The second volume is called "One Heart" Chapter 38: Ultimate Difficulty (2)
Although Old Mason still had a smile on his face, I always felt that there was no emotional investment in it. It was just a formatted expression, as if he was just following the procedure. His gaze at me was calm but empty, and there was no longer the kind of intimacy I had last time. I wanted to get close to him but didn't know how to start. Maybe I had too high expectations. They were originally NPCs set by the system, and they didn't have completely independent thoughts like real people, so it was normal for them to behave like this.
After checking the information and verifying the identity, Old Mason nodded and continued to follow the correct procedures in his unchanging tone, "Identity verification, the conditions for the promotion of the junior necromancer Ah Dai are met. Are you sure you want to apply for the task of being promoted to the third-level professional intermediate necromancer?"
"Confirm the application!"
"The task of advancing to an intermediate necromancer is the 'actual combat test', which is an unlimited task. You can advance after completing the task. The 'actual combat test' is divided into four different difficulty levels: simple difficulty, normal difficulty, advanced difficulty and ultimate difficulty. It is a challenge to face different numbers of skeleton warriors in a limited space. The winner is to defeat all of them. The simple difficulty requires defeating five skeleton warriors, the normal difficulty requires defeating ten skeleton warriors, the advanced difficulty requires defeating twenty skeleton warriors, and the ultimate difficulty requires defeating thirty skeleton warriors. Choosing different difficulty levels is related to the strength that can be improved after promotion. Completing the simple difficulty 'actual combat test' is only the most basic requirement for being a necromancer, and the various attributes will not be greatly improved. Completing the normal difficulty 'actual combat test' means that you have reached the standard of a normal necromancer and will clearly feel the growth of your own strength..."
He keeps talking so much. When I heard about the "actual combat test" of the promotion mission and that the targets were weak skeleton warriors, I lost the mood to listen carefully. Maybe in the eyes of other necromancers, this was a big test, but for me it was a piece of cake. What ultimate difficulty? It's just a mere thirty skeleton warriors. With the help of "summoning the undead", I can easily deal with them even if the number is ten times more.
But Old Mason was just following the normal procedures, so it was not his fault. Moreover, considering the identity of the Holy Undead Mage, it was not easy to interrupt him casually. After all, he was an intelligent NPC, and who knew when he would awaken. I could not be too rude. I could only barely suppress my impatience and pretend to listen attentively, waiting for him to finish his nonsense.
Old Mason was still narrating there slowly, his words were cold and without a trace of emotion, as if he was playing a recording, "Completing the high-level 'actual combat test' shows that you are an excellent necromancer and will receive rich rewards. Completing the ultimate difficulty 'actual combat test' means that you are a rare genius among necromancers and the hope for the revival of the undead race. The supreme god of death will personally bestow a gift on you. Once the difficulty is selected, it cannot be changed, so you must make a careful choice based on your own strength level. The 'actual combat test' will be carried out in a specially set 'battle space', which is a circular arena with a diameter of 50 meters. Regardless of victory or defeat, you will be teleported back here. Because it even if you lose, you will not be subject to the death penalty stipulated by the system. As long as your health is restored, you can continue to enter and accept the challenge. You can freely decide the time of the challenge, you can do it continuously, or challenge it once every period of time..."
"Excuse me, can I skip all this and just choose the mission directly? " I couldn't bear it any longer. When would this end? It's just a mission, why is it so complicated? After talking for such a long time, there is still no sign of it ending. A battle like this that is sure to win does not require much thought at all. Why delay it any further?
Being suddenly interrupted, Old Mason remained calm, showing no sign of unhappiness. "Okay, but according to the procedure, it's best to listen carefully to these relevant regulations first. It will help you complete the task."
"Okay then. I'll choose the ultimate level of difficulty, ' Practical Test.'" I made the decision immediately to avoid listening to him nagging any further.
"The ultimate 'combat test' requires you to defeat thirty skeleton warriors alone. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." There's nothing to hesitate about. I can just summon an old zombie and easily deal with them all. I just need to hide aside and watch the fun.
"The promotion task for the junior necromancer Ah Dai has been confirmed. It is the ultimate difficulty 'actual combat test'. Do you want to start the challenge immediately?"
