Chapter 17 - Trail ( 1 )

I looked in the direction the arrow was coming from and saw a group of three people coming from the bushes.

One female has a bow in her hand and quivers at her back. The arrow must come from her. The other 2 are males. One with big shield and hammer and the other has a sword in his hand.

I used SCAN on them.

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Name – Jerry Owen

Rank – E

Race – Human ( Male )

Bloodline – None

Skills - < Omitted >

Wakness – right hand. Slow reaction

Status – Normal

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Name – Shade Wart

Rank – E

Race – Human ( Male )

Bloodline – None

Skills - < Omitted >

Weakness – right leg and left hand

Status – Normal

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Name – Shila Wart

Rank – E

Race – Human ( Female )

Bloodline – None

Skills - < Omitted >

Weakness – less stamina and defence

Status – Normal

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All are E rankers with no bloodline or any strong skills. Let's see what they want. I have my mask on so I am not afraid of exposing my identity.

" Why do you attack me?" ( David )

I used the skill of the mask to change my voice and ask them.

The trio stopped at some distance away from me. I can feel that they have bad intentions but let's listen to them first without jumping to conclusions.

The man in the middle has better gear compared to others and looking at the same last names of the other two I think they might be a couple or relatives. The man with the sword answers my question.

" hello fella, the thing is as we were going from here when we heard a loud voice coming from here so we came to check it. After arriving here we saw you picking all the mutant bodies and leaving just like nothing happened. Using such things to hunt mutants can cause serious trouble for others so we want an explanation from you. Tell us how many mutants do you hunt? What method do you use to make this explosion? You better cooperate with us or else...…" ( Jerry )

Before Jerry could complete his speech I used my skill of instant movement and arrived in front of him. I moved my sword and cut off his head in a single attack.

Just as the head fell on the ground other two reacted. The woman fired the arrow in my direction and another swung its hammer at me.

Nice reaction I must say but pity they met me. The potion's effect has yet to fade. I am now in my strongest state.

I approached the ranger Shila but the man Shade stood in front of me.

" do you have any idea who you just killed. He was the brother of a powerful ranker. Their family runs a guild and ..." (Shila)

" Will you guys let me leave alive if I get caught by you. What does his identity matter to me if he is gonna kill me sooner or later. Dieying now or later you know what to choose." ( David )

I cut off the word of Shila and continued to fight with them. As I said I can already feel their malicious toward me so killing them directly can save me a lot of trouble.

As for offending a powerful enemy, I do not care. Survive today and think about tomorrow later.

I dodged the incoming arrows and attacked the weakness of the shade.

I struck his legs which caused him to lose balance and finding the right opportunity I pierced his heart.

" Please let my sister go away. It's not her fault." ( Shade )

Saying his last words the man falls on the ground. The ranger who had lost her brother and protection screamed in despair.

She dropped her weapons and ran into the woods. I chased after her.

While running I slashed off her back. Shila lost her balance and rolled on the ground. With the help of the tree, she got up and looked at me in anger.

To be honest this woman is kind of beautiful but pity. Well, all rankers have good body and face. It is like mana is slowly cleaning their bodies and making them perfect. Anyway, the woman is saying something.

" I curse you. You will die the same like me and my brother. I curse yo….." ( Shila )

I cut off her neck and gave her quick death. As for her curses, I ignore them. As if a curse can kill someone directly.

I searched her body and took all of her equipment. I dragged her body near the fight location. I placed three bodies together and stored them in the bag.

After making sure I had not left any clue I left the area. I fear that someone else like them might come here after hearing the sound of an explosion.

I went to the den of the cat mutants and killed all remaining cat mutants including the female, and elderly. I also killed the cubs too.

Nip the trouble in the bud. I do not want to leave hidden dangers behind.

I returned to the cave and emptied all the bodies of the cat mutants. I placed the key in them.

The key started to absorb the mutant corpses while I took care of the new trouble.

I take out the bodies of the rankers I killed. I searched them carefully and found some good items.

On the body of Jerry Owen, I found these things.

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Name – fire snake talisman

Rank – D ( rare )

Type – consumable

Skills – fire snake summon ( D ) ( Active ) – summon a D-ranked fire snake as a follower. Summoners can command the summoned beast however they want.

Uses – 1/3

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Name – Storage ring

Rank – D ( Rare )

Type – prop

Description – can store and take things from the ring. The ring has 10*10 cu.m. space.

