Chapter 245: Trials
The next moment, the team appeared in a nearly identical cavern. The only differences were the exit on an opposite side, and the dungeon orb no longer being there. As everyone was getting themselves oriented, Derek pulled up his stats.
| Status | |
| Personal Information | |
| Name: Age: Level: Experience: Class: Race: | Derek Hunt 30 171 649,500,625/5,025,000,000 Legend of the Void (Legendary) Human (Modified) |
| Health: Mana: Stamina: | 37500 15045 37500 |
| Stats | |
| Strength Dexterity Endurance Vitality Intelligence Wisdom
Stat Points Remaining | 825 825 1500 (???) 1500 (???) 830 1003
108 |
| Contracts | |
| Alanah Swan (Crown Restaurant) Silvi (Bonded Beast) Stella Brighton (Crown Restaurant) Francesco Jaccobs (Torith Adventurer’s Guild) Rudolph Mckinney | View Contract View Status View Contract View Contract View Contract |
| Skills | |
| Absolute Nullify Lv. 11, Basic Repair Lv. 1, Chain Lightning Lv. 13, Channel Void Lv. 16, Cleaning Lv. 9, Cure Toxin Lv. 4, Dismantle Lv. 12, Enhanced Movement Speed Lv. 1, Greater Meditation Lv. 9, Heavy Weapons Mastery Lv. 18, Identify Lv. 16, Magic Resistance Lv. 20, Multi-Strike Lv. 10, Physical Resistance Lv. 20, Rejuvenation Lv. 14, Sweeping Slash Lv. 19, Time Prison Lv. 4, Unarmed Combat Mastery Lv. 14, Void Call Lv. 4, Void Sense Lv. 15, Void Shift Lv. 7, Void Steps Lv. 13, Void Storage Lv. N/A
Skill Points Remaining: 17 Skill Upgrade Points Remaining: 7 | |
| Awards | |
| Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Dungeon Traveler, Lesser Enigma, Lesser Enforcer of Oaths, Repetitive Dungeoneer, Minor Slayer of the Unknown, Solo Diver, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse |
After admiring his high stats and low level, Derek dismissed his status and turned his attention to Edgar.
“Okay. We don’t know what dangers lie outside, so we’re going to move slowly. Vanessa, me, and Avery will go out first to check things out,” Edgar announced.
Edgar had the ability to become intangible in with his lightning form, at least from what Derek had seen. Vanessa’s ability with the shadows would make her just as elusive, and Derek knew that with the way Avery moved, he wouldn’t have any problems going out first.
Everyone nodded along as Edgar stepped forward to remove a boulder blocking the entrance. They were in a safe zone made by the system, so no matter how much mana someone like Victor Greenland put into it, he would not be able to alter the entrance.
Soon, the boulder slid out of the way and revealed a scene all too familiar. They were on a beach with waves crashing onto the shore. Edgar stuck his head out and looked around before turning back to everyone and shrugging. Then he took the first step outside.
Nothing happened to him, so he began walking forward slowly, prepared for an attack to come at any time. But no attack came. Avery and Vanessa then followed him outside. Soon, all three of them left the view of the raid party.
After a dozen minutes or so, Derek saw Edgar walking back to the cavern with a slightly bewildered look on his face. He soon walked back inside.
“So?” Tyron asked when Edgar stepped inside.
“There’s nothing. At least nothing anywhere close. I have an idea of what kind of dungeon this is going to be now. It could be considered either a blessing or a curse if I’m correct,” the prince explained.
“What kind of dungeon do you think it is?” Derek asked.
“Trial…” Edgar simply answered.
A couple of sighs came from the crowd, but others, like Tyron, had their eyes light up. Of course, Derek had no clue what Edgar was talking about, so he just stayed quiet and listened.
“We won’t know until all of us leave the safe zone,” Edgar finally said. “But, let’s wait for the other two to get back first.”
