Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 151: VOL 2 - 96: It seems this is the place.

By the time midnight arrived, Zoe suddenly opened her eyes and tightened her grip on the staff in her hands, which she had not let go of even while sleeping, allowing her to release a small sigh. At that moment, Liliana and Elara also woke up, stretching lazily, visibly rested and energetic.

After tidying up their appearances, the girls left the portable shelter together and headed toward the common living room, where they found Ethan in the company of the other three students, chatting calmly while drinking what appeared to be coffee.

"Good evening, everyone." Zoe was the first to greet, causing all the young people in the room to rise from their seats and greet her in unison while bowing respectfully.

"""Good evening, direct disciples."""

"Good evening, Disciple Laverne, Disciple Faye, Disciple Belmonte." Ethan added, performing a small bow, to which the girls nodded and returned the greeting.

"Well, tonight we're going out, so I hope you prepare everything necessary. You have 15 minutes. Disperse."

With a serious and authoritative tone, Zoe ordered the group of students, who felt a bit confused as they glanced at each other, but quickly obeyed and ran to their own shelters to gather their equipment. After all, they couldn't afford to have several gigantic storage rings like the direct disciples and kept most of their gear in their shelters.

As for Ethan, he remained in his spot, just as confused as the other students, so he couldn't resist asking, filled with confusion.

"Fellow disciples, wouldn't it be safer to send a small scouting team to take pictures of the sky and then analyze them? Besides, I don't think it's a good idea to bring out the staff right now..."

"Hehe, you're right." Elara commented with a smile as a small, discreet flame appeared in front of her, which changed shape, turning into a cluster of words in the air.

[We've already solved the riddle, but we suspect there's a traitor, so we don't want to alert them.]

Upon reading the fiery message in the air, which had deliberately been created from a blind spot of the shelters, Ethan was equally confused and surprised by the suspicion of traitors. However, he wisely chose to remain silent and simply nodded in understanding. Fifteen minutes later, the group gathered again, now fully equipped and ready for combat, so without further ado, they walked toward the shelter's exit.

After Zoe used the artifact to cover the shelter's entrance once more, the group continued walking through the cave, illuminated by a sphere of light above them, until they reached a large crack in one of the cave walls. Despite stretching from the ceiling to the floor, it was so narrow that no person could fit through it.

Quickly, Liliana stepped forward in front of the crack, holding a wooden staff with intricate runes carved into it, which glowed softly. Soon after, the crack widened enough for two people to walk side by side without feeling cramped, at which point she began walking inside.

Following Liliana, the group entered the crack, which immediately closed behind the last person, erasing any trace of activity in the area. After walking for a while through the tunnel, the group arrived at a wide circular area with six arched entrances leading to different tunnels, where Elara pointed to a specific one, and they continued their journey.

The group kept walking through tunnels, encountering several intersections along the way, where Elara always chose the path, until they finally reached a dead end blocked by a massive boulder. Upon arriving, Zoe stood in front of the group and announced in a serious voice.

"Now we'll enter stealth mode. We'll move together at all times. Remember to stay alert."

After everyone nodded in understanding, Liliana and Ethan quickly took their staffs and conjured a magical circle beneath the group, along with various runes that surrounded them, causing them to vanish from sight as if they were mirages. They became invisible and difficult to detect.

After ensuring everything was in order, Liliana swiftly waved the second wooden staff in her hand, causing the boulder in front of them to deform, creating an ascending staircase. She quickly began climbing, followed closely by the group, soon reaching the surface after some time.

Upon reaching the surface, the group found themselves in a jungle area, filled with impressive trees brimming with life and color. However, they didn't waste time admiring the scenery and quickly pulled out their flying artifacts, mounted them, and rose into the air. Liliana, for her part, closed the hole in the ground they had emerged from, returning the massive boulder to its original form, as if there had never been a huge staircase-shaped hole in it.

Flying with the help of various means, the group spent some time in the air, always alert for possible pursuers, passing through different biomes—deserts, jungles, snowy areas, and more—which greatly confused the students. However, seeing the serious expressions of the direct disciples, they chose to remain silent and follow orders diligently.

Finally, after a couple of hours, the group arrived at a beautiful natural canyon, with steep rocky walls composed of layers upon layers of rocks in countless beautiful colors, an indelible record of the geological history of the planet Eryndor. At that moment, Liliana and Zoe turned to look at Elara, who, holding a crystal tablet in her hand, nodded seriously.

"Let's study the terrain a bit without separating."

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With Elara's agreement, Zoe quickly ordered, to which everyone present nodded, and they began wandering the area at a leisurely pace, analyzing everything they saw in detail. Meanwhile, Elara and Liliana recorded everything with their crystal tablets, which displayed holograms of a map forming in real time.

The beautiful natural canyon was adorned with all kinds of vibrant vegetation, as well as a small crystal-clear stream running along the bottom, filling the scene with life and creating a beautiful contrast with the earthy and gray tones of the impressive canyon. This made it a good place for a short vacation—a thought that crossed the minds of several presents.

After wandering through the intricate passages of the canyon, with Elara carefully examining her crystal tablet, the group suddenly came across a crack in one of the "walls", prompting Elara to raise her hand. At that moment, Zoe, seated atop a beautiful nine-tailed white fox, ordered in a firm tone.

"Stop."

While Liliana, Zoe, Elara, and Ethan gathered to look at the hologram on Elara's tablet, the other students exchanged understanding glances, finally realizing what had happened. The direct disciples had solved the riddle and were about to enter the palace, which made their eyes shine with excitement.

