Chapter 52: Chapter52-SSS-level Evaluation!
At this moment, the two skeleton warriors had already charged to the forefront of the One-Eyed Lich King, slashing their bone swords at it, their sallow blades drawing two cold streaks through the air.
"-4375!" "-4419!"
Two not particularly high damage numbers rose from the One-Eyed Lich King.
The One-Eyed Lich King was instantly enraged.
As one of the noble Twelve Apostles of the Crimson Demon, it found being wounded by two lowly skeleton warriors a tremendous insult!
Although the damage inflicted by the skeleton warriors wasn't significant, the insult was profound.
The already crimson eyes of the One-Eyed Lich King turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Roar!!!"
The One-Eyed Lich King let out an angry bellow, eager to crush these two insignificant creatures into dust.
However, with its skills silenced by John, it could only resort to its most primal attacks, slashing at the skeleton warriors who easily deflected its blows with their skills.
The One-Eyed Lich King felt an overwhelming sense of frustration.
John, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.
His hands suddenly shone with a blazing white light, conjuring a radiant white light spear, its power daunting.
"Blazing Light Spear!"
Clad in Gold Mail Armor and donning a black mask, John wielded the Necrostaff in one hand and the Blazing Light Spear in the other.
Shrouded in dark mist, his figure instantly appeared behind the towering One-Eyed Lich King!
"Shadow Puppet!"
Twisting his waist to gather momentum, John flipped his wrist, pointing the spearhead directly at the One-Eyed Lich King's nape with an icy look in his eyes.
The Blazing Light Spear, like lightning, pierced towards the back of the One-Eyed Lich King's head.
"Thud!"
The Blazing Light Spear turned into a streak of light shooting towards the sky!
Black blood mixed with yellowish-white brain matter sprayed in mid-air!
"-83648!"
The One-Eyed Lich King's body stiffened abruptly, its solitary eye filled with confusion, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened.
A breeze blew by, lifting the dust within the coliseum.
"Thump!"
The One-Eyed Lich King's massive body slowly fell to the ground, silent.
[You have slain the lv15 "One-Eyed Lich King (trial)" and gained 52,300 Exp!]
As the notification for the kill appeared, a silver light also flashed on the body of the One-Eyed Lich King!
A silver-tier equipment had dropped!
John's eyes lit up, and he quickly went forward to pick it up.
[Equipment]: One-Eyed Lich King's Rampage Bracers
[Attributes]: Strength +70, Stamina +45, Critical Rate +10%
[Description]: Activating this skill puts you in a berserk state, increasing Strength and Speed by 30% while decreasing Defense and Spirit by 30%. Lasts for 5 minutes, with a cooldown of 1 hour.
John couldn't help but inhale sharply, astonished that the drop turned out to be a perfect quality silver-tier equipment, not only boosting a significant amount of strength and critical rate but also coming with a "Berserk" skill!
If a warrior-class awakener were to see this equipment, they would probably be willing to spend their entire fortune to acquire it!
However, John wasn't planning to sell this equipment just yet.
Despite the "One-Eyed Lich King's Rampage Bracers" having strong side effects when the equipment skill was activated, and it being warrior-class gear, as an All-Class Magus, it was perfectly reasonable for him to dabble in melee combat, right?
Absolutely reasonable!
Without any hesitation, John equipped the "One-Eyed Lich King's Rampage Bracers."
John's strength attribute immediately soared to 202 points!
His strength was now comparable to that of a warrior-class awakener.
If he were to use the Gold Mail Armor and then activate the "Berserk" skill, his strength would probably astonish many.
John was extremely pleased with the equipment dropped by the One-Eyed Lich King.
Should his MP run out by accident, or if someone got too close, he could definitely surprise them!
After calming his excitement, John then noticed there were more notifications following the kill alert.
He had been so focused on picking up the equipment that he had overlooked them, but now he had the chance to read them.
[You have passed the first level of the "Crimson Demon Heritage Trial!"]
[Your performance in this trial level was exceptionally outstanding, earning an SSS-level evaluation!]
[Note: Trial evaluations will be used for reward calculation at the end of the trial, but if the trial is failed or exited, your evaluations will be reset to zero!]
[Please choose to proceed to the next level or exit the trial!]
