answer absolved St. Mary's College of responsibility.

　Therefore, the professors no longer needed to stay in that laboratory. Professors Sylph and Cazell even inquired about Dark's substitute teaching that morning.

　Dak explained the progress of the substitute teaching and the assigned side projects one by one. Then he had lunch with the professors and left temporarily.

　His curiosity has been satisfied, and he has another "Potions" class to attend this afternoon.

　But as soon as he returned to the common room in the tower of the House of Nobles, he was surrounded by his third-year classmates.