"Damn it! Why did you have to drag me in to practice with you? Are you trying to humiliate me?
Wait! When Urulius wakes and we become one, I'll return the favor."
Jason stood on the beach, controlling his magic as he spoke. It transformed into various crystal-like bullets and fired into the sky.
Sofia, listening to him in the sky, simply rolled his eyes. Then, using Jason's attacks as evasive training, he constantly adjusted his speed.
"Such nagging! Can you stop complaining? As a ranged attacker, you can't even hit. Isn't that embarrassing?"
"What?" Hearing this, Jason clearly disagreed.
He opened his arms and began to transform into a dragon.
His eyes, like those of a cold-blooded animal, rapidly shifted in their sockets. He instantly locked onto Sofia's position and raised his hands.
Crystal energy crystals coiled around his hands, and a large number of tiny bullets, like machine guns, erupted from them.
Each of these bullets was the size of the tip of a little finger and moved at an extremely high speed. Once they struck, they exploded, causing the frozen crystals to expand, instantly freezing a large area into crystal.
This attack combined damage and control.
It also consumed very little energy, making it perfect for Jason.
It was also the attack method he used most of the time.
As he got more serious, all the bullets began to fire into the air, and he could even control them, causing them to explode directly in mid-air, dealing area-of-effect damage.
This time, he no longer fired his attacks based on Sofia's movements, but rather predicted them based on his various movements.
He knew clearly that planning based on Sofia's movements was utterly foolish.
Furthermore, it was unlikely to benefit Sofia's training, as his attacks posed no threat.
As Jason got serious, Sofia immediately shut up and began dodging with full concentration.
One had to admit Jason's shooting talent was truly terrifying, especially after transforming into a dragon and absorbing Urulius's physical senses.
Even though her speed was so fast that Jason couldn't perfectly catch up, she'd still collide with other attacks while dodging other bullets. He had to randomly shift his power to evade.
As Sofia's speed fluctuated,
Jason, hoping to contain her with a wide-ranging attack, couldn't help but sweat dripping down his dragon-like scales.
Such an attack completely increased his calculation load, as Sofia's speed began to fluctuate haphazardly.
Without a standard speed range, it was difficult for him to predict and achieve the desired effect of his attacks.
As the two practiced their alternating attacks,
About half an hour later, Sofia swatted away the crystal fragments from his body.
"Guess I need to train harder. I still can't dodge perfectly."
Hearing Sofia mutter to himself, Jason couldn't help but frown, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Hey, that's a bit disrespectful of me."
Sofia waved his hand indifferently at Jason's complaint.
"Don't you think about it? You have more than just one attack method. If I can't even dodge this most common attack method, then my speed advantage is useless, isn't it?"
Jason thought for a moment. "That seems to make sense."
Finally, he realized that he was only attacking with a normal attack method, and Sofia was just using his simple speed to deliberately dodge the attack.
He had also specifically restricted himself to a certain range and faced his attack directly.
"Okay, how long will it take you to advance to the fifth stage?" Sofia asked.
Hearing this, Jason stopped dwelling on his previous question. Instead, he replied, "Almost there. I've already reached 80 spirals, and I'm almost there.
I should be able to reach the fifth stage before we reach Twin Islands."
Hearing this, Sofia smiled and nodded, then asked impatiently, "Does your reaching the fifth stage mean that Urulius will also awaken?
After all, Urulius has been asleep for a long time."
Hearing this, Jason nodded, "Yes, as soon as I reach the fifth stage, my power will be fed back to Urulius, allowing her to grow more steadily and more rapidly, allowing her to end the dormant stage caused by her growth cycle earlier."
Then, a thought struck him, he looked at Sofia and asked, "Are you hiding something from me? Alka asked me that yesterday, and Juanlu asked me the same question a few days ago.
Thinking about it, you must be hiding something, right?"
Hearing this, Sofia's face showed no special expression, but he gave Jason a strange look.
"What's the point of hiding something? Of course I want to get Urulius up quickly, and I also want to see what it's like when the two of you fuse together using that treasure. Aren't you curious?"
After hearing Sofia's words, Jason frowned and looked at him.
