Chapter 1794: Second Trial
Chapter 1794: Second Trial
The white light from the Genesis Gate washed over the five participants, and for a brief moment, the shattered labyrinth behind them became completely still.
Max stood at the front, his Dimensional Sovereign Body slowly calming down as the endless layers of space, hidden mechanisms, and invisible attack routes withdrew from his perception. Revona stood quietly beside him, her Void Origin Eyes dimming slightly but not fully closing.
Tamara rested her spear against her shoulder, her war intent still rising and falling like the breathing of a battlefield. Varkhon cracked his knuckles, looking more excited than tired, while Ervin remained calm, his black spear lowered at his side as if everything that had happened had only been a warm-up.
Then the system prompt appeared before all of them.
[Trial One Completed.]
[Genesis Cube Labyrinth Cleared.]
[Labyrinth Core Stability: 79%]
[Teamwork Assessment: Excellent.]
[Survival Contribution Assessment: Completed.]
[Combat Performance Assessment: Completed.]
[Perception And Guidance Assessment: Completed.]
[Adaptability Assessment: Completed.]
[Genesis Marks Distribution Completed.]
A second prompt followed immediately.
[Max Morgan: 9 Genesis Marks]
[Ervin: 7 Genesis Marks]
[Revona: 6 Genesis Marks]
[Tamara: 5 Genesis Marks]
[Varkhon: 3 Genesis Marks]
[Total Genesis Marks Distributed In Trial One: 30/30]
The moment the distribution appeared, the cubic space became quiet.
Varkhon looked at the prompt, then let out a rough laugh. "Only three? This trial really does not appreciate honest strength."
Tamara glanced at him and said bluntly, "You smashed what you were told to smash. That was useful indeed but that was it. If you hadn’t been guided you would have been useless."
Varkhon snorted, though he did not look truly angry. "You sound happy with your five."
Tamara smiled faintly. "I did my part."
Revona looked toward Max. "Nine marks. The highest."
Max glanced at the prompt without much surprise. "The trial valued perception and guidance more than raw destruction."
Ervin’s eyes rested on Max for a moment, and the abyss-like calm in them deepened slightly. "Without you seeing the route, the Labyrinth Core would have collapsed much faster. Nine marks are reasonable."
Max looked at Ervin. "You pierced the main sequence several times without needing instructions. You also did a good job."
Ervin smiled faintly. "I only pierced what I could see."
His tone was calm, but no one believed that was all there was to it. Among the five of them, Ervin had revealed the least, yet his performance had been terrifyingly stable.
His spear had not missed once. Every strike had landed where it needed to land, and his aura still felt as fathomless as when Max first noticed him. Even now, Max could not accurately measure his depth.
Before anyone could say more, the Genesis Gate in front of them opened completely.
The five were pulled through.
Their surroundings changed again.
The cubic labyrinth vanished, and they appeared inside a vast circular arena made of countless interlocking cubes. The arena floated above a dark void, but unlike the first trial, this place was not a simple path toward a gate.
It was divided into five outer regions and one central region. Each outer region had a different color: silver, black, crimson, blue, and gold. At the very center of the arena floated a massive transparent cube, and inside that cube were dozens of glowing marks shaped like small white flames.
Max’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Those were likely Genesis Marks.
But before anyone could move, the system prompt descended.
[Trial Two Initiated.]
[Trial Two: Genesis Core Dominion.]
[Trial Type: Cooperative And Competitive.]
[Maximum Genesis Marks Obtainable In Trial Two: 35]
[Objective: Obtain Genesis Flames From The Central Core And Preserve Them Until The End Of The Trial.]
[Rules: Genesis Flames Can Be Obtained By Breaking The Central Core Seals.]
[Rules: Central Core Seals Require Multiple Forms Of Power To Break Efficiently.]
[Rules: Participants May Cooperate To Break The Core Faster.]
[Rules: Participants May Also Steal Genesis Flames From One Another.]
[Rules: Trial Can Be Completed Alone Or As A Team.]
[Warning: The More Genesis Flames A Participant Holds, The More Trial Beasts Will Target Them.]
[Warning: If All Participants Fail To Hold At Least One Genesis Flame Before The Timer Ends, Trial Two Will Be Considered Failed.]
[Time Limit: 30 Minutes.]
The moment the prompts finished, a timer appeared in the sky above the arena.
[30:00]
The five participants immediately understood the cruelty of the second trial.
This was not like the first trial, where they only had to work together to reach a gate. This trial encouraged cooperation and betrayal at the same time. The central core held the Genesis Flames, but its seals required multiple forms of power to break efficiently. If they cooperated, they could obtain the flames faster.
But once the flames were obtained, each person could steal from the others. Even worse, the more flames someone held, the more trial beasts would target them. That meant being too greedy would turn the entire trial against them, while being too cautious might leave them with too few marks.
Tamara’s eyes sharpened. "Interesting."
Varkhon laughed, his demonic aura rising. "Now this is more like it."
Revona calmly studied the central cube. "The seals are layered. They are not all the same."
Ervin looked at the arena beneath them. "The outer regions are likely temporary territories. Holding one may give defensive advantages."
Max’s Dimensional Sovereign Body spread outward again, and the structure of the arena unfolded in his perception. He could see the central core clearly now. It had five seals wrapped around it, each seal corresponding to a different type of power.
One was spatial. One was destructive. One was perception-based. One was battle-force-based. One was origin-force-based. No single participant could break all five quickly unless they possessed several different abilities, but the five of them together could dismantle the seals much faster.
Max said calmly, "The core has five seals. If we break them together, we can save time."
Varkhon grinned. "And after that?"
Tamara’s spear tapped against the ground. "After that, everyone takes what they can keep."
Revona’s Void Origin Eyes glowed faintly. "If we waste too much time fighting before opening the core, the trial beasts may become the real problem."
Ervin nodded. "Then we cooperate first."
Max looked at the timer.
[29:34]
"Agreed," he said. "Break the core first. Compete after."
No one objected.
The five moved toward the center at the same time.