The Corpse Exhibition, Part 7
A blinding flash erupted.
A dark red energy leaking from the Life Vessel enveloped my entire body.
My vision plunged into darkness.
At the same time, a strange sensation of floating rapidly took hold of me.
And then...
'Where am I...?'
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in an entirely different world.
An endless wasteland stretched out before me.
Overhead, a multicolored aurora shimmered across the sky.
This surreal landscape, straddling the boundary between life and death, subtly hinted at the theme of this trial.
"..."
Camilo von Taribas.
This was an illusory world created by him and the evil god he had contracted with.
Unlike other trials designed to test a challenger's worthiness...
This was the worst kind of stage—one designed solely to kill the challenger.
The trial begins.
Objective: Survive for half a day.
Burst!
Skeleton soldiers began clawing their way out of the ground, one after another.
Clad in sturdy armor and wielding rusted weapons, the undead radiated a blind, burning hostility toward the living.
"Graaaagh!"
The moment they spotted me, the skeleton soldiers let out guttural roars and charged.
The dark red light in their hollow eye sockets flickered like beasts that had just locked eyes with their prey.
'There's no end to them.'
Shring.
I drew the Feather Sword and scanned the horizon.
Beyond the distant wasteland, undead were continuously rising from the earth.
The concept of this trial was simple.
Survive a relentless monster wave for half a day, and it would be over.
'Of course, while the rules are simple, the actual execution is incredibly brutal.'
By default, this trial spawned enemies with levels higher than the challenger.
For example, if a level 90 powerhouse entered, they would face high-tier undead of at least level 91.
'It's a truly hellish difficulty.'
At high levels, a single level difference was an insurmountable wall.
And they expected someone to endure that for half a day?
The stronger the challenger, the more structurally impossible the mission became.
Even back when I played Lost Elder, the number of times I had successfully cleared this trial could be counted on one hand. That said it all.
'However...'
'...In my case, the situation is a bit different.'
A dry chuckle escaped my lips the moment I saw the level tags floating above the enemies.
Perhaps it was because I had spent so much time facing terrifying monsters between levels 80 and 100, but seeing such trivial numbers suddenly made all my tension evaporate.
'They're complete weaklings.'
Yes.
My current level was a mere 3.
Which meant the enemies I would face in this trial would also have absurdly low levels.
As I had noted before, the gap between low levels and high levels in Lost Elder was vast. The difference between level 90 and 91 was far greater than the difference between level 70 and 80.
But if you flipped that logic?
It meant that at low levels, a difference of a few levels was practically meaningless.
'In that case...'
What was the actual difference between level 3 and level 5?
'It might as well not exist.'
Besides, I was one of the few irregularities in the world of Lost Elder.
Considering I had easily defeated level 20 enemies in Labyrinth Village without using a single skill...
'This is a piece of cake.'
A trial that would be a horrific nightmare for high-level players was nothing more than a free pass for me.
Flash!
Gaon's body was sucked into the Life Vessel.
The trial had officially begun.
If he passed this test, Camilo's centuries-long immortality would be shattered.
"Kekeke...!"
Yet, Camilo von Taribas remained entirely at ease.
"To actually challenge the trial. How incredibly arrogant."
He spoke as if his own demise was the furthest thing from his mind.
Sikan Bauer's face contorted in anger as he shot back.
"What makes you so confident?"
"Ha."
Camilo let out a mocking laugh.
"You people couldn't even squeak a moment ago, and now you carry yourselves with such pride?"
"That is..."
"No matter. Let us see if you can maintain that confidence once that man loses his life in the trial."
Hummmm.
The Life Vessel that had swallowed Gaon pulsed with an eerie red light.
Camilo's sinister laughter echoed throughout the exhibition hall.
"Kekek, it would have been much better if one of you had challenged the trial instead."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Sikan Bauer questioned, to which Camilo replied in a mocking tone.
"This trial is structured to become harder the stronger the challenger is. If it were one of you, you might have stood a slim chance of enduring it, but..."
Camilo's voice dripped with absolute certainty of his victory.
"The swordsmanship that man displayed was more powerful than any Sword Master I have encountered in my hundreds of years of existence."
"..."
"Therefore, the trial will be correspondingly harsher. Kekek."
Adelia and Sikan Bauer fell silent.
There was nothing they could do now but wait for the result.
Time flowed slowly in the heavy silence.
Only the crimson glow emitted by the Life Vessel illuminated the dark room.
"...An hour has already passed."
Sikan Bauer pulled out a pocket watch and muttered quietly.
Tick, tock.
An hour had already gone by since Gaon entered the trial.
Normally, if a challenger died, the light of the trial would fade.
