Volume Two, The Devil’s Game Chapter One, A New Trial

Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye. As Lu Yi was engaged in a simulated battle with Andiel, he suddenly felt a faint repulsive force. He knew his second trial was about to begin.

Once again, he found himself wandering through the dense fog where even outstretched hands were invisible. This time, however, Lu Yi was no longer as tense as he had been during his first trial. He kept scanning his surroundings, but even when he called upon the power of the Magic Eye, he could not pierce the veil of mist around him.

He touched the ring on his finger and murmured, "It seems that, at this stage, the trial really is a matter of luck—whatever you run into, that's what you get."

Lu Yi walked on, and soon a faint light shone through the fog. He hurried forward.

Before long, a building appeared before him. The glow he'd seen came from this structure’s colorful lights. Above the entrance, the sign read "Experience Hall," and beside those words was a grotesque face.

"Spirits? I can't be that entangled with them," Lu Yi muttered, raising an eyebrow at the eerie face before stepping inside.

"Welcome," a chilly breeze swept over him the moment he crossed the threshold, accompanied by a cool, clear voice whispering in his ear.

"Oh," Lu Yi turned to find a girl in a white dress floating beside him—yes, floating. She had no legs.

The girl grinned, baring her teeth, and said, "Hold it, hold it. I'll go myself." Lu Yi quickly pushed open a nearby door and stepped through, closing it behind him.

"Damn!" As expected, the room was empty. He fell for a moment and landed on something soft and icy.

He sprang to his feet. The darkness around him gradually receded, revealing a lawn beneath his feet.

Heavy, urgent breaths sounded from behind him, accompanied by footsteps and the rustle of grass being parted.

Lu Yi turned to see a woman in athletic wear running toward him. She hadn't noticed him; her pace never faltered as she swept past, leaving a gust in her wake.

Before he could process what was happening, another gust swept by.

Lu Yi’s heart jolted, and his eyes narrowed. He immediately activated the Magic Eye, but saw nothing unusual. Still, he was certain something had just passed.

He turned and saw the knee-high grass parting on its own, clearly indicating that some invisible entity was pursuing the girl.

"Optical camouflage, or invisibility?" Lu Yi quickly activated the Wind Pendant and chased after the girl. Soon, a low wall built from stone appeared before him, with a narrow gap in the middle.

The girl had seen it too. She glanced back, and Lu Yi caught a hint of joy on her face.

She pulled out a yellow talisman. The scene froze, and a light screen appeared before Lu Yi.

"Sealing Talisman (Inferior): A world-exclusive item for the trial. When used, it seals a gap no longer than 1.5 meters, preventing the guardian from passing directly. Duration: 15 seconds or until it is attacked once. World-exclusive items cannot be taken out."

After reading the information, the world resumed. The girl dashed to the gap, slapped the talisman on one side, and ran onward.

The talisman immediately glowed gold, and the light enveloped the gap.

At that moment, the entity collided with the golden light. Though it did not reveal itself, its near-perfect invisibility was disrupted. Lu Yi could now see distortions in the scenery.

Just as Lu Yi thought the girl might escape, a resonant chime rang out. Dense black smoke billowed from the parted grass, and a humanoid figure appeared.

Suddenly, the creature’s eyes flared with bright red light. The world froze again.

"Frenzy Mode: Every two hours, the guardian enters a five-minute frenzy. Skill power increases during this period. After five minutes, the guardian is replaced."

Two hours? Five minutes? Replaced? Lu Yi immediately noted these clues. It seemed this was a short-term mission.

The world resumed. The guardian leapt, shrinking into a small black dot in Lu Yi’s vision before crashing down somewhere.

A scream echoed—clearly, the girl hadn’t escaped.

The landscape rapidly contracted toward Lu Yi, condensing into a glowing sphere before him. The sphere flickered several times, revealing a message:

"Mission Objective: Survive under four guardians or complete the sealing of four stone pillars."

"Sealing?" Lu Yi was puzzled.

The system quickly explained, and a square map appeared before him, soon dotted with nine points.

The central red dot enlarged first. The system explained, "This is the town’s clock tower, where the chime just sounded."

"In the cardinal directions—east, south, west, north—as well as southeast, northeast, southwest, northwest, there is a sealing stone pillar." As the system spoke, these points lit up.

Lu Yi examined the map. It was a perfect square; the eight sealing pillars were at the four corners and the midpoint of each side.

"Each pillar has five slots for embedding stones—corresponding to the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, earth. Only one stone can be embedded per pillar. Embedding a stone takes two minutes." An animation showed a person placing a sealing stone into a pillar.

"Five minutes after the chime, the map will shrink, and the pillars will contract accordingly. The final area will not be less than one-third of the original map." A red border appeared on the map; after two hours, it would contract.

Battle royale? Lu Yi smirked inwardly and asked, "What happens if I’m outside the red border?"

"You cannot reach beyond the red border. Invisible barriers surround the pillars; even if you’re at the edge, the barrier will push you inside."

"Additionally, guardians cannot be eliminated, sealed, or banished by any means during this mission."

Lu Yi cast a meaningful glance at the word "banished," feeling the system was targeting him.

"There are two types of items in this world: talismans," a talisman appeared on screen, "and capsule items. They may be modern or technologically advanced. Details are for the trial participant to discover."

"Now, here are the mission specifics:

Mission Objective: Survive under four guardians or complete the sealing of four stone pillars.

Additional Achievement: During this trial, appear before different guardians three times, each for at least ten minutes, and use no more than forty-five talismans. Complete this achievement for a 20% bonus to the final reward."

"Initiating teleportation."

"A random event has been triggered. Certain details of this trial will change, and the reward and difficulty caps will increase. Please explore and discover the specifics yourself."