"Blood Valley"
When Nafız picked up the last book, the ones piled up on her right side had exceeded the height of a small child; the red-haired young girl was buried inside the library.
"What is this; she can't get enough of reading!"
"She is an Outsider; she can only satisfy her hunger for knowledge!"
Nafız, whose right ear slightly twitched, didn't make a sound; while the two people looking at her moved away, she was examining their backs out of the corner of her eye.
"What does Outsider mean; whoever I asked didn't open their mouths. Sometimes it wasn't just a figure of speech, I really tried, but even when I shoved daggers into their mouths, they didn't speak!"
After understanding the general power levels having spent time inside the library for a while, Nafız started becoming a nightmare to those she set her eyes on. Although all cards were on the table in a fight to the death, she didn't want to confront strong people just to get information.
Such was the law of nature; even lions wouldn't attack the fittest member while they could hunt the cubs inside the herd or the old ones left behind. The moment she figured out they had no community consciousness, she pounced on them, but her interlocutors wouldn't reveal any secrets.
"Everything is here, but it doesn't say where this place actually is. Patience, I will learn eventually. For now, let me focus on reading what is written about the Blood Valley!"
Since her surroundings were always empty, Nafız made it a habit to think by murmuring; again, only she could hear the sound she made.
"Blood Valley, the special trial area of the Holy Blood Sect located on the Hell Realm, opens once a year and only for new students. This rule was set by the Fourth Sheikh, and exceptions are possible only with the Sheikh's permission!"
Nafız, having read just a paragraph, brought her hand to her chin; while her eyes looked at the ceiling, she was thinking about something.
"The Erotic Sheikh locked himself in his room; it is certain he won't come out for this. Since the Second Elder is also punished, the idea of everyone participating in the trial belongs to the Third Elder. Snake-head didn't like us, but he waited quite a while to make a move."
After the two fronts weighed each other, they had entered a period of silence before the storm, but the move made by the Third Elder was the harbinger of war. Nafız, whose mind cleared, returned to reading the book; the more she knew about the place they would go very soon, the more preparation she could make.
"Blood Valley makes choices according to two criteria; the first is existing power, the second is potential. One is useless without the other; in the disciples to be selected, these two criteria are desired to balance each other.
The person entering through the trial gate is sent to a random area; if the area master doesn't want the participant in their area, they either exile them or send them directly out of the trial. The participant has two options; either resist or leave the area!"
As she read, new information was emerging; whichever stone she lifted, she heard completely different things. Turning the page quickly, she continued from where she left off.
"More than one person can fall into the same area; fighting is allowed for the benefit to be gained. As long as the Area Master permits, the trial is open to all kinds of results.
The main purpose of the Blood Valley trial is to start a new life by receiving the grace of the Area Masters. If providing some benefits changes a person's fortune. In the worst-case scenario, you become unable to use energy ever again!"
After reading the last sentence, a chill ran down Nafız's neck; Blood Valley was like a double-edged knife. She left the book next to the others standing by her side; after rubbing her eyes, she was stretching by opening her arms to the sides when the energy surrounding her started to carry her to another place.
"My time is not up!"
"Resting before the Blood Valley opens would be for your benefit!"
When Nafız was taken out by the library guardian Anticuado, she was quite angry; in response, the man shaking the collars of his red robe answered in a very calm tone. When she turned her back and left, Nafız's anger hadn't passed, but she restrained herself; she hadn't forgotten the lesson she learned the first day she came here.
When she arrived at the Garbage House without wasting time, she saw Jashua and Lareina watching the valley accompanied by the moonlight falling on them. After the view she saw through the gap of the broken door, she continued without entering; a few dozen breaths later, she was lying on the edge of the lake where the entrance to the first dungeon was.
"Well, Master Nafız, are you left all alone. Your power animal is leaving together with your human past; without leaving Mora, your lineage power won't awaken. As for Jashua, he is wandering in the arms of love; who knows what Alyon is doing, and I am sitting by the lake idling!"
When her murmuring finished, she burst into shrill laughter; after all those sad words, her mood seemed turbulent.
"Isn't living exactly this? Leaving the branches I held onto tightly, I am setting sail for new possibilities!"
She stood up, took off whatever was on her, and let herself into the water. While lying on her back, her view consisted of stars and a moon with a blood-red color.
In the morning of the calm night, Nafız, Jashua, Lareina, and Jashua's followers had formed a circle inside the Garbage House.
"This is the summary of what I read; you need to keep your eyes peeled when you enter!"
When they gathered in the first hours of the morning, Nafız first asked Jashua's followers what they knew about the Blood Valley. The answers she received were a complete disappointment; the knowledge of the five people consisted only of the experiences they had lived in the first year.
The answer to the question "Didn't anyone tell you what would happen before entering?" was a huge no. Although she didn't expect the clan representatives to be this ignorant, she understood that normal disciples didn't have sufficient knowledge about the Blood Valley.
"Sir, the probability of us falling into the same area inside is very low. Therefore, there is an important subject I need to ask you before entering!"
Jashua spoke with a tone of voice making his harsh temperament look even more frightening; after a short pause, everyone was waiting curiously for what he would say.
"According to what you told, there might be other disciples in these areas, and due to recent changes, I might encounter a few of them. If I see one of the Six Clan Representatives and their men, what should I do!"
The environment tensed like a bow; the biggest reason for this was Lareina sitting right next to Jashua reacting by getting startled. The other five people were calm as if expecting this; indeed, the answer to the question concerned them too, there was no one who didn't know they were Jashua's men.
Nafız was stagnant and calm like the surface of the lake where she spent the night; she thought silently for a while. This process, which calmed the others, was tensing Jashua because he was the only person who fully knew who the red-haired girl opposite him was.
"This subject is a very sensitive subject. Although we behaved a bit roughly inside the Blood Arena, from now on examining in detail would be to our benefit!"
Lareina let out a deep sigh of relief; the five immediately to her right were also relaxing, but the words coming a breath later would make them all jump from where they stood.
"In short, if one of them appears before you, you know what to do; a definite and ruthless death!"
"As you command, sir!"
The blood energy overflowing from Jashua's body swept through the group and stopped by hitting the ruined walls of the Garbage House. While the parts of the barely standing structure that hadn't collapsed yet started to crumble after this attack, Nafız was laughing out loud.
"One needs to do justice to the name Blood Valley! Let them think they will hunt us; who is the prey, who is the hunter, will be clear once inside!"