Aizu

The morning had already arrived but it wasn't the refreshing environment White felt at the mountain village, instead, it was a gloomy one; as though a day before the world ended.

He sat behind a dried tree, and Aizu was in front of him.

With the injuries she received yesterday, it was a miracle that she was close to new if not for her tired and red eyes.

"So it is like that." White nodded with a thoughtful expression. He had been inquiring her about some questions he had and the events that happened last night.

Her name was Aizu, She and that guy named Fan were childhood friends and their parents were best of friends. They came to the Other Side together to take the trial. She was willing to tell him anything because of her gratitude for saving her life and now he was starting to understand a little about the world he was in, and the trial.

With just this, he knew he hadn't made a mistake in saving her life.

But the only thing he felt a little regret was that she was still very inexperienced and there were too many things she didn't know and the information about a master was one of them.

Although her father was one, he didn't tell her anything about their kind and avoided the topic. It was the same for her friend named Fan, and according to her they came from a backwater place so her knowledge was even below that of avarage.

"Hey, are you really from the Desolate Plane?" she softly asks in slight disbelief. She had asked this question before, but she had trouble believing that this person was one of the people on the Desolate Plane.

White just looked at her and didn't respond, seeing his expression she felt a little embarrassed.

"I mean, your Unity is still at 0%, but you can bring out the power of a magical sword, which would trouble even people with Blessed Body." She said with uncertainty. "That's why I'm still having trouble believing." added seriously.

Blessed Body.

According to what she said, this Blessed Body is a body that contains the aura of a Blessing that only descendants of the top masters with Blessing had.

This 'Blessing' on the other hand was supposedly a blessing given by the world on becoming a master, but not all the people get one, and is a rarity.

People who received this Blessing on becoming masters were different from those who didn't. 

She also said there was rumored that the higher one Unity, the higher the chance one had of receiving a Blessing. This was also one of the reasons why the people from the mainland were trying to get a high Unity.

White was also very interested in this, although he was already aiming for high Unity from the overseer's warning, this was more of a reason to go for it; knowing rivers of blood would be spilled.

And one of the things that interested him was that the sword he picked up; likely belonging to her friend Fan, was a magical weapon.

There were various wondrous treasures on the vast mainland, called magical ones. These magical ones were divided into levels and categories. According to what she heard, there were even living entities in this 'category'; that was the reason for its name magical ones. 

The supposedly expensive-looking sword he picked up was the lower-tier sharp sword from the magical sword categories.

These weapons were expensive even for masters on the mainland, the only reason they even had one was because their parents bought it at high prices for them to protect themselves. But, who would have thought that before they could use these treasures they had met a calamity that they currently couldn't handle.

Fate was really a cruel bitch.

That healing liquid she used was a magical one from the magical potion categories, but it wasn't a genuine one, but a product diluted from the original.

The true lower-tier healing liquid was only used by the master to heal their bodies as it would destroy any mortals' body upon consumption; so they diluted it into healing liquids that have less magical potency.

Snapping from those thoughts he examines the sword while having a piece of bread, replying, "Whether you believe it or not is not my problem, but yours. Anyway, quit your hysteria and tell me the approximate number of participants in this trial."

"Ugh…" the girl scratches the side of her chin; not knowing how to respond.

White noticed her awkwardness and strangeness. He could not help but say, "It really couldn't be the whole world right?!"

"The thing is, it's just that! No one really knows the number of participants, the only thing people know is that all 15 years will be teleported to various parts of The Boundaries every year to take the trial of a master. 

The Boundaries is a very large place and the outer boundary of the Other Side; where the second trial is held, is also extremely large. There is a legend that, only this outer boundary is larger than the vast mainland."

"!" White raised his eyebrows in surprise, 'Although a rumor, if the outer area is bigger than the mainland, then how big would the whole Other Side be?'

White couldn't help but gaze at Aizu. 

This girl was a talkative one, but he loves this kind of people who pours out information than ones who hide it. While attentively listening to the information box, he was many times both shocked and surprised.

"I heard one time my parents say that masters and the Other Side are closely connected and that they couldn't be separated." 

Aizu looked at the mysterious youth and said what she knew.

'Connected?' Upon hearing her last statement, White thought that this world had become more mysterious and interesting. 

'Good the more mysterious the world is, the better! Why? Because it just shows to mean that, there was a high chance of the possibility in this world to achieve my faith!'

The girl in front of him shuddered looking at the scary expression he was making. She thought if she had said something wrong and couldn't help but fall back a little.

The bulky youth and the grey robe girl who were in the back grew tense, they both personally thought that the mysterious youth was already very scary but this scared them even more.

"That guy is definitely not right in the head," the grey robe girl weakly said. She had been roasting some of the beast's meat before but that guy came and snatched it all away from the fire without saying anything, unable to protest; she was crying in her mind.

"Sheesh! Please be quiet sister I don't wanna get in trouble because of your slippery tongue." The bulky fellow warned her. It was funny to look at his acting and how he could be so timid with his body. At least he knew body size isn't everything.

They both knew his strength, and although they knew swordsmanship they didn't dare compare themselves to the mysterious guy. Even Aizu who could singlehandedly beat them was acting with such meekness in front of him.

White expression returned to normal, he had gotten a little excited that his expression unknowingly slipped.

Sighing, he got up to leave as he had nothing to do here and had already packed enough food for himself.

He looked at the mad beast whose flesh had been carved out in some part with some thought. 'Mad beasts: beasts who failed to adapt to the power of the Other Side… fail to adapt…'

Intrigued, he walked away toward the forests.

Aizu made a sign to the other two; who were prepared with two bags, signaling them to follow along as she went after the mysterious youth.

Previously, she insisted on traveling together with him for some time as she hadn't even recovered from the previous trauma of a mad beast and couldn't afford another one. Although chances were low, she didn't want to take the risk. She desperately pointed out her usefulness and the other two to him, to which, the youth agreed after some thought of her wits and background.

Although White was used to doing things alone, he wouldn't mind having a mobile Wikipedia and compass around, for sure. 

Not to mention she was the daughter of a master, getting to know her might prove to be useful later.