Chapter 1247: First Stage
“What the—!”
Erin wasn’t the one who had a huge reaction. On the contrary, it was Rhode and Mini Bubble Gum who shouted curses. The Dark Dragon’s inheritance ceremony was indeed despicable. From the start, Rhode, Mini Bubble Gum, and Icy Snow thought that finding the correct location of the tower was part of the trial. After all, the dragon young ladies didn’t give a single hint to Erin and threw her straight into Shadow Ravine. In this situation, it wasn’t easy for Erin to find the exact location so quickly. Rhode believed that if a player were to be in her place, perhaps the player might need to spend anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.
In the end, after struggling and finally finding the place, it wasn’t considered part of the trial? Fortunately, this trial wasn’t for Rhode, if not, he would have flipped the table already. But even so, he and Bubble cursed the ceremony, while Icy Snow who disliked berating others also knitted her brows. Only players like them who experienced similar tests knew how ridiculous and shameless such trials were. It was especially so for players to achieve the final stage of ‘Supreme Privilege’. A player like Canary with double talents was outstanding. Even though double elements were a ha.s.sle, they were focused, at the very least. On the other hand, it was horrible to achieve ‘Supreme Privileges’ for Icy Snow’s ‘s.p.a.ce’ talent. Rhode remembered that Icy Snow had spent an entire week to safely pa.s.s the test. Just how torturous was that…
But now, compared to Erin’s trial, Rhode and the players felt like their tests were too simple. In any case, they had system prompts to provide them with hints, unlike Erin, who had to search for half a day, finally found the place, only to be notified that it was just the start… How insane was that!
However, Erin wasn’t as agitated as Rhode and Bubble. She gazed at the line of text and continued sauntering forward without stopping. As she progressed, the closed tower door opened gradually, revealing eerie, purple flames that flickered in the path and bringing a touch of color to the monochrome world.
“…”
Upon witnessing the purple brilliance, Erin heaved a sigh of relief. Just as Rhode had predicted, Erin was born favorable to the sense of beauty in arts. But compared with Lydia’s extravagance, Erin was more introverted and reserved. However, their pursuit of beauty was the same. Due to that reason, it was imaginable how pressurizing this monochrome world was to her mental health. This was also why her reactions became a little slower. For a person who loved beauty to come to this dull world was as though abandoning a germaphobe in a filthy environment—it would truly cause one’s death.
The sight of beautiful purple soothed Erin’s restless soul. She took in a deep breath and strode into the stone door in firm, decisive steps.
“What kind of trial is this, Leader?”
Anne asked with puckered brows, starting at the scenery on the magical crystal.
“Could it be that Her Highness Erin has to walk all the way from the top of the tower to the bottom? In that case, why didn’t Her Highness Erin jump straight down the outside from the start?”
“I don’t think it will work… This trial is so despicable. I doubt Her Highness Erin will risk doing it.”
Mini Bubble Gum expressed her disapproval. Right now, the young ladies were observing Erin as though they had returned to Earth and were watching the newcomer’s strategy video. Facing Anne’s comments, Bubble shook her head as one who had been around the block.
“Besides, such trials are rigid, Anne. You may or may not know, but they are horrible. Sometimes, you must even choose which leg to take the first step. If you shoot out the wrong foot, your trial may be judged as a failure. I tell you, such trials are made to disgust people!”
“Oh? They are that annoying?”
What the overactive Anne hated the most was following the rules. Judging from the point that she suggested Erin to jump down from the top of the tower, it was apparent that she couldn’t care less about the procedure. But upon hearing Bubble’s reply, Anne knitted her brows instantly and displayed a bitter look. Meanwhile, Bubble nodded with empathy. These two young ladies seemed to be speaking a common language in this respect…
However, Icy Snow frowned, extended her arm, and tugged Rhode’s sleeve gently.
“Big Brother, something isn’t right.”
“Yes, I realized it too.”
Upon hearing Icy Snow’s remarks, Rhode nodded in agreement because the current situation didn’t seem normal. After Erin entered the tower, she faced ambushes from the shadowy creatures again. Even though the shadowy creatures weren’t worthy of a mention in her eyes, Rhode and Icy Snow who were outside of the picture sharply discovered an abnormality.