After that, they waited for a few more minutes until Avery returned, soon followed by Vanessa. They had all gone in different directions to see if they could find anything, but they all came back with the same answer.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Edgar stepped out once again, this time followed by the rest of the group. Soon, all but one person was outside. Everyone looked on anxiously at the final person. She soon stepped past the entrance to the safe zone and was outside.
As soon as her body passed through the entrance, the land began shaking uncontrollably. Derek turned back and looked at the cave, which slowly disappeared into the ground. It was the first time he’d seen a safe zone disappear. Quickly, the entire safe zone was gone, and they were left with only sand. That’s when a notification popped up before his eyes.
| Complete the trials within the time allotted. Time Remaining: 167 Days 23 Hours 54 Minutes |
After some quick calculations, Derek noticed that the system had given them around six months to complete the trials, whatever they may be. Hopefully, it wouldn’t actually take that long, as three years on the outside was already pushing it. He didn’t want them to wait six years.
The ground began rumbling again as seven orbs that looked like dungeon orbs appeared before the group. There were six smaller ones in front, then one around the same size as the raid dungeon orb in the back.
Edgar looked over at the orbs, then turned back to the rest of the group. “Well… looks like we’ve got ourselves a trial dungeon.”
Apparently, Derek wasn’t the only person not in the know, as one of the others, a mage named Felix, stepped forward and asked what a trial dungeon was.
“A trial dungeon is exactly how it sounds, a dungeon full of trials.” Edgar began. “The most common type of dungeon, especially raid dungeons, takes you through weaker enemies until you get to a mini boss, then does the same thing multiple times until you get to the final dungeon boss. It’s probably the layout you are most familiar with.”
With that, everyone nodded. That was basically how the majority of dungeons Derek had been to were, the only obviously different one being the Golem Dungeon, where he was teleported from zone to zone instead of moving forward.
“The next most common type of dungeon takes you from zone to zone, where you fight against a single type of monster in each until going to the final zone and taking on a final boss,” Edgar said, basically explaining the Golem Dungeon. “From there, we also have beast wave dungeons where wave after wave of enemies charge at you, each wave strong than the one before. All you have to do is fight until no enemy remains.
“After that, there are defense type dungeons. Those dungeons are usually similar to beast wave dungeons, except you are given the task of protecting something from the beast wave for a certain amount of time instead of exhausting the waves. Of course, if you are strong enough, you can do both. Finally, we have puzzle dungeons, my least favorite. There is usually no fighting, just problem solving.”
Derek nodded along with Edgar’s explanation. He hadn’t run into any of the other dungeon types, but they seemed easy enough to understand.
“Which leaves us with trial dungeons,” Edgar said. “Trial dungeons can be considered a mixture of all other types. The orbs before us will each have a different trial we must undertake. Usually, a trial dungeon has two or three orbs, maximum, and the timer is only a week or so. The trials are relatively easy, and each trial rewards those who complete it.”
“So, each one of those orbs will have a reward?” Felix asked for clarification.
“Precisely,” Edgar confirmed. “Though, I have never seen a raid dungeon be a trial dungeon.”
“What happens if we don’t complete it in time?” Another voice rang out, and Derek listened closely with interest.
“That’s the bad news. Unless you have an escape scroll, you are basically toast,” explained Edgar. “The dungeon collapses with you inside, and there really isn’t anything you can do about it. And as you all know, escape scrolls are not easy to come by. I have only brought a few with me to use in case of emergencies.”
“Ah, it’s not as bad as that. Just think about the rewards we’re going to get.” Tyron’s gruff voice broke through the slight murmurings of the crowd.
“The problem…” Edgar said as he looked at the smith. “Is that we are going to have to rely more on each other than we originally planned. I assembled a team that was perfect for the more common type of dungeons…” he then walked over to the first orb and placed his hand on it, after nodding, he moved on to the second, then the third, until he finally viewed all the trials.
“Each trial is different.” Edgar spoke again. “We can only move on to the next one after the previous one is completed. And we must choose our members wisely, as not all trials allow for all 25 of us. Which means we need to have a certain amount of faith in each other.”
