Chapter 533 - 531: Task Expert

The first-tier mutant Misha scorpion and sandworm posed no difficulty for Hilia.

Soon, she collected enough and returned to the village with the mutant Misha scorpion tails and the crystal cores from the sandworm heads, handing them over to the two guards at the village leader’s doorstep.

Hilia was about to say something when she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, looking up toward the Ascension God Stairs in the sky.

At the moment of handing over the items, she felt the Ascension God Stairs become slightly more solid.

A suspicion arose in her mind.

"Could it be that this ascension trial is about completing one ’task’ after another?"

Thinking about this, Hilia shook her head again.

No, that’s not right. At this rate, the demons outside will soon become difficult to kill, and by then... the ascension trial will likely fail, right?

Rose continued to watch, occasionally saying something but never interfering with Hilia’s choices or guesses.

Hilia did not intend to ask Rose for guidance; the ascension trial was her affair, relying on the Gods would be like being a salted fish.

After obtaining the items, the guard stepped aside to let Hilia in.

"Please, the village leader is waiting for you inside, traveler from the outside world."

"Thank you."

Hilia walked into the small courtyard, looking at the house in front; the door was already open.

Although she didn’t understand why this village would have wooden doors, considering that this was not the real world, Hilia didn’t think much of it.

Hilia didn’t walk into the house; an old man, about fifty or sixty years old, came out leaning on a cane.

He scrutinized Hilia and said, "Oh traveler from afar, welcome to Misha Town. I am the village leader of Misha Town, and you may call me village leader of Misha Town."

Hilia: "..."

Alright, although this title is a bit absurd, compared to the two ’tasks’ she encountered, it’s still within the normal range.

Hilia pointed to the Ascension God Stairs in the sky and straightforwardly asked, "Village leader, I have come in pursuit of the stairs in the sky, can you tell me about that staircase and how to ascend it?"

The village leader looked up at the shadowy Ascension God Stairs, sighing: "Good question, traveler from afar, you are not the first to seek it out, nor will you be the last."

"Legend has it that this staircase is called the Ascension God Stairs, that ascending it grants unparalleled power, comparable to the Gods. Everyone is drawn to it, but in the end... they return empty-handed."

Hilia asked, "Is there a way to ascend?"

"I also don’t know how to ascend," the village leader sighed, "Legend has it only those blessed by the Gods can ascend, legend has it only those mages who understand how to use Godly power can ascend, legend has it..."

Hilia patiently listened to the village leader’s rambling, silently extracting the needed information.

After some inquiry, Hilia gathered quite a few clues from the village leader’s nonsense.

The Ascension God Stairs cannot be touched; it only solidifies under certain conditions.

Once fully solidified, it will emit light, and after the light remains for some time, it will fade and become akin to a mirage.

In other words, upon solidification, one must ascend in a limited time, or the chance will be lost.

The consequences of missing this opportunity are obvious.

Supposedly specific conditions not only involve completing various village tasks but also utilizing unique external conditions.

On this, the village leader spoke ambiguously, leaving Hilia completely unaware of what these unique external conditions might be.

About the tasks, the leader mentioned there were travelers who crazily completed tasks to make the Ascension God Stairs solidify gradually, yet, eventually, the staircase did not complete its coagulation.

This indicates that simply doing tasks isn’t enough; one must also seek those ’unique external conditions.’

Apart from this, the village leader mentioned one more thing.

Even if it solidifies, it is impossible to ascend it.

As for how to ascend, the village leader didn’t know.

"Do I need to solidify the Ascension God Stairs first?"

Hilia pondered.

The ascension trial comprises two steps: solidifying the stairs and climbing them.

She had clues for the former, but knew nothing about the latter.

Compared to the former, the latter seems most crucial.

After a moment’s thought, Hilia considered the various animals hidden in the sand outside and asked, "Village leader, if I continue slaughtering those Misha scorpions and such outside, will they keep growing stronger indefinitely?"

The village leader nodded, "Yes, the monsters outside will become increasingly powerful. By the time you’ve slain ten thousand, each scorpion will have the power to destroy Misha Town."

Hilia nodded, "Thank you."

After bidding farewell to the village leader, Hilia gazed at the shadowy image of the Ascension God Stairs in the sky, sighing.

"What a hassle, why couldn’t it be as simple as just slaying demons?"

In the divine realm simulation class, none of the knowledge is useful for the deep divine realm.

In Hilia’s current situation, even if the Ascension God Stairs solidifies, she cannot ascend it.

Because the Ascension God Stairs are high in the sky, at least a few hundred meters up, the method of condensing steps beneath her feet with magic from the shallow divine realm is clearly unworkable.

"Or build a spiral staircase to ascend?"

A bold idea popped into Hilia’s mind.

But creating a spiral staircase rising several hundred meters... Hilia doubted her control could accomplish something of that scale.

Destruction through magic is much easier than construction; such fine work might only be possible from the fourth rank onwards.

Just as Hilia was frowning, Rose chuckled softly, saying, "Have you forgotten, the difference between the third and fourth ranks."

"Tapping into external magic power... Lord Rose means, tapping into external magic power could solve this?"

Rose shook his head, "Of course, it’s not that simple, just a reminder."

He looked at the Ascension God Stairs in the sky and smiled slightly, "Instead of guessing here blindly, why not solidify it first and feel it for yourself?"

"Lord Rose is right, even though it’s timed after solidification, if I don’t summon it even once, there’s no way to complete the ascension trial."

Thus, Hilia took action.

According to what the village leader said, she began to wander around the village, completing one villager’s task after another.

These villagers’ tasks were diverse, mostly requiring her to hunt various small animals outside; besides Misha scorpions and sandworms, there were also lizards, ants, spiders, etc., a large assortment.

As Hilia carried out the hunts, the various small animals outside slowly grew larger.

Soon, all the small animals transformed into demons, possessing third-tier strength.

Their sizes grew from initially being palm-sized to as large as a head.

Meanwhile, the Ascension God Stairs in the sky gradually solidified, just a step away from being fully solidified as the village leader described.

"Unique external conditions, seems like tapping into external magic power is it."

Hilia raised her hand, conjuring blades of ice in her palm, slowly sensing the external magic power and tapping into the thin Ice Element magic power.

With the invocation, the Ascension God Stairs gradually began to emit light.