Chapter 319: Groupchat, Challengers
A few more years passed in Cedric's trials...
His progress consistently increased; he could now fight against Master Ye for 15 hours straight, and he could also endure staying at the Pit of the Abyss for more than 16 hours. As for his progress with the Nameless Sword Technique...
Swoosh!
That's what he's focused on right now. He's on the verge of mastering the 7th move, meaning that he has already climbed the 7th mountain on the trial of his mind.
Sure enough, the farther he goes in his practice, the harder it becomes. Although the Nameless Sword Technique looked extremely ordinary and basic on the surface, it's actually very difficult to learn and do properly. Cedric can't rely on his luck to enter the state of enlightenment again. That state isn't something that will come just because one wishes for it to happen to them.
Cedric actually had to pause in between as he comprehended the Nameless Sword Technique. He couldn't do it in a single go anymore because the state of enlightenment eluded him. He has to learn it manually and practice it on his own. Only after perfecting the last move is he able to move on to the next mountain.
Beep!
Cedric suddenly heard an alert coming from the system. He glanced at it briefly and saw that it was coming from a rather unimportant function of the system, so he chose to ignore it and focus on his practice instead.
Beep! Beep!
He snorted after hearing two consecutive alerts again. He muted the notifications to prevent himself from being disturbed by his practice, then he dismissed the system and focused.
Without any distractions, he was able to immerse himself in his training. Hours passed just like this; it's only when he felt strained all over his body did he stop and soak in the spiritual lake to rest.
Summoning the system interface again, his eyes nearly bulged upon seeing at least 99+ chat alerts waiting for him to check. A wry smile appeared on his face as he muttered,
"Gosh, they're being noisy again."
Since he's resting anyway, he decided to check it out...
**
[41st Lobby Groupchat]
[Howler]: ...and then bam! I eviscerated him! Ha! You should've seen his face after I did that!
[Backpack Fatty]: Ooooo! Amazing! Amazing!
[Howler]: Oh, hush you! You're making this brother blush!
[Eunuch Wei]: Gross.
[Howler]: Shut it, dickless!
[Eunuch Wei]: FUCK YOU!?
[Backpack Fatty]: HAHAHAHAHAHA
[Morning Wood]: Truth hurts, Eunuch Wei.
[Moss Lady]: scoffs Boys...
[Hermit]: You brats are fucking loud. Quit it.
Experience adventure on m-vl-em|p-yr
[Howler]: You can mute the chat, old man. Just like Dawnbringer did. It's not that hard.
[Backpack Fatty]: Yeah! What he says!
[Morning Wood]: Yeah, Dawnbringer did that.
[Dawnbringer]: Yeah, I did.
[Howler]: speak of the god damn devil.
[Backpack Fatty]: hey, Dawnbringer!
[Moss Lady]: hey, handsome!
[Hawkeye]: OMG! Hi, hello! Long time no chat, Dawnbringer!
[Morning Wood]: Hi!
[Dawnbringer]: Hey, everyone. Sorry, I have been a bit busy lately.
[Howler]: damn it! Even in the chat, he's handsome! This brother is envious.
[Eunuch Wei]: more like hairy and gross, but sure, whatever you say.
[Howler]: Shut up, penisless. Your opinions are invalid if you don't have balls!
[Backpack Fatty]: AHAHWHSHAKSKDHSJS
[Morning Wood]: penisless AHWUAHEHAHAJAHAHAJA
[Eunuch Wei]: Howler, you and me, outside. Let's fight.
[Howler]: You're on, sackless! I'll fuck you up!
**
Cedric chuckled as he read the war of words going on between Eunuch Wei and Howler.
"The chat is always lively when these two are online."
Truthfully, Cedric never expected that there would be a group chat here. It's so refreshingly familiar, and it helped him stave off the loneliness he felt. Even the way others used it was very familiar to him.
Cedric was added to the chat during his trials. The system informed him that since he's able to join, he's able to reach the halfway point of his trials. Apparently, that's a requirement.
Of course, he was greeted very warmly by his fellow challengers. And much like in his home, the chat allowed other challengers to display their colorful personalities that are, otherwise, unseen on the surface.
