Chapter 570: The Garden

More and more trial takers poured into the rooms until more than twenty had gathered inside the children's room Thalion and his companions had occupied for most of the day.

Thalion would have liked to warn the two tunnel makers that Minerva had been lying through her teeth, but exposing her in front of everyone didn't seem like a particularly good idea.

The newcomers quickly began treating the place as though it had been their hideout all along. In surprisingly good spirits, they moved freely between the rooms on the first floor, taking full advantage of the tunnel network Thalion and the others had created.

With Bartivel still nearby, Thalion didn't dare activate the Specter of the Eternal Dream again.

The Primordial Bloodseed was incredibly powerful, but could it hold back a D-grade chosen long enough for Thalion's consciousness to return to his body?

Probably not.

Despite the growing number of trial takers inside the house, none of the giants appeared during the following hour. They remained outside, relentlessly hunting down those still trapped in the garden.

That changed when several deafening roars shook the house from below.

Before Thalion's hearing had even fully recovered, he picked up the unmistakable thunder of multiple giants charging up the stairs.

The moment he overcame his surprise, Thalion shot to his feet and rushed toward the broken window.

The giants must have finished the potion and that meant they were faster now.

Worse, they could see every single trial taker.

The tunnels had just gone from their greatest advantage to potential death traps. It wouldn't be difficult for a giant to smash through a wall and drag someone out of a narrow passage. The tunnels would only have worked properly as long as the giants didn't know where everyone was hiding.

They weren't completely useless, but their value had just dropped dramatically.

Judging by the roaring and thunderous footsteps coming from below, at least three giants were heading toward the first floor.

The time for hiding was over.

Now they had to run for their lives.

Thalion immediately decided that putting as much distance between himself and the other trial takers as possible was his safest option.

The moment he reached the window and looked outside, he spotted another giant climbing one of the ladders, most likely heading for the trial takers on the roof.

That left the garden as his only option.

Minerva had claimed that the red and yellow flowers were slow, while most of the other plants were extremely dangerous. As for the giants' hideous cat-dog, she had said it was stupid and easily tricked.

Since every word had been a lie, Thalion figured he would probably fare better by assuming the exact opposite.

The giant climbing the ladder reacted the moment Thalion jumped from the window.

Despite clinging to the ladder, it lashed out with one enormous hand.

Thalion immediately activated Telekinetic Dash at full power.

The massive hand slammed into the wall directly behind him as Thalion shot away from the house.

Fortunately, the giant seemed far more interested in the numerous trial takers on the roof than in a single red-robed figure rapidly descending toward the garden.

Thalion couldn't see the giants' pet anywhere, which meant the creature was most likely somewhere on the opposite side of the house.

Since the giants could now see him regardless of where he hid, Thalion decided his best option was to put as much distance between himself and them as possible. He doubted they would specifically hunt him when dozens of easier targets were much closer.

The instant his feet touched the ground, Thalion shapeshifted into the Sirokkar and took off.

He unleashed every movement skill at his disposal, tearing through the tall grass as quickly as possible.

Only one giant was currently nearby, and thankfully, it was moving away from him.

Thalion sprinted toward the distant fence, deliberately avoiding the enormous flowerbeds. As long as he didn't have to enter them, he wouldn't.

He suspected that a significant number of trial takers were still trapped inside the house. That would explain why the giants hadn't immediately returned to the garden.

Before the potion had been completed, trial takers could disappear among the tall grass or hide within the flowerbeds.

That was no longer possible.

Evading the giants had just become considerably more difficult.

The next wave of kill notifications confirmed it.

Another speed buff had been granted to the giants.

From now on, they would receive another one every five kills.

Thalion had to admit it.

R-87 had created one hell of a difficult trial.

This copy was taken without the author's permission. The chapter is published on NovelPhoenix, where reading it supports the author.

He couldn't help wondering how many points they would receive for every dead trial taker.

Maybe I'll be able to buy the Transcendence Skill twice.

If that happened, this entire nightmare might actually be worth it.

It didn't take Thalion long to reach the far corner of the garden.

From there, he had an excellent view of the house and a large portion of the surrounding garden.

Inside the house, it had to be absolute hell.

From his position in the garden, Thalion could see the roaring heads of giants appearing in nearly every room on the first floor. The crashing of splintering wood and the screams of dying trial takers echoed across the garden.

Even with the two giants closest to him still some distance away, the ground trembled beneath every one of their footsteps.

Outrunning them would be difficult for that reason alone.

Each stride sent violent tremors through the earth, making it hard to maintain balance—especially when they broke into a sprint.

In the distance, Thalion spotted one of the giants pursuing a humanoid lizard.

The creature was incredibly fast and agile, weaving through the garden with astonishing precision, but the giant was both brutally powerful and frighteningly quick.

Every time one of its enormous hands came crashing down, Thalion thought it was over.

Yet, at the very last possible moment, the lizard twisted away and escaped death once again.

Good.

As long as the lizard remained alive, the giant had no reason to look for another target.

Thalion had already decided that the instant the giant abandoned its current prey, he would sprint in the opposite direction. Hopefully, the giants would always choose the easier target.

For now, he found himself silently rooting for the lizardman's survival.

Before he knew it, Jack's voice echoed inside his imagination, commenting the Lizard's escape.

"And what a move by Earnie the Giant! I don't think the ground is going to recover from that punch anytime soon!"

