Chapter 98: The Great Trial Begins 1

Kent felt his head spinning, though this time it was entirely from excitement.

At first, he had tried to comfort himself with the thought that there were low-level magical beasts capable of speaking as well. But after seeing the plump little piglet emerge completely unharmed from a bath in molten magma, that explanation no longer seemed convincing.

Kent had watched it fall into the magma with his own eyes.

Yet instead of being burned to ashes, the little creature had simply climbed back out, lively and energetic as though nothing had happened.

More importantly, Kent had seen genuine confusion in those large, glossy black eyes.

And that meant something.

It meant the piglet possessed a considerable degree of intelligence.

It was clearly not one of those low-ranking magical beasts that could merely imitate human speech without truly understanding what they were saying.

That left only one possibility.

The pink little piglet before him had to be a high-ranking magical beast.

Perhaps it was even the descendant of some supreme Saint Beast.

But that only left Kent even more puzzled.

There was no record anywhere on the continent of a magical beast like this—not even of a broader family to which it might belong.

Magical beasts were generally divided into large families, with each family containing numerous individual species.

The magical wolf family, for example, included Wind Wolves, Flame Wolves, Snow Wolves, and many others.

Rodent-type magical beasts included Shadow Rats, Gold-Devouring Rats, and several other branches.

The bear family contained creatures such as Earth Bears and Raging Bears.

Yet even beasts belonging to the same broad family could differ enormously in their potential.

An Earth Bear, for instance, could grow all the way to the level of a Saint Beast, while a Raging Bear could reach no higher than Level Five.

Thus, although the Twin Star Continent contained an enormous number of magical beast species, numbering well into the tens of thousands, there were only a few hundred major families.

As long as one memorized those few hundred classifications, then compared a creature’s appearance and magical fluctuations against them, identifying most magical beasts was not particularly difficult.

“Strange...” Kent murmured.

He searched through everything he could remember, yet failed to find any magical beast belonging to the same family as the little piglet.

At first glance, it did resemble a Saluo Beast.

But on closer inspection, the differences were simply too great.

For one thing, a Saluo Beast was nothing more than an ordinary animal.

This little piglet, however, could speak.

More importantly, it could move about freely in molten magma.

There was no question that it had to be a magical beast, even though Kent could hardly sense any magical fluctuations coming from it.

Then there was the difference in intelligence.

Saluo Beasts were notoriously stupid creatures.

This little fellow, on the other hand, had only just hatched and already possessed the intelligence of a child several years old.

Putting the two side by side was almost like comparing an ape with a human.

No wonder Kent found the whole thing so baffling.

“Grunt... grunt...”

Seeing that Kent was ignoring it, the little piglet walked over and nudged his leg with its snout, making soft, spoiled little grunting sounds as though asking for attention.

Kent felt the affection in the creature’s actions and could not help smiling.

He crouched down and gently stroked its soft, plump body.

“Little fellow,” he said, “how about I call you Pike from now on?”

Kent had spent quite some time searching his memory and still had not found the slightest clue about the creature’s origins, so he decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

As for the name he had just chosen...

The more he thought about it, the more he felt as though he were playing some sort of joke.

Then again, that had been the idea from the beginning.

“Pike! Pike!”

The piglet stared at Kent with its enormous black eyes.

“I’ll be Pike from now on! I’m sleepy now.”

Having accepted its new name without the slightest objection, Pike gave a huge yawn, leapt directly into Kent’s arms, and mumbled sleepily.

“Mm.”

Kent looked down at the little creature in his embrace, unsure of how he was supposed to treat it.

Pike clearly regarded him as family.

Kent, however, was still having difficulty accepting such a strange relationship.

Yet while he was still lost in thought, Pike had already curled itself comfortably against his chest.

Within moments, soft grunting snores began to rise from his arms.

Kent stared down at the sleeping piglet.

If not for that peculiar tail of its, he might genuinely have suspected that this little fellow was a pig that had somehow transmigrated here from Earth.

Kent suddenly found himself facing a rather serious problem.

There was an unconscious beauty lying on the ground, a plump little piglet sleeping in his arms, and because of the magical contract connecting it to Darkya, the Violet-Gold Rat King had also fallen unconscious.

