BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102: Sadistic Trial
William felt somewhat bad for the two, but it wasn\'t like he could help them. They were probably in another space fighting the same trial. William couldn\'t get to where they were, so they\'d have to face the Caverns Goblins themselves.
William dried himself off with a combination of Wind and Fire Magic, then started running across the surface of the lake in search of another trial.
***
In the caverns trial.
"What the fuck is this! There are too many of them!" Gary shouted while dodging an iron spear. He turned to the side and blasted a group of Hobgoblins with the Wind Element, pushing them down a man-made slope and knocking down their comrades.
Phillip cried out in pain as a sword pierced through his right shoulder. He clenched his teeth and sprayed high-pressure water at the Hobgoblin that just stabbed him, cleaving it in half. "This is only the third level; we won\'t make it!"
The duo regretted entering the trials alone, wishing they had come with their fellow Sect members instead of alone. This trial was not meant to be cleared by an individual!
Their screams echoed throughout the caverns as over two hundred Hobgoblins closed in on their position...
***
Three hours later, at the opposite edge of the lake.
William finally spotted land. Sprawling before him was a beach that extended far into the distance, transitioning into a massive desert. Flying above the desert were a few dark shadows that William guessed were Magical Beasts.
The area matched the Sect Master\'s description of the Ruins, meaning William finally knew where he was. To reach Gu Dianlong\'s destination, William would have to move through the desert and reach the other side.
Of course, this was easier said than done, since it was easy to get lost in this desert. Will could see a haze floating a few dozen meters above the desert, manipulating one\'s perspective of the sky. It was obvious that you could lose your sense of direction if you tried to follow the sun.
I didn\'t plan to upgrade this until I entered the Labyrinth, but I suppose earlier is better than later...
William scrolled through his skills until he found what he was looking for.
System, upgrade my Navigation Talent to B Rank.
-130 Potential Points
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Navigation: (E --> D)
Navigation: (D --> C)
Navigation: (C --> B)
Next rank up: 250PP
———
William\'s sense of direction instantly improved. The Navigation Talent seemed quite a bit more versatile than William had initially expected, displaying his position as a mental radar. When he turned a few degrees to the right, a compass on the radar would turn with him.
Even more advanced, once the Navigation Talent reached B Rank, William could see the slight outline of landforms on his mental radar. He could even close his eyes and walk forward, and the Navigation Talent would map out the area for him!
William could now enter the desert with ease, kind of. He still had to watch out for the Magical Beasts flying above the desert, but they would just serve as free Potential Points if they came too close.
After an hour of walking, William came across a staircase made out of sandstone hidden underneath a mound of sand. If not for the mental radar, William would have walked right past it.
Another trial! William\'s eyes gleamed.
Other Cultivators might be wary of each trial they come across, but William was excited. If an A-Rank trial earned him thousands of Potential Points, he could only imagine what an S-Rank trial would earn him!
He walked down the staircase with a wide smile, dodging some spike traps and poison darts with ease as he entered a similar cavern to last time.
You\'ve discovered one of my trials...prepare yourself!
William\'s vision became blurry, and the caverns began to dim. Something on the wall glinted in the light from afar, but William didn\'t have a chance to identify it before it shot towards him at high speed.
William dodged to the right to avoid a sleek arrow, then ducked to avoid a second arrow approaching from behind. His eyes darted around the room warily as more arrows were launched, threatening to turn his body into a porcupine.
He jumped then spun in the air, dodging four arrows in quick succession. His head turned to the side just in time for a poison-tipped arrow to rush by. For some reason, William\'s Forcefield wasn\'t effective against these arrows, not even slowing down their movement. He also couldn\'t use any Magic.
Surprised that your protective amulet isn\'t working? What fun would a trial be if you didn\'t suffer a little bit?
William understood now. The trial creator must have used a special method to disable all protective methods. This was the first time one of William\'s skills was rendered ineffective though. It looked like the creator couldn\'t disable his Physical Talents though.
You want me to suffer? I had a feeling you were a sadist. William commented in his mind.
The trial creator must have heard him, because the number of arrows flying at William doubled. The Acrobatics Talent was quite effective during this trial, his body dancing through the arrows with the precision of a ballet dancer. The number of arrows tripled, then tripled again until there were hundreds at a time, but a B-Rank Talent was nothing to sneeze at.
A few minutes later, the arrows stopped firing and the room became bright again.
Congratulations on completing the trial, please accept your reward.
A pedestal rose from the floor like last time, a black box placed neatly on top.
William walked up to the box and opened it, a tiny sword with a hilt covered in aquamarine gemstones inside. He picked up the sword with two fingers, taken by surprise when the sword extended to a meter long and the hilt adjusted to fit William\'s grip.
-Completed a B-Rank Trial in the Gravitas Ruins: +250 PP
-Acquired the Sword of Shifting Sands: +50 PP
William dripped some blood on the sword to claim ownership. Some information entered his brain on how to use some of the functions, so William was able to shrink it back to its original size and return it to the black box.
He would have strapped it to his waist or something, but he didn\'t have a tool belt or any other way to carry it at all times, so he put the black box into the same Space Ring as the Star Ore and the empty vial of Mana Dragon\'s Blood Essence he received earlier.
William looked around.
The cavern floor was littered with hundreds of poison-tipped arrows. They might be useful in the future, so William\'s loot goblin tendency required him to store them all in a Space Ring. He was about to exit the caverns when a thought suddenly struck him.