Simon did not panic when he saw his shadow engulf him because he also saw Thorgan’s shadow do the same, and this was despite Thorgan’s deep affinity with shadows, especially his shadow.
Simon saw Thorgan panic for a moment because it must have been shocking to him that his shadow acted on its own.
However, Simon guessed what was going on.
’I guess they’re teleporting us out of here and most likely back to where it all began.’ Simon thought as he felt himself sink into his shadow.
This occurred to every living candidate in the Blackwind Valley, and they all disappeared no matter what they were doing.
Some were locked in battles.
Some were hiding.
Some were running away from other candidates.
Some were running away from beasts.
Some were about to die.
Some were even having sex.
Every single one of them vanished from their locations and appeared in front of their houses at the entrance of the Blackwind Valley.
Simon appeared in the same meditative pose, and he looked around.
He saw that he was right in front of the house that was given to him by the Shadowgrave Clan.
’I guess I was right. Everybody was teleported back to this place.’
But there was something Simon noticed.
The lack of candidates.
He could see some candidates in the distance, looking around in a daze while some had frightened expressions.
As for the houses to his right and left, he saw no other candidate.
’The girl with the snake hair is not here. I guess she died.’
The boy who was living to his right was also not in front of his house, signifying that he was dead.
Simon did not feel anything seeing this, but he was a little bit surprised at the sheer lack of candidates.
Compared to when he would see more than fifty candidates at a glance to his right, now he barely saw up to ten and this was because his eyes could see a far distance away.
’A lot of people died.’
"All of you, come here."
The familiar voice of the female Veilmaster boomed across the valley, and Simon looked at the front.
He didn’t waste time moving, and as he got closer, he was able to get a closer look at the female Veilmaster.
The first thing he noticed was that there were only two Veilmasters beside the female Veilmaster, not four.
Another thing he noticed was that the female Veilmaster and the two other Veilmasters had cuts and dried blood on their black robes.
’A battle? Did something happen?’
Simon frowned, and he also noticed that there were no guards around, unlike the first trial.
Simon looked around once again, and he saw that the number of candidates was a lot less than he expected.
’Are we even up to 200?’ Simon frowned.
A few minutes later, every single candidate that survived the trial stood before the three Veilmasters.
The atmosphere was extremely tense, and many candidates were tense and anxious as they were forced to bear the weight of the gaze of the three Veilmasters.
Although Simon could not see the faces of the three Veilmasters, he could see the mixed expressions in the eyes of the Veilmasters.
Shock
Disbelief
Confusion
Frustration
And acceptance.
Simon could feel all these emotions in the eyes of the Veilmasters, and he made a few guesses as to why they had such expressions.
’They are displeased with the number of surviving candidates?’
Just as Simon had this thought, the female Veilmaster spoke.
"Either this trial was far more difficult than the last, or... this trial’s batch was far too weak and pathetic."
Some of the candidates hung their heads low, while some who knew better maintained a calm expression.
Some even had expressions of relief and pride despite the words of the Veilmaster.
Why?
Because they knew that this trial was unlike any other past trial of the Shadowgrave Clan.
Their families had records of the Shadowgrave Clan’s past trials, and they knew that there has never been a thing like the Region of Death or a large strange group that had dried wooden body parts who were more powerful than normal.
A lot about the second trial was completely abnormal, and those who knew prided themselves in surviving.
"We had a thousand and two hundred (1,200) candidates in the beginning. Seven hundred and eighty six (786) of you passed the first trial. And now, you want to tell me that only one hundred and sixty nine (169) of you survived the second trial?"
"And it is not even certain if all of you passed the second trial. For those of you who have pride, relief, and calmness in your gaze, don’t forget that you need to have accumulated a hundred and twenty (120) points in the second trial to pass."
The female Veilmaster swept her gaze across the candidates, and those who had calm expressions had their expressions crumble at her words and threatening gaze.
Simon’s expression remained the same.
’I guess she’s pissed about something.’ Simon accurately guessed that the female Veilmaster was pissed, but he didn’t know why.
He also looked at the two other Veilmasters, and he saw that they took had expressions of frustration and anger hidden in their eyes.
"Anyway. Let’s see what you mongrels have accomplished."
The female Veilmaster raised her right hand, and a pure white crystal orb slowly rose from her shadow. The orb emitted a dim white light, and it sort of radiated... purity.
Everybody’s eyes was fixated on the orb, including Simon.
’That orb... No... That light... It reminds me of the light the gods emit. But at the same time, it feels... fake? Artificial?’ Simon frowned.
Meanwhile, the female Veilmaster spoke as Simon pondered on the orb and the light it was emitting.
"You will bring your condensed shadow essence to me one by one, starting from you that’s standing in front of me."
She gestured at a girl, and the girl blinked in surprise.
"I’ll use her as an example to explain how we’ll know how many points you’ve gotten."