On the seaside of the dark forest, a tall man carelessly stood watching the group of participants return in pathetic states. Some limped, some stumbled, and some ran out running from the dark forest, their perfect appearances and neat dressing from two weeks ago completely gone.
Of the thousand participants, only about one tenth of them survived, the rest remaining behind as either more bones or fertilizer for the soil. As the injured survivors limped to the front of the tall man, they deeply bowed their heads, shame coloring their faces at their own appearance.
Looking around, they were surprised by the small number of participants left, and thinking of the possible outcome of those unreturned, they shivered.
"Hey, now that I think about, there is nothing wrong with how we look. If we compare ourselves to the unfortunate ones left behind in the dark forest, we are much luckier for escaping with our lives. What is a little appearance worth than?" A girl with brown hair could help saying after seeing the small number of returns.
"Yes. Just thinking about that nightmare forest brings chills to my heart. For us to have survived such a ordeal is already a great accomplishment. There is no need for us to be ashamed by our appearance."
"Is that not so? I mean, look at us! We were able to survive in such a savage environment even when many others could not. This just goes to show our outstanding ability and capability." Another yellow haired girl exclaimed with excitement and pride as she stood in front of the group.
"The others were not able to accomplish such a task and the price they paid with was their live. We accomplished it, so even if we look a little unpresentable afterwards, it is acceptable."
More and more of the girls started comforting themselves with such excuses as they embellished the incidents of their severed limbs or scared faces, changing it into a trophy of achievement.
At this moment, there were two girls with black hair and purple eyes standing on the sides of the group of girls self-hypnotizing themselves, looking at them with disdain and scorn in their eyes. Of the batch of girls, they were the only ones who seemed to return completely intact, with only a few scratches on their arms and rips on their yellow and white robes.
"Some people are such losers that they do not even have what it takes to accept their incompetence." The white robed girl said with disgust.
"I know, right? But what can we do about it? Others are shameless enough to place themselves on a pedestal even when they are pathetic enough to get beaten miserably by a few wild beasts." The other girl, yellow robed with a slightly round face, seconded.
Seeing the two girls mock them as losers and pathetic to their faces, the girls faces immediately turned red with anger. However, they did not dare to retort or talk back.
Among their group, it was no secret that the two wandered fearlessly in the scary forest alone, slaying beasts and skinning their furs as if they were on a stroll rather than in a life or death situation.
Although they hated them, they were also fearful of their frightening magical abilities.
So, without saying a word, the girls all bowed their heads meekly, their faces flushing in shame.
'Humm! They are just a little more powerful than us! What is there to be so proud of?'
They all thought resentfully in their hearts, but not one dared to speak up, turning the boisterous atmosphere from a little while ago, into one of tension filled silence.
It was at this moment that a silver radiance shooting from the distant, caught the silent girls attention. Curious, they all watched the silver brilliance draw near their area and slowly descend onto the white sand.
The moment it landed, an explosion went off in the girls minds.
They stared in shock and disbelief as a purple-red clad girl, with knee length black hair and violet pupils, gracefully descended from the makeshift ride like a sacred being descending to the mortal realm. Her purple-silver jewels tinkled with every step she took, gleaming brightly as the blue-green iridescent hues fell on them.
Landing on the white sand, her elegant and graceful aura made it seem as if she was not standing on just plain sand, but on a pure white dais.
Instantly, every girl furtively compared their disgraceful appearances with that of the purple-red clad girl and felt their faces turn hot.
They were indignant and embarrassed when the two arrogant girls called them out on their sham to deceive themselves by justifying their conditions. They felt resentment and anger, even going so far as to curse them in their minds.
But they never felt ashamed and inferior. This girl, who had suddenly appeared from the sky, had not spoken a single word and just stood silently next to her ride, and yet, just by looking at her, they felt like they were beneath her.
They felt ashamed of their own appearances, wanting now more than ever to find a hole to hide in. The inferior feeling in their hearts made they feel like they were dirtying her clear and clean eyes.
Unconsciously bowing their heads in attempt to hide their faces, the girls slowly moved away from the girl, lest they caught her attention and unintentionally fell into the limelight.
"Who is she? During this whole competition, I have not encountered her even once. And judging from her neat and clean appearance, it seems like she had a much easier time in the dark forest than me?" The white robed girl whispered to herself as she evaluated the girl she deemed her strongest competitor.
"I was too careless and did not look into the other competitors. If I knew earlier that there was a tough opponent among the participants, I would have figured out a way to get rid of her in the dark forest itself!" The yellow robed girl gushed her teeth as she huffed in anger and displeasure.
She did not look favorably upon anyone who outshone her.
And this new comer did not just outshine her. In both appearance and aura, she left her in the dust.
The new girl who suddenly became every one's envy, jealousy, anger, and resentment unconcernedly stood by the side of her silver rafter. Completely ignoring the flickering emotions in the other competitors eyes, she stroked the small furry head of her white pet, her gentle eyes flashing with a silver radiance.
This newcomer was none other than Princess Qamari, who had arrived just in time for the selection of apprentices.
The tall man standing in front of the group was also slightly surprised by Princess Qamari' entrance. Not only did she appear on a magical ride that should not have been possible to carry into the dark forest. She also appeared clean and neat, completely unscathed and unruffled by the horrors in the forest.
"Did she not venture into the deeper parts of the forest?" He quietly wondered to himself, trying to figure out the reason why she was the only one unharmed.
Even the two girls deemed to be outstanding seedlings by the great magician Iiam did not look as leisurely as she did.
Unbeknownst to him, Princess Qamari not only ventured into the deeper parts of the forest, she also entered the forbidden land of the forest, the Heart of Sealand, snatching away the ancient winged-white tiger's offspring.
But, yes. For the remainder of the time, she did spend it leisurely eating and playing with her golden sword and baby tiger on the outskirts of the dark forest, as she waited out for the competition to end.
*
Deep inside the sea island, there was a sea kingdom, where castles of blue-green gems were enveloped in the lively and colorful hues of aquatic creatures as they carefreely swam about. The neon hues of pink, purple, yellow, green, and orange corals decorated the white ground, outshining the iridescent radiance of the seaweeds and plants growing on the sides of the palatial buildings.
This is the Sealand Academy of the Iris Realm.
And inside the tallest castle of this academy was a green clothed man with red hair and green eyes. He sat on a majestic chair carved with the image of a lifelike sea-dragon, magic humming in his surroundings, as he seriously watched three black haired and purple eyed girls in a mirror.
This man was Iiam, the great magician. He was scrutinizing the three girls suspected to be possible Marikeens on his Mirror of Observation. His frown deepened as he saw Princess Qamari flamboyantly appear on her silver rafter and stand aside nonchalantly.
Scanning her, he found the girl was unscratched and unharmed.
"How is that possible? She could not have hidden herself somewhere until the end of the competition, could she?" He wondered in confusion as his frown deepened, the crease on his forehead forming into three visible lines.