Chapter 344: One Body
Alex raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the evaluation.
“A B Rank Rune is worth zero Gold Coins? Is it because its Rank is too low?”
He considered the possibility for a moment, remembering that the Ranks of items were relative to the Ascender examining them. Although his Life Element Rune was considered B Rank at Adept Rank, it might qualify as S Rank or higher for an Initiate, while someone at a higher Rank might consider it an E or F Rank item.
However, after thinking about it further, Alex suspected that the problem wasn’t related to its Rank.
“No, I don’t think that’s the issue. It’s probably because I’m the only person who can use this Rune, so it has no value as something that can be sold to others.”
The explanation seemed reasonable, although Alex couldn’t confirm it without creating another Rune. For now, he decided to continue investigating the library, hoping to discover something that would help him complete the Trial.
He spent several more minutes examining the bookshelves, but every book he checked was blank. More importantly, he couldn’t find another door besides the one leading to the living quarters.
“Am I supposed to stay inside this place for the entire Trial?” Alex muttered, looking toward the surrounding walls.
He approached the nearest wall and attempted to infuse Fire Mana into it, hoping to determine whether the material could be damaged.
However, his mana couldn’t penetrate its surface, and repeating the process with several other elements produced the same result. Alex stepped backward and created a Mana Shuriken, sending it directly toward the wall.
The attack struck with considerable force, but when he examined the impact point, he discovered that the surface hadn’t even been scratched.
“…What the hell is this thing made of?” Alex wondered, feeling increasingly curious about the material.
He considered using stronger spells, but eventually decided against it. If the wall could withstand his attacks without suffering any damage, the resulting explosion might simply rebound toward him, and there was no reason to risk destroying the library since it might contain something useful.
After abandoning the wall, Alex returned to the living quarters and began examining the bathroom’s drainage system. He attempted to extend his mana through the pipes, hoping they might connect to somewhere outside the library.
Unfortunately, after traveling a certain distance, his mana simply disintegrated. He repeated the experiment using several different approaches, but nothing managed to pass beyond the same point.
“Yeah. Looks like I’m trapped here until I complete the Trial,” Alex muttered, finally accepting the situation. However, his expression soon became serious as he remembered something important.
Although the Trial had given him thirty days, he didn’t actually possess that much time. His body on Earth was continuously recovering mana, and without Alex returning to empty its Mana Heart, the accumulated energy would eventually reach the limit.
Once that happened, his Mana Heart would explode, killing his second body.
’Which means I don’t even have a full day to complete this Trial,’ Alex thought, feeling the situation becoming considerably more troublesome.
He returned to the library, intending to examine everything once more before deciding what to do. This time, however, his attention was drawn toward an enormous board standing near the center of the room.
A strange diagram was drawn across its surface, depicting a sphere composed of countless tiny wisps resembling visible air or mana. Alex approached the board and examined the arrangement more closely, immediately noticing something unusual about his reaction.
For some reason, his instincts were fascinated by the diagram, almost as though they recognized something important within its structure. Alex suspected that the sensation originated from his SSS Rank Origin Spell Physique, although he couldn’t understand what the diagram was supposed to represent.
He attempted to recreate the sphere using his mana, carefully arranging several wisps according to the illustration. However, nothing happened, even after he managed to reproduce a portion of its structure.
Alex then tried incorporating Will into the formation, but quickly encountered another problem. Simply adding Will wasn’t enough to produce an effect, since he needed to direct it toward a specific outcome. That is, he needed to “will” for something to happen and only then would his Will do anything.
Unfortunately, without understanding what the diagram was supposed to accomplish, Alex had no idea what intention he should impose through his Will. He eventually dissipated the formation and sat down, deciding to reconsider his situation before wasting more energy.
With less than a day available, he couldn’t afford to spend too much time experimenting without a clear objective. Alex emptied his Origin Mark, placing his available materials and belongings on the floor.
As he examined everything he possessed, a question suddenly appeared in his mind.
’What should I do if I can’t complete the Trial within one day?’
It wasn’t that Alex lacked confidence in his abilities, but he had never liked blindly assuming that everything would work out. He preferred preparing for unfavorable possibilities, especially when the consequences of failure could be disastrous.
Moreover, this was a Hell Difficulty Trial, meaning that even completing it within the allotted thirty days might prove extremely difficult. Expecting himself to finish everything in a single day would be rather unreasonable.
Despite recognizing the danger, Alex remained calm and began considering his available options. After taking several deep breaths, he focused on the most important decision he might have to make.
’If I can’t complete the Trial before my Earth body’s Mana Heart reaches its limit, should I sacrifice that body or this one?’
Alex suspected that dying inside the Trial would immediately return his consciousness to his second body, regardless of whether he had completed the objective. Although he couldn’t guarantee that this would happen, it was currently his most reasonable assumption.
Unfortunately, neither option was particularly appealing, since both bodies possessed advantages that would be difficult to replace. If he allowed his Earth body to die, he would lose his safety net and remain trapped inside the Trial.
Since he didn’t know what would happen if he failed to complete the objective within thirty days, there was a possibility that failure itself would result in death. Under those circumstances, losing his Earth body first would mean that he no longer possessed another body capable of keeping him alive.
However, sacrificing his body in the Land of Origin wasn’t a simple decision either.
If Alex lost his Land of Origin body, he would have to rely on portals to travel between the two worlds, since his Return Skill would no longer be useful.
Unfortunately, with no portals currently constructed, he had no idea how long he would be forced to remain on Earth. After considering the advantages and disadvantages of both options, Alex eventually reached a decision.
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