‘Here we go…’ Mustering my courage, I pressed forward. But after carefully stepping over the platform’s boundary and entering the stone amphitheater, I froze.

  That’s because of what I saw, or rather, didn’t see inside. I was hoping this would somehow help me discern the true nature of this gate guardian. However, the exact moment I entered the loose cloud of essence hanging above the theatre, everything went black, and I couldn’t see or hear anything.

  ‘Huh?’ I blinked, unsure what was happening. I briefly stared into the abyss, which reminded me of the Acceptance’s trial and the strange living darkness we had to traverse in one of its challenges.

  I shuddered, dismissing the unpleasant memory, and quickly summoned a small flame, but to my dismay, it didn’t help much.

  It was like some oily substance was sticking to my magic, preventing it from functioning properly. ‘Is it the Wraith’s doing?’

  What’s worse, it seemed like my magic couldn’t affect it, as if it were intangible and couldn’t be harmed. Witnessing this, I furrowed my brows, unsure of what to do next.

  Since it would be unwise to tackle this challenge blindly, so to speak, I tried to take a step back. I wanted to return to the spacious hall, brainstorm this uncanny discovery with Edwin, and then form a plan to deal with it.

  However, this also proved futile because as I attempted to back out of the stone amphitheater, my back hit some sort of barrier that was preventing me from leaving.

  ‘Great, now what?’ I thought with exasperation. Still, I didn’t panic just yet. After all, I had my magic sense, and I kept reminding myself this was a test, so it had to have a solution.

  ‘I guess there really is a Wraith here…’ I thought, and my muscles involuntarily tensed. This would be my first time meeting an intangible opponent, and despite it being only an illusion, it gave me pause.

  Sadly, I forgot to ask Edwin how to fight it. I just wanted to first explore the amphitheater to get an idea of what we’re standing against, never expecting to be trapped here.

  From what I heard, the best way to deal with ghosts was to use the element of Light. But as far as I knew, no first-year could use it, and even if they could, I was here on my own with no way to signal the others what was happening.

  ‘Why did the masters give us an unsolvable problem?’ I briefly wondered, slumping dejectedly. But then I simply shrugged my shoulders as there was no point in pondering this. Since I couldn’t return, I had to somehow finish this challenge on my own.

  At worst, I would just ‘die’ and be teleported out. Granted, failing the test would suck, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

  So, I took a deep breath and slowly began making my way down the stone steps to the presumed location of the gate at the bottom of this spacious amphitheater.

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  Still, I didn’t let this unpleasant development sour my mood too much. After all, there was a bright side to this. If my magic couldn’t affect the Wraith, it should work both ways - the Wraith won’t be able to harm me either.

  Well, at least not yet. But given that all those who went here before me experienced a gruesome death, I imagined the gate guardian must have some way to attack its opponents.

  Luckily, from what Edwin told me, it wouldn’t happen until I tried to approach the gate itself, so I still had some time to figure out how to deal with it.

  There was, however, one undeniable truth. ‘In order to attack me, it has to show itself, and in that moment, it can be harmed.’ Realizing this, I resolved myself to what had to be done and then continued my slow, tentative descent toward the bottom of the amphitheater.

  My surroundings grew darker with each step, the air thickening with an eerie, suffocating feeling. Everything was maddeningly silent, my magic sense strained against the oppressive darkness, seeking any change in the swirling essence. ‘No wonder the previous challengers failed miserably.’ I thought.

  Without having something like my magic sense, you’d be completely blind and couldn’t perceive an attack until it was too late.

  Still, I didn’t dare to drop my guard. That’s because, despite not having a magic sense, the others were well-trained Aspirants – nobles. They knew magic and were undoubtedly brave since they dared to challenge the gate guardian first. And yet they still lost.

  So, while focusing on the oily darkness around me, I readied my essence, concentrating it into the palm of my hand to be ready to send fireballs at a moment’s notice.

  A slight change in the movement of the surrounding essence was the only warning I got before a wind blade was hurling my way, threatening to slice me in two.

  I sent a pulse of magic into my trembling legs and sprang into motion, jumping away hurriedly. At the same time, I sent a volley of fireballs in the direction of the previous disturbance, hoping to surprise the elusive ghost.

  The void rippled like water as the flames whizzed through the air. Yet to my dismay, they met no resistance before hitting the stone walls and uselessly exploding. ‘Hmm, this will be more difficult than I thought.’ I realized, frowning.

  What’s worse, due to that distraction, a portion of the dark substance managed to envelop me, and immediately, I was assaulted by a strange, sickening feeling. ‘Is it draining my essence?’

  After a momentary panic, I forced myself to calm down. Although it was indeed draining my essence, it was at a rate that didn’t pose an immediate risk of running dry anytime soon.

  Of course, it was only thanks to my vast reserves that I could say that. For an ordinary person, this would probably be a very troublesome affair, and I could imagine this was how the Wraiths earned their great infamy.

  Still, I was losing my essence at an alarming rate and had to do something about it. So, I tried my best to shake it off, even burning it with my flames. But no matter what I did, the oily substance didn’t budge.

  “What’s with this damn thing?!” I cursed. This didn’t make any sense. ‘How could it continue to suck off my magic, but at the same time be invulnerable to damage?’ I wondered.

  “Whoosh!” While I was at it, another wind blade came hurling at me from the darkness, and I had to quickly jump to the side so it wouldn’t chop my head off.

  ‘To hell with this!’ Panting heavily, I came to the unpleasant realization that if I didn’t do something and do it fast, I would inevitably lose.

  With no better idea, I abandoned my feeble attempts at damaging the Wraith and instead focused on my magic sense, trying to discern where its main body might be.

  Like before, I couldn’t see anything beyond the cloud of essence. Yet while focusing on the oily substance sticking to me, I noticed something strange. ‘Why is it flickering?’ I briefly wondered. Then it hit me. ‘It’s not flickering, it’s oscillation!’