Chapter 1 The Martial Challenge

Suren's expression didn't change much as he heard that he had passed the brave warrior challenge.

Having witnessed the Cyclops' methods, he knew he had a good chance of winning when he heard what the challenge was.

After all, whether it was dragons or giants, Suren was unlikely to encounter any opponents in the same tier.

He dismissed the sky full of gargoyle puppets, and the giant Boda walked out of the quagmire-like gravity field.

The strong are always respected. After the victory, the Cyclops all cast approving glances at Suren.

Gagagahr also said to Suren, "Your strength has been recognized by our Cyclops. You can go to the village now. The chieftain will give you the second trial of 'Wisdom.' If you pass both the brave warrior and wisdom trials, you will be qualified to use the Mimir Spring.”

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, which was mostly covered by his single eye: "As far as I know, you are only the second human to pass the brave warrior challenge in ten thousand years."

Suren listened and politely returned the greeting: "Thank you, Mr. Gagagahr."

At the same time, he was also curious and asked: "May I ask, has anyone completed the challenge before?"

Gagagahr didn't mind saying a few more words and replied: "A thousand years ago, a powerful alchemist also came to the island. He completed the heroic challenge."

"An alchemist from a thousand years ago?"

Hearing this timeline, Suren suddenly thought of something.

That era was the time of a very famous figure.

He asked back: "Was he an... arcanist who could control fate?"

Gagagahr's large eye showed a hint of surprise: "Yes. It seems you have heard of that strongman. Oh, of course, such a powerful alchemist should also be a top expert among you humans."

Hearing this, Suren knew who he was talking about.

He just didn't expect that Sir Isaac, the Alchemic Demigod, had actually come to Giant Island himself a thousand years ago.

He asked curiously, "Did that gentleman complete all the challenges?"

Gagagahr: "Yes. He completed all the challenges and finally went to the Mimir Spring, where he obtained the ability regarding the 'future'."

"I see..."

Hearing this, Suren's expression was slightly dazed.

But he was also a little puzzled.

He knew that Sir Isaac was a gifted person of 【s-003-Fate Controller】 and already had the ability to foresee.

But obtaining the 'future' from the spring, what was that?

Suren wanted to find out more information to increase his chances, so he tentatively asked, "Excuse me, Mr. Giant, isn't the Mimir Spring a spring of wisdom? Why does it give people the ability of the 'future'?"

"No, not entirely."

Gagagahr shook his head, indicating that this statement was not accurate.

After a pause, he explained: "The spring contains all the 'wisdom' in the world, which may not be the same as what ordinary people understand as wisdom. It does not directly grant you the wisdom you don't have, but inspires what you already have. You only get what you can understand from the spring. We giants have a saying: How big your container is determines how much spring water you can take."

"This..."

Suren listened thoughtfully and wanted to inquire further.

The old Cyclops seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile: "I don't know more either. You should go to the village quickly. I think highly of you. Maybe you can complete the second test and see the secrets of the spring for yourself."

Since he said so, Suren couldn't ask any more questions and responded: "Thank you for your guidance."

Suren didn't rush to the giant village. He turned around and walked back to the Dawn Mercenary Group.

Looking at Mr. Black, who looked thoughtful, he asked, "Mr. Black, how is it?"

Mr. Black's expression was as calm as ever, and he replied with his famous fifty-fifty saying: "Before the outcome is decided, it's a fifty-fifty chance for each side."

Hearing this, Suren knew that he didn't need to worry too much.

Mr. Black's insight was no weaker than anyone else's. If he had the confidence to say it was fifty-fifty, then he must have had a certain amount of confidence.

Even if he couldn't challenge the seventh-tier Cyclops like Boda before, it would probably be fine to face a regular Cyclops of the same tier.

Suren didn't remind him any further: "Okay. Then I'll go first."

Mr. Black smiled slightly.

Everyone also said: "Mr. Suren, please be careful."

The first trial was already life-threatening, and no one could say what the second trial would be like.

Suren nodded.

He walked unhurriedly into the giant village on the island. Before long, the sounds of fighting rang out again on the coast.

