Trial Settled Early

"Based on the information compiled by the big shots in the mage channel and what I've seen in the Trial Ground, some facts can be confirmed:

The Isle of Hope should be the largest continent in the [Trial Ground].

On the surface of this land, many nations and powers have risen and fallen. The most famous, and the ones that dominated most of the trial's background era, are several large deity-worshipping powers that ruled for thousands of years.

These include the 'Natural Alliance,' which worshipped the path of [Life]; the 'Grand Inquisition,' which believed in [Order]; the 'Tower of Reason,' which pursued [Truth]; and the 'Nation of [War],' born from the chaos of the late [Civilization Era].

The Bone Legion's invasion of the Isle of Hope occurred during the continental war period of the late [Civilization Era].

Forced by the approach of the underground forces, the three warring powers joined forces again to face the common enemy.

Our location, Misty Forest County, is precisely the administrative county within the Grand Inquisition's territory, closest to the entrance to the Underground World, the [Abyssal Volcano]."

Throughout the journey, Cao Sansui had been methodically recounting the history of the Isle of Hope to Cheng Shi. After hearing all this, Cheng Shi finally had a general understanding of the place.

"The distribution of power underground is more complex. Since I'm not a follower of the [Sinking] or [Chaos] paths, I don't know much about that part.

Moreover..."

Cao Sansui looked at Nangong meaningfully, "Players on those paths generally don't like sharing information either."

Nangong was taken aback, then lowered her head and said, "Sorry, my score is too low. I don't pay much attention to these things."

Cao Sansui shook his head. "Nothing to apologize for. The Faith Game has descended, and everyone is risking their lives just to survive. Not everyone... ah, forget it, never mind.

We're not lost. Ahead is Blizzard Mountain. There are few settled tribes near the mountain range, mostly harmless nomads. We can find a remote place and wait for the trial to end.

Cheng Shi is right. After the baptism of blood and fire, the trial is no longer dangerous. This is consistent with [War]'s usual style!"

Chen Chong was still leading the way, his vigilance unrelaxed. Although seven hours had passed since they left the fire rain zone, and only three hours remained until the trial ended.

"Better safe than sorry. Who knows if the 'Song of Blood and Fire' might still have a 'song' left unsung at the very end?"

Everyone paused at first, then soft laughter gradually arose.

Song Yawen chuckled, "This isn't the [Deception] trial. It won't go that far. But..."

He turned solemnly and looked at Cheng Shi. "I'm really grateful to you, Brother Cheng. If it weren't for you, we might not have made it."

That was the truth. Everyone's eyes held gratitude as they looked at Cheng Shi, even if they didn't know exactly how he had saved them.

But that was the way of the world now. Every high-level player had secrets, and no one wanted to pry too much into their benefactor's hidden tricks.

Cheng Shi felt a bit embarrassed. He had indeed contributed against the Dread Demon, but as for the fire rain afterward...

He secretly squeezed the dice in his hand, just smiled slightly, and said nothing.

"Set up camp here. The view is good, we can get early warning. We'll dig a Coffin Camp."

Everyone walked and stopped until they reached a small hill. Chen Chong halted, pulled out his Shieldsword, and began digging.

The others didn't idle either. They took tools from their personal space and started helping.

Generally, in survival trials where the location was on the surface and not in combat, players would dig a deep hole in the ground, hollowing out a space beneath like ants making a nest to camp.

Because it resembled a tomb, it was jokingly called a Coffin Camp, mainly to avoid surface dangers.

As for threats from underground, there was no need to worry. The actual [Underground World] wasn't reachable by digging. If anything, it was more like another separate space.

Rather than worrying about how to avoid underground threats, it was better to think about how to keep the Coffin Camp from collapsing.

Everyone dug quickly. By the time the sun's twilight had faded, they had already moved into the underground space, pulling out various foods to replenish their energy.

What each person took out was light and filling. Song Yawen and Cao Sansui even produced bowls of hot noodle soup, full of color, aroma, and flavor.

Only Cheng Shi, in front of everyone, silently pulled out a piece of Finger Bread and a bottle of Tentacle Slime drink.

"..." "..." "..."

As the slime gurgled down his throat, everyone fell silent.

Song Yawen gagged a few times, covered his mouth, and said, "I'm starting to think Brother Cheng might not be a chosen one after all..."

Nangong frowned repeatedly, then broke off half of her beef patty and handed it over.

Cheng Shi looked at the half patty, took it without hesitation, and thanked her, "This is so embarrassing."

"You... haven't been doing food instances lately? Why not drink... cola?"

"Huh?" Cheng Shi mumbled while chewing, "I have. This Finger Bread is fresh, produced just yesterday."

"..."

Cao Sansui looked incredulous. "You have 2000 points and you like eating this?"

"? Who told you I have 2000 points? I have 1501."

"..."

Chen Chong let out a couple of helpless chuckles. "A Ladder Score, tricking each other back and forth—Cheng Shi, you couldn't possibly be..."

Before he could finish, a violent Spatial Ripple exploded onto every one of them.

Everyone's body jolted. They exchanged disbelieving glances, eyes wide.

This feeling was all too familiar—it was the signal that the trial had ended.

"How? Only 23 hours!?"

