Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 750: The Trial Of The Hermit [Part 1]

After running as fast as he could, Alex soon arrived at a clearing.

There, he saw four giant plant monsters with countless wriggling vines around their bodies.

Nessia was currently hanging upside down from one of those vines, holding her skirt to prevent it from falling.

It seemed that she was more concerned about exposing her underwear than being captured by the plant monster.

However, the vines didn’t care about her opinion and coiled around her hands, pulling them and her legs apart.

“Red…” Alex muttered subconsciously after seeing something he shouldn’t have seen.

Nessia’s current situation made him remember an “H” scene that he had watched in the past.

However, he had no intention of letting the continuation of that scene come to pass.

“Aeris, Lapiz, save her,” Alex ordered as he summoned Everguard to charge at the monster that was currently holding his friend in a rather compromising position.

“Shield Charge!”

Alex still felt drained, so he channeled all the strength he could muster in this one single charge.

The moment he slammed on the plant monster, it let out a sickening shriek, then it soon began to tumble on the ground.

Aeris used that opportunity to unleash some Wind Blades, while Lapiz charged forward to catch Nessia, who was falling to the ground.

“Thank you,” Nessia said after Lapiz caught her safely in her arms.

“You’re welcome,” Lapiz replied before letting Nessia stand up on her own.

Meanwhile, Dim Dim had also joined the fray, throwing brittle vials that were filled with herbicides at the plant monsters.

The little bun was always prepared for every situation, and it truly enjoyed experimenting, so its arsenal of brittle vials was growing by the day.

“Eyah!” Dim Dim unleashed over a dozen brittle vials, targeting all four giant plant monsters.

The monsters instinctively felt that whatever was inside those vials were dangerous, so they lashed their vines at them, breaking them in the process.

However, that was a mistake.

The brittle vials shattered upon impact, drenching the monsters in a pungent green liquid.

At first, nothing happened.

Then, the vines touching the herbicide began to writhe violently.

The lush green color of their bodies rapidly faded into a sickly brown as smoke began to rise from the affected areas.

The monsters shrieked out in agony, thrashing wildly as entire sections of their vines withered before everyone’s eyes.

Knowing that they might truly be in danger, the giant plant monsters tried to escape.

The word here was “tried”.

Unfortunately, they had messed with Nessia, who specialized in Fire Magic.

“All of you are not getting away!” Nessia unleashed dozens of Fire Lances with a fury that made Alex pray silently for Charles.

He hoped that there wouldn’t come a day when the two of them had a falling out.

Alex had a feeling that when that time came, a Fire Lance on the bum would be the least of Charles’ worries.

The monsters shrieked as their bodies were soon covered in flames. At that moment, Nessia looked like an avenging angel. She hurled Fire Lances left and right with a face filled with indignation.

For some reason, one of her Fire Lances flew in Alex’s direction, as if punishing him for seeing something he shouldn’t have seen.

Fortunately, Alex had plenty of time to evade that attack. It seemed that Nessia had purposely made it slower.

When the plant monsters finally died, Dim Dim landed on top of Alex’s head and did a dabbing pose.

“Good job, Dim Dim,” Alex praised the little bun, who really did its best to protect its friends.

“Ahem!” Dim Dim raised its body proudly after being praised.

Though, just as they thought everything was over, rows of texts appeared in front of Alex. But this time, he wasn’t the only one who saw it.

Aeris, Nessia, and Lapiz saw it as well, making their faces turn solemn.

—————

[You have completed the First Challenge.]

[You now gained the qualification to challenge the Trial of the Hermit.]

—————

The forest around faded from existence, leaving a pitch-black world.

Only the clearing where they stood earlier had some light illuminating it.

A moment later, a golden portal appeared.

Alex, Aeris, Lapiz, and Nessia exchanged glances with each other.

“Looks like our only way out is into this portal,” Aeris said calmly before holding her sister’s hand. “We will enter the portal together. There is a chance that we might be separated after stepping inside.”

Lapiz nodded.

She was about to reach for Alex’s hand when Aeris’ hand shot out and claimed it first.

Lapiz looked at her outstretched hand for a few seconds, which Nessia soon took and held firmly.

“Let’s do this,” Nessia said. “We need to find the others, especially Charles. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Alex understood what Nessia was worried about. There was a good chance that this portal was actually a dungeon.

If the plant monsters were some kind of challenge, this meant that their friends, who were separated from them, might also be facing challenges of their own.

Of course, that was still fine. However, things would turn out differently if they all entered a portal that led to a dungeon.

Due to Charles’ passive ability, Challenger’s Mark, they might find themselves in an extremely dangerous situation the moment they entered the portal.

“Don’t worry, Nessia.” Alex looked at her with a smile. “Charles has become stronger than before. He will not be defeated so easily.”

“Y-You’re right,” Nessia replied. “I also gave him some runes to use during emergencies. He’ll be fine.”

The young lady said these words as if it was a mantra to convince herself that her lover was not in a situation that he couldn’t overcome.

“Come,” Aeris said, taking the lead toward the golden portal.

She held Lapiz and Alex’s hand tightly while doing so, as if she was afraid that both of them would be separated from her the moment they entered the portal.

Dim Dim narrowed its eyes at the sight of the portal, while holding onto Alex’s hair to prevent any accident from happening.

When they finally crossed over, something cold washed over Alex’s body, making him feel like a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over his head.

The young man shuddered uncontrollably for a few seconds before finally regaining his composure.

However, the moment he did, he found himself standing in what seemed to be a throne room where dozens of elves were lined up, all of them kneeling on the ground like knights swearing allegiance.

“All hail His Majesty!” one of the elves shouted.

“”All hail!””

“All hail King Aetherion!”

“”All hail!””

Alex’s body stiffened after hearing the words of the elves. This was his third time experiencing something similar to this, so he already understood his situation.

“King Aetherion…” Alex muttered.

A familiar name.

The name of the High King of the Elves who had founded the Kingdom of Faelarun.

Alex instinctively lowered his head in return, only to discover that he was no longer wearing the clothes he had entered Hy-Brasil with.

Instead, he was dressed in regal robes woven from white and gold fabric, alongside a purple cape draped over his shoulders.

Before he could make sense of the situation, memories that did not belong to him surged into his mind like a raging torrent.

Names, faces, victories, promises, and countless years of laughter flashed before his eyes, each one feeling as though he had personally lived through them.

Then, an elderly elf wearing ceremonial robes stepped forward and raised a jeweled crown with both hands, then spoke with a voice that echoed throughout the throne room.

“My liege,” the old elf declared solemnly. “It is time to begin your coronation.”

Alex’s body stiffened after hearing those words. This was his third time experiencing something like this, so he already understood what had happened.

At this moment, he was not merely witnessing a memory.

Instead, he had become the one living it.

The old elf slowly lowered the crown onto Alex’s head, while the young man subconsciously clenched his fists.

The Trial of the Hermit… had begun, and it would not end until Alex and his friends had completed whatever tasks were expected of them.

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A/N: I was supposed to write 2 chapters today, and I plan to move it to tomorrow. However, since I will be going to the hospital tomorrow, let’s move the 2 chapters on Tuesday instead. Thank you very much!

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