Chapter 15: The Trial Settled Early
"Based on cross-referencing some information compiled by heavyweights in the Mage channel with what I've personally seen and experienced in trials, certain facts can be confirmed:
The Land of Hope should be the largest continent within the [Trial Grounds].
Many nations and factions rose and fell across the surface of this land. The most well-known, and the ones most prominent during the trial's background era, were several major god-worshipping factions whose rule spanned thousands of years.
Among them were the 'Natural Alliance' that worshipped gods of the [Life] Destiny, the 'Grand Tribunal' that followed [Order], the 'Tower of Reason' that pursued [Truth], and the 'Nation of [War],' which was born from the chaos of the late [Civilization Epoch].
The Bone Army's invasion of the Land of Hope took place during the continental wars of the late [Civilization Epoch].
Forced by the approach of subterranean forces, the three warring factions joined forces once more to face the common external threat.
Our location, Shaderleaf County, is within the territory of the 'Grand Tribunal,' the administrative county closest to [Abyss Volcano], the entrance to the subterranean world."
Throughout the journey, Cao Sansui had been methodically recounting the history of the Land of Hope to Cheng Shi. After absorbing all of this, Cheng Shi finally had a rough understanding of the Land of Hope.
"The distribution of subterranean forces is far more complicated. Since I don't follow the [Corruption] or [Primordial Chaos] Destinies, I don't know much about that side of things.
Besides…"
Cao Sansui looked at Nangong with meaning. "Players of those Destinies generally don't like sharing relevant information, either."
Nangong blinked, then lowered her head:
"Sorry, my score is too low. I don't really follow this sort of thing."
Cao Sansui shook his head: "Nothing to apologize for. When the Faith Game descended, everyone was fighting for their lives inside it. Just staying alive is already remarkably difficult. Not everyone has the…"
He sighed. "Never mind, drop it.
The direction is correct. The Blizzard Mountains lie ahead. Very few tribes settle near the range, mostly harmless nomads. We can find a remote spot and wait for the trial to end.
Cheng Shi's right. After the baptism of blood and fire, the trial is no longer dangerous. That's consistent with [War]'s usual style!"
Chen Chong still led the way at the front. He hadn't relaxed his guard, even though seven hours had passed since they'd left the fire rain zone, with only three hours remaining until the trial ended.
"Better safe than sorry. Who's to say the Song of Blood and Fire won't have a 'song' left at the very end?"
Everyone froze at his words, then scattered laughter gradually rippled through the group.
Song Yawen chuckled:
"This isn't a [Deceit] trial, come on. Still, though…"
He turned to face Cheng Shi with solemn sincerity:
"Thank you, Brother Cheng. Without you, we'd probably all be gone."
That was the truth. Gratitude shone in everyone's eyes as they looked at Cheng Shi, even though they still didn't know exactly how he'd saved them all.
But that was simply how the world worked now. Every top-tier player had secrets, and no one wanted to pry too deeply into a carry's trump cards.
Cheng Shi felt a twinge of genuine embarrassment. Credit where it was due, he had contributed against the Fear Demons, but as for the fire rain afterward…
He secretly squeezed the die in his hand, offered a faint smile, and said nothing.
"Make camp here. Good sightlines in every direction, we'll get early warning. Dig a coffin camp."
After walking in fits and starts, the group reached a small hillock where Chen Chong stopped, drew his shield-sword, and started digging.
The others didn't sit idle either, pulling tools from their personal spaces to help.
Generally speaking, in survival-type trials, as long as the trial location was on the surface and not in active combat, players would excavate a deep pit, hollowing out a subterranean space like ants building a nest.
Because it resembled a crypt, it was jokingly called a coffin camp, primarily to avoid surface-level dangers.
As for threats from below, there was no need to worry. The [Subterranean World] in reality wasn't something you could reach just by digging. If anything, it was more like a separate, independent space.
Rather than worrying about avoiding threats from below, they'd be better served making sure the coffin camp didn't cave in.
They dug quickly. By the time the last light of dusk faded, the entire group had already relocated into the underground space, producing various foods to replenish their energy.
What everyone brought out was lightweight and satiating. Song Yawen and Cao Sansui even produced hot noodle soup, emphasizing visual appeal, aroma, and flavor all in one.
Only Cheng Shi silently produced a stick of Finger Bread and a bottle of tentacle slime beverage in front of everyone.
"…"
"…"
"…"
The moment the slime went glug-glug-glug down his throat, everyone fell silent.
Song Yawen gagged a few times, then clamped his hand over his mouth:
"Now I'm starting to think Brother Cheng probably isn't a [Chosen]…"
Nangong's brow furrowed repeatedly. She broke her beef patty in half and offered it over.
Cheng Shi looked at the half-patty and accepted it without a second's hesitation. "I couldn't possibly impose."
"Have you… not run any food dungeons lately? Why aren't you drinking… cola?"
"Huh?" Cheng Shi answered while chewing, words muffled. "I have. This Finger Bread is fresh, just produced yesterday."
"…"
Cao Sansui's face was pure disbelief: "You're 2000 points, and you like eating this?"
"? Who told you I'm 2000? I'm 1501."
"…"
Chen Chong gave a couple of helpless laughs: "One Ladder score, and you're scamming everyone left and right. Cheng Shi, don't tell me you're actually…"
Before he could finish, a violent spatial fluctuation detonated across every single one of them.
Everyone's body jolted. They exchanged incredulous glances, eyes wide as saucers.
