Just as Rhode expected.
As a matter of fact, the instant Erin stepped onto this mysterious land, she instinctively tried to return to her usual form. After all, this place felt too strange for her. For safety’s sake, she believed that transforming to her dragon form would ensure her safety. But shortly after, she discovered an unknown force imprisoning her body, stopping her from transforming. Not only that, but she also realized that her strength was diminished drastically. Just as Rhode predicted, even though Erin was a dependent of darkness, her rule was the rare ‘moon’. Although the moon was a source of light in the darkness, the moon didn’t exist in this world of shadow. In other words, this environment was the most disadvantageous for her, where she wouldn’t face such challenges even on Earth. But here, she had no choice but to face the dilemma of losing the moon’s support.
The endless flow of shadowy creatures hurled their attacks from all directions. As half-elemental creatures, they were already tough to defeat, not to mention Erin had trespassed into their nest and was attempting to annihilate them, which became even tougher. Not only that, but she found out that these shadowy creatures were also starting to devour her strength!
Erin could only blame herself for being unlucky as a dependent of darkness. Shadow and darkness were inseparable. Due to that reason, the source of her power could be said to be similar to these shadowy creatures. She realized that even though she repelled the shadowy creatures, they became much stronger in their comeback.
“This won’t work, Leader.”
The group watched Erin’s predicament through the magical crystal. Mini Bubble Gum knitted her brows and said with some concerns. At that moment, even though Erin faced the ambushes skillfully, Rhode, Icy Snow, and Mini Bubble Gum knew that in Shadow Ravine, combat force wasn’t the most crucial. There were special rules in Shadow Ravine, but judging from Erin’s retaliation, it was apparent that she hadn’t realized it. If she continued this way, perhaps she would end up horribly, like the players who tried to open up Shadow Ravine, not to mention completing the trial!
Although Rhode wished to give her some hints or advice, it was a pity that they weren’t spiritually connected. Besides, since the other party was able to shackle Erin’s dragon form, it also meant that in order to prevent cheating, there must surely be a barrier to stop others from communicating with her during the trial. That was why all Rhode could do was to sit and observe, waiting for her to discover the rules of Shadow Ravine.
In the eyes of ordinary people, there was no reality in Shadow Ravine. No matter what one witnessed, they were all illusions, surreal, and out of this world. The same went for these shadowy creatures. It was tough to deal damage to them and they were also challenging to eradicate.
But in the eyes of players, there was only one thing in Shadow Ravine that was real.
And apart from that, there was nothing else.
“…”
Erin let out a sigh. She finally wiped out a wave of shadowy creatures and now, she realized that something was strange about this place. She highly doubted that she eradicated all the shadowy creatures because during the battle, she swept glances at several of them who were crushed by her. And now, they made a comeback as though nothing changed. It was apparent that the enemies in this space were tough to kill. Besides, considering that since this was a trial, it should be expected that she couldn’t rely upon brute force to trample her way through…
What exactly in this world do I need to look out for?
“Hmm?”
At this thought, her heart sank. A few seconds ago, she lifted her head instinctively to glance at the tower in the distance. But to her surprise, she had walked for so long and yet, the distance didn’t seem to shorten at all. There was obviously something bizarre going on! Even though Erin’s strength was restrained so she couldn’t fly in her dragon form, she had sprinted her way toward the tower. Although she was in human form, her speed was absolutely quick. According to her, she would have at least covered half the distance already. But now, the tower didn’t seem to be any closer to her as it continued to stand tall on the far horizon!
Something is fishy!
Erin came to a halt suddenly, staring at her surroundings in alertness. For this to happen, either she was struck by an illusion spell, or she made a wrong move. But no matter which was it, the current situation was disadvantageous to her. She hoped to arrive at the tower as soon as possible before continuing with her mission. But she didn’t expect to fall into a trap so soon.
“This trial sure is troublesome.”
Unlike Erin, Rhode recognized the problem with one glance. This was the experience of players. Every player had to complete trials repeatedly, until they were sick of them. They had to pass trials in order to advance in class and rank and activate hidden missions. Players criticized the game for requiring the passing of trials and tests repeatedly, when they only graduated from high school or college in real life. In the end, the amount of tests and trials in the game were more than in reality!
