Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out? - Chapter 1840: The Second Challenge: The Trial Of Dexterity
Chapter 1840: The Second Challenge: The Trial Of Dexterity
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Everyone’s Spirits had also been healed, though they slept for quite a while. They were now partially awake, ready to assist if truly needed.
Aquarina stepped forward with her friends, pushing open the gate to the next trial. What greeted them was, once again, unexpected. Instead of a large room, they faced a pool of cold blue water, with stairs leading only downward into it.
Before them stretched at least two hundred meters of water, and at the far end of the room, stairs led to the next door. They were perplexed. What were they supposed to do here?
“WELCOME TO THE SECOND TRIAL. UNLIKE THE FIRST TRIAL, WHERE YOU HAD TO ENDURE THE WEIGHT OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND BEAR THEM TOGETHER AS ONE, THIS TRIAL IS ABOUT INDIVIDUALITY. THE TRIAL OF DEXTERITY.”
“YOU MUST WALK ACROSS THE WATER TO REACH THE END OF THE ROOM TO COMPLETE THE TRIAL. IF YOU SINK EVEN A MILLIMETER, YOU WILL BE TELEPORTED BACK TO THE ENTRANCE. YOU CANNOT DIRECTLY ASSIST OTHERS, YOU CANNOT USE MAGIC IN THE WATER, AND YOU CANNOT FLY OR LEAP. RUNNING IS PERMITTED.”
The trio exchanged glances. This trial was certainly more restrictive yet simpler than the previous one. The voice faded after delivering its instructions, offering no further clues. The trial seemed straightforward, more a matter of trial and error.
“Running on water? I don’t think I’ve ever done that before…” Justicio said. “How do you even do it?”
“Have you run on water before, Aquarina?” Silvia asked.
“Sort of. You wrap your Aura around your feet to make the water’s surface feel solid and smooth,” Aquarina explained. “I usually use my Water Magic for this, though… let me try.”
Aquarina stepped forward, imbuing her Aura into her feet and releasing a shockwave of energy from her back to boost her speed as she ran across the water.
“Oooh! S-She’s doing it!” Silvia gasped. “You can do it!”
“She’s doing it?!” Justicio’s eyes widened.
Aquarina maintained a steady pace, running barefoot to better feel the cold water beneath her. The sensation refreshed her, but she couldn’t afford to lose focus.
She channeled her Mana, letting it flow through her entire body to maintain balance. The water’s surface was delicate, and any excess force would cause her to sink. She had to continuously adjust the force from her feet to move atop the flowing liquid.
This, combined with her remarkable speed, allowed her to succeed on her first attempt, landing on the stairs leading to the next trial.
“Haaa… Haaa… Done…! Wow, that was easy? I thought this trial would be harder.”
She was puzzled. The first trial was so grueling that she expected all others to involve similar suffering, but this seemed different. Either the Trials were unbalanced, with some deliberately more challenging, or she was simply adept at this task.
However, the trial wouldn’t conclude until her friends succeeded as well. She waved her arms, encouraging them to join her.
“Come on, guys, hurry! We can get this one done easily!” she called cheerfully.
Justicio and Silvia exchanged nods. Following Aquarina’s advice, they wrapped their Auras around their feet and legs, releasing propulsion energy as they stepped onto the water to run across it.
And…
SPLASH!
Both sank instantly, unable to advance a single step before plummeting to the bottom of the pool and reappearing on the stairs.
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
They were soaked, the cold water refreshing yet likely to grow bothersome over time.
“Aw, did you guys do it right?” Aquarina asked, quickly running back to their side.
“Okay, let me explain better. You need to wield your Aura and let it flow across the soles of your feet,” she clarified.
Justicio and Silvia nodded, attempting to follow her instructions before trying again.
SPLASH!
They managed three steps before falling. It was certainly an improvement, but Aquarina began to grasp the trial’s true challenge.
She was already skilled at this, but her friends were not, and that was precisely why this trial was assigned. They had entered as a team, and the trial required all of them to pass.
It was easy for her but not for them, and the challenge extended to her ability to teach them her technique.
Aquarina had mastered this skill through years of training and cultivation, growing attuned to the element of water.
Her friends, however, had never undergone such training, so it was naturally more difficult for them. Her methods might not even work for those without her innate gifts.
Aquarina brainstormed ways to help them, while Justicio and Silvia offered their own suggestions. They tried dozens of times, sinking repeatedly.
Their best attempt reached twenty meters before they fell. It wasn’t merely a lack of power but also a matter of confidence and fear. They seemed to constantly think, “I’m going to sink, I’m going to sink!” This fear caused their Aura to waver, leading to their failure.
Additionally, they struggled to gauge the water’s density beneath their feet as they moved. The water, despite being in an underground pool, flowed constantly, never remaining still, which made it even harder to navigate as they intended.
While Aquarina found this task effortless, expecting a quick victory, she began to realize this challenge might be tougher than the first.
In the first trial, they only had to endure weight. Here, she faced the daunting task of teaching two inexperienced friends a skill she had honed over years, a seemingly impossible challenge.
As she analyzed the situation, Undine realized this wasn’t solely a Trial of Dexterity. The Ancestor might be deceiving them. She believed this was a Trial about trust and patience.
Undine explained to Aquarina that people typically lack the patience to teach others without incentive. As friends, they needed to exercise patience and persistence.
Aquarina pondered various things while glancing at the cold water and her friends, sighing and beginning to finally understand a few key clues about this rather simple, yet complicated trial.
And then she simply concluded that it was all about teaching, there was no great secret to it.
But perhaps teaching by itself was a trial.
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