--


    Cedric''s senses were limited in this ne, but it still covered a decent distance. However, he just wasn''t able to see where this ne begins or ends. It''s like he was just dropped in the middle of it and was left to make sense of it all.


    All he could see here was blood—murky blood. The kind that never dries up and was also corrosive. It didn''t hinder him too much, of course, but it was ufortable to look at.


    As soon as the tutorial ended, the voice of the system left him, and the barriers that isted him disappeared. Cedric already had his sword out, just in time to sh at whatever jumped at him.


    Spurt!


    Whatever that thing was exploded like a zit, spewing blood everywhere. Cedric frowned and shielded himself from the bloodstters. He knew that his clothes would inevitably be stained with blood, but for now, he doesn''t want it to happen this early.


    Surprisingly, whatever that creature he just killed waspletely escaped his senses. He only noticed it as soon as it entered a certain distance away from him, and that''s certainly something.


    ''Must''vee from below then,'' he guessed.


    His senses couldn''t prate this sea of blood for some reason. Each attempt he made failed; his senses just bounced off like it''s being repulsed.


    ''Beep!''


    [Blood Specter killed, gained 5 Blood Crystal Shards]


    Cedric blinked after reading that notice.


    ''Blood Specter? Ah, it must be referring to whatever attacked me just now.''


    Cedric shifted his attention to the Blood Crystal Shards he gained. They look like ruby shards that released a sanguine sheen and bloody scent. The system AI informed him that this was the currency of this ne, and of course, it is gained through ughter.


    Blood Crystalse in several forms: Blood Shards, Blood Stones, Blood Chunks, and Blood bs. Each form corresponds to a certain value, which could be exchanged after leaving this ce. If the participant dies, they lose half of these, which is certainly a huge loss.


    Of course, each participant in this killing field had a certain value of blood crystals. The value is based on their cultivation base and their kill streak so far. How much exactly wasn''t made clear by the AI during the tutorial since the only thing that matters here was killing.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    This time, Cedric saw them clearly. His guess was indeed correct; they came from underground. Their appearance was apanied by a tiny ripple from the blood sea, a sign that they''reing.


    Blood Specters looked like apparitions made of blood. Their forms seemed ethereal, making them a little difficult to sense. They also don''t make a lot of noise when they move; they''re like a gust of wind, a harmful gust of wind.


    Their primary form of hunting seems to be direct contact since they recklessly charged at him without any care about their well-being, but that might also be a sign of their low intelligence.


    This time, Cedric didn''t move nor used his sword to deal with them. He just stood still and waited until they touched him.


    Tch! Howl!


    They tried to pass through his body. Cedric didn''t know what their aim was in doing so since they''ve been killed by the sheer heat of his energy. Don''t forget that Cedric''s specialty was mainly the sunlight and sunfire elements, which are the bane of evil entities. Ghosts, apparitions, devils, demons, etc. fear this, which makes Cedric their mortal enemy.


    ''Beep!''


    [5 Blood Specters killed! 25 Blood Shards gained.]


    [Bane Kill Bonus: +25 Blood Shards.]


    ''Bane Kill? Ah, right. Yang against Yin, got it.''


    He didn''t expect to receive a bonus for using something that turns out to be the bane of those creatures.


    ''So I guess this is what it means when the AI said that the more creative my killing methods were, the more rewards I can get. This kind of encouragement is a bit depraved, isn''t it?''


    Giving out bonus rewards for ughter creativity was a unique concept for Cedric. It''s like everything here was pushing everyone to think only of killing and nothing else here. That alone raises many rms in Cedric''s mind, but he kept it to himself since he''s not in a position to question the setting of this ce.


    But since these were the rules, it would be a little disrespectful if he didn''t acquire at least. And so the sword he held burst into golden mes. It''s heat distorted the space around him and evaporated the sea of blood around him. Of course, he''s not expecting topletely vaporize all the blood here since there seems to be a limitless supply of it somewhere.


    Though he did hear the pained wails of ghosts around him. The appearance of his me provoked the specters, causing them to appear one after the other. In a blink of an eye, Cedric found himself surrounded, but he was fearless.


    With a swing of his sword, a sea of mes crept up to them, swallowing them whole and annhting them from existence. The mournful and unwilling wails of the specters echoed through his surroundings, creating a haunting atmosphere, yet Cedric was unmoved.


    He snapped his fingers, and a dozen golden swords formed by sunfire hovered above him. With a point of his finger, the swords turned into streaks of light that skewered multiple blood specters at the speed of light. All of this happened while Cedric took a leisurely stroll.


    ''The AI said that this was a free for all, but I have yet to see any real person here.'' He mused inwardly.


    ''Am I still in the tutorial? Or do I have to prove that I''m strong enough first before other people start appearing before me?''


    ''Also, how am I supposed to know where the exit points are located? Is there a sign like a loud sound or visual cues that would point me to where they are? Does it have a pattern? I need to know this because I don''t want to end up stuck here; I still have trials toplete.''


    It was these questions that gave a reason to walk around. His field of senses was limited after all, and he already knew that his spawn point was empty, save for the specters. There''s nothing else to see here, so he had to move to another location and see if he could discover something else there.


    Of course, the ughter of blood specters didn''t cease around him. The golden swords raged like storms and moved likeet streaks around him. By now, he must''ve already killed hundreds of them. The blood shards he gains were steadily rising because of his ughter and the bonus he''s receiving through Bane Kills.


    ''Come to think of it...''


    ''Yeah...it''s just the sea of blood that''s different. Other than that, this is just another Hell Dive for me.''


    ''Ah, really. Old habits, die hard.''


    ''Now, I''d like to see what kind of plot twists this ce will throw at me.''


    Cedric kept paying attention to his surroundings as he walked. Because he could only see a sea of blood wherever he went, he nearly thought that he''s just walking in circles since it''s all the same.


    But the change he was anticipating happened at some point during his ventures. No, he didn''t seend, though he did see a new creature to kill.


    Roar!


    ''Is that...huh? Is that a tree?''


    The new creature sure did look like a blood-soaked tree from where he stood. It seems to be in pain from its roars.


    ''A Treant?'' He guessed, but he immediately shook his head in denial. ''No, it can''t be. This thing sure looks like Morning Wood, but there''s a few key differences.''


    Morning Wood, a fellow challenger of the tower, is the first person from the Treant Race he met. He had seen him a couple of times, enough to know that whatever this thing was in front of him certainly wasn''t one of Morning Wood''s people.


    Moreover, Morning Wood did say that he too was the first one from his race to make contact with the alliance through the tower, so it''s very unlikely for him and this one to be rted.


    More importantly, it doesn''t really matter whether this one was rted to Morning Wood or not, because in this ce it could only be one thing. An enemy.


    Swoosh!


    One of Cedric''s golden swords turned into a streak of light in an attempt to stab whatever that thing was. But to Cedric''s surprise, the sword just passed through it like it wasn''t there, and then a surprising development urred.


    That...tree, or whatever, suddenly swelled in size. It became ten times taller and wider than before, forcing Cedric to look up at it.


    All of a sudden, it became the only thing he could see. Its dried-up branches seemingly pierced the skies, the blood stains on its body turned into blood streams that gave the tree a sinister look, and the face on its body multiplied by a hundredfold; some were wailing, some were furious, some wereughing, but most were crying tears of blood.


    "Holy fucking shit! I didn''t see thating."