William and Fria's faces turned pale at the sight of the awakened Magic Staff. The aura it emitted was suffocating, filling both of them with despair.
Inscribed on the meter-long portion of the Staff were tens of thousands of tiny Runes, around a hundred of which that were currently lit up.
The glow on the Staff subsided, signaling the release of its restrictions and the end of a thousand year wait for the Ancient Gravitas Mummy. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel{f}ire.net
"AHAHAHA! Finally!" the Mummy cried out in joy.
Thousands of years ago, he had been captured by the creator of this trial for committing many atrocities during his lifetime, his Artifacts sealed and his own Cultivation reduced to the Nascent Soul Realm.
When he was released from his dark cage, the Mummy had discovered that the trial creator developed a very specific set of restrictions on his Artifacts. To remove the first level of restrictions on his Magic Staff, he would need to absorb the Mana of ten unique human Cultivators.
He didn't fully understand why the creator had done this, but either way it was a good thing for him. If he could kill a few thousand humans, perhaps the Magic Staff would return to its former glory, allowing him to escape this damned trial!
William and Fria didn't want to give the Ancient Gravitas Mummy a chance to improve its power further. William brought down a Meteor from the sky, while Fria gathered her Mana and extended her sword to thirty meters long.
Just before both attacks landed, the Mummy smirked. If it was before, it would have done everything in its power to avoid these attacks, but now he only needed a simple wave of his Magic Staff to erect an even more enhanced Spirit Aura that approached the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.
Both attacks landed on the Mummy's Spirit Aura barrier, their combined might creating large cracks on the barrier's surface and causing the Mummy to panic slightly despite its recent powerup. It cursed, realizing even the current Magic Staff wasn't strong enough for his defense to reach the Soul Formation Realm.
William and Fria were also concerned. Their combined strike was nearly the limit of what they could do without using their trump cards, which meant this battle of endurance was about to become much more difficult.
William considered revealing a Domain, but he wasn't even sure that would solve the problem and might even bring him more trouble. A quick ask to the System revealed he was still being watched by a powerful Cultivator, whether that was the creator of the trial or not, William didn't know, but this meant he wouldn't be able to upgrade any of his Talents.
This was the first time William was in such a difficult position. He and Fria continued to battle with the Ancient Gravitas Mummy, hoping to exhaust it, but the tide had already turned against them. William lost another two Array Puppets, leaving him with only eleven.
The Magic Staff had not only improved the Ancient Gravitas Mummy's defense, but also its attack power. It could now destroy an Array on the Puppets with just a single attack if it targeted the right spot. It used this to remove limbs from the Puppets, lowering their threat while it fought with Fria.
So much for being able to fight a Nascent Soul with these things!
He complained inwardly about the false information he received from the group of Cultivators at his first trial under the lake. Then again, he might have stood a chance if he could control all twenty Puppets at once.
He brought out two replacement Puppets mid-fight and communicated with Fria closely. They couldn't afford to make a single mistake, lest the Mummy take advantage and kill one of them.
Over time, more Cultivators joined in the fight. Many of them were like cannon fodder, spamming spells from afar that didn't threaten the Mummy too much, but a few had some actual skill that relieved some pressure from William and Fria.
The Cultivators had realized that if they wanted to clear this trial, they would need to work together. The loot could be fought over after the Mummy was dead.
Three of the Inner Core Disciples from the Five Elements Sect were present, one of whom was a Space Mage that ranked first on the Inner Core Ranking Board.
His strength was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, with some attacks approaching the Nascent Soul, using his Space Magic to tear apart the Space with precision, destroying every Magic Spell that the Mummy launched.
The Mummy tried to change targets and kill off some of the other Cultivators to unlock another restriction on his Magic Staff, but Fria would extend her blade and block its path, which slowed it down enough for William to hold it back with two Array Puppets, so the Mummy only managed to kill two Cultivators before it gave up on that plan.
William and Fria were becoming exhausted, their attacks losing intensity and their movements slowing down. William drank his twelfth Mana Regeneration Potion, making him a bit dizzy as his Mana was restored. It seemed that these potions were not meant to be taken so frequently.
The Ancient Gravitas Mummy was also sluggish. Its body was covered in small wounds that it didn't want to waste Mana healing, and its Mana Reserve was nearly empty. The Magic Staff helped to recover his Mana much faster, but it wasn't enough to offset the Mana it needed to use.
"Damn you all!" it shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. It would have been freed from this damned trial if not for this ridiculously talented duo holding it back for so long. It wished it could unlock the restrictions on its greatsword, but that would require a fully unlocked Magic Staff.
Fria couldn't hold on much longer either, but they were incredibly close to finishing the fight. She launched a massive sword strike that cleaved off one of the Mummy's legs, forcing it to fall to the ground. She lost her balance and fell to one knee from a few meters behind William, catching her breath.
As it fell, the Mummy's eyes turned fierce while looking at Fria. If I can't live, neither can you!
It used the last bit of energy in its Magic Staff to launch a massive lightning bolt that rushed toward William, who easily dodged the predictable attack with his Reflexes and Acrobatics Talents.
William took advantage of this to call forth a Meteor, crashing down on the exhausted Mummy and wiping away its life force. Or should he say death force? It was an undead being after all.
-Defeated an Ancient Gravitas Mummy: +11 PP
-Defeated your first Nascent Soul Beast: +250 PP
"Help..." a weak voice sounded from behind.
William turned his head in response. He didn't have time to think about the newly gained Potential Points or the fact that his System Quest hadn't been completed yet, his eyes widening when he saw the masked girl bleeding profusely.
Her lower body was missing, and the upper half was convulsing as she entered a state of shock from the powerful lightning that wrapped around her body.