Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 289: Rankings (1)

Zelina’s smile widened when she saw the participants gawking at her. But as much as she enjoyed their expression, she had a job to do there.

"I see that my appearance has stirred quite a reaction. Fear not, for my beauty is here to stay. All of you should be concerned about surviving rather than giving in to your desires so early in the Game."

Adrian cleared his throat, focusing on her words rather than her appearance. He glanced around, noting that some of the other participants were also snapping out of their initial daze.

Zelina gestured towards a large archway at the far end of the room, through which a faint, eerie glow emanated.

"Beyond this archway lies your first and only trial to enter the tower," she informed the crowd. "The trial won’t be easy, as it is the only challenge you’ll face. But I hope to see you on the other side."

With that, Seraphina’s form began to shimmer and fade, as she said her parting words, "Good luck, brave souls. May the tower be kind to you."

Adrian looked around at his fellow participants. Some were stretching, checking their gear, or talking in hushed tones. He didn’t know what waited for him on the other side. But excitement still filled him, nonetheless. It was a new adventure, after all.

Adrian took a deep breath and stepped through the archway. As soon as he crossed the portal, the world around him changed. He found himself standing in the middle of a vast desert.

The sun blazed high in the sky, casting shadows on the dunes. The air was dry and hot, making each breath feel like an effort. Suddenly, a holographic message appeared before him, hovering in mid-air.

[Quest: Extermination.

Objective: Eliminate 10,000 monsters in the desert.

Completion Rewards: Progress to the next level of the tower.

Failure: Expulsion from the tower or death.]

"One needs to kill ten thousand monsters?" Adrian smiled at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Ten thousand monsters seemed like an enormous number, but for him, it was a simple task. He tightened his grip on his dagger, for it would play the role of an MVP in the round.

He scanned the horizon, looking for any signs of movement. The desert seemed empty at first glance, but he knew better than to trust appearances.

As Adrian started walking, it wasn’t long before he saw the first signs of life. In the distance, a group of creatures emerged from behind a dune. They were small, scaly, and fast, moving towards him with surprising speed.

"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Time to get to work."

The first wave of monsters was upon him, and he swung his blade, cutting through the nearest creature with ease. It disintegrated into a puff of dust, leaving nothing behind.

[Quest Progress: 1/10,000 monsters hunted.]

’As I thought, there’ll be no organ drops here.’

For a moment, Adrian thought he would have a buffet of organs to play with. But the tower clarified that wasn’t going to happen. Besides, Adrian had other problems to worry about.

The surrounding desert seemed to come alive, and more monsters appeared from all directions. But instead of facing them, Adrian made a run for it, going in circles as the creatures gathered together as a horde.

Killing the monsters one at a time would turn into a chore, and he wanted to climb the tower and catch up to the first generation of climbers ASAP. The only way to do that was to clear the trial as quickly as possible and that’s what Adrian planned to do.

While running away, Adrian slashed his forearm to let his blood flow. Once done, he activated [Blood Mist] and the mist floated towards the monsters chasing him. A moment later, the count shot up as Adrian instantly killed hundreds of monsters.

[Quest Progress: 472/10,000 monsters hunted.]

[Quest Progress: 1,232/10,000 monsters hunted.]

[Quest Progress: 2,437/10,000 monsters hunted.]

The count kept rising as the monsters kept chasing him. It took ten minutes for Adrian to clear over 90% of the beasts that way.

[Quest Progress: 9,482/10,000 monsters hunted.]

Unfortunately, the rest of the creatures seemed immune to poison. It wasn’t surprising that the rest of the creatures seemed immune to poison since they were in a desert, and he was surprised that he killed so many of them.

’Let’s do this the old way.’

<And it’ll be a great way for Master to practise his skills.>

’That’s true.’

[Activating Beast Form.]

***

Zelina sank deeper into the massive bath, the warm water soothing her tired muscles. The bath was luxurious, surrounded by marble columns and filled with fragrant oils and flower petals.

Obviously, her private bath wasn’t a part of the tower. But as an administrator, she could play around for a bit and it wasn’t like anyone would be disturbing her.

She closed her eyes, letting the stress of her duties melt away. As she relaxed, she thought about the new trial participants.

"It will take days, if not weeks, for someone to clear that quest," she mumbled to herself, smiling. "Ten thousand monsters... it’s almost impossible. But since they asked me to do it, I couldn’t refuse."

However, as she was about to drift to sleep, the portal nearby flared up. Zelina’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up, water sloshing around her as her eyes widened.

"It’s barely been over an hour and someone already cleared the trial?" Zelina mumbled in disbelief.

A moment later, Adrian stepped out of the portal. A moment later, Adrian emerged from the portal, his entire body covered in monster blood, his clothes stained, and his hair matted. Yet, despite the gruesome appearance, there wasn’t a scratch on him. Zelina stared in shock, her mouth slightly agape.

"Impossible," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"So... what’s next?" Adrian asked nonchalantly.

"You... you cleared the quest?" Zelina asked, regaining her composure, her eyes narrowing as she studied him. "In such a short time?"

Adrian nodded, wiping some of the blood from his face. Zelina couldn’t help but feel impressed. She stood up from the bath, giving Adrian a complete view of her beauty as reached for a towel. But to her dismay, Adrian didn’t even bat an eye and remained indifferent.

’What an interesting mortal. Ignoring something, even the entities couldn’t help to gawk at,’ Zelina thought, gesturing for Adrian to follow her.