Chapter 322: A Bout with a Serpent
Swoosh!
As Argentum continued to walk while allowing the brown light around him to engulf his sense of vision, he could not help but ponder as to how far he still had to walk before reaching the proper portion of the Desecrated Inheritance. Fortunately, after about twenty steps or so, the brown light surrounding him was gradually changed to reveal what seemed to be the interior of what was a cozy home. Well, to be honest, it was more accurate to call it the interior of a luxury home focused on making sure that the person inside it was as relaxed as possible.
Taking a look at his new surroundings, Argentum was greeted with the sight of a few sofas circling around a stunningly crafted table made out of chiseled marble. These sofas were made with what seemed to be soft red fabric, which complemented the hardwood floor of the area he was in. If one also took into consideration the cream white walls of the area, as well as the candlelit chandelier above the marble table, which gave off a dim yet soothing light, then one could definitely consider this as the place where one would attend to guests.
“Definitely a weird hall when compared to other inheritances,” Argentum muttered to himself as he made his way to one of the sofas, sitting down before letting out a sigh of relief. While doing so, he went through Aurus’ memories regarding the trials of the Desecrated Inheritance, wanting to make sure that he was prepared for the trials. Of course, he still gave himself some leeway in case the trials changed. Although this world was based on ISE, he knew that not all would be based on it since this was a living, breathing world.
After being certain that he had remembered all of the trials Aurus had gone through in the Desecrated Inheritance back then, he then took another look at his surroundings, noticing that a small doorway that shone with white light had appeared on one of the cream white walls. It was no surprise that this wall led to the start of the Desecrated Inheritance, given by the fact that the doorway seemed to radiate an aura that was beckoning Argentum to enter it.
Although he wouldn’t mind heading through it at this instant since he didn’t need to prepare for anything, he still recalled the words mentioned by the disembodied voice before he left the Evernorth Desert. This thought soon made him ask himself, “If I remember correctly, the voice said that I’ve obtained a chance to select skills from the inheritance. Do I have to do something to allow me to use that chance?”
Swish!
Surprisingly, just as he was thinking about how he was going to use the chance he had earned, a small screen made out of Earth energy particles had appeared in front of his field of vision, slightly surprising Argentum in the process. Taking a look at the content written on the screen made of earth, he could not help but mutter with a hint of awe, “For someone like Lord Calcifas to have the ability to make something like this, I presume he’s pretty strong.”
As he said, he wondered if the screen in front of him was driven by thoughts, prompting him to think about selecting a skill. It turned out that his hypothesis was indeed correct, with the content of the screen being hastily replaced with multiple rectangles not long after. A few seconds later, the insides of these rectangles were filled with texts, with the top portion of the rectangles having larger texts.
Just as he was about to choose a skill, Argentum noticed that there were a few lines of text at the top of the screen, prompting him to read it out as he murmured, “Due to the inheritor achieving Prodigy grade, the inheritor has obtained access to Prodigy grade skills.”
“What’s the Prodigy grade?” he soon asked himself, hastily rummaging through Aurus’ memories after that to find out what it was. Unfortunately for him, Aurus’ memories did not have anything that tackled the Prodigy grade whatsoever, though it was not impossible for him to have his own thoughts on the matter, thinking that the Prodigy grade was a type of reward grade.
“If it is a reward grade, then I hope it’s high up there,” he said with a light chuckle before sending out a thought to the screen that he only wanted to see Prodigy grade skills. It did not take long for the screen in front to comply to his wishes, with the number of rectangles on the screen now being countable on two hands. With only a few skills to choose from, Argentum went ahead and read through the title and description of each and every skill, taking into consideration what he would possibly need for the future trials.
“No…not that…this one ain’t it either…ah. Found the one that suits me for now.” With only less than 10 skills to choose from, it was no surprise that it only took a few minutes for Argentum to choose a skill from the list that felt like he needed. Without hesitation, he sent out a thought that he would like to learn the skill he had chosen from the list, to which the screen complied as it sent out an array of Earth energy particles towards his forehead. These particles were then absorbed by his body as a notification sound resounded in his mind not even an instant after.
Ding!
‘You have learned the active skill [Mountain Reformation Scripture]!’
“Identify the skill I’ve just obtained,” Argentum said not long after obtaining the notification, prompting a holographic screen to appear in front of the screen made of earth. Although he had already confirmed that he had obtained the skill he chose from the name alone, he wanted to make sure that its effects were as described, skimming through the skill’s description.
________
[Mountain Reformation Scripture]
Grade: Mortal (C)
An ultimate art that condenses the specialties of the Earth element into a single skill, it is an art that allows the user to bend the Earth element to their will, allowing them to use as a means of defense, or as a means of offense. When the user enlightens themselves through this skill, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that they could wreak havoc through the Earth element alone.
________
Nodding in satisfaction, Argentum then closed the screen he summoned as he sent a thought to the screen made of earth that he was now done looking through the screen. Interestingly, after that thought was sent out, the screen made out of earth transformed into dust that was dispersed all over the surroundings, only to dissipate into thin air soon after. Seeing this, Argentum could not help but mutter, “Quite flashy.”
After that, he stood up from the sofa and made his way towards the bright doorway, recalling the information he had committed to memory as he took in a deep breath. Gazing into the doorway, as if he was seeing something else inside it, Argentum muttered, “If Aurus’ memories serve as a good guide, then the first trial given to me will be an endurance trial, prompting me to clear as many waves as possible.”
