The teleportation effect was still in cooldown so Xerel had to run on foot. He dashed through the direction of the eyeball and as he ran, he could see a glimpse of monsters running away from him.
He wanted to kill the monsters running away but the system had specifically told him about the world tree so he didn't waste any time as he hasten to the location of the world tree.
Finally, Xerel arrived after a few minutes of running. As he looked up in the sky, all he could see was the trunk of the tree using his naked eye as it was covered by a mist of clouds.
"How tall is this tree?"
Xerel started walking around the tree as he tried to find monsters below. He could not find a single monster but what he found was interesting.
There was a gate flourished with a white portal and with its vibrant glow, it didn't look dangerous Xerel was drawn nearer to the gate.
"Something's telling me that I can find something good inside."
As soon as Xerel arrived at the front of the gate, the wood on the tree began to morph indistinctively causing him to be alert as he equipped Rafiery in his hand.
The wood slowly morphed and form a shape of a human- no, it just looks humanoid. The brown wood started to turn into human flesh and the humanoid wood completely turned into a human but wearing a white dress and vines circulated it.
Aside from the green hair, every other feature was of humans. Xerel had seen many races and the closes one that resembled humans were Elves, Dwarves, Cyclopes, Mermen, and Beastmen.
"Greetings, young man. I am Estophel, a Greater Dryad and a worshipper of the World Tree. It seems that you have received the invitation of the World Tree."
The man spoke in a gentle tone as he gave a warm greeting to Xerel who had a confused look.
Ting~
[Estophel
Rank: Mythical
Level: 600
HP: ??/??
State: Calm, Benevolent, Excited]
"Y-you're a Dryad!? I thought dryads are females?"
"Oh, it seems you know of our existence! Dryads are born as part of The World Tree, we do not have a gender and we take form as any type of species that we encounter to avoid any discomfort from them. If you wish, I can turn into a female."
"Ah, it's okay! I was just surprised."
'From what I know, Dryad's are neutral good entities. They guide kind intent humans if in need of help and will drive ill-intended humans away. They also have the power of nature and considering this one is a Greater Dryad and even a Mythical Rank which I can only say is a few levels higher than Ancient rank, this thing is probably some sort of hidden boss. I'm lucky that it has no Murderous intent against me and I am currently invulnerable also it's even excited to see me. For now, let's be calm and listen.'
"As you can see, this is the first time I have personally seen a human being from my millennium of a lifetime. It is quite an honor to see one! I can see why the World Tree has chosen you as I could feel the overwhelming pressure you are excluding that could even drive away Legendary species."
"The World Tree chose me? I get I'm strong but I don't hold a candle to you. What is it I have to do?"
"You have humility and that is one trait of a good person but as a Challenger, you must be confident of your strength if you want to reach the top of the tree."
"Challenger? What kind of challenge do I have to do?"
Ting~
[QUEST
Participate in the trials that the World Tree has made for challengers. By completing a trial, you will be given bountiful rewards as rising to the next floor. By reaching the top floor, you will arrive at the peak of the tree where you will be granted one wish.
Difficulty: SSS
Rewards: ???]
"Will I die if I fail the trial?"
"Don't worry, if you fail a trial, you are given three more tries to re-enter the world tree and you will be automatically transported to the previous trial. But if you have used your three tries, once you re-enter again, death will be imminent. Failure will inevitably result in death so take your time on each trial."
"I see thank you. By the way, there are other challenges to the World Tree?"
"Yes, there have been thousands of challengers and many have died and those who have failed returned to their world and became the strongest beings. Even if you fail, you will still improve from the trials as the World Tree makes sure to give you the fruits of your labor. Since you are the first human Challenger, I'll give you a tip; The first ten trials are all about agility and strength. If you can finish the ten trials in a new speed record, I'll give you another tip for the next 10 trials."
"Thanks. What was the fastest record?"
"It was a Challenger from the Giant race, he finished it at exactly 40 minutes and 11 seconds."
"Then I'll make sure to be as fast as that!"
Xerel entered the white portal and soon he was transported into a dark tunnel. The walls of the tunnel were made of mossy stone and with no light around, it was silent and pitch black.
A silent arrow shot at Xerel at a speed faster than he expected. He flinched and was unable to dodge the incoming arrow but fortunately, the transparent barrier disintegrated the arrow into nothing.
"Phew, I deadass wasn't able to dodge that, I couldn't even see or hear it! Thankfully I'm invulnerable."
