Chapter 129: Rank up Trial

After returning to Winter Hold City, Kaiser and the others went back to their rooms.

Michael and Emilia stood inside their room and prepared to activate their Rank-Up Trials.

Michael looked at his status screen one more time.

"Level 300. I think I’m ready."

Emilia nodded.

"I am ready too."

Michael looked at Kaiser.

"Should we activate them at the same time?"

Kaiser shrugged.

"It doesn’t matter. You will each be given your own separate trial."

Michael nodded.

"Still, I think it will give us some confidence if we do it together."

Kaiser nodded.

"That’s true. Just remember that even though you activate them at the same time, your trials will be completely separate."

Michael and Emilia nodded.

They both opened their Cosmic Sheets and selected the Rank-Up Trial option.

[Rank-Up Trial detected.]

[Level requirement satisfied.]

[Would you like to begin the Rank-Up Trial?]

Michael selected yes.

Emilia did the same.

[Rank-Up Trial beginning.]

A bright light suddenly appeared around Michael’s body.

The same light surrounded Emilia.

Kaiser watched them calmly as their bodies began to fade.

"Good luck."

Michael smiled.

"We’ll be back soon."

Emilia also smiled.

"Take care of everything while we’re gone."

"Don’t worry," Kaiser replied. "I’ll be here."

The next second, both Michael and Emilia completely disappeared from the room.

Their Rank-Up Trials had officially begun.

Kaiser looked at the empty space where they had been standing for a few seconds before turning toward Marina, Selene, and Rachel.

"Well, let’s go. We should level up too."

Marina nodded.

"Yes, Kai."

Selene calmly nodded as well.

Rachel smiled.

"Then let’s go hunting."

Kaiser nodded.

"There are still plenty of monsters in the mountains. We can spend the next few days leveling up."

Marina looked at him.

"How far are we going this time?"

"Deeper than before," Kaiser replied. "Since Mom and Dad have already completed their goal, we don’t need to stay in the outer areas anymore."

Selene nodded.

"Then we should be able to find stronger monsters."

"Exactly," Kaiser said.

Kaiser then summoned several Skeleton Assassins and sent them ahead to scout the mountains.

The undead quickly disappeared into the surrounding area.

A few minutes later, one of the Skeleton Assassins returned and reported that it had found several groups of higher-level monsters deeper in the mountains.

Kaiser nodded after receiving the information.

"Good. Let’s go."

The group left Winter Hold City again and headed toward the mountains.

This time, Kaiser did not need to worry about Michael and Emilia.

Both of them were safely inside their Rank-Up Trials.

As long as they completed their trials, they would return with their new ranks.

Kaiser planned to use this time to level up as many levels as possible.

The group soon reached the mountain forest.

Snow covered the ground, and the temperature became colder as they moved deeper into the area.

The Skeleton Assassins continued scouting ahead while Kaiser and the others followed behind.

After traveling for some time, one of the assassins returned.

Kaiser stopped walking.

"Did you find something?"

The assassin nodded and pointed toward the deeper part of the mountain.

Kaiser immediately understood.

"There are some movements ahead."

Marina adjusted her equipment and smiled.

"Then let’s see how strong they are."

Kaiser nodded.

"Let’s go."

The group continued forward, ready to begin another hunt while Michael and Emilia faced their Rank-Up Trials.

The group continued through the snowy forest until they finally reached the area where the Skeleton Assassin had detected the movements.

However, when they arrived, Kaiser and the others were surprised by what they saw.

There were no monsters waiting for them.

Instead, a woman was running through the snow as fast as she could. She was holding the hand of a young child who looked around five or six years old, while also carrying a baby in her arms.

Behind them, several Arctic Wolves were chasing them.

Kaiser immediately understood the situation.

"Quick, go help her."

Selene stepped forward and snapped her fingers.

In the next second, the Arctic Wolves suddenly stopped moving.

Their bodies burst apart, turning into a shower of blood that scattered across the snow.

It was her Blood Manipulation.

The woman stopped running and looked at Kaiser and the others in surprise.

After realizing that the wolves had been killed, she quickly bowed.

"Thank you, adventurers, for helping us. But please, you have to help our caravan. We were attacked and surrounded."

Kaiser nodded.

"Sure. Where is it?"

The woman quickly pointed toward the west.

"That way."

Kaiser looked in the direction she pointed.

"Let’s go."

He immediately started running toward the west, followed by Marina, Selene, and Rachel.

Before leaving, Kaiser looked at Garuk.

"Garuk, stay here and protect her and the children."

Garuk nodded.

"Understood, Master."

The Snowlight Orc King moved closer to the woman and stood beside her, making sure nothing could approach them.

Meanwhile, Kaiser and the others quickly disappeared into the snowy forest as they rushed toward the attacked caravan.

******

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain, a group of men was fighting a desperate battle against a large number of Frost Trolls, Frost Goblins, and Arctic Wolves.

The men were already exhausted, and most of them had suffered serious injuries.

The man leading the group looked around the battlefield with a tired expression.

Almost everyone who had been traveling with him was already dead.

Earlier, their group had consisted of around ten adventurers. They were part of a caravan that had planned to cross the outer area of the mountains safely.

However, everything had changed when the monster tide suddenly appeared.

The Frost Goblins attacked first, followed by the Frost Trolls and Arctic Wolves. The monsters overwhelmed the caravan before the adventurers could properly organize their defenses.

Most of the guards and adventurers had already been killed.

The man looked toward the direction where his wife had escaped with their children.

He had seen her running away earlier.

He knew that she had a chance to survive if she could reach someone who could help her.

The man tightened his grip around his weapon and sighed.

"I’m sorry. It looks like I won’t be making it out."

He looked at the monsters surrounding him.

There were still dozens of them.

Frost Trolls moved through the battlefield while Frost Goblins attacked from behind them. Several Arctic Wolves surrounded the area, preventing him from escaping.

The man knew that he could not survive much longer.

However, his attention soon shifted toward the massive wolf standing among the Arctic Wolves.

Unlike the other wolves, this one was much larger.

Its body was covered in thick white fur, and a powerful aura surrounded it.

The man recognized it immediately.

"Lunar Wolf King..."

The Lunar Wolf King was an extremely rare existence born from the Arctic Wolf species.

It was considered an anomaly that appeared only once every hundred years.

Its appearance was always a serious problem for Winter Hold City because whenever a Lunar Wolf King appeared, the surrounding mountains became much more dangerous.

The creature possessed intelligence far beyond that of ordinary Arctic Wolves.

It could understand its surroundings, command other wolves, and coordinate attacks with other monsters.

The man stared at the Lunar Wolf King as it slowly approached him.

"This beast has intelligence almost like a human..."

He gritted his teeth and prepared himself for the final battle.

The Lunar Wolf King lowered its body slightly.

The surrounding Arctic Wolves began moving toward him.

The man raised his weapon and took a deep breath.

Even though he knew he was unlikely to survive, he still refused to surrender without a fight.

"If I’m going to die, I’ll at least take some of you with me."

The Lunar Wolf King suddenly moved.

The remaining monsters charged forward with it as the battle continued across the snowy mountain.