"We're here," Flame Dragon Uri said as they approached a tall tower just like the one in the center of the Labyrinth of Tears. "Welcome to the Northern Tower."
Surrounding the Northern Tower was a snowy plain with no trees in sight. If the region wasn't ice-cold, William would have thought he had returned to the desert. That being said, the temperatures were nothing near the cold air he had to endure when he acquired the Ice Element Root previously.
Uri landed, William jumping off his back as he massaged his legs from the uncomfortable ride. He hadn't used a saddle, and the dragon's back was very spiny with few footholds. His inner thighs were covered in red marks from trying not to fall off Uri's back, and even his hands were exhausted from gripping Uri's vibrant red scales.
"So this is the Northern Tower then, huh? What was the tower in the Labyrinth?" William asked as he looked around. There didn't seem to be any presence of life other than theirs within a hundred kilometers.
"That would be the Eastern Tower. We probably won't have time to visit the Western Tower this time around, but that can wait until we come back." the dragon responded.
"If I ever come back..." William sighed.
"What do you mean, Master William?"
"My Sect Master probably won't give me another chance to enter the Ruins if I don't give him my treasures. Without him, my chances of returning are slim."
"Oh, that won't be a problem." Uri said as he pulled out ten Gravitas Ruins Tickets from a large Space Ring on his left claws.
William widened his eyes as he saw this. He hadn't even noticed the Space Ring before, which was larger than any he had ever seen, and looked much more valuable than any he owned including those of the Cultivators he robbed.
"Surprised to see the Space Ring? That's only natural, since it has an Array that makes you subconsciously ignore its presence." Uri said as he noticed William's surprise.
An Array that makes you ignore its existence? Interesting... William had learned an Array in the hundred years' simulation, but he hadn't had a chance to try it out yet.
The dragon's Space Ring reminded William that he didn't have any exceptional ways to detect the presence of Arrays right now. Even as a master of Complete Arrays now, if he wasn't actively searching for Arrays, he wouldn't notice their existence.
William fixed that problem in an instant by weaving an improved Perfect Detection Array into his clothes. He used a few Runes of Mana as the core of the Detection Array, which would allow the Array to detect any presence of Mana within five kilometers.
That should be enough for now. If I want to expand the range, I can always use a Complete Array instead.
He probed the Array with his mind to test its effectiveness. Sure enough, there was an incredible amount of Mana concentrated on Flame Dragon Uri's left claw.
William's masterful manipulation of Arrays surprised Uri. The dragon had never seen a young man use such complicated Arrays in his entire life. Even his old Master, Riyald, hadn't used Arrays at this level when he was battling with the dragons of the Dragon Continent.
It wasn't until hundreds of years later that his skill with Arrays reached William's level.
"You are full of surprises!" the dragon exclaimed out loud.
"This? I used the same Arrays multiple times over the last few days, how are you only just now surprised?" William asked Flame Dragon Uri, who became slightly embarrassed at the question.
How am I supposed to tell Master that I just now noticed? If he could scratch his head he would have done so.
"Let's forget about these minor things, Master. I'll wait for you outside while you complete the trial tower." Uri knew all too well the difficulty of the trial towers, so he wasn't worried that William wouldn't be able to clear this one.
William nodded. He wasn't nearly as confident as Uri was, though. Only he knew that he attempted the last trial tower without any Cultivation. Now that William was a Qi Refinement Cultivator, any trials that increased in strength depending on Cultivation would become stronger.
Let's hope the boosts from my Cultivation are enough...
William approached the entrance of the trial tower, which actually had a doorway this time. The doors were made of an unknown metal that seemed incredibly thick and sturdy.
Despite the toughness of the doors, William had no trouble opening and closing the doors, and not because of his Strength Talent. The doors itself were enchanted with Arrays of the Gravity Element, which seemed to reduce the weight of the doors by ninety-nine percent.
Since he couldn't see what was inside without opening the doors, William opted to do as his predecessors did, much to the dismay of Flame Dragon Uri. Of course, his loot goblin tendencies were mostly to blame, and not the situation.
He called Mana of the Fire Element to his fingertips, creating an extremely high-temperature Flame Knife Spell that he hadn't used in a long time. His fingers traced around the hinges of the doorway, cutting through the metal like butter.
Once the doors were no longer connected to the walls of the tunnel that made up the entrance, William stepped back a few hundred meters and launched a high-speed Earth Spike at the doorway, blasting the doors into the trial tower.
The suction force grabbed at William immediately, but he used the Space Element to blink a few meters away so he wouldn't be sucked inside the tower prematurely.
When he regained his footing, William took a peek into the tower, which looked almost exactly the same as it did outside.
The edges of the room were grassy, but at the center was a ten-meter snow hill that emitted a threatening aura. William scanned the area with his Life Sense, but the creature inside the room must be artificial because he couldn't see anything.
For some reason, even his Navigation Talent couldn't see anything. There were no structures visible on the radar, including the snow hill.
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William chose to enter the first floor regardless of the readings on his radar.
He made sure not to look directly into the floor as he walked towards it, learning his lesson from the previous trial tower. He stored the metal doors in his Space Ring as he passed by them, since only the hinges were damaged and were otherwise in good quality.
The moment William fully entered the first floor of the trial tower, a familiar voice entered his mind directly.
So it's you again, Disciple Candidate William...You've already proven yourself worthy of being my Disciple, yet you're here for more. It seems you are just as greedy as I was back in the day.
William was confused when he heard the trial creator speaking. Wasn't he supposed to be busy with something for another eight months? Why does it sound like he is personally talking to me?
Disciple Candidate William, how about we make a deal?