CHAPTER 206: CHAPTER 206: THE THIRD TRIAL, MECHANICAL GIANTS

After confirming there was no danger around him, Johnnie finally let out a sigh of relief and took out an Energy Core to refine and boost his own attributes.

[Refining Energy Core, Four basic attributes +10 points]

The prompt messages appeared, and a surge of heat flowed through his body as his four basic attributes instantly rose to 20 points.

Moreover, Johnnie had a distinct feeling that this was a true upgrade to his body, not restricted by the power of this place—in other words, his improvement wouldn’t disappear even if he left.

Keep going!

Energized, Johnnie continued to refine Energy Cores.

[Refining Energy Core, Four basic attributes +10 points]

...

Prompt messages kept popping up, and Johnnie’s power was climbing at an astonishing rate.

[Refining Energy Core, Four basic attributes +10 points]

[Ding, you have currently reached the Energy Core refinement limit. Increase mechanical talent to 20% to continue refining.]

Soon, after refining twenty thousand Energy Cores, Johnnie hit the ceiling again.

"There’s actually a limit?"

He frowned, glancing at the more than ten thousand Energy Cores still in front of him, feeling a bit helpless.

His mechanical talent had already reached 11%, still a ways off from the 20% required for the next breakthrough.

But it wasn’t impossible to reach.

At this point, all of his four basic attributes had soared to over two hundred thousand points, a massive leap from before—now, taking on those Mechanical Race enemies would be a breeze.

Besides, passing the trials would also boost his mechanical talent.

Johnnie checked the time—there were still more than two hours before the second trial ended.

"Time to keep butchering those Mechanical Monsters!"

He didn’t linger in the cave, put away his shield, and headed out.

This time, he stopped bothering to hide his presence. Flying with the Controlled Sword, he actively hunted down mechanical dogs and Mechanical Race Battle Mecha.

Soon enough, he ran into two Mechanical Race Battle Mecha.

Without a word, Johnnie launched right into battle.

The Seven Sword shot out, splitting into seven, each one striking at the chests and heads of the two Battle Mecha.

Clang, clang...

A series of crisp impacts rang out. With his drastically increased stats, Johnnie’s attacks hit hard, leaving cracks across the tough armor of the mechs.

"Human, you’re courting death!" came a cold, mechanical voice, as an energy cannon roared toward him.

Johnnie didn’t flinch at all. He didn’t use the Skye Shield; instead, he summoned an Earth Shield right in front of him.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the Earth Shield shattered, and the massive shockwave sent him flying.

-141,900

A damage number—over a hundred thousand—flashed above his head.

That was a hit for over a hundred thousand damage.

Fortunately, Johnnie was able to withstand it.

He was completely free of any worries now, controlling his flying swords and launching a full-on assault.

[Defeated The Mechanical Race Battle Mecha, Mechanical Perception +1]

...

Very soon, those two Battle Mechas were destroyed by him, earning him two more points of Mechanical Perception and dropping two Energy Cores.

Johnnie happily collected them.

Rat-tat-tat...

At that moment, gunfire echoed all around, and all the commotion attracted quite a few mechanical dogs and Battle Mechas.

Johnnie didn’t show the slightest bit of fear. He summoned his massive Skye Shield and charged forward aggressively.

With his stats massively boosted, he no longer feared these mechanical dogs.

However, since these Mechanical Race monsters didn’t have health points, his gear’s life-steal effect wouldn’t trigger, so facing the hail of bullets was still dangerous.

Luckily, the defense of the Skye Shield was incredible, easily blocking the incoming bullets.

Johnnie held his shield in one hand and the Void Sword in the other, while controlling eight flying swords all at once, plunging into the mechanical army and unleashing a massacre.

[Defeated a mechanical dog, Mechanical Perception +1]

Prompt messages kept popping up, and everywhere Johnnie went, he left a trail of mechanical wreckage.

These mechanical dogs were so weak he could almost one-shot them with a single sword strike.

And with the passive damage stacking from the Cosmic Eclipse Blade, his attack speed and power kept climbing— even the toughest Battle Mechas couldn’t last more than a few seconds against him.

[Ding, you’ve accumulated 10,000 points of Mechanical Perception. Mechanical talent +1%.]

With such a terrifying slaughter speed, Johnnie’s mechanical talent leveled up once again.

If not for concerns about outside dangers, he was confident he could stay here and push his mechanical talent to 100%, fully comprehending the laws of machinery.

Rat-tat-tat...

The gunfire grew even more intense, and instead of decreasing, the number of Mechanical Monsters around him actually increased.

Every so often, a powerful energy cannon would scream through the air, giving Johnnie a bit of trouble.

But with the Skye Shield blocking for him, none of it was life-threatening.

[Defeated The Mechanical Race Battle Mecha, Mechanical Perception +1]

...

Mechanical Monsters kept falling, and Johnnie’s Mechanical Perception skyrocketed.

Soon, ten hours had passed, and the second trial ended. The prompt messages appeared.

[Ding, you survived for 10 hours. The second round of the mechanical survival trial is over. Mechanical talent +5%.]

Johnnie was overjoyed. He’d gained another 5% in mechanical talent, reaching 18%, just 2% shy of hitting 20%.

But the Mechanical Monsters didn’t disperse. Instead, even more kept pouring in, most of them powerful Battle Mechas.

Johnnie could sense their orders: to kill him at all costs.

