The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Speed Running The Trials – 1

In the center of the [Infernal Mount], deep within the great mountain that continuously spewed fire essence-infused lava across the entire realm, a figure slowly rose from the molten river.

Beads of lava dripped from his body, his slightly tanned skin gleaming and reflecting the searing heat of the lava surrounding him.

He opened his eyes, revealing irises that glowed like molten rubies.

The brilliance of his gaze stood out even more vividly against the dark, fiery environment.

The figure clenched his fists, a faint stretching sound echoing as a grin crept across his face.

“This feels bloody great,” Damian muttered, his small smile slowly turning into a chuckle as he relished the overwhelming strength surging through his body.

For the past eleven days, he had submerged himself in that fire essence-rich lava, enduring its relentless burn and the agonizing pain.

Throughout this time, Damian gradually weakened the protective effects of his [Eternal Earth-Fire Physique], allowing the lava to scorch and destroy his body.

Yet, as the molten flames tore him apart, his physique responded by healing and reconstructing his flesh.

The cycle of destruction and regeneration continued unbroken for eleven days.

With each passing moment, his flesh became stronger, tougher, and far more resilient.

Now, after days of being burned and reborn, Damian’s body had transformed.

His vitality had surged to such an extent that his regeneration far outpaced the lava’s burning.

The flames that once devoured his skin could no longer harm him.

The flames have become powerless against him.

Damian took a deep breath and leaped from the lava, landing gracefully atop a mountain.

He proceeded to dress in his Murim-style robe, which he had purchased from the system shop.

The robe was dark red with black accents, paired with gray inner shirts and pants.

His outfit was completed with black metal forearm bracelets and pants designed with straps to hold two swords and a hidden dagger.

He ran his fingers through his dark, shiny hair, which had mysteriously grown down to his neck while he was submerged in the lava.

Unlike his regenerating skin, the hair on his body hadn’t regrown.

However, once his body accumulated enough vitality to heal faster than the lava could burn him, his scalp hair suddenly grew back longer, denser, shinier, and softer, making him absentmindedly touch it.

After getting ready, Damian finally turned his attention to the system notification that had been hovering in his vision for 11 days.

[Do you wish to take on the trial of the 5th floor of the Tower of Evolution?]

“Please.”

In the next instant, Damian found himself in a foreign environment.

A grin spread across his face.

“Time to speedrun the trials.”

As long as he didn’t encounter an overwhelmingly difficult trial, he planned to breeze through them.

[5th Trial Condition: Kill all the monsters in this realm.]

— Seven Hours Later —

[Experience Limit Reached]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have killed all the monsters in this realm.]

[You have cleared the 5th trial.]

[Reward:

+30,000 Gold

+1 Epiphany Card]

[Do you wish to take on the trial of the 6th floor of the Tower of Evolution?]

“Please.”

Damian’s figure vanished, and he appeared in a land overrun by thorny bushes.

An eerie buzzing sound of bees echoed ominously.

[6th Trial Condition: Kill the Mutated Amber Bees and collect their honey.]

“Ugh, bees?” Damian muttered in annoyance.

He sensed hundreds of them scattered throughout the area.

However, with his extraordinary senses and innate ability, [Eyes of Clarity], he quickly assessed that they weren’t particularly powerful compared to him.

It took Damian only two days to annihilate the mutated amber bees and gather their honey.

Unlike typical honey, this one was dark brown with red, dot-like substances floating inside.

The quantity was massive, enough to fill three trucks.

[You have leveled Up] x 4

[You have killed all the monsters in this realm and collected the Amber Bee Honey.]

[You have cleared the 6th trial.]

[Reward:

+35,000 Gold

+1 Epiphany Card

+25 Gallons of Amber Bee Honey]

[Do you wish to take on the trial of the 7th floor of the Tower of Evolution?]

[You have entered the training grounds of knights and warriors.]

[7th Trial Condition: Increase your understanding of martial weapons you lack proficiency into the high stage in 15 days]

[Martial skill learned and achieved high stage: 0/3]

“This is interesting.” Damian found himself in the center of an enormous training ground, large enough to accommodate hundreds of warriors training simultaneously.

There were moving targets for archery and throwing weapons, and each section was designed not to interfere with others.

Damian smirked. “This is the perfect opportunity to master new martial skills.”

He walked toward an area filled with various sword-shaped weapons and picked up a katana.

Entering a training circle, he began practicing, incorporating techniques he had mastered with his double-edged sword and dual swords.

He even applied knowledge from his spear techniques, enhancing his sword swings.