Interested in what Edgar was saying, Derek stepped forward and placed his hand on the first orb.
| Dungeon Trial | |
| Trial Type | Beast Wave |
| Participants | 10 |
| Trial Difficulty | Uncommon |
| Please Select Participants 0/10 |
So, only ten people would be allowed to take the first trial, but the difficulty was only uncommon, which Derek figured meant could easily be taken care of by those with a decent amount of stats. Overall, it shouldn’t be too hard. He then moved on to the next trial orb.
| Dungeon Trial (Locked) | |
| Trial Type | (Locked) |
| Participants | (Locked) |
| Trial Difficulty | (Locked) |
He moved on to each of the remaining trial orbs, just like Edgar had done, and they all displayed the same. They were all locked. It was unfortunate, because it meant that they couldn’t do multiple trials at once.
“I guess this means that those who aren’t chosen for the trial are going to have to wait out here with nothing to do?” Derek asked.
“It seems that way,” Edgar answered.
Everyone else soon took their own turns looking over the different trial orbs. Finally, when everyone was finished, Edgar spoke once again.
“Who wants to do a dungeon wave? We have ten spots. I think that, since it is of lower difficulty, we should choose some of our lower levels to go, along with one or two of our level 250s.” Edgar explained.
Derek agreed, but some of the others did not. Not being selected for the trial meant missing out on both materials and the reward at the end. However, he didn’t mind that, as the less difficult trials would surely have the worst rewards.
A few of the more well-known raid members, like Cain Ibarra, the Guild Master at the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital, and Tristan Allister both stepped forward to agree with Edgar, quieting most of the dissent. Avery and Vanessa stayed quiet, as they seemed to be both just along for the ride.
Derek still noticed a small amount of disagreement in the crowd, and some looked at him and Tyron as well. After thinking about it, Tyron was well known for his strength in the kingdom, and Derek’s status had displayed the same as his, showing that they both had some unknown way of hiding their level.
Finally, he decided to see if he couldn’t help Edgar out a little, as well. And maybe help Walter a bit in the process.
Chapter 245: Trials
The next moment, the team appeared in a nearly identical cavern. The only differences were the exit on an opposite side, and the dungeon orb no longer being there. As everyone was getting themselves oriented, Derek pulled up his stats.
| Status | |
| Personal Information | |
| Name: Age: Level: Experience: Class: Race: | Derek Hunt 30 171 649,500,625/5,025,000,000 Legend of the Void (Legendary) Human (Modified) |
| Health: Mana: Stamina: | 37500 15045 37500 |
| Stats | |
| Strength Dexterity Endurance Vitality Intelligence Wisdom
Stat Points Remaining | 825 825 1500 (???) 1500 (???) 830 1003
108 |
| Contracts | |
| Alanah Swan (Crown Restaurant) Silvi (Bonded Beast) Stella Brighton (Crown Restaurant) Francesco Jaccobs (Torith Adventurer’s Guild) Rudolph Mckinney | View Contract View Status View Contract View Contract View Contract |
| Skills | |
| Absolute Nullify Lv. 11, Basic Repair Lv. 1, Chain Lightning Lv. 13, Channel Void Lv. 16, Cleaning Lv. 9, Cure Toxin Lv. 4, Dismantle Lv. 12, Enhanced Movement Speed Lv. 1, Greater Meditation Lv. 9, Heavy Weapons Mastery Lv. 18, Identify Lv. 16, Magic Resistance Lv. 20, Multi-Strike Lv. 10, Physical Resistance Lv. 20, Rejuvenation Lv. 14, Sweeping Slash Lv. 19, Time Prison Lv. 4, Unarmed Combat Mastery Lv. 14, Void Call Lv. 4, Void Sense Lv. 15, Void Shift Lv. 7, Void Steps Lv. 13, Void Storage Lv. N/A
Skill Points Remaining: 17 Skill Upgrade Points Remaining: 7 | |
| Awards | |
| Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Dungeon Traveler, Lesser Enigma, Lesser Enforcer of Oaths, Repetitive Dungeoneer, Minor Slayer of the Unknown, Solo Diver, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse |
After admiring his high stats and low level, Derek dismissed his status and turned his attention to Edgar.
