E-steel Death Demon.
Species: Creature of Light and Shadow.
Non-intelligent, brimming with savage instincts.
It attacks with its four arms, two of which are uniquely capable of transforming freely. It is naturally gifted with brutal melee attacks, extremely lethal.
The lowest individual strength found in this tribe is at Stage Four, the highest at Perfect Stage Four, and no individuals have reached Stage Five.
Lucille wrote on her scroll about the dream creature she had previously encountered.
This creature had been discovered and observed by Alka a long time ago, and he took her along to record it.
The reason Alka had devoted so much time and effort to observing this creature in his dreams was because it could compensate for his other weaknesses.
That is, his poor melee skills and rudimentary close combat methods.
As the magic gathering stone above the observation room was deactivated, Alka emerged, drenched in sweat.
Looking at Lucelia, who was writing in the atlas beside him, he asked, "How long have we been on this island?"
"Fifty-one days and nights."
"Has it been that long?" Alka asked, somewhat surprised.
Hearing this, Lucelia put down her pen and tilted her head to look at him. "So, what do you think? What level of strength have you reached now?"
"Sixteen spirals, two more than when I first arrived," Alka said.
"That's fine, so what's so strange about it taking so long?" Lucelia grumbled, once again concentrating on the atlas in front of her.
"Yeah, I didn't expect we'd been on this island this long?"
Alka said. There was nothing she could do. This Trial Island was simply too good to leave.
After all, the Trial Tower offered weekly training with a dedicated instructor, providing one-on-one, targeted service to improve strength. Such an opportunity was truly rare.
The main reason was that they hadn't yet reached the qualifications to challenge.
In the words of his own coach, to challenge, you had to be significantly stronger than your peers.
In other words, they didn't even have the ability to obtain the golden treasure.
However, this only applied to Alka and the others.
"Okay, now that we're done, let's go down. We have something important to do today."
"I know, right away." After a moment, Lucilia nodded in satisfaction.
"Now we just need Sofia to provide the illustrations."
After putting away the illustrations, the two jumped down from the observation room.
They arrived at the dining room in the aft deck and ate breakfast.
Everyone had already woken up.
Juanlu and Mathilda were eating breakfast at the table, but it was obvious that they were distracted.
"Don't be so nervous. Didn't your instructor tell you? You have the skills now," Sofia consoled them.
Hearing this, Juanlu took a deep breath and quickly finished the food in front of him.
He adjusted his mindset.
Matisa, however, remained somewhat concerned.
"But my instructor also said my fighting instincts aren't strong."
The only two people on the ship without treasures were preparing to participate in the challenge mode today.
Alka and the others weren't eligible for the challenge mode because their skills weren't up to par.
In their instructor's words, this was undoubtedly a waste of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But these two had no problem, as they didn't possess any treasures. Without control over their treasures, the challenge mode was naturally only challenging for those without them.
Under these circumstances, their requirements were naturally low.
Furthermore, for both of them, quickly completing the challenge mode and obtaining treasures were paramount. Their strength was falling further and further behind the others.
After this period of time, both of them had reached the third stage of strength, but the problem was that they were completely stuck there. To advance even a single spiral would require a long period of accumulation.
At least half a year would be required, and that was with the help of the Magic Gathering Stone.
But the others, like Alka, were faster, already reaching 16 spirals.
The others were between 12 and 14 spirals.
The bonus the Magic Gathering Stone provided to them was even more dramatic.
The growing gap would make it increasingly difficult for them to keep up. Although neither of them was primarily responsible for attacking the enemy on the ship,
they were more like logistics personnel, but when sailing in the vast sea, they had to maintain at least a basic level of strength.
If they were too far behind, they would only become a burden.
Not to mention that they had more distant goals.
After dinner.
Everyone quickly arrived at the Trial Tower.
Standing at the base of the Trial Tower,
Alka looked at the two.
He stretched out his hands, a dreamscape mingled with gold and silver energy, combined with some materials and Alka's own blood.
Using his divine lineage and the power of the Dream King, he forged a seal representing his power.
Alka's Seal of the King was a sphere composed of blue metallic lines, held in a single hand and surrounded by a faint pink mist.
Looking at the metallic seal,
The two took it.
