Chương 746: [Hall of the Ascension Echo]

The group that entered Aionthra's trial was a mercenary group that had been working in Ceperet since the merchants arrived. Thanks to Liu Shu's buffs and their original strength, they broke through their constraints and made some trips out of the Solar System to complete some <Dungeons>. Liu Shu never prohibited people from leaving, so she did not care if they left and returned on their own.

Even then, with the temptation of Liu Shu's buffs, those who left were so few that even creating a statistic felt like a waste. Among the few groups the government had checked, this Mercenary group was quite notorious for their bragging and speculative talks. It was not prohibited to speak one's own mind as well, as long as you were not inciting a revolution or something similar, so people just knew them as the "Madmen Gang."

Naturally, their being alive and well meant that besides speaking, all of them were law-abiding citizens who went through due procedures. It was not too long ago that someone challenged them as such: "If you are so much stronger than other groups and our <Dungeons> are all child's play, why don't you go challenge the hardest difficulty within the <Eternal Trial Domain>?" To the speaker's and everyone else's surprise, the madmen actually were provoked and accepted the task as if they were raging bulls who saw red.

Which brought us, a few days later, to our current situation.

"So, Boss, where do we need to go?" The group of 20 was looking around the place, their eyes full of confusion and wonder. This location was a gargantuan crystal and wood palace. The colors were a mix of light purples, whites, and soft blues. Then, behind them, the only source of green stood tall, its branches weaving softly. This 1, 000-meter-tall Willow Tree was the manifestation of what they needed to protect in this trial. The Boss of the <Red Howl Company>, the name of their group, was named Rhygar.

He was not a stupid person, but he took pride a bit too seriously. So, knowing that they could retreat with the usual <Dungeon Escape Scrolls> at any time, he decided to just challenge it. Even if he fled, he could lie that they almost beat it. As they were all situating themselves, they heard the weak voice of the Willow Tree behind them.

"My heroes… why have you come? Leave now. Please, leave before the <Ascension-Echo Eternal Arbiter> knows of your arrival. You can't defeat her!" Rhygar looked up at the World Tree-like Willow Tree and spoke confidently.

"Lady World Tree, leave it to us! We will absolutely win!" The Willow Tree sighed with pity, her tone laced with pain.

"As you wish… Such a pity. More lives will be lost." [Welcome to the <Hall of the Ascension Echo>.] [You've triggered the main Sylvan Quest: <Crystal and Echo World Collapse>.] Someone blurted.

"Fuck me, that's a name for a quest, right?" [Description: You've arrived at the last bastion remaining in this world. The World Tree behind you has been weakened to Level 50, and any creature can defeat it. Your objective is to defeat the <Ascension-Echo Eternal Arbiter> that the Willow World Tree is trying to stop by consuming her existence: <BOSS Monster: Aionthra, She Who Walks Between Seconds>.] Another exclaimed.

"What a badass name! Can we really defeat her, Boss?" Rhygar's eyes twitched, feeling quite a bit of danger just from the names. Still, he bluffed bravado.

"What are names? If names can give strength, I can call myself Universe Destroyer Of Death right now, and I will snap my fingers to clear this room!" The Willow Tree spoke to them.

"Children, your premonitions are not wrong. Aionthra has the ability to manipulate a mythical energy. This energy can manipulate both time and space, and her strength is beyond words. To weaken her, you must go through her palace, beat the trials there, and enter her throne room." Rhygar frowned.

"Lady World Tree, what if she comes for us?"

"Don't worry. I am sealing her in that room using everything I have. We've been in this state of balance for endless years already, too many for me to keep count. Still, my strength is waning, while hers is only growing. So, please, defeat her before I fall." A system message popped up again. [Note: Your appearance has made Aionthra worried, so she has started resisting and is trying to escape her cage.] [Countdown until Willow World Tree loses her strength and the barriers weaken: 1 year.] [Countdown until Willow World Tree loses her strength and is unable to constrain Aionthra: 5 years.] [Countdown until the first wave of <Crystal Echo> monsters attacks: 1 week.] Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. [Note: Monsters can attack the barrier around the Willow World Tree and weaken it.] These messages left everyone quite speechless.

"Are you telling me that this <Dungeon> has a time limit?" Before they even continued discussing, the system popped up again, making them feel a bad premonition. [<Dungeon Escape Methods> have been sealed by Aionthra. Only those that surpass her <Tier> will have an effect.]"... Boss, what is the rank of our escape scrolls?" Rhygar spoke with a difficult voice.

"The strongest one is that one we bought a few decades ago, an S Rank Dungeon Escape Method." A man named Garrik, an overconfident brute with enough strength to most of the time back up his claims, spoke with a laugh.

"Then, we have nothing to fear."

"No…" Rhygar spoke with difficulty.

"This scroll is disabled as well." Silence. Everyone looked at Rhygar with wide-open eyes. A woman named Lessa, the group's scout, swallowed.

