The Divine Ruins Secret Realm held countless legacies, each representing a different profession and trial.
Although the legacies varied, the difficulty was generally quite similar, with only a few being exceptionally difficult.
The player who had previously obtained a legacy had, by chance, managed to clear a trial that was supposed to be extremely challenging.
In the end, he had received both the legacy and its rewards.
If Luca remembered correctly, the entrance to that trial was an abandoned temple.
As soon as you entered it, the legacy trial would begin.
After that player obtained the legacy, he wrote a detailed guide and posted it on a forum.
It was during his casual browsing of the forum that Luca had come across that post.
Because the way that player obtained the legacy had been so unique, it left a strong impression on him.
Before, Luca had thought that finding that temple would take him quite a bit of time.
But unexpectedly, he encountered it halfway.
“What’s your plan?” Jormungandr floated in the air, looking like a ghost, her tone curious.
“To complete a trial,” Luca casually replied.
“A trial?” Jormungandr clicked her tongue in surprise. “You really are reckless. The legacies in this Secret Realm are clearly different from those in other realms. Given your strength, passing the trial will probably be extremely difficult for you.”
It wasn’t that Jormungandr didn’t understand Luca’s power—on the contrary, she was very aware of his strength, which was why she said this. Trials in the Divine Ruins were generated based on the adventurer’s overall capabilities. The stronger you were, the more terrifying the trial would be.
What might be an easy trial for someone else would likely be ten times more challenging for him!
And this was just a normal legacy trial.
If it were a top-tier profession trial, Jormungandr figured Luca would be facing a challenge on par with confronting a Superclass being.
Luca didn’t respond. He was well aware of how trials worked.
But since he had decided to enter, it meant he had the confidence to succeed.
Relying on his memory, it didn’t take long for Luca to locate the temple he had seen earlier.
In the mist, a small, ancient temple stood tall. Two red lanterns hung by the entrance, with candles burning inside, casting a crimson glow. The faint, eerie light made the temple appear as though it had a giant, gaping mouth, giving it a sinister, almost monstrous look.
Luca hesitated for a moment, but then stepped inside.
Although the Divine Ruins Secret Realm had a time limit, there was no exit restriction.
If he found himself in danger, as long as his reflexes were fast enough and he could exit the game quickly, he could avoid the death penalty.
For someone like Luca, who had been single for 18 years, this was child’s play.
Upon entering the temple, he found himself in a spacious courtyard. The stone slabs were covered in black moss, and at the center of the courtyard stood a censer. Behind it was a vermilion-colored Eastern-style building.
Compared to the other ruins outside, this temple was much better preserved.
He glanced at the game prompt but saw that the trial hadn’t been triggered yet.
Not pausing, he headed straight into the temple.
He pushed open the red wooden door, and the squeak of the door echoed loudly in the darkness.
Suddenly, torches and candles flared to life inside the temple, illuminating both the courtyard and the interior with bright light.
Luca’s gaze shifted inside, where he saw an altar with a statue draped in golden silk cloth. The statue’s head was missing, leaving only a half-human, half-serpent broken torso.
Before the statue, offerings of fruits and vegetables were laid out, and three incense sticks were burning in a small censer, sending out faint tendrils of smoke.
He stepped forward, and as soon as he entered the temple, a game prompt appeared before him.
[Ding! Player has triggered the Legacy Trial “Fate-Swapping Master.” Would you like to start the trial?]
“Found it!” Luca’s eyes lit up. This was exactly the profession he was looking for!
Fate-Swapping Master! A very unique profession.
Though it had no combat abilities whatsoever, it possessed the extraordinary power to alter the luck of a target.
If Luca obtained this profession, at its simplest, he could reduce someone’s luck attribute to zero, causing them to never get any equipment or gold from monsters. On a larger scale, he could turn their luck into a negative value, making it so that even walking down the street could lead to them being precisely targeted and killed by a Transcendent being!
This was just the most basic use of the power—there were countless other ways it could be applied. In the past life, the top-tier player who had obtained this legacy had used this profession, along with special items acquired in the trial, to easily rise to the rank of a top Transcendent One.
And no one dared to provoke him after that.
Luca suppressed his excitement. Without hesitation, he selected Confirm.
The next moment, he felt a flash before his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was no longer inside the temple but back outside in the courtyard.
[Trial has officially begun!]
[Objective: Survive for 30 minutes!]
As the game prompt appeared, the previously empty courtyard began to churn with mist. Dark figures holding various weapons began to materialize. In just a few breaths, over a hundred high-level adventurers had appeared, each radiating a dangerous aura.
Their bloodshot eyes locked onto Luca, their murderous intent palpable. The air around them exploded with power, and in an instant, the figures transformed into black streaks of light, rushing toward Luca. Meanwhile, the ranged attackers began chanting their spells, and the entire courtyard erupted into a dazzling array of colors as skill effects lit up the air.
A hundred high-level adventurers attacking simultaneously—this overwhelming force would be impossible for even a Superclass player to withstand, let alone Luca, a mid-tier professional.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Luca turned and charged straight for the open vermilion door of the temple.