Unfortunately, Kent only had two hands.

Going back to find someone for help was not an option either, because no matter which one of them he left behind, he simply could not feel at ease.

Leaving Darkya alone was obviously out of the question. She was an unconscious young woman, and an exceptionally beautiful one at that. If anything happened to her, Kent would never be able to forgive himself.

More importantly, the Great Elder would probably kill him personally.

One should never assume that Darkya’s status alone would be enough to keep everyone from harboring improper intentions. When it came to human beings, the depths to which some people could sink were often difficult to imagine.

Leaving the Violet-Gold Rat King behind was equally impossible.

And Pike had not even formed a magical contract with him yet, making Kent even less willing to abandon the little fellow.

And so, before long, the patrols inside Muan City witnessed an exceedingly strange sight.

A man was walking through the streets with two large bundles hanging from his chest, while an unconscious dark elf woman was strapped across his back.

Had the patrol guards not recognized the man as Kent, there was no telling what kind of misunderstanding might have occurred on the spot.

To make matters worse, someone noticed that the dark elf woman’s clothing was torn in several places, almost as though it had been forcibly ripped apart.

That was all it took.

Before long, an extraordinarily scandalous rumor began spreading throughout Muan City.

According to the increasingly embellished version of events, Kent had taken advantage of his dark elf servant, with whom he shared a magical contract, and attempted to force himself upon her.

The dark elf had resisted, causing the magical contract to activate and knock her unconscious.

At that point, according to the rumor, Kent had finally gotten what he wanted.

Then, halfway through, the dark elf servant’s magical beast had attempted to defend its master, only to be beaten unconscious by Kent as well.

After all, it was only a young magical beast. How could it possibly have been Kent’s match?

“I’LL KILL YOU! YOU SHAMELESS, DESPICABLE HUMAN!”

By the time Darkya woke up and heard the rumors, she immediately flew into a rage.

Unfortunately for her, Kent had already departed for the Great Trial.

Darkya had been unconscious for an entire day.

At least, after carefully checking herself, she found no sign that anyone had actually violated her while she had been unconscious.

“Mommy! Mommy! I want milk!”

Just as Darkya was raging about Kent, a round, chubby pink figure suddenly shot straight into her arms.

The childish voice was followed almost immediately by Pike burying its head against her chest and beginning to suck enthusiastically.

After carrying Darkya back, Kent had handed her over to the Great Elder and fled almost as though escaping from a disaster.

Several ordinary dark elf maids had then taken care of her.

They had helped bathe Darkya before putting her to bed, and naturally, she was no longer wearing her damaged armor while she slept.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

A scream powerful enough to shake half of Muan City erupted from the room.

A moment later, a plump pink figure came racing out.

As Pike ran, it muttered to itself in complete confusion.

“That’s strange... Papa said this was the right way. Why did Mommy faint again?”

“Achoo! Achoo!”

Far away, Kent was walking among the participants of the Great Trial, sneezing repeatedly.

Yet there was a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He could already imagine exactly how furious Darkya would become once Pike followed the instructions he had given it.

In truth, the Great Trial itself was fairly simple in structure.

All participants would first be escorted to a designated location.

Once there, they would separate and head off on their own.

For the next month, they would have to survive independently in the underground world.

At the end of that period, each participant would return with trophies capable of proving their combat ability.

The purpose of the month-long trial was not merely to test strength in battle.

It was also meant to measure a participant’s ability to survive in the Underdark.

And that was precisely what made the Great Trial so dangerous.

Magical beasts might be lurking unseen in the darkness.

The surrounding terrain was unfamiliar and unpredictable.

Even one’s fellow participants could not necessarily be trusted.

A companion who appeared harmless might turn against you the moment an opportunity presented itself.

Danger could come from almost anywhere.

Yet despite the risks, countless people still chose to participate.

Those who successfully survived the Great Trial would almost always attract the attention of powerful factions.

Once recruited, they would rarely need to worry about food, shelter, or livelihood again.

That promise alone was enough to draw ambitious young warriors from all directions.

And so, beneath the opportunity and glory surrounding the Great Trial lay an undeniable truth—

for the next month, every participant would be walking through danger.