Broken took out his pickaxe and approached the remaining two treasure chests. Without hesitation, he struck the keyhole with the pickaxe.
[Puzzle Smacker has been activated.]
[Attempt failed, failure percentage increased to 20%. Be cautious, as this could damage the target puzzle.]
He smiled, knowing that the Puzzle Smacker skill was indeed capable of opening treasure chests. This also meant he could potentially unlock any locked door with it, which was an incredible advantage.
However, this time it wasn’t as smooth as the first attempt when he had unlocked the gate with a single smash. Now, his first attempt had failed.
He tried again.
[Attempt failed, failure percentage increased to 30%. Be cautious, as this could damage the target puzzle.]
He paused for a moment. The chance of damaging the treasure chest and rendering it permanently locked had risen to 30%, while his success rate was only at 10%. Well, he thought, he had nothing to lose; it was just a bonus.
[Failure percentage increased to 40%…]
Failed again. Broken grinned wryly, knowing that the chances of unlocking the treasure chest were dwindling. He decided to force it one more time.
And then-
[The puzzle has been struck and solved. The chest is now unlocked.]
The chest opened, emitting a blue glow from within. He checked the contents and squinted his eyes in surprise at what he found. Inside was an egg-blue with dark green scales.
“Another egg?” he muttered to himself.
He had only recently acquired an egg that he had no idea how to hatch, and now he had another one. He quickly looked at the description.
[Legendary-grade Abyssal Naga Egg]
He took a deep breath, reading the description. It was another Legendary-grade egg! He couldn’t be happier; getting two Legendary-grade items so close together was incredible. But this egg bore the name of a creature that was slightly worrisome.
The Abyssal Naga?
He knew what Naga were: creatures with a humanoid upper body and a snake-like lower half. Their skin was dark and often covered with bioluminescent patterns. At least, that’s what he knew from the monster database of Immortal Legacy.
He attempted to infuse his mana into the egg, trying the theory Freya had explained to him. But when he held the egg, nothing happened.
“Damn, then how do I hatch this egg?”
The word ‘Abyssal’ on the egg made him suspect that he might need to be underwater, or perhaps even in the ocean, to hatch it.
Curiosity piqued, Broken took the egg a short distance away and summoned the Water Domain once more. He tried to control the water, encasing the egg in a swirling, watery bubble in his hand. Attempting again to infuse his Mana into the egg, he found that once more, nothing happened.
He pondered over this mystery, eager to find a way to hatch at least one of the eggs in his possession-the demon egg and now the Naga egg. Adding yet another task to his growing list, he decided a trip to the ocean might be necessary to hatch the egg in the sea. A seaside excursion sounded like an intriguing endeavor.
Still, he hoped it wouldn’t require him to submerge the egg deep underwater. Worse yet, the term “Abyssal” suggested that hatching it might necessitate venturing to terrifying oceanic depths.
With a smile, he stored the egg back in his inventory.
Having more summons or familiars would undoubtedly be an advantage. He could build his own army of extraordinary creatures, couldn’t he?
One more treasure chest remained, and his excitement couldn’t be higher. He hurriedly smacked the keyhole with his Pickaxe, but the first attempt failed. Without hesitation, he tried again, but it failed once more.
He tried again, but, still failing.
“Damn, why is this one so much harder?” he muttered, frustration creeping in.
He gave it another go, yet again failing, the chance of failure now rising to 50%. Standing still for a moment, he thought about his next move. With a 50% failure rate, he could easily lose the treasure inside the chest, something he definitely did not want to happen.
What should he do?
If only he had a way to increase his chances of success. After all, the contents of these treasure chests had been invaluable so far, each holding Legendary-grade items.
Determined, he went for it once more, this time with a more deliberate motion. There was a resounding smack, but it ended in failure again, raising the odds of a mishap to 60%, with the success chance still stuck at 10%.
The probability of failure now outweighed the chance of success by a large margin. On his next attempt, he might very well lose the potential reward hidden within the treasure chest. Anxiety clawed at him, the fear of losing such a significant prize looming large in his mind.
Broken paused for a moment before trying again.
[Puzzle Smacker has been activated.]
And then, the dreaded result appeared.
[Attempt failed. The treasure chest has been severely damaged. There is no way to open it anymore.]
He stood there, frozen and in shock. He had ruined the treasure chest and lost the potential reward from the last chest. He cursed inwardly, frustrated by this outcome. However, he couldn’t dwell on it too much; he had already gotten a Legendary-grade egg from the previous chest, which was a significant bonus.
While he knew that the Puzzle Smacker skill didn’t guarantee a 100% success rate, he had to brace himself for such outcomes. Trying to console himself despite the disappointment, he reminded himself of the extraordinary reward he had already secured.
Was it possible that anyone who completed this Trial Domain would earn such exceptional rewards? Just imagine-a Trial Domain with Legendary-grade items as prizes-this was
beyond incredible.
His companions needed to try this as well; who knew what extraordinary items they might find in this Trial Domain?
With a heavy heart, Broken stepped away from the damaged chest and made his way to the exit portal, leaving the Trial Domain behind.
It was still a big win!
As Broken stepped out from the exit portal, he immediately saw Danko, who had been lying on the floor, jump up in surprise.
“My Lord!” Danko exclaimed, quickly standing up with a startled expression.
Danko hadn’t expected Broken to exit the Trial Domain so soon, especially with a look of displeasure on his face. Was it possible that Lord Broken had failed the Trial? That was the
thought running through his mind.
“My Lord, you can still attempt the Trial again, right?”
“No,” Broken replied curtly.
“But, My Lord, don’t worry. I will explore this cave further. I’m sure I can find another Trial
Domain for you,” Danko said enthusiastically.
“Thanks, Danko.”
“My Lord, Trial Domains are not easy to complete, especially at level 200. It’s only natural
that it wouldn’t be simple.”
“What?” Broken chuckled lightly. “You think I failed the Trial?”
“Uh?” Danko looked puzzled. “Didn’t you?”
“No, I succeeded, Danko.”
“But, didn’t you just go in for a moment? Is a level 200 Trial Domain that easy, or is your level
much higher than that?”
“No, it’s just that I was fortunate in completing the Trial. It wasn’t as hard as it could’ve
been,” he said.
Danko’s face showed a mix of amazement and confusion.
“Now, we need to leave this place, Danko,” Broken said.
He began to think about how to get out of the cave, realizing he also needed to ensure Danko
could safely exit with him.