Chapter 305
Chapter 305. The Trial Begins
Inside a small but exquisitely decorated palace, such a scene was taking place within a small room.
“Your Highness, are you going to the Spirit Realm? But there are still many matters that require your decision, especially the matter of the Bloodwolf Knights.”
The voice that answered was an impatient male voice.
“No matter how urgent that matter is, it cannot be more important than what I am doing now. I must go to the Spirit Realm at once.”
After that voice, which sounded almost like an outburst, came to a stop, the room fell into a brief silence.
The man inside the room, Daryan, regained his rationality at this moment.
“The matter of the Bloodwolf Knights is not urgent. Although the quota for that knight order was obtained from our country, the Bloodwolf Knights ultimately disappeared in the Antir Region.”
“That much should be known to the mage from the Alliance. Right now, the reason he is being forceful with us is nothing more than that he feels we are relatively weak and do not have a Third-Tier Professional like the other side.”
“All of you only need to maintain a respectful attitude. Let the other party investigate here however he wishes. Just do not mention that I am here.”
“The other party will not become angry at random, nor will he develop any ideas toward our country, because to those mages, this place is nothing more than rotten land...”
When he spoke the final word, Daryan slightly emphasized his tone.
Although he did not want to admit it, the truth was exactly that. Even though Lorinvik, where Daryan lived, was the strongest country around the Alliance, before the Alliance, it was still nothing more than a piece of rotten flesh.
When the Alliance wanted to deal with Lorinvik, they had no power to resist.
Just as Connor had relied on certain methods to swindle a knight order token from Lorinvik, now, when they faced the other party’s Third-Tier Mage father, they had no method of response at all.
Even though that Third-Tier Mage had not personally come here and had merely sent a golem to deliver a letter, the entire country, from top to bottom, was uneasy.
But he also knew that this meant nothing. As long as they maintained a respectful attitude, the other party would soon lose interest in them.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After hearing Daryan’s arrangements, the voice outside the door no longer sounded. After that, a series of footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Daryan listened as the footsteps receded, but he had no reaction. He looked at the black dagger and cloak pattern engraved on his arm, his eyes never leaving it for even a moment.
This was what he truly needed to pay attention to. It was a pattern bestowed upon him by a god in the Spirit Realm... or rather, power.
Daryan was a prince of the Kingdom of Lorinvik. It could now be said that he was Lorinvik’s heir. No, he was Lorinvik’s next king.
And all of this was thanks to the pattern on his hand.
Daryan had not followed the Professional advancement path inside the kingdom. Instead, he had chosen to become a Professional through the Spirit Realm.
Behind this lay the fact that he was not valued by the king, as well as the fact that his brothers and sisters had ostracized him.
Yet precisely because of that, during one exploration of the Spirit Realm, he had encountered a god—the God of Shadows.
Daryan helped the other party occupy a small piece of territory in the Spirit Realm, and the God of Shadows chose Daryan as an Emissary because of it.
With the help of the God of Shadows’ divine power, Daryan had only begun developing a faith inside the kingdom, yet his own strength had already reached the point where he could stand on par with a Second-Tier Professional.
This was thanks to the Emissary status bestowed by the God of Shadows. At the First Tier, it made him far stronger than his brothers and sisters, allowing him to seize the initiative and the advantage in their struggle.
It was precisely because of this that he had almost already become Lorinvik’s next king, because his brothers and sisters had already been left behind by him.
As for this journey into the Spirit Realm Trial, he had no choice but to go, because his status and that of the God of Shadows were not equal. That god had an extremely strong desire for control.
The very reason he had been able to become the other party’s Emissary was that he had signed an exceptionally harsh contract.
Making Daryan obey unconditionally was merely one ordinary clause among its contents.
So Daryan could only choose to participate in this trial. Moreover, unlike the other Emissaries, his god had given him only one day to prepare, which was why the previous scene had happened.
If he had enough time, he would have arranged this matter long ago, rather than letting that attendant run over to disturb him just now.
At that moment, the black pattern on Daryan’s hand became slightly hot. This was the Lord of Shadows reminding him that it was time to go to the Spirit Realm.
“So soon. I still have not prepared my protective barrier.”
Daryan looked at the protective barrier he had only drawn halfway on his hand and sighed softly. There was no helping it. At this point, he could only go to the Spirit Realm.
He could not defy the Lord of Shadows’ command. Now, he could only place his hopes on the Spirit Realm Protection he had obtained by advancing to the Formal Tier through the Spirit Realm.
He knew that if he went up like this, and his brothers and sisters tried anything crooked, then even if he did not die, he would still lose a layer of skin. But he had no choice.
Daryan took a deep breath and could only hope that he would still be in time when he returned.
He recited the incantation, and his consciousness rose upward. Almost at the exact instant his consciousness left, a faint sound of footsteps rang out outside the door.
