[Vol. 7] Chapter 228: The Trial Taker
On the evening after the second-to-last match of the World Academy Joint Exchange Conference, the cold winds and thick snow in the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] once again welcomed a familiar visitor.
“Boom!!!”
The moment the girl stepped out of the teleportation gate, a deafening dragon's breath roared just past her. It tore through the sky like a radiant aurora crashing down to earth, carving a deep trench and kicking up a storm of snow, ice, and dust. The powerful shockwave surged like a tidal wave, sending her long, dark hair flying wildly behind her, flapping in the wind.
“Oh my~ Still as energetic as ever…”
Seemingly unbothered, the black-haired girl lightly pressed down the hem of her long robe, which had also been caught in the gust. She smiled and shook her head, then looked up into the sky.
This was the Frozen Tundra Zone on the 39th floor of the [Morst Underground Labyrinth]. Up above, beyond the eternal blizzards and swirling clouds, two blurred figures were locked in a fierce aerial battle. Every clash between them sent out thunderous booms that shook the frozen land below. The dragon’s breath that nearly struck the girl just now had been a stray attack from their intense fight.
If an ordinary person had been there to witness this overwhelming scene with their own eyes, they would probably fall to their knees in fear, or turn and flee in terror. Only someone like the girl, an existence beyond human understanding, could watch such a sight and simply smile.
Even though those battling above hadn’t aimed at the “insect” below, the gap in level and raw power was so great that mere rational thought would shatter like glass in the face of it.
Because, those were two true mythical creatures.
One of them was a full-grown [Frost and Arcane Dragon], over 100 meters long. When its wings spread, they didn’t quite blot out the sun, but they were still massive and imposing. Despite its huge body, every movement was sharp, fast, and precise, like it was a part of the wind itself. Its aerial combat skills were among the finest Violet had ever seen, even among all the flying creatures she had encountered.
Dragons are the rulers of the skies. Even without considering their powerful bodies and magic, their sheer mastery of flight and combat left almost no rival in the sky.
Which meant that the other figure, twisting and dueling with the frost dragon in the sky, with a sleek white-gold glow, was also a dragon.
Hmm… maybe calling her “giant dragon” isn’t quite right. More accurately, she should be called a little dragon, or even a baby dragon.
While she was still much bigger than a human, compared to the massive frost dragon that was over a hundred meters long, this golden dragon looked tiny and adorable. Most of her platinum-colored scales were still smooth and rounded, not yet fully developed. Her little tail and wings were only about ten meters long, and with her soft, pinkish body, it was hard to think of her as having any real fighting power.
But even so, this baby dragon, only a fraction of the frost dragon’s size, was holding her own in the air, fighting evenly. Whether it was claws clashing or tails smashing together, she wasn’t losing at all in these head-on attacks. It was like watching a child with a toy stick battling a fully armored warrior, so strange and absurd it almost felt unreal.
Still, before the priestess below could keep watching with interest, it seemed the two dragons in the sky had noticed her arrival. Especially the golden baby dragon, without a moment’s hesitation, she broke off from the fight, flipped mid-air in a full 360-degree spin, and spread her wings to dive down toward the ground.
As she fell, her body began to glow with golden light. Like a shooting star, she transformed rapidly before landing. By the time she touched the ground, she had turned into a small girl with golden hair, around 1.3 or 1.4 meters tall, completely naked.
“Tap~”
Her pale little feet stepped softly onto the snowy ground, but the freezing cold didn’t seem to bother her at all. Her small dragon wings quickly vanished, and the tiny bells on the ring around her ankle jingled as she happily ran toward the black-haired girl and jumped into her arms.
“Sister, you’re really late this time~”
Violet smiled and gently patted the little dragon girl’s head with a loving look.
“Sorry, sorry. Mia woke up today, and with everything changing outside, I got delayed with a bunch of things. You’ve been waiting a while, huh?”
As she spoke, Violet waved her hand, summoning a white cloak that perfectly fit the little dragon girl’s size, covering her smooth, snowy skin. Since the girl hadn’t reached adulthood yet, she couldn’t turn her dragon scales into armor or clothes like Xiao Guang could. So, whenever they were outside, Violet wouldn’t let her stay in dragon form.
After helping the little one get dressed, another flash of light appeared. A large amount of food, prepared specially for Xiao Guang, poured out from Violet’s backpack. She also opened up a barrier to block out the freezing wind and snow, so the girl could eat in a comfortable environment.
These were all part of their routine. Both Violet and Xiao Guang were already used to it.
But this time, the little dragon girl didn’t immediately start eating and drinking like usual. Instead, she tilted her small head slightly and looked up at the black-haired girl with a bit of surprise.
“She’s awake? So… that means you’re ready to take action, Sister? Then I should…”
“Mm, it’s not me who's taking action, it’s them who are about to move. You should also be ready… but for now, there’s no rush.”
“Boom!!!”
As they spoke, the frost dragon that had been fighting Xiao Guang in the sky earlier landed heavily on the ground, kicking up a large wave of snow with a thunderous crash.
Without a doubt, it was the guardian of the 39th floor of the [Morst Underground Labyrinth], the same blue dragon king Violet had fought the first time she came here. But this time, it didn’t show any hostility toward her. It just stood quietly outside the barrier of [Light Protection], in the freezing snow, staring at the food she brought with what looked… oddly like a hungry expression.
Violet could pretty much tell. Yeah, that was probably the face of someone who was craving snacks.
This dragon, or rather, all of the creatures inside the [Morst Underground Labyrinth], weren’t actually living beings in the normal sense. Their actual name was “Trial-examiners”. As the name suggests, they were simulated lifeforms created inside this huge testing ground.
Of course, within the so-called [Morst Underground Labyrinth], these beings were born from a power called the “Origin”, and were practically no different from real living creatures. They had their own will, they could hunt, sleep, and even reproduce. But no matter what, neither they nor their offspring could ever leave the [Trial Grounds].
If they strayed too far from the source of simulated life, located in the deepest layer of the labyrinth, known as the [Heart of Creation], the life crystals inside their bodies would lose power, and they would quickly die.
This was the true secret of the [Morst Underground Labyrinth]. No matter what happened, the number of monsters inside would never increase or decrease wildly. Thanks to the [Heart of Creation], which served as a control center, the number of creatures inside the [Trial Grounds] would always stay within a fixed range. Fewer would be replaced, too many would be suppressed.