A Writer's Transmigration into the world of fantasy-Chapter 86: From here on, don’t read or unlock the - s

"If it were a different soul bone, I wouldn't hesitate at all, but this…" Xue Violetta shook her head. "This is the soul bone of a Three-eyed Golden Lion. My heart would never be at ease if I took it for myself. And besides, it's still a child. It can't have been born too long ago. Just think about how sad its mother would be if she came back to see her child dead! We might have already killed a lot of soul beasts, but all of them attacked us first. We acted in self defense. This time, however, we were the ones to break into its home. It wouldn't be right to kill it for our own benefit, and I definitely wouldn't be able to bear doing such a thing. So… I don't want the soul bone. Let's leave."

Her words surprised Ray, but a moment later, a smile formed on his lips and he gave her a big thumbs up.

That's right!

It would be best for us if we didn't get this soul bone. Besides, my gut tells me that this trial definitely isn't as simple as we think it is.

It didn't matter which of the four them took the soul bone. All of them would forever be haunted by it.

Furthermore, Violetta had a point. This Three-eyed Golden Lion was just a cub. They weren't monsters who would indiscriminately slaughter beasts. No, all the beasts they had killed until then had attacked them first. This cub had merely been hiding in its home. It didn't actively target them in any way.

Raziel and Lily were both moved. In their adolescent mindsets, slaughtering soul beasts in the spirit ascension platform had always been a game.

Yet, Violetta's choice had sparked a flame their hearts.

Is it right for us to kill soul beasts? Or is it wrong? Are soul beasts evil? Do they harm people? Or is it just our greed that has driven them to the brink of extinction…?

Some soul beasts still exist in the world today, but what about in a hundred years? Or a thousand? If soul beasts really become just a part of history, what will happen to humanity?

"Since you've all decided to give it up, let's get out of here. I'm afraid the big one will return any minute now." Ray swiftly made a decision. As their captain, he had to put his team's safety first.

He started running for the cave's entrance.

We can talk more after we leave.

The cave's exit soon came into view. Stars filled the sky, casting a mystical light onto the valley.

Off in the distance, three eyes appeared, two golden and one a demonic red.

Ray, Raziel, Lily, and Violetta immediately froze as the space around them hardened, locking them in place.

Frozen in place, Ray, Raziel, Lily, and Violetta saw the lion's maw open wide. In the next instant, a torrent of flames spewed forth.

I-it came back! That adult Three-eyed Golden Lion is back!

Do I regret this?

All four of them asked themselves the same thing as they were engulfed by in flames.

Ray resolved himself. No! I have no regrets. I'm lucky to have comrades like them.

Raziel had similar thoughts. I'm a man, and a man doesn't second-guess his decisions!

Lily didn't have any regrets either. She felt perfectly calm. Renouncing the soul bone had been the easiest choice for her since she never wanted it in the first place.

Violetta was at ease. Like the others, she harbored no regrets.

Why would I regret anything? I already made my choice. At least the mom lion will be happy when she sees her child is fine. They're just data anyway. To us, this is just a virtual world… but to them, this is reality.

A soul bone could change a person's life forever, but so could loss of a child!

And their vision went black.

In the next instant, light shone through the darkness as their metal capsules slid out of walls.

Ray, Raziel, Lily, and Violetta each lay in a capsule, and all four of them sat up at the same time.

They were in the same metal room as before. A large screen displayed the cave they were just at.

Inside of the cave, the mother lion crouched to her cub's side and enveloped it in golden light. The light healed the cub's wounds, and it opened its eyes.

Once she saw her child regain consciousness, the mother lion took the cub into her bosom, a gentle golden light surrounding them both.

Ray and his companions silently watched the scene play out on the screen. For some reason, when they saw the mother lion nuzzling its cub, the weight in their hearts disappeared.

The four of them couldn't help but smile.

Ray was the first to get out of his metal capsule, then he went around the room to help his teammates out of theirs.

"I have no regrets!" Ray grinned at his teammates.

"Me neither!"

"No regrets here!"

"My conscience is clear!'

The other three responded in kind, sharing the same knowing smile.

Ray extended his right hand.

Familiar with his personality, Lily placed her hand on top of his. Then Raziel and Violetta placed their hands on top of theirs. At that moment, their joined hands symbolized their camaraderie.

All of a sudden, steady clapping resounded throughout the room.

The four of them turned to see Giselle watching at them, eyes filled with admiration.

"I have been overseeing the entrance exams for many years now, but I still remember when I took mine. Back then, I was just like you four. You might not know this, but you just took the hardest level of the ninth trial. The challenges presented to you were the most difficult that we had available. This trial tested your patience, your ability to survive, and most importantly, your character.

"I'm sorry that I tricked you earlier. Your individual character was the true focus of this trial. If a powerful soul master lacked kindness, honesty, and justice, they would be a danger to the entire Federation. Central Academy refuses to accept such people.

"Your first test in this trial determined whether or not you had the patience to find the valley. No points are assigned for the first test. The second test checked if you could recognize the power of the Three-eyed Golden Lion and the Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear. To pass the third test, you needed to have the courage to enter the cave. This is the most important test of the three, and you needed to pass it in order to get any points.

"You faced your fourth test after encountering the lion cub. If you had lost to it, you would have gotten zero points. However, the most important test in the entirety of the ninth trial began after you were presented with the possibility of acquiring the soul ring and soul bone of a Three-eyed Golden Lion cub.

"You were faced with a choice. Who would get the treasured soul ring and soul bone? I have witnessed many teams fall apart at this decision, turning their backs on their companions and fighting over the soul bone out of greed. They would quickly descend into an abyss of wickedness."

Ray couldn't help but speak up. "So when you told us that we could fuse with the soul rings and soul bones in that world, it was all a lie? It isn't possible to fuse with the soul bones in there, is it?"

"The Auspicious Emperor, the Three-eyed Golden Lion, has only appeared once in the past twenty thousand years," Giselle said. "Even if Central Academy possesses many detailed records on it, we wouldn't be able to create perfect imitations of two of them, let alone allow examinees to absorb them. They were just illusions. Nothing more."

Her words made odd expression come over the faces of the four of them..

Seriously? That's just…

"If you had killed the Three-eyed Golden Lion and then calmly decided who got the spoils, everyone would have gotten six points," Giselle continued. "However, you four made a decision that surpassed our imagination. All of you chose not to kill."

She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in.

"I now understand how kind you four are. As you saw on the screen just now, soul beasts are living beings too. Central Academy has never advocated the mindless slaughter of soul beasts. Unfortunately, the Great Star Forest has only declined while humanity has grown stronger and stronger. Battle armor has given us a decisive advantage over soul beasts. Humans were too greedy for what soul beasts could offer us, and that greed has led to soul beasts being driven to the verge of extinction. If we of Central Academy participated in this, soul beasts would have already been completely wiped out."

Giselle calmly looked into the eyes of all four of them one at a time.

"You need to remember that, if you become students of Central Academy, you must not enter the Great Star Forest to hunt soul beasts."