Emperor of Soul Pets

Chapter 48: Prep Time

"What the?" Rao Wu rubbed his eyes in disbelief when the blinding light transported him to a strange room. Unlike the previous white, sterile room, he found himself in something akin to a botanical garden with trees, beautiful plants, and a flowing creek.

Rao Wu would have assumed he got transported to another test location, but he spotted the familiar platform at the garden's center. Furthermore, the rock walls' locations that enclosed the room bore a striking resemblance to the previously white wall.

Rao Wu turned to look at the administrator, who sat on a tree root that passed over the platform. "What's going on? This isn't the Test Chamber, is it?"

The administrator rubbed his ears and lazily yawned. "It is, in fact, the very same. The room is set to match the Candidate's technological advancement automatically. The room you met was set to the previous student. We renovated after accessing your memories."

"Accessing my memories?" Rao Wu was shocked. "How did you do that?"

The administrator tapped his head. "The soul techniques you received. We read your soul when you opened it to us."

Rao Wu frowned. "You've been saying 'we' for a while now. Who's we? Also, what's your name, anyway?"

The administrator's lips curled in a wide grin. "You are not yet qualified to know my partner. But you can call me Fen. It's been a long time since someone survived this long in Infernal Difficulty—you've earned that much."

"Oh?" Rao Wu's eyes brightened as he realized that Fen must have been there for a really long time. "Then can you tell me what this test is for?"

Fen's lips parted to reveal a wolfish grin. "Do you have the Chaos Points? That information is worth three million Chaos Points."

"Ugh." Rao Wu recoiled in disgust as he glared at Fen. "You're just as stingy."

Fen smiled. "Stingy? No, child. This teaches you that nothing comes free. Someone somewhere paid the price for you to get anything you ever receive. Life will be a lot easier when you understand this principle."

"Yeah, alright." Rao Wu did not want to argue with the administrator. Who knew if Fen was the vindictive type and sent Rao Wu to hell on his next test? Instead, Rao Wu swiftly changed tactics and asked, "What about my rewards? Do I still get those?"

"Certainly." Fen waved his hand, and a statue rose from the ground.

Rao Wu recognized the statue. It was a miniature version of the one painted on the main door—a terrifying black-furred wolf with several chains tied to its neck, feet, and body. To Rao Wu's surprise, the statue opened its mouth, and a familiar voice came out. "Welcome back, Candidate. Congratulations on completing the third test."

"You!?" Rao Wu's eyes widened in shock. There was no way he could forget the system's voice after hearing it so many times. However, there was something different about it.

"Would the Candidate like to hear the test results? Also, is the Candidate adverse to being addressed by his name?"

'It feels alive.' Rao Wu noticed that the system's voice and tone were livelier than its previous iteration. He wondered if this had something to do with Fen. "Yes. Tell me the results. Also, feel free to call me by my name."

The golem stiffly nodded. "Here are your test results." After it spoke, a stone slab rose from the ground, with characters etched on it.

Test Objective: Steal the Shaman's Orb and Deliver it to Fort Drakon

Objective Completion Rate: Full [40,000 Chaos Points Awarded]

Bonus Rewards: