Chapter 86: The Trial

Chen Qi gazed excitedly at the text. Next, the final battle awaited him!

[You look upon the vast trial grounds; before you lies an interior structure like a great dome! You scan your surroundings—an empty palace-like space. At the far end, beside the throne, stand various statues.]

But unlike the statues before, you can feel the terrifying power emanating from these ones.

[At the far end, a solemn statue sits upon the throne of the city lord, draped in a long robe, its gaze fixed upon you.]

[That is the statue of the Lord of Mist City, and also his corpse. The statue opens its eyes; within its hollow black sockets, a flicker of flame ignites.]

[A voice reverberates through the space…]

[The trial begins!]

No hint, no introduction—just straight into the trial…

Chen Qi had expected at least some opening speech or guidance.

He took a deep breath, focused all his attention, and prepared for the trial!

[The statue nearest to you begins to rampage! It loves to eat!]

[You look at the three-meter-tall statue: its body is plump, dressed in thin brown garments, its face reminiscent of a seal.]

[The statue opens its enormous mouth and charges at you! You grip your long blade and dodge backward.]

[Its massive stone jaws snap toward you again!]

[To your surprise, the statue’s goal seems not to be “you,” but rather it is drawn by a certain scent.]

[You look at the portly statue and toss it the frozen fish given to you by Lady Mist.]

The statue seems to catch the aroma of the fish, snatches it up with its enormous hand, and devours it!

[After chewing the frozen fish, the portly statue opens its mouth and stops before you.]

Is it asking for more?

Chen Qi, drawing from reality, took all the dried meat from his room!

[You continuously take out dried meat, piling it into a small mound.]

[The statue senses the deliciousness, picks up the dried meat, and stuffs it all into its mouth, chewing…]

[Crunch, crunch!]

[After a hearty meal, the statue closes its eyes, blissfully content.]

[At the far end, the city lord’s statue’s eyes blaze with fire.]

[Traveler, you have passed the first trial, the Trial of Bloom, in a unique way…]

Wait…

Chen Qi analyzed the situation before him.

These statues must be Mist Statues too.

They were not merely combat statues, but retained certain thoughts.

What he needed to do was not defeat them, but, as with the Gravekeeper, fulfill their lingering wishes!

The Lord of Mist City had, from the start, devised two ways to pass the trials.

One was to conquer the statues with force; the other was to satisfy their desires.

Lady Mist had discovered these special ways to pass, and placed items in the tomb to help others succeed!

So those four items and their clues were all meant to help him through the trials.

Chen Qi took a deep breath, admitting that entering Lady Mist’s tomb first had helped him greatly.

Having sorted his thoughts, he continued reading the text.

[The second trial, the Trial of Script, begins.]

[In the distance, you see a female statue with short hair. She loves to record stories from her journeys and tell strange tales.]

[Her figure is petite, adorned with round spectacles; even as a statue, she exudes a scholarly air.]

[She holds a pen, writing ceaselessly on sheets of paper.]

[As she writes, some characters leap from the book, racing across the floor toward you!]

Trial of Script…

Is this where the epitaph page is needed?

Chen Qi clicks the epitaph page.

[As the characters approach, they solidify into a massive wall of ice, rushing toward you!]

[Black Flame Burial!]

[You swing your blade; spiritual power erupts from your body, and a torrent of black flame tears forth, halting the spread of the ice walls!]

[You skirt around the ice walls and dash toward the distant Script Statue!]

[As you approach, the Script Statue sees the page in your hand!]

[She adjusts her slipping glasses, bends down, and hopes to exchange the page with you.]

[Will you hand over the epitaph page?]

Just as expected…

Chen Qi decisively chooses yes!

[You hand the epitaph page to her.]

[You obtain two pages of Ice Wall Paper.]

[Ice Wall Paper:

Attribute: Ice.

Description: Pages crafted by the Script Statue, inscribed with structured spell formations.

Ice Wall Paper: Can be used directly without consuming spiritual power, creating an ice wall capable of absorbing 300–500 damage!]

