“What happened, Leader?”
“Did we do something wrong?”
Not only was Rhode furious, but Angelina, Anne, and the others also turned to him dubiously. The current situation was far from good. Everyone expended almost all their strength in the earlier battle. They thought the battle was about to end after eliminating the shadow dragons. But now, it wasn’t considered completed yet? Upon hearing the announcement, not only did Rhode almost extend his middle fingers, but his group also pulled long faces. It seemed like this made them personally experience how annoying and depressing the trials were…
As for Erin, she was so exhausted that she couldn’t speak a word. Even though she learned the skill to use her spiritual powers to coalesce into dragon form, she didn’t expect it to be so exhausting. A few moments ago, she had almost used up all her strength. She didn’t have much strength for battle for now.
Where exactly went wrong?
But unlike the rest, Rhode puckered his brows and pondered deeply. They arrived here and started a battle against the shadow dragons… This was a part of the trial? No, it shouldn’t be that simple. The Dark Dragon was cunning and shameless, so a trap wouldn’t be this obvious. Every inheritance ceremony was related to the dragon soul power; this stage was no exception either. Besides, this stage shouldn’t be testing the strength of dragon soul heir…
Hmmm?
At this thought, Rhode’s eyes glinted.
Firstly, the Dark Arena was definitely used for battles. Secondly, there were at least two participants, which meant that when the former Dark Dragon designed this trial, it predicted that there might be more than two dragon soul heirs. But in the end, only one of them was able to inherit the dragon soul. According to this theory, there should be one final winner after the massacre.
But… Is it really logical?
At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help but glance at Erin who stood by the side. She was also a dragon soul heir. Besides, even if she didn’t inherit the Dark Dragon’s power, she still possessed strong battle strength. She didn’t rely upon the dragon soul power to gain her intelligence, but Ion and her treated each other with respect. Rhode understood Erin well. Even if she knew that she was a dragon soul heir, she most likely wouldn’t snatch the position from Ion. Hypothetically, if it were Erin and Ion in this arena, in what ways would they confirm who would be the rightful dragon soul heir? It couldn’t possibly be through verbal commitment, right…?
Could it be…?!
At this thought, Rhode lifted his head suddenly.
“Everyone, hand over your crystals to Erin. Now, hurry!”
“Huh?”
Anne and the rest were stunned. Despite that, they didn’t hesitate for long. They reached into their pockets and passed the crystals to Erin quickly. Even though Erin didn’t know why Rhode gave such a command at that moment, she also knew this wasn’t the time to be questioning his decision. As a result, Erin didn’t give it much thought, but stretched out her arms to accept the crystals from everyone instead.
Ding———!
The moment Rhode handed over his crystal to Erin, a crisp sound echoed. Shortly after, the crystals on Erin’s palms began to revolve, float, and flutter in midair. A silver-whitish light column descended from above, shining on the spot in front of her. The crystals flew into the light column, fused, and coalesced into a brand new form gradually. The unknown crystals that were in their possession merged and transformed into a beautiful, white scepter!
“Leader, you did it!”
Looking at this scene, even though Anne didn’t know how Rhode did it, it was apparent that he succeeded. Anne couldn’t help but raise her arms and cheer in excitement. Meanwhile, Icy Snow who stood by the side gazed at him in astonishment, before asking curiously.
“Big Brother, how did you come up with that?”
Upon hearing Icy Snow’s question, Rhode forced a smile, extended his arm to stroke her long hair, and said.
“As a matter of fact, my guesses were right from the start. Since we arrived here upon receiving the crystals, it is almost certain that this stage is related to those crystal fragments. As the trial is too despicable, it didn’t give us much time to consider the situation, but released the shadow dragons as soon as we arrived here instead. Facing the shadow dragons, we definitely need to get rid of them. But in the Shadow Ravine, it is impossible to annihilate them all. Besides, the true goal of this trial isn’t to battle. Dragon soul heirs are the rulers of the lands under the dragon soul protections. As a ruler, the priority is to gain the confidence and the respect of everyone. Be it respect or fear, people have to surrender to the dragon soul heir unconditionally. Therefore, the true goal of this dark arena is to see whether the dragon soul heir who arrived here is capable enough to gain the recognition of other dragon soul heirs!”
“I see… No wonder I feel like something is wrong.”
