NOVEL NEXT Chapter 100: Saving Muri & Hidden Trial
Ray used the [Devour] skill on Seliane's corpse.
Images and knowledge tumbled into his mind incessantly.
The sensation was sharp and overwhelming, but it wasn't his first time experiencing the intense disgust and discomfort that comes from devouring an evil person's memories, so he managed.
His eyes lit up.
"Found it."
From the storm of memories, he learned how to free Muri from the mirror dimension.
It was not complicated. It was pretty simple, actually.
If the master of the mirror allowed it, anyone trapped inside the mirror dimension could be set free. The only other way to escape it was to be a silver ranker. The mirror couldn't trap a silver ranker in the mirror dimension for too long, as silver rankers were too strong.
Becoming its master wasn't a hard task.
The mirror had a strong flaw, after all. Once its owner died, it was left ownerless. From that moment, anyone enough could seize control of it with a blood contract, binding the mirror's essence to their will!
Ray raised his hand. With a sharp breath, he conjured a thin azure scalpel and dragged its edge across his finger.
A line of scarlet welled up, and he pressed it firmly against the mirror's cold surface.
The mirror drank his blood like a man dying of thirst.
At once, an odd but deep connection sparked alive between them. Something not unlike the tether he shared with Muri, the soul-link that gave him command over it.
Ray drew in a breath. 'The Mirror is mine now.'
With nothing more than a thought, he called forth an exit from the mirror dimension.
The mirror rippled like a pond disturbed by a pebble, and a doorway shimmered into existence in the mirror dimension.
Muri just had to go through it to escape the confines of the mirror dimension.
Some of the Armored Boars had survived being trapped in a confined space with Muri. They tried to escape with Muri, but Muri wasn't having any of it. Muri conjured a storm of metal spikes and ripped them to shreds before going through the doors made of light. In the very next moment, he appeared in front of Ray.
"Muri!" Muri bounced excitedly when it saw Ray again.
Its transformation came undone, its size reduced from boulder-like proportions to a normal green slime, which is about the size of one or two fists, as it jumped onto Ray's shoulder, desiring an answer to a lot of questions.
Why was it trapped in the mirror?
Why were Faelar, Seliane, Marcus, and the Reptilia dead?
Ray answered its questions one by one, clearing its confusion.
Muri gained a clear understanding of everything that had happened so far, and it found itself admiring its master even more.
"They planned so meticulously, and yet you, master, rendered their efforts useless effortlessly. They thought themselves cunning, but you are ten times smarter! They thought themselves strong, but your strength is unmatched! You are incredible, master. The more I see, the more I realize that following you is my greatest fortune."
But Ray knew that he wasn't that impressive.
The spies had messed up because they judged him based on common standards. He was nothing like a common tamer. Even tamers with divine rank taming seals could only have about five skills at most. He had far more than five, and his physique was comparable to the power only gold rank tamers could typically achieve.
If they knew what he was truly capable of and prepared according to that, forget about wiping them out, he would've been hard pressed to survive.
♦️ Trial Completed
♦️ You have gained +6000 Enlightenment Points.
♦️ You have gained an additional +2000 Enlightenment Points for every demonic spy you have killed in this trial.
Ray thought.
'In total, I have gained 12,000 Enlightenment Points.'
'I only need around 10k more to breakthrough to the bronze rank.'
♦️ You have completed the trial before the one-hour time limit. You have earned the right to tackle the fourth sector's hidden trial. Would you like to do it? Y/N
Ray's answer was immediate. "Yes."
♦️ Hidden Trial of the Fourth Sector ♦️
Rules of Completion:- Aid other seekers attempting the trial of the fourth sector. Locate them, help them stay alive, and defend their Hearthstones from destruction.
Special note:- Seekers can be found in chambers connected by a vast network of tunnels. Each tunnel may harbour its own dangers, and each chamber may be assaulted by monster waves unique to this sector.
