Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 19: Black Stone Trial Ground
When Qin Yuheng opened his eyes again, the city was gone.
The academy was gone. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The towering gate was gone.
He stood beneath a dark gray sky, surrounded by black stone hills and twisted dead trees. The air was cold and dry. Mist drifted between the rocks like pale smoke, and somewhere in the distance, a beast howled.
The Tower had brought them to another space.
Another world.
Qin Yuheng did not move immediately.
The first lesson of Tower entry was simple: observe before acting.
A few meters away, Qin Yuchen appeared, one hand already on his sword. Qin Lian crouched low the moment she landed, scanning the terrain. Qin Mo stumbled slightly, then quickly pretended he had meant to do that.
"All present?" Qin Yuheng asked.
Qin Yuchen nodded. "Yes."
Qin Lian said, "No immediate human presence nearby."
Qin Mo looked around. "No obvious traps. Unfriendly trees."
Before anyone could respond, a system panel appeared before all of them.
[Floor 1: Black Stone Trial Ground]
[Main Mission]
Survive for 24 hours.
[Basic Completion Reward]
E Grade Reward Chest x1
Tower Coins x100
EXP based on performance.
[Side Missions Available]
1. Kill 20 Black Stone Trial monsters.
2. Collect 10 Black Stone Cores.
3. Locate a safe camp before nightfall.
[Warning]
Death inside the Tower may cause severe real-world consequences.
[Evaluation will be calculated after trial completion.]
Qin Yuheng read the mission twice.
Survive for twenty-four hours.
Kill monsters.
Collect Black Stone Cores.
Locate safe camp.
Straightforward on the surface.
But the presence of Black Stone Cores likely connected to a hidden mission or altar. Qin Yuheng remembered the Tower Theory notes mentioning that early floors sometimes contained offering mechanisms.
He did not reveal this thought immediately.
"First objective," he said, "find high ground and identify our surroundings."
Qin Lian pointed toward a rocky slope. "That ridge gives view without exposing us too much."
"Move."
They advanced in formation.
The ground was uneven, covered in black gravel that made soft crunching sounds underfoot. Strange thorn bushes grew between stones, their leaves dark and brittle. The dead trees had claw marks across their trunks, some fresh, some old.
Qin Yuheng felt the difference between the Tower and the academy trial immediately.
The energy here was heavier.
The silence was deeper.
Even low-level danger felt more real.
This was not a controlled academy valley. There were no visible observers, no instructors standing on walls, no signal flare guarantee.
Only the Tower’s law.
After climbing the ridge, they saw the terrain ahead.
To the north, a black forest stretched across a shallow valley.
To the east, stone pillars rose like broken teeth.
To the west, a narrow ravine led toward mist-covered caves.
To the south, behind them, the ground sloped downward into scattered ruins.
Qin Lian’s eyes narrowed.
"Movement near the forest edge."
A group of small black creatures scurried between rocks.
Qin Mo squinted. "Rats?"
Qin Yuheng focused.
The panel appeared.
[Black-Tooth Rat]
[Level: 2]
[Type: Low-level Tower beast]
[Weakness: Neck, skull, fire, crushing force]
Only Level 2.
But there were six of them.
For ordinary new climbers, even Level 2 beasts could be dangerous in groups. Their teeth carried bacteria, their movements were quick, and panic could turn a small fight into injury.
Qin Yuheng drew his sword.
"We take them."
Qin Yuchen nodded.
Qin Lian moved first.
She circled silently along the rocks while Qin Yuheng and Qin Yuchen approached from the front. Qin Mo stayed behind and placed a simple warning mark on the ground.
The Black-Tooth Rats noticed them quickly.
They hissed and rushed forward.
Qin Yuheng did not use thunder.
He stepped in and cut cleanly.
One rat died.
Qin Yuchen pierced another through the skull.
Qin Lian appeared from the side and killed two in rapid succession.
One rat leaped toward Qin Mo, but a small flash formation triggered under it, making it twist midair. Qin Mo struck it awkwardly with a short blade.
The last rat tried to flee.
Qin Yuheng threw a stone.
The stone hit its skull with precise force.
The battle ended in less than thirty seconds.
