Chương 200

Rudra did the math in his head. The experience points pouring into his system was quite high despite the low exp given by the murlocs individually. The ingredient drops were stacking up in his inventory. If he walked out those doors right now, he would just waste a perfectly good, highly concentrated training spot.

"Kratos," Rudra called out, sweeping his staff to clear a ten-foot radius around him.

"Go take a nap on that dry ledge over there. We're going to be here a while."

"Don't wake me up unless there's food," Kratos yawned. The lion curled up on the stone shelf, resting his massive head on his paws.

"Will do," Rudra said. He wasn't joking. Rudra stayed in the flooded room for three full days. Outside the temple, the sun set over the Red Sea. Then it rose. And set again. Thalassa and Neria stood on the sandy beach, watching the heavy stone doors. On the third day, Thalassa gripped his jagged spear tightly. His single eye stared at the entrance.

"It has been three suns, Neria. The Challenger is dead. The water pressure surely crushed his bones days ago. We should send a recovery team to pull his body from the tide." Neria tilted her head. The white cloth blindfold over her eyes fluttered in the salty sea breeze. She 'looked' past the heavy stone doors.

"He is not dead, Thalassa," Neria said quietly.

"Then why isn't he coming out?" Thalassa demanded, his voice rising in frustration.

"The doors unlocked days ago! The trial is over!"

"Because he is... culling the tide," Neria replied. Her normally serene voice was laced with utter disbelief.

"The exit is open to him, Thalassa. But he refuses to take it. He is staying inside the chamber on purpose. He is slaughtering the beasts without end." Inside the dark room, Rudra was moving like a machine. He hadn't slept in over seventy hours. When his stomach started to ache with hunger, he just kicked a pile of hissing murlocs away, pulled a piece of plain, salted boar jerky from his pocket, and chewed it aggressively while continuing to swing his staff with his other hand.

By the third day, the temple's internal mechanics had ramped up the difficulty. The water pressure had doubled, then tripled. While the water pressure didn't impede him, the fact that his spices were near empty did manage to heavily demotivate him to continue grinding, so he decide to quit this grind while he was at it. He smashed a final murloc into the water. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Alright. That's enough. Lets go, Kratos," Rudra grunted, breathing heavily and called out to Kratos to leave this place. He dropped his staff to his side. The endless momentum finally broke. A few more murlocs rushed him from the dark water. He completely ignored them. He just turned around and waded toward the heavy stone doors. He pushed them open, the bright sunlight spilling into the dark cave. The moment he crossed the threshold, the remaining murlocs instantly dissolved into puddles of water.

The trial reset. Rudra stepped out onto the sandy beach. He was covered in grey monster ash. His trench coat was soaked, and he smelled strongly of stale swamp water. He looked completely exhausted, but his eyes were bright. [You have cleared the First Trial.] [Reward: Forgotten Skill Fragment x3] [You have exceeded the limits of the First Trial] [As a reward, All stats + 50!] [The Champion's Rite] [Progress: 1 / 15 Temples Cleared] Rudra looked at the prompts and smiled, especially about the reward for exceeding the trial. His Gamer instincts just made him more excited about exceeding the limits in the other trials as well. Thalassa stared at him. The Chief's jaw practically hit the sand. He looked at the open doors, then back at Rudra.

"You... you stayed inside that pressure chamber for three days."

"The spawn rate was really good," Rudra shrugged casually. He tossed the three glowing skill fragments into his inventory.

"I leveled up a few times. Where's the next one?" Thalassa opened his mouth, closed it, and just shook his head. He had never seen a mainlander treat a sacred, lethal trial like a casual morning workout.

"Before we go anywhere," Kratos grumbled, trotting out of the dark temple. The lion shook his golden mane, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"I am starving. You fed me nothing but dry jerky for a week. Feed me real meat."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm hungry too," Rudra said. He didn't bother asking the locals for directions to an inn. He just walked a few feet down the beach, dropped his heavy metal cauldron onto the sand, and tapped it. It unfolded into a flat iron grill and a boiling pot. Thalassa and Neria watched in total silence as the Challenger, who had just survived five days in a legendary death trap, calmly started chopping wild onions and slicing thick cuts of monster meat on the beach.

Rudra fired up the grill and started cooking based on the path of the Cooking Saint. He just used basic rock salt, careful heat control, and simple ingredients to make the perfect meal. He seared the meat until it was a flawless golden brown. [You have successfully created 'Seared Beachfront Steak'!] [Rating: Epic] [An epic-rated dish was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +4 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +80.] Rudra tossed a massive, sizzling steak onto a wooden board and slid it over to Kratos. The lion immediately devoured it, purring happily. Rudra plated a second piece for himself, taking a huge bite. The hot, rich flavor washed away the exhaustion from the five-day grind. He looked over at Thalassa and Neria. They were still staring at him.

"You guys want some?" Rudra asked, pointing his fork at the grill.

"I made extra." Neria smiled softly, shaking her head.

"We are fine, Challenger. Eat your fill. The second temple awaits you within the coral reefs. It requires precision, not brute force."

"Precision," Rudra repeated, swallowing his food.

"Got it. Let me just finish this steak first." Rudra then looked at the list of skills and blueprints he got as a result of keeping the [Legendary Sage's Eyes] Active for the 3 days and scanning them throughout and from killing them.