Healing System

Chapter 212 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (16)

It took a few minutes of walking—and a bit of anxiety—to finally reach what appeared to be the end.

The mana had grown to a point where he began hallucinating, or at least that's what it seemed like, since the number of golden eyes he started seeing kept increasing by the moment.

Until eventually, there was one giant eye staring directly at him. However, unlike previously, its pupil was slitted—just like those of Fafnir.

Yet before he could even speak up, it disappeared once again, leaving the massive room entirely to his lonesome. Experience more content on empire

But that was not all, as its disappearance revealed some kind of passageway behind it.

And just like when he first dropped into whatever this area was, there was a single door—one much larger than the one he had gone through previously.

This time, however, there was a faint bloodlust oozing from the door.

Michael inspected it with his Eyes of the Great Sage but didn't see anything off, aside from a couple of built-in traps behind the door.

Therefore, he quickly used a sword of light, blasting the door open and immediately revealing some sort of red cleaver that swung inward to outward—right where he stood.

Had he been standing closer, he might have been hit.

Alas, his perception was too overpowered now; most things couldn't escape his sight.

He straddled into the new hallway, having a bit of difficulty spotting the trace of the golden eye he had felt earlier.

But that was not his main concern, as it seemed like some kind of different presence was watching him.

It was the same one that had let out bloodlust earlier.

Michael tried tracking it down again but failed. It seemed his Eyes of the Great Sage were not as overpowered as he had initially thought.

Or maybe the one watching him was just way too strong.

The only one he could ask was the system, but even then, it dodged his questions repeatedly.

'Anything?'

Genius, for the sixteenth time, there is nothing. These are simply remnant illusions, the system explained in an annoyed tone.

But just as it did, he saw something fall out of a hole in the wall, and upon taking a closer look, he noticed a certain necklace.

However, the moment he picked it up, he felt a stinging sensation in his shoulder.

It wasn't to the point of searing pain, but it did feel like a bit of his flesh was melting.

Michael raised his arm and brought it to his shoulder before suddenly pulling out a small needle with a purple tip, which dripped some sort of poison down.

As soon as it touched the floor, it formed a small puddle that began expanding, melting everything around it.

He simply tossed it out of the way, not paying it any heed.

It did, however, make him glance back at the necklace he had picked up. At a glance, it looked ordinary, with seemingly nothing special about it.

Yet the moment he grabbed it, an extremely small trap detonated—the poisonous needle.

'This seems like too big of a coincidence...' Michael thought before creating a small pocket for the necklace and putting it inside.

If his assumption was correct, then it would come in handy later on.

Worst-case scenario, it was just a piece of junk.

You want me to store it for you? the system suddenly asked, startling him for a moment.

'That is a bit unexpected... You wouldn't be one to offer something like this,' Michael replied suspiciously, though a grin began forming on his face.

'So it is important, huh? Great.'

...Suit yourself.

Michael chuckled at the system's antics before heading straight along the path.

However, that soon stopped as he noticed the hall becoming narrower, until finally, he had to squeeze through.

That was the case for a couple of minutes, until eventually, he felt a breeze—one that seemed unordinary, considering he was extremely deep underground.

As he continued forward, his hand finally gained some degree of freedom, and with a final push, he made his way out of the cramped hall.

Immediately, what greeted his sight was greenery. Looking back, he could see the hall he had just come out of was much more cramped than he'd initially expected.

Frankly, staring at it, it seemed like a miracle he even managed to make it through, as the width of the hallway was the size of his forearm.

Nonetheless, that's not what caught his interest. Instead, it was the surroundings themselves.

It was as though he had appeared in some sort of massive, lit-up cave with a waterfall to his right.

And to his left, there was a path covered in perfectly cut grass, leading downward from where he stood.

Michael decided to use his Eyes of the Great Sage again and immediately noticed something off.

While the surroundings looked peaceful in nature, the reality of the situation was entirely different.

It was all an illusion. He was simply standing on a tall rock with a rocky path to his left leading down.

The waterfall was also gone. In its place was the same grim wall as the hallway.

And below him, where the left path led, was a single golden-haired individual.

He was not the system, as Michael could still hear it grumbling inside his mind.

But the mana radiating from him seemed to completely alter the surroundings—the main reason why the illusions even appeared.

There was another problem at hand. The man was simply sitting down, not even reacting to anything happening around him—not even to Michael's entrance.

That was until the system's voice finally resounded, bringing light to the situation at hand.

Looks like he's dead; his mana is simply keeping this place running for the time being. But it's going to run out soon, it seems.

He nodded, before proceeding downward and arriving right before the golden-haired man. Indeed, it seemed like he was already starting to deteriorate.

Michael stared at him for a few moments and, out of curiosity, decided to cast a heal on him, one much stronger than the rest, even boosted by his previous heals.

Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to bring this man back to life, the same one who was subconsciously still using his exhausted mana core.

However, instead of the mana traveling inward and healing the man, it shot back into Michael, followed by the rest of the mana of the surroundings—the same mana that had been gathering and keeping the place at bay.

Until eventually, a single system message appeared before him.

[Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 3: Complete]

But before he could celebrate, he felt his hand expanding at an unnatural rate, the mana inside growing more and more rampant by the moment.

At the same time, it was heading toward his mana core—every little bit of it.

Before it could cause any trouble, however, it suddenly halted and began gathering in a single spot not too far from his mana core.

The pain was excruciating, yet he bore through it, immediately feeling like he was growing stronger.

Finally, as the pain continued and began increasing even further, he gained some clarity on the situation.

Or rather, the lack of it.

[ERROR]