Chapter 131: Memories

"Are you planning to kill me?" William asked the dragon as he inspected its features, his voice surprisingly calm despite standing in front of a powerful beast he couldn't hope to kill.

[Bestiary] Flame Dragon: +1 PP

"Ha, planning? I don't need to plan to kill anyone. If I want to do it, I will do it. If I don't, then it's just that!" Uri scoffed at William's words.

The dragon continued, "You've already passed my floor, but I can't accept your cowardly methods. If you truly want me to accept you, then take my full-powered strike!"

His mouth began to glow as a fireball formed in his mouth.

William began to panic, "Wait! Wait!"

The dragon snorted and ceased gathering Mana for its attack. "What is it? Are you too scared?"

William thought of something. "No, that's not it. I'm just exhausted from the previous floor. Wouldn't it be cowardly of a mighty dragon like you to attack me when I am weak?"

Uri thought for a moment, finding that William's words made sense. "Very well. You have five minutes to recover."

"Only five minutes?"

"Are you that weak that you need more than five minutes? If that's the case, I'll just kill you now!"

"No no, five minutes is perfect!" William immediately got to work forming improved Perfect Arrays.

One after another, the Barriers were stacked in front of each other and surrounded William. He layered the Runes to make each Barrier stronger and weaved in Heat Absorption and Frost Absorption Arrays just in case the dragon decided to use an elemental attack.

William knew that Uri was a Flame Dragon, but who knew what other abilities it had picked up over its lifetime?

Even though the enemy was stronger and greater in number than Riyald, he held on with his will and incredible skill in Arrays, enduring every attack that landed on the Barrier.

"Kid, you've passed my test. I won't bother you any longer." Uri turned to leave.

William noticed the change in Uri's eyes. "You don't want to follow me through the trial anymore?"

Uri paused briefly but continued walking short after. "I can't do that. I have to watch the second floor." It was an obvious excuse since the second floor was already cleared, but William didn't say anything.

As the dragon's voice echoed down the staircase, one last phrase from Uri entered William's mind directly. His tone was amiable with a hint of sadness, each word flashing through William's brain like a brief memory.

But. If you somehow manage to clear this trial tower, I will swear my loyalty and follow you to the ends of the earth if you so wish...

The words continued to resound in William's mind as he realized the meaning behind Uri's words.

The rewards of this trial are not minor at all! William rejoiced in his mind. He thought of how cool it would be to ride on top of a dragon, one at the Soul Formation Realm at that!

This also made William realize another important point. The Magical Beasts in the Gravitas Ruins could freely leave if they wanted to!

Perhaps there were limitations or certain criteria to be met, but this would have an incredible impact on the real world, where Nascent Soul and Soul Formation Beasts were rare unless in the Providence Zone.

If I had to guess, the Magical Beasts are bound by the trials they are tied to. The information wasn't incredibly valuable right now, but perhaps in the future William could use this to his advantage.

He temporarily disabled the Barrier Arrays near him but didn't destroy them just in case they were needed for the third-floor trials. William approached the red box with extreme caution, expecting something terrible to happen with every step.

When he came within five meters of the red box, the deep voice of the trial creator sounded in his mind.

Welcome to the third floor. Prepare yourself for the trial of luck.