The woman who spoke didn't explain much, as if tacitly acquiescing that everyone here understands the meaning of "trial" and "the penultimate level". Of course, she didn't care about the addition of a young "boy" with obviously different clothing styles in the team.
After finishing speaking, he signaled everyone to follow her on the path, and Jenkins deliberately fell behind, walking side by side with Miss Audrey:
"What's the situation? We have traveled through time and space? This is impossible, isn't it?"
He asked in a low voice, not believing that he had traveled through time and space. After all, even the simple space traversal has considerable risks in the material world, not to mention the more dangerous time jump.
Although there was a similar experience in Black Town, but that time there was a master to make a move, and it was a very important and necessary action to solve the disaster in the past. And this time, Jenkins couldn't see the importance.
Of course, Jenkins also met other time travelers, that is, William from the future. Unfortunately, the girl did not meet Jenkins at that time. Only Alexia knew what Jenkins' niece was going to do.
"It really seems to be time travel, or we have entered my memory..."
Miss Audrey replied in a low voice, looking at the surrounding environment with some doubts:
"Now should be the day when I pass the test of the church and officially become a reserve fortuneteller of the church... Next we will go to the sacrificial field of the church, which is the core area of the trial... If you really travel through time now, you are probably a millennium The first heretic to enter the trial... how come, although the water divination ceremony I held is a bit larger, will it have such an effect?"
Her tone of voice was uncertain when she talked about the past, and Jenkins didn't understand why, but he was curious about what happened next:
"What's next?"
"I don't remember. I was seriously injured on this day. After recovering, I lost a small part of my memory irreparably. It's very fragmented... So we can't judge our current situation by whether or not 'you' really existed that day... "
"That's it~"
Jenkins sighed, then glanced at the road ahead. The trails cut through the forest were probably frequently used, so the weeds and moss did not invade. The scenery along the way is a normal forest scene, and now there are no stars in the daytime, and Jenkins also judges where the place where he does not appear is in the material world. But every church has its own secrets. According to Miss Audrey, this time it probably really came to a special place.
Because they don't know the specific situation now, the two decided not to make actions that are inconsistent with history for the time being. After walking with the team for a full hour like this, a small mountain loomed in front of the group.
But the real destination is actually the top of that mountain. In this way, from day to night, and from night to dawn. During this period, there was no rest, nor any eating or drinking.
Of course, Jenkins didn't care about this because he came from his body, but Miss Audrey, who was one size smaller, now has the body of an ordinary person. Even though the strength of the soul can affect the body, it is still difficult not to eat or drink.
Other young people had this problem too, but everyone gritted their teeth and persisted. This is probably also part of the test, so no one questioned it. Fortunately, there is no shortage of plants in the forest. If you grit your teeth and be patient, you won't be left behind because of hunger and thirst. But exhaustion is unavoidable, so when the dawn came and the group actually reached the short hill, everyone except the woman and Jenkins who walked in the front were lucky to be able to stop.
From the second half, Jenkins has been supporting Miss Audrey. When the line stopped, the two also imitated the others and sat down together. Looking up at the short mountain, because I have already reached the foot of the mountain, I can't see the whole mountain clearly.
But it is easy to find that this mountain is incompatible with the forest below the mountain, separated by a clear line, and there are no plants within the range of the short mountain. The whitish land seems to be piled up with ashes, the ancient boulders standing everywhere and the gullies with a sense of vicissitudes of time make it difficult for people to imagine how this bare stone mountain was formed.
"The sacrificial site is on the top of the mountain. As the last item of the test, each of you will be allowed to look at the holy object and witness your 'essence'."
The woman said, looking at the people sitting. Seeing that no one asked questions, only a young "boy" showed doubts, so she explained:
"You are not the bestowers yet. In fact, even most of the bestowers don't understand the meaning of the so-called 'essence'. Now you can regard it as a talent, and you will not be able to understand this term until you really start to explore the fate of impermanence. I understand. Go up the mountain now, follow your own mind to the sacrificial ground on the top of the mountain, and you will see the holy object."
As she said that, she stepped out of the way, and it seemed that she had no intention of accompanying everyone up the mountain. Jenkins hesitated. In his eyes, the whole mountain had a strong purple aura. In other words, the mountain itself was a numbered item.
