Mist Island Trial, Lessons from the Ancestors!

"Over the eight hundred years since the Azure God, only one person had achieved an SSS-tier rating on the Mist Island map!"

Xu Kun had no choice but to take this seriously. The white mist shrouding the entire island concealed layer upon layer of Killing Intent. One wrong step could very well lead to eternal damnation!

Wanting to obtain more information from the metal wristband, Xu Kun was disappointed to discover that over eight hundred years, humanity had only managed a rough understanding of the Mist Island map!

"That's not right. Wasn't there someone who cleared it with an SSS-tier rating? Logically speaking, once someone cleared it, this map's greatest secret should have been completely exposed!"

The metal wristband could only provide information in several areas:

1: Rough introductions to over a hundred types of monsters encountered during Mist Island trials over the past eight hundred years. (Because the types and attributes of monsters changed every session, this could only serve as a reference!)

2: Clearance guidance. Follow the path ahead toward the center of Mist Island. Along the way, you would encounter different racial monsters from levels 1 to 10, arranged in clear tiers. You could obtain 6% completion from the monsters of each level, for a total of 60%!

3: To receive a rating above F-tier, you had to enter the Desolate Shrine at the center of Mist Island. (Entering the shrine granted +1% completion and fulfilled the F-tier rating.)

4: Method of obtaining an A-tier rating: Kill two Shrine Guardians, level 10 elite monsters. (Completion +10% +10% = 81%)

Note: The Shrine Guardians differed each time.

5: Method of obtaining an S-tier rating: Challenge the shrine's final boss and withstand one of its attacks. (Completion +10% = 91%)

6: Method of obtaining an SS-tier rating: Endure the final boss's attacks for half an hour. (Completion +8% = 99%)

7: Method of obtaining an SSS-tier rating, unconfirmed: Kill the shrine's final boss!

8: Final boss information: S-tier evaluators: Unknown.

SS-tier evaluators: A terrifying Fire Dragon, 623 years ago. Click for details.

A terrifying Fire Dragon, 587 years ago. Click for details.

Humanoid Swordsman boss, 350 years ago. Click for details.

After carefully reading through it, Xu Kun realized that the first 60% completion was simply earned by killing monsters. It was not unique to the Mist Island map; every map humanity had explored was roughly the same. The only difference was what monsters one encountered!

The 61% came from entering the map's final area, which was basically free completion!

The Shrine Guardians accounted for 20% completion. They were level 10 elite monsters, and though each session brought different ones, their attributes were generally similar. Some predecessors with scouting skills had even provided corresponding reference images. Xu Kun did not feel much pressure!

The most crucial part was the final boss!

Those who received an S-tier rating had merely barely withstood a single attack before being sent away. They had not even been able to see the boss clearly!

The only three SS-tier evaluators over the past eight hundred years, however, had provided two different answers!

"Did that sole SSS-tier evaluator encounter the Fire Dragon or the Humanoid Swordsman boss?"

Xu Kun's confusion was understandable, because the trial time of that sole SSS-tier evaluator happened to fall after the two SS-tier evaluators who encountered the Fire Dragon, but before the SS-tier evaluator who encountered the Humanoid Swordsman!

Still puzzled, Xu Kun opened the detailed information, only to discover in disappointment that the three SS-tier evaluators did not possess information-gathering skills. There were only appearance images and some charts of attack and defense attributes. Experts had made all kinds of data comparisons, but they were barely of any use!

"Forget it. The help the predecessors can offer is limited. In the end, it all comes down to my own strength!"

Xu Kun gripped the Supreme Ember Spirit Sword and strode down the path before him!

Although the first 60% completion was the easiest to obtain, if he died here, then he would truly be dead. The trial would fail, and he would never be able to return to Blue Star!

Only after entering the shrine at the center of the island and receiving the lowest F-tier rating could he complete the settlement after the week-long trial ended and successfully return to Blue Star!

Mist Island's mysteries, along with the unclear information regarding the SSS-tier evaluator and the final boss, did not frighten Xu Kun in the slightest. Instead, they stirred an intense fighting spirit within him!

With a movement speed of 4M/S, Xu Kun quickly stepped onto the narrow path.

Hmm... how should he put it? Some paths looked extremely narrow on the surface, but were actually only obscured by lush vegetation. Once one entered them, one would understand what it meant for the view to suddenly open up!

Stepping onto the damp ground, Xu Kun slashed apart the branches blocking his sight. What he saw next made his scalp tingle!

"What the hell is that?!"

Under the dim sky, dots of red light flickered in the distance. Like ghosts, they intermittently gave off harsh, scraping squeaks that sent chills down one's spine!

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Xu Kun finally saw clearly. They were not ghosts at all, but enormous rats!

