"Based on some information compiled by the Experts on the Mage Channel, cross-referenced with what I saw and experienced during the Trial, some facts can be confirmed:
Hope Continent should be the largest continent in the Trial Land.
A great many nations and powers have risen and fallen on the surface of this land. The most famous ones, which also dominated the background period of the Trial, were several large God-Worshiping Powers that ruled for thousands of years.
These include the Natural Alliance, which worships the Fate of life, the Grand Tribunal, which believes in Order, the Tower of Rationality, which pursues Truth, and the Nation of War, which emerged from the conflicts in the later stages of the civilization era.
The attack of the Skeleton Army on Hope Continent took place during the Continental War period in the later stages of the civilization era.
Forced by the approach of the Underworld Powers, the three warring factions joined forces once again to face the external threat.
Secret Forest County, where we are located, is the Administrative County within the Grand Tribunal territory that is closest to the entrance of the Underworld, the Abyss Volcano."
Along the way, Cao San Sui systematically recounted the history of Hope Continent to Cheng Shi. After hearing all this, Cheng Shi finally gained a general understanding of Hope Continent.
"The distribution of powers in the Underworld is more complex. Since I am not a follower of the Fates of sinking or Chaos, I don't know much about this area.
And..."
Cao San Sui looked at Nangong and said meaningfully, "Players of these Fates usually don't like sharing relevant information."
Nangong was stunned upon hearing this, then lowered his head and said:
"Sorry, my score is too low, so I don't pay much attention to these things."
Cao San Sui shook his head: "Nothing to apologize for. When the Faith Game descended, everyone risked their lives in it. Just surviving is hard enough. Not everyone can... Sigh, forget it, let's not talk about it.
The direction is correct. Up ahead is Mount Blizzard. Few tribes settle near the mountain range; most are harmless Nomads. We can find a secluded spot and wait for the Trial to end.
Cheng Shi is right. After the baptism of Blood and Fire, the Trial is no longer dangerous. This is consistent with War's usual style!"
Chen Chong was still leading the way, and he hadn't relaxed his guard, even though seven hours had passed since they left the Meteor Fire Rain Territory, and only three hours remained until the end of the Trial.
"Better safe than sorry. Who knows if the'Song' part of the Song of Blood and Fire might still be coming out at the very end?"
Everyone paused upon hearing this, and then muffled laughter gradually started.
Song Yawen laughed:
"This isn't a Trial of Deception, so probably not, but..."
He turned seriously and looked at Cheng Shi, saying:
"We are truly grateful to you, Brother Cheng. Without you, we might all be dead."
This was the Truth. Everyone looked at Cheng Shi with gratitude, even though they didn't know exactly how he had saved them.
But that's the way the world is now: every high-level player has secrets, and no one is willing to pry too much into the hidden methods of a powerful ally.
Cheng Shi felt slightly embarrassed. Regarding the Fear Demons, he definitely contributed, but the subsequent Meteor Fire Rain... He secretly squeezed the dice in his hand, merely smiling without speaking.
"Let's set up camp right here. The visibility is good, allowing for early warning. We'll set up a Coffin Camp."
The group walked intermittently until they reached a small hillock. Chen Chong stopped, pulled out his Shield-Sword, and started digging the earth.
The others didn't stand idle; they took out tools from their Personal Space and started helping.
Generally, during survival Trials, as long as the location is above ground and not actively in combat, players will dig a deep hole in the surface, hollowing out a space beneath it like ants building a nest, to set up camp.
Because it resembles a grave, it's jokingly called a Coffin Camp, primarily used to avoid surface dangers.
As for threats from underground, there's no need to worry, because the actual Underworld cannot be reached just by digging. If anything, it's more like another independent space.
Instead of worrying about how to avoid threats from underground, they should focus on how to prevent the Coffin Camp from collapsing.
They dug quickly. As soon as the twilight disappeared, the group had already moved into the Underground Space, pulling out various foods to replenish their energy.
Everyone pulled out food that was both light and filling. Song Yawen and Cao San Sui even produced Hot Noodle Soup, emphasizing that it looked, smelled, and tasted excellent.
Only Cheng Shi, in front of everyone, silently pulled out a Finger Bread and a bottle of Tentacle Slime Drink.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The moment the slime gurgled down his throat, everyone fell silent.
Song Yawen dry-heaved a few times, covering his mouth and saying:
"I now think Brother Cheng might genuinely not be God Chosen..."
Nangong frowned repeatedly, broke off half of the Beef Patty he was holding, and handed it over.
Cheng Shi looked at the half-patty, took it without hesitation, and thanked him: "Oh, how embarrassing."
"Did you... not run a Food Dungeon recently? Why aren't you drinking... cola?"
"Huh?" Cheng Shi mumbled while eating, "I did run one. This Finger Bread is fresh, produced just yesterday."
"..."
Cao San Sui looked incredulous: "You have 2000 points, and you like eating this?"
"? Who told you I have 2000 points? I have 1501."
"..."
Chen Chong chuckled helplessly: "One Ladder Score, and you keep deceiving people back and forth. Cheng Shi, you wouldn't happen to be..."
Before he could finish, a violent Spatial Fluctuation erupted around everyone.
Everyone's body shook, and they exchanged wide-eyed, incredulous glances.
This feeling was too familiar—it was the signal that the Trial had ended.