"It seems this is the place..." Elara commented in a serious tone as she compared the coordinates of the location with those they had calculated, to which Liliana nodded.

"It must be. We checked the calculations several times, and this crack almost looks like an entrance."

"So we've arrived? We've found the palace?" Ethan asked with a hint of excitement in his tone, to which Zoe replied seriously.

"It could be, or it could just be a clue. But for now, let's enter." Seeing her fellow direct disciples nod in agreement, Zoe quickly turned to look at the three students and ordered firmly.

"We're going into the cave. Magni, you're with me at the front, and the rest follow us."

With Zoe's words, the burly mace-wielder quickly stepped forward, holding his enormous two-handed mace firmly, while the others grouped into formation, with Ethan at the rear alongside the young man with dark skin and golden hair. Liliana, Elara, and the young man with tanned skin and black hair with pale green tips remained in the center.

"Let's go."

Zoe quickly gave the order to enter, and the nine-tailed fox beneath her began moving as if walking on air, alongside Magni. He moved on what appeared to be a metallic disk densely engraved with all kinds of runes that allowed him to move with some freedom.

Upon passing through the crack, the group found themselves in a natural cave, not very large, dimly illuminated by luminous stalactites on the floor and ceiling, giving it both a magical and eerie impression. At that moment, Zoe pulled out the magical artifact she used to open the shelter and activated it, causing a light to scan the entire cave, almost like some kind of scanner.

Shortly after, geometric lines of light spread throughout the cave, glowing softly and intermittently for a few seconds before disappearing, at which point the crack they had entered through closed, erasing any trace that it had ever existed.

With the only source of light now gone, the place was enveloped in darkness, which was combated by the faint light emitted by the stalactites. At that moment, Liliana extended her hand forward, and a warm, whitish sphere of light formed above it, rising to the ceiling of the cave after a small upward motion of Liliana's hand.

Meanwhile, without saying a word, Zoe stored the staff that had turned the cave into a shelter and quickly grabbed the tournament staff from her waist, where it levitated firmly, defying gravity, right next to her katana. At that moment, she activated it, filled with anticipation. But unlike before, this time only a single holographic screen appeared, which no longer displayed star charts but instead showed a written message. She instinctively knew that only she could see it.

[Select up to 9 companions.]

Seeing the message, a beautiful smile adorned Zoe's face as she quickly turned to look at her companions, selecting them mentally. Once she had chosen them all, she turned back to the hologram, which now also showed a number of companions with a message at the bottom.

[Only 6 companions have been selected. Are you sure you want to proceed?]

With a serious expression, Zoe quickly nodded while her companions looked at her somewhat confused, causing the message on the screen to change, now displaying a single message in large letters.

[Prepare for teleportation in 5 seconds.] Reading the message, Zoe quickly turned to look at her companions with a serious expression and announced solemnly.

"Prepare for teleportation."

Everyone present was a bit surprised by Zoe's sudden announcement, but quickly prepared, gripping their weapons tightly while taking deep breaths. Then, 5 seconds later, a flash of light filled the area. After a brief moment of vertigo, the group found themselves in the middle of a vast vestibule carved into living rock.

"We're in the palace, I suppose."

Liliana commented as she recovered from the vertigo, looking at the enormous black wooden door at the far end of the vestibule, to which Zoe nodded calmly and commented while studying the surroundings and the door Liliana was looking at.

"That's most likely the case. The staff brought us here, after all."

"I suppose we should head to the door..." Elara commented thoughtfully, also looking at the door, to which Ethan added seriously.

"Though I doubt it'll be that easy..."

Entirely agreeing with Ethan's comment, the girls nodded in unison, at which point Zoe turned to look at the three students, who were also cautiously studying their surroundings, and announced in a firm tone.

"We're in the trial palace, so from now on, we must remain even more alert and ready to react to any unforeseen events. And Magni, you stay with me at the front. We must protect the mages with everything we've got."

"Understood, Direct Disciple Laverne. I'll do everything I can to keep them safe, even if it means getting eliminated from the tournament." Magni quickly responded with a serious tone, tightening his grip on his enormous mace as his runic tattoos glowed faintly, to which Zoe nodded in satisfaction and commented.

"Don't worry. If you get eliminated, I'll make sure to compensate you appropriately."

"Thank you very much, Direct Disciple." Magni quickly responded firmly, performing a small bow, at which point Zoe turned to look at the others and ordered firmly.

"Let's move forward."

Everyone present nodded with serious and focused expressions, gripping their weapons tightly and mobilizing their mana, conjuring runes and magical circles that covered them with various protective barriers. Zoe then returned the tournament staff to her waist and advanced with firm steps.

After spreading out slightly to give themselves enough space to react to any unforeseen events, the group reached the door, which immediately seemed to come to life, glowing softly with iridescent colors, tensing the group. However, they relaxed slightly upon realizing that the lights were actually different holograms containing what appeared to be runes.

"Is that runic language, isn't it?" Liliana asked as she analyzed the words on the holographic screens.

"It seems so..." Elara nodded in agreement, and then the three girls turned to look at Ethan, who was studying the runes on the holographic screen attentively.

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Hello everyone, the second volume concluded on Patreon with the Chapter I published today, and although I left a longer public note over there, I also want to inform you here that I'll be taking about a week off from publishing this novel. The third volume turned out to be quite complicated to write, and it coincided with two equally difficult arcs from my second novel, so I want to give myself a few days to stockpile Chapters and better edit the ones I already have.

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