Gardener of Eden

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Second Trial Rewards

The spatial distortion faded in a swirl of residual azure light, depositing Rowan back onto the pristine white marble platform at the foot of the trial staircase. The quiet hum of the ancient chamber welcomed him back, but as the spatial light settled, he felt a warm, soothing weight resting in his right hand.

Looking down, Rowan saw the crimson fruit he had harvested from the ancient evergreen canopy. The dark-gold, ominous runes and the heavy threat of the biblical curse were entirely gone, replaced by a soft, tranquil green luminescence that radiated pure, untainted vitality. The corrupting influence of the ”Fall of Man” had been completely neutralized by his Gardener of Eden authority during the trial’s completion, stripping away the curse of Eve and leaving behind a pristine artifact of absolute natural harmony.

A pale blue system window hovered briefly above his palm:

[Purified Apple of Eden]

[Description: A legendary fruit cleansed of all primordial corruption. Consuming this bestows a permanent boost to natural vitality and permanently purifies the body and soul of all latent toxins and status afflictions.]

A quiet, satisfied smile touched Rowan’s lips. Tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, he swept his hand across the air, safely transferring the purified fruit into a stasis-locked slot in his system inventory. A reward of that caliber was far too precious to consume on a whim—it was a high-tier miracle item worth keeping for a critical moment.

With his trial cleared flawlessly and his inventory secured, Rowan walked over to the bottom step of the marble staircase. He leaned his trusty hoe against the polished balustrade and took a seat on the cool stone, resting his elbows on his knees as he surveyed the grand room.

The large azure portal in front of him continued to ripple with steady spatial energy. Inside their own isolated trial dimensions, Princess Lyra, Caelen, Barney, Mirei, and Seraphina were undoubtedly facing unique challenges tailored specifically to their paths and combat styles.

Rowan pulled a canteen of fresh spring water from his belt, taking a slow, relaxed sip as the tranquil silence of the hidden chamber wrapped around him. The calm solitude was a welcome contrast to the chaotic two-hour boss fight they had just survived against the Gloom-Root Leviathan. Sitting back comfortably against the marble steps, he waited patiently for the rest of Squad 07 to step through the swirling blue light with their own victories in hand.

As Rowan rested on the white marble steps, the spatial archway flared with brilliant golden radiance. Princess Lyra stepped out first, a wide, triumphant smile lighting up her face as her runic sword hummed with a newly unlocked, radiant glow.

Right behind her came Mirei, calmly securing her longbow over her shoulder, followed closely by Caelen, who practically bounced out of the portal with a fierce grin after clearly enjoying a grueling combat test.

”Where are Barney and Seraphina?” Caelen asked, looking around the pristine chamber.

”Their paths likely involved deep, specialized tests,” Lyra noted, stepping beside Rowan with her eyes fixed on the rippling azure portal.

A significant amount of time passed before the spatial gateway churned violently once more. Seraphina emerged first, exhaling a long, exhausted breath and wiping a sheen of potion residue from her forehead. In her hand, she carefully cradled a crystal vial filled with a swirling, iridescent liquid.

Moments later, the heavy clatter of armor echoed through the chamber as Barney stepped through, covered in fine soot but grinning broadly while carrying a heavy, glowing chestplate over his arm.

”That was an absolute marathon,” Seraphina admitted, holding up her creation with a proud smile. ”My trial forced me to extract and synthesize unstable spatial reagents under precise conditions to craft a top-tier C+ quality elixir.”

”Mine wasn’t any easier,” Barney chuckled, tapping the dense, heat-treated alloy of the plate mail. ”I was thrown into a volcanic forge and tasked with hammering, folding, and enchanting rare ore into a top-tier C+ quality armor set. One bad strike and the whole thing would have melted.”

Rowan stood up, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat with an approving nod. ”Top-tier C+ quality crafted gear on top of our Level 10 breakthroughs... safe to say everyone made the absolute most of this hidden floor.”

With every member of Squad 07 victorious and carrying high-tier trial rewards, the group finally turned away from the portal platform, making their way back up the marble staircase into the main cavern. Leaving the hidden chamber behind, they set their sights on Glowstone Refuge, ready for a long-overdue, peaceful night of rest in the outpost.

***

As Squad 07 stepped back through the shimmering blue barrier into Glowstone Refuge, the atmosphere inside the outpost was noticeably taut. Guild Captain Marcus nearly choked on his tea the moment he spotted Princess Lyra walking through the gates completely unharmed. Pale and visibly sweating, the Guild Master immediately barked orders to his lieutenants, doubling the guard patrols along the perimeter and putting the anti-monster barrier on maximum alert. With the Imperial Guards having just purged a hidden cult cell under his watch, Marcus knew that even a minor second security breach would result in immediate stripped rank—or dire imperial consequences for his life.

Safely ensconced inside a private, quiet alcove at the outpost inn, the squad finally sat down to relax and compare the rewards from their individual hidden trials.

Rowan reached into his system window and produced the glowing, ruby-red fruit for a brief moment, letting the soothing, pure energy warm the table before sweeping it back into stasis.

”As you guys can see, it’s a primordial apple, untainted by mana and any source of atmospheric corruption,” Rowan said with a calm smirk, tipping his Enchanted Straw Hat. ”I’ll keep it and plant it when I head back home to Sunny Vale.”

Princess Lyra smiled warmly before unrolling a shimmering velvet cloth to present her own reward—a pair of exquisite, golden-hued arm guards radiating an intense solar warmth.

[Relic: Bracers of the Sun]

[+50 defense]

[+0.7 attack speed]

The relic pulsed with radiant energy, noticeably enhancing her defensive guard while granting her sword strikes staggering speed.

Next, Caelen eagerly unclasped a set of broad, obsidian-plated pauldrons etched with glowing red runes. Equipping them over his shoulders, his broad frame surged with immediate power as the piece bolstered both his physical defense and raw strength, perfectly complementing his frontline heavy-hitting style.

[Relic: Pauldrons of the Molten Hearth]

[+55 defense]

[+15 strength]

Mirei produced a sleek, feather-light cloak that seemed to blend seamlessly into the ambient shadows. Draping it over her armor, the garment granted a massive boost to her agility while unlocking a rare, hidden attribute—Perception—allowing her longbow sightlines to pierce through obscure atmospheric terrain.

[Relic: Cloak of the Phantom Gale]

[+15 agility]

[+5 perception] (Hidden Attribute)

Seraphina carefully placed a pair of silver-framed glasses onto the bridge of her nose. The specialized lenses hummed with subtle runic arrays, drastically elevating her wisdom and deep focus, allowing her to process complex alchemical formulas and battlefield variables twice as fast.

[Relic: Lenses of Divine Focus]

[+15 wisdom]

[+5 focus] (Hidden Attribute)

Finally, Barney rested a heavy, compact metallic miniature onto the table with a dull thud. It was a pocket-sized Enchanted Anvil etched with ancient dwarven glyphs. As a specialized blacksmithing tool, placing it beside his forge granted a slight chance to automatically upgrade the final grade of any item he crafted.

[Relic: Anvil of the Ancestral Forge]

[+10% chance to increase crafted item grade]

Surrounded by elite gear, high-tier trial trophies, and a fully secured floor, Squad 07 leaned back in their chairs, ready to enjoy a long, peaceful night of rest in Glowstone Refuge.