Chapter 227: Demigod-Level Trial, Difficult Breakthrough!
Chapter 227: Demigod-Level Trial, Difficult Breakthrough!
In front of Sterl stood a handsome young man clad in pure white knight armor.
When he used Star Insight to examine him, the following details appeared:
[Kant Weir]
[Level: 300]
[Class: Divine Guardian (SSS)]
[Talent: Heroic Summon (SSS)]
[Skills: Holy Light Judgment (Golden)]
...
Sterl was stunned. The enemy appearing in the 30th wave of the trial was actually a "player"?? Moreover, Star Insight couldn't reveal all his data.
In the next moment, a bolt of lightning surged into the young man's body. Kant Weir's panel began to change wildly, and he directly obtained a boss template! Legendary abilities, various skill effects greatly enhanced, life force, stamina, endurance—all attributes skyrocketed! His aura was incredibly intimidating.
Sterl noticed that when the young man slowly opened his eyes, he didn't have the typical chaotic and berserk demeanor of a boss. Instead, he was extremely calm.
"A new genius has appeared in the Hall of Valor," he said. "But... at just a second-class level?? My goodness... If I could, I would honestly prefer to surrender and let you pass this trial. But I'm sorry, even in death, I must adhere to the virtue of honesty."
Kant Weir even had the leisure to chat with Sterl. Sterl's face turned quite grim... This player with a boss template was going to be hard to defeat. An SSS-level class meant a massive increase in attributes with each level. And what did a level 300 entail? Even if Sterl maximized all his attribute bonuses, he would still be at a disadvantage.
Besides, level 300 was already approaching a demigod level.
Sterl suspected that his opponent might have even begun to grasp some Law Power.
"Please teach me," Kant Weir said with a smile. With his pure white armor, it seemed as if he was radiating light.
"Wait, can you tell me more about the Hall of Valor and the Trial of the Brave?" Sterl wanted to gather some information.
Kant Weir replied sincerely, "I'm restricted by the rules and cannot disclose anything."
"I can only offer you a guess..."
"A guess?" Sterl frowned.
"As a special boss in the Trial of the Brave, once I'm refreshed, the player who defeats me will receive an additional reward item. Since I'm considered a hidden boss, there will be extra rewards."
"The Hall of Valor might be using me to provide you with a certain item..."
The young man seemed to sense something. "What is the current era...?" he pondered. "If it's this point in time, then it truly is a disaster looming. Hall of Valor, are you trying to save yourself?"
Swish!
Before Kant Weir could finish his sentence, a fierce bolt of lightning descended, as if some will had been angered. But before the electricity could strike, the pure white knight revealed a brilliant smile.
"Let's decide the outcome before this thunder strikes!"
He wielded a gigantic knight's lance from who-knows-where, and his legendary abilities were activated! Sterl immediately felt as if he was thoroughly locked in place. The entire world seemed to transform into countless sharp auras, ready to tear him apart.
Sterl could hear his own heartbeat. "Is this the threshold between legendary abilities and Law Power?" he thought. "Is this knight intentionally letting me experience the difference between legendary abilities and Law Power?"
Sterl was momentarily stunned, then felt a slight sense of gratitude. He realized that the white knight was deliberately slowing down his movements, allowing him to better understand how legendary abilities should evolve.
But in the next second...
Sterl snapped out of the strange sensation of advancing from legendary to demigod. Because the knight had moved!
Thunder chased Kant Weir's shadow, and the knight, radiating light, charged toward Sterl. "So strong!" Sterl felt a sensation of helplessness, as if he couldn't resist at all. Kant Weir, with his perfect blend of class talent and mastery of legendary abilities, was the undisputed strongest below the demigod level.
Sterl's second-class level brought a significant disadvantage that was now impossible to bridge.
Swish!
With masterful precision, Moon Law! Sterl bit down on a bottle of Glory Potion and his last Essence of the Moon! Even for the formidable Kant Weir, this forced him to halt under the surge of Law Power.
The blade of his lance advanced with the slow grace of an infant's movement. Sterl could see the entire arena filled with countless golden streams, like beautiful threads of starlight. But in reality, these were all lethal effects of Kant Weir's legendary ability. This attack, Sterl felt, could not be evaded even by a demigod.
But the masterful Law Power was also not something an ordinary demigod could grasp. Kant Weir was frozen in place!
Yet, from his opponent's eyes, Sterl sensed a hint of a smile. Beneath the immense Divine Power, the knight's eyes seemed to be urging him—
"Aren't you going to make a move?"