He let out a cold laugh. With the passive stacks of the Cosmic Eclipse Blade, these powerful Battle Mechas were now nothing to him.

[The third trial has begun. Survive twelve hours under siege from elite Mechanical Race warriors. Death means complete erasure.]

The prompt messages appeared. The space around him shifted slightly, seeming to become even more solid.

Boom! Boom!

A series of deafening booms echoed as countless black objects crashed down, transforming into black Battle Mechas that surged toward Johnnie’s position.

"Master, be careful! I sense the presence of a Mechanical Race Divine being."

At that moment, Maiev’s voice echoed in his mind.

Johnnie frowned, his expression grim. Even with all his recent power-ups, there was no way he could take on a Mechanical Race Divine.

Not only that, but these newly arrived black Battle Mechas were clearly even stronger than before.

His only trump card now was the Skye Shield.

He had used the Skye Shield before to take down a Divine powerhouse, so maybe it could do the trick against the Mechanical Race Divine too.

But he could only use the Skye Shield three times; if more than three Divine powerhouses showed up, he’d be in real trouble.

To make matters worse, the spatial suppression here kept him from activating the Map of Heaven and Earth, and Skye couldn’t recharge the shield’s uses.

Boom, boom...

Suddenly, several energy cannons locked onto him.

Johnnie snapped out of his thoughts, didn’t dare get careless, and raised the Skye Shield in front of him.

Kaboom!

A terrifying burst of energy erupted, blasting Johnnie straight into the air.

-737,000

A massive damage number flashed over his head—he’d just lost over seven hundred thousand Health points in an instant.

Even with his boosted stats, he still only had two million Health points, and he simply couldn’t take too many hits from those energy cannons.

What made it worse, he couldn’t siphon any health from these mechanical lifeforms; the only way to recover was through passive regeneration.

Thankfully, he’d gotten Maiev’s Goddess of Life blessing—recovering over two hundred thousand Health points every second. Without that, he’d be dead meat facing this many Mechanical Race Battle Mechas.

Even so, he couldn’t afford to take too many direct hits from those energy cannons.

Whew!

Demon Wings formed behind Johnnie, and he shot up into the air, dodging the barrage of energy blasts with agile maneuvers.

At the same time, he unleashed the Five Elements Technique and the Sword Control Technique, going on a rampage against the Battle Mechas and mechanical dogs below.

[Defeated a Battle Mecha, Mechanical Perception +1]

...

Prompt messages kept coming, and for now, Johnnie managed to hold off the onslaught from the Battle Mechas.

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down. The real threat here wasn’t the Battle Mechas, but the Mechanical Race Divine.

Buzzzzz...

All of a sudden, a buzzing sound filled the air, and a crimson wave appeared in the distance.

It was the Red-shelled Beetles!

Fortunately, the swarm of Red-shelled Beetles didn’t attack him. Instead, they rushed to the piles of mechanical debris, devouring and breaking them down.

Recycling, huh?

Johnnie frowned, sensing clearly that some of those Red-shelled Beetles were devouring the mechanical debris and reconstructing their mechanical bodies.

He raised his hand slightly, sending a roaring fire dragon hurtling toward the crimson beetles.

Screee! Screee!

A series of shrill screams echoed, sounding like metal scraping against metal. These Red-shelled Beetles couldn’t withstand the flames and were burned to death in droves.

But Johnnie didn’t receive any rewards, not even an increase in Mechanical Perception.

It seemed these Red-shelled Beetles were worthless except for devouring and breaking down corpses and Mechanical Debris.

He couldn’t be bothered to waste mana on those Red-shelled Beetles and focused on slaughtering the mechanical dogs and Battle Mechas.

[Defeated a mechanical dog, Mechanical Perception +1]

[Ding, you’ve accumulated 10,000 points of Mechanical Perception, mechanical talent +1%.]

...

Prompt messages kept flashing. Johnnie gained another 1% mechanical talent, reaching 19%. Hitting 20% would be a breeze.

Once that happened, he could keep refining Energy Cores and boost his stats even further.

Rumble, rumble...

He didn’t even have time to catch his breath before thunder boomed overhead, and a massive dark cloud rolled in, streaked with writhing purple lightning.

A terrifying pressure filled the world.

"A Mechanical Divine!" Johnnie’s expression changed. He stared up at the churning clouds, swallowing hard.

Beneath the swirling clouds, he could vaguely make out an enormous, slender black form.

It was a colossal black mechanical beast!

"Stop!" A furious roar rang out, and all the surrounding Battle Mechas ceased their attack.

From beneath the clouds, a huge, menacing black dragon’s head emerged, crimson eyes locked onto Johnnie, emanating a terrifying aura.

Johnnie couldn’t help but swallow nervously, gripping his massive shield as he watched the monster warily.

That cold, mechanical voice sounded again, "Human, you’re special. Why not join the Mechanical Race? I can make you stronger, free you from your mortal flesh, and grant you true immortality."

Johnnie frowned, scoffing at the offer, but didn’t strike. Instead, he asked curiously, "If I become Divine, wouldn’t I get immortality anyway?"

"Divine? Hmph!" The mechanical beast snorted disdainfully and said coldly, "Divine beings are nothing. If their Divine Soul dies, they perish all the same. But if you join the Mechanical Race, as long as your consciousness endures, you can never die."

Consciousness?

Johnnie frowned even deeper. Were these Mechanical Race beings really living as pure consciousness?

Still, he didn’t believe in true immortality.