Due to that reason, almost every top player had extraordinary experience with trials and tests. But it was a pity that Erin didn’t. Rhode couldn’t help but feel concerned upon witnessing Erin coming to a halt and scanning the place with knitted brows. He exchanged looks with Mini Bubble Gum and Icy Snow. They spotted the glints of worries in one another’s eyes. Perhaps Anne, Angelina, and Cassidy weren’t aware of this profound mystery, but the trio who were top players who had completed all sorts of trials in Dragon Soul Continent, they instantly recognized that Erin had fallen into a trap!
They had to admit that this so-called Dark Dragon’s trial was indeed demanding. Firstly, the map was Shadow Ravine. Second, the Dark Dragon’s heir had to be a dependent of darkness, which led to the heir having the same attribute as the map, so killing her way through was simply impossible. Moreover, Erin’s luck was also horrible. She held the one and only ‘light attribute’ rule among all the darkness ones. She was under so much pressure that she couldn’t even lift her head proudly in Shadow Ravine.
Besides, Rhode was also aware that Erin had three chances to request for help from the dragon young ladies. Although the three chances seemed like useful opportunities, players clearly knew that it was a trap! If Erin were to call for help, she would be putting herself to death! This trial wasn’t like any ordinary advancement trials, but it involved the inheritance of the dragon soul, which was definitely several times tougher!
Moreover, Erin was also pressed for time because the dragon young ladies wouldn’t be waiting for her. According to them, they needed 36 hours at most. If they were able to dismantle the dragon imprisonment ritual and stop the Dark Dragon’s power from being drained, it would mean that Erin’s mother would be killed instantly. If Erin wanted to save her mother, she would need to pass the trial in 36 hours.
In an absolutely disgusting and endless map that also suppressed her strength, Erin had to find clues within 36 hours to pass the trial… Moreover. she was also a newbie to this trial… Rhode just couldn’t see how this moon princess could succeed.
But what made Rhode relieved was that even though Erin wasted almost half an hour, she appeared to be calm and didn’t begin to be impatient over wasting time. If not, Rhode would perhaps force the two dragon young ladies to pull Erin out of the trial.
It went without saying that Erin knew the current situation wasn’t favorable for her. Despite that, she remained extremely calm because she knew that her mother’s life was at risk. That was why she calmed herself down and sized up everything cautiously. Shadow Ravine… This name also emerged in her head. After all, she seldom left home, but had read countless books. This world was enveloped in darkness everywhere and was also the territory of shadowy creatures. At that moment, Erin naturally came up with a thought.
Shadow Ravine… Shadow Ravine…
At this thought, Erin’s eyes glinted!
At the next moment, she raised her right arm abruptly. A dazzling brilliance erupted from her palm, extending in all directions.
“Gaaaa——!”
As the moonlight emerged, the darkness shrouding over the land faded away like melted snow. This attack from Erin also agitated the shadowy creatures as they swarmed her yet again. But this time, she didn’t counterattack. On the contrary, the moment the brilliance exploded, she swept a glance to the side. Then, she twitched her brow!
She spotted an extraordinarily eye-catching and long shadow across the land illuminated, by the splendid moonlight. At a glance, one would think that it was the shadow of the tower. But Erin instantly realized that the shadow wasn’t as simple as imagined!
Now’s the chance!
The instant she noticed the shadow, she unsheathed her sword without hesitation. In blinding, flickering blade lights, the shadowy creatures crowding her were struck away. Shortly after, she transformed into a bolt of lightning that zoomed toward the long shadow on the ground. The moment she neared, she extended her palm and held her ground.
At the next moment, heaven and earth reversed.
The vast land disappeared in the blink of an eye, while the extended shadow became a tall tower that rose to the sky. Innumerable shadowy creatures screeched as they fell from the sky, before vanishing in the pitch-black sea of fog underneath.
“Phew…”
Erin heaved a sigh of relief. She flipped over abruptly and stood at the top of the tower.
At that moment, a sentence in dragon text appeared before her eyes.
“The first trial is about to begin.”