"Are you telling me that this BOSS monster is S+ Tier?" Someone laughed dryly.

"Be more confident. She might be SS- Tier." When that man spoke, everyone glared at him.

"Don't jinx it, you brute!" Rhygar took in a deep breath and spoke solemnly.

"Alright, we knew that this <Dungeon> would be difficult since we came. If we complete these trials the System speaks about, the time will probably extend because Aionthra's strength will weaken. System, do we know how much stronger than usual she currently is?" [Note: One <Tier> stronger.]"Major Tier?" [Note: Yes.]"..." Rhygar coughed.

"Alright, rushing the BOSS Monster is out of the question. We will have to follow the rules." The other 19 glanced at their boss with looks that screamed: "You don't say!" After planning around, Rhygar began their Dungeon Exploration with an item.

"Reveal the <Dungeon Alignment>." [Dungeon Alignment: Pride, Lust.] Someone laughed lewdly.

"Hehe, perhaps that Aionthra only needs some love." Lessa shook her head.

"No, this <Dungeon>'s theme is too serious for such an attribute. This <Lust> attribute is most likely pointed at desire for things, not sexual infatuation. It is most likely something we will be affected by." Rhygar agreed with Lessa. Then, he ordered everyone to explore the spawn area and see if they encountered some <Dungeon Items> that could help them. They encountered four of them. <Trial Guide>, <Defensive Barrier Status>, <Defensive Tower Construction>, and <Hero of the World Tree Temporary Summon>.

The first item could pinpoint the trial locations to weaken Aionthra when they were within 400 meters of them. The second told them the status of the defensive barrier at all times. The third could be used four times, and it could build a Defensive Tower that could later be upgraded. This tower served as a temporary defense to hold back the monster waves. However, the note said clearly that one should never rely on just this tower for defense. The last one was a temporary summon of a super-helper.

This super-helper lasted for 30 minutes, and it would fight by their side during that time. Halric, a rather normal human man in the group, read the attributes.

"This helper is quite impressive. It is a Level 200 S Rank fighter and healer. With the skills that it has, it is basically unstoppable during the time that it's active. Even if we all fought it together, whether we could kill it is difficult to say." Garrik, the brute, spoke up with a clever sentence for once.

"Then, can't we send it to fight that Aionthra woman?" Torven, somewhat of the strategist of the team, spoke with a thoughtful look.

"I believe that when the time to fight Aionthra comes, this will help us hold the fort back here. Otherwise, even if we could defeat Aionthra, losing this weak Level 50 World Tree would result in the failure of the mission." Everyone nodded. The defensive turrets, coupled with this hero figure, would definitely help defend when they fought the BOSS monster. Torven looked at Rhygar and asked.

"Do we wait for the first wave of monsters, or do we find and tackle a trial as quickly as possible?" Rhygar looked at him.

"We should tackle the trial as quickly as possible to weaken Aionthra. The monsters' strength might be related to her strength. If that's the case, the first wave will be the most dangerous." Torven nodded.

"Alright, Lessa, you and your usual group of four will scout ahead and search for this location. Take the <Trial Guide> with you. Garrik, you lead a group of five and guide them as they search for the materials needed to build the Defensive Towers. The rest will follow the Boss and me to explore the area and see if we can trigger and complete secondary quests." With those words, everyone got to work.

The world, corrupted by Aionthra's strength, had become a mix of crystal and wood forests, with all creatures having crystal protusions or wood limbs on their bodies. The average Level and Tier of creatures in the wild were Level 150 for ordinary monsters, Level 175 for mini BOSS monsters, and Level 190 for special creatures. To build the towers, the group realized that they needed the materials from the Level 190 special monsters.

These monsters looked like a 20-meter-tall crystal and wood woman, holding a gorgeous wooden staff with a purple orb at the top. This purple orb was the core material for the Defensive Towers. Rhygar and the others only spotted one of them, and they also encountered a few mini BOSS monsters. However, they didn't fight them yet, as they were separated.

Soon, six days passed by, and everyone gathered together to challenge the mini BOSS monster that guarded the entrance to the valley where the special monster wandered.

"Alright, everyone knows what to do. This tiger is just big and menacing. Attack it with everything we've got. Torven, are you able to analyze the System Page of the Mini BOSS?" Torven nodded.

"I am. This monster gets stronger with the number of challengers. I recommend forming an elite group of ten and having the other ten guard the surroundings and kill any ordinary monster that approaches." Rhygar nodded and spoke aloud.

"Alright, time to conquer this Dungeon. This will be our first step toward glory!" They didn't know that Aionthra's gaze had pierced the world itself to observe them with curiosity, looking utterly relaxed as she leaned on her fist on her throne.

'A bunch of pathetic people who didn't cherish Mother's blessings. Sad creatures, I hope you entertain Mother and me at least for a month.'