William peeked above the staircase, then quickly ducked down just in time to hear a spray of arrows whizzing over his head and hit the ground nearby.
He looked up at a diagonal to see over a thousand crossbows lining the ceiling of the tenth floor, likely powered by Arrays as they focused in on his position.
William instead focused on his Navigation Talent to survey the room, seeing as there were too many crossbows.
A circular stone wall was in the center of the room, protecting the pedestal that was already raised. William could see the black box seated on the pedestal, and a few other structures underground just a few meters away from the pedestal.
He conjured a small rock with the Earth Element, then threw it over his head in the direction of the pedestal. The rock hit the ground and tumbled for a few meters. The crossbows fired arrows at the rock while it rolled, causing it to trigger additional traps that were hidden underground.
It's booby trapped. William concluded.
The arrows were fast, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with his S-Rank Acrobatics Talent. With a bit of technique, William was confident in reaching the center.
He released one of his old Array Puppets that used unimproved Perfect Arrays, sending it toward the pedestal in the center. The Array Puppet turned to the right and continued running forward the moment the crossbows activated.
While the crossbows and traps targeted the Puppet, William dashed forward towards the pedestal, vaulting over multiple stone walls that were raised in front, performing complicated flips as poison-tipped arrows and fireballs missed by mere centimeters.
Welcome to the tenth floor. Prepare yourself for the trial of agility.
"I think I can tell what kind of trial this is!" William berated the trial creator as he dodged various traps.
With one more flip, William vaulted over the circular stone wall and snatched up the black box with one move. He stored the black box in his Space Ring with a fluid movement, his arms and legs spreading outward to avoid touching the ground.
Below him was a murky liquid that looked incredibly toxic. William's instincts told him that touching that liquid would probably melt his flesh in an instant.
He tried to scoop a small amount into a clay pot formed with the Earth Element, but just a touch was enough for the clay pot to shatter into a million pieces.
Who the hell did this creator expect to clear the tower? These floors are ridiculous!
There were probably over a hundred floors, and each one was a different test. If not for the sheer number of Cultivators that could attempt the trial tower at the same time, William wondered if the creator was searching for a reincarnated god!
Even the Sect Master probably had no idea the impossible trial would be this difficult. If he knew, he might not have allowed William to explore past the fifth floor.
After all, William was a valuable asset. He wouldn't be replaced easily if he died in the Gravitas Ruins. It wouldn't be insane to say William was the only non-Cultivator in the entire world that could clear trials of this caliber!
Although he had collected the black box, the traps didn't deactivate. A stone staircase rose at the back of the floor like usual, but William had to escape his current predicament first. Even worse, his Array Puppet was disabled, probably in shambles near one of the countless traps on the floor. Fınd the newest release on novel·fire·net
I'm going to have to be quick. William thought while still holding himself steady on the sides of the circular stone wall. He took a deep breath then jumped up, attracting the attention of the crossbows once more.
He dashed towards the stone staircase, activating his Forcefield to the fullest as the initial stream of arrows pelted his back. The Forcefield showed slight cracks after enduring only a dozen arrows and shattered after another two dozen.
Because he wasn't able to distract the crossbows with an Array Puppet this time, he was unable to accelerate to his maximum speed in time to avoid the arrows. The crossbows also seemed to have become accustomed to his speed, predicting his movements and shooting ahead of him in the direction he looked.
Two arrows sliced through William's skin despite the S-Rank Hard Skin Talent, embedding themselves half a centimeter into William's right arm. If he knew the arrows would still pierce his skin, he would have reinforced it with the Earth Element.
As he continued moving, the arrows fell out on their own, a stream of blood dripping from his arm until his regeneration healed the damage. William staggered a bit as poison entered his body, but his Poison Affinity and E Rank Poison Resistance allowed him to hold on for a little bit.
He arrived at the stone stairs, four more arrows pelting him in the back, but this time met with resistance from the Earth Element. He managed to avoid being poisoned a second time as he rushed up the staircase.
The moment he exited the tenth floor, the crossbows lost track of their target and returned to idle mode, the arrows and other residue from traps still in place.
"Phew, that was the most difficult one yet." William sighed in relief. A wince of pain drew his attention back to his right arm, where his Poison Resistance, Poison Element Mana, and Regeneration Talents were currently fighting a losing battle with a dark purple spot where the arrows had previously struck his body.
System, raise my Poison Resistance to A Rank. He went overboard with the upgrade since Poison Resistance would always be useful.
Poison Resistance: (E --> D)
Poison Resistance: (D --> C)
Poison Resistance: (C --> B)
Poison Resistance: (B --> A)
The resistance-related Talents didn't have very exaggerated effects, but it was instantly obvious to William that the A-Rank Poison Resistance Talent was doing its work.
He watched as the dark purple spot on his arm became smaller and smaller after mere minutes, a tingling sensation spreading across his arm as his blood cells fought with the foreign liquid. Ten minutes later, the tingling sensation subsided, and William felt much better.
William was once again thankful for having spun so many times in the Talent Shop. With his wide Array of Talents, all he had to do was make sure he had enough Potential Points to upgrade them, and his problems were instantly solved!
If another Cultivator was struck by those arrows, they would probably just wait for death in regret unless they had an antidote for that specific type of poison, which was incredibly unlikely.
He looked up over the staircase, relieved to see it was another grass field much like the first and third floors. In the center was a stone pedestal with a black box on top, but William could see a few Arrays from his current position that were concealed quite well.
Of course, these Arrays were nothing compared to the tenth Array from the Array trial he completed a few days prior. At a glance, William could tell that the strongest Array was only in the Advanced level, a simple task for someone with his skills.