---
Daryan’s consciousness ascended into the Spirit Realm, then, through the dedicated path given by the God of Shadows, he arrived directly inside the Sun Domain. The instant he entered, the Trial of the Sun happened to begin.
He opened his eyes and saw that he was stepping on a stretch of reddish-brown earth. The soil was as hard as a steel plate, and standing on it felt very uncomfortable.
He looked around and saw no one.
He took a deep breath. Now, he could only complete the God of Shadows’ task as quickly as possible before returning to the Material Realm.
He had no means of tracking the other Spirit Realm trial participants, so after choosing a direction and intending to search for those Spirit Realm trial participants that way,
he heard a faint sound. That sound was extremely light. If he had not been the Emissary of the God of Shadows, with his perception greatly strengthened, he absolutely would not have detected that subtle noise.
Daryan made a prompt decision. He immediately used a Divine Spell, “Shadow Cloak.”
In an instant, Daryan’s figure was concealed by an illusory dark curtain. If he were attacked now, this dark curtain would help him resist the damage.
Although this was not a Divine Spell that could block all damage, it did possess damage-reduction effects, as well as the effect of enlarging the enemy’s perception of his figure. Perhaps it could even make the enemy’s first attack miss.
Almost the instant after he used “Shadow Cloak,” he felt a wave of air like a heavy hammer surge up his back, making his hair stand on end.
He had no way to dodge this attack, because it had come far too suddenly and far too quickly.
He could only lean his body forward slightly, intending to reduce a little of the damage that way. But all of this was futile.
Almost the instant Daryan was struck, he could no longer make his next move.
His originally straight back was directly bent by this blow, and his body shrank toward the area caving inward in his back. With a muffled bang, the tremendous force lifted him off the ground.
As he flew forward, his feet touched the ground, causing his body to begin spinning uncontrollably. Only after a force struck his back did he land on the ground again.
He spun three hundred and sixty degrees through the air before returning to the ground. Enduring the pain, he desperately tried to struggle up from the ground.
If he had been an apprentice-level Professional, after suffering such severe injuries, he would definitely have been kicked out by the Spirit Realm at once and sent back to the Material Realm.
But he was now at the Formal Tier. The Spirit Realm could tolerate him suffering even more serious injuries inside the Spirit Realm and would not immediately expel him from it.
After suppressing the discomfort in his body and the metallic sweetness in his throat, he immediately used another Divine Spell, [Sink into Shadow].
His figure immediately turned black. There was not a single part of his body that was not wrapped in black.
This was the strongest power bestowed upon him by the God of Shadows: sinking himself into shadow. Although his body turned black and seemed to become more conspicuous,
this blackness only looked black to him. To others, it was as though he had completely vanished. There was no sound and no target.
Even if the enemy launched a large-scale attack, as long as it did not strike his chest, those attacks would pass through his body, which was covered by shadow.
Relying on this ability alone, Daryan could deal with Second-Tier Professionals.
He rolled sideways across the ground, leaving his original position. Just as he was about to struggle to his feet and see who had attacked him, determined to retaliate, before he could clearly see that figure, a burst of light suddenly illuminated his vision, stinging his eyes with pain.
He had never experienced sudden blindness before. Before he could understand what had happened, he felt all strength leave his body.
When he slightly regained his senses, he discovered that something like a wooden club seemed to be standing upright at his chest, and this wooden club had even lifted him into midair before flinging him to the side.
“This time, I really am returning to the Material Realm.”
Daryan’s vision was still filled with white light, and he had yet to recover his sight. All he could do was feel his consciousness continuously sinking.
---
The perspective returned to the room where Daryan had entered the Spirit Realm.
“Haha, Daryan did not even set up his barrier. It seems he really wants to die.”
A black sleeve pushed open the door. Upon seeing Daryan’s slightly illusory body, the tall figure in a black robe nearly laughed out loud.
If Daryan had opened his eyes at this moment, he would have discovered that this black-robed person was a member of the faith he had founded.
Before the black-robed person could do anything, he saw Daryan’s figure instantly solidify. The black-robed person immediately retreated, wanting to take advantage of the short time while the other party was descending from the Spirit Realm to withdraw.
But Daryan had not withdrawn from the Spirit Realm normally. He had directly died his way down from the Spirit Realm.
His chest bulged forward, and along with the sound of bones shattering, a dark-red stain appeared on his robe.
Bloody tears flowed from his eyes, and blood seeped from his nostrils and mouth. When he opened his eyes, the black-robed person saw only a sheet of white light.
Although Daryan still had not recovered his vision, he judged the other party’s identity from their breathing and panicked footsteps.
“This is fine too... At least it let me find a traitor.”
Daryan’s words sounded as though he were suppressing something, as though it would erupt in the very next second.