MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1616: Breaking Barriers: The Third Trial (11)

To no surprise, once Ataraxia heard that he had gotten the highest score possible on the first criterion of the trial, the young man felt reinvigorated to give it his all in the subsequent tests that followed.

Of course, knowing that he spent a great amount of energy just to reach the maximum speed his skill allowed him to reach, the young man still prioritized recovering all of the energy and stamina he used throughout that first test.

Nevertheless, that did not stop him from asking Aeramis for more information regarding the next few tests that followed, which gave him a rough idea of what was to come during his first attempt at the third trial.

Eventually, after thoroughly going through the experiences he gained during the first test in his mind, Ataraxia told the man that he was ready to proceed with the test that involved the next criterion.

”Alright.” Nodding in response, Aeramis pointed at the desert and the swamp at the same time, briefly reminding the young man of the information the former shared with him before the start of the trial.

”With speed out of the way, let us move onto maneuverability.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as those words left his mouth, the man went ahead and infused a bit of energy into the stone pillars dotting both areas, causing all of the stone pillars to start moving in random directions.

”Unlike the simple goal of the first test, for the second test, you will have to swerve and pass through as many stone pillars as possible within the area you’ve chosen,” explained the man, to which Ataraxia nodded in understanding.

”Keep in mind that both areas have 200 stone pillars dotting its entire area. Your score is determined by the total number of stone pillars you swerve and pass through until you get hit by one.”

”Of course, to avoid the possibility of witnessing you continuously swerving through one specific pillar 200 times for the entirety of the test, any pillar you swerve through shall change colors, signifying that you have already passed through that pillar.”

”As for the possibility of swerving a pillar more than once...” Aeramis’ expression turned solemn after that. ”Aside from the pillar in question changing into another color, let’s just say that there’s a deduction to the final score in that situation.”

”Any other questions?”

Although he spent a bit more time wrapping his head around the mechanics of the second test, Ataraxia eventually shook his head in response to the man’s question, showing that he fully understood.

Faintly nodding back at the young man in satisfaction, Aeramis soon went ahead and signaled the start of the second test, prompting the former to choose whether he would take his second test within the desert region or the swamp region.

Then again, considering that he had already tested the incomplete version of his movement skill in the desert region, it was no surprise that Ataraxia ended up choosing the desert as his location for the second test.

”Begin.”

Whoosh!

At the very moment Aeramis gave him the signal he was waiting for, the young man swiftly fired up the circuit within his body, only to then redirect it towards the soles of his feet as he zoomed towards one of the nearest stone pillars.

Swoosh!

Making use of the 15 movements that made up his current skill, Ataraxia was able to easily swerve through his first stone pillar, which caused its surface to take on a light blue color.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Then, utilizing the momentum he had saved from passing the first stone pillar, the young man went ahead and passed through a few more, signaling the start of his quest to dodge all 200 pillars within the desert.

Fwoosh!

Though Ataraxia now showed greater control over his movement skill thanks to the experience he gained during the first test, there were still areas of the skill he hadn’t used that often that caused him to slip up while passing through some of the pillars.

Because of that, it had more or less become inevitable that the young man ended up falling victim to one of them, cutting his conquest of stone pillars short to where he was only successful in dodging around a third of them.

Unsurprisingly, seeing that Ataraxia’s attempt in clearing all 200 pillars was cut short due to his lack of experience, a slight hint of remorse appeared on Aeramis’ face as he came up to the young man.

”I could tell that you have what it takes to clear all 200 pillars,” said the man, briefly being reminded of the young man’s attempts during the second trial. ”Sadly, it seems that luck wasn’t on your side this time around.”

Letting out a faint sigh at those words, he continued, ”Though you weren’t able to pass through all 200 pillars in the desert, you were still able to dodge 69 of them, allowing me to give you a score of two for the second test.”

’At least I’m guaranteed to move on to the fourth trial,’ thought Ataraxia after hearing those words, finding the fact a slight consolation to what he felt was a great blunder on his part.

Nevertheless, rather than continue to mull over his failure of clearing all 200 pillars in the desert, the young man instead took the opportunity to rest up once more, slowly but surely planning his approach for his subsequent tests.

And thus, his tests continued.

...

”Though your score in the adaptability test is undoubtedly spectacular like the one you got for the speed test... the score you obtained in the stamina test definitely leaves a lot to be desired.”

Briefly thinking back to the final scores he had given Ataraxia on his four tests, a slightly bitter smile appeared on Aeramis’ face as those words left his mouth.

”On speed, you scored a five. On maneuverability, you scored a two.”

”On adaptability, you scored a four, while on stamina, you scored yet another two.”

”If I were to total it and average it out, your final score rounded to the nearest number would be 3, which is equivalent to the grade of B I gave as an example back in the second trial.”

Seeing the young man remain silent as he continued to speak, the man could not help but feel like he was acting as a villain of some sort, giving the so-called protagonist a taste of what reality was like.

”Considering how you’ve reached the limits of the first two trials, I guess it goes without saying that you’re aiming to do the same thing during this trial as well,” said Aeramis after a bit of silence.

”Of course, I won’t tell you that it’s impossible since you’ve already proved to me that it is.”

”Instead, I just want to remind you that you still have two more attempts to achieve that goal of yours before you’re forced to proceed to the third trial.”

”...”

Though Ataraxia still remained silent after the man was done saying those things, the way he looked at the latter had changed.

What was previously a look that contained self-loathing and disappointment towards oneself swiftly transformed into renewed motivation and determination to achieve a better result than his first attempt at the third trial.

”Huu...” With Aeramis’ words of motivation still lingering in his mind, the young man eventually stood up once more, letting out a faint sigh as he sorted out the experience he had accumulated throughout the trial in his mind.

Then, closing his eyes for a bit, he quickly drafted his plan for his second attempt at the trial.

”Time... for round 2.”