As previously described, the Ring of Requiem is like the Totem Of Undying in Minecraft but in ring form. Well, not entirely.
It does save your life even if you get decapitated, but it doesn't give you any sort of potion effect as the Totem of Undying does. It heals you just enough to keep you alive and the mana you lost stays lost and you don't miraculously regain it back.
But, even with all of those setbacks and nerfs, it's still quite a busted artifact, nonetheless. I can use it to deceive my opponent into thinking that they killed me, but in reality, I'll escape the scene after recovering my mana.
Now, if said opponent figures out my little trick, it'll all be over, so I can't let anyone know about the effects of the Ring.
---
Currently, I'm thinking about the plan to get the Ring of Requiem.
In the novel, the villain who got the ring wasn't just a nobody. He was actually in the top 10 of the practical and the written exams. He was jealous of the Protagonist and all his friends because he thought that they didn't deserve the title of '1st Place' since to him, all of them looked like they were having more fun than working hard.
Quite dumb, I know. But still, thanks to that, I now know how to get the ring.
The villain accidentally stumbled into the cave in which the ring was while running away from the monsters that poured in from the S+ Dungeon outbreak.
He slowly and painfully defeated the two golems and was rewarded with the Ring of Requiem.
In the novel, the villain who did this was a spearman. But that shouldn't be too much of a problem, since I have Gravity Magic.
---
It was finally 12:30 PM.
'William should have cloaked me already...', I thought before leaving my bed and picking up my robes and Amaranth that I carried in my bag.
How did I carry Amaranth? Well, its handle is kind of like an umbrella. You can collapse its height.
I got ready with Amaranth and the gravity robes and left the hotel.
Not a soul was in sight.
The lights outside were still on and they were bright, but there was absolutely no one around to see me.
I sighed and took off towards the general direction the novel had described where the villain ran off to.
'With a heart full of fear and despair, he kept running along the beach, the warm, setting sun to his left, illuminating his figure that was full of dirt and wounds. He was being chased by 2 A+ grade monsters, each of which could tear him apart, limb from limb, with ease. Just as when he was about to give up and accept his fate, he was surprised to see the monsters seemingly getting blocked by some invisible barrier. Trembling, he got up from the ground and went up to the two monstrous beasts who were struggling to get past an illusory wall. As he was staring at the two monsters, awestruck, he was interrupted by the Ping of the System. It was a notification, saying [Congratulations for finding the {Trial of Requiem}!]'
That was how the novel described the place where the cave was located in. Pure coincidence.
Now that I think about it, most of the things that happened in that novel were mere coincidence or luck. The writing quality wasn't bad, but it seemed like the author had next to no creativity...
Anyway, I can't complain, since because of the high writing quality, I know how to get there. Vaguely.
'If the setting sun was to his left, he must've been going south...', I thought before looking at the compass on my phone and heading southwards on the beach.
'It probably needs some kind of monster in its vicinity to activate...', I thought as I recalled that only because there were those two A+ grade monsters, the {Trail of Requiem} activated.
'Or, alternatively, it might be the fact that the villain was expecting his death, but as he was about to die, the {Trial of Requiem} activated, giving him a chance to survive.', I wondered.
Those were two of the most likely scenarios. If it's not either of the two, I'll just go back to the hotel empty-handed, as sad as that would be...
'Thankfully, at night, the sea has many monsters in it. I'll just lure some to chase me through the beach and when I finally reach the place, the barriers will activate again and I'll be able to get the ring.'
'Or that would be the ideal scenario...', I sighed as I prepared to cast some spells into the water, trying to catch the attention of some monsters in it.
'Gravity Bullet', I casted. Immediately, a dark purple magic circle appeared on my left palm, and the crystal on Amaranth also glowed purple. The projectile shot towards the ocean and within seconds, I could see some fish rising up to the surface, all sideways.
I waited for a few more seconds. Suddenly, I could hear screeches and shrieks from within the sea.
'There they are... Sharkmen...', I thought.
Humanoid creatures with fins on their backs and the head of a shark.
They have very strong skin and the bite of their jaw is terrifying.
Also, needless to say, they can stay above water for an extended period of time.
I sprinted away from the sharkmen and kept running south.
'This is so reckless! But, I do have backup plans... I can just run away if situations look too bad.'
There was a total of six sharkmen. All of them were screeching and howling like crazy, chasing me with all their might.
The scene might have actually looked comical from an outsider's point of view, but it was very scary in person.
---
I don't know how long I ran for.
The sharkmen are still chasing me, although they have slowed down a little.
'Thank god I did all of that stamina training with Evangeline!', I thought as I kept gasping and running at the same time.
All of a sudden-
*DHOOM* *DHAANG* *SSCCCRRRREEEEIIIIIKKKK*
I heard collisions between organic and inorganic matter.
I looked around to see all 6 of the sharkmen scratching and screaming at some invisible wall of sorts.
'No way... I actually got it...', I thought as I looked at the illusory barrier in awe.
*Ping!
[Congratulations on discovering the {Trail Of Requiem}!]
[Do you want to take the trial?]
[Yes / No]