With the time he spent inside the tower, he has already met all of his fellow challengers once or twice.
Howler, the Werewolf, Backpack Fatty of the Mountain Giant, and Moss Lady of the Pixie Race were the ones he saw the most.
[Eunuch Wei] is from the Holy Angel Clan. He's the one that closely resembles a human if you remove his three pairs of wings, and that golden halo hovering above his head. Despite his rather elegant and sacred appearance, Eunuch Wei has a potty mouth and rash behavior.
As for his 'Eunuch' title, that concerns something about his clan's traditions. Something that Cedric obviously couldn't pry too much. Howler was the least shy about using it as ammunition.
[Morning Wood] is a Forest Ent. He and the Moss Lady are actually from the same realm. He's a sentient tree that has an expressive face on the trunk of his body. The reason behind his nickname was because his power is at its strongest during the daytime—at least that's what he says.
Backpack Fatty says that the story is more obsence and has something to do with that stiff branch that grew on the lower half of Morning Wood's body. The placement was rather 'coincidental' too, making it look like it's always up for action.
[Hermit] was a gnome—a race of underground creatures that hated the sun for some reason. They're one of the few races that could dig deep into the core of their world and make full use of it. Seriously, they are extremely talented in their craft. The only downside about them is that, for some reason, they're unable to live on the surface of their world. Making them a very elusive race.
This gnome in particular has a foul temper. He dislikes social interactions the most. In addition, he also disliked looking up to creatures that were bigger than him, which roughly refers to everyone else since gnomes are tiny creatures. If it weren't for the tower's considerate system, people could've easily stepped on Hermit since he's only big enough to fit one's palms.
[Hawkeye] is from the Harpy Clan; her world is actually connected to Howler's. She's a pretty naive and innocent girl on the surface, but she's an extremely terrifying hunter. Moss Lady accidentally revealed that she's apparently the youngest princess in her clan.
Cedric became closer to all of these people, especially after joining the chat. And yes, this includes Hermit, despite his snobby attitude.
Of course, Cedric's relationship with them hasn't gone to the point where he'd just casually reveal things about himself and his world. At most, he told them about himself and the state of his world, but he never went into detail.
His closeness with them was mainly caused by the trades he made with them.
Progress-wise, Cedric is at the bottom of the list, and it's mostly because he's new here.
Howler, Backpack Fatty, and Moss Lady reached the 4th stage of their trials. Hawkeye and Morning Wood are at the 5th, Eunuch Wei is at the 6th, and Hermit is at the 8th stage of his trials.
Yep, that foul-mouthed and snobby gnome is that fierce. He might only be palm-sized in actuality, but he's extremely resourceful. He could make all sorts of things that could help him progress at blistering speed at the tower.
What's even more surprising is that he wasn't the first one to arrive here. It's Eunuch Wei.
Actually, Eunuch Wei could've progressed much faster too. Unfortunately, his mentality is far inferior to others. He couldn't stand long periods of seclusion. He couldn't endure the loneliness and often left the tower to return to his world. It's a pity because the Holy Angel Clan is far more gifted compared to the Gnomes.
Cedric was told that his progress was actually fast. They said that they were expecting him to join this chat soon, but certainly not that fast. Even Hermit himself said that his mentality was far more stable and his willpower was sharper compared to Eunuch Wei.
Morning Wood, Howler, and Backpack Fatty often tease him with the ladies, saying that his appearance and scholarly aura were fatal to them. They would often say that Moss Lady and Hawkeye daydreamed about him most of the time.
Of course, Cedric never took this seriously. Moss Lady already discovered that he's in a committed relationship, which surprised him at first, but he later just accepted it for what it is.
This isn't to say that Cedric didn't find them attractive. Sure, they look different, but it's not about that. It's about being faithful since his girls trusted him to not do anything behind their backs.
Cedric continued paying attention to the chat, chuckling and saying something every now and then to participate. He mostly enjoyed Howler and Eunuch Wei going after each other's throats with words.
It's all good fun, though. They don't actually hate each other. If anything, Howler and Eunuch Wei have the closest friendship here compared to the rest.
Once he's well rested, though, Cedric muted the chat and threw himself into training once more.
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