Child of Destiny

After retracting his stance and checking on the system notifications, Shin went ahead and looked at the rewards for passing this trial.

*Ding*

System: Congratulations on passing the third floor’s trial!

System: You are now eligible to become a Beginner Trialist!

*Ding*

System: You have gotten your initial rewards!

System: You have gained the Exit Token (x1)

*Ding*

System: As the first person to have reached the 3rd floor (Easy Difficulty), you have gained an additional reward!

System: You have gained an additional reward!

System: You have gained 500 inheritance stones!

*Ding*

System: You have survived for a total of 12 hours, reaching the limit of this trial.

System: You are eligible for additional rewards!

System: You have gained 600 inheritance stones!

*Ding*

System: You have yet to get the recognition of the Inheritance Tower and become its true disciple!

System: You have yet to gain any access to the Inheritance Shop.

*Ding*

System: The Challenger is a special candidate worthy of administrators’ attention!

System: You are qualified for the secondary trial.

System: Would you like to accept the additional trial?

…

Looking at the string of notifications, Shin could not help but slightly raise his brows. There was nothing much to be surprised about.

At the very least, he now had the means to leave the island once he exited this tower.

“Getting here is easy, but getting out is quite troublesome,” he mumbled, recalling how he had been trapped on this island.

Now, with the help of the Exit Token, he could at least leave this place without any issue.

He originally thought that he could rush through all the floors of this tower and reach the 9th floor without any issue. That way, he would be able to pause his process and come back again later.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated this tower a bit too much.

He must admit that training here had its merits, especially when it came to improving his overall strength and polishing his fighting style, promoting his combat prowess to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, he could not gain any experience points within the tower, which was delaying his other process.

He could only return here after a month (In-game Time) upon his exit. It was neither too long nor too short. However, he had to give up all his progress altogether and start over again.

Fortunately, he had already experienced all the trials that he needed to face, so it should not be that difficult compared to his first time.

The only thing that concerned him was whether he could choose another legacy to explore and train with upon his re-entry, or if he had to finish all the trials meant for the inheritance of Phantom Swordsman Class before he could choose another.

After all, the system had not mentioned anything about this yet.

As for the rewards, he could at least tell that they were one-time rewards, which he could only get once upon clearing each floor.

After all, it would be too absurd if he could repeatedly farm such rewards every month.

The inheritance stones were a special currency after all, so they should have enough significance within this tower.

“Together with the one thousand inheritance stones that I have gotten from the second floor, I should have a total of two thousand one hundred now,” he mumbled after looking at the currency panel that he had.

He then shook his head after realizing that he was still far from unlocking the inheritance shop. “It is just a pity that I still can’t open the inheritance shop and see what they can offer.”

He was unable to confirm the value of these inheritance stones since he did not have any access to the inheritance shop yet. But since it was given as a special reward, they should not be that bad.

At the same time, Shin also noticed that he was still unable to directly leave the tower yet. It was still asking him if he wanted to proceed with the extra trial before he could exit the tower or continue to the next floor.

Recalling his experience from Doran on the previous floor, Shin could not help but pray a little. “Please, make it not as hellish as that one.”

He did not immediately press ‘accept’, wanting to make sure that he was in his peak form before proceeding with the extra trial.

After a while, he finally pressed the ‘accept’ button in front of him.

Swoosh!

Immediately after, a blinding light suddenly illuminated the entire dark place.

Due to the sudden appearance of this bright light, Shin could not help but slightly tilt his head to the side to avoid it, even shielding his eyes from it with his hands.

Swoosh!

While he was doing this, Shin suddenly heard an extremely faint sound coming from the side, which was also his current blind spot.

This sound was extremely sneaky, making it hard to notice. If not for Shin’s sharp senses and remaining alert at all times, then he would have most likely missed it.

He did not even notice that it entered his ‘Zone’ until it was already near him.

Regardless, Shin was still able to respond to it.

Swoosh!

He was able to raise his sheathed sword and deflect the incoming attack despite not looking at it.

Clang!

Given all the training that he just underwent during his time within this tower, such a crude ambush was too clumsy for his taste.

Swoosh!

He immediately turned his body, preparing to counterattack. He was still unable to see the other party, but he quickly judged their position just based on the sound and the angle from which the attack was coming.

“Eh!?”

However, he immediately realized that the other party swiftly retreated right after the single exchange earlier.

He also noticed that the opposing party seemed to have no intention of continuing their assault, signifying that the earlier exchange was just a mere ‘greeting’.

Retracting his stance, Shin stood straight and looked at the other party.

Right after, his eyes could not help but contract a little. It was because he saw that the other party seemed to be an undead, a Spectral Thief to be exact.

Moreover, based on their features, they seemed to be women as well.

While Shin was looking at her, the other party seemed to be observing him as well.

It took a while before she nodded her head and commented. “Not too bad. No wonder Doran took an interest in you.”

“Not only is your foundation good, but your growth rate is quite astonishing as well,” she added while giving Shin an appreciative look.

It was only at this moment that Shin snapped out of his daze and gave the other party a bow. “Senior.”

Hearing this, the other seemed to be a bit displeased and said. “Don’t call me senior! It makes me feel too old.”

“Call me Big Sister instead!” she added in a demanding tone.

The corner of Shin’s mouth could not help but twitch when he heard his mumbling to himself. ‘Big Sister? Given the era that you have lived in, you should be a grandmother instead – even ‘old ancestor’ would be more fitting.”

Fortunately, the expression that he was making was currently being hidden by his mask, so the other party could not see it.

However, given her strength, it was not that hard to guess what he was thinking. “I will forgive you this time since it has been a long time since this place has become this lively.”

“I am not as chatty as that idiot, so let’s get down to business,” she said while looking at Shin sharply. “Your task is simple – you just have to survive my attacks for at least an hour.”

“Simple, isn’t it?” she added while the expression on her face turned into contempt.

The corner of Shin’s mouth further twitched when he heard this and could not help but curse silently. ‘Simple my *ss! You want me to survive an onslaught of an old monster like you? Don’t you think it is too much of a bully?’

Seemingly able to read what Shin was thinking, she immediately ‘reassured’ him. “Do not worry. I am not going to bully you too much. I will seal most of my powers and match your level. It should be enough to teach you a lesson.”

It was clear that she was enjoying this, given the expression that she was making.

At the same time, Shin could not help but use his True Sight Ocular Skill to inspect her basic details.

——————

[NPC Name]: Cecil of the Lost World

[NPC Title]: The Lost Spirit, The Guide of the Underworld, ???

Race: Kindred Specter (Transcendent Undead)

Class: ???

Level: ???

???

???

——————

Seeing this, Shin could not help but sigh helplessly, knowing that he was up for another hellish bullying. ‘Another old monster, alright.’

Her status bar was not much different from Doran’s, which had a bunch of question marks aside from the three basic pieces of information.

This alone was more than enough to tell Shin that he was up for a good beating.

……