Seeing that I gave an affirmative answer, Old Mason waved his hand, and a black entrance appeared on the wall on one side. "Go in from here, and inside is the 'battle space'."
I couldn't wait any longer and walked inside. I took a few steps when Old Mason stopped me. "Please wait a moment. Although it was your own decision and you didn't listen to my explanation of the rules, as a mentor, I still have the obligation to remind you that in the 'combat test', you will have to deal with thirty skeleton warriors 'alone' without any help from the outside. You must be mentally prepared for this."
Old Mason deliberately emphasized the word "alone". My body froze immediately. I was stunned for a long while before I slowly turned around and stared at him, asking word by word, "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is that according to the system rules, in the 'battle space', apart from you and the thirty skeleton warriors, there will be no other life forms. The battle can only be completed by you alone."
The sudden news shattered my beautiful dream like a bolt from the blue. Doesn't this mean that I can't cast the "Summon the Undead" or even the "Summon Pet" skill. I have to challenge thirty skeleton warriors on my own. For masters like Long Xing Tian Xia and Ba Jiu Gao Ge, it might be possible, but as an undead wizard like me, I'm afraid I can only go to die.
Facing my gaze, Old Mason's expression was very serious, as if to prove that everything he said was true. I still didn't want to believe it and wanted to confirm it further. "Can't I even use skills like 'Summon the Undead' or 'Summon Pets'? They are all normal skills that I obtained legally."
Old Mason shook his head. "At this stage, only a few people can use the skill of 'Summoning the Dead' because of their innate skills. Compared with the vast majority of junior necromancers, they are not qualified to learn it. And 'Summoning Pets' can only be learned after successful promotion. You are a special case because of the gift of the Lord Death. In order to ensure the fairness of the test and to show that all necromancers are treated equally, such restrictions have been made. Everyone can only pass the test with their true strength."
The last glimmer of hope in my heart was shattered. My mind went blank and I didn't know what to do. I just subconsciously asked, "Can I make a new choice?"
"I've already told you that once the difficulty is selected, it cannot be changed. You can only accept the challenge. Only when you win can you be qualified ." Old Mason sighed and gave a negative answer. I don't know if it was my illusion, but his tone didn't seem to express pity for me, but rather a hint of gloating.
I met old Mason's gaze in a daze, and suddenly I realized that he no longer had that cold and formatted expression, and his eyes were no longer empty. It seemed that he had returned to the humanized NPC image when we met last time.
I was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up, my heart filled with incomparable anger, "Are you kidding me again? Why are you doing this?" At the beginning, he pretended to be deep, lowered my vigilance, first induced me with seemingly simple tasks, and then combined with boring explanations to make me irritable. I didn't listen to the rules carefully, and thus made the wrong choice. The despicable and insidious undead tribe are all old people. They always use such despicable methods to deceive me. How can I, a pure and kind young man, be a match for these old foxes!
Old Mason looked at me with an innocent smile, "I am following the procedures and there is no violation. If you have any questions, you can complain to the authorities."
I could only get angry but there was nothing I could do. It was all my fault. I was careless and fell into his psychological trap. From the surface, everything was normal and I couldn't find any problems. I couldn't find any reason to complain. What kind of intelligent NPC was this? It was just like a real person was playing the role.
After staring for a while, he finally lost his temper. "What on earth is going on? Why do you always frame me? Just because I am the so-called 'genius' of the Undead, do I have to suffer these inhuman and unfair treatments? Can't you show some mercy and let me go?" Ever since the unfortunate encounter with the dead old man, I have been targeted by the Undead. First, I was tricked into becoming a necromancer, and every time I was promoted, Old Mason always schemed against me and "imposed" some super-difficult tests on me. Challenge thirty skeleton warriors alone? If I could start over, I would choose the simple difficulty without hesitation and defeat five skeleton warriors alone. I still have this confidence.
Old Mason restrained his smile and looked surprisingly serious. "Everything we do is responsible for every player who chooses the Necromancer profession. We try to improve your strength according to your qualifications and lay a solid foundation for future confrontation with the Church of Light. No matter how good your innate conditions are, if you don't double your efforts and work hard, facing a powerful enemy, only destruction will await you. It's better to give up early."
