The journey to Iron Reef was uneventful.
The greatest danger was the energy of the neon storms in the clouds, but with the Zerphyr-7 already mapping out the perfect route to the capital city of the Freegrid Collective and updating it real-ti in response to any atmospheric changes, the danger was relatively nonexistent.
Besides, unlike when Leon made his journey to Leviathan Quay as an E Rank chanist, the situation was completely different now.
Very few Neon Beasts dared to glide at this altitude, those that did were mostly D Rank Neon Beasts.
But even if so of them hid in the clouds, they simply didn’t have the ability to detect the presence of the stealth aircraft.
And while they couldn’t see it, the Zerphyr-7’s systems were powerful enough to pick them from long distances, adding their presence to its calculations to adjust and tweak the perfect and safest route to Iron Reef.
Besides, even if they ran into a phenona as destructive as a sudden nanite storm, there would still be no danger because the Zerphyr-7’s top speed was rapid enough to outrun a nanite storm.
Leon was safest gliding inside the Zerphyr-7.
Compared to his days of desperately evading a nanite storm with the Karaki CT-3X superbike, he was a different chanist now.
And in this safe haven, Leon took his ti to bond with Tyla and Daren again after more than a month of being separated from them.
"Tell about your own Trial first".
When Leon requested it, Daren didn’t argue as he put on a reminiscing look. "I never expected it but honestly, my first Trial was one of the most enjoyable and most straightforward military deploynts of my life".
’Huh?’ Leon blinked. ’Best, enjoynt, since when did Trials beco remotely associated with these 2 terms?’
He had a bad premonition.
Even before Daren said it, Leon could already tell that Daren’s recounting of his experience in his first Ascended Trial was going to leave him feeling hard-done by his own Trial experiences.
Well, he was right as Daren started.
"I don’t think Trials are always connected to the past like people think," Daren leaned back on the chair. "Unlike your first Trial and the boss’s Trial, my Trial was not connected to any period of history".
His face turned weird. "I think my Trial was actually modeled after the Category 3 Beast Tide that we survived in Leviathan Quay".
"I took on the identity of a soldier defending a well-fortified outpost alongside allies. We called ourselves the Grayscale Army, and the crazy thing was that my identity in the Trial had far more power than the original ".
He looked at Leon, then Tyla. "You won’t believe it but I think that identity of mine was even stronger than the current as an E Rank Cyber Gladiator".
His face turned even weirder. "Though I didn’t have access to any new abilities, I feel like my identity in the Trial was that of a D Rank Ascended".
"..." Leon blinked in surprise.
This was his first ti hearing of such a weird Ascended Trial. He didn’t interrupt Daren though as he listened attentively, he felt that he may likely learn more about the general nature of Ascended Trial today.
Daren continued. "Well, the Trial objective was to defend the outpost from a Category 4 Beast Tide for 24 hours".
"Category 4 what???" Leon’s eyes widened. "You an a Beast Tide that’s led by C Rank Neon Beasts?"
Daren nodded with a grin.
"And you call that simple?!" Leon exclaid. "Is this so sick joke? How did you survive?!"
Daren grinned. "I won’t lie, it was honestly the craziest experience of my life and also the most morable one".
"The whole Trial still feels like a blur to even though more than a month already passed since then".
"Before you think I’m lying, I didn’t fight against the C Rank Neon Beast myself," he chuckled. "I would have died if that was the Trial objective".
"Luckily for , there were C Rank Ascended fighting on the side of the Grayscale Army".
"Not just C Rank Ascended, we also had powerful warships and war machines fighting for the Grayscale Army. Together, they bombarded the endless tide of Neon Beasts".
"It’s the most violent siege that I’ve ever participated in".
"Alongside my war buddies in the Trial, all I had to do was hold the fort of the military outpost against the weaker Neon Beasts that slipped through the net and even then, it was crazy and exciting at the sa ti".
"For 24 hours, I indulged myself in the greatest battle of my life and before I knew it, the ti was up and the Trial was over".
Daren grinned. "I still can’t forget it, I doubt I’ll ever forget the experience".
"Grayscale Army?" Leon mumbled in a daze. "I’ve never heard of such an army in the history of Neo-Tokara".
He snorted. "This your Trial was really made up on a whim. F*ck, it’s so basic compared to mine!" He complained.
Daren chuckled as he looked at him. "As for the abilities that I unlocked as an E Rank Cyber Gladiator, you should know all of it by now".
"My Neural Core has synchronized fully with my internal actuators, giving passive boosts when using any chanist construct".
"Also, I can now actively redirect ADE flow to my head, limbs, or any part of my both in real ti to increase defensive solidity or offensive power".
"Of the 4 new abilities that I unlocked, Pulse Dash grants a short kinetic propulsion burst, Overdrive Mode increases my speed and damage, Servo Reflex doubles my reaction speed, while Auto-Recoil Compensation stabilizes my aim and motion mid-combat".
"In essence, hehe," Daren grinned with pride as he looked at Leon in a challenging manner. "Without your constructs, in a 1v1 battle, you can’t beat ".
"I agree". Leon didn’t even try to argue, leaving Daren dumbfounded.
Seeing his friend’s reaction, Leon chuckled.
While Leon chuckled, hearing Daren brag, Tyla felt a bit envious as she stared at him. She also wanted to beco an E Rank Ascended, she was impatient and could not wait to ask Leon for guidance.
But before that, Leon leaned back on the makeshift chair where he sat and grinned. "Well, congratulations on your successful Trial, but you think you’re powerful now? Wait till you hear about my current power". He chuckled.
Few minutes later, silence reigned in the aircraft once Leon was done explaining his current power and the events that happened in his Trial.
"..."
"..."
"....."
Tyla and Daren stared in a daze.
Daren looked at Leon incredulously. "You actually went head-to-head against C Rank Ascended in your Trial and survived to tell the tale?"
He shuddered. "Are all D Rank Ascended Trials that crazy???"
Thinking of his own future Trial, Daren no longer felt confident as he could not help the sudden fear that gripped him. ’How in the world am I supposed to survive sothing like that???’
Tyla mumbled in an incredulous voice. "To think your Trial actually dabbled in the events leading to the rise of the Glitch, that’s a legend!" Her eyes twinkled. "But surely, it can’t be real right? It’s just a simulation".
Daren nodded. "It’s impossible for events in Trials to be real or the implications would be too far-reaching, but still, what Leon did is incredible".
Hearing Daren and Tyla’s conclusion, Leon didn’t try to correct them. Afterall, the ChronoSystem was the one secret that he was adamant in keeping secret till he found all the answers that he was looking for.
Feeling deflated, Daren leaned on the chair and sighed.
Thinking about Leon’s explanation of his abilities and current constructs impressed him so much that he suddenly felt like his current E Rank Cyber Gladiator powers no longer looked as impressive.
"That’s not even fair," he mumbled in an incredulous tone again, then he stared at Leon numbly. "Doesn’t that make you an army? A one-man army".
Leon shrugged, shaless as usual. "That’s why you ought to put so respect on na!" He grinned.
Daren couldn’t even retort this ti, Tyla too.
But then, Daren smiled again. "Fortunately, we’re friends!"
Noting the silence after Daren’s last comnt, Tyla no longer hesitated as she looked at Leon and asked expectantly. "Do you think I’m ready for my first Ascended Trial?"
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