CHAPTER 648: CHAPTER 645: POLAR TRIAL

Although it was his first time taking the initiative like this,

Ronald still activated the trial of the original volume in his hand with an inexplicable peace of mind.

After all, Catherine’s hints had been too obvious.

That night long ago,

the girl who had once been in charge of the astronomy department at Barrier Mountain used her Prophetic Spell from the "Galactic Empire" series to deduce the Complete Technique in Ronald’s original volume and even defined the capabilities of the spell.

At the end of their conversation, Catherine also deliberately mentioned a significant reminder.

In this environment,

how could Ronald not understand!

This was exactly the predicted crucial period for the trial that he had to undertake according to the Prophetic Spell!

Activating the trial of the original volume was exceedingly simple for Ronald as the holder.

It was basically a matter of thought, followed by controlling magical power to make it happen.

Thus, before the wizards of Barrier Mountain and the investigators from Springs could react, the pitch-dark original volume appeared in Ronald’s right hand, and a powerful Magic Fluctuation burst forth.

Swipe—

Even the artificial deity was stunned momentarily.

Because within its observable range, Ronald had successfully activated the last volume of the Divine Comedy, "Purgatory," and then vanished before everyone’s eyes.

It was because of Ronald’s action.

The tense atmosphere over the Sunset Ocean also fell into a complete silence.

"..."

At the same time, unlike these casters who had mastered spell-casting abilities,

Ronald was once again experiencing the distortion of the scene before his eyes.

Just like the previous times, when his eyes regained the ability to see things clearly,

"Uh—"

Ronald suddenly felt a discomfort in his body!

"What’s happening to me..."

Having regained all sensation in his body, Ronald found himself sitting on a stone, looking up to see only pitch-black tunnels around him, illuminated only by the glow stick attached to his shoulder.

"This..."

Ronald subconsciously wanted to say something.

But just as he opened his mouth, a familiar yet foreign voice made him freeze on the spot.

With the fastest speed possible at the moment, Ronald reached out to examine the appearance of his palm, and then reached inside his clothes to pinch his belly. After feeling the familiar touch he had grown accustomed to, Ronald finally reached into the right pocket of his coat, and immediately found what he was searching for.

—A mobile phone.

Before crossing over, Ronald was used to placing his mobile phone in this position while working,

as it was convenient for him to perform some emergency operations under certain special circumstances.

"Ha—"

"What is this all about...?"

Ronald muttered with a complex tone, reflecting on his experiences, and then pressed the power button on his mobile phone.

Familiarly, he navigated the interface to bring up the camera.

He then switched the photo function to the front camera.

On the glowing surface of the phone in the darkness, Ronald saw the face he had used for decades, the appearance named Yang Siming!

Before entering this trial,

Ronald had never expected to experience something like this.

It was really...

himself after all.

Having lived in this parallel world for so long, Ronald had even thought that all his experiences here were just a dream.

The emotions he felt revisiting this body now were imaginable.

Thinking to himself, Ronald carefully scanned his surroundings once more. Thanks to his exceptional work skills, Ronald immediately concluded that this place was not the underground ruin that had been affected by the earthquake before the traversal.

Moreover, looking at his current equipment,

there were no signs of damages caused by the earthquake.

With so many details as proof, Ronald was very certain that he had not returned to Earth, but was truly in the midst of a trial.

However, compared to the trials he had experienced before,

this one was particularly special.

Pat pat pat—

Just as Ronald was contemplating his familiar body and speculating about the requirements of this trial,

footsteps crunching on sand and gravel began approaching him.

Even before Ronald could turn his head towards the source of the sound, the other person took the initiative to speak first:

"Old Yang, have you rested well?"

"The underground tundra is just ahead; let’s continue our journey once you have regained your strength."

At that moment, Ronald saw the other person’s face.

Like the various colleagues he had befriended in the other world, the person standing before him was a young girl. Unlike the rare beauties like Herois or Patricia, the girl who was now speaking to Ronald had a face weathered by wind and sun, showing her skin in quite a poor condition.

Moreover, the clothes she wore were not lavishly beautiful attire but rather an unattractive exploration suit with lots of pockets for carrying various tools and also designed for thermal insulation.

—Ronald was all too familiar with this kind of outfit.

Whenever entering various special environments, this was essentially the standard gear for workers like them.

So... was this person his current colleague?

Ronald did not recognize her, but he was quite familiar with this kind of scene.

His gaze only swept over the badge on the girl’s chest, immediately revealing her name—Yanni Lane. Once her name was confirmed, an excuse almost instinctively formed in Ronald’s mind:

"I... I’m experiencing some altitude sickness..."

"Before we continue, Yanni, could you help me recap today’s tasks?"

Ronald’s acting was impeccable.

However, the girl named Yanni did not immediately explain to Ronald. Instead, she bent over with genuine concern and checked his condition.

"Altitude sickness? Old Yang, I’ve never heard of you having that issue."

"If you’re really not feeling well, we could go up to the surface first."

"Your health is more important than work."

Ronald sheepishly waved his hand:

"It’s not as serious as you think, it’s just the irregularity of my recent sleeping patterns."

"Think about it, I’ve been in this field for so long, I’d never mess up in such situations, safety first!"

"..."

Hearing Ronald’s answer and knowing about his past working experience, Yanni reluctantly accepted his reasoning:

"All right, then rest a little longer."

"I’ll also help you clear your thoughts... Of course, my advice is still to avoid staying up too late, it’s really harmful to your body."

This gentle conversation was exactly what Ronald was hoping for.

After the girl named Yanni agreed, Ronald began to inquire about the environment of the trial through her explanations, while he gave only slight guidance.

It didn’t take too long.

Ronald had mostly figured out the information.

Firstly, his job and identity before the traversal were somewhat different; he was part of an inspection group belonging to a private institution.

The reason he appeared here was that a newly discovered underground ruin was understaffed, so he and Yanni, who were already nearby, were ordered to come and provide support.

What was more interesting was the geographical location of the place.

The environment of the underground cave was not as simple as that; it was actually close to the polar circle.

Now back to land.

One could immediately see the snow and ice characteristic of a polar environment!