Three to five hundred damage absorption, and it doesn’t cost spiritual power—that’s pretty good…

Chen Qi stowed it in his inventory.

[You are a decent person; the Script Statue takes the epitaph page, hesitates, then slowly writes her epitaph with her pen. With that, she falls silent.]

[You have passed the second trial.]

[At the far end, the city lord statue looks at you and gestures.]

[The third trial, the Trial of Hammer, begins!]

[A statue leaps forth, its entire body wrapped in bandages, slender in form, with long, thin limbs.]

[For greater efficiency and more perfect craftsmanship, it has installed two extra hands!]

[It scrutinizes your figure with its slender fingers.]

Trial of Hammer…

Chen Qi recalled that in New Sun Game, most item crafting received bonuses from Hammer Bearers.

He checked the hints from the task items Lady Mist had provided.

[The statue before you seems quite interested in you and your belongings!]

[It says nothing, but stretches out its hand.]

Earlier, Lady Mist had mentioned bringing some clothing materials.

Chen Qi thought for a moment, then took out the Mist Fur from his backpack, tossing out the cow-hide coat and cow-hide hat as well…

[The Hammer Statue shakes its head and continues to survey you.]

Not enough?

Chen Qi gritted his teeth and threw out the Mist Core.

If that’s not enough, he’ll have to take off the Night Wanderer’s Garment…

[The Hammer Statue takes the Mist Core, examines it closely, and threads appear in its hands.]

[It abandons the thought of weaving your flesh, and begins to craft clothing.]

[You grip your long blade, remain alert, and silently watch as the statue weaves…]

This statue is tailoring equipment…

Chen Qi looked at the game text, somewhat excited.

It seemed the Hammer Statue’s goal was to craft a garment.

Let’s hope its skill is not lacking…

[After a long while…]

[The Hammer Statue halts its weaving.]

A highlighted message pops up.

[The Hammer Statue’s four hands stop, and it hands you the garment!]

[You have obtained the Mist Walker’s Garment!]

Chen Qi examined the garment—this piece had cost him all his items.

[Mist Walker’s Garment:

Description: Clothes woven from beast drops of the Mist.

Attribute: Void

Properties: Agility +10

Swift Leap (Active): Allows you to move at extreme speed for a short time, creating a powerful airflow behind you. (Ten-minute cooldown)

Mist Concealer: This garment silences your footsteps and conceals your external spiritual flow; unless someone possesses advanced spirit sight, you remain undetectable.

You will be even more hidden in mist.]

Agility +10, plus a pretty good agility skill!

With this garment, his agility would be greatly enhanced!

Chen Qi looked at the text; this garment was quite good, far more practical than the Night Wanderer’s Garment!

He continued reading.

[The Hammer Statue gazes at its final creation, its expression complicated, averting its eyes from you before closing them.]

Chen Qi exhaled—this trial, too, was likely passed.

[You have passed the Trial of Hammer, and your body has not been modified.]

[The city lord statue looks at you; suddenly, the lights around extinguish.

The trial grounds fall into darkness.]

[The world seems to grow silent.]

Reading the text, Chen Qi took a deep breath.

He wondered what the next trial would be.

[In the darkness, you look into the distance, where only a tiny flame burns, shedding a faint light.

That small flame burns in the darkness, yet radiates immense power!]

[You grip your long blade; your chest rises and falls, your hand trembles faintly, as a terrifying oppressive force emanates from the darkness!]

[The blade tip scrapes the ground—]

The Lord of Mist City’s statue slowly rises, stepping down from the throne.

A message in blood-red text appears!

[He approaches you, drawing his long blade…]

[The Lord of Mist City’s statue’s eyes flash scarlet—this is the final trial, the Trial of Blade!]

Thank you to Madman of Zaun for the 100-point coin reward! To Qianshou (I still can't spell this character) for the 300-point coin reward! To “I Was Kissed by a Pig When I Was Young” for the 600-point coin reward! And thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and reading—thank you so much!

ps: Will fix any typos tomorrow—writing was a bit rushed

(End of chapter)