Novice Village No. 60001.
In the crowded novice village, Ye Tianxie — clad in the most old-fashioned novice gear — remained the crowd’s focal point. Even without a splendid outfit, that face of his was still a super-weapon that slew the eyeballs of men and women alike. Every time he returned to the novice village, Ye Tianxie found that adjusting his looks up to the maximum wasn’t always such a good thing.
“Hey there, little brother — come on, big sister will take you leveling, free of charge… and we can play some really fun games too…” A woman decked out head to toe in Steel gear, carrying the charm of a young married woman, grabbed his arm, a pair of coquettish eyes flirting for all they were worth… plainly a frustrated, love-starved wife pining away in her boudoir. Ye Tianxie’s gear had, naturally, gotten him taken for a fresh newcomer.
“Hey, handsome, this piece of gear is for you… can we add each other as friends?” A girl who looked seventeen or eighteen took out a Level 5 plain-stat Steel sword and gazed at him, her face full of bashfulness.
“Hey there, want to play together?” This time it was a middle-aged auntie in her forties…
By the time Ye Tianxie finally made it safely before the novice village chief, a whole row of cold sweat was already beaded on his forehead.
“Brave young man, it truly has been a long while. Oh? Your level has already reached 10? Heh heh, well done, well done — you’ve come to take the class-advancement trial, haven’t you?” On seeing Ye Tianxie, a smile immediately piled onto the chief’s face.
Just moments ago, Ye Tianxie’s level had finally reached 10. Compared with those gaming fanatics who never logged out for twenty-four hours a day, his daily playtime these past days never exceeded ten hours — yet with the help of the Hour of Eternal Fate, his level hadn’t been outpaced in the slightest. The Hour of Eternal Fate, having lost all its Fate Cores, still held an Immortal Spirit grade rating, and combined with a leveling efficiency beyond any ordinary person’s reach, there was simply no way for others to open a gap on him.
“Yes, village chief. I’ve come to take the novice class-advancement trial, and then head to the mysterious Lost Continent.” Ye Tianxie answered with a smile.
“Very good. I’m sure that on that mysterious Lost Continent, you’ll have a glorious journey others will envy. Now… only by passing the class-advancement trial will you earn the qualification to be sent there. The class-advancement trial has five difficulties in all: Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare, and Abyss… Which tier of trial would you like to undertake?”
Ye Tianxie’s gaze was level. He parted his lips and said, slowly and in earnest, “Abyss tier.”
The chief nodded slightly and smiled. “Your answer doesn’t surprise me. Your eyes and your courage both told me you’d surely choose the greatest challenge. Very well, I’ll send you all to the Abyss-tier trial ground right away. But, brave young man, remember these words of mine: in the face of an enemy too powerful, failure is not a disgrace, but a kind of wealth — it will make you hunger for greater strength. Now, call all your companions here.”
Up to now, no team had ever passed the Abyss-tier trial — not even the Nightmare tier. Just how great the Abyss trial’s difficulty was, and what awaited at the very end of it, he knew perfectly well. And so he knew that those who chose the Abyss-tier trial were stepping into a true abyss… a trial that was, for newcomers, simply impossible to complete.
He didn’t stop Ye Tianxie or try to talk him out of it, because, just as he’d said, failure would drive him to hunger for greater strength.
“I don’t have any companions. Just send me alone.” Ye Tianxie smiled, handing the novice village chief an answer that left him dumbstruck.
“Oh. Brave young man, surely you can’t mean that? Don’t tell me you intend to challenge the Abyss-tier trial alone?” The chief looked at him in utter astonishment. A team of twelve couldn’t break through even half of the Abyss trial, and he meant to challenge it by himself — was this foolish ignorance, or blind madness…?
“Yes. Please, village chief, teleport me to the trial ground.” Ye Tianxie answered.
“This… brave young man, you surely don’t know how terrifying the Abyss-tier trial is. Many adventurers from the same world as you have tried to enter it, but not one has come back alive. Though you adventurers from another world won’t truly die, there’s a death penalty there all the same… Ah, I may as well tell you: the Abyss-tier trial is a trial that simply cannot be passed. Even if you could reach the very end of it, what awaits you would be…”
“Village chief, you don’t need to tell me all this.” Ye Tianxie shook his head, the smile still on his face. “I like thrills and challenges — the more unwinnable the challenge, the more I want to attempt it. And besides…” His gaze turned sharp, sharp as a hawk peering down from on high, poised to dive at any moment. “I’m absolutely not just going to challenge and try. Once I make a choice, I must win… I am a man who cannot afford to lose!”
“But…”
“There is no ‘but.'” Ye Tianxie cut the chief off, his eyebrows lifting, the corner of his mouth curling up. “There has never been a true absolute in this world. Even the most terrifying abyss has its end. Village chief, send me.”
The chief looked straight at Ye Tianxie, wordless for a long while. In this moment, it was as if he were seeing Ye Tianxie for the first time, and the impression he gave had changed into an entirely different person. What he felt from him was not courage, but pride — an unyielding pride and a vast force of conviction, a force of conviction called self-assurance.
His eyes were clear, his gaze a sharpness the chief scarcely dared touch, and there was even an inexplicable aura from him that quietly commanded submission. Those words he’d spoken were by no means the arrogance of the ignorant and fearless, or a man overrating himself… A man who couldn’t afford to lose — just where did his self-assurance come from?!
After a long while, the chief suddenly let out a long breath and said, with a faraway note in his voice, “Brave young man, you’ve suddenly stirred in me a longing to witness the birth of a miracle. Something that plainly can’t happen — and yet I find myself desperate to see it happen… Your courage, your pride, your conviction have infected me.”
“…” Under this hero’s-eulogy of praise from the chief, thick-skinned as Ye Tianxie was, he grew rather embarrassed all the same… He was only trying to grab the highest reward — where did all this fuss come from?
“I hope you truly can succeed… Here, take these.” The novice village chief took out 20 small white medicine bottles and placed them in Ye Tianxie’s hand.
Unnamed Special Recovery Potion — A special potion the No. 60001 novice village chief obtained from who knows where, possessing a property ordinary recovery potions lack. Only 30 exist in all. Effect: after use, instantly restores 300 HP, with no cooldown.
The moment the small handful of potions landed in his hand and he made out their attributes, Ye Tianxie’s hand stalled almost imperceptibly… No cooldown — this was actually a recovery potion with no cooldown time!
(End of Chapter 34)