Before him stood a towering mound of earth, densely packed with burrows. At that moment, rats half the height of a human poked their heads out from within, scrutinizing Xu Kun, the intruder!

Judging from their appearance, Xu Kun recognized them as a common F-tier monster on Mist Island: level 1 Cavern Giant Rats!

With a spread of his palm, a book formed from the Myriad Races Bestiary appeared. Light swept across the towering mound before him, gradually gathering into a sheet of paper in front of Xu Kun. The image of the giant rats had already been sketched upon it!

Cavern Giant Rat

Talent: F-tier Sharp Teeth (+5% Physical Attack)

Level: 1

Attack: 11-12

HP: 100-110

Physical Defense: 5-6

Dodge: Unable to dodge Kun's attacks

Movement Speed: 1M/S

Skill: Bite—Instantly increases speed by 1.2 times, dealing 105% physical damage

Introduction: The filthiest and lowliest racial creatures. They only hide in caverns gnawed out with their teeth, waiting for intruders to offer them fresh, delicious flesh. The only thing you need to watch out for is their sudden group attacks!

Before he even finished reading, Xu Kun already understood what he needed to watch out for. The group of giant rats had seen him and could no longer resist charging forward, intending to tear him apart and devour him!

With Bite activated, the enormous Cavern Giant Rats burst forth at 1.2M/S, exposing their sharp rat teeth as they swarmed toward Xu Kun.

But in Xu Kun's eyes, that speed was still not fast enough!

The leading giant rat saw that Xu Kun was not running, and delight appeared in its crimson eyes, as though it were about to enjoy a grand feast of flesh and blood!

Xu Kun raised the corner of his mouth. "I'll use you to test my Flame Spirit Sword!"

As he spoke, he slashed out just as the giant rat leaped into the air!

The next moment, Xu Kun's expression changed, because he felt an incomparable force surge from the Flame Spirit Sword!

Ding! You have triggered Wrath of the Fire Dragon!

The Flame Spirit Sword in his hand became like a piece of red-hot steel, nearly causing Xu Kun to throw it away!

As he swung his sword forward, a Fire Dragon soared into the sky. Amid the despairing gaze of the giant rat suspended in midair, it roared forward, instantly burning it to ashes. Its momentum did not lessen as it began ravaging the mound that this swarm of giant rats depended on for survival!

The desperate shrieks of the Cavern Giant Rats lasted only two short seconds. The 500 by 500 range of Wrath of the Fire Dragon was enough to cover the entire area, and its 5,000 Fire Attribute damage per second left the Cavern Giant Rats' pitiful 100 HP utterly insufficient!

Two seconds later, the Fire Dragon rose into the air. Looking at the burned-out giant rats below, a hint of disdain seemed to appear in its dragon eyes. Once ten seconds had passed, the Fire Dragon returned to the Supreme Ember Spirit Sword!

Xu Kun had not even reacted yet. The notifications ringing beside his ears were what finally jolted him awake!

Ding! Wrath of the Fire Dragon has entered cooldown. Cooldown countdown: 59'59"

Ding! You have killed 200 Cavern Giant Rats and gained 120% experience. Congratulations, you have reached level 1!

Ding! Your beginner trial completion has increased by 6%!

Ding! The God of Strength's pity has taken effect. Your Strength has increased by 1!

Ding! God of Spirit Energy...

Ding! 100 stacks of Starfire Imprint have been collected!

Ding! Congratulations, you have killed 100 F-tier racial monsters, Cavern Giant Rats. The Myriad Races Bestiary has taken effect. Congratulations, you have obtained the F-tier skill Swift Strike!

Swift Strike

Tier: F-tier Physical Skill

Effect: Movement speed increases by 20% for 2S. Your next basic attack gains +5% Physical Attack!

Cost: 5

Cooldown: 5S

Xu Kun rubbed his eyes and finally came back to his senses. He had not expected his very first attack to trigger Wrath of the Fire Dragon, instantly wiping out the entire Cavern Giant Rat swarm!

Level +1, beginner trial completion +6%, all basic attribute points +2, and he had even obtained a barely decent F-tier skill!

The Myriad Races Bestiary's effect generated a skill after killing 100 monsters of a single race, and the skill would adapt to the player's attack style. Otherwise, it could not possibly give Xu Kun a Bite skill and make him run up to bite people...

Even the Starfire Imprint had reached full stacks. Xu Kun wondered which lucky fellow would get to receive his first Unyielding Starfire attack!

Rumble!

The mound that had originally served as the Cavern Giant Rats' home collapsed after being scorched by the high temperature of Wrath of the Fire Dragon, burying the ashes of all 200 Cavern Giant Rats!

Xu Kun stepped onto the now-level ground. Residual warmth traveled through the Supreme Ember Spirit Boots, but he did not pause and continued forward.

