An hour ago, minutes before the start of the Desert Trial.
Fria used Mana of the Ice Element to dig a thousand meters under the sand, encasing herself in a nearly solid sphere of ice with a few small holes that led up to the surface so she could breathe.
She closed her eyes, her silver hair swishing through the air as her body slumped to the floor. Floating above the seemingly lifeless body was a perfect replica of Fria, albeit a pale blue color.
The second Fria was almost transparent like a ghost, and resembled one even more as the ethereal body flew upward through the ice and sand as if it didn't exist.
This was Fria's Soul Form, very similar to theories of astral projection where one's soul floated outside their body while sleeping to explore what was known as the astral plane.
In this form, Fria's soul could only be detected by powerful beings or insanely complex Arrays, but it couldn't attack. It was perfect for many missions issued by the Sect that required extreme secrecy, which had turned her into a secret weapon of sorts over the last few months.
She floated above the sand, watching with a birds-eye-view as the trial began. She noticed when the Ancient Gravitas Mummy spawned, but only took a quick glance and adjusted her focus to the remainder of the desert.
Something Fria had learned since entering the trial was that the most dangerous part of these trial grounds were other Cultivators, and the enemies spawned by the trial came second.
Within minutes, Fria had located every Cultivator in the desert that wasn't hiding incredibly well, using her System Panel to jot down their information one by one.
Unlike William's System, Fria's was the same as every other player. She could view the information of enemies and allies alike or check the online forums for posts made by other players. There were a few other functions, but most of them were locked until she reached a certain Cultivation level.
She returned her attention to the Ancient Gravitas Mummy. There were only five minutes left before she would need to return to her body, so she had to make it quick. Official source ıs novel•fire.net
Oh, someone is fighting it already? She exclaimed in surprise as her body floated toward the group of figures that were currently clashing with the Mummy.
As she neared the battle, Fria realized that it wasn't a group of people fighting the Ancient Gravitas Mummy, but a single person controlling five powerful Array Puppets. She scanned the unknown person's information, whom she hadn't noticed before in her sweep of the desert.
William: (S-Rank NPC)
-Lifespan: 240 Years (Excellent physical health)
-Affiliation: Five Elements Sect, Adventurer's Guild, Alchemy Hall, Array Hall
-Recruitment Difficulty: S
An S-Rank NPC? This is the first one I've ever seen, even in my Sect. The Sect Master himself is only an A-Rank NPC! Fria became excited as she scrolled through William's information some more.
-Personality: Has low to medium common sense but maturing swiftly. Chaotic character with a knack for getting into trouble, but incredibly intelligent and a fast learner when he wants to be.
-Likes: Tasty food, money, natural treasures, and setting things on fire.
-Dislikes: Mashed potatoes and Alchemists
-Recruitment Benefits: HIDDEN
Hmm, not much useful information here. She thought. She didn't have very much money, nor did she own any natural treasures that hadn't already been consumed. Even worse, she can't cook!
Maybe the forums will help. She scrolled through her System panel and searched for William NPC.
2d ago: I haven't seen NPC William in a while...I think he went into the Gravitas Ruins. [900k views]
8d ago: A-Rank NPC William is still in the Five Elements Sect! I'm scared to approach him, what if he kills me and I lose my progress? [1m views]
17d ago: A-Rank NPC William is back, and he just defeated the Rank 1 Outer Core Disciple in the Five Element's Sect! His growth is insane! [800k views]
27d ago: Just watched an NPC beat the granddaughter of Supreme Left in a match, but he just disappeared! I think his name was William, but he might be dead soon! [450k views]
Did his rank go up in the last few days? I wonder if I should make a post and sell the information. It would be a good way to make some money, but Fria decided against it for now.
She read through the comments on these posts, not finding much information that she didn't already know. It seemed that William was a hot topic on the forums, but there were only a few people that had managed to enter the Five Elements Sect at this stage of the game.
As a renowned Sect, the requirements to enter were incredibly high. Not to mention that even if someone did enter the Sect, their chances of coming into contact with an A-Rank NPC was incredibly low.
The Spirit Ascension Sect was even more difficult. Only people that were lucky enough to awaken rare Innate Talents like her would have a chance of joining one of the strongest Sects right at the start of the game.
Even now, Fria only knew of four other players that had entered the Gravitas Ruins besides her, each of whom wielding insane abilities that defied logic.
I better return to my body. She thought as she took one last look at William and the Ancient Gravitas Mummy.
Shit! William and Fria thought in unison.
Since it was on the back foot in the fight against William and Fria, the Ancient Gravitas Mummy had changed its target from killing the duo to charging its Mana Staff. If it could awaken the Staff, nothing would stand in its way!
It dodged a sword strike from Fria while absorbing the Mana of the dead Cultivator. The process only took a few seconds, the Mummy speeding off in another direction to hunt its next target.
A Cultivator hidden behind an Advanced Array became nervous when he saw the Ancient Gravitas Mummy rushing in his direction. He stored the Advanced Array back in an amulet he received from one of the trials and ran away with speed at the Golden Core Realm.
He was a very talented individual to have cleared a trial and earned its reward, but his abilities meant nothing in front of a Nascent Soul Beast with intelligence.
As he ran away, he was tripped by a spark of lightning that targeted his feet, his face turning pale with fright as the shadow of a greatsword sliced down and chopped off his head.
The Ancient Gravitas Mummy started absorbing the Mana of its next victim without a change in its expression. It was clear that the Mummy had killed many humans in its long lifespan and was numb to the experience.
The Staff absorbed the Cultivator's Mana with fervor, glowing brighter and brighter until something clicked. A ring of dark metal heated up at the center of the Magic Staff, melting away to reveal a thin crack that was surrounded in hundreds of miniscule Runes.
The Mummy twisted both sides of the Staff in opposite directions, then pulled the two parts away from each other to extend the Staff by a meter, the Magical Artifact now reaching just over two meters long.