Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1245: 12 Trials (2)

When Erin opened her eyes again, the entirely different scenery stunned her. At that moment, it was no longer the circular room, but a vast, pitch-black land instead. The sky was also incomparably dark. At a glance, the entire world seemed to only be dyed in two colors; black and white. The winds gliding across the surface brought along slight pain. But before Erin reacted to where exactly she was, the calm shadows ahead suddenly warped. Seconds later, along with deep roars that echoed, mysterious creatures emerged one after another. They had strange appearances, swaying constantly like shadows and snapping their huge jaws open to reveal terrifying glows from their razor-sharp teeth…

"Seems like you guys are my enemies."

Erin smiled and squinted, holding the sword before her. At the next moment, the shadowy creatures howled and pounced on her like a violent wave. Hundreds of thousands and layers upon layers of shadowy creatures leaped toward the slender and fragile young lady. No matter who witnessed this scene, perhaps they would think that the young lady would be devoured at the next second.

But the truth was otherwise.

The shadowy creatures dashing from all directions were wild and aggressive—a few seconds ago. The instant they launched their attacks on Erin, she wouldn't have been able to stop them even if she had three heads and six arms. But in that instant, along with Erin's action, everything changed.

Facing the shadowy creatures, the moon princess didn't even glance at them. She stared at the blade in her hand that was emanating a brilliance that was as bright and glistening as the full moon. She rotated her wrist and at the next moment, a circular halo expanded with her in the middle. The halo didn't seem to have any aggression at all. But despite that, the shadowy creatures wailed and were shredded into bits by the halo instantly. Before they struggled, they were like thick apple skins being peeled from the flesh. The halo dazzled, dismantling the shadowy creatures into worthless remains in an instant. Fragments of their bodies drifted in the air, before disappearing into nothingness like melted snowflakes.

However, the snowflakes were purely black in color.

After wiping out the enemies in one single attack, Erin didn't continue her offense immediately. On the contrary, she scanned her surroundings and sprinted toward a tower in the distance. Since the tower was the only building on the vast, empty plains, it was apparent that it was the venue for her trial.

Even though Erin displayed mighty strength, Rhode and the rest who observed her battle through the magical crystal revealed depressing expressions. As the host of the ceremony, Rhode held the rights to observe the process of the ceremony. As for the rest, even though the dragon young ladies weren't willing for them to intervene, they eventually let them be after Rhode strongly requested. Due to that reason, everyone was able to watch the progress of Erin's inheritance ceremony. Of course, this also let Rhode heave a sigh of relief. At least he was able to divert someone's attention, so she wouldn't keep pestering him with those awkward questions.

But now, Rhode didn't feel relieved after witnessing Erin's environment.

Perhaps Erin wasn't aware of where she was right now, but to a player like Rhode who roamed the continent like it was his own home, he recognized her whereabouts immediately.

Shadow Ravine of the Seven Fantasy Boundaries.

Just this name alone was enough to make Rhode, Mini Bubble Gum, and the rest feel tricky.

There were always flaws and bugs no matter how popular a game was. Dragon Soul Continent was no exception. In the continent, the most annoying dungeon was neither the bloody battlefields of hell, nor the uncomfortable underground world, nor the abyss that was filled with crawling insects. In the leaderboard of the official forum, Shadow Ravine took the number one spot for the map that players 'hated visiting the most'. From the day it was discovered by players to after Rhode defeated the Void Dragon, its ranking had never changed.

The most disgusting part about Shadow Ravine wasn't the benefits it offered. As a matter of fact, the benefits in Shadow Ravine were considered rich and generous. As an extension of the shadow plain of existence, Shadow Ravine was considered one of the most historical places in the Dragon Soul Continent. Besides, due to the special characteristics of 'Light and Shadow', players were able to find equipment with great attributes. Not only that, but 'copies' of some equipment that were destroyed on the main plain could also be found in the shadow plain of existence. Not only did these shadow equipment possess the strength of the original equipment, but they also came attached with unique, shadow attributes. Therefore, if a party were to kill the BOSS in Shadow Ravine, several godlike equipment would drop. It was basically a profit-making business that wouldn't lose money. Besides, it was easy to take down shadow attributes. As long as there were more priests and equipment of the light attribute, the BOSSes would be easily crushed.

