Chapter 30: The Trial Begin

Chapter Thirty

The first ten floors of the trial were nothing but mundane steps. They were like the refreshing part of the trial, meant to calm the nerves of the challengers before the real trial started. And yet, these puny humans were taking hours just to climb the stairs.

The ancient being shook his head, already feeling as though this was nothing but a foolish endeavor. Countless humans had challenged the trials before, and none of them had managed to make it to the 100th floor. Among those countless humans were people who were far better than these two.

In fact, there were countless of them. And yet, none of them had ever made it past the 100th floor. Surely, there was no way these two humans were going to win.

He should just erase them now. There was no need for this meaningless struggle. The ancient being was about to order the world with a mere thought to erase the two humans when he suddenly stopped.

His gaze remained fixed on those two humans. He looked at them, seeing everything there was to see about them, and for some reason, he paused. In the end, he decided to let them try.

Perhaps this was the only thing pleasant about these puny humans. Their strong desire to survive. Their persistence. No matter how impossible something seemed, humans would always struggle against it until their very last breath.

The ancient being would let them try. Although he already knew that they would not win, he would grant them the chance to struggle. After all, when they finally lost hope, just like the countless people before them, then he would wipe them out.

That was what the being thought as he shook his head and closed his eyes. Meanwhile, the duo had just crossed a stairway of about twelve thousand stairs. As it seemed, the number of steps needed to be crossed by each floor was really doubling over and over.

Sooner or later, it would become hundreds of thousands. Then millions. Then billions of steps just to reach the next floor. The thought alone was enough to give most people goosebumps.

And yet, Orion didn’t think that was even close to what was awaiting them from this tenth floor upward. His instinct was screaming intensely at him. Danger was here.

Sir Dwaine’s eyes moved away from the stairway that was just two meters away from them and looked toward Orion. They had just climbed a stairway with over twelve thousand steps at a fast jogging speed, and yet neither of them was sweating or gasping for breath.

For Sir Dwaine, a powerful peak Elite-level warrior, it was understandable. But for someone like Orion, a Level One, it was truly shocking. The kid must have insane stamina.

What the old man didn’t know was that Orion’s stamina wasn’t heaven-defying or anything of the sort. Instead, the reason was simple. He had been a training maniac.

Something like heavy jogging was something he had been doing since he was as young as seven, and he had continued doing it until now. It simply wasn’t enough to tire him out.

Orion turned toward Sir Dwaine, who had averted his gaze, and asked,

"Are you ready, Senior?"

Sir Dwaine nodded. They had already rested for about two or so minutes, and with that done, they stepped forward. They stepped onto the next stairway.

Yet the moment their feet landed on the first stair step...

Their vision warped. Reality twisted. The world around them suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a rather large, desolate rocky desert.

The hot sun shone above them, casting a domineering heat against their skin and making their entire bodies feel hot and heated. Yet that was only the prelude. The real thing came down upon them in the very next second.

Orion’s body curved suddenly. His leg dug into the ground while one of his hands grabbed his knee. His entire body trembled as he felt as though a crushing weight had landed directly atop his shoulders, pressing down on him with a gigantic mass.

"Ugh..."

Orion groaned. He was fighting hard just to remain standing on his feet. Every muscle in his body strained beneath the overwhelming pressure. His bones seemed to creak.

His legs trembled. His back bent lower and lower, as though some invisible mountain had suddenly been placed upon him. Orion turned his head, intending to ask Sir Dwaine for a helping hand.

But the moment he looked over, he froze. Even Sir Dwaine was like him. The old man’s back was bent. One of his hands was holding his knee while his face was scrunched up in pain.

Orion was surprised for a few seconds when he realized something. This trial must have been designed to bring fair and equal treatment. Even if Sir Dwaine was stronger and at a much higher level than Orion, he would still be placed under the same pressure.

He would feel the same burden. Orion shut his mouth, no longer having the mind to ask for help. They were in the same position after all. And the worst part was that they couldn’t even use any skills or their talents.

There was no shortcut. There was no way to rely on their strength. What they needed to do was clear. They only needed to walk forward.