"Excellent footwork by Mr. Lizard! Left... left... right... wow, Earnie has to be getting frustrated."

"Oh no... what's this? Mr. Lizard is standing perfectly still behind a flowerbed. Doesn't he know the giant drank a potion that reveals everyone's location?"

"No... no... NO! Mr. Lizard, run, you idiot!"

"Huge play by Earnie! He grabs him! That hand is bigger than Mr. Lizard's entire body. Even sacrificing his tail won't get him out of this one."

"But what's Earnie doing now? Is he going for the Suplex of Doom? The Double Trouble Backbreaker?"

"Oh no, the disrespect! He feeds him to his pet!"

"What even is that thing? I've never seen an uglier pet in my life. Since when can cats and dogs even breed with each other?"

The imaginary commentator vanished together with Mr. Lizard.

Thalion slowly backed away from the victorious giant as it scanned the area before suddenly charging off in another direction, each thunderous step shaking the entire garden.

Thalion remained where he was, but with every passing minute he became less certain it was the right decision.

The house was leaking trial takers like a sinking ship.

One giant had stationed itself directly beneath one of the shattered windows, trying to snatch anyone desperate enough to jump.

Thalion's eyes widened with anticipation when he saw none other than Bartivel leap through the opening.

The giant's hand shot upward with incredible speed.

But Bartivel clearly knew what he was doing.

He twisted through the air with feline grace before activating a movement skill that propelled him forward. He avoided both grasping hands, landed lightly on his feet, and immediately sprinted deeper into the garden.

Damn...

That would've been your chance to kick the bucket.

As trial takers continued pouring out of the house the giants soon followed.

Only then did Thalion realize just how perfectly coordinated they were.

Without exchanging a single word, each giant seemed to know exactly what every other giant was doing.

This time, all seven giants regrouped in the garden before charging forward together.

Now that hiding was impossible and the constant buffs had transformed them into unstoppable monsters, the giants had become a force Thalion had hoped to avoid entirely.

Unfortunately...

They were heading straight toward him.

Thalion reacted instantly, turning and sprinting in the opposite direction.

Even so, the giants were closing the distance far faster than he would have liked.

Around him, more and more D-grades reached the exact same conclusion and ran.

Powerful auras erupted throughout the garden as they stopped concealing their strength and blasted past him at high speed.

That presented a new problem.

Even though the Sirokkar form had been built purely for speed, it still wasn't fast enough to keep up with chosen D-grades.

One after another, they overtook him.

Which meant that the moment the giants finished chasing those ahead...

Thalion would become their next target.

Simply running was no longer an option.

For a brief moment, Thalion considered sprinting back toward the house instead of circling around it. He quickly discarded the idea. He wouldn't make it in time, and at least two giants would have an easy opportunity to grab him.

As terrifying as they were, the giants possessed one undeniable talent.

They almost never missed.

No.

He would have to gamble.

Thalion came to an abrupt stop, turned around, and sprinted directly toward the giant on the far right side of the formation, the one closest to the fence.

So far, the giants hadn't missed a single trial taker, but Thalion hoped they wouldn't all abandon dozens of fleeing targets just to chase one man who had slipped past them.

If everything went according to plan, he would only have to dodge one grasping hand and perhaps a crushing foot before reaching safety again.

Assuming, of course, that the giant didn't immediately turn around.

Thalion focused completely.

The giant's enormous hand came crashing down.

He intended to sidestep it.

Under normal circumstances, he would have succeeded.

Instead, the violent tremors caused by the giants' charge made him stumble.

For a split second, death seemed inevitable.

At the very last moment, Thalion shifted back into his human form, activated his bloodline ability, and teleported behind the giant.

Apparently, using his bloodline skill under the crushing pressure of this system event dramatically increased its mana cost. The teleport had consumed almost everything he had left.

He had barely enough mana remaining for a single transformation.

Without hesitation, he shifted into the Sirokkar once more.

Unlike most of his forms, the Sirokkar relied primarily on stamina rather than mana.

The instant he transformed, Thalion accelerated away from the giants.

Just as he had hoped, none of them bothered turning around.

His heart pounded violently as he continued running.

Only after putting several hundred meters between himself and the giants did he finally slow down and glance back.

The massive stampede continued charging after the other trial takers and a wave of relief washed over him.

That had been far too close.

Once he was certain no giant had broken away to pursue him, Thalion returned to his human form to recover mana more quickly.

If absolutely necessary, he could sacrifice some of his stored blood to replenish it even faster.

For the moment, however, there was no need.

Still wary that the giants might eventually circle the house and cut him off again, Thalion began walking in the same direction the giants had moved before.

Moments later, the seven giants disappeared around the corner of the building.

At least there were no other trial takers anywhere near him.

For the time being, that should keep him safe.

Unless, of course, one of the giants suddenly decided that the lone figure standing in the corner of the garden looked particularly appetizing.

As his mana slowly regenerated, Thalion watched more and more trial takers slip back into the house, with another group gathering on the roof.

Sooner or later, the giants would undoubtedly return to clear out the survivors hiding inside.

The potion's effects also had to expire eventually.

When that happened, the giants would have every reason to head back into the house to drink again.

With a quiet sigh, Thalion sat down among the tall grass and continued watching the unfolding chaos while recovering his strength.

He didn't have to survive much longer.

But that final hour was going to be the hardest one yet.