Bones, blood, and black soil were all that Misumi Mikoto could see, as if the entire world no longer existed, leaving only the mountainous pile of bones around her, the blood soaking her body, and the black land bearing it all.
The icy blood water was bone-chilling. Although the temperature in the Necromantic Space wasn't low, it seed deliberately kept cooler to prevent the bones and blood pool from decaying. Subrged in the blood water, Misumi Mikoto felt her body almost losing feeling from the cold, trembling all over.
Soaking in the water in the low-temperature environnt for half an hour, with Misumi Mikoto's professional knowledge, she easily understood that she was very likely to develop hypothermia. But at that mont, she had no ti to think about that, as all her willpower was focused on staying in the blood pool, instead of imdiately jumping out, getting dressed, and going ho.
As for the stench of blood emanating from the blood pool, the nausea that ca with being imrsed in the blood, and the shyness of stripping off her clothes in front of Chen Yu, Misumi Mikoto might have thought about these at first. But as her body temperature dropped, these thoughts had long dissipated along with the warmth within her.
Now, there was only one thought in her mind, and that was to persist, to just hold on for half an hour.
The low-temperature imrsion reminded Misumi Mikoto of the last ti she and Kube Rokuro were locked in a refrigerated truck and then thrown into a pond—an experience similar to this, soaking in water as the temperature kept dropping.
Only this ti, she had voluntarily jumped into the blood water, and it wasn't like the last ti when she could only hope for soone else's rescue.
Misumi Mikoto knew very well that if she felt she couldn't persist, all she had to do was to stand up and walk out of the blood pool, and it would all end.
But that would also an that her career as a Necromancer would end the mont she stood up.
Perhaps the experience of trying to commit suicide with her mother as a child, yet not dying, had an impact on Misumi Mikoto's character. She had lived back then just wanting to ask her mother why. That single-minded obsession also made her notoriously stubborn, with a tenacity that would not cease until she achieved her goal.
This tenacity often manifested in her work, where she would relentlessly investigate a case until she uncovered every last detail.
And at that mont, her tenacity was evident in her desire to keep on persevering.
In fact, at that ti, Misumi Mikoto's hands and feet had already lost feeling from the cold, even her vision was affected, but she kept telling herself that she must hold on because giving up ant she would be expelled by Chen Yu.
Having just entered the world of the Transcendents and witnessed its magical aspects, how could she possibly give up now when her teacher was about to teach her even more powerful things?
It was just a matter of enduring for half an hour. Last ti with Kube Rokuro in the refrigerated truck, they had stayed for much more than half an hour, hadn't they? Misumi Mikoto consoled herself. Although her vision was starting to blur, and even light hallucinations were appearing, she still clenched her teeth and persisted, not even asking Chen Yu how much longer she needed to stay.
Because she knew, once she asked how much ti was left, it would be like dangling a lifeline in front of her, and she would be unable to resist thinking and counting down the ti. But doing so often made the ti feel even longer and could lead to growing agitation as the ti did not seem to pass.
In her current state, what she needed most was to calm her mind and preserve the little warmth left in her body, allowing herself to last as long as possible.
But just as Misumi Mikoto was encouraging herself that there wasn't much ti left, the sound of Chen Yu's voice suddenly ca from the shore, "Get up."
Upon hearing this voice, Misumi Mikoto's eyes, which had already lost so of their sparkle, couldn't help but light up. It was finally over! As she thought this and tried to stand up to walk toward the shore, the prolonged soaking in the low temperature had taken its toll on her limbs, and she lacked the strength to stand. Not only did she fail to rise, but she also fell into the blood pool.
The blood water imdiately subrged Misumi Mikoto's head. She choked on a large mouthful of blood water, and her nostrils and mouth were instantly filled with the taste of blood and rust. Although her body was gradually becoming numb and her consciousness was sowhat blurred, the sudden subrsion startled her back to a mont of clarity, and she instinctively began to struggle.
However, before Misumi Mikoto could find the balance of her body, she was already fished out of the blood pool by an invisible hand and placed on the shore.
At this point, Misumi Mikoto could no longer care about being naked; the cold soak and choking had brought her consciousness to the brink of fainting, and she was rely surviving on her last breath to keep from passing out.
With her last bit of willpower, Misumi Mikoto looked towards Chen Yu and asked him, "Teacher, did I pass the test?"
"Get her cleaned up and send her to my study," said Chen Yu, seemingly talking to soone else. But everything in front of Misumi Mikoto had already turned pitch-black, and she couldn't clearly see anything, barely making out Chen Yu's figure.
Just as Misumi Mikoto wanted to continue asking questions, she vaguely saw another figure appearing beside Chen Yu and walking towards her. Eventually, she was unable to hold on any longer, and her vision blurred before fainting.
But just before she fainted, Misumi Mikoto faintly heard Chen Yu's voice, "Well done."
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When Misumi Mikoto regained consciousness, she still felt she was imrsed in water, but it clearly wasn't the icy blood water, rather it was a warm and gentle hot water.
Misumi Mikoto opened her eyes and found herself soaking in a huge bath, still naked.
The now-revived Misumi Mikoto quickly covered her modesty with her hands, squatted down in the water, and also took in the sight of the gigantic bath and the entire bathroom.
The bathroom appeared to have a very classic European style, reminiscent of those seen in European court dramas, but the bath she was lying in was sowhat like a Japanese-style hot spring, except that the huge, pool-sized white porcelain bathtub and the surrounding gold-trimd decorations only added to her confusion.
Where was this place after all? Considering the castle she had seen before, Misumi Mikoto suspected she might be sowhere inside it.
While Misumi Mikoto was still puzzled, Chen Yu's voice rang in her ear again, "Once you've finished washing up, hurry out, get dressed, and co to my study."
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