However, the Life Vessel continued to radiate a brilliant crimson glow.
A hint of bewilderment crept into Camilo's voice.
"Hmm...?"
One hour.
It was a duration that most powerful experts would have failed to survive.
Yet, far from fading, the crimson energy of the Life Vessel only grew more intense.
"Ha, hahah! To think he could hold out this long! I suppose he had a reason for his arrogance!"
Time flew by.
"T-this is strange. Why is he still..."
By the second hour, Camilo's voice began to tremble.
"W-what? Why isn't it ending?"
By the third hour, all trace of composure had vanished from Camilo's voice.
"..."
And finally, by the fourth hour, a heavy silence descended upon the exhibition hall.
Camilo's confident laughter was no longer heard.
Instead, the crimson light radiating from the crystal sphere grew increasingly intense, casting an ominous shadow over the room.
Whirrrr.
Adelia and Sikan Bauer held their breath, staring intently at the Life Vessel.
The deeper Camilo's anxiety grew, the brighter their hope became.
Tick, tick, tick.
The second hand of the watch moved slowly but steadily toward the foreordained conclusion.
The end of the immortal was drawing near.
How many hours had I been moving continuously?
'I don't know.'
My entire body was screaming in agony.
I had pushed past my physical limits long ago.
Yet, driven by pure instinct, my sword and body continued to ruthlessly cut down the enemies before me.
*Whoosh!*
I swung the Feather Sword horizontally.
It wasn't a conscious action. My mind and body had long since disconnected.
It felt like watching a character move on a monitor back when I played Lost Elder.
It was as if I were observing my own battle from a third-person perspective.
The tip of my sword moved, cleanly shattering the neck bones of a skeleton soldier through my blurred vision.
"Graaaagh!"
The skeleton soldier collapsed with a shriek.
But there was no time to rest. Dozens of enemies were already closing in to surround me.
There was no respite.
Clinging to my fading consciousness, I dragged myself through the battle.
Your MAX Mental Strength exerts superhuman willpower.
Resisting loss of consciousness.
Resisting physical pain.
*Ding, ding, ding!*
Notifications poured down continuously in the corner of my vision.
They didn't hinder my combat. The message windows only appeared in a way that didn't obstruct my view.
Was this also a convenience of the game system?
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but it was quickly crushed by the sheer weight of my extreme physical exhaustion.
"Haa... haah..."
My breath caught in my throat.
My head spun, and my entire body trembled as if I might collapse at any second.
I was enduring all of this solely through sheer, unyielding willpower.
'Should I use the Earth Dragon's Heart now?'
It was a tempting thought that had been nagging at me ever since the trial began.
If my base physical stats increased, dealing with these skeleton soldiers would become much easier.
'No.'
I suppressed the rising urge.
Biting the inside of my lip, I gripped the hilt of the Feather Sword tighter.
'I have to hold out until the very end.'
No matter how hard it got, I couldn't use the Earth Dragon's Heart. Not until I secured the rewards of the Corpse Exhibition.
Wasn't the whole reason I came here to maximize the effects of the Earth Dragon's Heart?
If I consumed the item now, all my efforts up to this point would go down the drain.
'So...'
Just a little longer. Let's hold out just a bit more.
"Ugh!"
I gritted my teeth.
I brainwashed myself, repeating that this pain was not in vain.
After all, to gain something, one had to endure the corresponding hardship.
You have endured excruciating pain for a prolonged period.
Passive Skill: [Low-grade Pain Resistance] has evolved into [Low-Intermediate Pain Resistance].
And Lost Elder was a world where the rewards for a player's suffering were always delivered with absolute precision.
'Ah.'
My mind cleared up instantly.
The screams of my body seemed to quiet down.
Had my physical condition improved? No. It was just that my pain threshold had risen significantly.
It was like receiving a temporary shot of painkillers.
'But that's more than enough.'
I stared at the enemies surrounding me through my clearer vision.
Although the skeleton soldiers had been only level 5 when the trial began...
...their levels had already reached 15.
"Ha, hahaha."
A weak laugh escaped me.
A genuinely pleased smile spread across my lips.
Why was I laughing when the enemies had grown stronger? It was simple.
As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of this trial was scaled to the challenger's level.
'Which means...'
Stamina has slightly increased.
Strength has slightly increased.
Perception has slightly increased.
Level increased! (10 → 11)
'...It also means I have grown that much.'
Indeed.
I, who had been a mere level 3 when I first entered the trial, had already surpassed level 10 and reached level 11.
'Thank you, Camilo.'
'Thanks to you, I'm growing at a breakneck pace.'
You have cleared the trial prepared by '■@■#!?■%'.