MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1605: Breaking Barriers: Unorthodox Means

”...”

Feeling Aeramis glare daggers at him as he made his way to where the former stood, Ataraxia responded to the gaze with a slightly embarrassed smile, understanding the reasoning for the man’s sudden change in expression...

Which was his unorthodox way of clearing the second trial.

Although he had already come up with the idea of doing it ever since he attempted the second trial for the first time, Ataraxia only committed to making use of it by the time he was on his third and last attempt.

After all, with the demonstration Aeramis did for him before taking on the trial himself, the man showed him that there was a certain area he could move around if he wanted to dodge the beams that headed his way.

Though the man did not explicitly state it, he understood that Aeramis expected him to follow that unmentioned rule.

However, that’s where the problem also lied.

Since the man himself did not explicitly state that he couldn’t move beyond the area Aeramis moved in during the demonstration...

What was stopping him from just avoiding all of the beams at all times by making use of the box’s large area?

Although thoughts of going against the man’s undisclosed rules during the final attempt lingered in his mind, the young man eventually came to a compromise, deciding to tackle the trial the way it was intended as long as it was still within his capabilities.

However, once the trial began to exceed his capabilities, he would show no hesitation in making use of the movement, lest he missed the opportunity to upgrade the Extended Title he received.

Then again, the fact that he could reach the 800th set without having to rely on the unorthodox method even once astounded him.

After all, back when he was just starting to get used to the mechanics of the second trial, Ataraxia surmised that he’d only be able to dodge around 14 or so beams if he were to push himself.

Yet, thanks to the experience he accumulated, as well as the improved reaction speed given to him by the Extended Title, he was able to push that limit to 24, close to double of what he could dodge at the start of the second trial.

”I presume you already understand why I’m looking at you like this, no?”

As Aeramis asked him this question, the embarrassed smile on Ataraxia’s face deepened.

”I would be stupid if I didn’t,” said the young man after that, faintly nodding at the man’s question. ”It’s the method I used to clear the remaining portion of the second trial, right?”

”At least you’re cognizant of your actions,” said Aeramis in return, the stern expression previously adorning his face slightly loosening.

”Though I did not explicitly mention any limits to your movement during the trial, it still feels a bit disingenuous that you cleared what would be considered the hardest portion of the trial through such means.”

”Well...” Hearing those words, the young man slightly shrugged his shoulders, briefly recalling what happened back in the previous trial. ”You didn’t have any problems with me doing something similar in the first trial, though.”

”That... is a different matter,” replied Aeramis, finishing his sentence after giving it a bit of thought. ”In that scenario, you could say that you were making the most out of that situation.”

”On the other hand, what you’ve done in the second trial is...”

”Different?” Ataraxia raised his eyebrow at those words, feeling as if the man was starting to contradict himself. ”Have you not considered that using such movements could also be considered as me making the most out of the situation?”

At those words, Aeramis briefly went silent, the gears in his mind turning as he wrapped his head around the entire thing.

”...Ah.” Closing his eyes for a bit, the man eventually gave Ataraxia a look of understanding, only to then give him a slightly apologetic smile.

Then, faintly shaking his head to rid his mind of his previous train of thought, the smile on Aeramis’ face turned awry as he told the young man, ”You know... you’ve got a knack for exploiting the weak points of my trials and making the most out of it.”

”In a way, you’re the exact opposite of what I hoped to find in someone who would inherit my abilities.”

Seeing that the man in front of him understood that he was in the wrong, Ataraxia decided not to dwell on the previous matter any further. ”Is that a problem?”

”As someone who would inherit my abilities at the end of this, not at all.” Aeramis shook his head at the question. ”However, it is a problem for those who might come across this inheritance of mine in the future.”

”Ah.” Of course, considering the context of their previous conversation, it did not take long for the young man to understand what the man was hinting at, causing a self-mocking smile to appear on his face not long after.

”Then again, there’s not much point in you thinking about the future of this inheritance,” the man continued, letting out a chuckle. ”After all, neither you nor the others currently tackling the inheritance would be affected by those changes anyway.”

Ataraxia faintly nodded in agreement, letting out a small chuckle of his own.

”However, there is a change that would greatly affect you,” said Aeramis after that, giving the young man a knowing smile.

”The reward that comes with reaching the second trial’s limits.”

Whoosh!

Without any hesitation, the man brought up a screen in front of him once more, interacting with it for a bit as he made a few changes to the screen’s content.

Then, once he was done confirming the changes he had made, he then infused those changes into a strand of energy, only to send that same strand to Ataraxia not long after.

Ding!

Hearing the system’s notifications go off in his mind the moment he received the strand, the young man already knew what Aeramis had done, prompting him to bring up his notification screen.

However, just as he was about to take a look at the notifications he received...

”Well, with that out of the way...”

”Let’s move on to the third trial, shall we?”