He looked at Miss Audrey at the side. Miss Audrey obviously knew the origin of this mountain, but there were so many people now that it was not convenient for her to explain.
Because there was no request to start immediately, most people stayed where they were and rested for a while before getting up and heading towards the bare limestone mountain ahead.
Jenkins and Miss Audrey mixed in the crowd and walked forward with them. There is more than one road up the mountain. In fact, there is no such thing as a road on this mountain. What people need to do is to walk and climb as far as possible towards the "high place" they think, so the people around them almost disappear after a while.
After confirming that there was no one else nearby, Miss Audrey began to explain the place to Jenkins. In front of the two of them was a rather high stone ridge. As a temporary rest, they stood in the shadow of the stone ridge to enjoy the cool air:
"What we are standing on is not a mountain, but [Vientiane Impermanence Card—Mountain]. Jenkins, please tell me all the meanings of 'mountain' in divination cards."
Jenkins thought for a moment:
"Sublimation, difficulty."
"It also means that even though the roads are different, the destination is unique."
Miss Audrey said, seeing that Jenkins wanted to ask about the Vientiane Impermanence card, she added:
"The Impermanence Card of Everything is one of the most mysterious gifts scattered in the material world. Even if the same card is in the hands of different controllers, it will play different roles. The current user is the oldest divination in our church Home, she seldom does this anymore. According to my memory and the information I got from the teacher, I am afraid that there is more than one sacred object on the top of the mountain. Fate will guide us to see different things. What I saw back then, Seems like... a mirror?"
she said uncertainly.
"Then what is the essence of the so-called bestower?"
This is not the first time Jenkins has come into contact with this term. Two days ago, Salhi II said it again, and it was also mentioned a long time ago that the existence of the suspected god of death was also mentioned.
"It's hard to explain. For those who understand, explaining the meaning of this word is as difficult as explaining why one plus one equals two. This matter will be discussed after we leave here. Can find a way out of this point in time."
After a short rest, the two continued to set off. Although the road was difficult and dangerous, there were no human-eating creatures and no malicious traps on the mountain, so the journey was not dangerous. Surrounded by bare land and ash-covered ground, only the occasional bird flitting across the sky makes the scenery a little different, but generally speaking, this kind of exploration is very boring.
This mountain is not high, even with Miss Audrey's body at this time, after resting a few times, they quickly reached the mountainside position they thought. The surroundings are still the same scenery, and the two of them can't see any other people who set off together.
"The next road, let's not go together."
When she stopped to rest, Miss Audrey said seriously, she was panting heavily, the amount of exercise was really not suitable for a young body.
Jenkins remembered that Miss Audrey seemed to have mentioned that before she became a fortuneteller, she was just an ordinary girl of noble origin, not a Valkyrie who could smash a ten-inch thick copper plate with one punch in a state of extreme anger.
"Although I don't know why fate arranged us to come here, the opportunity to witness our own essence is quite rare. We all have different paths to go. In my memory, this last half is very clear. I am Walked over by yourself. As for you, Jenkins, take this opportunity, if this is indeed a past time, you are going to have an opportunity that is difficult to come by even in our time."
Jenkins knew nothing about the situation at this time, but since his teacher asked him to do so, he could only do so.
Watching Miss Audrey walk towards the upward ramp on the left, Jenkins stood still and looked around. Instead of using the Eye of Reality to look for possible "sacred objects", he looked up at the sky for a while, thinking about his cat. After Miss Audrey's figure completely disappeared, he walked in the direction she left.
During the boring journey that followed, Jenkins saw no one again. Because he was not dragged down by the young Miss Audrey, he could choose as high a position as possible to move forward, ignoring those weird terrains, so his speed was a little faster.
The more you go towards the top of the mountain, the more boring the surrounding environment becomes. The occasional extreme road environment is not difficult at all under Jenkins' super high physical fitness. The most troublesome location he encountered was a road that suddenly broke. Between the front road and the foot was actually a bottomless canyon, as if the mountain had been split in half by someone.
But even so, with just a run-up and a sudden leap, he condensed a fragile ice board in the air to borrow his strength, and he successfully passed the "difficulty".