“Now that I think about it, I should have obtained some passive skills that increased my rate of mana recovery,” he could not help but say, only to shrug his shoulders soon after as he added, “Oh, well. I still have a large pool of mana.”
Whoosh!
And with that, Argentum went ahead and stepped through the bright white doorway, his surroundings instantly being covered in white light. Just like before with the previous doorway, it took Argentum around twenty steps or so to arrive at a new area, with the white light surrounding him being gradually replaced with the new area he was arriving in. Around half a minute later, the white light surrounding him was now gone, being greeted by the sight of a wide yet empty hall.
“Seems like a good place where an endurance trial could be held,” Argentum said as he assessed his surroundings, lightly nodding as he shifted his vision from time to time. After a minute later, a disembodied voice resounded throughout the hall, its voice filled with solemnity. Nevertheless, from listening to the voice, Argentum knew that it was the same voice that spoke out to him back in the Evernorth Desert.
“Welcome to your first trial, inheritor,” the disembodied voice said to Argentum. “This first trial will test out one of the key characteristics Lord Calcifas checks on when taking in an inheritor. That is one’s strength.”
“In this trial, you must fight against one of the beasts reared by Lord Calcifas himself. Once you defeat the beast you’re up against, then it is considered that you have cleared the first trial, allowing you to head back to the previous room you were in,” it added.
“Wait a second…a beast?” Argentum could not help but ask, recalling how the first trial in Aurus’ memories was that of endurance. Just as he was about to ask the disembodied voice why his first trial was related to strength rather than endurance, he instead thought that the current scheme of things might be more beneficial to him in the long run, prompting him to change in mind.
Going silent for a bit, he then asked the disembodied voice, “Might I ask the strength of the beast I’m fighting up against?”
“Due to your current strength, the inheritance has adjusted the strength of the beast to the Rank 3 Animate level,” the disembodied voice hastily replied before adding, “Of course, since the inheritor has achieved Prodigy grade, it’s highly likely that you’d defeat it without a problem.”
“Rank 3 Animate…” Hearing the beast’s strength, he could not help but suck in a bit of cold air. It was no problem for him to fight against Rank 1 and Rank 2 Animates since he had the ability to enhance his stats to outrageously high levels. Of course, it went without saying that he could fight against Rank 3 Animates as well, though at most, he felt like he could only fight them to a standstill.
Nevertheless, he still had the confidence that he would be able to escape from the fight if push came to shove. With that in mind, he redirected his thoughts towards the second statement of the disembodied voice, which had something to do with the term ‘Prodigy grade’. At first, he thought that Prodigy grade referred to a grade of rewards he could obtain. But from what the disembodied voice was saying, it seemed that it did not only affect rewards, but the difficulty of the trials as well.
With the thought lingering in his mind, he then asked the disembodied voice another question, saying, “How many difficulty grades are there in the Desecrated Inheritance?”
Surprisingly, the disembodied voice replied, saying, “There are a total of 9 difficulty grades in the Desecrated Inheritance. The Prodigy grade is considered as the 6th difficulty grade, with 5 grades being lower than it. From lowest to highest, these 5 lower grades are Commoner, Adept, Elite, Expert, and Genius.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the last three grades are, but for someone like you with high potential, it’s not impossible for the difficulty grade of your trials to increase,” the disembodied voice soon added, making Argentum inwardly let out a long sigh as he felt that these difficulty grades he had just learned of would become troublesome in the long run.
Nevertheless, since difficulty and rewards go hand-in-hand, he knew that he had to do his best in order for the difficulty grade of his trials to increase. Astonishingly, this thought was enough for him to become eager to start the first trial. Without delay, he said to the disembodied voice, “I would like to start the first trial.”
“Alright, then,” the disembodied voice replied. In less than an instant, the atmosphere inside the hall Argentum was in had changed, giving off the feeling that a tyrant ruled over it. As the feeling became more and more intense, the disembodied voice said to him, “The first trial is now starting.”
Hisssssssss!!!
Coincidentally, at the very moment the disembodied voice was finished speaking, a loud hissing sound resounded throughout the hall, sending wave after wave of pressure towards Argentum. At this point, Argentum knew that he had to get serious, utilizing his enhanced senses to the maximum to gauge the power of the opponent he was up against. While doing so, he cast all of the buffs he had in his arsenal, gradually increasing his stats to the same level as his opponent’s.
Taking on a battle stance, Argentum looked at the opposite side of the hall, wanting to know who he was up against since the hissing sound originated from there. Fortunately, it did not take long for his opponent to reveal itself, showing a gigantic snake covered in scales that seemed to be made from hardened rocks. On top of that, if one looked at its head, one could see a makeshift crown made out of the same scales, making the snake give off the feeling that it was some sort of king.
From what he was feeling from the gigantic snake alone, he knew that it was going to be a close fight. Without hesitation, he taunted the snake to come at him as he shouted, “Come at me, you flimsy earth noodle!”
“Hiss!” Although the large snake was not capable of comprehending or using human speech, from the tone Argentum took, it knew that he was taunting him, prompting it to slither towards Argentum at high speeds as a massive amount of Earth energy particles started coalescing around its body.
“The first trial has officially begun.” While the two were about to make their first moves on each other, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area.
“The inheritor’s opponent in this trial is…”
“The Rank 3 Mountain Serpent King.”
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