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Stonehaven’s Level 50 Trial: Special Hard

Yesterday, a collapse occurred behind a remote village, revealing a mysterious cave hidden beneath the earth. While exploring it, the villagers discovered a strange blue wine jar. Driven by curiosity, they opened it, unknowingly releasing the soul of a Mythic Beast-level creature, the Twin-Winged Ice Owl.

The powerful aura of the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul quickly attracted the attention of the Soul Vase Ghost from Black Ghost Peak, a monster that feeds on and collects powerful souls. The Soul Vase Ghost is now preparing to slaughter the village and seize the Mythic Beast’s soul.

Trial Objective: Reach the village and kill the Soul Vase Ghost within three hours.

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"No way..."

Marcus stared at the mission description displayed on the Great Bell, his eyes widening. Only moments ago he had been full of confidence, and now he felt like coughing up blood. Out of all possible outcomes, he had actually rolled the three-percent Special Hard trial.

And what kind of mission was this? A Mythic Beast’s soul. A monster called the Soul Vase Ghost. Just from the names alone, he could already tell this wasn’t going to be some ordinary trial. This was ridiculous. Even with forty-five points in Luck, he still managed to end up with the worst possible difficulty. Sometimes life really wasn’t fair.

"Elder Lonely, is there any chance I can switch missions?" Marcus asked hopefully. "Maybe let me ring the bell one more time?" He put on his most pitiful expression. After all, he was the first player to reach this stage. Surely that counted for something.

Unfortunately, Lonely Bell remained unmoved. "Stonehaven, trials cannot be changed." His answer was immediate and absolute. Then he raised a finger and pointed toward the upper corner of the mission screen. "Also, your countdown has already begun. The trial officially started the moment the mission appeared."

Marcus looked up. Sure enough, a timer was already ticking down.

"...Just my luck."

He sighed and prepared to take out Silas the Wanderer’s map. If complaining wouldn’t help, he might as well start figuring out where this village was. Before he could do that, however, Lonely Bell looked at him curiously. "Stonehaven, what is your Luck attribute?"

Marcus hesitated. "Average, I guess." As he answered, he secretly glanced at his character panel.

Luck: 45

The number made him feel slightly embarrassed. Forty-five points of Luck, and he couldn’t even roll the ten-percent Easy trial. That was hard to explain.

"Average?" Lonely Bell frowned. "That doesn’t sound right. Based on this result, your Luck should be at least thirty."

"Why?" Marcus immediately became interested.

Fortunately, Lonely Bell seemed willing to explain. "Stonehaven, while Special Hard is officially listed as having a three-percent appearance rate, that’s only the surface-level probability." He paused briefly. "In reality, its true appearance rate is below one percent. At least during the last hundred years, no one has successfully drawn a Special Hard trial." His eyes settled on Marcus. "And yet you obtained one on your first attempt. That means your Luck must be extraordinarily high. Otherwise, the odds would be nearly impossible."

Marcus blinked, then blinked again. The more he listened, the more confused he became. "Elder Lonely, are you saying that higher Luck actually increases the chance of receiving a Special Hard trial?"

"That’s correct." Lonely Bell nodded. "For most people, Medium and Hard are the most common results. Easy is relatively rare and generally considered fortunate. But Special Hard is different. It only appears for individuals with unusually high Luck, and even then, it may only appear once or twice every century." He shook his head in admiration. "Stonehaven, you continue to surprise me."

Marcus didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of logic was that? The luckier you were, the harder the trial became? The system seemed determined to punish people for being fortunate.

Still, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something wasn’t adding up. Games rarely handed out extreme difficulties for no reason. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Elder Lonely, if Special Hard is so rare, does that mean it comes with some kind of hidden reward or special benefit?" That had to be it. Otherwise, none of this made sense. A hopeful grin slowly appeared on his face. Maybe his luck hadn’t betrayed him after all.

"There are no rewards." Lonely Bell’s answer landed like a hammer.

Marcus froze. "No way." He genuinely couldn’t understand it anymore. What was the point of creating a difficulty that appeared once every century if there was no benefit attached to it?

Seeing the disbelief on Marcus’s face, Lonely Bell hesitated before lowering his voice. Although he technically shouldn’t reveal too much, he had developed a favorable impression of this young knight. "Stonehaven, Easy, Medium, and Hard trials truly offer no additional benefits. However, Special Hard is different."

Marcus immediately leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"Whether you gain anything from it, and what exactly you gain, depends entirely on your own abilities." Lonely Bell spoke carefully. "It is best viewed as a rare opportunity."

Marcus’s eyes lit up instantly. "You mean if I kill the Soul Vase Ghost, it might drop something valuable?"

Lonely Bell immediately regretted saying anything. This kid’s mind really moved in strange directions. Rather than answer, he straightened his robes and returned to his formal tone. "Stonehaven, all I can say is this. Special Hard trials provide an additional opportunity that ordinary trials do not. In terms of rarity alone, obtaining a Special Hard trial is even more difficult than receiving a Unique Hidden Quest."

Marcus’s eyes nearly popped out. "Seriously? So this is basically a Unique Hidden Quest?" The frustration that had been weighing on him vanished instantly. A moment ago he had been cursing his luck, and now he felt like his Luck stat was the greatest thing in the world.

"This is incredible." His mood improved so quickly that even Lonely Bell found it amusing.

Marcus puffed out his chest. "Elder Lonely, don’t worry. I’ll definitely complete this mission." As he spoke, he reached for Silas’s map.

But seeing his renewed confidence, Lonely Bell suddenly asked, "Stonehaven, do you know where the village is located?"

Marcus paused. "No." He hadn’t even opened the map yet. Then he looked at Lonely Bell suspiciously. Was the old man about to give him directions?

Instead, Lonely Bell asked another question. "Is your Movement Speed at fifty?"

Marcus shook his head again. "No." His current Movement Speed was only thirty-two. Now he was thoroughly confused. What did any of this have to do with the mission?

Lonely Bell sighed. "Stonehaven, I already did the calculations. If your Movement Speed were fifty, and you left immediately while taking the fastest possible route, you might reach the village in approximately four hours."

Marcus slowly began to realize where this was going. A bad feeling formed in his stomach.

Lonely Bell looked at him with an almost sympathetic expression. "But your Movement Speed is only thirty-two. And more importantly, you don’t even know where the village is yet." He paused before delivering the final blow. "So I can tell you with certainty that by the time you arrive, it will be at least four hours from now."

Silence filled the hall.

Marcus stood there staring at him, then looked at the mission timer, then back at Lonely Bell. The trial required him to reach the village and kill the Soul Vase Ghost within three hours. The fastest possible arrival time was four hours. In other words, the mission was already impossible before it had even begun.