The regional chat grew even more heated after 【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes】 posted his message. Many players pointed out that even if he couldn't reveal the details of the trial, surely he could at least give them a few hints about the rewards?
【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: I failed the fourth round, so I didn't get the reward. But I did obtain quite a few materials and supplies in the third round.】
Naturally, he wasn't going to reveal the details.
The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes gazed at the leaderboard, particularly the top players who had already cleared the fourth round, his expression filled with admiration.
He asked himself whether he could have resisted the temptation to "go home" if he'd been given another chance, even with his memories of the trial blurred.
He knew he couldn't.
After all, who would want to live in constant fear in a survival game when they could return to their hometown and enjoy a peaceful, quiet life?
The fifth round of the trial.
Deep down, Qiyu knew he'd gotten off easy in the fourth round. If he wasn't mistaken, the survival game system had identified him as someone from Earth.
The scenes he'd witnessed… were probably just ordinary glimpses of daily life on Earth, weren't they?
Qiyu's thoughts wandered for a moment. If that was the kind of life people had enjoyed, it made perfect sense that they wouldn't like the survival game and would desperately want to return.
He wondered what kind of challenge awaited him in the fifth round.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of synchronized footsteps echoed through the thick fog.
Qiyu tightened his grip on his staff.
Gradually, the approaching enemies emerged from the mist.
Humanoid, faceless, and pitch-black.
Qiyu couldn't help glancing back at the Alchemy Doll he hadn't put away in his backpack because it took up too much space.
An army of Alchemy Dolls?
Unlike his own doll, however, these figures were equipped with matching shields and longswords. They also wore armor, making them look considerably more formidable.
Qiyu cautiously cast Fireball at them.
The Fireball struck one of the alchemical constructs and silently fizzled out.
Immune to fire?
His mind raced as he cast Waterball.
The result was exactly the same.
Qiyu wasn't sure whether to be pleased or dismayed.
The good news was that these alchemical creations seemed remarkably sturdy. Their immunity to both fire and water was impressive enough on its own.
The bad news was that he now had to face fifty of them—and defeat every last one.
In the blink of an eye, the alchemical constructs had already reached the wooden fence.
The leading doll raised its longsword before it and spoke in a mechanical, emotionless voice.
"Attack."
Qiyu even found a moment to wonder: Since the doll had no facial features, what exactly was it using to speak?
The next instant, several longswords slammed into the wooden fence.
A huge chunk of durability vanished from the display on Qiyu's interface.
Damn it! Each of their attacks is almost as powerful as a Wild Giant Wolf's!
Qiyu immediately used some wood to restore the fence's durability while attempting to deal with the constructs using the same tactics he'd employed against the Wild Giant Wolves.
CLANG!
The barbarian fang dagger slashed across an automaton's neck, sending sparks flying through the darkness.
A damage notification slowly floated above its head.
-3.
Qiyu: …
He silently sheathed his dagger.
These alchemical constructs had extremely low Agility. Their reactions were much slower than those of the Wild Giant Wolves.
However, their Attack was astonishing, and their Defense far exceeded that of the wolves.
On top of that, they were immune to fire and water and seemed to possess a certain degree of magical resistance.
They were practically made to serve as tanks.
CRACK!
That was the sound of a wooden fence breaking.
Fifty Alchemy Dolls were simply too many.
Fortunately, after learning how to use wooden fences, Qiyu had prepared a batch of spares in his backpack. Whenever a section broke, he immediately replaced it with a brand-new one.
But against the destructive power of the alchemical constructs, this stopgap measure was little more than a drop in the bucket.
Qiyu's mind raced. He put away his barbarian fang dagger, and in the next instant, the Heart of the Great Tree Staff appeared in his hand.
This time, however, Qiyu had no intention of using it to cast spells.
With his jade boots equipped, his Agility had soared to 20 points, allowing him to move like a blur—almost like a gust of wind.
And now, that gust of wind, carrying a fierce killing intent, swept toward the alchemical construct that had just smashed through the fence.
THUD!
The heavy shaft of the Heart of the Great Tree Staff slammed viciously into the pitch-black construct.
Propelled by the tremendous force of the blow, the automaton flew through the air like a cannonball and disappeared into the thick fog.
Qiyu watched calmly for a moment before letting out a regretful sigh.
No white light.
In a survival game, that meant the enemy wasn't dead.
Still, it wasn't entirely ineffective.
Qiyu looked on the bright side. That doll seemed to have flown quite a distance. At least for a little while, there would only be 49 Destroyers left to deal with.
Next up: solo training time for the mage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, the alchemical constructs flew through the air in graceful arcs before crashing into the thick fog.
