Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

Cedric made it a habit to spend a whole day once a week throwing himself again and again at the Trial of Body.

No, he's not doing this because he was in a hurry to clear it. It's also not because he had unresolved anger issues. He does it to experience the thrill of an actual battle and use its pressure to squeeze out more of his potential.

At the 1st stage of the Trial of Body, everything was his enemy, heavy empathis on the word 'everything'. The entire world was against him.

It starts out pretty calm and easy. Just a few foreign creatures who were a bit weaker than him—nothing special. However, once the clock hits the 30-minute mark, a surprising change occurs.

As he repeatedly threw himself into battle, Cedric discovered that the changes were random. His first death was caused by a lightning strike. On his second attempt, he encountered a sudden volcanic eruption, even though there were no volcanoes in sight. Next, there was a raging tsunami, and after that, he faced a sudden blizzard.

The vexing part is that his enemies aren't affected by the changes in his surroundings. It was only dangerous or fatal to him. It felt unfair, especially since his task was to endure this kind of bullshit for 24 hours straight to clear this trial, but what can he do?

That said, it wasn't all that bad. There were no penalties for dying, and he could make as many attempts as he could. The time limit was also pretty generous.

The best part is that he's pressured enough to actually feel it. This pressure allows him to integrate with the techniques he learned, increasing his mastery over them, which also helps him accelerate his clearance of the Trial of Mind, not that he's in a hurry to clear that either.

So far, after another two months within the tower, he was able to last for six hours within the Trial of Body. It doesn't sound much, but considering how challenging it was, this was already impressive progress.

The amount of bullshit he had to endure in this trial was mind-blowing. He thought that the endless horde of undead creatures he faced on a monthly basis back in his world was already absurd, but this one just takes the cake.

Everything was hostile to him; it's like that place wanted nothing more than to erase his past, present, and future.

The foreign creatures he had to fight got stronger with every hour that passed, and their numbers increased. This, on top of the surprising calamities that just happen out of nowhere, was already vexing enough, but in reality? That's just the start.

The moment the clock hits the 6-hour mark, the Concept Laws themselves make a move.

A blizzard raging with the profound concepts of water, ice, frost, and snow? Check!

Thunderstorms fueled by the fierce power of lightning and thunder laws? Check!

Are earthquakes strong enough to bury an entire continent? Check!

Sudden plaque? Poisonous miasma? Razor-sharp rainstorms? Pestilent fog? Check, check, check, and check!

It doesn't end there...

The world hates him so much that, all of a sudden, the creatures he's fighting start wielding the profound powers of concept laws as well. It's like they suddenly mastered it out of nowhere and are not exactly shy about displaying what they could do with it.

With all of this, it is no wonder why he couldn't last longer. This trial was just too much.

Was it vexing for Cedric? Kind of, yes. Who wouldn't feel the same, though? That said, he wasn't completely dettered. It's not the first time he experienced the hatred of the world. Truth be told, it actually felt nostalgic to him.

It takes him back to the days prior to receiving the eyes of the godking.

This feeling hadn't stopped him before, and it certainly can't now. He has come too far to fail.

Like what was mentioned earlier, Cedric wasn't in a hurry to clear any of the trials, even the last one that he's yet to visit. He's got time, so why hurry?

He's not deterred from dying over and over again. The state of his world had tempered him to just casually shrug the sensation off since he's already used to it.

Actually, if he were to truly try his best, he could probably survive for 8 hours at the Trial of the Body at this point. He's just unsure because of the unknown bullshit this trial could throw at him, but if he truly tried hard enough, he could probably last longer.

But that's not his priority. What he's after is progress in his skills. He's honing himself with the trial. Cedric won't be able to find a place like this anywhere. Purgatory is no longer sufficient for him.

Right now, if he wanted to, he could apply for clearance of the Trial of Mind since all skills he received from the Ancient Stone, minus the Spacetime Concept Diagram, have reached the intermediate stage.

He doesn't plan on doing so right now, but if he wanted to, he could.

**

[Challenger Profile:]

Name: Dawnbringer

Age: 23

Race: Human

LE: 1-star Planetary Grandmaster Lifeform

Potential: A+

Achievements: Trial of Mind (1st Stage): 100% (Confirmation Required), Trial of Body (1st Stage) - 25%

Points: 0

**

This is his current challenger profile right now. Even though the system acknowledges that he's already qualified to clear the first stage of the trial of mind, he just needs to actually do it.

It also says there that he's still at the 1-star Planetary Grandmaster Lifeform level, even though he's already leapt above his strength before he entered this place.

With the three cultivation techniques he's practicing: the Nine Suns Empyrean Codex, Fiendgod Celestial Scripture, and Astral Sovereign Mantra, Cedric feels like he's making breakthroughs continuously, but according to the system's measurements, he's not making any progress at all.

It's weird, but he decided to not think about it for now. As long as he knows that he's getting stronger, that's enough for him.

Truthfully, if others knew about his progress, they'd probably be shocked because it's too fast.

One has to know that the Dynamic Difficulty of the trials is meant to truly pressure the challengers. The contents of trials, stipulations involved, and even the time limit and tips provided to them are adjusted according to the analysis of the system based on what it perceives from the challenger. The intelligence of the system is not to be questioned because it was made by the alliance.

With that said, the fact that Cedric was literally flying through his progress through the trials meant that the system either understimated him or hadn't completely understood his true potential. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that Cedric's progress was truly mind-blowing.

If the administrators of the tower have noticed this, the inaction means that everything is still fine. Besides, Cedric isn't one to flaunt his progress anyway.

He had a few goals in mind; boasting about his genius aptitude isn't included in those.

**

"...so there's no carryover?" Cedric asked the werewolf and the mountain giant that's sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"Yep, there's no such thing." Howler shook his head. "Dynamic Difficulty and All That."

"What he said." Backpack Fatty chimed in. "So you should take your time; don't be in a hurry. Well, it's not like you could hurry even if you want to. The trials aren't easy, after all."

"If you were on the Easy or Medium difficulty, it will carry over," Howler added. "That's what I heard, at least."

Cedric nodded in agreement and went silent for a bit.

He wasn't surprised by what they said. If anything, he was already half-expecting it to be this way.

Cedric met these two again after roughly three months since the last time. He cooked for them again and took this chance to ask them about some of his concerns.

As it turns out, clearing the trial ahead of time was unwise because the remaining time left wouldn't carry over to the next stage of the trials due to his being at the dynamic difficulty. If he were on a lower level of difficulty in the trials, however, it's probably possible.

"Well, that's that, I suppose. At least it's clear to me now." Cedric sighed.

"I think you should start going to the Trial of Spirit," Backpack Fatty suggested, causing Cedric to focus on him.

"Is it obvious that I haven't gone in there yet?" Cedric asked tentatively.

"To me, yes. I don't care about others, though." The mountain giant shrugged. "We are sensitive to spirituality; you're wondering why you haven't experienced a breakthrough yet even after your diligent practice, right?"

Cedric's eyes flashed, which was all the answer that the other party needed.

"That's because your spirit hasn't fully sublimated yet. Your mind and your body have already acclimated to the existence and standards of the alliance, but your spirit is still shackled to your world, figuratively."

"Eh, I'm not really good at explaining things. Just go there and experience it yourself. You'll understand what I mean eventually." Backpack Fatty shrugged.

"I see." Cedric's eyes were shining as he analyzed the implications. "Thanks for telling me. I'll consider going soon."