Around twenty-four thousand or perhaps even more steps ahead of them before they could cross into the next floor. The thought alone was enough to make even veteran warriors shed tears.

They were carrying a large burden that pressed down upon them like a boulder, to the extent that they had to pour everything they had into their bodies just to remain standing. And yet, they were supposed to walk twenty-five thousand or more steps under that condition.

Was that even possible? Orion gritted his teeth and took a step forward. The moment his foot landed, his back nearly broke from the action. His entire body shook violently.

His muscles tightened. The crushing pressure seemed to become even more unbearable. But Orion gritted his teeth and endured. Several long minutes passed before he could feel normal again.

Normal was far-fetched. Let him just say he could feel like he could go on without being at the point where his body was about to break apart. Sir Dwaine took his step, and the same thing happened to him.

The moment his foot moved forward, the pressure once again crushed down upon his body. He also had to wait ten or so minutes for his body to stop feeling as though it was going to break down beneath the force before he was finally able to feel like he could continue.

With that, they both took another step forward. And once again, the feeling of their backs, alongside the rest of their bodies, wanting to break descended upon them. They groaned in pain.

Another several long minutes went by. Then the duo took another step forward. The pressure came down once more. Their knees buckled, nearly causing them to fall.

The duo were in agony unlike anything they had experienced before. They had spent up to one hour, and they hadn’t even gotten up to the tenth step. Yet they were supposed to cross more than twenty-five thousand steps.

That was the real definition of helplessness and despair for anyone. Even Orion and the old man could feel it deep in their bones. The fact that this seemed impossible.

Their bodies were already shuddering from the overflowing pain crashing into them in waves with every single step they took. Worry and despair flashed through Orion’s eyes as he thought,

Is this even possible?

The amount of pain it took to take a single step was enormous. And even then, the time needed to recuperate, or rather, the time needed for their bodies to recover enough that they wouldn’t break beneath the pressure, was getting longer and longer.

Who knew how long it would take them before they were able to reach the eleventh floor? Months? Years? Maybe even decades? And there were countless other unknown trials waiting for them beyond this one.

This trial is impossible.

Sir Dwaine thought through gritted teeth. His body was trembling from exhaustion. Just then, he saw Orion take another step.

"Ugh..."

Orion groaned in pain. After a few minutes, he finally turned to face Sir Dwaine. There was a smile on his face. Although Sir Dwaine couldn’t clearly see the smile from his position, he could tell that Orion was smiling.

He could feel it from the warmth in the young man’s tone. "Uncle, come on. There is only a little over twenty-four thousand left." Orion’s voice was strained, but there was still determination within it.

"Soon, we will reach the eleventh floor." He took another breath. "We can do this." Then his voice became firmer.

"No... we would win this trial."

Another step. "Just one step at a time, and we will survive." As he said that, he took another step.

Sir Dwaine remained silent. The kid was too optimistic. It bordered on stupidity. After all, there were still what seemed like endless steps ahead of them.

They needed to take twenty-five thousand steps to cross into the eleventh floor, after all. And how many had they taken? Ten or so. Ten.

Out of twenty-five thousand steps. It seemed like total rubbish when accounted for. And yet this kid was completely ready to keep going, one step at a time.

A small smile appeared on Dwaine’s lips. He nodded. The kid was right. To conquer the trial, thinking about its impossibility would only make it feel and seem far more impossible to win and conquer.

If they kept staring at the countless steps ahead, the distance would only become more terrifying. So there was only one thing they could do. Take it one step at a time.

With that thought, he took another step forward. The pressure descended. "Ugh!" He groaned in pain once more. His very skeleton seemed to shudder beneath the force.

Every bone in his body felt as though it was being crushed. But after several minutes, he managed to balance himself once more. The duo took another step forward.

Then the pressure descended again. A groan and cry of pain escaped their mouths. Their faces scrunched up in deep pain as their bodies trembled beneath the overwhelming force.

After a long while, though, they finally began to feel slightly better. The duo smiled. The trial was difficult. It seemed vast. It seemed endless.

But that was not their problem. What they needed to think about was taking one step at a time. As long as they took the next step, they had won.

And so, with that thought in their hearts...

They took another step.