Angelina nodded in agreement. In fact, this trial fitted the characteristics of the undead. That was why from the start, she felt like the methods were really familiar. But it was a pity that she didn’t have much time to ponder. With her strength, it was tough enough for her to ensure that she wasn’t dismembered by the shadow dragons, not to mention considering trivial matters. However, it didn’t matter to her. Erin should have been the dragon soul heir of the Dark Dragon and Angelina had no intention of getting involved. As for the rest, they weren’t mindful either. They were followers of Rhode, so they didn’t care about the Dark Dragon’s inheritance. But… The situation wasn’t that simple.
“Big Brother, we’re lacking one crystal!”
At that moment, Icy Snow yelled. Upon hearing her voice, Rhode was startled. He lifted his head and looked at the light column. Indeed, the crystal fragments had fused completely, but the tip of the white scepter was still lacking one crystal!
Dang it!
Rhode couldn’t help but curse. It seemed like the crystal fragments were distributed according to the number of challengers. And now that Mini Bubble Gum wasn’t around, the last piece of crystal fragment couldn’t be fused. Without the last piece of crystal, the scepter couldn’t be completed and Erin wouldn’t be able to receive the dragon soul power… Rhode didn’t expect to fall short at the final moment. Come to think of it, where exactly had Mini Bubble Gum gone to?!
But before Rhode came up with a solution to resolve the issue, that old voice resounded in their ears again.
“Alright then. For the second test, you shall face a stronger enemy…”
Along with that voice, the steel fences enfolding the arena rumbled at the same time, before opening on the left and right. Looking at this scene, Rhode was stunned. The steel cage over the arena was nothing good, to begin with. And now, shadowy creatures were about to descend from above and encircle them? In that case, it seemed like Rhode’s only hope left was to activate his ‘cheats’ and break through the limit on his strength…
Rhode gripped his sword and stared at the darkness in front of him. As expected, an enormous shadow appeared in just a few moments, darting toward his group!
It’s massive!
Staring at the enormous shadow, Rhode’s heart sank to the bottom. The shadowy creature was much larger than the two-headed shadow dragon. What made matters worse was that Rhode was the only one with battle strength right now. It was imaginable if he were to take on such a gigantic BOSS following a normal strategy, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Seems like I can only rely upon myself now…
At this thought, Rhode narrowed his eyes. He was prepared for battle, but before that, he had to identify the enemy before deciding his next move. Then…
Hmm?
While Rhode observed the enemy and was about to strike, the enormous creature grew larger and came closer…
Why does it seem to be moving really quickly?
“Everyone, retreat immediately!”
Rhode commanded, backing off at the same time. Anne and Erin, who stood by the side, stepped back swiftly and stared at the sky. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the enormous creature charged straight into the dark arena without stopping. In a loud bang, the enormous creature slammed onto the middle of the dark arena, raising a massive cloud of dust.
Damn, the way this BOSS showed up is a little too grand, huh? It also plunged head-first…
Rhode and Icy Snow widened their eyes in shock. As the heavens attested, they fought more than thousands of BOSSes, but this was their first time witnessing such a grand entrance for one. Did they still stand a chance against it? Wouldn’t they be wiped out instantly?
The moment that enormous creature slammed onto the ground, Rhode caught a glimpse of its identity. If he weren’t mistaken, it should be the same shadow dragon… But if they were the same, crashing onto the ground head-first would snap its neck already.
As Rhode considered whether he should step closer, a pure, white light column descended from above all of a sudden, blasting on the ground.
Boom!
Along with the loud bang, Rhode felt the ground beneath his feet tremble violently. The cloud of dust fluttering in the arena also scattered. Up until that moment, everyone witnessed that it was actually a Skeletal Dragon that landed! However, the Skeletal Dragon’s massive body was already covered in scars and cracks. Not only that, but its head was also smashed into a terrible mess. Its neck had also shattered just like Rhode anticipated. But… No matter how he looked at it, it was completely done for. Why did they need to face this creature for the next stage of the trial? That wasn’t logical at all. This creature was already dead, wasn’t it?
“Master, this Skeletal Dragon was the one trapped in the dragon prison!”
At that moment, Angelina, who sneaked over to size up the creature, spoke immediately. Rhode had never seen this dragon before. However, Erin and Angelina did, so they recognized instantly that it was that dragon who was locked up by the exit. But… What was it doing here?
“Roar…!”
While Rhode and Erin exchanged looks of confusion, the dragon with a battered head snapped its jaw open and let out deep snarls. Everyone took several steps back in fear. Could it be that this was the exact form of the Skeletal Dragon? And it just couldn’t be defeated? In that case, this spelled trouble!
