Chapter 192: Trials

Those crimson eyes suddenly shot toward Leon like a streak of eerie red light. Leon instinctively tried to stagger backward, but his heel struck the stair behind him with a dull thud.

When they were just over a hundred meters away, they abruptly stopped. The sheer momentum generated a violent gust of wind that nearly knocked Leon off his feet.

The aura radiating from the unknown existence was unimaginably terrifying. Even from such a distance, it sent a chill racing down Leon’s spine. Goosebumps spread across his entire body.

There was no crushing pressure. There were no scorching flames. Yet every instinct in his body screamed that a single twitch from that being would be enough to tear his throat apart.

Fortunately...

It didn’t come any closer.

Leon wanted to descend another stair, but his entire body had gone numb. His legs refused to obey him.

Several seconds passed before he finally gathered enough courage to take another step.

The instant his foot landed on the next stair...

Whoooooosh!

The ghostly figure moved again. Like before, it stopped exactly ten meters closer than before.

Ninety meters!

Leon’s heartbeat thundered inside his chest. Cold sweat streamed down his face, and blood slowly trickled from his nose.

His eyes remained locked onto those crimson eyes. And those crimson eyes never once looked away.

Leon took another step.

Then another.

With every stair he descended, the horrifying presence drew ten meters closer.

At the sixteenth stair...

The pair of crimson eyes stood only forty meters away. The overwhelming dread threatened to consume his very soul. Blood flowed not only from his nose but also from the corners of his eyes and ears.

Yet something deep within him urged him onward.

Whether it was because he knew he would die if he retreated...

Or because he genuinely wanted to overcome this trial...

Even Leon himself couldn’t tell.

He took one more step, standing at the seventeenth stair. Only one step remained before the trial of mental fortitude would end.

Yet that single step felt wider than an endless abyss.

Leon stayed on that same stair for almost one hour. Then...

Finally...

Leon forced his body to move again. To take one more step. The moment his feet touched the eighteenth stair, the crimson eyes moved again, looming over him from only twenty meters away.

They stared directly into his soul.

The overwhelming fear gripped Leon’s heart, making it difficult to breathe. He felt as though his life force could be snuffed out at any moment.

Leon’s fist clenched as he forcefully lifted his leg and took one more step.

Puff!

The crimson eyes vanished. The endless darkness disappeared as well. Leon found himself standing on another landing between the flights of stairs.

Everything had returned to normal.

His body, however, nearly collapsed onto the ground.

This trial...

Had been far crueler than the physical trial.

Just then, the majestic voice echoed once more.

"Excellent. I didn’t think you would be able to pass the trial of mental fortitude this fast. Very good. Now...

The next nine stairs shall test your luck.

Sometimes, physical strength and unwavering determination alone are not enough.

Luck is also a form of strength.

The greater your luck, the less pressure you shall face during this trial. However, you need not complete all nine stairs. This time, passing at least three of them will be considered sufficient to clear the first trial.

You may rest for sixty seconds before continuing your descent."

The authoritative voice gradually faded away again.

Leon slowly stood straight. The previous nine stairs had exhausted him completely.

After sixty seconds, he took a deep breath and stepped onto the nineteenth stair.

Leon had already prepared himself for another terrifying ordeal.

Yet...

Nothing happened.

"What’s going on?" he muttered in confusion.

He stepped onto the twentieth stair.

Still nothing.

"Is the trial malfunctioning?" he wondered.

The thought that he might simply possess extraordinary luck never crossed his mind.

Whenever Leon thought about luck, he only remembered his mother’s illness and the poverty his family had endured. He had completely disregarded everything that had happened after obtaining the system.

Under countless doubts, Leon stepped onto the twenty-first stair.

Nothing.

Twenty-second!

Twenty-third!

....

....

One stair after another...

Leon descended the remaining steps without encountering the slightest obstacle.

’Wait! This?!’ The owner of the majestic voice was left speechless.

Finally, Leon was actually standing at the twenty-seventh step. At the end of the stairs. It felt as though this wasn’t even a test.

This time, the majestic voice did not immediately speak. It remained completely silent.

"What now?" Leon asked.

Yet there was still no response from the majestic voice. Several minutes later, it finally echoed once more.

"The next test is a test of comprehension.

To pass, you must perfect one of your current abilities. I can see that you possess several abilities — Gravity, Fire, Ice, and Swordsmanship.

Choose one.

However, remember this. There are two rewards awaiting those who can clear all the trials for this inheritance.

One of them is fixed.

The other will vary depending on the ability you choose to perfect. Choose wisely. The reward will elevate that ability to an even greater level."

Unlike before, the majestic voice was actually explaining everything to Leon instead of treating him with indifference.

’Which one should I choose?’ Leon, meanwhile, pondered. ’Swordsmanship is the most useful for me right now. It can even deal with demons. Should I perfect Sword Art Breathing then? But wouldn’t that take an incredibly long time? I still have to return and participate in the military training camp. And what kind of reward could I even receive for mastering swordsmanship? Could anything possibly surpass the Frost Monarch’s Blade?’

"The reward will certainly surpass your white blade..." the majestic voice replied before Leon could even finish his thoughts. "Provided you can clear every test.

As for time, you needn’t concern yourself with that either. One day in the outside world is equivalent to one year within this place."

Leon’s eyes widened in disbelief. The voice...

It could actually read his thoughts. And one day outside was equal to an entire year inside this mysterious space?

What kind of heaven-defying privilege was this?

If only he knew...

The unimaginable danger that awaited him.