As for looting corpses, Xu Kun had just taken a look. Under Wrath of the Fire Dragon's ten-second rampage, every Cavern Giant Rat had been reduced to nothing. Combined with the collapsed mound burying everything, there was no possibility of looting them at all!

Wrath of the Fire Dragon did not merely deal damage; it also caused environmental destruction. It provided both cremation and burial—a true one-stop service!

Cavern Giant Rats: (;??????`) What did we do to deserve dying beneath a Fire Dragon's wrath?!

Without the mound blocking his view, his sight immediately broadened. After passing through the dense forest, he was greeted by an unexpectedly peaceful scene. Across the vast grassland, rabbits with incredibly long legs were leisurely munching on grass!

The Myriad Races Bestiary appeared. The previous page containing the Cavern Giant Rats had already been stored within, becoming the first illustrated entry in the book. At that moment, a blank second page appeared and quickly sketched the long-legged rabbits before him.

Xu Kun stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "The Myriad Races Bestiary's first function, Bestiary Unlocked, records all kinds of monster information as I kill them. Won't it eventually become an encyclopedia of races?"

This discovery excited Xu Kun greatly. The more racial monsters he encountered, the thicker this book would become. If he could copy the information contained within it, it would be an enormous help to all humanity!

Once the image was complete, the long-legged rabbits seemed entirely unconcerned with Xu Kun, this outsider. They continued gnawing on the grass by themselves while Xu Kun leisurely examined their information.

Gentle Rabbit

Talent: F-tier Long Legs (+5% Movement Speed)

Level: 2

Attack: 1-2

HP: 180-200

Physical Defense: 8-10

Dodge: Unable to dodge Kun's attacks

Movement Speed: 1.5M/S

Skill: Spirit of Grass—Eating grass restores 5% HP. Cooldown: 10S

Introduction: A racial monster that avoids conflict and only wants to eat grass in peace. It will not even resist when you attack it. The only thing you need to watch out for is not letting it get away!

Xu Kun: ...

"If some excessively softhearted players encountered Gentle Rabbits, they probably wouldn't even have the heart to attack!"

The Gentle Rabbits scattered across the grassland formed a sharp contrast to the Cavern Giant Rats from earlier. Their attack power was pitifully low, but their HP and movement speed were much higher. To beginners, these Gentle Rabbits posed no threat at all. They were practically benefit monsters!

However, for those eager to finish the beginner trial, these rabbits ran incredibly fast. If one failed to kill them in a single strike, they might escape, undoubtedly requiring much more time!

But none of that was a problem for Xu Kun!

His 4.16M/S movement speed left the Gentle Rabbits with no room to escape!

Activating the Swift Strike skill he had just acquired, Xu Kun's speed instantly rose to nearly 5M/S. His whole body became a blur as he locked onto five Gentle Rabbits huddled together and charged toward them!

Swing, slash, all in one smooth motion!

-238! -40, -40, -40, -40!

The first slash landed a critical hit, causing the 20% splash damage to increase along with it!

Melee attacks dealt physical damage. Xu Kun's Physical Attack had now reached 124 points. After deducting the Gentle Rabbit's defense, he instantly killed the Gentle Rabbit he had selected as his target!

Just as Xu Kun had expected, among the five Gentle Rabbits huddled together, one had been instantly killed. The remaining four were startled and, without time to consider their companion whose body was not yet cold, immediately spread their long legs and fled into the distance!

As they ran, they used Spirit of Grass to restore HP. The recovery of 9 to 10 HP raised their health slightly, but that was all!

The four frightened Gentle Rabbits trembled as they curled up at the edge of the grassland. Yet they did not dare leave, as though this map restricted their range of movement.

Seeing this, Xu Kun smiled in satisfaction.

The textbooks had stated that the activity range of monsters at every level in the beginner trial was restricted!

And the grassland where he currently stood was a map about one kilometer in diameter. The Gentle Rabbits were scattered around in groups, grazing, and had not yet reacted to what was happening here.

Repeating the process, Xu Kun used Swift Strike again after its cooldown ended and continued charging toward the other groups of rabbits!

Very quickly, Xu Kun drove all the Gentle Rabbits across the grassland into the same corner. They all crowded together, staring fearfully at Xu Kun, the tyrant who had disturbed their peace. They huddled together for warmth, as though it could offer them a shred of psychological comfort!

The more timid ones even buried their heads in the dirt. Their long legs trembled continuously as they remained shocked and helpless!

Completely unaware that disaster was about to descend upon them!

"Hehe, now that you're all gathered together, this'll be easy!"

Standing at a spot the Gentle Rabbits considered safe, Xu Kun slightly raised his palm.

"Descend, Wildfire Scorches the Plains!"