Boom!
What exceeded everyone’s expectation was that when they were preparing to deal with the Skeletal Dragon, another light column landed from above, striking the Skeletal Dragon’s head. This time, the Skeletal Dragon uttered a wail and stopped moving. But for some unknown reason, Rhode thought the light column seemed really familiar…
Almost at the same time, he heard an even more familiar voice.
“So what if you’re a BOSS?! How dare you steal my crystal! Are you sick of living already?! Come and snatch it from me again if you dare! Aren’t you capable of flying? Weren’t you acting all high and mighty? Come on. Get into 300 more battles with me! Just a stupid Skeletal Dragon and you even dare touch my stuff. Touch it again if you dare. I’ll break all your bones!”
That voice…
“Bubble?”
Rhode gazed at the Skeletal Dragon and asked. Shortly after, the group witnessed a petite figure jumping out from the side of the huge dragon. Yes, it was the same Mini Bubble Gum who had gone missing!
“Ah, Leader!”
Upon noticing Rhode, Mini Bubble Gum revealed a delightful expression. She jumped off the dragon and scuttled toward him.
“Where is this place? All of you are here already, huh? I’m not late, right!”
“You came… quite quickly. But what’s going on?”
Rhode said, gazing dubiously at the Skeletal Dragon. After all, he couldn’t contact Mini Bubble Gum and moments ago, the Skeletal Dragon crash-landed, which was really strange. Upon hearing his question, Mini Bubble Gum’s eyes glinted. She tugged his sleeve and began to narrate her experience hurriedly.
As a matter of fact, Mini Bubble Gum didn’t have it better. She was thrown directly into the ancient battlefield of the Shadow Ravine, an extremely dangerous place. The so-called ancient battlefield was, in fact, the projection of the Creation War. For that reason, that place could be considered to contain the projections of all races in the Dragon Soul Continent and they were all difficult to deal with. If it were someone else who arrived there, they wouldn’t be able to survive. Fortunately for Mini Bubble Gum, she was the ‘light maiden’. Even though her actions were nothing like a maiden’s, player classes were what they were, so no one could do a thing about it…
It was imaginable how the projected shadowy army feared Mini Bubble Gum like mice meeting a cat. It went without saying that the violent Mini Bubble Gum wouldn’t let go of this opportunity to wreak havoc. As a result, she devastated the battlefield. The light column that Icy Snow witnessed earlier was also proof of Mini Bubble Gum’s glorious battle.
Mini Bubble Gum didn’t waste too much time wiping out the critters. In just a few moments, she annihilated all the enemies on the ancient battlefield. Of course, she also spotted the crystal, which was located at the top of the tower in the middle of the battlefield. Just when she picked up the crystal, the Skeletal Dragon appeared all of a sudden, swooped down, and snatched it from her hand. Not only that, but the Skeletal Dragon also taunted her. That was when it stabbed a hornet’s nest. In the game, Mini Bubble Gum was so vicious that she didn’t even bother about game masters. After the crystal was snatched away from her, she blew her top, gave chase, and beat up the blatant thief. Even though the Skeletal Dragon was ferocious, Mini Bubble Gum wasn’t one to be trifled with either. Moreover, her holy power was highly effective against the undeads. They fought their way through and after an unknown period when the Skeletal Dragon was at its last gasp, a magical ritual appeared underneath them and transported them to the arena…
I see…
After listening to Mini Bubble Gum’s narration, Rhode couldn’t help but lament that the Skeletal Dragon was talented in seeking death, choosing to taunt Mini Bubble Gum out of everyone… But now wasn’t the time for that as more important matters were still at the back.
“Bubble… You have a piece of crystal with you, right?”
“Crystal? Oh, right! This one!”
Upon hearing Rhode’s query, Mini Bubble Gum clapped her palms together hurriedly and reached into her pocket to retrieve a crystal fragment—the final piece of crystal for the scepter! Upon witnessing the crystal fragment, Rhode and Erin exchanged joyous gazes. Rhode made Mini Bubble Gum hand the crystal over to Erin. The moon princess accepted the crystal and placed it into the light column. As soon as the crystal entered the light column, the light column that enfolded the white scepter shone ever brighter.
Everyone stared at the pure, white scepter. After a few moments, the final piece of crystal finally fused with the scepter completely.
At the same time, the dark arena began to rumble all of a sudden.