Mr. Black faced a seventh-tier Cyclops, and the two fought fiercely.

Suren glanced a few times out of the corner of his eye and didn't look any further.

Although Mr. Black didn't have overwhelming methods like the puppet army, nor did he have a trump card like Death Flame that could quickly end the battle, he was as steady as ever.

The Cyclops' fighting style was the ultimate "one force overcomes all," and he was the ultimate "using skill to break force."

It was really hard to say who would win.

The advantage of Mr. Black's fighting style was that he always used the least amount of energy consumption and the most accurate judgment to wear down his opponent.

This allowed him to avoid defeat even when facing opponents much stronger than himself.

But the disadvantage was that he had no room for error.

Any slight mistake could immediately determine the outcome.

The Cyclops' stamina was extremely abundant, far exceeding that of humans. Blood-grinding was a nightmare for most people.

But Mr. Black wouldn't make mistakes, so this kind of battle was destined to be undecided in a short period from the beginning.

Suren walked towards the village. Along the way, the adult giants who were transporting stone bars curiously stared at him with their big eyes that took up half of their heads, seemingly very curious about this weak human who could defeat Boda.

Suren arrived at the village entrance, passed through the hundred-meter-high dilapidated wall, and asked the giants watching the battle, "Greetings, giant sirs. Mr. Gagagahr guided me here. May I ask where I can visit your noble chieftain?"

The giants looked quite friendly. One of them pointed to the largest stone house in the village, "That's it."

"Thank you."

Suren nodded and walked straight towards the house.

The house, which looked like a castle, was not closed, but he still stopped at the door and asked, "Chieftain, this is Suren, here to challenge the second trial to obtain the spring water."

An old voice came from the house in response: "Come in."

Suren responded and walked in. Only then did he see a white-haired giant in the house, estimated to be more than thirty meters tall.

But he was not as burly as other giants, but rather as thin as a bamboo pole, wearing a brown animal skin suit and a dragon tooth necklace around his neck.

Although thin, his single eye gave people a feeling of wisdom.

This was Morey, the chieftain of the Cyclops.

When Suren came in, his eyes had already scanned the entire house.

It looked like a wizard's house, filled with herbs and bottles and jars.

Only the size of everything was dozens of times larger.

What surprised Suren was that he saw the chieftain Morey flipping through a stone... book?

This also changed his impression of the Cyclops.

Their civilization was not as primitive as it seemed, but had a written inheritance.

Due to the upward angle, Suren couldn't tell what he was reading.

At this time, Chief Morey lowered his head, pointed to the position opposite him, and said: "Welcome, young human friend. If you don't mind, you can come to the table."

Suren was not restrained and jumped onto the tens of meters high stone table.

On the table was a whale oil lamp as tall as him, and the light from the burning oil was slightly dim but had a faint fragrance.

From Suren's angle, he was just opposite the old giant and saw the stone book.

To be precise, the book was made of stone slabs carved with strange characters.

Suren tried to understand what the words were written, but he always felt as if he had seen them, but the content of the words could not be remembered in his mind.

Just in this moment of trance, he knew that there was something wrong with these words.

He quickly used the Eye of Omniscience to appraise it.

【Rune Stone Slab】

Detailed explanation: This is a special text containing the laws of heaven and earth. It is a symbol engraved by the ancient giant gods to record the high-level laws of the earth. You can understand it as a written form of the original rune, which itself hides the secret of the laws of the earth.

"Written form of the original rune?"

Suren was slightly shocked.

No wonder he felt a little familiar.

He once obtained the 【Imitation Original Rune】, his fourth-tier advancement material, in the giant ruins of the Cursing Valley. That advancement also allowed him to gradually peek into the secrets of the universe's runes and had a crucial impact on his career path.

He didn't expect to see something similar here again?

This was just a stone slab, but the entire room had hundreds of stone slabs densely packed on shelves like bookshelves.

Were these all written forms of the original runes?

Treasure...

This room of stone slabs was a treasure for those who could understand them!