As he continued relentlessly, his understanding of swordsmanship grew exponentially.

[Your talent [Martial Lord] is taking effect.]

[Your talent [Boundless Refinement] is taking effect.]

[Your talent [Rumination Clarity] is taking effect.]

These three talents, combined with his class [True Magic Swordsman] and innate ability [Eyes of Clarity], accelerated his comprehension.

[Martial Lord]: Increases understanding of all martial weapons by 30%.

[Boundless Refinement]: Significantly enhances the body’s adaptability to any condition.

[Rumination Clarity]: Boosts comprehension, thought processing, memory, and recall to the body’s limits.

[True Magic Swordsman]: Grants an additional 30% increase in mastering martial weapons.

[Eyes of Clarity]: Sharpened vision and heightened perception, enabling precise observation.

With all these boosts, Damian’s understanding of martial weapons surged beyond normal limits.

[Your understanding of swordsmanship has increased] x8

[Your body is adapting to using the katana] x 4

“Next up, the odachi.”

Damian picked up an odachi, a larger and longer version of the katana.

Due to its similarities, it only took him about two hours to master it to peak proficiency.

[Your understanding of swordsmanship has increased] x 9

[Your body is adapting to using the odachi] x 4

Damian didn’t get a single second of rest as he continued to train with every type of sword, including the Sabre, Wakizashi, Ninjatō, Greatsword, Khopesh, long broadsword, and more.

Each time he improved his proficiency with one of the swords, it helped increase his proficiency with the other types of swords as well.

It only took about half a day for Damian to completely master every single sword type weapon.

As he was increasing his proficiency, he could feel his mind clearing, not just of thoughts but in a different way.

It was as if he had been restricted by something until now, but it was beginning to loosen.

Damian closed his eyes, and outside his body, a colorless aura began to release, sharply cutting through the air.

What he felt was very similar to the sensation he would experience when breaking through a Qi cultivation realm.

[Your Swordsmanship (High) has leveled up to Swordsmanship (Master)]

After that, he moved to the area where spear and spear-like weapons were held.

He began to increase his proficiency in the skill [Spearmanship] by training with weapons like the Pike, Lance, Javelin, Pilum, and others.

Just like before, another feeling of breaking through filled his being.

[Your Spearmanship (High) has leveled up to Spearmanship (Master)]

Damian sighed and looked at the remaining weapons.

There were many of them, but he continued to improve his proficiency with each one.

[Martial Skills Learned and Achieved High Stage: 3/3]

[You have completed the 7th trial.]

[Reward:

+40,000 Gold

+1 Card to Acquire a Martial Technique.]

He then glanced at the skills he had developed in this trial.

[Skills: Swordsmanship (Master), Spearmanship (Master), Archery (Master), Axe-Wielding (Master), Quarterstaffmanship (Master), Marksmanship (Master), Glaivemanship (Master), Kusarigamajutsu (Master), Mace Fighting (Master), Spellcasting (Intermediate), Multicasting (Intermediate), Elemental Fusion (Basics).]

“I guess this should be enough for now,” Damian said to himself as he looked at the system notification.

[Do you wish to take on the trial of the 8th floor of the Tower of Evolution?]

“Yes.”

As usual, he found himself standing in another new place.

“Oh, come on, not another dense forest?” Damian muttered.

His senses quickly picked up on hundreds of presences all over the realm.

“Is this the smell of rain?” Damian thought as he sensed the air.

His senses had grown unnaturally strong, and he could smell the thick scent in the air, similar to the smell that comes right before rain begins to fall.

Not only that, but the entire place was covered in thick fog that didn’t seem to be caused by pollution, but rather energy.

A smile formed on his face as he remembered that this environment was similar to the [Infernal Mount], which was also filled with energy all around.

The air in this place had a similar type of energy, so thick that he could practically smell it.

[Welcome to The Verdant Ruins, a place filled with dense wood essence and mutated, plant-based sentient monsters.]

[8th Trial Condition: Obtain the Wood Essence Stone.]

“If this place is similar to the [Infernal Mount], then I can gain another power and a constitution here,” an excited grin spread across his face.

He sensed around a hundred monsters in this realm, but they weren’t moving.

Deciding to rush toward them, he approached one and discovered a large tree, or what appeared to be a tree.

In reality, it was a monster.

—–

[Name: Mutated Blight Roots]

[Level: 113]

[Description: Once ordinary trees, these beings transformed into sentient creatures after absorbing vast amounts of wood essence. They are silent and non-territorial, choosing not to attack unless provoked or if their belongings are stolen.]