Once every contestant was inside the hall, the doors of the hall were closed shut. Afterwards, the attendants of the Pentacle Trials started entering the concourse with the contestants as well. These attendants wore purple robes with a large symbol of a pentacle on their chests and had various types of masquerade masks covering each of their faces. They moved across the crowd of contestants in order to hand each of them a rune that’s shaped like a heart with pink markings—a faux-health rune.

  Miri had heard about these faux-health runes when she was researching the Pentacle Trials. These runes were used to monitor the health condition of each contestant as they were competing in the trials. Each rune analyzed its user’s body in order to create a simulated representation of their overall health—one that would absorb any combat damage received in the user’s place. That way, once the contestants were in the trial, their actual physical bodies won’t actually get injured during combat, instead having all the damage be dealt to their faux-health body instead.

  In a way, these faux-health runes were similar to the armor plates Miri used when she was taking the solo license test. However, there were several differences between them.

  First, faux-health runes were not based on the amount of weight you could carry as each faux-health rune had negligible weight. Instead, how much faux-health you received was dependent on how generally healthy and sturdy you were biologically as each rune’s health was scaled with what they measured from each user. Second, faux-health runes were affected by healing magic and status-afflicting magic, meaning that it's much more versatile in simulating the effects of damage from realistic combat than simple runic armor plates. Third, once a contestant's faux-health dropped to zero, the contestant would automatically be teleported to a special waiting area and, depending on the trial, would be eliminated from the trial altogether.

  As soon as it was equipped, each faux-health rune would be registered to a specific user and all the information pertaining to it would be displayed on a screen for all the spectators to see. Once all of the contestants had been equipped with a faux-health rune, the attendants began shuffling out of the concourse.

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  Then, the large pentacle overlaid on the ceiling started to glow, followed by a bright, purple flash of light in the air that soon materialized into a large cloud of thick, purple fog—one that continued to billow and expand with every passing second. As the cloud spread outward, a loud, thundering, disembodied voice of a woman started speaking out loud for everyone in the concourse to hear.

  “For as long as humankind has existed, there has always been a desire for an adventure,” the voice began. “To explore the greatest dungeons, defeat the greatest monsters, and uncover the greatest treasures. To that end, we train ourselves in the art of magic and combat in order to better ourselves to face whatever challenges lie ahead in our journeys.

  “Here, in this competition, those skills you have trained so hard to obtain shall be put to the test, pushed to their absolute limit. Here, in this competition, you shall form alliances and rivalries with adventurers from all walks of life. Here, in this competition, you shall have a chance to prove your worth and make a name for yourself by rising above the rest. Many will join, but only one will be left standing.”

  Afterwards, the large, purple cloud swirled in the air as it retracted into one single focal point before vanishing in a small puff of smoke. As it vanished, it revealed a person hovering above all the other contestants. This person appeared to be a woman sitting on a floating broomstick, similar to that of a typical witch. She wore a purple witch hat, a set of purple mage robes with a low neckline, and a pair of purple, high-heeled boots. Her long, wavy hair was purple and she had on purple eyeshadow and lipstick. The symbol of a pentacle was marked on her forehead.

  Overall, she had an aura that combined feminine beauty with mystical whimsicality, a combination that was alluring enough to captivate many of the contestants who saw her.

  “I am your trialmaster, Circe Lavender,” the witch announced to all the contestants below her with a mischievous grin. “Welcome to the Pentacle Trials. May the best adventurer prevail.”