Chapter 53: Trial IX

"You’re finished."

The young man’s expression twisted as he stared at the Dark Scythe resting beside his neck.

For a moment, he remained motionless. Then he slowly lowered his sword, realizing that he had lost.

However, Liam didn’t immediately put away his weapon.

He knew better than to underestimate someone at Peak Tier 3. Even in his current condition, the young man might still have a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Drop your weapon."

The young man clenched his teeth before finally releasing his sword. It fell to the ground with a metallic clang.

"Now, can we talk?" he asked, forcing a smile. "I can offer you a considerable amount of money. Whatever you want, I can arrange it."

Liam looked at him indifferently.

"Didn’t I already tell you? I don’t deal with criminals."

The young man’s expression darkened.

"You really intend to kill me?"

"Didn’t you hear what I said?"

Liam slightly moved his scythe as next second the head flew in the air leaving a trail of blood.

The young man body spasmed for few seconds and then dropped on the ground and immediately stopped talking.

At that moment, a notification appeared before Liam.

[Trial Objective Updated]

[Ensure the caravan safely reaches the Coastal Town of Drizzle.]

[Current Situation: Caravan Members Survived]

[Remaining Threats: Hostile Mercenaries]

Liam glanced at the notification.

’So the trial isn’t completed yet.’

That made sense. The caravan still had several unresolved matters, and the remaining mercenaries were part of the original attack.

He turned his head toward Miriel.

"How are things on your side?"

Miriel was standing near the wagons, having already dealt with most of the remaining attackers.

"Almost everyone has surrendered. A few tried to escape, but I stopped them."

"Good."

Liam turned toward the remaining mercenaries.

"I’ve already killed your leader. You can either surrender and leave peacefully, or you can choose to die here."

The armored man stared at Liam for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"Fine. But we want the Guard Captain. If we can’t take him, then at least let us take that bastard alive," he said, pointing toward the fallen captain.

The Guard Captain immediately struggled to get up.

"I am your captain! You can’t abandon me!"

Liam glanced at him before casually raising one hand.

A flash of darkness passed through the air.

Both of the Guard Captain’s hands fell to the ground.

"Arghhhhh!"

The captain screamed in pain, clutching his wrists as blood poured from the wounds.

Liam immediately used High Heal to seal the wounds, preventing him from bleeding to death.

"You can take him," Liam said.

The armored man nodded and ordered his subordinates to capture the Guard Captain.

The mercenaries quickly restrained him before carrying him away. With their leader dead and their mission failed, they had no reason to remain there.

After dealing with the remaining prisoners and securing the wagons, the escort knights reorganized their formation.

The caravan then resumed its journey toward the Coastal Town of Drizzle.

Liam and Miriel continued riding alongside the wagons. Neither of them encountered any further trouble along the way.

Eventually, the caravan safely reached its destination.

At that moment, a familiar notification appeared before Miriel.

[Tier Advancement Trial Completed]

[Final Result: SSS Evaluation]

[Congratulations, Miriel, on successfully completing your Tier Advancement Trial!]

[You have obtained the following rewards:]

Rewards:

All Attributes ×3

Three Epic-Rank Random Skill Crystals

Three Random Skill Upgrades

Class Evolution — SSS-Rating Exclusive Reward

Miriel stared at the notifications in surprise.

She had expected a good evaluation after completing a Nightmare Difficulty trial, but an SSS rating was beyond her expectations.

’All Attributes multiplied by three? And three Epic-Rank Skill Crystals?’

Her gaze moved toward the final reward.

’Class Evolution...’

This was exactly what she had hoped to obtain when choosing Nightmare Difficulty.

She immediately looked toward Liam.

"Liam, I got an SSS evaluation!"

"I can see that."

"Look at these rewards! My attributes will increase tremendously, and I even received a Class Evolution reward!"

Miriel couldn’t hide her excitement.

Liam glanced at the notifications before nodding.

"Not bad. You did well."

"Not bad? This is an SSS evaluation!"

"Would you prefer an SSS+ evaluation?"

Miriel paused.

"Is that even possible?"

"Who knows?"

Liam shrugged, leaving her unsure whether he was joking.

He then looked at the reward list again.

"Don’t rush to use everything. Let’s examine the rewards properly first. Especially the Class Evolution."

Miriel nodded. She was already curious about what her class would become.

After all, she had worked hard to reach this point, and the class evolution reward was likely the most valuable part of her trial.

Miriel took a deep breath and focused on the final reward.

"Let’s see what my class evolves into."

She selected the Class Evolution reward.

The moment she did, a new notification appeared.

[Class Evolution Initiated]

[Current Class: Arcane Swordmaster — C-Rank]

[Evaluating combat abilities, talents, skills, and potential...]

[Evaluation Complete]

[Suitable Evolution Found]

[Congratulations! Your class has evolved!]

[Class: Arcane Sword Grandmaster — B-Rank]

Miriel’s eyes widened.

"Arcane Sword Grandmaster?"

She quickly opened the detailed class information.

[Arcane Sword Grandmaster — B-Rank]

A swordsman who has mastered the combination of arcane magic and swordsmanship. Through precise mana control and advanced sword techniques, an Arcane Sword Saint can imbue their attacks with powerful magical properties, allowing them to unleash devastating sword arts.

Class Abilities:

[Arcane Sword Mastery]

Greatly enhances swordsmanship talent, allowing the user to learn and master advanced sword techniques more efficiently.

[Arcane Resonance]

Improves the compatibility between mana and sword techniques, increasing the power and efficiency of magic-infused attacks.

[Arcane Sword Domain]

Allows the user to establish a domain infused with arcane energy. Within this domain, the user’s sword techniques become significantly stronger, while controlling and manipulating mana becomes easier.

[Enhanced Mana Control]

Greatly improves mana control, mana efficiency, and the ability to maintain complex magical techniques during combat.

Miriel read through the information several times.

Her previous class had already allowed her to combine magic and swordsmanship, but the new class seemed to take that combination to an entirely different level.

Most importantly, it provided her with an entirely new ability: Arcane Sword Domain.

"Liam, my class evolved into a B-Rank class!"

"I noticed."

"Look at the abilities! I can even create an Arcane Sword Domain now."

Liam examined the class information.

’Not bad. The evolution has improved both sides of her combat abilities instead of focusing exclusively on swordsmanship.’

He was particularly interested in Arcane Resonance.

With Miriel’s existing Sword Saint Arts, this ability could potentially increase the destructive power of her techniques considerably.

"Your class evolution is quite good," Liam said. "You should be able to make even better use of your Sword Saint Arts now."

Miriel nodded excitedly.

She had already been looking forward to learning more techniques from Celestia. With her newly evolved class, those techniques would probably become even more effective.

"Now, let’s look at the remaining rewards."

Miriel shifted her attention to the three Epic-Rank Random Skill Crystals.

She had three chances to obtain powerful new skills.

And considering the quality of her class evolution reward, she couldn’t help but wonder what the skill crystals would give her.