Hundred Beasts Trial (3)

Spacetime twisted in front of Shen Long as he was teleported to a mountainous area. Shen Long felt slightly dizzy and sick due to the overpowering convulsion. He felt like his organs were slightly twisted, and it took him a while to regain his senses after crashing against the marshy ground. Fortunately, he didn't receive a severe injury, only some lingering pain in his forearm with scars.

Trees sheltered Shen Long from the terrifying, extreme heat, blasting from the luminous Sun. In front of him stood a mountain, but Shen Long's instinct was telling him that this place wasn't as simple as it seemed. The mountains were abnormally green, and it was filled with vibrant, multi-coloured flowers. However, there seemed to be a layer of transparent glass separating Shen Long and that area.

Approaching the glass-like boundary, Shen Long could feel a slight repulsion force, preventing him away from getting any closer. No matter how hard Shen Long attempted to touch the "invisible" barrier, he just couldn't touch it. He decided to throw a rock towards the barrier, and to his surprise, it bounced back onto his face and hit him in the eye.

"F*CK!" Shen Long shouted as the rock collided with his left eye. Although there was no blood, it still caused Shen Long to feel tremendous pain. "F*CK!? Is my cornea falling off? Oh my god. It's actually going to fall off. I don't want to be blind..." Shen Long had the urge to google, to check his symptoms, but he realised he didn't have a phone here.

Shen Long calmed himself down as he thought about the situation. It was obvious that the boundary actually existed, and it was impossible for Shen Long to bypass it. Shen Long felt like he was in a VRMMORPG, as there seemed to be rules and hidden commands. Well, Shen Long wasn't completely wrong. It definitely held many similarities with a VRMMORPG or just a normal MMO.

The only way to break out of this stage was to "beat the boss", and then he would magically teleport to a new floor, with a different, corresponding beast. Since Shen Long was wielding a sword, he felt like he was a character in an anime who was stuck in a video game, attempting to beat all 100 levels; the only difference being Shen Long was alone, and he was the only player in this so-called game.

(Avoiding copyright problems~, guess which anime? and which character?)

After recovering from his eye injury, about his cornea falling off, he spotted the monster who seemed fairly passive and cute to an extent. The "beast" looked like a cat, which was extremely fluffy. Instead of growling like a rattling monster, it just purred and meowed. Shen Long could not afford to slaughter such a cute, fluffy, adorable animal.

Just as Shen Long was about to stroke the kitty's head, Shen Long remembered that he was in a bloody trial. There was no way that there would be a freaking cat on the first level. Shen Long refused to believe what he was witnessing, so he used his "light novel" experience to think of the best solution to tackle this situation.

In all light novels, this would definitely be a trap, and the cat was definitely disguising as some sort of monster. Shen Long, after careful considerations, decided to take it safe, and continued to observe this fluffy animal before killing it. After a while, Shen Long was guaranteed that this wasn't some sort of illusions, nor any mirages.

It was just a normal cat which seemed to have a cultivation base. However, it seemed completely peaceful and harmless. Shen Long decided to pat it as he was extremely bored, and he couldn't resist against soft, fluffy pets. Just as his instincts were telling him, this cat was completely harmless. The cat even started to cuddle with Shen Long, like Shen Long was its owner.

What Shen Long didn't know was that this cat was actually a part of this trials. It indeed had the cultivation base of a Peak Saint, but its job was to test how resolute one's mind was. It wasn't just Shen Long who had a weak will; it was the same case for many beginner cultivators as well. Killing was absolutely inevitable, and having a kind heart would only cause disaster and bring calamities.

Since Shen Long was well-aware of the rules here, he knew that he must kill this adorable animal, in order to advance. Struggling between killing and giving up, he made up his mind as he chopped the cat into two parts. The cat had no way of retaliating, and Shen Long had killed it within one strike. Shen Long looked away as he couldn't stand to watch his merciless slaughtering, to this innocent cat.

Blood splashed onto Shen Long's face as the strike pierced through the cat's skull. It was sickening and metallic, and this odour diffused into every corner of the floor. Shen Long couldn't believe it that he actually managed to kill it. Before coming here, he hadn't even killed a chicken before. Shen Long's mind and soul had a qualitative change as he seemed to have matured instantly.

Shen Long expected to be pulled away by the unknown, chaotic force again to the next level. However, that didn't happen. Instead, he heard a ringing noise near one of the boundaries. Since Shen Long was a hardcore gamer, he immediately realised that he had "unlocked" a new area in this map. He strolled calmly to the new area, not revealing any emotions.

Since the monster on this floor wasn't an adorable animal, Shen Long killed it without hesitation as he continued to wipe through the next twenty levels effortlessly. After killing the twentieth monster, he realised that the entire "map" was unlocked. The entire forest was now accessible by Shen Long, and he could freely climb the mountains.

It hadn't even been two hours since Shen Long started the trials. The beasts that Shen Long encountered were too weak. They couldn't even resist a single strike from Shen Long, much less combating against him. However, Shen Long could definitely feel the increase in the beasts' strength, and it was gradually becoming harder.

Shen Long continued to explore the area as he looked around. Shen Long couldn't figure out the method to go to the next level. Unlike a modern Earth game, there wasn't a button for it, nor was there any teleportation scrolls. Shen Long continued to walk around the area, hoping to find some hints to the next level.

Shen Long was still fairly experienced in this. Since he enjoyed playing MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online games), Shen Long felt quite confident, and he was sure that he could find the way to the next level. Instead of randomly wandering around, Shen Long chose the direction - north - and decided to walk down this direction.

Of course, Shen Long wasn't walking aimlessly. It seemed like the world here wasn't infinite, and there was a finite boundary. He could faintly see the edge of the World as he stood on the peak of the mountain. Since the "North Boundary" was the closest, he decided to just walk down there and test his luck. He had nothing better to do anyway, so it was undoubtedly the best option for him.

Shen Long was hoping to meet NPCs here, to trigger some side-quests, on his way to the North Boundary. With his creative mind, he imagined himself being in an MMO, creating imaginary players and NPCs in his head. Since Shen Long was used to being single, he had developed this unique skill: talking to himself and his imaginary friends to make him feel less lonely.

And... it worked perfectly fine for Shen Long.

(Single Squad...)