Chapter 349: Reaping Rewards Once Again
[The First Trial has Concluded.]
Adyr Hellcraft → 100 Free Stat Points awarded
"Okay, now I get to claim all the rewards myself."
Adyr laughed with delight as he watched the 100 free stat points register on his character panel, raising his total to 225.
There were still 4 more trials ahead, each promising rewards just as generous. And the best part was, these weren’t the only rewards he was reaping at the moment.
His other body, stationed on Earth at the Player Headquarters, was busy inside the upgraded virtual reality chambers. Thanks to the improvements made by researchers, the devices offered a far greater degree of realism than earlier versions. Through them, Adyr had already begun filling the 15 empty talent slots, registering many talents and even raising several to level 2.
It was a privilege he now enjoyed—one even the top races, like the Gorathim or the Lunari, lacked. It made him feel as if he were truly of an Elder Race, with advantages and resources at hand to propel his improvement faster than anyone else in the Outer Region.
Of course, this speed wasn’t due to the technology alone. The greater advantage came from his previous life, where he had pushed himself to master a wide range of disciplines. Many of those talents, once hobbies, were now returning to him as powerful assets.
Today, he decided he would raise all of them to level 3. With that settled, he continued through the Tower of Worth’s trials, moving with a calm, sure stride.
[The Second Trial is called.]
Goal:
Crack the WallReward: 200 free stat points.
Payout: Win to claim the reward
Before, the trial had been "Survive the Cloud," but now, seeing how it had changed completely, Adyr became vigilant at first. When his Gaze revealed what was coming, however, he relaxed again.
"So the fundamentals of the trials are still the same, only the contents have shifted a bit."
Through his Gaze, he saw the future: exactly ten seconds later, something massive tore through the golden sands and erupted onto the surface.
It looked like a wall, rectangular in shape, like a garden wall, with a smooth surface resembling polished stone.
At first, it appeared completely lifeless, just a simple stone barrier. But when Adyr attacked it with his Sonic Burst skill—focusing sound waves at his fingertip and releasing it like a projectile—he realized it wasn’t just an ordinary wall. It was a Spark with defensive properties.
As soon as the sapphire-shaped sound wave struck its surface, the wall seemed to absorb most of the impact, leaving not a single scratch. The remaining force rebounded off the surface, ricocheting back toward Adyr as if it had struck a metal ball against rubber.
Dodging his own attack effortlessly, Adyr raised an eyebrow, a hint of intrigue in his expression. "Its ability... similar to Collossith, huh?"
One of Collossith’s many traits was exactly this: its skin could absorb and return almost all attacks as a seismic wave, which had made it impossible for Liora to match its pure strength for so many years.
Of course, there was one main difference between this wall and Collossith—it couldn’t reflect every attack. And Adyr already had in mind an attack type that this wall likely couldn’t withstand.
He approached the wall, close enough to touch it, knowing it could not attack directly, and drew his swords from his back.
"If you have the ability to repel attacks, then I have the perfect counter for it," he said with a self-assured smile. Charging his swords with Sonic Burst and his muscles with Burst Hop, he slashed at the wall in an X-shaped strike.
BOOM!
The impact hit the wall with full force at close range, not enough to shatter it completely, but cutting deeply enough to leave a wide mark.
Some of the force rebounded immediately, rushing back at him from the wall.
Close range left him no time to dodge—but it didn’t matter.
As the returning sword wave struck his chest in an X-shaped pattern, the point of impact instantly transformed into a white cloud, scattering outward as the sword wave passed through.
In the next heartbeat, his cloud-formed body reconstituted into flesh once again.
This was the physical property he gained from White Shroud, allowing his body to adopt cloud-like characteristics and passively dodge incoming physical force.
Of course, it had limitations: it was effective only against physical attacks and certain skills that a cloud body could counter. Even so, it remained an incredible ability, automatically letting him evade many strikes, especially subtle or sneaky ones.
[The Second Trial has Concluded.]
Adyr Hellcraft → 200 Free Stat Points awarded
Since the trial only required him to crack the wall—and he had already done more than that—the Tower counted it as complete and soon sent him the rewards.
"It’s good, but not without cost," Adyr murmured, pleased with the rewards yet slightly disappointed at the sight of his swords shattered and scattered on the ground.
The lack of a proper weapon was becoming increasingly apparent, and he knew he would have to find a new one soon.
He summoned a new pair of swords—his last pair, to be exact—and returned them to the sheaths on his back, then waited for the next trial.
The third trial was the same as before. Several large barrels of golden sand rose and surrounded him, though this time there were only ten.
Adyr didn’t waste much time. With the advantage of his Gaze, he quickly identified the right barrel, approached confidently, and opened it.
From inside emerged the Wall he had encountered in the second trial, pristine and untouched, appearing as a completely new Spark, patiently awaiting subjugation as the reward for this stage.
The Wall was a Rank 3 Spark from the Astra Path. After burning 200 energy from his reserves, Adyr subdued it, gaining the skill that allowed it to reflect incoming physical attacks.
Though the skill wasn’t particularly useful to him, as he already possessed an innate ability to dodge such attacks, subduing the Spark was necessary to carry it outside. The Wall was large, and strapping it to his back would have been impractical.
Being a Rank 3 Spark also meant that if he chose to sell it later, he could easily earn far more than the 200 energy he had spent — a clear profit.
With the third stage complete, the fourth stage began almost immediately.
[The Fourth Trial is called.]
Goal: Break out of the Cage
Reward: Synergy Essence
Payout: Win to claim the reward
It was the same trial with the same reward, but it remained valuable, as Adyr would finally gain an extra Synergy Essence to provide to the researchers for their study.
He still didn’t use the one he had won earlier, as he didn’t know what kind of changes it would bring to his body. He had wanted to ask Liora first to understand exactly what it was, but now letting the researchers work on it and figure out its true nature was also a good choice for him.
Especially since there was a chance the researchers could replicate something similar on their own simply by analyzing this sample.