Xerel sighed as he continued to walk straight on the dark tunnel. Soon more and more arrows fly towards him and as he walked closer, the arrows flew faster and faster than they traveled at the speed of light.
Thankfully, the barrier had nullified the arrows and if it weren't there, Xerel would be full of holes and die.
When Kal, finally arrived at the end of the tunnel, a bright light flashed in his eyes and a window panel alerted his view.
Ting~
[YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST TRIAL!]
[1ST TRIAL RESULTS
Dodged arrows: 30/30
Time: 0:01:29]
[Congratulations! You have beaten the trial record of 29 dodged arrows and 2:50 times! Additional rewards will be given]
[1ST TRIAL
Top Challengers
1st: ______(Dodged arrows: 30/30 Time: 0:01:29)
2nd: Thölheim (Dodged arrows: 29/30 Time: 0:02:50)
3rd: Subano (Dodged arrows: 26/30 Time: 0:02:34)
.
.
.]
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR NAME ON THE LIST]
"I've seen protagonists who would usually leave their name as blank to confuse the fuck out of the enemies but I'm not those types of cool protagonists. Let's leave it as LEREX. It's my name but in reverse order."
Ting~
[1ST TRIAL
Top Challengers
1st: Lerex(Dodged arrows: 30/30 Time: 0:01:29)
2nd: Thölheim (Dodged arrows: 29/30 Time: 0:02:50)
3rd: Subano (Dodged arrows: 26/30 Time: 0:02:34)
.
.
.]
Ting~
[1ST TRIAL REWARDS
+3 Elemental Scroll
+2 Greater Healing Potion
+1 Elixir (Additional Reward)
+1 Tome of Knowledge (Additional Reward)]
"Although I didn't earn at least some level-ups, the reward is still great. Let me check the additional rewards first before I proceed to the next challenge."
Ting~
[Elixir
Rank: Bronze Legendary
Type: Consumables
Effects:
+20% cooldown reduction
+15% experience gain
Rejuvenate-(Buff): Removes all debuffs and gets debuff resistance for the next 10 seconds.
Duration: 5 minutes]
"So it's an all-in-one potion. Pretty neat but I don't need it for now. Let's check the other one."
Ting~
[Tome of Knowledge
Rank: Gold Legendary
Type: Tome
Contents:
Heavenly Footwork- Sharpens senses and body movements to an extreme. Predict the actions of your enemies by their movements and perform the best possible move when making a decision]
[Do you wish to learn the Tome? Y/N]
"Holy fuck! Yes!"
Ting~
[Heavenly Footwork has been learned]
"..!"
Xerel immediately felt the effects of learning the footwork. Like instant muscle memory, the technique was ingrained in his mind permanently. How he walks and moves were now very precise and elegant.
"Holy shit, just walking feels a lot different! My movements are pretty balanced and my 5 senses are very sharp! It feels so comfortable that it's almost uncomfortable."
Xerel admired the new feeling in his body. Since it was automatically learned, he needn't have to get used to it since it was made to feel like you have been doing this technique your whole life.
Ting~
[Do you wish to proceed to the 2nd trial? Y/N]
"I'll have to somehow try this technique out. Yes."
Xerel was transported in a pillar of light as his vision blurred. His vision returned clearly and as he looked around his surroundings, he was confused as to why he ended up in a cemetery.
It was in the middle of the night, and the setting was in a gloomy and creepy cemetery. Although Xerel was perfectly safe in his invulnerable barrier, chills still course through his spine causing him to shiver.
"This place is creepy as fuck.'
Dudugdug.
The ground in front of him began to rumble and the gravel in front of him cracked white open. Then a skeletal hand reached up the ground and as its whole body rose.
"It's a skeleton Soldier!"
The skeleton showed itself to Xerel. It was wearing cracked body armor, a broken sword, and wore a rusty crown. Its dark eye sockets had two glowing crystals embedded in them and they bare two long fangs.
Ting~
[2ND TRIAL
Defeat the Skeleton King. The Skeleton King is a born fighter as it becomes stronger and more fluid as the fight goes on. The seven jewels in his crown represent his life. As soon as he dies, he will revive shortly after. You must kill the skeleton king seven times to destroy the seven jewels in his crown.]
"Oh, it's a Skeleton King, not a soldier! Hmm...it reminds me a lot of that manhwa I read where the skeleton regresses to the past when it dies. Oh well, this is gonna be a cakewalk for me."