"He... He ripped the realm apart?"

Callister mumbled beneath her breath, looking at the massive oblivion beneath her feet, what was left of the realm.

She turned her head up, finding White, whose veiny body slowly reduced as the veins crawled back in.

His glowing wings also dimmed, the runes on them disappearing as both folded back into his back.

White descended from the sky, landing on the ground just as the system flashed.

[Energy 200/1,500]

’Wow. That took much more energy than I expected.’

He mused, but the words reached him.

"You destroyed the test realm!?"

Galaxy Altharion said, and White paused.

"Yes?"

"But you were not supposed to break the realm!"

He shot back again.

"Hey, easy with the fingers. Your disappearance signified the beginning of the test."

"Going down the realm is an endless loop, and up is a glass barrier, meaning I’m essentially trapped inside." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"If you’re trapped in a prison during a test, isn’t the only choice to find a way out of it?"

They stared at him blankly.

"What? Am I supposed to wait and hope one day someone brings in the key? Don’t tell me that’s what you expect me to do."

"Sit and hope instead of trying to break your way out."

White asked with a suspicious stare that only left them further in shock.

It had seemed like the obvious mission in the test was to simply wait.

That was obvious enough if the trial takers couldn’t find a way out, no matter how hard they tried.

But what they never accounted for was someone holding enough power to break through the realm.

Then would it make sense for them to sit and wait when they could very well just break through the realm itself?

"The test mission is waiting."

It was the pink-haired female who spoke this time as White turned to her.

"The trial takers were to wait a week, after which their ability to remain in place would be assessed."

"It’s to see just how well they can sit with their own minds, a requirement for Galaxial Exploration."

She explained.

"So... I failed?"

"Not exactly. The waiting is only justified if the trial taker has no other way of breaking through the realm."

"But in the case that they could, then sitting and waiting indeed makes no logical sense, and the test’s aim should shift to how well they can escape the trappings of the realm."

"When it comes to that... you come under a perfect score."

She said as White beamed.

’That’s good. No way in hell I’m sitting down there for days.’

"Still, that was risky. You could have been reduced to gore!"

Galaxy Altharion said as White shrugged.

"You didn’t think I did that without being sure I would be able to break through, did you?"

"What? Do I look like a guy with nothing left to lose?"

[Actually, yes. You do!]

The system panel flashed as White’s expression wavered, but still it seemed to work on Galaxy Altharion.

At once, his aura settled back in, the disbelief in his eyes fading into cold assessment.

Both of his hands folded behind his back as he levitated upward.

"Then, we move on..."

He said simply before becoming a beam of gold that disappeared, and White instantly followed after him.

If he had been by the man’s side, he wouldn’t have lost sight of him and gotten into all that trouble in the first place.

As they left, Llumino and Callister remained looking at them disappear into a golden vortex.

Only then were they able to snap out of it, both turning their heads down, and at the same moment, they spoke.

"Oh no! He destroyed the Realm Artifact."

"Good. Saved me seven days of boredom."

The words made both turn to look at each other with raised eyebrows before Llumino shrugged, throwing his coat over his right arm, and a leaf stalk mysteriously found its way to the corner of his lips.

"Need to have some important things done..."

He said, waving back at Callister, who rolled her eyes.

"Busy bullying new EGES members in the Arena. Yeah... important things."

She mused, but then turned to look at the oblivion.

With the artifact destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to perform the first test on new EGES members.

"Gotta report this to Ultimate Err."

---

Barely a distance of fifty meters later, both came across a golden vortex.

Galaxy Altharion entered, and White followed in.

The feeling of teleportation was once again a lengthy one, lasting for almost ten seconds before coming to an end.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a white hall with about seven people in white coats scattered around different areas of the hall.

On closer look, it was a lab divided into two.

The lower part, in whose corner White stood, held beds and advanced medical machinery, while above was another lab filled with chemicals and where most of the scientists were.

Their appearance in the hall was immediately noticed by the scientists, who all paused in their actions.

One of them moved, levitating down to Galaxy Altharion.

"Quite an unexpected visit, Galaxy Altharion. What can we help you with?"

"The second phase of the test."

Galaxy Altharion said, shifting to the side as White took a step closer.

"Oh, but I thought admission was over three months ago..."

He was saying, but then paused before bowing slightly.

"Very well then. I’ll send you the results once it’s done."

He said to the man, who turned his back and disappeared through the portal.

"Not even an explanation on what is supposed to happen?"

White mused, clicking his tongue in displeasure.

"Oh, don’t worry."

The scientist said, and White raised an eyebrow, finding an arm wrap around his neck, pulling him towards one of the machines.

"It’s a simple medical check-up that’s taken on every potential EGES member."

"You’re closer to being a Galaxial Explorer than you think, Mr..."

"White...White Sinclaw."