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I did not expect to get such a good harvest from nowhere. I opened the storage ring. There are lots of messy items and some personal belongings.

I burned all the useless stuff and kept the useful stuff like the equipment of these people.

I also got a bag filled with mana store costing about 5 million in the storage ring. Jerry must been a young master of a wealthy and powerful family.

Let's hope they will not come to trouble me or else. Hehe.

The key absorbed all the bloodline essence of the corpses and glowed brightly.

The shadow storage is now full and I can use the third skill now.

I disposed of the bodies of the rankers by feeding them to some mutants. Before that, I made sure that I did not miss anything on them by using SCAN multiple times on them.

I even used my status to see if I had any silent tracking spells on me or not. I even checked their equipment multiple times to see if any of them had tracking spells on them or not.

Finding nothing serious I disposed them properly. Maybe the family did not take these people seriously at all.

After getting rid of all the matters I used the third skill of the shadow key.

The shadow key glowed in purple light and those weird letters started to move.

Soon two dots appeared on the plate. One green and one red. The arrow appeared in front of the green dot and pointed towards the red dot.

Once I changed my direction the arrow also changed its direction and continued to point towards the red dot.

It is like Google Maps showing me where to go. There is still some time before the sunset.

I decided to follow the map and get there as soon as possible.

I followed the arrow and moved deeper into the forest. Soon I left the tier 3 area and entered the tier 4 area.

Please the location is in the tier 4 area. At least I can run from tier 4 mutants but if I meet the tier 5 mutants I can not even escape.

Strangely by following the arrow, I did not encounter any mutants as if the arrow was guiding me on a safe route.

I arrived near the big mountain wall. In shadow forests, lots of similar-sized mountains exist in different areas with different sizes. The arrow continued to point toward the mountain wall till I reached a certain area.

The key in my hand flew out of my hand and got stuck on the wall of a mountain.

A purple-coloured vortex appeared behind the key and started to expand. I recognise the vortex. It is a space gate but why is this purple?

Soon the gate expanded about 2.5 metres and stooped. The key flew back into my hand.

The moment has arrived. It's in my hands whether should I take the unknown risk or turn back.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside the portal.

My body got sucked into the portal.

After my vision got restored I found myself in a strange space. Everything around me is covered in darkness.

The key in my hand is missing but all my other stuff is present.

Just as I was freaking out a light appeared in front of me.

A big screen opened and letters appeared on it.

The letters are in simple mana language which is easy to understand.

[ hello adventurer. Are you ready to take part in the trails? If you complete all the trails you can get very handsome rewards. Penalty for failing is thrown out of the trail area and removal of all the memories related to trail area and key.]

[ do you accept the first trial? Yes or No ]

I clicked on the yes and my vision turned dark.

After my vision was restored what greeted me was an endless desert.

All my gear and bag also missing. I only have ordinary clothes and a water bottle made of leather used in the desert. As I got confused about the sudden change a screen appeared in front of me.

[ Welcome to the trail of persistence. Walk as far as you can without taking any breaks. The time ratio of the trial to the real world is different so the challenger did not have to worry about time spent during trials. Good luck ]

A simple and easy-to-understand task. There Is no mention of the trails in the novel so I have no idea what I will face from now on.

I prepared myself for unknown challenges. I took a deep breath and started to walk into the endless desert.

Fortunately, the time ratio in the trial is different than outside the world or I may miss the academy date.

During my walking, I started to speak to the system.

'07, can I still use the system and its functions? ( David )

[ host can use all system functions in the trial but it is recommended not to use any of the system functions unless necessary as it may cause some trouble to the host in completing the trial. ]

[This trail area is very sensitive towards any type of external interference so using the system functions may cause negative results. But if the host wants to use the system functions he can do as he pleases.]

I let out a sigh of relief. At least I have some assurance even if things get out of hand. Well, I did not plan to use the system in trials but it depends on the situation.

I continued to walk in a straight line at a steady pace. I drink water only if I need it.

After walking for 3 days all my water is used. This desert did not have night. Only harsh sunlight.

For the rest of the journey, I have to rely on my willpower. Strange sounds appeared in my ears telling me to stop and take a break. I ignored these voices and continued my journey without stopping. I walked and walked and continued to walk in the desolate desert.

4 more days passed and my body has reached its limit. My whole body is dehydrated and I am walking relying on my will only but my will can not overcome the limits of my body infinitely so on the 7th day I collapsed on the sand.