In Silver City, Maximus’ rented manor.
“The illusion trial of new mother is up!” Max saw a notification on the virtual screen.
“Hurry, let’s see, let’s see,” Lyla said as she shook Edward.
“Yes, yes,” Edward just smiled and clicked the edited illusion trial of Isabella.
“Ba, ba, ba,” the three babies in the back babbled as if saying they also wanted to watch.
“Here you go,” Liam, the oldest brother, positioned them carefully.
In the video, they saw Isabella fighting the king, looking very domineering.
“Hmph, bad guy!”
Seeing that their new mother was being beaten, they clamored.
As the fight got heated, Isabella was finally bound.
“Oh no!” The children held their breath as they watched the final moment.
But strangely, Isabella just sighed and smiled weirdly as she took out something.
BOOOM!!!
A wave of sound propagated, silencing them.
Although it’s edited, the sound from the bomb caused an echo, nearly making them deaf.
“WOW!”
“AWESOME!”
“COOL!”
They cheered happily, seeing the explosive fight.
Moreover, seeing their new mother, Isabella safe and sound, after the white-like matter automatically melted made them sigh with relief.
“I’ll ask new Mother later for one of those explosives,” Lyla on the side muttered, feeling the thrill of such a thing.
…
In the 100,000th step:
Maximus slowly opened his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Lilith noticed something different about Maximus.
“Nothing,” Maximus said as he pinched her cheeks.
“Oh,” Lilith didn’t delve further as she got away from his claw.
After killing the king, they stayed in the illusion trial for a few more years.
Maximus also took this time to bond with Isabella, making up for the past.
Fortunately, there was no more malice coming from the trial, so everything went smoothly.
…
Beside them, Ragnar and Silas looked at the two who were flirting.
“Hey, Ragnar, did you tell that kid about Lilith’s identity?” Silas asked.
They were from a tier 9 family, so more or less, they knew each other, especially because they were the most dazzling talent in their generation.
“Sigh, I secretly told Maximus about Lilith’s background, but it’s not effective,” Ragnar signed, worried for his little brother.
“Good luck to that kid passing that Amazonian,” Silas said as he shuddered, just imagining the image of Lilith’s sister.
…
In the 1,000th step:
Isabella slowly opened her eyes, as a strange energy slowly nourished her spirit.
“Amazing, I completed the mission perfectly,” Isabella muttered.
Normally, she would take her time, but that had cost her many opportunities for hidden missions before.
As seen previously, if she took her time, most of her confidants would die, making it harder to control the kingdom afterward.
These imperfections would be judged by the illusion trial.
With the perfect mission blessing, Isabella felt that she could go up another 10 steps directly.
After she finished inspecting her changes, she looked below.
“I’m finished. Who is the next one?”
“You succeeded,” they looked at Isabella meaningfully.
Originally, they were unconfident, as they nearly failed the trial in the 999th step.
But looking at Isabella still energetic like nothing happened, they wondered if this had anything to do with their husband.
“Then I’ll come next,” Luna said as she stepped up.
…
In an Apocalypse Trial Space:
“Hiss, what world is this?” Luna said as she felt her aching body.
Looking around, she was inside a ruined building, with a bunch of undead walking around.
[Kill 10,000 Undead, 10 tier 1 Undead Elite, and 1 Tier 2 Undead King]
Looking at the mission, Luna first felt the surrounding magic energy.
“No Magic?” Luna muttered in shock.
“How to finish this?”
Killing 10,000 undead is still possible but for undead elite and undead king?
That was impossible.
“I guess I should quit the trial,”
Luna sighed, she had already come to terms with the fact that it would be impossible to finish the trial.
By quitting voluntarily, she can minimize the punishment compared to dying in the trial.
Just as she was about to quit, a rustling sound came from behind.
Luna subconsciously held her breath, hoping to minimize her presence.
“It’s me…” Maximus, who looked malnourished, slowly appeared.𝓞𝒱𝐞xt.𝔠𝒪𝚖
“Husband!” Luna whispered in shock.
“Shhh,” Maximus warned her not to make noise.
“How did you come here?” Luna whispered.
“Uh…” Maximus didn’t know what to say.
“It’s okay, I understand.” Seeing Maximus was reluctant to tell her, she didn’t ask further.
Luna was already satisfied that her husband was here.
“Anyway, shall we eat first?” Maximus said weakly, feeling the hunger in his body.
“But where do we get food?” Luna said, looking at the desolate place.
“Leave this to me,” Maximus said confidently.
He urged his system to scan the place for food.
In the fantasy world, this was a tasteless function of the system, as his spiritual consciousness scan is more convenient and wider.
But in this apocalypse-like world without magic, it works wonders.
