Chapter 88 - 88 Two Trials
Sylvanas nodded, saying, “I was originally going to give you three tests, but Eileen had already spoken highly of you in her letter. So, a simple test of your archery skills is all that’s needed before proceeding to the second and third trials.”
“Please.” Li Yao had absolute confidence in his archery skills.
In her hand, Sylvanas produced a gemstone the size of a thumbprint, saying, “I’ll throw this gemstone and you’ll hit it three times in a row with any weapon you can use, bow, crossbow, spear, and so on, without letting it touch the ground. I’ll give you a minute to think it over.”
The surrounding dark rangers and banshees all looked at Li Yao with pity.
From their perspective, this was an unfair challenge set by the queen because she had no intention of teaching this young man.
Even with outstanding archery skills, after hitting the gemstone for the first time, it would be propelled with such force by the arrow shaft that one wouldn’t have time to launch a second attack.
This would be a difficult feat to achieve, even for them, let alone a novice hunter like Li Yao.
Yet Li Yao remained unphased. He checked his resources, filled his quiver with ammunition and drew his bow, saying, “No need to think, let’s begin.”
“Good. I like confident young men.”
Sylvanas casually threw the gemstone in her hand. Its speed was astonishing.
Li Yao’s eyes gleamed brilliantly. He released his fingers and the arrow shot forth, striking the gemstone.
Ding..
The gemstone sped up drastically and hit the wall, rebounding back towards Li Yao who swiftly took out his crossbow, making slight adjustments before pulling the trigger.
Ding..
The rebounded gemstone was hit once again, then crashed into the wall.
Li Yao seamlessly executed a Shadow Roll, pulling his handgun and firing another round. Boom…
The orange bullet struck the gemstone again. The gemstone hit the wall once more.
Afterward, Li Yao changed to his hand cannon.
Boom…
An artillery shell hit the gemstone, causing a violent explosion. The already cracked gemstone shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the room.
While this might seem like a lengthy process, all happened momentarily. Li Yao’s actions exuded precision and grace, making it all look effortless.
The watching rangers and leaders, despite being far superior in skill, couldn’t help but cheer in admiration.
“Very well. This first trial was to test your adaptability. If you didn’t meet my standards, you might as well stick to being a Beast King Hunter. You’re hardly suited to be a ranger,” Sylvanas continued after a pause, “Your performance exceeded my expectations and even the leaders acknowledge you. Now, you have two trials that you may undertake simultaneously. I’ll give you half a month. They’re both extremely difficult. Do you accept the challenge?”
“I accept.”
At this point, there was no way Li Yao would refuse. Otherwise, he might as well remain an ordinary dark ranger.
“Good. The second trial isn’t simple. Today, I received news that a pack of Rot Hide Gnolls occupied one of our important outposts in Silverpine Forest, imperiling our plans for Burnwood Village. But the Royal Association of
Pharmacists is busy with another matter and can’t spare the manpower.”
“Initially, I planned to send a squadron of bat-riders to resolve the issue, but let’s make it your trial. Your mission is simple: use any means necessary to retake the outpost and hold it until reinforcements arrive. That’s when your mission will be considered accomplished.”
Sylvanas spoke lightly, as if it were a minor issue, but Li Yao was not as optimistic.
This was a classic military mission. Yet, he didn’t have a single soldier at his disposal. A pack of gnolls had made a stronghold out of a significant outpost. Even the queen thought it necessary to send bat-riders, suggesting that the gnolls were far from being pushovers.
Yet, Li Yao had no other choice but to grit his teeth and accept.
Reclaim the Forsaken Post
Mission description: The Rot Hide Gnolls have occupied a post and blocked the Forsaken’s supply lines, causing problems for the Royal Association of Pharmacists.
Mission goal: Kill the gnoll leader and reclaim the post.
Task Reward: 50% experience, partial inheritance of the Dark Ranger.
Task Difficulty: SSS
Once Li Yao accepted the mission, he stopped managing and asked, “So what’s the third test?”
“I understand that you received the highest one-star medal first, then you must have received an invitation, so you surely know about the elite trials, right?” Sylvanas retorted.
“Of course, I know this.” Li Yao replied.
The elite trials are just one of the shows held on the festival day. In the game, it’s a joint event held by different factions and races to test their newcomers’ capabilities.
The purpose is to test the abilities of the elite players from each faction and race, while the game company uses it as a means to promote the game at the festival.
In fact, the company does not even hold the right to select participants for this competition. It is all autonomously produced within the game.
Aside from the personal performance competition being global, other things like star performances, main dungeon pioneering competitions, etc., are all independent events held by the respective administrative districts.
“In life, I’m never willing to lag behind others, so naturally, my chosen heir cannot be weaker than others. But, the new Hunters are so disappointing, none of them, except you, show promise. Therefore, this third trial is to achieve first place in this elite trials. If you fail, you don’t have to come see me again. I won’t teach a failure anything.” Sylvanas seriously said.
“I accept this as well.” Li Yao confidently said. He was planning to use this performance competition to make a name for himself and earn personal prestige points to have the qualifications to establish a guild. Even without this test, he would have given it his all.
Trial Champion
Task Description: Two camps and various races want to test the strength of their new elite soldiers, and have launched an elite trial competition for these newcomers.
Task Objective: Reach level ten and win the trial competition.
Task Reward: 50% experience value and complete inheritance of the Dark
Ranger.
Task Difficulty: SS
“The count starts from tomorrow, fifteen days in total. You can leave now.” Sylvanas turned around and walked towards the throne after speaking.
Li Yao saluted her and then turned to leave. No one gave him any credentials. The queen’s mark on his mission log was the best credential.
He walked out of the Royal District, and his mount flew around him once before taking off. From now on, he would no longer enjoy the treatment of dragon-eagle rides.
Checking the time, it was midnight in the game. Li Yao decided to go offline at an inn.
After having dinner, he received a call from his best friend, Zhao Lei.
“Ah, I was tricked into joining the Light Faction. If I had known how awesome you are, it would’ve been great to be with you in the Dark Camp.” Zhao Lei started to grumble from the beginning.
“What? You killed Hogger following my method, didn’t you? You must have gotten some good stuff, right? You should now be stronger.” Li Yao asked in surprise.
“I did become stronger, but then I received a freaking difficult mission. Damn, it disgusted me. I tried the quest with my friend, and we all got killed. Now I’m the only left, and I can’t give up on the quest. Damn, what a horrible task, we couldn’t even see the boss before we got killed…” Zhao Lei began to vent.
Listening to this, Li Yao couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “You’re damn lucky. This is an elite mission that people desire. You, on the other hand, are not happy.”
“To hell with it being elite, I can’t even get past the first step! It’s useless to be a boss. The task is located at the northernmost part of Silverpine Forest. That’s your Dark Camp’s turf.”
Li Yao was stunned for a moment before saying, “Silverpine Forest? That’s convenient, I also have to go there. I can help you out while leveling up myself.
I’ve fallen behind these past two days.”
“Wait, can players from different camps team up?” Zhao Lei was taken aback.
“Of course we can under peaceful circumstances,” Li Yao didn’t go into detail and continued, “We’ll contact each other in the game when it’s daytime.”
“Alright, I feel reassured to have your help. Let me have the thrill of being an elite for once.” Zhao Lei laughed and hung up…
PS: The first update for today is here, it seems that we’ve passed halfway. Starting today, we will continue to increase the update frequency. As before, updates will be released in the morning.
Furthermore, continuing to seek support, please recommend, favorite, and click.
We’ve established a reading group number, 427590969, where little friends can come and join us..