I was transported into an environment of extreme heat as I found myself in the air, surrounded by molten flowing earth below me.
The air was extremely stifling as gaseous vapors were released continuously, making this seem like the closest decision of hell that I had come across. I was still comfortably enclosed in the [Corrupted Sword Saint's Incarnation] as I floated in the air looking for the opponent of the first stage of this trial.
A blinding light shined in the air as a large winged creature spanning more than ten meters appeared. This was one of the more terrifying looking creatures that I had seen among the beasts that were encircling me.
It was something out of a human's wildest nightmare, a [Winged Spider].
Four large wings proudly erupted from its back as more than 10 legs powerfully wiggled back and forth. It's ferocious face released a piercing scream as poisonous saliva spluttered all around.
I began by summoning the Plague Bearer and activating Saint's Return, watching both the monstrosity of a beast come to being as well as a golden phantom appearing behind me releasing buffs and continuous heals.
The spider moved first, releasing a spray of white from below its abdomen that formed into multiple long and sticky threads. The summon howled out as its wide wings flapped towards the enemy. My eight-meter tall incarnation vanished from the spot and appeared in the air above the spider, the long blade tinged with icy coldness from [Absolute Zero] striking down.
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The transparent red figure was observing the human and the origin of the beast that had been transferred into the first stage of the trial through a circular mirror that played the battle at high speeds.
The rest of the powerful beasts were obediently sitting behind the woman like well-behaved children as they also looked on. The battle was not going in the favor of the [Winged Spider] as it was besieged by powerful physical attacks from one side, and a poisonous beast belching out poison on the other.
It had been retaliating this entire time with its many sharp legs and poison, as well as a destructive skill that formed multiple five-meter long bone spears to hone in on their target. The spears were all struck down by a swing of a sword or smashed into the body of the incarnation, causing damage that was seen to be healing rapidly after.
Only a few minutes passed as they watched, and they observed the sharp legs of the spider being cut up as it also lost one of its wings. In the fiery environment that the two of them were in, a storm of cold was constantly spinning around the large figure of the human. With a stroke of his long blade, layers of ice would be left on the spider's body as the battle was drawing to a close.
Its body continued to slow down and eventually, the long blade pierced it from its abdomen as it let out a long screech, dying from the strike that spread out destructive cold elements all over its body.
The woman looked at all this carefully as her eyes shined with colorful lights.
'This human gives no regard to the usage of energy and constantly erupts with destructive attacks that take down his enemy. But, what is your strategy when you move on to the next stage? If you do not conserve your energy, how will you proceed from now on?'
She was curious about this human that continued to bring her surprises. Someone of her stature would not normally pay attention to an up and coming EPIC individual or watch them this closely, but she just had a hunch that this human could grow up to be a powerful piece.
Her choice to send this consciousness to these frozen lands was only a whim, with the excuse of it being a loss if the lands and their inhabitants were given over to demons. The thought just passed through her mind, so she did it. Now it seemed like her hunch had brought her something unbelievable to play with once again.
Wild energies revolved as a beast was transported back to their surroundings. It was the [Winged Spider] that was now severely weakened, with its origin severely damaged from the death that just occurred in the trial ground.
The trial ground acted similarly to a dungeon that only appeared when someone was challenging for ownership of a Spiritual Land. The opponents that were contending for the same thing would have their origins sent to fight the other challenger. In the event of their death, their origins would be severely weakened, and if it repeated again in a short time span, they would face true death.
The trial for this Spiritual Land was fairly straightforward as many were, just a test of strength. A few minutes passed before the woman motioned forward as three new beasts neared the golden door obediently and they disappeared. She had been directing the trial of this Land ever since she caused its upgrade, as it would normally be automated by the Spiritual Land itself.
Not many people could do the actions she was doing, as they would have had to pay a large price that wasn't worth the rewards of a Tier 2 Spiritual Land. Even after they did this, they couldn't obtain the Spiritual Land for themselves as the trial for ownership was strictly set with its own requirements.
This was why the other two Spiritual Lands in the North still had no owners, even if all the powerhouses of the Beast World knew about them. The beasts that were naturally born in these Lands would constantly fight to see if they can obtain ownership themselves.
Figures from Mythical Kingdoms usually sent their promising up and coming powerhouses of EPIC or LEGENDARY rank to see if they were qualified enough at the same level to pass the trials of some of the Spiritual Lands spread across the Beast World. They weren't things that could just be snatched away if you had enough power, you also had to meet the base requirements they set.
Someone of her caliber would only be able to compete for a naturally formed Spiritual Land of a much higher tier. But with her power, something like this small upgrade was manageable. Now, she was curious how the human would face three beasts besieging him from all sides after he just finished a battle with one.
The environment in the crystal mirror in front of her changed as the challenger and his opponents appeared in a grassland environment. Greenery was spread all around as the figures of the newly transported beasts became clear.
The ones to face him in the second stage of this trial that many of these beasts had previously failed in were the fat [Walrus], an extremely well built [Polar Bear], and a sharp-toothed [N.a.k.e.d Molerat].
The beasts circled the figure of the human and his summon menacingly as they recalled how he had taken care of the [Winged Spider]. They had watched how he fought, but would it be of any use against this human?
The woman watched interestingly as the scene began to play out. Would this human really be able to pass the trial of a Spiritual Land for the first time in history? Their species had always been weak, and would never stand out as the most powerful at any stage. There have been instances in history where they came across trials of Spiritual Lands, but none had survived to tell the tale.
The treasures and wonders of Spiritual Lands were only ever enjoyed by beasts as it was where many of them first came to consciousness and fought with all their strength, creating powerful legends of beasts over the years who created their own Kingdoms.
It would be interesting to see how the first human to own a Spiritual Land would build it. But all of that was fantasy unless this one did the impossible. So, how would you face beasts that normally have tougher bodies and more mana than the normal human of the same level?
The battle began with the three beasts circling and throwing attacks on all sides while staying a distance from the human. The [N.a.k.e.d Molerat] was throwing out deadly water spears that rotated at high speeds while the [Polar Bear] threw out attacks that detached its sharp claws towards the human.
Loud clangs could be heard as the human knocked off these attacks with a swing of his sword, freezing the water spears and extending claws while defending from the only beast that was fighting it out with him at close distance, the [Walrus]. The poisonous summon was seen belching out a venomous breath that disrupted the tempo the beasts had created as the battle raged on.
It was a deadly stage that even the most powerful beasts born in this Spiritual Land had not been able to pass as they were eventually drained of energy while facing so many opponents. Would this human hold even more surprises? Maybe the devour class unique skill he held would allow him to continue getting stronger with every defeat of his enemies, but would they give him the time to absorb and ingest the essence he devoured?
The woman's thoughts were interrupted as the scene rapidly changed in the mirror. Tens of minutes had passed as the three beasts found their tempo and pushed the human back. They all suffered varying degrees of injuries as their bodies were filled with bloody and frozen gashes, but they were still standing.
The change that had occurred rapidly shifted the state of the battle as an extremely large [Iceberg] was rapidly falling from the skies towards the beasts, with what seemed like a rain of [Bone Spears] targeted at one of the beasts with the goal of taking its life.
On top of all of this, multiple rifts had opened in the skies as destructive lightning and flames sn.a.k.e.d out towards the beasts. All of these attacks had a tinge of icy blue unstable energies surrounding them as they all honed in on their targets.
The figure of the woman was surprised at this sight. The other two attacks aside, it was the spears of bones she had seen not too long ago used by a beast that surprised her. The human's unique skill was able to absorb the essence of and replicate the core skills of his enemies this quickly?!