Chapter 27 : Snowy Graveyard I

"A Seven-Star Nightmare… I guess I should quit the trial," Daniel muttered to himself in disbelief.

Unlike the Minor Trial, where the difficulty is only divided into dreams and nightmares, the main or major trials are not only categorized by dreams and nightmares but are also ranked from one to seven stars.

A Seven-Star Nightmare is known as the hardest type of trial, and more importantly, it has only appeared once in the entire history of this world—for a single individual.

What's more interesting is that even in the novel, the hero only went through a three-Star Nightmare in her first life and a Five-Star Nightmare in her second.

Even with all her cheats and golden fingers, the hero nearly died during the Five-Star Nightmare.

Daniel wasn't sure what decision to make. Even though he had full confidence in his abilities, a Seven-Star Nightmare was beyond his expectations.

Moreover, he was certain that this nightmare was caused by an anomaly like him. There was no mention of such a nightmare happening in the novel.

"The hero nearly died in a Five-Star Nightmare, but for me, a Five-Star Nightmare would only be difficult, not life-threatening," Daniel reasoned.

He was absolutely confident that he was stronger than the hero, at least compared to the her in the early stages of the novel.

Being a half-human, half-divine beast, along with the presence of the Chaos Core and his innate talent, Daniel believed it might not be impossible to overcome a Seven-Star Nightmare.

[ Host, please think twice. ]

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Daniel frowned.

[ You are indeed stronger than the hero in the novel, and a Five-Star Nightmare poses no fatal threat to you. However, a Seven-Star Nightmare is a completely different matter. ]

"The hero in the novel?" Daniel noticed the word novel used by the system, as well as the change in its usually emotionless tone when saying the word.

[ Yes, the hero in the novel is different from the hero of this world. Both are the same person, but their power levels differ significantly. ]

"How is that even possible?!" Daniel was stunned in disbelief. So far, he hadn't noticed any deviation in the main storyline, except for the Seven-Star Nightmare, which was most likely caused by his presence.

[ The moment you awakened the system and obtained the Primordial Dragon Template, Fate became aware of the anomaly—your existence. ]

[ Fate is responsible for maintaining balance in this world, and its current task is to ensure that the hero becomes the strongest person in the world. ]

[ However, with an uncontrollable anomaly like you, Fate naturally intervenes and introduces changes. ]

"So you're saying the hero became stronger because of me?" Daniel found this absurd. He hadn't expected Fate to be so ridiculous.

"Now I understand why so many people in the novel hated Fate," Daniel muttered, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Anyway, how big is the power gap between us?"

[ You're nearly equal, but if you fight her now, you'll definitely lose. In an evenly matched battle, luck is a crucial factor, and luck is on her side. ]

"Equal? Even with all the advantages I have?" Daniel hadn't expected the world to be so unfair.

[ That's correct. However, even I don't know what has caused her power growth. Additionally, the other key characters in the novel have also experienced varying degrees of power boosts. ]

Daniel sighed in frustration and decided to set aside this issue. No matter how angry he was, it wouldn't change anything. For now, he lacked the strength to stand against Fate.

He was only concerned about whether that bastard had also become stronger. If so, he truly was doomed.

"I'm will stay, What about you, Lady Emma?" Daniel turned to look at Emma.

At first, he was hesitant, but after realizing that Fate's interference had strengthened the key characters of the novel, he decided to take part in the trial.

Although his instincts told him there was a chance of death in this Seven-Star Nightmare, the rewards would undoubtedly be more valuable for a trial of this difficulty.

Moreover, powerful and high-potential Corruption Beasts were bound to exist in such a nightmare. Perhaps he could kill some of them, absorb Chaos Energy, and even turn them into Heralds.

"Naturally, I'll participate as well," Emma replied indifferently, though there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

She was certain that with her current strength, surviving a Seven-Star Nightmare was impossible, but the rewards were tempting, even for her.

Before meeting this half-brother of hers, she would have definitely declined such a trial. But after witnessing him and feeling the disparity in their power, she had to participate. She absolutely had to.

She had never felt such humiliation and helplessness before, except in the presence of her parents.

[ Time is up. ]

[ All those who chose 'No' have been removed from the trial. ]

[ Remaining participants: 11. ]

[ The Great Trial: Snowy Graveyard will begin in three minutes. ]

"It seems the descendants of the Vorhelm family aren't complete idiots," Daniel remarked. He had expected at least 50 participants to remain.

After all, at their age, people were often arrogant and believed they could overcome anything. But it seemed they weren't as foolish as he thought.

"That girl Olivia is probably still here. Maybe I should find her," Daniel thought. That girl held great value for his future plans, and he couldn't let her die so easily.

"What should we do?" Emma asked as she glanced at the corpses that were still burning in the fire.

"Even if the murderer is one of the family's descendants, it's likely they've already exited the trial. The only thing we can do is report this scene to the council," Daniel replied as he mounted Vorak.

"You're leaving?" she asked, glancing at him.

"Naturally. I don't think we're close enough to stick together. Besides, I have work to do," Daniel said. He had no intention of letting Emma tag along while he hunted Corruption Beasts.

He also needed to figure out and speculate on what the Great Trial would entail.

"I guess that's tru—" Before Emma could finish her sentence, something happened that drew both of their attention and made their eyes widen in shock.

"My god, what is that?!" Emma couldn't believe what she was seeing. How was such a thing possible?

Daniel frowned deeply, his eyes flashing with astonishment and disbelief.

The corpses, which had been burning just moments ago, began to decompose and turn into black molecules.

Nothing remained of them—not their limbs, skin, or even their blood. Everything transformed into black molecules.

Suddenly, all the black molecules floated upward, accelerating toward the sky at an incredible speed, heading to some unknown destination.

"Was that also because of the runes?" Emma asked. She had never read about or seen such a phenomenon before.

"I don't think so," Daniel replied, glancing at Vorak, who was trembling with fear.