“Okay. We don’t know what dangers lie outside, so we’re going to move slowly. Vanessa, me, and Avery will go out first to check things out,” Edgar announced.
Edgar had the ability to become intangible in with his lightning form, at least from what Derek had seen. Vanessa’s ability with the shadows would make her just as elusive, and Derek knew that with the way Avery moved, he wouldn’t have any problems going out first.
Everyone nodded along as Edgar stepped forward to remove a boulder blocking the entrance. They were in a safe zone made by the system, so no matter how much mana someone like Victor Greenland put into it, he would not be able to alter the entrance.
Soon, the boulder slid out of the way and revealed a scene all too familiar. They were on a beach with waves crashing onto the shore. Edgar stuck his head out and looked around before turning back to everyone and shrugging. Then he took the first step outside.
Nothing happened to him, so he began walking forward slowly, prepared for an attack to come at any time. But no attack came. Avery and Vanessa then followed him outside. Soon, all three of them left the view of the raid party.
After a dozen minutes or so, Derek saw Edgar walking back to the cavern with a slightly bewildered look on his face. He soon walked back inside.
“So?” Tyron asked when Edgar stepped inside.
“There’s nothing. At least nothing anywhere close. I have an idea of what kind of dungeon this is going to be now. It could be considered either a blessing or a curse if I’m correct,” the prince explained.
“What kind of dungeon do you think it is?” Derek asked.
“Trial…” Edgar simply answered.
A couple of sighs came from the crowd, but others, like Tyron, had their eyes light up. Of course, Derek had no clue what Edgar was talking about, so he just stayed quiet and listened.
“We won’t know until all of us leave the safe zone,” Edgar finally said. “But, let’s wait for the other two to get back first.”
After that, they waited for a few more minutes until Avery returned, soon followed by Vanessa. They had all gone in different directions to see if they could find anything, but they all came back with the same answer.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Edgar stepped out once again, this time followed by the rest of the group. Soon, all but one person was outside. Everyone looked on anxiously at the final person. She soon stepped past the entrance to the safe zone and was outside.
As soon as her body passed through the entrance, the land began shaking uncontrollably. Derek turned back and looked at the cave, which slowly disappeared into the ground. It was the first time he’d seen a safe zone disappear. Quickly, the entire safe zone was gone, and they were left with only sand. That’s when a notification popped up before his eyes.
| Complete the trials within the time allotted. Time Remaining: 167 Days 23 Hours 54 Minutes |
After some quick calculations, Derek noticed that the system had given them around six months to complete the trials, whatever they may be. Hopefully, it wouldn’t actually take that long, as three years on the outside was already pushing it. He didn’t want them to wait six years.
The ground began rumbling again as seven orbs that looked like dungeon orbs appeared before the group. There were six smaller ones in front, then one around the same size as the raid dungeon orb in the back.
Edgar looked over at the orbs, then turned back to the rest of the group. “Well… looks like we’ve got ourselves a trial dungeon.”
Apparently, Derek wasn’t the only person not in the know, as one of the others, a mage named Felix, stepped forward and asked what a trial dungeon was.
“A trial dungeon is exactly how it sounds, a dungeon full of trials.” Edgar began. “The most common type of dungeon, especially raid dungeons, takes you through weaker enemies until you get to a mini boss, then does the same thing multiple times until you get to the final dungeon boss. It’s probably the layout you are most familiar with.”
With that, everyone nodded. That was basically how the majority of dungeons Derek had been to were, the only obviously different one being the Golem Dungeon, where he was teleported from zone to zone instead of moving forward.
“The next most common type of dungeon takes you from zone to zone, where you fight against a single type of monster in each until going to the final zone and taking on a final boss,” Edgar said, basically explaining the Golem Dungeon. “From there, we also have beast wave dungeons where wave after wave of enemies charge at you, each wave strong than the one before. All you have to do is fight until no enemy remains.