He had a feeling something was amiss.
But with no real evidence, he could only nod helplessly.
"Well, as for the fusion, we'll naturally only know when she wakes up."
He waved his hand in boredom and walked off the beach toward the ruins of the town.
Looking at Jason's back, Sofia patted his chest; he'd almost given himself away.
Then he couldn't help but chuckle, transforming into a meteor and disappearing from the spot.
The island wasn't very large, and after just a few seconds, Sofia, transformed into a meteor, landed below the Trial Tower.
Alka was sitting in the simple camp, seemingly writing something in his notebook.
Sofia quietly came up behind him and looked at the notes in his notebook.
However, contrary to her expectations, the notes in the notebook were not about treasures he was designing for others, nor were they about the elemental knowledge he was recently studying. Instead, they were a series of incomprehensible names of people and places.
Some of them looked like surnames, and some looked like team names.
These names had no connection to each other, just randomly written in the notebook.
Alka seemed to be categorizing them.
Sofia looked and saw that there were eleven numbers in total.
"What are you writing?"
Alka was startled by the voice behind him.
After shaking for a moment, he patted his chest. "Why are you walking so quietly?"
"Hehe."
Sofia smiled and sat behind Alka, his head resting on his shoulder. He looked at the notebook in his hand and asked, "What's written on this?"
"A commission from the instructor."
"Commission? From the instructor? When did you accept it? How come I didn't know about it?" Sofia asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I haven't had time to tell you yet. I haven't had time to discuss this commission in detail. I just have a rough understanding of it.
I've accepted it. After you're all done with the trial, I'll go in and get some details from him. I'll tell you then."
Alka wrote a few more names on the notebook, closed it, and said.
Sofia nodded. Although he was a little curious, he didn't necessarily need to know now.
Alka stood up, dragging Sofia, who was hanging on his back, with him.
"Okay, let's pack up. Lucilia should be able to pass the trial today.
We'll have to prepare to leave then. We need to hurry back to the Twin Islands."
"What's the rush?" Sofia asked curiously.
Alka shrugged helplessly and said, "It can't be helped. We're running low on materials on the ship, so everyone can only design their treasures now.
After we finish making some raw materials, we'll have to go back to the Twin Islands to buy materials if we want to create the finished products, and that's going to take quite a while."
Alka smiled and added, "Besides, resting here wouldn't be as good as resting back at the Twin Islands, right? It's much more comfortable there."
Hearing this, Sofia nodded in agreement.
Indeed, they had been at sea for many years.
This time, because their targets were so far apart, the round trip alone took almost two years.
On the contrary, the total time spent on the work seemed to be only about half a year.
They left the Twin Islands, exacted their revenge, and obtained the scepter-level artifact they had been eyeing for the longest time.
They found the salvation organization from the Golden Age and gained their legacy, as well as more information about the period before the destruction of the world.
The books in the library, in particular, were still their greatest reward.
They completed the previously unfinished Tower of Trials.
Through their gains along the way, they achieved a rare feat: everyone on board had collected a Holy Grail-level artifact.
Among them, Alka hadn't yet completed the latest scepter and artifact, but once they did, he would have achieved the feat of collecting both scepter- and Holy Grail-level artifacts.
And his strength was only at the fifth level.
Below him were Jason and Sofia, who had also obtained corresponding scepters and artifacts.
And three complete Holy Grail-level artifacts.
Sofia's artifacts even achieved perfect synergy.
It could be said that this journey had almost completely transformed their strength.
Although most of them were still at the fourth stage, having only just broken through to the fifth stage, the difference in strength was truly drastic.
If they were to deal with the battle they had previously faced in the Fragrance of Fragrant Aroma,they would have been crushed.
Sofia pondered and recalled, a smile breaking through his lips.
Then he stood up and began to pack up.
Not only them, but others also gradually returned to the base of the Trial Tower from various directions.
They also began to pack up.
Soon, Lusilia appeared on the teleportation platform.
But Lusilia was clearly not in good condition.
She was completely dazed, even a little dazed.
She wasn't even holding the divine essence in her hands, but rather letting it float around her.
Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances.