In a normal scenario, no regular player would ever be able to pass such a trial.
But Luca knew the strategy for this trial.
Or rather, he knew the exploit.
As soon as the black figures saw Luca charge for the temple.
Their expressions shifted.
Several of them immediately accelerated, aiming to block Luca from entering before he could make it inside.
“Get out of my way!” Luca growled, a chill swirling around him. His hair turned white at a visible speed, and snowflakes began to fall from the air. Ice Pattern Awakening!
In an instant, Luca’s attributes were greatly enhanced, his power surging dramatically!
He twisted his wrist, and the Magic Crystal Spear in his hand began to frost over. Within moments, it transformed into several large, menacing ice lances, each several meters long. With a mighty sweep, he hurled them toward the black figures in front of him.
High-level Ice Magic—Ice Dragon Spear!
Three of the shadow figures were unable to dodge in time and were blasted away by the ice lances.
-150,000! -160,000! -150,000…
The crimson damage numbers soared!
Before they even hit the ground, frost covered their bodies, turning them into solid ice.
When they landed, they shattered with a loud crash.
[Ding! You have killed the lv60 Shadow Attendant and gained 1.215 million experience!]
Three kill prompts appeared, but just as Luca was about to move, a barrage of arrows shot toward him from the sky.
Luca’s dangerous Perception flared up, sending a chill down his spine.
Without even looking, he felt a surge of energy course through him as his body suddenly radiated a bluish glow. His speed spiked again, far surpassing his previous pace!
Daylight Wind Shadows!
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” Several fiery arrows slammed into the ground, leaving black, smoldering craters in their wake.
Luca moved like a bolt of lightning, quickly closing the distance to the temple.
The courtyard was only a few hundred meters across, and with his speed, he could cover the distance in just a few breaths.
But the interference from those Shadow Attendants was relentless, significantly slowing him down.
By the time Luca finally reached the front of the temple, there were already more than a dozen shadow figures standing in his way.
And more were still rushing in from the distance. If he got surrounded, even with ten of him, he’d be crushed into nothing.
“Why do the trials get harder the stronger the class? Isn’t this messed up?” Luca grumbled, barely catching his breath. Suddenly, his body blazed with a vibrant green glow.
Heavenly Star Awakening!
The freezing chill that had surrounded him vanished in an instant, replaced by an overwhelming surge of life force that seemed to pulse from within.
Luca focused on the Wood Element. With a thought, the stone ground beneath him cracked open.
And from the fissures, a massive vine giant python emerged, its jaws gaping as it lunged at the group of shadow figures.
High-level Wood Magic — Wood Spirit Vine Serpent!
The giant vines swept through five or six of the shadow figures, crushing them effortlessly!
But the remaining shadows managed to dodge, charging straight at Luca.
Just as Luca was about to cast another spell, a sharp flash of cold light cut through the air, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind.
Luca’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately veered to the side.
A razor-sharp dagger grazed his neck, its icy coldness sending a shiver through him.
“That was close!” Luca broke into a cold sweat, realizing how narrowly he had avoided disaster. Without hesitation, he reversed his grip on the Magic Crystal Spear and lunged, driving the spear into the neck of the assassin who had tried to ambush him.
But before he could pull the spear back.
A massive fireball, at least five or six meters in diameter, came crashing down from the sky.
“Boom!” The deafening explosion rang out!
A scorching wave of fire surged through the air, engulfing Luca entirely in an instant!
“Damn it!” Luca’s voice came through the flames, his curses barely audible over the roar of the fire.
The next moment, thunderclouds gathered in the sky!
In the blink of an eye, they formed a sea of lightning, crackling ominously before descending like divine punishment, aiming straight for the last few remaining shadow figures standing near the temple entrance!
Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire!
Boom!! A blinding thunderbolt fell from the heavens, obliterating the three shadow figures in an instant, reducing them to nothing with the terrifying power of the strike!
Wrapped in black flames, Luca burst through the inferno, his Magic Crystal Spear raised high.
Before the remaining shadows could even react, his figure was a blur, and in a flash, he stepped into the temple.
As Luca crossed the threshold of the temple, every shadow figure outside froze in place.
The skills they had been preparing to release changed course at the last moment, veering off into the distance.
The vast, empty courtyard fell into an eerie silence, broken only by Luca’s heavy breathing.
Dozens of scarlet eyes stared at him from outside, but none of them moved to attack.
Luca, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile.
“Just as that player said… once you enter the temple, the shadows hesitate because of the statue. They won’t dare attack,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and letting out a long sigh of relief.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the time to pass, and the trial would be over.
But… wasn’t this more like exploiting a bug to clear the trial?
As he thought about this.
Luca raised his head and glanced outside, noticing the frustrated, angry faces of the shadow figures pacing back and forth in the courtyard.
A wicked idea began to form in his mind.
Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to farm experience?
With that thought, Luca’s eyes glowed with a fiery determination as he gazed out at the group of shadows outside.