Side Story (2): The Fiend Exam
Coiling Dragon's Lonely Soul Side Story 2: The Fiend's Trial
After successfully registering, I waited for a month.
Nice City, a large Metallic Lifeform with Fiend design flew into the distance.
"Listen carefully, everyone."
Inside the Metallic Lifeform, Linley and Bebe sat upright, the lively Bebe occasionally glancing at the outside scene. They and the others participating in the Fiend Trial had been flying in this Metallic Lifeform Metallic Lifeform for two days, and its final destination would be the location of their Fiend Trial mission.
The person from the Fiend Castle appeared; he was a handsome man with sharp horns on his forehead, suggesting he was not human.
The man was responsible for explaining the mission to them.
"This mission will take place at Blue Moon Lake, thousands of miles away from Nice City!" the man said. "There's a flower in Blue Moon Lake called the Dream Moon Lotus! This plant is extremely precious, especially its flowers, which can be extracted by powerful Highgod skilled in the arts of the soul to create potions that affect the soul."
"Your task is to pick the flowers. Once you obtain even one and bring it to the Fiend Castle, you will have completed your mission and will naturally become One-Star Fiend."
Everyone started buzzing with discussion.
The man said calmly, "Anyone with questions can ask, and I'll answer them."
"Yes, sir," a Midgod stood up and asked, "Is there any danger in picking this flower?"
Picking just one flower seems too easy. The Fiend Trial has always had a pass rate of less than one in ten. There must be something fishy going on.
"That's a good question," the man smiled. "This mission isn't so simple. There are two main difficulties. First, when the Dream Moon Lotus blooms, it automatically emits a fragrance that affects the soul. Those with weaker souls will become dizzy and even fall into a deep sleep."
"Secondly, since this Dream Moon Lotus grows at the bottom of the lake, there are quite a few creatures that covet it. Not to mention anything else, the water monster of Blue Moon Lake alone is enough to give you a hard time." The man revealed a mysterious smile, clearly indicating that the so-called water monster was not simple.
"Water monster? Does that mean a monster that lives in the water?" Linley was somewhat surprised to hear this. Back in the Yulan Continent, he had never really seen anything like a water monster.
Seeing that no one had any further questions, the man calmly said, "I'd like to remind you of a crucial point: when the Dream Moon Lotus blooms, the lake monster will inevitably awaken. Therefore, obtaining a Dream Moon Lotus won't be as easy as you might imagine."
"Will he definitely awaken?" Many people's expressions changed immediately. They had previously thought this mission would be easy, at least without fighting.
Looking back now, however, they underestimated the Fiend Trial.
How could Fiend Castle let them become Fiend so easily?
"Boss, it looks like we're definitely going to be facing a water monster soon!" Bebe said to Linley telepathically, seemingly unfazed.
Seeing this, Linley could only smile wryly. In comparison, he would have preferred a more conventional assessment task.
Everyone cursed inwardly after hearing the man from the Fiend Castle say that the water monster would inevitably awaken.
They could only pray that the water monster was no match for them.
"Oh, I forgot to remind you, these Dream Moon Lotus are rare. They usually only bloom in numbers less than a hundred at a time, so you'd better act fast." The man added this before leaving, with an expression that suggested he was enjoying the spectacle.
"Not more than a hundred?" Linley now understood what Fiend Castle meant.
There are fewer than a hundred flowers to compete for? Doesn't that mean at most only a hundred people can pass?
Moreover, with water monsters competing with them, the number of Dream Moon Lotus they might obtain would be even fewer.
This is the real reason why the pass rate is less than one in ten; from the very beginning, it was determined that not everyone could become Fiend.
"Some people are looking at others strangely now; we need to be careful," Linley warned telepathically.
"Don't worry, boss." Bebe looked relaxed and confident.
After learning that there were fewer than a hundred Dream Moon Lotus, many participants in the Fiend Trial began to see others as rivals, and it was hard to say what would happen then.
Perhaps after obtaining the Dream Moon Lotus, you will be robbed by others, or perhaps someone will attack others before that!
After more than ten days filled with mixed feelings, we finally arrived at Blue Moon Lake.
The Metallic Lifeform stopped, and the more than a thousand Midgod who participated in the Fiend assessment all dismounted from the Metallic Lifeform.
"Hey boss, look!" Bebe suddenly pointed at someone.
"It's him!" Linley's expression changed as he recognized the green-haired man Pansy, who claimed to come from some powerful family.
Pansy, his face full of arrogance, didn't even glance at the others and walked straight ahead. Naturally, he didn't notice Linley and Bebe lagging behind.
"This is not good. We have a grudge against Pansy. If we run into each other, a conflict is very likely to break out."
"What's there to be afraid of!" Bebe sneered. "He's just a Midgod. If we run into him again and he dares to make a move, I'll let him taste my ' God-Eater '."
"Bebe, your Innate Divine Ability can only be used twice in a short period of time, so don't waste it," Linley immediately reminded Bebe.
He had to admit that, in the realm of Midgod, Bebe's "God-Eater" move was definitely one of the most unsolvable techniques.
The more than one thousand participants in the Fiend Trial had all dismounted from their Metallic Lifeform and were about to fly forward.
Suddenly someone shouted, "Everyone! Don't act yet, listen to me!"
Linley was taken aback when he saw that the speaker was a Midgod with a large beard who had come to participate in the Fiend assessment.
"My name is Bazel," the bearded man laughed, glancing around at the other Midgod. "You all want the Dream Moon Lotus, and so do I. To be honest, this is my second time participating in the Fiend Trial. Last time, I failed! I feel this time isn't much better than last time. To give us all a better chance of obtaining the Dream Moon Lotus, I suggest we cooperate first."
"Cooperation?" someone sneered. "Are you, Bazel, willing to give up that Dream Moon Lotus?"
"Of course not," Bazel said solemnly. "Think about it: there are only less than a hundred Dream Moon Lotus to begin with. If we don't cooperate first, those water monsters will probably devour most, if not all, of Dream Moon Lotus! How many of us will be able to get through then? I'm sure none of you want to see that happen."
Everyone frowned, realizing that what Bazel said made sense.
Bazel laughed, "I know about those water monsters. They possess some basic intelligence and cooperate with each other. It's impossible for any one of us to fight them alone. The only way is to unite as one and drive these water monsters away. Only then will we have a better chance of obtaining the Dream Moon Lotus. This Dream Moon Lotus is related to whether we can become Fiend, so we can't let any of them leak out!"
"That makes sense," someone echoed. "Bazel, what do you suggest we do?"