Chapter 114: Fifth Fragment, Desert Trials Begin!

William cursed. He was cautious in identifying the fragment, but the fake was almost a perfect copy. If his reflexes weren't good, the explosion might have torn off an arm or two. Or worse yet, it could have blown up his Space Ring!

The moment William took the fragment, the Cultivators switched to battle mode. William's speed suggested he was anything but weak. They lined up, launching a series of spells that made the hallway tremble.

William dodged a few fireballs, allowing them to harmlessly strike the stairwell behind him, while also slicing apart a group of Earth Spikes that had risen from the ground in front of him. He used the brief moment of respite as an opportunity to launch a few Wind Blades at the group.

The Wind Blades ripped through each Cultivator's lower half, separating their legs from their body to restrict their movements. They screamed in pain as their torso began to bleed, but William quickly stabilized their body with the Life Element.

I'm both a reaper and a savior. William gave a mental laugh. The Cultivators caught him by surprise, but they were still much weaker than him. Now that he was being cautious, he would not allow them to get the upper hand before he could acquire the fragment.

He launched a few more spells, quickly gaining control over the rest of the group.

"Where is the real fragment?" He asked the old man, whom the Array Wheel was reacting to the strongest.

"I have it." the old man said with a sigh.

William nodded. "I know you do, now bring it out."

The old man did as instructed, pulling a fragment from his Space Ring to give to William. The Cultivators weren't confident in the value of the fragment, but William's expression said it was incredibly valuable. The old man felt some regret, but it couldn't be helped considering how quickly William took down the entire group.

-Acquired Array Wheel Fragment: +50 PP

William didn't miss the part where the fragment was no longer labeled "Unknown Disc Fragment". He stored the fragment in a Space Ring that was separate from the others, then looked at the group.

He smiled mischieviously. "Hand over your Space Rings too."

Their eyes widened as they realized what William's words meant. This one on elevent fight had become a robbery, in which the solo person was the aggressor!

Some of the Cultivators didn't protest, but the girl that tossed William the fake fragment from earlier was anything but calm. "You can get my Space Rings over my dead body!" she yelled as a white light enveloped her body.

William jumped back expecting it to be another explosive, but the girl suddenly disappeared, Space Ring and all. It seemed the girl used a special treasure to leave the trial area.

William couldn't do anything about that, so collected fourteen Space Rings from the other ten Cultivators and released them to enjoy their next adventure. Once again, the Humanity point System prevented William from wanting to kill any innocents that didn't first show an intent to murder him. Amputation was the closest he could get before receiving a penalty.

Some of these Cultivators performed just like William, raising Arrays or forming defensive buildings using their respective Element. It seemed that no one planned to target the Magical Beast head-on and were also willing to ride out the storm.

He smirked at their efforts. Some of the Cultivators used only a few hundred Intermediate Arrays, expecting that to defend against a Nascent Soul Beast. Clearly they hadn't fought Golden Core Realm enemies before, who could easily break the defenses they had just put up.

He kept an eye on the movements of the Ancient Gravitas Mummy as it attacked the Cultivators that attracted its attention first, arriving at their positions in a blink of an eye and destroying all of their defenses in one swing of its greatsword.

The Cultivators wore panicked expressions as the Ancient Gravitas Mummy touched their heads with its staff. William could only see the Cultivators' bodies drop lifelessly to the floor, but he didn't know what the mummy had done.

He had the assistance of Atticus' Illusion Magic, so William opted to get closer to the Mummy.

He maintained his speed until he had stepped within two thousand meters of the Ancient Gravitas Mummy, finally within range to see it in action. William watched in horror as Mana flowed out of the Cultivators' bodies, causing the staff in the Mummy's right hand to emit a dim light.

It's charging the staff! What happens when it is fully charged?? William didn't want to know the answer to his question. No matter what it was, it would clearly be bad for him!

He didn't what to do. Killing the Cultivators himself would prevent the Mummy from absorbing their Mana, but he would lose Humanity points and probably become a target by the other Cultivators, while fighting the Mummy would draw too much attention and pose the risk that someone would try to sabotage him at a critical moment.

His new Talent upgrades didn't give William a cocky attitude. He knew that it only took one mistake to lose his life forever, which could easily be avoided by just surviving to the next day. There was no need to risk his life on dangerous tasks when he had the System to help him every step of the way.

If he couldn't beat the beast now, he would just grind more Potential Points until he could!

———

System Quest: The Host has been challenged by a powerful Cultivator to survive in a trial, but the Magical Beast is quickly gaining strength and will eventually slaughter every participant at its current rate. Kill the Ancient Gravitas Mummy before it can regain its strength to protect the Host and a rival's future potential.

Difficulty: Hard

Rewards: 1000 Potential Points, Savior Title upgraded to Legendary Rank

———

God damn it System, why are you always trying to put me in harm's way?!? William cursed in his mind as he read the details of the newly issued System Quest. These Quests were always so contradictory to the System's suggestion to maintain a low-profile.

How is he going to complete this Quest without attracting the attention of every Cultivator in the trial grounds?!?