Their unusually-high sp.a.w.n rate.
Erin was also attacked by shadowy creatures outside the tower. However, the number of times the shadowy creatures that attacked were considered in a normal range. But now, inside the tower, the attacks she received could be described as insane. In just a dozen seconds, a new wave of shadowy creatures were sp.a.w.ned. Even though Erin could instantly kill them, the abnormal sp.a.w.n rate of these shadowy creatures weren’t normal at all.
“Erin is too strong, so much so that she can’t see the situation before her.”
Rhode a.n.a.lyzed, his face stiffening. He vaguely guessed what this first stage of trial was about. However, he had to admit that this inheritance ceremony was indeed insidious and shameless in its endless schemes. Only players knew that there were some other methods to resolve the issue of the unusually-high sp.a.w.n rates. For instance, even though Rhode’s party crushed their way through the liches’ dungeon in the game using brute force, they still didn’t attain 100 percent completion. That was because they didn’t fulfill the dungeon requirements. But now, Erin lacked the support of the moon and couldn’t transform into her dragon form. It was impossible for her to use her best abilities to shatter all the evil conspiracies. Right now, Erin might be able to hang on for 10 minutes, half an hour, one hour, or even longer. But what was the purpose behind it?
Moon princess, please don’t ever forget about your original intention…
Something is wrong.
Erin strode forward and took another step down the stairs. At the same time, she slashed an arc of the moon with her blade and the surrounding shadowy creatures that pounced on her screeched, before vanis.h.i.+ng to nowhere. However, Erin didn’t reveal any joy or satisfaction on her face. On the contrary, she put up a grim look. It was apparent that she also realized that something wasn’t right. This was the first trial. But based on the current situation, the shadowy creatures didn’t threaten her at all, albeit their high numbers being somewhat annoying.
This is my first test, so what exactly am I going to encounter?
At this thought, Erin’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be…
“The ability to control matters of darkness is the first hurdle Erin has to overcome.”
Rhode explained confidently to the rest.
“Don’t forget. This trial is ultimately for one to inherit the Dark Dragon’s soul, while the rule of darkness on Dragon Soul Continent is unsurpa.s.sed. The source of power of Shadow Ravine comes from darkness itself, so as a dragon soul heir, one must master the power of darkness, and there are no two ways about it. The shadowy creatures indeed don’t cause any harm to Erin, but why must she wipe them out? They are inhabitants of darkness who are born and destroyed in darkness. If the dragon soul heir can’t control the creatures that are created with the Dark Dragon’s power, how can the heir even control the power of darkness?”
“Wow, I didn’t realize that!”
Angelina nodded with might. She was a n.o.ble vampire in the Country of Darkness, so she naturally understood what Rhode meant. But shortly after, Angelina knitted her brows and asked worriedly.
“But… Her Highness Erin should be fine, right?”
“I think…”
Rhode said, turning to the scenery in the magical crystal and the corners of his mouth lifted.
“… She will be fine.”
“Aowu…!”
Along with a mournful wail, all sorts of distorted and strange creatures emerged from the shadows of darkness. They twisted their bloated bodies and revealed razor-sharp claws at the young lady before them. In a few seconds, they would pounce on her and shred their prey into bits.
But this time, Erin didn’t raise her sword. She stood silently on the spot, extended her right arm, and observed the creatures.
“Stay back.”
The young lady’s melodious voice resounded in the gloomy corridor. Her voice was so soft, gentle, and plain as though she were narrating a story. But all of a sudden, the snarls and growls softened gradually. The shadowy creatures curled up their bodies and stared blankly at the young lady. For some unknown reason, they felt a mighty power forcing them back, extinguis.h.i.+ng their burning instinct and desire to devour their prey and making them obey the command docilely.
“…”
In a string of deep growls that diminished gradually, the shadowy creatures vanished into the shadows. Up until that moment, the gloomy corridor lit up suddenly. The endless flight of steps went missing in sight, only to be replaced by a heavy, exquisite wooden door.
Upon witnessing the wooden door, Erin revealed a smile.
Seems like I succeeded.