“Remember to keep your footsteps quiet,” Maximus whispered.
Maximus already tested on the way here that these undead are particularly sensitive to sound.
As for the smell, it was not a problem, as their bodies smelled almost the same as the undead.
They walked for almost an hour, avoiding and distracting the undeads.
For these, Maximus even purchased Anti-tracking Knowledge.
[Anti-tracking Tier 0: Transcendent(max)]
Of course, this is only for ordinary zombies.
For elite (Tier 1) or king (Tier 2) zombies, he can only depend on the system scanning and avoid them.
…
In the small abandoned store:
“Is there really food here?” Luna asked, looking at the dilapidated store.
If it were not for the garbage packaging, Luna would not even know that it’s a store.
“Just trust me,” Maximus said, without saying anything, proceeding to enter.
There wasn’t any danger inside, so they entered smoothly.
Soon, they came to a hidden compartment that looked like an air vent.
After crawling for a few minutes, they came into a wide warehouse.
“So much,” Luna muttered, looking at the complete selection of food and utensils.
Based on the surroundings, it’s been a few months since the outbreak of the apocalypse, so seeing these things still preserved and complete is shocking.
“The original entrance should be destroyed, making it hidden,” Maximus concluded as he saw the entrance buried with the building beside it.
“Yeah, now we have enough food. How do you plan to complete the mission?” Luna asked as she looked at him.
“Let’s eat first,” Maximus said as he took out some self-cooking instant food.
After a few minutes, the food quickly heated.
“Can you tell me now?” Luna asked as she ate.
She was really curious, seeing how confident her husband was to complete the mission.
You know, killing a Tier 1 and Tier 2 undead in their state is impossible.
“You should have become proficient as a Melodic Battle Dancer, right?”
“Yes, but I needed a qualified Conductor. Without Livia, it’s useless.”
Melodic Battle Dancer is one of the battle modes of the Musician Profession.
As for the other battle mode, it’s Melodic Battle Conductor.
Luna and her twin sister, Livia, have Divine Talent in Music.
After comparison, Luna is more suitable for frontal battle while Livia is the conductor.
“Don’t worry, there is me,” Maximus confidently patted his chest.
“Are you sure?” Luna asked doubtfully.
“Of course, your husband is omnipotent,” Maximus said, looking at his system points that bolstered his confidence.
[Life Points: 512,432]
[Potential points: 24,277,888]
During his ascent in the trial, he used more than a million life points, leaving only about five hundred thousand life points.
First, he upgraded his Music talent.
[Music Comprehension: Trash (0/1)]
[+1,111,111 Potential Points]
[Music Comprehension: Divine (0/10 million)]
Then he bought specific knowledge about the conductor, using a mortal piano for fighting undead monsters from Tier 0 to Tier 2.
[Conductor Symphony (Undead Edition): Initial (1/10 million)]
[+258,334 LP = 310 million]
[Conductor Symphony (Undead Edition): Transcendent (max)]
…
A few hours later…
In the hidden building, Maximus sat down across a worn-out piano as Luna stood beside holding a machete.
“Are you sure you can play?” Luna asked once more.
Earlier, they rummaged through the stock of resources and found a worn-out piano, and after tinkering, it was barely playable.
“Don’t worry, watch me conduct a symphony of killing,” Maximus grinned as he stretched his hands.
Music is the manipulation of sounds, even without magic, it can affect anyone who can hear sounds.
Of course, to be effective against higher opponents, you need to know precisely their minute changes.
Without mana, Maximus needed more detailed information than normal.
Fortunately, with transcendent mastery, it’s quite easy.
“Let’s start,” Maximus said excitedly.
“Fine,” Luna didn’t say anything more as she jumped outside the building.
Maximus had already scanned the area; there were no elite or king zombies within a few miles.
Pluck*
The tone vibrated at a weird frequency, catching the attention of the undeads.
Thud*
With another note, the undead slowly made their way to Luna.
“Huh? It’s quite amazing,” Luna muttered as she saw the zombies, like puppets, coming to her.
Thump*
A strange frequency coursed through Luna, to which she responded with a clever twist, making the frequency boost her strength.
Tick*
With another note, the frequency changed as Luna waved her machete in the air.
Slash*
A wave made of sound cut through the blood vessels controlling the undead, which made them freeze and fall.
“Amazing! What a precise melody,” Luna couldn’t help but praise.
This sound can damage the microcapillaries of the undead precisely, which is like a miracle.
Without knowing the minute details of the undead and anticipating their movement, this sound would only be a harmless play.
Ting*
Tick*
Waves of symphony began to play as a bunch of undead came to their places like dancing puppets.
With Luna harvesting them like a dancing fairy…