The Unexpected NPC

Chapter 15 Trial (1)

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I was currently on a bus to Lake Audryan, a large lake about 3 hours away from Hollis Academy.

Lake Audryan was famous for its beautiful, romantic scenery, very suitable for picnics. It was also an ideal place for couples to express their feelings.

And of course, I didn't go there to play. My goal was a Special Skill Book hidden nearby. That book was exactly what I needed right now.

I sat in the bus, my chin resting on my hand, looking out the window. The bustling city view, the skyscrapers passing by quickly. My thoughts were caught up in it and a bit hazy.

It seemed that the horrible images of my previous life had somewhat damaged my mentality, making my mind a bit sluggish. Hopefully it will recover over time...

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"We've arrived at stop number 15."

The mechanical sound of the bus's radio system pulled me back to reality. I stood up and left my seat, stepping out of the bus.

Getting off the bus stop, I opened my BracePhone and checked the map. Searching for the location of Audryan Lake.

"Here it is."

It didn't take long for me to find its location on the map. I quickly turned on the navigation function and moved to the designated place. I didn't have much time left. The academy would open soon and I needed to finish all my work before then.

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"Wow... So this is Audryan Lake."

Standing at the edge of the lake, I felt as if I had stepped into a dream. Audryan Lake was a masterpiece of nature, with its crystal-clear waters teeming with colorful fish and its banks adorned with lush vegetation. To the north, a low mountain range was covered in ancient, towering trees. It was as if the lake had been plucked from a fairy tale, so unreal and beautiful. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh, cool air.

"This place is even more beautiful than I imagined." I said with a relaxed mood and clear mind.

After looking at this beautiful scene for a bit longer, I smiled and turned to leave. I didn't come here to visit.

I opened the map again, zoomed in on Audryan Lake, and roughly estimated the location.

'Let's see, if my memory is correct, it should be north of Audryan Lake... This must be it!'. Having determined the location, I quickly moved.

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"Here I am!". I let out a breath and happily exclaimed.

I was standing on the mountainside north of Lake Audryan. In front of me is a big tree, just like all the others around it. But under this tree, there's a small hole hidden by dry leaves and weeds. It's a hole that goes into the ground, just big enough for one person to crawl through. This is the entrance to what I'm looking for.

But I have to say, finding this cave was a real torture for me. I didn't even know its exact location. The novel only described it roughly as a passing event, everything else had to be done by me, digging through every tree I thought was suspicious. It took me nearly 3 hours of searching before I was discovered. The sky was now turning yellow, signaling the approaching sunset. But that's okay, everything has its price. This price is too small compared to what I'm about to achieve.

In the original novel, this place was discovered 7 years later by an E-rank Awakener on a quest to find a lost pet. He found the resting place of a Sword Master after crawling through a hole under a tree. This place contained the master's life's work. By completing the challenge he set, one could perfectly inherit a Special Skill Book - the unique sword technique he left behind. Unfortunately, he was unable to pass the challenge.

After leaving empty-handed, he was extremely indignant and spread information about the existence of this place. But he did not specify the specific location, only saying that it was near Lake Audryan as his final respect for the master, making everyone half-believing and half-doubting.

The rumor about the sword master's tomb in Lake Audryan increasingly made people itchy and curious. Finally one day, a C-rank Awakener returned with a sword technique in hand, proving the rumor to be true.

After evaluation and investigation, people learned that the name of this sword technique was the Andrea Sword Technique of the sword master Andrea Aureliano. Humanity was extremely excited to find a lost sword technique. But that joy did not last too long when people realized that this was a very difficult skill to master, with many limitations, and the effectiveness in the early stages was not really high compared to sword techniques of the same level. Practicing it would only slow down the user's growth. It was rumored that the actual rank of this sword technique was definitely lower than its current rank. The Andrea Sword Technique became a dud in the eyes of everyone.

Special skills were divided into 5 ranks: Bronze - Silver - Gold - Ruby - Diamond. And the Andrea Sword Technique was a Diamond-ranked sword technique, the highest rank of a special skill. With its rank, it was kept very carefully as a legacy. Well, no one wanted to practice a dud sword technique like it, so it could only gather dust in the continent's treasury, waiting for a suitable owner.

But that was only for others, the Andrea Sword Technique was the most suitable for me. Luckily, I had been interested in this sword technique before, so I had a deep impression of it. If I forgot about its existence, it would be a real headache. It was exactly what I needed most right now if I wanted to become stronger.

"Alright, let's go." I cheered and reassured myself. Then I crawled into that small cave.

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In that dark, narrow cave. A rustling sound rang out. A figure with black hair, a body covered in dirt and torn clothes, a pale body full of scratches. He kept crawling forward without caring about the time that was quickly passing. His eyes were a bit dull but deep inside was a fire of determination.

The feeling of pain and fatigue transmitted from his body made him extremely struggling. He wanted to give up and leave this place many times. But deep down, he knew he couldn't. He wasn't allowed to give up. He pursed his lips and tried to crawl forward in agony.

"How long has it been..." His voice trembled, full of confusion.

His voice was filled with hesitation and doubt. However, he still decided to continue crawling even though he didn't know how long it would take to reach the destination.

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'I want to give up. I want to go back...'.

My mind had already started screaming helplessly. I myself had never expected the trial to be like this.

The novel only said that in order to acquire the Andrea Sword Technique, one had to go through a trial, but it did not specify the actual process. Who would have thought that the trial would start as soon as I entered the cave, how could I have prepared myself mentally?

I kept crawling, crawling, not knowing where the end of this tunnel was. The friction between my body and the rocks, roots, and soil made my whole body covered in wounds and dirt. The pain made my mind hazy.

Time passed like a flood, I did not know how long I had been crawling in this cave. My body was gradually exhausted, I felt very hungry, very thirsty. My body was almost at its limit.

'I want to give up... No! I cannot give up...'. Even though it was very painful, very agonizing. But I still can't give up.

The vision of that dark future keeps me going. I never want to experience that future again. I want to continue living. And overcoming this challenge is just a small obstacle on my way. If this is all it takes to make me give up, then I might as well just wait to die, to return to that bleak future I know all too well. Opportunities don't come twice, and I was lucky enough to be given that chance, I must use all my abilities to increase my chances of survival.

Kill the Demon King? No way, I'm not strong enough for that. That's Karen and her friends' job. My goal is to survive and help them defeat the Demon King. After all, the world can only be safe if he's gone. I need to get stronger to protect myself if I want to stay near those troublemakers. I can't die in some small incident before the Demon King arrives. That's the only way I can help them.

With these random thoughts, my consciousness became more and more hazy, but my will still pushed my body to drag forward. Until my mind went silent and my body stopped moving. I lost consciousness.

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