The First Day: The Day of Submersion

(A big April Fool's Day drink! Praising [Deception], and wishing everyone will never be fooled! XD)

"To be close to [Order] is to be even more chaotic in the eyes of [chaos]."

Unexpectedly, a joke he made that day to conceal his identity actually came true.

Because the Believer of "Chaos" wore that fabricated name, approached "Order," and killed the Son of "Order," true chaos was born.

From then on, the Grand Inquisition was mired in the quagmire of war, and chaos began to descend as the war progressed and Faith spread.

So, who am I, really?

Is it Ultraman from the Isle of Hope, or...?

What is the Cheng Shi?

This is a huge problem, big enough to drive a person to the brink of collapse.

To avoid going insane, Cheng Shi decisively chose to skip the topic and return to the Trials.

This is not something a Mortals can understand, at least not now.

He quickly composed himself, making sure Gao Yu didn't notice anything amiss and draw any conclusions about him, before cleverly changing the subject.

Gao Yu seemed to want to continue the conversation, but once Cheng Shi stopped talking, it would seem childish for him to keep talking on his own.

So he opened and closed his mouth a few times, and this time he finally managed to hold it in.

The group had been walking through the mountain valley for four or five hours. By this time, rainwater had begun to accumulate at their feet, and in the low-lying areas, the water had even reached above their ankles.

The road is getting harder and harder to travel.

Fortunately, the destination was just around the corner.

Zhao Qian looked up at the towering mountain before him and solemnly said:

"Miss Tao, please."

Tao Yi gave a soft "hmm" and began casting a spell on the vines extending from the mountain wall.

With the guidance of her nimble fingers, the vines hanging on the cliff began to grow wildly, like ink spreading on a white sheet of rice paper. In just a few breaths, the vines covered the entire cliff face.

This obviously requires everyone to climb the rocks using vines.

Time was of the essence, so they decided not to take the detour and climb the mountain.

Turn right here and go up.

Cheng Shi looked at the almost 90-degree cliff and clicked his tongue.

Hearing the noise, Gao Yu muttered something under his breath:

Do you need help?

An adult is asked for help by a child who is not yet 18 years old.

Anyone with a modicum of shame would politely decline at this point, putting on a show and appropriately displaying the strength of an adult.

But Cheng Shi didn't.

What is a sense of shame?

I have no heart for giving up.

"Want."

His answer was resolute.

Gao Yu gave a knowing look, nodded mechanically, and pulled his tool bag out of his clothes.

He took out a palm-sized piece of silvery-white metal and a small hammer, floated the material in the air, and then began to hammer it.

Soon after, accompanied by Cheng Shi's narration of "Forty, forty, forty," a brand new chair was made with a dark face.

A chair that can be carried on someone's back and then have someone sit on it and be carried off a cliff!

Cheng Shi wasn't interested in chairs, but he was very interested in the techniques of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Clearly, the small hammer in Gao Yu's hand is a very powerful magical artifact.

The boy didn't even bother to shape it; he just casually tapped it a few times, and the chair was made according to his idea.

This level of shaping is far superior to anything 3D printing can achieve.

"You... you're going to carry me on your back?"

"..."

Gao Yu turned to look at Cheng Shi, revealing an expression that said, "You're even more shameless than I imagined," and gritted his teeth as he said:

"I am a Mage!"

Cheng Shi smiled, took off his chair, and looked towards the front row.

That old geezer...

Forget it, I'm coughing my lungs out.

Zhao Qian...

People have already climbed up; we can't just ask them to come down again.

Su Yida...

That bastard had already seen through my thoughts, and he turned around and put his hand on the cliff, clearly not wanting to do hard labor.

In that case, there's only one pink-haired girl left...

Forehead...

Children are used as tools, and women are used for manual labor?

If this is the outcome, then wouldn't I, a dignified and upright man, become a useless person?

Do you need help?

Tao Yi seemed to have anticipated that Cheng Shi would need help. She turned her head and looked at the chair in Cheng Shi's hand.

Cheng Shi hesitated for a moment, then mustered his masculine courage and said in a firm and resounding voice:

"Want!"

Then, with a fawning smile, he approached Tao Yi and asked in a lewd manner:

Is it convenient?

Tao Yi's smile makes her look like a little fox, with her eyes narrowing into slits.

"It's convenient, I have them."

After saying that, she waved her hand, drew the vines down from the cliff, picked up a chair, and placed it next to her.

Cheng Shi was deeply moved and rushed to sit down.

Oh my god, a human elevator, so delicious!

Gao Yu followed behind, speechless.

He seemed to have some kind of assistive device on his legs, allowing him to walk on the cliff as if it were flat ground.

The group climbed to the mountainside of the rocky mountain in an ordinary manner, and used the local materials to crack open several layers of stone slabs to build a temporary rain shelter.

"The stone here is indeed hard, and it's easy to get up and down; it's a good place."

Su Yida touched the rocks on the mountainside with great emotion, completely convinced of Zhao Qian's judgment.

Zhao Qian smiled casually, stood on the edge of the cliff, and gazed into the distance.

"Don't be blindly optimistic. We don't yet know if the theme of this Trials is rain. We'll just have to take it one step at a time."