The trial is considered cleared once you have safeguarded at least one seeker and one hearthstone from destruction.
Once these notifications rang out, Ray understood one thing immediately.
The Tower was massive
It was divided into floors.
The floors were divided into sectors, And each sector was further divided into countless parts, like a colossal beehive, so that a vast number of seekers could attempt their trials in the same sector simultaneously without interfering with each other.h
All in all, this design allowed the Tower to accommodate tens of thousands—perhaps even more—in a single sector without ever becoming overcrowded.
He clenched his fist. 'The secret trial of the fourth sector demands that I step into the role of a protector. But what if I am end up helping the wrong person? I have to be careful about who I help.'
Lia seemed to have received the same opportunity. When Ray glanced at her, the notification glow hadn't faded from her eyes. Without a word, she chose to stick with him, her expression firm.
They entered the same tunnel, walking side by side.
The tunnels were wide, winding, and damp like the maw of a colossal beast.
The faint glow of moss clinging to the walls illuminated their path, but only barely.
Because of how quiet it was, every sound was amplified here—the drip of water, the crunch of gravel beneath their boots, and, soon enough, the guttural growls of monsters waiting in the darkness ahead.
Ray sent a fireball to illuminate the path ahead but saw no monsters.
"Where did the voice come from?" Lia muttered, confused.
Just as she was wondering about it—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A swarm of Stonefang Bats, hanging upside down from the ceiling, opened their wings and swooped down on them from above. Their jagged fangs glittered with venom potent enough to rot flesh.
A heartbeat before they struck, Ray had already sensed them.
Because he was technically a newborn heavenly being, surprise attacks didn't work on him, and he could never be caught off guard!
His instincts screamed danger. He raised his hands above his head and let streams of high-temperature fire erupt from his palms.
A few bats that were too close were incinerated instantly, but the rest shrieked and weaved past the fiery streams with blinding speed.
"Ray, help me hinder their movements!" Lia shouted.
She had already summoned her bow, and the string was pulled taut. A cluster of crescent moons hovered around her, waiting to be unleashed.
"Got it," Ray replied.
He released powerful gusts of wind that disrupted the bats' ability to fly properly, sending them spinning wildly through the air.
In such a situation, it was impossible for them to dodge, and Lia took full advantage of it. She set the dozens of crescent-shaped moons she had materialized around her using her innate power free.
One by one, the bats rolling helplessly through the air because of being pushed around by Ray's azure winds were sliced apart as Lia's crescent moons flashed through them.
They fell to the ground in twitching heaps.
The survivors tried to retreat, but Ray wasn't about to allow that.
He moved with such speed that his body blurred, and it seemed like he had teleported as he appeared behind the fleeing monsters, his fists blazing with fire and razor-sharp wind.
He shot out both fists at the same time.
From one, a tornado of fire erupted.
From the other, a storm made up of countless razor-sharp blades of wind bloomed into existence.
The tornado of fire burned half of the swarm alive.
The rest were shredded apart like sheets of paper fed into a paper shredder, their broken wings and torn bodies scattering across the stone floor.
Clang! Boom!
The sound of fighting echoed from deeper ahead.
It was clear what that meant.
The opportunity to clear the hidden trial was at hand!
Ray and Lia exchanged a glance.
No words were needed.
They nodded once, then burst forward at extreme speed, rushing down the tunnel, wanting to cross it and reach the source of the fighting noises as fast as possible.
But on their way, misfortune struck like thunder.
The floor KABOOMED!, sending dust and debris ten feet high into the air as three enormous beetle-like creatures burst out.
Each one was the size of a small cart, and their metallic shells glimmered like steel under the mosslight.
Ironhide Crawlers. The third strongest physical-type bronze rank beasts.
Their carapaces were nearly impervious to the attacks of iron and bronze rankers, and their mandibles could shear through metal like butter.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
Their armored legs pounded the floor like war drums as they rushed straight at Ray and Lia. Eager to tear them apart.