“After that, there are defense type dungeons. Those dungeons are usually similar to beast wave dungeons, except you are given the task of protecting something from the beast wave for a certain amount of time instead of exhausting the waves. Of course, if you are strong enough, you can do both. Finally, we have puzzle dungeons, my least favorite. There is usually no fighting, just problem solving.”
Derek nodded along with Edgar’s explanation. He hadn’t run into any of the other dungeon types, but they seemed easy enough to understand.
“Which leaves us with trial dungeons,” Edgar said. “Trial dungeons can be considered a mixture of all other types. The orbs before us will each have a different trial we must undertake. Usually, a trial dungeon has two or three orbs, maximum, and the timer is only a week or so. The trials are relatively easy, and each trial rewards those who complete it.”
“So, each one of those orbs will have a reward?” Felix asked for clarification.
“Precisely,” Edgar confirmed. “Though, I have never seen a raid dungeon be a trial dungeon.”
“What happens if we don’t complete it in time?” Another voice rang out, and Derek listened closely with interest.
“That’s the bad news. Unless you have an escape scroll, you are basically toast,” explained Edgar. “The dungeon collapses with you inside, and there really isn’t anything you can do about it. And as you all know, escape scrolls are not easy to come by. I have only brought a few with me to use in case of emergencies.”
“Ah, it’s not as bad as that. Just think about the rewards we’re going to get.” Tyron’s gruff voice broke through the slight murmurings of the crowd.
“The problem…” Edgar said as he looked at the smith. “Is that we are going to have to rely more on each other than we originally planned. I assembled a team that was perfect for the more common type of dungeons…” he then walked over to the first orb and placed his hand on it, after nodding, he moved on to the second, then the third, until he finally viewed all the trials.
“Each trial is different.” Edgar spoke again. “We can only move on to the next one after the previous one is completed. And we must choose our members wisely, as not all trials allow for all 25 of us. Which means we need to have a certain amount of faith in each other.”
Interested in what Edgar was saying, Derek stepped forward and placed his hand on the first orb.
| Dungeon Trial | |
| Trial Type | Beast Wave |
| Participants | 10 |
| Trial Difficulty | Uncommon |
| Please Select Participants 0/10 |
So, only ten people would be allowed to take the first trial, but the difficulty was only uncommon, which Derek figured meant could easily be taken care of by those with a decent amount of stats. Overall, it shouldn’t be too hard. He then moved on to the next trial orb.
| Dungeon Trial (Locked) | |
| Trial Type | (Locked) |
| Participants | (Locked) |
| Trial Difficulty | (Locked) |
He moved on to each of the remaining trial orbs, just like Edgar had done, and they all displayed the same. They were all locked. It was unfortunate, because it meant that they couldn’t do multiple trials at once.
“I guess this means that those who aren’t chosen for the trial are going to have to wait out here with nothing to do?” Derek asked.
“It seems that way,” Edgar answered.
Everyone else soon took their own turns looking over the different trial orbs. Finally, when everyone was finished, Edgar spoke once again.
“Who wants to do a dungeon wave? We have ten spots. I think that, since it is of lower difficulty, we should choose some of our lower levels to go, along with one or two of our level 250s.” Edgar explained.
Derek agreed, but some of the others did not. Not being selected for the trial meant missing out on both materials and the reward at the end. However, he didn’t mind that, as the less difficult trials would surely have the worst rewards.
A few of the more well-known raid members, like Cain Ibarra, the Guild Master at the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital, and Tristan Allister both stepped forward to agree with Edgar, quieting most of the dissent. Avery and Vanessa stayed quiet, as they seemed to be both just along for the ride.
Derek still noticed a small amount of disagreement in the crowd, and some looked at him and Tyron as well. After thinking about it, Tyron was well known for his strength in the kingdom, and Derek’s status had displayed the same as his, showing that they both had some unknown way of hiding their level.
Finally, he decided to see if he couldn’t help Edgar out a little, as well. And maybe help Walter a bit in the process.