Cao Sansui pulled out his Pocket Watch and checked it, confirming that the time he'd anchored was indeed correct—only 23 hours had passed, with a full hour still remaining.

The group was equally dumbfounded. This had never happened in any previous trial.

But instead of excitement over the early end, everyone furrowed their brows deeply.

Change meant risk.

No one could say for sure whether ending the trial early was good or bad.

Yet these things weren't up to the players to decide. Just as everyone was about to say something more, six figures faded away in sequence, leaving only the food in their hands to thud to the ground.

Watching the fallen food, Cheng Shi's heart sank with a pang of inexplicable pain.

"Damn it, my [Contempt of the Dead] and [Past Prosperity]—they haven't paid me back yet!"

[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire [War]) Challenge Successful]

[Scoring in progress, calculating rewards...]

[Player: Cheng Shi, Performance Rating: S]

[Obtained Item: Complaining Mask (B) x1]

[Obtained Item: Doubtful Mask (A) x1]

[Obtained Item: Gratitude Mask (A) x1]

[Obtained Item: Satisfied Mask (S) x1]

[Obtained Item: Desire Mask (B) x1]

[Path to Godhood +12]

[Ladder of Audience +2]

[Current Path to Godhood Score: 2116, Global Ranking: ]

[Current Ladder of Audience Score: 158, Path Ranking: 69]

[Trial Cleared, Exiting Soon]

His vision went dark again. When Cheng Shi opened his eyes, he was back on the rooftop. He looked across and saw the Young Man surnamed Xie lying at the edge of the roof, covered in blood, just happening to look back at him.

In a Special Trial, no matter how many days passed inside, everyone's end time was unified—just as their entry time was unified.

Cheng Shi looked at his miserable state and offered a token of sympathy.

"Brother's got skill, huh. Survived another seven days."

The Young Man surnamed Xie nodded silently, fear still lingering on his face.

It seemed his trial hadn't been easy.

Then again, his own trial hadn't been easy either.

Suddenly remembering something, Cheng Shi quickly checked the global survival count.

[Current Global Number of Believers: ]

!!!

Ten billion people dead!

In past Special Trials, a few tens of millions dying was already considered a lot. This time, a full billion were gone in one go!?

They... were accelerating.

A thread of fear and helplessness rose in Cheng Shi's heart. He looked at the warehouse he'd built on the roof, then touched the air wall in front of him, letting out a bitter laugh.

"Players? Just playthings."

Normally, if nothing unexpected happened, he and his teammates would have been among the billion eliminated. So why had the Meteor Fire Rain spared them?

Could it be because of...

Cheng Shi reached into his chest and pulled out that pale die.

This was the [Gods] token he had chosen during his Path selection—a die that could only roll a one.

But later, in various trials, he learned that the Bone Dice was supposed to be a token of [Destiny], capable of rolling any face. So what did his own count as?

And these rewarded masks...

He strode quickly into the warehouse, opened a special door, and stared at the rows of white masks lined up in the Acrylic Display Case, sinking back into thought.

Flattery, Fawning, Contempt, Enthusiastic Praise, Indifference, Resentment... dozens of masks arranged in several rows, each expression distinct from the next.

Yet their forms were so eerily similar—nothing more than a snow-white face with a pair of hollow eye sockets.

Cheng Shi had tried pressing these masks onto his own face more than once, but it was utterly useless; they didn't even fit properly.

"Ever since I got that talent, the Special Trial has stopped giving me any other reward items. What the hell are these masks even for?"

Cheng Shi sighed and stared blankly at his player panel.

[Cheng Shi, Male, 22 years old]

[Path: Void]

[Faith: Deception]

[Class: Priest]

[Path to Godhood: 2116, Global Rank: —]

[Ladder of Audience: 158, Path Rank: 69]

[Talents:
Lies Like Yesterday (SS): Deception Faith Talent, Active. Your faith will temporarily be replaced by the faith of the most recent target you have deceived.
Master of Deception (S): Deception Faith Talent, Passive. Your lies are more easily believed by others. Unless the deceived target encounters a cognitive contradiction, they cannot detect your deception. Additionally, you can perceive all deception except your own.
Sacrifice to the Void (S): Deception Faith Talent, Active. When an item you fabricate does not exist but is widely acknowledged by others to exist, the item becomes real.
Aspects of All Beings (S): Deception Faith Talent, Passive. Special Trial rewards will be replaced by the special item [Mask of All Beings], and this talent cannot be replaced by any other talent.
Shared Divine Grace (S): Priest Class Talent, Active. When healing members of the same species, a healing transmission effect occurs. For each additional target, the healing effect and range increase by a factor.
...]

[Items:
Dice of Destiny (Fixed) (S): You can never change the fate of this die.
Lips of Foolish Play (Fused) (S): It loves to lie, whether you like it or not; it loves to deceive, including you.
Mask of All Beings (SABC): A thousand faces, one person; a thousand persons, one face. Quantity: 47.
Past Prosperity (A): Healing potion. Searches through memory, traces back and restores to the most prosperous state in the past. Quantity: 93.
...]

[Skills:
Basic Healing, Healing Chain, Ray of Healing, Calming Technique, Hypnosis, Curse Removal, Resistance Shield, Holy Light Prayer...
]