Chapter 202: Zodiac Trials

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The Zodiac Saints...

They're a group of legendary people who made large contributions to Humanity's survival...

A few examples would be: the Aquarius Saint discovering a way to cleanse the putrid rivers of Azure Terra, making it safe for humans to consume. The Cancer Saint developing a cure for a Demonic Plague that killed millions of civilians and Superhumans. The Capricorn Saint preserves Azure Terra's nature.

And the 1st Leo Saint who broke through the Planar Traveller Realm, the first one to do so and inform Humanity about it.

And these are just to name a few. Some saints had multiple achievements throughout their lives and each one is just as valuable to Humanity as the last.

Cedric never had a direct connection to the Zodiacs before. In fact, he only knew they existed thanks to his System Authority being high, allowing him to gain access to their biography.

Well, there was one time that he had an encounter with one, even then it wasn't a direct involvement. Back at the Black Thread City, he discovered a cult base, and apparently, members of that particular branch hate the current Leo Saint. This was as far as he knew though. Cedric had other things on his plate so he didn't pay much attention to these people.

Now, he kind of has to, especially because he's about to take the Zodiac Trials - something that the Zodiac Saints left because apparently, they're alumni students of this academy as well.

The Zodiac Trials could be found in the Astral Observatory...a place that Cedric hasn't visited before for some reason.

During their first day here, Orion gave them a tour and brought them here. However, they didn't go in, he just brought them to the entrance to show it and then moved on.

It's not like he had completely forgotten about it. He just didn't see any reason to come here since he had other ways to increase his strength and earn academic points - things that the trials provide for their challengers.

He heard some people from his batch coming here to train but Cedric mostly ignored it because, once again, he was too occupied with his stuff.

The Astral Observatory was a large and stocky building with a domed ceiling. Upon arriving here, Cedric could see a couple of people going in and out of the building, most likely challengers of the Zodiac Trials as well.

He also saw a couple of his batchmates here and there, they nodded at him in greeting - which was how it had been since their time at the army, Cedric's image became well-known to them after all.

The guardian asked for his credentials so he showed it, after that he was allowed entrance to the building. Once inside, he immediately saw how this was gonna go.

This marked his clearance of the 1st stage of Leo's Trial.

To Cedric's surprise though, he was rewarded with plenty of APs; he received 1000 APs for clearing it, he also received a bonus for killing the phantom, amounting to 500 APs, and finally, for clearing the 1st stage in under a minute, he received another 1000 APs.

That's 2500 APs in total. For regular students, that is a lot! To Cedric though? This much was enough to buy him 10 kilograms of Tier 5 material, which isn't a lot considering how much he needs. He ain't complaining though, APs are APs, and he wouldn't say no to more.

He was asked if he wanted to move to the next stage but Cedric refused. He exited the trial and found himself returning to the Astral Observatory.

Next, he moved on to Capricorn's Trial and it was a mountain hike. The task was to reach a certain distance up the mountain within a time limit and under gravity squared. That was nothing to Cedric so he cleared it in record time.

FTL movement ignores gravity since it operates under Astral Laws. Thanks to this, he received another hefty sum of APs.

Cedric proceeded just like that, entering the Zodiac Trials one by one to discover what they were all about.

And just to name a few: Aries' Trials was a gauntlet run, and Cancer's trials were to experience illnesses and survive for a certain amount of time. Libra's trials was to memorize things. Gemini's Trials was a 'Spot the Difference' game...and so on.

After an hour, Cedric finished clearing all 1st Stages of the 12 Zodiac Trials, earning him loads of APs, he even received a bonus for clearing all 1st stages as well.

Right now, Cedric was taking his pick. The requirements to be promoted state that he only needed to clear the 3rd stage of any 2 of the 12 Zodiac Trials.

'I'll pick Leo's and Scorpio's Trials.' Cedric mused to himself, 'Leo's because it's plain and simple, and Scorpio's because it is fun.'

Scorpio's Trials was a 'dodgeball' game. Just change the 'ball' into poisoned stingers that could cause soul injuries and that's pretty much it.

While some people would be terrified to take this trial, Cedric does not. He had the Eyes of a Godking and could move faster than light at this point. He could see the stingers before they even appear to his naked vision and predict their movements. His speed was way faster than those too so this was just a fun game for Cedric.

Since he had made his decision and he had time to spare, he went in directly. Why postpone it later if he could finish it now?

He returned to Leo's Trial and clashed with the phantom up until the 3rd Stage. Doing so was effortless on Cedric and he cleared it easily. Following that was Scorpio's Trial and honestly, he had fun dodging those scary stingers.

After another hour, he's done. He already left a record of clearance so he didn't stay here. Now, he just needs to wait for the Academy's e-mail informing him that he's promoted to a Sophomore Student.