If there were anything bad about the shadow plain of existence, it would be its huge map. Some people believed that the map of Shadow Ravine was twice the size of the Dragon Soul Continent, which was why BOSSes were tough to find. It was basically impossible for a party to kill a BOSS in Shadow Ravine without spending at least half a month (of actual time). Apart from that, the colors of Shadow Ravine were really dull.

Repeat it once more—the colors of Shadow Ravine were really dull.

Repeat it one last time—the colors of Shadow Ravine were really dull.

And that was where all the players' objections came from.

There were no colors in Shadow Ravine, where everything was divided into black and white. That was why the moment players entered Shadow Ravine, they were as though they were looking at a monochrome television from the Middle Ages. In the beginning, some players thought it was refreshing. But shortly after, they got sick of it.

That's right. The most beautiful thing about life was its vibrancy. On the other hand, Shadow Ravine was a world of black and white. Moreover, it was so huge that an average party needed to spend more than half to one month to complete their exploration. As a result, many players were sick of looking at this monochrome world. Some members even quit the party after they couldn't handle its dullness. As for those who successfully explored the area, they became dispirited and listless as though they lost their souls. Even after heading out of that place, they needed to rest for quite some time before returning to their senses.

In other words, the most annoying part of Shadow Ravine was that it would leave mental scars on players. Besides, the damage was also irreversible. In the early stages of the Shadow Ravine's release, many players went to the forum and expressed that they finally understood how beautiful life was after opening up the Shadow Ravine. They also expressed their passion and respect for life. Some had even posted specifically to state that they regretted wasting their life and would rather enjoy their current life if the afterlife turned out to be like Shadow Ravine…

Judging from this point, Shadow Ravine actually did something great for mankind.

"I wonder if Her Highness Erin can handle it."

Rhode murmured. Mini Bubble Gum glanced at the image and turned around hurriedly. Back then, Rhode's party also took a huge impact when they first explored Shadow Ravine. Even though everyone gnashed their teeth and held on to the honor of being the number one guild, after Rhode witnessed many younger players among them fail to handle the pressure, he decisively called off the mission. Shadow Ravine was one of the few maps that Starlight had failed to overcome. But Rhode wasn't embarrassed by it because almost none of the guilds were able to get the better of Shadow Ravine. Rhode knew that some guilds spent money to hire people to lead a party into Shadow Ravine for one and a half months in order to overtake Starlight. But in the end, the party crumbled to the monochrome world before they managed to slaughter the BOSS. The last news Rhode heard of them was from the forum, where two-thirds of the party members went to visit psychiatrists. Meanwhile, the party leader deleted his account directly.

Due to that reason, the instant Mini Bubble Gum and Icy Snow witnessed Shadow Ravine, they revealed a look of annoyance and turned away from the magical crystal. Even Rhode couldn't help but feel irritated. The look of that monochrome world made him sick.

Judging from this point, Rhode could also be considered one of the victims who were mentally scarred.

"Yea, Leader. This map is too disgusting. I also wonder if Her Highness Erin can handle it…"

Bubble curled her lips and said. It wasn't surprising that she was concerned as Erin and Lydia had similar personalities. They both loved beautiful things. On the contrary, an environment that was as dull as Shadow Ravine was simply a murder weapon against them. Perhaps Erin hadn't responded to it yet, but it would be too late as soon as she realized it.

"That isn't the only issue, Bubble."

Rhode couldn't help but shake his head.

"That is the shadow plane of existence. Even though Erin is dependent on darkness, her attribute is the rare 'moon', which means that in the shadow plane of existence without moonlight, her strength cannot reach its peak."

"That sounds terrible, huh?"

Anne was astonished. She nodded with might but shortly after, cocked her head to the side and knitted her brows.

"But why didn't Erin turn into a dragon? She should be heading toward the tower now, right? Wouldn't she reach the tower quicker if she became a dragon?"

Facing Anne's question, Rhode didn't answer immediately. He scanned Erin, who continued to sprint ahead and puckered his brows.

"I think it isn't that Erin doesn't want to transform into a dragon. She just can't," Rhode said.