Alka had already given them his Seal of the King, but this one looked more formal.
After all, neither Matresa nor Juanlu were exempt from formal qualifications.
Although Matresa was a saint of the Sea God, the problem was that their race was burdened with sin. Unless these sins were cleansed, they could not receive the Sea God's formal blessings.
Juanlu simply believed in the Virgin Mary and had nothing to do with sainthood.
"I'll go first," Juanlu said, taking the Seal of the King.
Alka nodded.
Watching Juanlu step onto the teleportation platform.
Everyone stood nearby, waiting to watch.
The Triangle was unusually excited, even emitting a faint blue glow.
After spending so much time together, everyone knew this signified his agitated state.
"So, are you ready? Although you already know, I must formally inform you beforehand. This challenge, once in a lifetime, is even more challenging. In challenge mode, your performance will be evaluated.
When you perform beyond your capabilities, achieving progress and transcendence, you will be favored and receive the rewards you deserve."
Juanlu stood on the teleportation platform, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Then, Trialist—Juanlu, raise your right hand, take your mark, and place it on the red stone pillar. I hope you will achieve progress and surpass yourself."
As he spoke, Triangle's emotions were intense.
This was the first time he had officially presided over a Trialist's challenge ceremony since being activated.
He had thought he would never have such an opportunity again until he was broken and decayed.
He was overcome with excitement.
This seemed to bring him back to his former glory for a brief moment.
Following the prompt, Juanlu raised his right hand, grasped the mark given by Alka in his palm, and then placed it on the red stone pillar on his right hand.
The blue line on the teleportation array flickered red, and with that flicker, Juanlu disappeared.
He officially began the challenge ceremony.
"I hope he can receive the reward he desires."
Simon said, watching Juanlu disappear.
This time, the others did not leave, but sat quietly around, waiting.
"Are you excited?" Jason asked, looking at the floating triangle.
"Of course, I have to thank you. This opportunity is rare."
Everyone just smiled.
While chatting, Alka looked at Julia and asked, "Did you clear the 4th floor?"
Julia shook her head. "I almost did last time, but I should be able to this time."
As their strength increased, especially for those on board who were originally only at the third level...
Originally, when they entered the Trial Tower, they only needed to reach the 4th floor to meet the instructor for guidance.
When they reached the 5th floor, the instructor was no longer on the 4th floor.
Because their strength had surpassed 10 spirals, they had to clear the 4th floor again before they could see the instructor for guidance.
This was the incentive provided by Normal Mode, the basic operating principle of the Trial Tower, so they had to clear it again.
At this time, the difficulty of the newly appeared floors would increase.
According to Alka's question to his instructor, all the trial challenge goals were actually created by them personally.
Their purpose is to allow those who have undergone their training to achieve even greater strength.
In reality, it's also a way to reject those who lack ambition.
Besides Julia, Simon is also in this state.
That's why Simon can still be seen constructing even more powerful new constructs to counter the situation.
Jason, Lucelia, Xiadeti, and Pororo have all successfully passed and reunited with their instructors.
At this moment, Lucelia, who was chatting with Xiadeti, suddenly stood up.
Looking at Lucelia, who had suddenly become alert over his shoulder, Xiadeti was puzzled.
Just as they were about to ask, Lucelia shouted, "There's a ship! A ship is approaching."
Everyone stood up at this, but Lucelia continued, "Not just one... there are three ships."
At this moment, the nearby Triangle suddenly said, "Can you see the markings on their ships?"
Lucille nodded, closing her eyes and communicating with the puppet girl on the Voice of the Dawn.
"A full moon wrapped in a snake."
"Oh, it's them! Don't be surprised. They're regulars," Triangle said nearby.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"That's perfectly normal. Didn't I tell you before? This is Trial Island. Although it's become a ruin, the Trial Tower is still intact.
This island, as you would call it, is a signpost island—the kind that doesn't move, as you know.
So, over the years since I was activated, I've hosted many trialists, but most of them come once and never return.
But there are exceptions, aren't there? There are always those with sufficient ability who establish forces and families, and naturally bring their offspring to the Trials for guidance and training.
There are quite a few families with such connections to this island, perhaps a dozen or so, though some haven't been here in ages."
As he spoke, magic power appeared before the triangle, forming various icons.