It was clear that Lucelia was also undergoing a test of willpower.
And the toll this test had taken on her was clearly too great.
Alka blinked.
Now he could see more of the emotions emanating from her soul.
At this moment, Lucelia's soul reflected feelings of unwillingness to face the situation, regret, remorse, and avoidance.
She, too, possessed a remarkably positive and resilient resistance; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to pass the test.
It was clear that the shock of the test hadn't yet fully resolved her emotions.
Seeing Lucelia like this, Alka walked over and asked her to hold it.
Alka could see more. He saw something akin to a longing for home, a yearning for it, and a sense of guilt.
"It's okay. You've already successfully passed the trial, haven't you?"
Lucille looked at Alka with slightly glazed eyes, then slowly calmed down and nodded.
She held the divine essence floating beside her and handed it to Alka: "It's something related to the soul."
Alka looked at the divine essence. Just as Lucillia had said, it was indeed something related to the soul.
But Lucillia was now in a low mood, clearly not wanting to consider any plans related to the divine essence.
Alka tossed the divine essence package into the dream realm.
Sofia came over and took Lucillia's hand.
Then he gathered with Julia and the others, chatting with Lucillia.
Alka did not bother them.
Instead, he stood on the teleportation platform and entered the Trial Tower.
Apparently, now he could only proceed through the normal Trial mode and receive training from the instructors.
However, he wasn't going in for training, but rather for a more detailed discussion. The next commission he needed to complete was clearly a long-term one.
The remaining 11 towers scattered across the world wouldn't be easy to gather.
...
After gathering some luggage and tossing it into his space ring, they bid farewell to the Triangle. They passed through the ruins and returned to the Voice of Dawn.
With the gentle, melodious sound of the sea, the Voice of Dawn departed from the Trial Island and sailed towards the Twin Islands. This time, they would be back there in no time.
On the Voice of Dawn, everyone gathered in the captain's cabin, sitting around the large, circular table in its center.
Clearly, Alka had something to announce.
"This time in the Trial Tower, in addition to obtaining treasures, I also accepted a commission. A very, very important commission. This commission is not only related to our future growth in strength, but also to the entire world.
Success will be a tremendous help not only to us, but also to the entire world and the goals we need to achieve."
Hearing Alka's words, the slightly scattered crowd immediately sat up straight. Clearly, this was a matter of great importance.
After speaking, Alka waited a moment before recounting the details of the commission he had previously given his instructor in the Trial Tower.
After finishing, he waited for everyone to digest the information.
Then he asked, "Do you have any comments on this commission?"
"This commission is definitely accepted, but will the information he provides be helpful in our search for the remaining 11 Trial Towers?" Sofia asked from the side.
Alka nodded. "It will be helpful, and it should be quite helpful."
With a wave of his hand, Alka revealed a mirror in front of everyone. The mirrors displayed the very same fonts Alka had previously organized and categorized.
There were eleven towers in total, each with a variety of names and information behind it.
There were names of people, teams, and places.
The names of people and teams clearly indicated that these teams or individuals had visited these towers and interacted with the instructors within them.
The place names were clearly information the instructors had learned through their interactions with the trial-takers.
This resulted in some towers having almost unambiguous information, including
What landmark islands are there around this tower?
Once they find these landmark islands, and then use the information to locate the people, families, or teams aboard them, through communication, they can determine the specific locations of these islands.
Simply put, with this information, this task would likely be more like a simple errand for them.
"Then it seems this commission isn't difficult."
Hearing Jason's words, Julia shook her head and said, "No, a powerful force must have claimed a certain tower, right?
We're going to take the tower directly. According to rumors, we might even need to take the island it's on as well. That's no small feat."
Not all towers and trial islands are like the one they encountered.
Even on this trial island, several powerful families regularly come here, having their descendants direct the trials.
If a powerful force knew about this trial island and desired to possess it, it was almost certain they would seize it.
The conflict between them at that point wouldn't be a minor one.
These are all things everyone needs to consider.
And, as he'd said, several towers are indeed powerful forces that have already occupied that area.
No force would simply hand over this island.
Conflict, trouble, and trade are inevitable.