A Tower message appeared.
[Black-Tooth Rat killed.]
[EXP +5]
[Black-Tooth Rat killed.]
[EXP +5]
[Black-Tooth Rat killed.]
[EXP +5]
The EXP distribution varied by contribution, but everyone gained something.
Qin Yuheng’s private panel updated.
[EXP: 18 / 100]
Three of the rats dropped small black fragments.
[Black Stone Fragment x3]
Not cores.
Qin Yuheng stored them.
The corpses remained. Tower beasts did not always dissolve like game monsters. Many could be harvested manually, though low-level rats were not worth much.
"Continue," he said.
Over the next two hours, the team hunted carefully around the forest edge.
They killed Black-Tooth Rats, two Black Stone Hounds, and a Stoneback Crawler. The hounds were Level 4, faster and more aggressive. The crawler was Level 5 with a hard shell, but slow.
Qin Yuheng let the team fight as much as possible.
This was their first true Tower floor. If he killed everything himself, they would gain less experience—not only EXP, but real battle sense.
Qin Yuchen adapted quickly.
His talent had not yet fully awakened publicly like Qin Yuheng’s, but his combat calculation was sharp. He learned monster patterns after only a few exchanges.
Qin Lian was naturally suited to scouting and precision killing.
Qin Mo complained often, but his formation marks saved them from two ambushes.
By midday, their mission progress updated.
[Side Mission Progress]
Kill 20 monsters: 13 / 20
Collect 10 Black Stone Cores: 2 / 10
Locate safe camp: incomplete
They had collected only two Black Stone Cores, both from Black Stone Hounds.
The cores were thumb-sized crystals filled with dark light.
Qin Yuheng inspected one.
[E Grade Black Stone Core]
[Contains condensed black stone energy.]
[May be used for low-level crafting, formation fuel, or unknown floor mechanisms.]
[Eligible for Evolution.]
Unknown floor mechanisms.
That was practically confirmation.
Qin Yuheng did not evolve them yet.
They needed ten for the side mission, possibly more for hidden use.
At noon, they found a small hollow beneath a leaning black tree and used it for temporary rest.
Qin Yuheng distributed food and water.
Qin Mo sat against the tree root.
"I already dislike the Tower."
Qin Lian said, "You dislike walking."
"I dislike walking in places where rats have metal teeth."
Qin Yuchen checked his sword edge. "The monsters are not difficult yet, but the environment drains attention."
Qin Yuheng nodded. "That is part of the test. The first floor is not designed only to kill. It teaches climbers that danger can appear from terrain, time, exhaustion, and poor decisions."
Qin Mo looked at him. "That sounded like Instructor Mei."
"She was right."
After resting, they moved toward the stone pillar region.
The forest edge had become less efficient. If they wanted more Black Stone Cores and a safe camp before nightfall, they needed to explore.
As they approached the stone pillars, Qin Lian suddenly raised her hand.
The team stopped.
"What is it?" Qin Yuheng asked.
"Blood."
She pointed to a rock.
There was a smear of fresh red blood.
Human blood.
Qin Yuchen’s expression tightened.
"Other climbers?"
Qin Yuheng crouched and examined the ground.
Footprints.
At least three people.
Dragged marks.
Beast claws.
Qin Mo whispered, "Do we avoid it?"
Qin Yuheng looked ahead.
A faint cry came from between the pillars.
"Help!"
Qin Lian’s eyes moved.
"Could be a trap."
"Yes," Qin Yuheng said. "But it could also be real."
Qin Yuchen asked, "What do we do?"
Qin Yuheng drew his sword.
"We approach carefully. We do not rush in blindly. If it is a trap, we break it. If it is real..."
His voice remained calm.
"We save who we can without sacrificing the team."
They moved into the stone pillar field.
Between the broken black stones, three young climbers were surrounded by five Black Stone Hounds and one larger gray wolf with stone-like spikes along its spine.
The panel appeared.
[Black Stone Wolf]
[Level: 7]
[Elite tendency: Low]
One of the trapped climbers had fallen, blood covering his leg.
The other two were barely holding on.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
"Formation. Strike fast."
The first real rescue of the Tower began.
