Volume 1: The Beginner's First Cry Chapter 33: Trial of Courage
The sky above the Undead Forest was covered with dark clouds, without a single ray of sunlight. Most of the trees in the forest were withered and black trunks, which should have rotted away, but they were still standing stubbornly. The ground was covered with swamps and miasma, and streams of miasma kept emitting from it. The whole space was dead silent and filled with a gloomy atmosphere. It was indeed a dangerous place among the Ten Thousand Mountains, comparable to the "Undead Space".
I couldn't find him anywhere, and I couldn't help but feel anxious. Why didn't Mason show up? Isn't it easy to find him as long as he's a necromancer? Didn't the old man play a trick on me again? I was secretly cursing the old man, when suddenly the front suddenly opened up. There was a small hut standing on a vast open space. I thought this should be Mason's residence. The old man deserved to be scolded. He had to use all these tricks. It would be fine if Mason showed up earlier.
No matter how angry I am, I dare not neglect Mason, the holy mage of the undead. As the saying goes, a county magistrate is not as good as a local manager. After all, he is my direct superior. If I offend him, I will be in big trouble if he makes things difficult for me.
I walked to the door and was about to knock, but it opened automatically. I was slightly stunned and then walked in. I thought it must be the work of the Holy Mage. There was nothing to be surprised about, so as not to make a fool of myself.
The light in the room was dim, but I could still see clearly. A skinny old man in a black robe stood in the middle of the room, with a golden Necromancer badge on his chest. He smiled at me, but since there was not much flesh on his face, only a layer of skin covering his bones, his smile seemed a little hideous. "I am Mason, the Holy Wizard of the Undead. Brave young man, welcome to the Undead Hut to meet the important moment of your life."
I looked at Mason, who looked like a skeleton, and I was terrified. Could the necromancer be like this in the future? Although I was not handsome, I was not too ugly. If I became skinny like this, how could I date girls with A Feng? I would scare all the pretty girls away. Wouldn't I be doomed to be lonely in Tian Xia for the rest of my life?
Mason seemed to see through my thoughts. "Don't worry, I just looked like this because I've lived too long. I'm over 300 years old. You're so young and full of energy. You won't become as ugly as me."
I just breathed a sigh of relief. Three hundred years old is still a long way to go. I have plenty of time to travel the world. But I was also very curious. He is not an old man. He doesn't have that kind of divine power. How can he know what I am thinking? I couldn't suppress my curiosity. "How do you know I am worried about this?"
"Because you are not the first person to come here, the two people who arrived here before you asked this question, so I guess you must have the same concerns."
So , two necromancers have advanced. I was half happy and half worried when I heard the news unexpectedly. I was worried because I once again proved that I was a rookie. With such good initial conditions, I was still surpassed by people of the same profession. I was happy because such talents appeared among the necromancers, so I would not attract so much attention and could save a lot of trouble.
"It turns out that two people have already advanced. I thought I would be the first one?"
Mason looked at me seriously and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you are Ah Dai."
"Yes, I am Ah Dai." I didn't expect that I was so famous that even Mason Saint Mage knew me.
"I thought you would be the first two, but I was wrong. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. You are the third one. According to the evaluation of the God of Death, you are already very good."
I curled my lips. What good things could that old man say to me? On the surface, he boasted that I was a genius, but he was just trying to pull me into his trap. I don't know what he said about me behind my back. I'm a rookie and a fool. I know that without him telling me.
I registered my personal information and filled out an application form for promotion. There is also formalism in games nowadays. In order to advance in my career, I have to register and create a personal file. It is said that it is for the convenience of management. It is so troublesome. Will they charge membership fees in the future?
Mason looked at my information and exclaimed in admiration, "What a genius! You are one that only appears once in a century. No wonder the God of Death thinks highly of you and has high hopes for you. It seems that there is hope for the revival of my lineage of necromancers."
As expected, they are loyal followers of the dead old man. Even their tones of voice are so similar. If I am a genius, then wouldn’t the two people before me be geniuses among geniuses? Or maybe all those who can become necromancers are geniuses like me?
"Please don't insult me, old man. Don't you know what kind of person I am? A standard rookie, a genius. I think the two brothers who advanced before me can be called geniuses. Is this just a formality? Do you say the same thing to everyone you meet?"
"No wonder Lord Death said that you have low self-esteem and like to belittle yourself. The reason why those two little guys were able to advance ahead of you is because of their individual talents and different paths from you. You experienced difficulties first and then became easy, while they experienced easy things first and then became difficult. They will suffer in the future."
What is difficult first then easy, easy first then difficult? It all confused me. Seeing that I didn't seem to understand, Mason patiently explained: "Both of them died when they were challenging the most difficult job transfer task. They are veteran players who are good at obtaining seniority points. Moreover, they did not master the 'Soul Contract'. Even in the 'Dead Space', they still killed monsters to level up. Therefore, their first-level skills can easily reach the three-star standard. But you are different. Not only do you need to practice your first-level skills to three stars, but you also spend a lot of energy practicing the 'Soul Contract', which can only be used in the 'Dead Space'. It is relatively difficult to perform it in the inner world and gain seniority points. However, as a necromancer, the Soul Contract must be practiced, and the sooner you reach five-star proficiency, the better. Necromancers who cannot master the Undead Summoning have no future in the dangerous human world. If they want to improve their strength and avoid being annihilated by the Church of Light, they will have to make up for this lesson sooner or later. But by then, their level will be high. If the gap between their own strength and that of their target is too great, performing skills will not increase seniority points and mental strength much. They will have to challenge high-level undead, which is naturally much more difficult than capturing skeletons."
It really makes sense. After listening to Mason's explanation, I felt much better. I almost took a detour. Damn old man, why didn't he tell me these experiences? He kept saying that I was the hope of the undead, but he was so greedy that he refused to give me more benefits. I must blackmail him the next time we meet. But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it. Meeting him once would reduce the upper limit of mental power by 5%, which is too much of a price.
I've been chatting for a long time, but I haven't gotten to the point yet. Don't delay the main business. Let's complete the promotion task first. I don't know what the task is. I hope it won't be too much trouble. Little Pepper and the others all know that I'm here to be promoted. If I don't pass, it will be really embarrassing. Rookies are also human beings. I don't want to be worse than others. I still have a little vanity and self-esteem.
Talking about the mission, Mason also became serious. He waved his hand and a black hole suddenly appeared on the empty ground. "The mission of advancing to the second-level professional junior necromancer is to enter this black hole and walk all the way to the end. If you can walk out safely, you have passed the test of this level. The name of the mission is 'Trial of Courage'. In order to ensure your safety and not to cause too much trauma to your spirit, if you can't hold on, just say the three words 'I give up', or the system determines that you are extremely scared and can't bear more pressure, you will be automatically sent back here. Of course, this also means that your promotion this time has failed. If you want to challenge again, as a punishment for your failure this time, you must wait three days before you can proceed."
The courage test, as the name suggests, should test a person's courage. I don't think I'm very brave. I don't dare to do things like arresting knife-wielding gangsters with bare hands. When I was walking on the street and my phone was robbed, I didn't dare to chase him recklessly. I could only think that I was unlucky. The power of the spirit is great, but in the real world, the spirit cannot defeat the flesh. I killed him thousands of times in my heart, but he couldn't hit me with one punch, unless I have the legendary special ability. But this is in a virtual game world, and the test should be the power of the spirit. I don't know in my subconscious, am I a hero, a warrior, or a weakling, a coward?
