On the other hand, the hero party had arrived at the palace of Bemboria. Warmly, the servants and guards welcomed and led them to the king. As they entered the throne room, Merlin noticed right away that one of them was absent, which only meant one thing: he failed.
"As expected," the king stood up from his throne. "Only those who are strong enough to survive on their own can challenge the demon lord. Let this be a lesson for us, right, Merlin?"
"Right, your majesty," Merlin replied, though deep inside he disagreed. He couldn't forget the first time he saw Ethan, that look in his eyes, that loneliness and determination to stay alive. He couldn't give up on him yet, so he sent an apprentice to keep an eye on him.
"Alright. Without further talking, I welcome everyone who made it back. You've passed the first test, but your journey doesn't end here. Before we proceed to the second test, we want to reevaluate you to see how much progress you've made. Merlin," the king said.
"Got it, your Majesty. Let's begin the reevaluation."
Just like what they did before, Merlin asked them to touch the orb one by one. As usual, the confident Leo Weinster, a 25-year-old who was supposed to be a businessman in his past life, did it first.
Pleased to see Leo's progress, from B-rank to A-rank, the king praised him. Aside from that, Leo also obtained a blessing from the god of lightning: a stun buff and lightning chain effect, which immobilizes and damages several enemies at once.
Next, Celia Makinley, 23 years old, a former medic in her past life, had become a B-rank mage. The rest of them showed similar progress. They all upgraded one rank higher and unlocked some special skills.
"And that ends that reevaluation," Merlin said.
"Just as I expected, every one of you made some notable progress, which means you are all qualified to take the next test. Merlin will explain to you the details." The king sat on his throne.
"I don't know if you have already heard about the uncharted forest," Merlin started. "We've received a request from the guild master to investigate the case of adventurers who disappeared in that forest. We are thinking that demons may be involved."
"So you mean the second test is for us to investigate the forest?" Celia asked.
"You got it right. It seems like there's no need to explain this thing to you," Merlin replied. "We want you to investigate the disappearance of those adventurers. Simple."
"We got it," Celia said.
"Wait, wait, wait," Leo interrupted. "Don't tell us you really want to go there again? Have you lost your mind already? Did you forget what happened there? That was a powerful creature we can't challenge."
"Why, leader? Are you acting cowardly now?" Gregory asked. "Weren't you the one who led us there?"
"You!" Leo exclaimed.
"Stop fighting guys. Don't forget you're in front of the king, so mind your manners," Niya said.
"Interesting," the king said, standing up. "It seems like you've been to that forest before. In that case, you already have an idea about what's going on there, about the creatures that reside in that forest. We want you to get information about those creatures. They will be valuable for the kingdom's archives. I'm going to buy this information from you. We can also lend you some knights to help you finish the test."
"That's so kind and generous of you, your majesty," Celia replied. "But we are the heroes. We can't just accept your offer and live freely. This is our duty to this kingdom. We'll investigate this case on our own and make those demons pay with their blood."
"You're a brave and strong woman," the king replied. "I apologize for underestimating your capability. I, Barney Burke, allow you to take this quest on your own. I'm rooting for your success, heroes."
As they stepped out of the hall, Leo burst into anger. "Why did you do that, Celia?" He grabbed the collar of her dress, her pointed hat fell down the ground, revealing her long, curly black hair, yet she remained calm. "Why did you decline the King's offer? I'm the leader of this party. I should be the one to decide not you."
Celia slapped Leo's hand off her. She bowed down to pick up her hat. Then she stood straight, her face showed no regrets. "Beat it, Leo. You're not so good at being our leader," she said, wiping the dust off her hat with her hand. 
"What did you say?" Leo unsheathed his sword, but Gregory and Niya stopped him. 
"Calm down, guys. We're still a team. Let's talk about this. We can't solve a problem by killing each other," Niya said. 
"You don't even know how to gain their trust and yet you call yourself a leader? What kind of leader is so foolish? It was obvious why the king wanted to send his knights with us. They weren't to help, but to spy on us. To know the things we've done. We came back without a healer. Of course the king would raise suspicion."
Leo, realizing his mistake, sheathed his sword and apologized.