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Back The Wishing Game
Chapters (66)
  1. PREFACE
  2. Full Page Image
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. One week ago
  6. THREE
  7. Present day
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO

The white of our dresses in the inside quadrant is surrounded by the black of the priestesses' garb as they converge around us. The high priestess is a dot of color as she steps forward, infiltrating the tightly formed group, becoming the nucleus.

"There are five broad levels," she speaks as she walks farther into the middle of the crowd. "The first one is the bottom one, wherein the sphere will remain white. That means you have little to no spiritual power, and you will be asked to leave the premises immediately. If the sphere turns blue, then you are a first level—not bad, but not great either. You will also be asked to leave, cultivate more, and return in future years." She pauses. "Contrary to popular belief, spiritual power can be enhanced by up to fifty percent the amount you were born with. If you have blue at this time, you can cultivate and level up in time." She smiles—the first time I've seen her do so—as she meets the gazes of some hopeful participants. She nods at them, giving them a little boost of confidence.

"For the third level, the sphere will turn yellow. That means you have a good amount of spiritual ability—but still not enough. Just like blue, you will be asked to leave the premises and cultivate more. And that brings me to the last two levels—black and red. If the sphere turns black, you have a very good spiritual ability. You have likely trained for many years before you have come here, or you may have even failed before and tried harder. We do not judge those who've been turned away before. In fact, we value the perseverance, and if you did improve, that will be noted. The black level is allowed to remain and will pass to the next round.

"There is one last level—the best one. If the sphere turns red, then you have the best level of spiritual ability. You will, of course, advance to the next round."

Whispers ripple among the participants.

She pauses.

"You are probably wondering if black will be at a disadvantage compared to red in the subsequent rounds. The answer is no, for the simple reason that red is exceedingly rare. I have not encountered a red candidate in..." she trails off, pensive. "My, I don't believe I've ever encountered one." She chuckles. "In fact, working toward the red level will be part of your priestess training."