"Cough cough cough... No need to be pessimistic, cough cough cough... Young people should be more positive, and deal with whatever comes their way."

"Good! Well said!"

Since no one exerted much effort, Cheng Shi had no opportunity to use his skills, so he could only act as a morale booster, giving everyone some encouragement.

Su Yida glanced at Cheng Shi, shook his head, and chuckled.

This... [Birth] Priest? Sigh, I hope he can be more reliable.

Cheng Shi caught a glimpse of Su Yida's expression out of the corner of his eye, and he smiled brightly as a response.

Time began to fast forward, and the rain grew heavier.

The First beaded curtain of rain has gradually developed into a torrential downpour.

No, even "torrential" is an understatement to describe the current downpour; it's as if a river has been drained and the water has been poured over our heads.

The water volume was so great that it was almost impossible for a person to lift their arms.

As the floodwaters rushed down, even the shoulders and neck began to feel the pressure and become burdened.

Seeing this scene, no one can calmly chat anymore.

"The water is rising. It will flood this area in less than an hour. Everyone, please prepare quickly."

Zhao Qian grabbed a vine and quickly wrapped it around, as if he was doing something.

The voices of the people speaking were already inaudible, and the stone slabs that sheltered them from the rain were teetering on the verge of collapse under the heavy weight. Su Yida shielded his nose with his hand before he could barely open his mouth to speak:

"We've barely passed the foot of the mountain, how could we be this fast?"

"You have to consider that the rain is still intensifying, and it will only get faster than this, not slower! Miss Tao, Gao Yu, please help."

"Good!"

Tao Yi stood beneath the stone slab and cast a spell on the cliff face again, causing the vines to climb up and become raw materials for crafting tools.

Gao Yu kept swinging the small hammer in his hand, tamping the vines and shaping them into hollow, solid "logs".

But this efficiency is far less than when he hammers those special metals.

Zhao Qian was responsible for binding the logs together and then assembling them into a raft.

In the face of a visible flood, the simplest and most basic method is to build a raft that can drift with the current.

As for why we didn't just have the construction kid build a submarine directly...

Cheng Shi had considered it, but the materials in the kid's bag were too few; he couldn't even type out a single-person version.

"Sigh, He foresaw everything long ago. Sealing space is a truly brilliant move."

How much more do you need?

"Three more, please!"

Just as the raft was about to be assembled, Su Yida ran back from the edge of the cliff with a solemn expression.

"Quickly, everyone get ready! There's no time!"

Everyone looked up in astonishment, only to see a continuous White Line that had appeared at the horizon where the mountains met the sky.

The White Line continued to thicken, and soon all the players could see its true form.

That wasn't a White Line at all; it was a gigantic wave that could make anyone's jaw drop.

The waves were so high that it almost made you strain your neck looking up!

Holy crap, are you kidding me?!

With such huge waves, what use is a raft?

With that kind of water volume, it's questionable whether the rocky mountain will even still exist!

"Tao Yi, continue! Gao Yu, weave the rattan basket! Old Cui, reinforce the rattan basket!"

Zhao Qian quickly realized what was happening and began to change his strategy, attempting to turn the raft into a floating device that could carry people up.

Given this situation, sinking to the bottom of the water is a foreseeable outcome. Therefore, the only option is to find a way to remedy the situation as quickly as possible, focusing on how to surface quickly.

"Su Yida, if we don't succeed, is there a chance to try again?"

Zhao Qian looked at Su Yida with a solemn expression, awaiting his reply.

Su Yida's expression darkened, and he said seriously, "I'll try my best."

The statement wasn't definitive, but it was a positive response.

This shows that he can indeed recall his Memory.

Knowing this was enough, Zhao Qian's expression softened somewhat, and he turned to look at Cheng Shi.

"Nanny, the underwater breathing and treatment are all up to you. Don't worry about the 'Newborn,' we'll take care of that."

One of the Priest's skills is water healing, which allows people to breathe well underwater and relieve pain. This is a basic skill, Cheng Shi naturally has it as well.

He nodded to indicate that he could be relied upon, but then frowned.

The Trials lasted three days.

If the first day had such a huge impact, Cheng Shi found it hard to imagine how he would get through the next three days.

Am I supposed to make a living by surfing?

This isn't like surfing the internet, where you can't kill time.

"It's coming! Everyone, get in the basket!! Quick!"

The words had barely left his mouth when it got dark.

The booming sound even drowned out the thunder in the sky for a moment!

Cheng Shi stepped into the vine basket fixed to the raft. Watching Cui Ding Tian cough as he rapidly absorbed the Decay energy of the vines to make the raft more sturdy, Cheng Shi nervously took a deep breath.

In this situation, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

The unimaginable giant wave was now right in front of us, like a giant wall built from the ground to the Starry Sky, and the oppressive feeling that came over us was simply Despair.

"Nanny, heal me!"

In Zhao Qian's final, desperate roar...

With a loud "boom."

The waves crashed down, destroying everything in their path.

Everyone felt an immense weight, as if the sky had collapsed, crashing down on them, causing each person to cough up blood.

But the blood quickly disappeared.

After a dizzying spin, what were once mountains had turned into rocky reefs rising from the seabed.

Everything in sight sank into the sea.