Sweat trickled down Qiyu's forehead, yet his eyes shone with astonishing intensity.
He pulled a Stamina Potion from his backpack and gulped it down. After a moment's consideration, he decided to treat himself to a carton of milk he'd been saving.
The rich, sweet flavor gradually calmed his racing heartbeat. As he felt his strength slowly returning, the corners of Qiyu's eyes crinkled with satisfaction.
"Come on, everyone."
He stared at the alchemical constructs emerging once again from the thick fog, their movements unsteady.
Compared to when they'd first appeared, they looked considerably more "pitiful" now. Some had broken swords and shields, others had great dents in their bodies, and a few were already missing arms or legs.
All of this was the result of Qiyu's extraordinary display of brute force moments earlier.
Although these alchemical creations couldn't feel pain, their combat effectiveness had clearly suffered from the damage.
Having recovered a considerable amount of strength, Qiyu affectionately stroked the staff in his hand, tightened his grip, and charged forward once more.
BOOM!
This time, just a few seconds after the alchemical constructs flew into the thick fog, flashes of white light appeared before Qiyu.
"As expected, even alchemical constructs can't keep going forever."
Qiyu had no time to collect the loot scattered on the ground. Alone with his staff, he stood guard in front of the wooden cabin.
The fence was no longer enough to hold the enemies back, but fortunately, the wooden cabin itself had 220 durability.
Occasionally, a stray automaton managed to approach the cabin, but Qiyu dealt with each one before it could cause too much damage.
One hour later.
The last alchemical construct dissolved into white light.
Leaning on his staff with one hand, Qiyu dropped to one knee and closed his eyes, taking a moment to catch his breath.
A message appeared on the Survival Panel:
【Congratulations, player. You have successfully completed the fifth round of the Survival Trial. Do you wish to continue participating in the Survival Trial?】
Qiyu didn't make a decision immediately.
After resting for a while, he began collecting the spoils of battle.
Although the alchemical constructs had been troublesome opponents, they were also remarkably generous. Every single one had dropped a beam of white light.
【Obtained Dark Crystals x10.】
【Obtained Dark Crystals x15.】
【Obtained Energy Orbs (Dark) x5.】
【Obtained Alchemy Golem Manual x1.】
【Obtained Basic Resource Pack x15.】
【Obtained Intermediate Resource Pack x1.】
【Obtained Longsword Blueprint x1.】
【Obtained Shield Blueprint x1.】
【Obtained Armor Blueprint x1.】
What an enormous haul!
And besides all that loot, there was another major reward.
【Congratulations, player! You have successfully completed the fifth round of the Survival Trial and received Silver Chest x1.】
Alongside this notification, the countdown asking whether he wished to continue the trial was still ticking away.
The reward for the third round had been a Brass Chest. The fourth round had awarded two Brass Chests, and the fifth round had given him a Silver Chest outright.
What about the sixth round?
Would the reward be even better?
Qiyu couldn't deny that he was tempted.
But in the end, all he could do was watch helplessly as the countdown on his interface steadily decreased until it finally reached zero.
【The player did not make a selection within the allotted time and is considered to have forfeited.】
【This Survival Trial has ended.】
Qiyu remained sitting on the ground for quite some time.
Even after drinking two bottles of Stamina Potions, he was utterly exhausted.
After all, his class was "Elegant Mage," and this battle had truly pushed him to his limits.
Opening his personal interface, Qiyu noticed that the strange "lock" had disappeared. He could now access the general chat and his friends' chat channels again.
The general chat was incredibly lively, and he finally got a chance to examine the Survival Trial leaderboard.
At the very top stood "My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens," followed by the words 【Round 6, Passed】.
Scrolling down, he saw:
2nd Place: "Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens."
3rd Place: "The Elegant Traveler of Jiangnan."
4th Place: "I Am Domineering."
5th Place: "I Love Survival Game."
6th Place: "Tranquility Yields Transcendence."
Every player from second through sixth place had cleared the fifth round of the Survival Trial.
Below them were the players who had cleared the fourth round.
Qiyu spotted "Civil Engineering Brother" in 19th place. He had also cleared the fourth round.
"Dare Not Open My Eyes" was ranked 124th, having successfully cleared the third round.
Qiyu was somewhat surprised.
Among the members of the "01 survival squad," "Tranquility Yields Transcendence" was a man of few words who always gave off a calm, reserved impression. Combined with his ID, he seemed like the sort of gentle, refined middle-aged man who rarely lost his composure.
Qiyu had never expected him to be capable of defeating so many Alchemy Dolls.
You really couldn't judge a book by its cover.