No wonder the Cyclops understood the laws of the earth and power so thoroughly. In addition to their inherent bloodline talents, they also had these treasures.

The old giant keenly captured the change in Suren's expression for a moment and smiled: "Young friend, your rune attainments are very good. Ordinary people who don't understand runes will only see some crooked basic symbols."

Suren politely said: "Senior, you flatter me."

The old giant didn't say much and asked directly: "Are you ready to accept the 'Wisdom' challenge?"

Suren nodded: "Of course."

After a pause, the old giant reminded him again: "Then let me remind you again, if the challenge fails, you will lose the wisdom you have. Do you still dare to accept the challenge?"

"..."

Hearing this, Suren hesitated for a moment.

It wasn't surprising that the challenge had a price.

Just like the previous battle, lack of strength could cost him his life.

But what was this about losing wisdom?

He cautiously asked: "Senior, may I first ask what the content of the test is?"

The old giant said: "The test of wisdom is just a few questions."

The simpler it was, the more Suren felt that there was a big problem, so he asked again: "Please, what do you mean by 'losing wisdom' that you just mentioned?"

The old giant patiently replied: "You will lose your understanding of the world. This will have no impact on your life, but you may start to understand the world from scratch, like a newborn baby."

"..."

Hearing this, Suren immediately frowned.

He had come this far with great difficulty, and now he felt that he had just lifted the veil of this mysterious world, and he deeply knew the difficulty of this cognitive process.

"Losing wisdom" probably meant that all professional abilities would have to start over?

This price was no smaller than dying.

Was it worth betting so much for an external object like the 【Mimir Spring】?

When he had nothing, he would bet his life without hesitation.

But now that he seemed to have a lot, he hesitated instead.

Thoughts flashed through his mind.

Suren fell into thought.

After a moment, he calmly nodded: "Yes. I'm ready."

He knew that this challenge had already begun when the questions were asked.

It was not only a test of wisdom, but also of courage.

When he knew nothing, he would never bet his life for an external object.

But now... as a top alchemist of the planes, he would not give up the chance to glimpse the truth, no matter what.

Besides, when he couldn't make a decision, he would choose to trust his intuition.

Hearing this, the old giant showed a benevolent smile and said: "You answered more decisively than I expected."

Having bet on his fate, Suren's expression was very solemn, "Please enlighten me, senior."

The old giant didn't talk nonsense.

At this time, he turned his body back, and his bamboo pole-like long hand took out a sheepskin bag and a stone book from the bookshelf behind him.

He brought out the bag, placed it on the table, and then reached in and took out a black fruit, and asked: "The first question is a test of erudition. Do you know what this is?"

Suren's expression remained unchanged as he listened to the question, but he felt a little strange in his heart: Wasn't this a giveaway question?

The appraisal showed that it was 【A Rotten Golden Apple of Aphrodite】.

For ordinary people, this might be a legendary item that they had only heard a few words about in the classics. Even if they saw the real thing, they might not be able to recognize it.

But Suren had the Eye of Omniscience, so it was not difficult at all.

Hearing the correct answer, the old giant smiled and took out a colorful stone.

Suren replied again: "This is a 【Sun Meteorite】."

If it was just identifying things, he felt that this test was like a free gift for his talent.

However, after asking twice, the old giant seemed to have discovered something and said with a smile: "Originally, there were a few more questions, but since you have the 【Eye of Truth】, there is no need to ask any further."

"..."

Suren didn't deny it.

He suspected that the origin of his 【s-018-Eye of Omniscience】 was directly related to the 【Mimir Spring】 in this myth. He was not surprised that the old giant could see it.

The old giant didn't seem to think that this broke the rules, and still looked at the stone book with a kind face, and said: "Next, it's a test of your true wisdom."

"Please enlighten me."

Suren looked over with a look of listening attentively.

The old giant said: "It has three states: gentle as stroking the skin, soft as embracing the sky, and hard as splitting rocks. What is it?"

Since there was no time limit for answering, Suren thought for a long time, racking his brains to think about all the knowledge he had, and then cautiously replied: "Water."