These icons represented the symbols of forces or families.
There was the full moon wrapped in a snake, as Lucilia had just mentioned.
There were also bony hands grasping blades. There were also simple markings or pierced skulls.
‐‐ There were also various animals, such as eagles, lions, and wolves.
‐‐"I remember this family was called... Talutara? I think that's what they were called. They last came here twenty or thirty years ago."
‐‐ They had only been here a few decades ago, so they were called regulars?
‐‐Hearing this, Alka nodded.
‐‐"In that case, a new generation has just grown up."
‐‐Twenty or thirty years is roughly the time it takes for a new generation to form in a normal human family.
‐‐"So, do you know anything about this family?" Jason asked from the side.
‐‐If someone else had asked the Triangle, they might not have been able to explain, as it was, after all, a highly intelligent construct.
‐‐It was difficult to share personal information, but Alka and the others were different.
‐‐All these families were merely ordinary Trialists, lacking even the formal qualifications.
But Alka and the others were different. They were all legitimate Trialists, capable of participating in Challenge Mode.
"I understand, right? If I ever have a family and children in the Boundless Sea, I might want to send them to the Trial Tower as well," Jason nodded.
"You can really learn a lot from the instructor. He's a rare teacher." Sofia still had great respect for her instructor.
It was said that she already called her instructor "Teacher."
Listening to everyone's conversation, Triangle said quietly, "Not everyone can receive guidance from the instructor."
Hearing this, everyone turned and looked at him in surprise.
What's the difference?
After all, everyone who reached the same level would receive guidance from the instructor, without exception.
Looking at everyone who had been here for so long, it seemed as if they still didn't know some of the most basic rules. Come to think of it, they didn't need to know about this at all.
A faint blue light shone from his body as he explained, "You should know that without a proper mark, or someone like you who possesses special privileges, you won't be able to see the instructors.
Unless some trial-takers have truly exceptional potential, they'll be favored by the instructors and willing to come down to teach them."
After hearing this explanation, everyone nodded in sudden realization.
So there was a reason.
They hadn't actually known about this yet, considering Alka had already given them the mark of power of the Dream Kings.
Or perhaps they were saints of the gods.
"Has it been so long since any member of the Church of the Four Gods has undergone a trial?" Pororo asked curiously.
Hearing this, Alka and the others also felt a little strange, their faces filled with confusion.
Looking at the strange expressions on everyone's faces,
Simon, standing nearby, was stunned. He couldn't help but exclaim, "You... don't think becoming a Saint of God is easy, do you?"
Everyone present, except Lucelia and Jason, were not Saints of God.
Everyone else was.
Of course, we had to exclude Julia, who had already strayed from the Seed of Life, but it was undeniable that she had been one before.
"Isn't that so?" Sofia asked curiously.
"Of course not? This is a very difficult thing to do." Simon then remembered what kind of monsters his companions were.
He couldn't help but sigh.
It was only later on that island that Alka and the others rescued him from the time freeze and inexplicably obtained a treasure.
It was only after this that he received the attention of God and became a Saint.
Before that, he was just an ordinary church member.
He wasn't born a Saint like the people before him.
Thinking of this, he sighed inexplicably.
What a bore!
"By the way, I haven't answered my previous question yet," Jason said.
"I don't know... I'm just a construct, and I've never been out. How can you expect me to know anything about these human families?"
The triangle made a puzzled sound.
But he still said a few simple words.
"At least they're relatively polite on this island. They're respectful every time they come, and they even help clear out the elemental-like creatures."
"They've already landed and headed straight for the harbor, without discovering the hiding place of the Voice of Dawn," Lucilia said.
At this moment, noises could be heard not far away.
The sound of chaotic footsteps could be heard.
The three ships docked, clearly indicating a large number of people.
Soon, they spotted the people entering the ruins of the wall from afar.
They wore ornate, form-fitting robes embroidered in blue and silver with various patterns.
But most of them bore snake-like patterns.
And there were far fewer people entering than they had expected.
At a glance, there were only about six people, the rest stopping at the entrance to the ruins.
They wore light, soft armor, and the weapons they carried indicated they were merely guards.
Those people looked at Alka and the others who were already around the Trial Tower, and they were also a little surprised.