This feeling was all too familiar. It was the trial's end signal.
"How? It's only been twenty-three hours!?"
Cao Sansui pulled out his pocket watch and checked. He confirmed that his anchored time wasn't wrong. Only twenty-three hours had indeed passed. One hour short of the full duration.
Everyone was equally dumbfounded. This had never happened in any previous trial.
But no one felt excited about the trial ending early. Instead, their brows furrowed deeply.
Change meant risk.
No one could say for certain whether an early termination was good or bad.
But these things were not for the players to decide. Just as everyone was about to exchange a few more words, six silhouettes dissipated one by one, leaving only the food in their hands to clatter to the ground.
Looking at the food scattered on the floor, Cheng Shi's heart sank, and an aching loss welled up from within.
"Holy shit, my 'The Dead's Contempt' and 'Prosperity of Yore.' They still haven't reimbursed me!"
[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire [War]) Challenge Successful]
[Scoring and calculating rewards…]
[Player: Cheng Shi, Performance Rating: S]
[Item Obtained: Mockery Mask (B) x1]
[Item Obtained: Bewilderment Mask (A) x1]
[Item Obtained: Gratitude Mask (A) x1]
[Item Obtained: Satisfaction Mask (S) x1]
[Item Obtained: Desire Mask (B) x1]
[Path to Godhood +12]
[Ladder of Audience +2]
[Current Path to Godhood Score: 2116, Global Ranking: 471998]
[Current Ladder of Audience Score: 158, Destiny Ranking: 69]
[Trial Complete, Preparing to Exit]
His vision went dark again. When Cheng Shi opened his eyes, he was back on his rooftop. He looked across at the neighboring building and found the young man surnamed Xie lying bloody at the roof's edge, staring right at him.
Regardless of how many days passed within a Special Trial, everyone's end time was synchronized, just as the entry time was synchronized.
Cheng Shi offered an appropriate expression of sympathy for his wretched state.
"Big brother's got skills, survived another seven days."
The young man surnamed Xie nodded silently, lingering fear still etched across his face.
His trial clearly hadn't been easy.
Then again, neither had Cheng Shi's.
Cheng Shi suddenly thought of something and hurriedly checked the global survivor count.
[Current Global Follower Count: 7211293956]
!!!
One billion people dead!
Previous Special Trials killing tens of millions was already considered a lot. This time, a billion vanished in one go!?
They… accelerated.
A thread of fear and helplessness rose from Cheng Shi's heart. He looked at the storage shed he'd assembled on the rooftop, then touched the invisible wall before him, and gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Players? Playthings, nothing more."
If not for the unexpected, he and his teammates should have been among the billion eliminated. Yet the Meteor Fire Rain had spared them a way out.
Could it be because…
Cheng Shi pulled the pale die from inside his shirt.
This was the [Gods] token he had chosen for himself during Destiny selection: a die that could only roll a 1.
But later, across various trials, he'd learned that the Bone-Faced Die was originally the token of [Fate], and it should be able to roll any face. So what did his situation count as?
And then there were these Masks as rewards…
He strode quickly into the storage shed, opened a special door, and gazed at row upon row of white Masks lining acrylic display cases, sinking once more into deep thought.
Flattery, sycophancy, contempt, exuberant praise, apathy, indignation… dozens of Masks arranged in rows, each expression subtly different from the rest.
Yet their silhouettes were so strikingly alike: nothing more than a snow-white face with two shaped eye holes.
Cheng Shi had tried pressing these Masks to his own face before, but nothing happened. They didn't even fit properly.
"Ever since I obtained that talent, Special Trials stopped granting any other item rewards. What exactly are these Masks for?"
Cheng Shi sighed and looked blankly at his player panel.
[Cheng Shi, Male, 22]
[Destiny: Nihility]
[Faith: Deceit]
[Class: Priest]
[Path to Godhood: 2116, Global Ranking: 471998]
[Ladder of Audience: 158, Destiny Ranking: 69]
[Talents:
Lie Like Yesterday (SS): Deceit Faith Talent, Active. Your faith will temporarily be replaced by the faith of the most recent follower whose belief you have deceived.
Master of Deception (S): Deceit Faith Talent, Passive. Your lies are more easily believed by others. Unless the deceived target encounters a cognitive contradiction, they cannot detect your deception. Furthermore, you can sense all deceptive means used by anyone other than yourself.
Offering to the Void (S): Deceit Faith Talent, Active. When an item you fabricate does not exist but is widely acknowledged as existing by others, the item comes into existence.
Visage of the Masses (S): Deceit Faith Talent, Passive. Non-solo trial rewards will be replaced with the special item [Visage Mask]. This talent cannot be replaced by other talents.
Shared Divine Grace (S): Priest Class Talent, Active. Healing the same species produces a propagation effect. For each additional target, healing effect and healing range expand by one increment.
…]
[Items:
Die of Fate (Fixed) (S): You can never change the fate of this die.
Lips of the Fool's Game (Fused) (S): It likes to lie, whether you like it or not; it likes to deceive, including you.
Visage Masks (SABC): A thousand people, one face; a thousand faces, one person. Quantity: 47.
Prosperity of Yore (A): Healing elixir. Sought through memory, retraces and restores to the most flourishing past state. Quantity: 93.
…]
[Skills:
Basic Healing, Healing Chain, Light of Restoration, Calming Spell, Hypnosis, Curse Removal, Resistance Shield, Holy Light Prayer…]
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