"How can this be? Only 23 hours!?"
Cao San Sui took out his Pocket Watch and checked, confirming that his anchored time was correct: exactly 23 hours had passed, with 1 full hour remaining.
Everyone was bewildered; this had never happened in previous Trials.
But instead of being excited about the early conclusion of the Trial, everyone frowned deeply.
change means risk.
No one could determine whether ending the Trial early was good or bad.
But these things were not for the players to decide. Just as everyone wanted to say a few more words, the six figures dissipated one after another, leaving only the food they held, which dropped to the ground with a "thud."
Watching the food fall to the ground, Cheng Shi's heart sank, feeling an inexplicable pang of grief.
"Damn it, they haven't compensated me for my Scorn of the Dead and Past Prosperity yet!"
[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire [War]) Challenge Successful]
[Rating and settling rewards...]
[Player: Cheng Shi, Performance Rating: S]
[Acquired Item: Trolling Mask (B) x1]
[Acquired Item: Doubt Mask (A) x1]
[Acquired Item: Gratitude Mask (A) x1]
[Acquired Item: Satisfaction Mask (S) x1]
[Acquired Item: Desire Mask (B) x1]
[path to godhood +12]
[Ladder to the Audience +2]
[Current path to godhood Score: 2116, Global Ranking: 471998]
[Current Ladder to the Audience Score: 158, Fate Ranking: 69]
[Trial cleared, exiting soon]
His vision turned black again. When Cheng Shi opened his eyes, he was back on the rooftop. He looked across and saw the Young Man Surnamed Xie, covered in blood and sprawled on the edge of the opposite roof, coincidentally looking back at him.
Regardless of how many days passed within the Special Trial, the end time was unified for everyone, just as the entry time was unified.
Cheng Shi looked at his miserable state and offered appropriate sympathy.
"You're strong, Brother, surviving another seven days."
The Young Man Surnamed Xie nodded silently, his face still showing fear.
It seemed his Trial was not easy.
Speaking of which, his own Trial didn't seem easy either.
Cheng Shi suddenly thought of something and quickly checked the Global Survival Count.
[Current Global Believer Count: 7,211,293,956]
!!!
One billion people died!
Usually, tens of millions of deaths in a Special Trial were considered high. This time, one billion people were wiped out in a single go!?
them... accelerated.
A trace of fear and helplessness rose in Cheng Shi's heart. He looked at the Warehouse he had built on the rooftop and touched the Air Wall in front of him, laughing self-deprecatingly.
"Players? Just Playthings."
If nothing unexpected had happened, he and his teammates should have been among those one billion eliminated, but why did the Meteor Fire Rain spare them?
Could it be because... Cheng Shi pulled the Pale Dice out from his clothes.
This was the Divine Relic of the Gods he had chosen during the Fate selection—a dice that could only roll a 1.
But he later learned in various Trials that the Bone-Faced Dice should be the Divine Relic of Fate and could roll any side. So what was his?
And these reward masks... He quickly walked into the Warehouse, opened a special door, and looked at the rows of white masks on the Acrylic Display Cabinet, falling into deep thought again.
Flattery, Fawning, Scorn, Praise, Indifference, Resentment... dozens of masks were arranged in rows, each expression unique.
Yet their forms were so similar: just a snow-white face with a pair of stylized eye sockets.
Cheng Shi had tried covering his face with these masks, but they were completely useless and not even the right size.
"Since getting that Talent, Special Trials stopped giving out other reward items. What exactly are these masks for?"
Cheng Shi sighed and looked vaguely at his Player Panel.
[Cheng Shi, Male, 22 years old]
[Fate: Nothingness]
[Faith: Deception]
[Class: Priest]
[path to godhood: 2116, Global Ranking: 471998]
[Ladder to the Audience: 158, Fate Ranking: 69]
[Talents:]
Yesterdays Lies (SS): Deception Faith Talent, Active. Your Faith will temporarily be replaced by the Faith of the last Believer you deceived.
Deception Master (S): Deception Faith Talent, Passive. Your lies are more easily believed by others. Unless the deceived target experiences Cognitive Dissonance, they cannot detect your Deception methods, and you can perceive all Deception methods except your own.
Offering to Nothingness (S): Deception Faith Talent, Active. When an item you fabricated does not exist but is widely acknowledged by others to exist, the item comes into Existence.
All Living Things (S): Deception Faith Talent, Passive. Special Trial rewards are replaced by the special item Faces of All Beings mask, and this Talent cannot be replaced by other Talents.
Grace of Sharing Gods (S): Priest Class Talent, Active. When healing the same species, a Healing Transfer Effect occurs. For every additional target, the healing effect and range increase slightly...]
[Items:]
dice of fate (the predetermined) (S): You can never change the Fate of this dice.
fools lips (Fusion) (S): It loves to lie, whether you like it or not; it loves to deceive others, including you.
Faces of All Beings mask (SABC): A thousand faces, one face for a thousand people. Quantity: 47.
Past Prosperity (A): Healing Potion. Searches through memory, tracing back and restoring the target to its Most Flourishing State in the past. Quantity: 93...]
[Skills:]
Basic Healing Spell, Healing Chain, Light of Healing, Calming Spell, Hypnosis, Curse Removal, Resistance Shield, Holy Light Prayer...
...