Healing System

Chapter 207 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (11)

[Michael's POV]

'For both of our sakes, I hope you put Anna in that spatial storage of yours.'

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Oh right. The system said that before Anna suddenly materialized before him, frozen.

Yet in the very next moment, she began breathing once again, and small movements could be seen.

Before long, she finally spoke; however, there was one issue.

Her previously child-like body began growing rapidly, turning into that of an adult. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he saw the same thing happening to the unsuspecting civilians.

Every single one of them began rapidly aging, their appearances morphing until finally, it stopped.

By the time that had happened, each one had aged by at least 30 years—appearance-wise.

However, the effect was slightly reduced for Anna, aging her only to an adult but nothing more, courtesy of the system's interference.

No problem, we did save her. But... now the real problem arises, the system remarked as Anna's gaze finally locked with Michael's.

"Mister, where is Lapis?" Her voice rang out, a tinge of confusion in her tone.

But for all their sakes, it was better to act stupid.

"Who's that?" Michael replied with a tilt of his head.

Hiding the truth is not always the best decision.

'How would I explain that her father has died at your hands? And besides that, she still seems a bit disoriented.'

Upon hearing his words, Anna fell into silence, merely glancing around, her eyes gaining clarity by the moment.

Yet they also held traces of unfamiliarity—with both herself and the surroundings.

"Where am I...?" she questioned, yet before anything else could happen, Michael's vision shifted, followed by the appearance of the same tunnel he had used to get into that city.

And then, the familiar eyeball from before.

Michael stared directly at it, and in just a few moments, he felt a small pulse of mana from behind him.

Upon turning around, he was greeted by the sight of the octopus from before.

"Congratulations, you passed with flying colors."

Just as its words fell, the familiar system screen appeared before him.

[Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 2: Complete]

Michael stared at the octopus with a small frown. In the very distance, he could see a small bubble—one that had mushroom-like smoke traveling upwards.

Yet just when he took notice of it, the octopus flicked its hand, and in the very next moment, that bubble disappeared.

What replaced it was just the same old darkness of the water—nothing more, nothing less.

"Where did you just send me?" Michael questioned, unamused by the situation in the slightest.

"As you saw, it is a falling world. Before long, they will all be dead."

Its response caused his brows to twitch as he said, "You couldn't have fixed them? By killing Lapis before everything even got set into motion? You do know there are survivors, right?"

However, it replied in the same dry tone as earlier. "All life must come to an end. The corruption only quickens its own demise."

But before he could shoot back, it continued, its tone growing cold. "Successor, I did not ask you to concern yourself with the people of that small world—only to fix the problem."

Typical guardian, not giving a shit about its people. However, it does seem like this one is on a higher plane—taking care of multiple worlds at once is no small feat.

'I don't exactly care about that; it's just... we spent so much effort saving them, especially Anna, yet they were just whisked away as simply as that?'

The system quickly replied, trying to ease his mind. The guardian abandoned that world, but that doesn't mean it is gone. Look, Anna is surprisingly strong for her age—even stronger than you currently. Their world will open up to monsters, and if they survive, they will thrive.

'Hmm... it sure sounds like a shit way to go out. I wonder, how many worlds has this thing abandoned?' he thought while glancing at the octopus before him.

But knowing that the question would be futile to ask, he simply went along with the flow.

"What's next?"

"Good, I am glad we are on the same page, successor," it said while wriggling its ugly octopus body around before it continued, "I am afraid your trial ends for now. You must continue onwards. I wish you luck."

"Huh?" Michael raised a brow. "What was the point of this then? How does it relate to the Golden Dragon?"

"Relate? Of course, it is related. He promised to clean out the trash of one of my worlds back in his prime, and you, the disciple, are paying back his debts."

Those words made Michael fall silent before, suddenly, the familiar empty door from before materialized beside him.

"Oh, I see your time has come. I wish you good luck, successor." The octopus finished and immediately disappeared from his sight.

The only thing still visible were those two eyes that were slowly disappearing into the darkness of the abyss.

'This was a total freak show,' he concluded, looking around for a few moments, trying to see if he could spot that bubble from earlier.

However, Michael soon gave up. The more he paid attention, the more bubbles he saw—thousands, millions even.

Not wasting any more time, he decided to go through the door, watching as the surroundings behind him slowly began dematerializing.

Soon, the empty room gained color, and once again, he was back in the first area he had been in earlier—the same one where he fought the monsters.

But this time, they were nowhere to be seen—only the vast expanse of nothingness.

Yet the system screen said otherwise.

[Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 3: Find the core of the Golden Dragon]

And the moment he finished reading the message, he saw the mist once again enveloping him, and in the distance, the door that would lead him to the next trial.

'This trial better be worth it...'