NOVGO.NET Chapter 520: Grim Student Examination (4)
Chapter 520: Grim Student Examination (4)
’This is the last one. Hurry up.’ Almond waited.
The 3-day period was about to be finished in two hours, so this could be his last Obelisk.
The hall’s pulse was slower here, more dangerous — the green crystalline walls hummed with a faint vibration like something vast was breathing just behind them.
Soon, one after another, four more participants stumbled through the entrance — a towering man clad in volcanic armor, a woman with living lightning dancing in her hair, a pale scholar carrying a book that floated by itself, and a quiet swordsman with a faint golden aura.
Five.
The runes overhead blazed to life, filling the hall with a deep amber glow.
[ Participants have gathered. Challenge begins. ]
The floor split apart.
[ Obelisk of Withering Suns — Initiating Trials. ]
The ground beneath them dissolved, throwing them into a vast, dead desert where three black suns burned high above, radiating blistering heat.
[ First Challenge: Heatborn Hunt ]
[ Rules ]
– Slay as many monsters as possible within 10 minutes. The highest kill count ranks first.
– Your attacks or any kind of powers will not affect the other participants, so feel free to go all out and compete on who kills the most.
The desert split.
Dozens — no, hundreds — of creatures clawed out from beneath the dunes, each one a writhing mass of molten glass and charred bones, their glowing cores burning like lanterns.
The timer appeared in the air.
[ 10:00 ]
And began to tick down.
The volcanic warrior charged first, his fists turning red-hot as he met the creature in brute force before grabbing it. It turned into a fiery molten lava bomb that he threw, obliterating several monsters at once.
The lightning-haired woman darted sideways, hurling spears of stormlight that cracked against dozes of monsters.
Almond didn’t move.
He let the heat swallow him, his silhouette vanishing into a mirage.
Then—
’Starfall Rend. Maximum range.’
Almond used not only his power, but the atmospheric powers by using his Grim-Fated Blade, converting the chaotic power of this dimension into his own force.
Above them, a rift split open as a way for Almond to channel out his craft. In the next moment, it spewed out hundreds of large, crescent-shaped slashes sparkling with attributes of Voiderran and Astral Auralith, enhanced by his Grim Trees. Their projectiles double as they slice across the battlefield like falling scythes of dusk.
Each impact of the slash broke down into several smaller slashes, spreading in all directions.
“W-what the fuck?”
The others were dumbfounded.
“Did we get paired with one of the top five or what?”
The scale and destructiveness of this attack left no hope for the others to catch up.
[ Heatborn Hunt — Rank 1: Almond Regalon. ]
The desert folded away, dragging them back into the Obelisk’s core.
[ Second Challenge: Trial of Endurance. ]
This time, they stood on five separate pillars of black stone, suspended over a sea of burning stars.
[ Rule: Do not move until the trial ends. Each second burns your strength, vitality, memories, and conciousness, except for the fact that you somehow have to endure until you die, but you will not actually die after that. The one to last longest until their deaths will win. The time dilation is set to 1 year per 1 second. ]
[ May your will burn the brightest. ]
The words struck like knives.
The others stiffened as the trial activated.
Almond felt it immediately — the pressure crushed down on him like a collapsing universe. His bones creaked. His flesh began to peel under invisible heat. His soul started to fracture as if time itself was scraping pieces off him.
The first second passed.
One year.
His skin burned away and regrew. His muscles were ground down and restored, over and over again.
The volcanic warrior howled, sweat turning to steam as his body was flayed and rebuilt every moment. The lightning-haired woman gritted her teeth, sparks exploding from her body as if to drive back the pain.
The pale scholar’s book screamed — a terrible, psychic shriek — before it burst into flames. He fell to his knees, vomiting blood as his memories leaked from his eyes like molten light.
Two seconds passed.
Two years.
Almond stayed still. His breathing was steady, but his mind was burning.
Memories slipped away — his first sword strike, his earliest battles, the smell of the forest from his childhood.
He clenched his fist until it bled, anchoring himself with pain.
I am Almond Regalon.
I am not done yet.
I AM NOT DONE.
Three seconds.
Three years.
The golden swordsman’s pillar cracked, his aura flickering out before his body slumped into dust.
He died.
[ Golden Swordsman — Eliminated. ]
Four seconds.
The volcanic warrior’s scream turned hoarse. His magma aura dimmed. He slammed his fist into his chest as if to keep his heart beating — but eventually, he collapsed, flames dying with him.
[ Volcanic Warrior — Eliminated. ]
Five seconds.
The scholar finally stopped moving, his body turning to glass before shattering.
Only three left — Almond and the lightning-haired woman.
Six seconds.
Her hair turned from lightning-blue to ashen gray as she burned her life force to endure.
Almond’s body was being remade in loops now — stripped to nothing but bone, then rebuilt from blood and shadow. His memories were hanging by threads, names and faces fading into white noise.
Seven seconds.
Eight.
The lightning-haired woman’s scream tore through the air before her body crumbled into sparks.
Only Almond remained.
Nine seconds.
Nine years.
Ten seconds.
Ten years.
He stood motionless, a black silhouette under the crushing weight of time, until the final pulse struck.
The pillars vanished, dropping him into the sea of burning stars — but the stars extinguished instead, leaving him floating in a weightless void.
Then the voice of Grimverse spoke again.
[ Trial of Endurance — Rank 1: Almond Regalon. ]
Finally, the last trial came.
[ Rule: Shatter the final seal and reach the Ascendant Flame before it devours you. The one to reach the Ascendant Flame first wins. ]
A single point of blinding white fire appeared far above them — the Ascendant Flame.
Between them and it, nine seals of space locked the way, each one radiating pressure heavy enough to crush a mountain.
The timer began.
Almond raised both hands, and his twin swords formed — dark gold, glowing faintly with runic threads.
’Solstice Shift.’
His shadow split into twelve in parallel dimensional layers around him with Voiderran, each one grabbing a sword and tearing into a different angle of space.
The first seal shattered with a deafening crack.
The volcanic warrior, reborn by Grimverse’s mercy, charged through brute force, magma fists smashing at the seals, but he lagged behind. The lightning-haired woman streaked upward in a storm of light, breaking seals with speed rather than power.
Each seal shattered caused them to face higher difficulty in moving and controlling their powers, testing their focus and determination to break the seals amidst painful and annoying distractions that tore away at their existences.
By the time Almond reached the ninth, his blood was running silver, his vision turning blurry.
He put all of himself into the last strike.
Space split open.
The Ascendant Flame descended into his hand like a tame star.
[ Trial of Transcendence — Rank 1: Almond Regalon. ]
The void collapsed into nothing.
When the world returned, Almond was standing outside the Obelisk, his swords humming quietly. The three suns above had dimmed as though bowing to him.
[ Obelisk of Withering Suns — Conquered. ]
***
Don’t forget to check out the new book 🙂 It’s an absolute banger [ I Cook Limitlessly In a Fantasy World ] –> Link is below.