Chapter 293 - The Ruined and the Forsaken (2/2)

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As for Herellia, she manipulated the crimson thorn she had conjured a while ago and split it up into four smaller thorns, utilizing the entirety of her mind in making sure that the four thorns squarely hit the four bolts. Unfortunately, the ideal situation she had in her mind did not appear, which was a scenario wherein the four lightning bolts would be dispelled in one hit, just like what happened a while ago. Then again, the current scenario was not the worst case possible, with two crimson bolts dispelling after the first hit, leaving two crimson bolts behind.

Making sure that she was not going to be hit by these bolts, she hastily manipulated the two free thorns to head towards the two remaining bolts in a pincer formation, dispelling the two remaining bolts without a problem as a decently sized swarm of crimson strands was absorbed by her body not long after.

And just like that, she continued through the rounds of the trial named 'Forsaken Decade', remembering to maintain a calm and composed mind as she knew that panicking would lead her to ruin. After the second round, which consisted of four lightning bolts, the third round of crimson bolts came, allowing nine lightning bolts to make their way towards Herellia. Naturally, she did not want to be in the passive, conjuring two more large crimson thorns, bringing the total amount of crimson thorns she had connected to her body to three. With the buffs she had, as well as her prowess and experience with her skills, the third round of bolts was dispelled without a problem.

Soon, the fourth round of lightning bolts came crashing down from the sky, bringing forth a total of 16 lightning bolts. Although she was about to get hit by the remaining bolts, with half of it being dispelled by the three crimson thorns she had around her, she utilized the movement speed boosting buff cast on her to its fullest potential, seemingly teleporting her way out of an inevitable collision course. After that, she conjured a great number of crimson red tendrils, which then wrapped around the crimson thorns in less than an instant, allowing the thorns to have greater penetrative power. This greater power allowed the thorns to dispel the remaining crimson bolts, enhancing Herellia's combat power by a notch once more.

As for the fifth round of lightning bolts, which consisted of 25 crimson bolts, Herellia finally felt like she was having a hard time maneuver through the bolts and dispel all of them at once. Noticing this from afar, Argentum could not help but think that he had somewhat overestimated Herellia's combat power, contemplating as to whether or not he should cast another buff on her to alleviate her burdens a bit. After hastily conversing with Horell about it as the two of them looked at her progress of dispelling the bolts, he eventually decided to cast the weakest offense boosting spell he had in his arsenal, sending a small red ball of energy towards her way.

Unsurprisingly, this small red ball of energy was enough for Herellia to turn the tides, going from a state of escaping over 10 bolts at once, to having great confidence in herself that she could dispel all of the bolts in one go. At this point, she had already conjured seven crimson thorns, which had their offensive properties with more crimson red tendrils.

Letting out a sigh of relief as the final crimson bolt was dispelled, she could not help but focus her sense of vision towards Argentum and Horell as she noticed that the dark clouds had gone silent for quite some time. Deciding that it would be faster to talk to them through energy strands, Herellia unhesitatingly went ahead and sent energy strands towards their way, connected the minds of the three.

”Thanks for the buff, Argentum,” Herellia said through the connection. ”I think I wouldn't have cleared this round without it.”

”More like you're making sure you don't want to overexert yourself,” Argentum said in response, letting out a playful giggle before adding, ”Then again, that's not a bad thing.”

”So, what made you talk with us in the middle of your trial, Herellia?” Horell asked after Argentum was finished with his reply, to which Herellia responded, ”To be honest, I'm thinking of asking a few more buffs from you two���though I'm having second thoughts. Should I go ahead with more buffs or should I make do with what I currently have?”

”I'm fine with either decision,” Horell replied as he shrugged. He then turned his look at Argentum before saying, ”How about you, Argentum? What do you think we should do?”

”Hmm…” Argentum pondered over Herellia's request for a bit, weighing the pros and cons of each choice. After about ten seconds or so, he looked at Horell for a bit before looking at Herellia as he replied, ”I'd suggest we wait for the next round of bolts to come.”

And surprisingly, Herellia followed Argentum's decision. She focused her sense of vision on the dark clouds above while she used the time to repair the crimson thorns she had conjured. Not to mention, she had also used the time to enhance the offensive properties of the thorns by a slight degree as well, giving her more confidence in the upcoming round.

At the very instant she was finished enhancing her thorns, a loud rumble resounded throughout the dark clouds, prompting the trio to focus their senses of vision towards it. In an instant, they felt a wave of destruction far more intense than before envelop their bodies.

Ding!

Concurrently, a notification sound resounded throughout Argentum's mind, eliciting him to hastily read through the latest notification he had received. After skimming through it, Argentum went ahead and sent energy strands to both Herellia and Horell before saying, ”Guys…”

”I think it's time for us to cast a few more buffs.”

'The heavens have noticed the external enhancement of the trial taker's power. In response, the heavens have decided to adjust the difficulty of the first trial to the current trial taker's power.'

'The trial 'Forsaken Decade' has been changed to…'

'The Decade Waltz of the Ruined and the Forsaken!'

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