Broken now found himself face-to-face with an overwhelming array of aquatic creatures. Their eyes bore into him, each with a piercing intensity, as though they were silently passing judgment on him.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” he muttered under his breath, steeling himself for the
impending clash. He was prepared to deploy every resource he had, ready for whatever might come his way.
“You will never leave this place alive,” they announced.
Broken spun his spear, muscles tensed in preparation for the battle. But then, something completely unexpected happened.
One by one, the aquatic creatures began to dissolve, turning into splashes of water. They spilled onto the ground and swiftly sank back into the floor, leaving no trace behind.
“Why-?”
Broken furrowed his brow in confusion as the creatures vanished. They were gone? They hadn’t attacked him? Hadn’t he triggered the trap by summoning the wild boar? So why had they dispersed back into water? Was it because he hadn’t stepped on those specific tiles?
Determined to test his theory, he decided to conduct another experiment. This time, he took out his bow from his inventory. He selected an arrow, set it on the bowstring, and, taking a deep breath, released the arrow with precision. It flew across the room and struck one of the tiled floors, bouncing off and leaving a sparkle behind.
But, nothing happened.
“I’m sure the boar was stepping on that tile before,” he muttered to himself. “So why wasn’t the trap triggered this time?”
He then grabbed his spear once more, lifting it into the air. “Sea of Storms!” he murmured softly.
[Sea of Storms (Active Skill)]
Brilliant magic circles formed on the ceiling, shimmering with blue and silver hues. Spear- like projections shot out from each magic circle, crashing onto the ground with a thunderous roar as water spread outwards. The walls reverberated with the force of the explosion.
But again, nothing happened.
It won’t be triggered by any skill, physical or magical damage. That was his current conclusion. But a summon would do the job. With a summon, the trap would activate. He was acutely aware of the danger posed by the high-level monsters congregating in large numbers. He couldn’t afford to fail this trial.
“Polly,” he whispered.
Polly materialized beside him. Her four tails waved gracefully as she shifted into her battle form, instantly increasing her size severalfold.
“Hi, Master,” she whispered softly.
“Polly,” Broken repeated, his mind racing with a potential solution to handle the trap. “Yes, Master,” she replied. free𝑤ebnovel.com
“Do you experience any pain when your clones are targeted by an attack?”
“No, Master,” she answered slowly. “They are just my clones. Even though they can take damage, I don’t feel any pain from the damage inflicted on them.”
Broken nodded slowly, feeling more confident than ever. Somehow, he felt smarter this time. “Okay, hear me out,” he continued, then explained the situation with the trap floors.
“I will map every tile that contains traps and those that don’t, with the help of your illusion abilities. All you need to do is send one clone at a time to step on any tiles in front of us. If the clone is killed by a trap, you send another one. Can you do it?”
“Yes, Master, I can do it. I will help you navigate through this trap,” she said with enthusiasm.
Polly then activated her skills and summoned her clones, following Broken’s instructions to the letter. She sent one clone to jump onto each tile on the floor, while Broken marked the safe ones. Polly’s clone continued to hop from tile to tile, meticulously triggering traps.
When a clone stepped on a trap, dozens of arrows flew out from all directions, striking it and making it vanish instantly. Broken took a deep breath, imagining the damage those arrows would cause if they hit him.
Unfazed, Polly promptly moved another clone, directing it to a different tile. Once again, the clone set off a trap, prompting numerous aquatic creatures to emerge and attack it. “Shadow Clone Technique” was one of Polly’s skills with an impressively long duration of around 30 seconds, and a cooldown period of just 45 seconds. This meant they only had to wait 15 seconds for the skill to become available again. The hitch with this skill, however, was its hefty Mana cost. She could only perform it four times before needing to wait for her Mana to regenerate.
But with nothing to lose, they simply waited, relaxing and repeating the process as needed. Again and again, they went through this routine, with Broken and the real Polly sitting patiently during the cooldown period of her skill. After several rounds of waiting and watching carefully, Broken finally succeeded in mapping out all the safe tiles.
He now knew exactly where to step to reach the other side. This was a smart way to conquer the trap floor. Being lazy was different from being a genius, and today, he was definitely the
latter.
“We did it, Polly. None of this would have been possible without you,” he said, gently stroking the small fox’s head.
Broken then stood up and stretched, letting out a yawn. He truly appreciated the perks of being a Sloth Champion. It seemed essential to find more ways to automate tasks, so he could relax even more. Isn’t that the very essence of a sloth Champion?
With a gentle wave, Polly vanished until he needed her help again.
Stepping carefully onto the floor tiles, just as he had mapped out, nothing happened. He hopped to another tile, walking leisurely from one to the next. Not a single trap was triggered. His plan had worked perfectly, and he felt a swell of pride.
Grinning, he imagined the frustrated faces of those aquatic creatures as he navigated through the trap without having to deal with them. Yet, a question lingered in his mind: Would this trap arrangement remain the same for anyone else entering this trial domain? If so, he could share this valuable information with his friends. It would certainly help them if they decided to challenge the water door.
After a while, he reached the end of the trap-riddled floor. Standing before him was another tunnel, its entrance beckoning him onward. It led to another chamber, perhaps his next challenge lay there, waiting at the end of the tunnel.
Broken immediately ventured into the tunnel, walking for some time before finally reaching its end, where, as he had predicted, another large chamber awaited him.
In front of him lay a massive pool with dark, churning water. The pool stretched out as far as he could see. Although he couldn’t gauge its depth, it was clear that the surface was far from calm. Wild currents swirled and circulated, forming several whirlpools that seemed ready to drag anyone caught in them into the depths.
However, one thing caught his eye: a series of stone pillars rising from the center of the pool, their tops piercing the turbulent water for reasons yet unknown.
“Surely, the challenge isn’t just to cross this pool with its menacing whirlpools, right? Where monsters will definitely emerge from the water?” he wondered aloud.
He seemed a little thoughtful as he walked closer to the edge of the pool. There were no
visible patterns of traps like the floor tiles he had previously encountered.
“I strongly believe that anyone who swims into this pool will have to face some kind of creature emerging from the water,” he mused. For a moment, the thought of it made his task
seem even more daunting.
Polly reappeared and padded over to his feet. “Master, let me test the pool.”
Polly summoned her clones, and without hesitation, one of them immediately dove into the pool. It quickly became evident that Polly’s movement speed had considerably slowed down. The pool was not exceedingly deep, only submerging her body.
But then, the real challenge became apparent.
Out of the wild and chaotic motions of the whirlpool, an aquatic beast suddenly manifested,
wielding a trident with a firm grip. It launched an onslaught on Polly with tremendous speed, and in an instant, the clone was obliterated.
Broken swallowed hard, realizing that the creature was clearly stronger and moved more
easily in the water. It was evident that this environment gave the beast a significant
advantage.
“What should I do?” he muttered to himself.