Sterl was panting slightly. The two potions combined had barely restored some of his energy.
Flowing Water transformed into a blade, piercing through the white knight's armor. Countless liquid blades from Flowing Water began slicing.
Clang! Clang!
The power of Moon Law finally reached its limit. Blood tears flowed from Sterl's eyes as he collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
The countless wind blades from Kant Weir's legendary ability finally ceased, falling sporadically and shattering the arena.
Ironically, the area around Sterl became the only safe zone. The knight's corpse had shielded him from numerous impacts before dissipating into light.
"Damn it..." Sterl muttered. "I really shouldn't underestimate the strong in [Transcendence]."
Sterl had always thought himself invincible among his peers. But without his class awakening and evolving, without the [Human] divine authority, and without obtaining Law Power or extra legendary abilities in advance, he doubted he could have defeated Kant Weir even as a legend.
Unless his level was above 200, only then could he rely on his dual SSS talents to secure victory!
Kant Weir had nearly reached the pinnacle of [Transcendence]. His combat experience likely far surpassed that of mere mortals...
Now, after his victory, Sterl's mind began to churn with thoughts again.
He was curious about what item the Hall of Valor intended to give him through this trial, as Kant Weir had mentioned.
"A disaster... might not be so bad," he mused. "After all, how can heroes be made without chaos?"
Sterl smiled. He knew that without joining the Hall of Valor, even demi-gods outside had no chance of obtaining Law Power and were merely pawns for the gods.
In [Transcendence], the resources needed for players to climb higher were tightly controlled by the stronger beings.
Only in special circumstances—when an all-encompassing disaster struck—could someone seize the opportunity to rise dramatically.
As Sterl pondered, a new prompt appeared before him.
[Yes/No, Continue the Trial, Activate Demigod-Level Difficulty?]
[Warning: The difficulty level is significantly higher than your current strength. Chances of success are extremely low.]
[Hint: Demigod-Level Difficulty will grant you massive point bonuses.]
He waited a few seconds. Having just used two Law Powers, Sterl's energy was nearly depleted, and he had a splitting headache, desperately needing time to recover.
Thus, Sterl waited until the prompt for continuing the trial was about to disappear before selecting "Yes."
Ding!
A crisp sound and a flash of light appeared.
Sterl found himself in a new arena, one that had expanded several times in size. The previously chaotic grassland had transformed into a pristine area, with the ground filled with tiles that looked like transparent porcelain. Surrounding the arena were azure energy barriers, giving the place a much more advanced appearance.
Sterl's eyes showed a hint of anticipation.
In a sense, this was his first battle against a demigod-level opponent. Facing a being capable of wielding Law Power, Sterl knew that any slight mistake could lead to his death, and even his resurrection armor might not save him from being camped.
In the Trial of the Brave, however, he could gain extremely valuable combat experience.
Ding!
With a crisp sound, the 31st wave of enemies descended.
Hovering in the air was a giant moth, its body wrapped in fluttering ribbons, and it wielded two shields and swords that flew continuously around it.
Sterl's Star Insight could no longer discern any attributes.
Brilliant light erupted, and Sterl instantly realized that this must be some kind of Light Law. Just being illuminated by this light made him feel like he was being disintegrated!
There was no room for resistance; he was on the verge of being obliterated without even a process of struggle.
Sterl had no choice but to activate his perfected Moon Law once more, draining his energy to halt the light.
Then, he drew his sword and charged forward madly, unleashing the full power of Flowing Water Law!
The blade of Flowing Water danced, graceful like a swimming dragon!
Unfortunately...
Against a demigod-level boss, Sterl's sword only managed to cut down less than a quarter of its life force!
The next second.
Crack! Crack!
The silver-white domain created by Moon Law was on the verge of collapse, seemingly about to shatter at any moment!
Sterl was in even worse shape than when he faced Kant Weir previously, bleeding from all seven orifices.
But he was determined!
He recklessly drained his energy, causing his life force to plummet, and managed to conjure two more swords with Flowing Water Law!
Sterl's muscles bulged violently as he thrust the blades into the boss's body.
Of course, this reckless maneuver resulted in Sterl's immediate demise!
His flesh turned to ash, merging with the Flowing Water blades.
But at the same time, the effect of the [Tear of Water] activated. A faint, angelic light enveloped Sterl, protecting him.
It helped him recover his life force, preventing his death on the spot.