[Proceed to next level] or [Exit trial]!
Receiving rewards in trials is a common occurrence, and the rewards are usually quite generous.
However, the catch is that one must complete the trial to claim them; otherwise, it's merely a fleeting joy.
While some trials offer partial rewards without completion, it was clear that the "Crimson Demon's Trial" was not one of those.
So, John merely glanced at the notification before directly selecting [Proceed to next level], moving on to the second level of the trial.
...
Unbeknownst to John, outside the Bones Tower, there was a buzz of excitement.
Shortly after their entry into the tower, the 12 blood suns suddenly erupted in blinding light. Simultaneously, a notification appeared before everyone:
[An S-level evaluation has been achieved in this round of the trial, activating a highlight replay!]
Instantly, an image appeared before each spectator.
It was Victor!
He stood in a splendid palace, facing a figure shrouded in overwhelming blood aura, wearing a red robe.
The red blood aura was so dense it almost formed a sea of blood, its mere sight suffocating.
Yet, the gaze beneath Victor's golden mask remained serene.
He grasped his long sword, which was swiftly unsheathed!
All that was seen was a brilliant sword light soaring into the sky!
The sword light cleaved through the endless blood mist, striking the robed figure with a thunderous impact, vanishing in a flash!
Time seemed to pause for a moment.
The next instant, the robed figure exploded into countless fragments!
A one-sword kill!
Witnessing this scene, everyone was almost breathless!
Alexander, Theodore Winters, Eldritch, Baron, and others who had already emerged also inhaled sharply in shock.
It was difficult for those of lower realms to discern, but they saw it clearly.
The moment Victor's sword light made contact with the robed figure, it exploded, transforming into thousands of fine sword energies that instantly sliced the trial monster into countless fragments, a truly terrifying sight!
Alexander, seated atop a golden-winged giant lion, grumbled, "It's only been a few years since we last met, and Victor has become even more monstrous!"
Theodore Winters commented gravely, "That move doesn't seem like a skill fusion technique, but more like a skill or secret technique Victor created himself. Although his talent as an awakener isn't high, his talent in the domain of swordsmanship is shockingly profound!"
Baron nodded, "Victor was already capable of slaying cataclysm-level monsters with a single sword strike before. Now that he's reached the cataclysm-level himself, it wouldn't be surprising if he could slay apocalypse-level monsters with one strike!"
Eldritch, stroking his beard, laughed, "It seems the Federation is about to gain another sage-tier powerhouse!"
As the group marveled at Victor's strength, a flash of light atop the Bones Tower signaled Victor's appearance outside, still holding the long sword seen in the replay.
Upon emerging, Victor made a subtle gesture to Theodore Winters, Baron, and a few other powerhouses.
Their expressions remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened, but their gazes deepened.
Victor's gesture was simple; he was indicating, "There's something wrong inside!"
Although unsure of what Victor had discovered, now was not the time for discussion.
Baron, shifting the focus, said with a smile, "You've completed the trial so quickly?"
Everyone curiously looked towards Victor, having witnessed his formidable strike, and had no doubts about his ability to obtain the Crimson Demon's heritage.
However, to their surprise, Victor shook his head and said, "I didn't complete the final layer of the trial."
Alexander exclaimed in astonishment, "You mean even with your strength, you couldn't defeat the final monster?"
Alexander's voice was loud, and many heard his words.
The crowd buzzed with surprise — even Victor couldn't complete the trial?
Baron clicked his tongue, "If even you couldn't get through, there's little hope for the rest of us."
The others felt similarly; this was Celestiblade Victor, after all. If even he couldn't obtain the Crimson Demon's heritage, what chance did they have?
Victor casually explained, "I chose to exit myself. Switching to a different class wouldn't suit me."
Hearing this, the expressions of the others became complex.
The heritage they so desperately sought seemed insignificant to Victor, who preferred a regular swordsman class over it — quite a blow to their pride.
Eldritch remarked, "There's a reason Captain Victor has reached his current level using the swordsman class. Most people would've tried to switch classes by now, but it seems he doesn't care about his class at all."
Alexander nodded in agreement, "I remember the principal of StellarSea Academy once said, 'There are no useless classes, only useless people.' I think he was right."
The others fell silent.
Were they the useless ones, then?