Land of a Thousand Lakes, Part 7: Aura

Name: Land of a Thousand Lakes, Part 7: Aura
Rank: Shadow
Requirements for Lower Ranks: ≤ 1 Rank
Minimum Word Count: 10,500
Location: Aura
EXP Gain: 10,000
Coin Gain: 0
Item Reward: N/A
Synopsis:
After letting the Historian make his plans, he's determined the best course of action is for him to relocate to Aura to continue his research. He'll ask you to be his escort as you've proven to be a very valuable, and good ally thus far.

Route 1: You choose to escort the historian. He has a great deal of items with him, so it'll be a trip over land with an Ox-pulled carriage. You'll face a great deal of enemies along the way since you're going from Tartaros to Aura, which means you need to pass the Fae Forest. This will increase the minimum word count by 1,000 words.

Route 2: You choose to decline the historian and have him go of his own accord and ask someone else to escort him. Doing this will reduce the minimum word count of this mission by 1,000 words.

When you reach Aura (if route 2 was taken the historian will arrive 2 days after you), the monks will welcome you as any other guest. You'll need to speak to the head monk at the temple of Aura, who's without a doubt the oldest person in the temple. He'll tell you that in order to find the Mantra, you need to prove to him that you're a master of Mind, Body, and Soul.

Master of Mind: The head monk shows you a wooden block with a different color on each side. Each side is also divided into 16 sections (Extreme Rubix Cube). He puts the block behind him and begins turning the block, making it so the colored tiles are all jumbled up. When he pulls it out, he tells you to solve the puzzle by putting each face as it was before. He also mentions that you're only allowed to accomplish this task by turning the faces, and not ripping them off and placing them in order.

Master of Body: You must fight the Head Monk. He looks old and decrepit, but when he stands up you realize that he's far from actually being decrepit. The monk uses powerful melee attacks that can shatter the strongest of armour, and can easily redirect magic attacks with his palms. Your objective is not to beat him, in fact, he'll destroy you long before you have a chance of hurting him. Your objective is to survive 5 minutes (in character) against him.

Master of Soul: Immediately after completing the Mind and Body challenges, the head monk slams his palm into your chest and makes the world go blank. This marks the beginning of the Soul trial. Your opponent isn't yourself, as stereotypically it would be... Instead, you'll be fighting the mermaid from the last mission. This one will know all of your attacks and fighting styles, so she won't be super easy; but the fight is 100% up to you.

Once you finish the trial, the head monk tells you to rest. If you're rank is Ghost, he'll tell you that you're not strong enough to handle the next task and to go train and get stronger. If your rank is Shadow or higher, he'll tell you to meet him at the top of the temple of Aura.

Enemies: (Route 1 only) Bandits, Highwaymen, Fairies, Lions, Tigers, Coyotes, Wolves, Panthers; other predators.
Is it alright to make up my own enemies?: Yes