He felt that there was nothing wrong with his answer.

The old giant didn't say whether it was right or wrong, and then asked: "What can devour stones, level mountains, corrode metals, push away clouds, and make young people old?"

After thinking, Suren replied again: "Time."

In this way, the two asked and answered. After asking several questions, the old giant stopped and fell silent.

After no one spoke, Suren felt a little uneasy.

Had he answered correctly or wrongly?

Recalling his answers, he felt that even if they were not completely correct, they were at least not wrong.

Suren thought for a while and asked: "Senior, did I answer the questions correctly just now?"

Unexpectedly, the old giant shook his head and said: "I don't know either. Because I am not an omniscient god, and I cannot give accurate answers. Your answer needs to be recognized by this 【Book of Trials】."

Suren was slightly surprised to hear that there were no answers?

Looking at his puzzled expression, the old giant said: "The questions just now were a test of your understanding of the world, not just having a single answer. At least if you look carefully, you will find that there is definitely more than one thing in the world that fits the answer to the riddle. There are many, even countless."

"..."

Suren was a little confused. Since there was no accurate answer, how could it be considered a pass?

He vaguely felt that there was another layer of meaning in this test.

However, the next question made him embarrassed.

At this time, the old giant said again: "This is the last question."

As he spoke, he pointed to the oil lamp in front of him and said: "What do you see?"

"..."

Suren frowned, he saw 【An Ordinary Whale Oil Lamp】.

No matter how he looked at it, it was an oil lamp.

Recalling what the old giant said before, he immediately realized that this was not a cognitive problem, but a philosophical one.

He had already given a reminder before.

No, to be precise, the previous questions had hinted at the direction of the answer little by little.

The answer was not necessarily what it was, but only in your understanding of the world.

What you see and understand is what you answer.

No matter what the truth of the world is, the world in your eyes is the real world you think it is.

This was an open-ended question with no accurate or unique answer!

The room was dark, with only the oil lamp illuminating a corner, and he could see what the light illuminated.

In his eyes were stone books, tables, people, shadows, and wisps of smoke...

Seeing this, Suren fell into a long period of contemplation.

The old giant didn't bother him and began to read the stone book on his own, seemingly not in a hurry to get an answer.

Seeing this, Suren knew that this last question was crucial.

So he frowned and thought hard, thinking of countless answers in his mind, but he felt that something was wrong.

On the contrary, this caution made him feel that his thoughts were becoming more and more chaotic.

"No! The answer to the question must be in what I see..."

Suren stripped away all emotions, and his expression became cold and numb, as if the world in his eyes had become cold as well.

Seeing his state, the old giant glanced sideways, as if he had thought of something, and there was a hint of emotion in his brow.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to Suren's mind.

Besides the light, there was more darkness!

And everything hidden in the darkness!

Just because it was not seen, it didn't mean it didn't exist.

It was just that his own cognition didn't feel the existence of darkness.

Finally, after thinking for a quarter of an hour, Suren finally said: "Truth is after the appearance."

Hearing this answer, the old giant looked over, "Oh?"

Suren continued: "We originally lived in darkness. In order to pursue the truth and see the world clearly, we lit candles and chased the light. But we became more and more obsessed with the light, and only saw the light in our eyes, forgetting that we were still in the darkness. As a result, we lost ourselves in the light..."

As soon as these words came out, the old giant's expression gradually showed a smile: "What an incredible insight."

What was amazing was that Suren's answer seemed to have been recognized by a mysterious force, and a brilliant light suddenly lit up on the stone book.

Seeing this, the old giant smiled: "If you are not aware of this, even if 'truth' is in front of you, you will not be able to see it."

After a pause, he solemnly said: "Congratulations, you have obtained the qualification to glimpse the truth."

Hearing these words, Suren at this moment had not yet come out of that extremely calm state of mind, and his expression was neither happy nor sad.

But it seemed that a certain thought in his heart suddenly became clear.

This "Trial of Wisdom" was a test, but also a guide.

Guiding people to glimpse the truth hidden under the appearance of all things!