Final Life Online-Chapter 237: Sun Island VII

The bright glow at the center of the plains grew larger as they approached.

It wasn’t just light now—

it felt like pressure pushing against their bodies.

Aqua held her head.

"Ugh... this feels awful..."

Sophia nodded slowly.

"This is pure mana. Very dense mana."

Aria frowned.

"Then the last trial must be strong."

As they stepped closer, the ground changed.

The sand turned smooth and white, almost like glass.

Heat waves curled up from it like invisible flames.

And then—

A deep rumble shook the air.

A massive circle of light formed on the ground ahead of them.

Rhys tightened his grip.

"Everyone get ready."

The circle rose upward like a wall...

then exploded outward in a flash.

When the light faded, something stood there.

A giant knight made entirely of golden energy.

Armor shaped like the sun.

A huge sword glowing like a star.

Its presence was overwhelming.

[ Sunborn Paragon – Level ??? ]

[ Trial 10: Final Test – Judgment ]

Aqua’s voice cracked.

"I take it back. I wanted something small. Very small."

Caria whistled.

"That is NOT small."

Lyra stared at the monster knight.

"...We’re in trouble."

Sophia breathed out slowly.

"This one is different. I can’t sense a pattern. It might change forms mid-fight."

Puddle floated behind Rhys, shaking a little.

"M-Master... big shiny scary..."

Rhys put a hand on her head.

"It’s okay. We’ll handle it."

The Sunborn Paragon raised its sword.

Light gathered around it—

so bright it hurt to look at.

Rhys didn’t wait.

"Spread out!"

The moment he shouted, the knight swung.

A massive wave of light blasted across the field.

Everyone jumped aside just in time.

Sand and glass exploded into the air.

Aqua screamed,

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Aria yelled,

"A single slash almost killed us!"

Caria grinned—because of course she did.

"Perfect. A real fight."

Rhys activated Mana Shield and dashed in.

The Paragon swung again, faster this time.

Rhys blocked—

and was sent flying backwards.

"Rhys!" Aqua cried.

He landed hard but got up quickly, coughing.

"That thing hits like a mountain..."

Lyra rushed in next, striking its leg.

Her sword bounced off the armor like it was steel.

"No effect?!"

Sophia called out,

"Try magic attacks together! It might need combined damage!"

Aria nodded and fired wind blades.

Sophia followed with ice.

Aqua threw a water blast as well.

The attacks hit the armor—

and for a second, it flickered.

Caria smirked.

"Now we’re getting somewhere."

Puddle’s eyes shined.

"Puddle help too!"

She fired Light Bullets and Shadow Tendrils at the glowing knight.

The mixed elements made its armor ripple again.

Rhys pointed forward.

"Everyone aim at the same spot! Left side of the chest!"

They all focused their attacks on that point.

Lyra’s slashes.

Caria’s heavy swings.

Sophia’s magic.

Aria’s wind.

Aqua’s water.

Puddle’s mixed spells.

The Paragon staggered a little.

Cracks formed on its armor.

Aria shouted,

"It’s working!"

But the Paragon suddenly changed.

Its body flared bright—

and it split into three copies of itself.

Aqua screamed again.

"THAT IS NOT FAIR!!"

Lyra cursed.

"It can duplicate?!"

Rhys gritted his teeth.

"Then we break each one fast!"

The three Paragons moved at once.

Three swords.

Three beams of light.

Three unstoppable enemies.

Rhys shouted,

"Pairs again! Same as before!"

Lyra + Caria

Sophia + Aria

Rhys + Puddle

Aqua... hiding far back again.

Each pair faced one Paragon.

They blocked.

Dodged.

Struck back.

The battlefield shook with every clash.

Rhys used Water Blade, striking the copy in front of him.

Puddle used Abyssal Grasp to hold it for a second.

The armor cracked.

Lyra and Caria broke their copy’s chest with a combo strike.

It exploded into light and vanished.

Aria and Sophia froze their copy and shattered it with wind.

Another gone.

Rhys yelled,

"Now all together on the last one!"

They surrounded the final Paragon.

It charged its sword—

the biggest attack yet.

Everyone attacked at once.

Lyra’s blade.

Caria’s axe.

Sophia’s ice.

Aria’s wind.

Aqua’s water.

Puddle’s full triple-element blast.

And Rhys’s Water Blade strike.

All hit at the same moment.

A huge crack tore across the Paragon’s body.

Then—

It exploded into golden dust.

Silence fell.

A system message appeared:

[ Final Trial Completed ]

[ Trial Progress: 10 / 10 ]

[ Sunfire Plains – Cleared ]

Aqua collapsed onto her back.

"Finally... FINALLY... we’re done..."

Sophia let out a long breath.

"That was... unbelievably hard."

Caria laughed weakly.

"I can’t feel my arms."

Lyra nodded.

"Same."

Puddle floated onto Rhys’s shoulder, exhausted.

"Puddle sleepy..."

Rhys stroked her head.

"You did great."

Aria pointed ahead at something rising from the ground.

A glowing chest.

A reward.

Rhys smiled tiredly.

"Let’s go see what we earned."

And the team slowly walked toward the treasure, finally finished with all ten trials.

The glowing chest rose completely out of the white glass ground, hovering a few inches in the air. Golden light leaked from the seams, almost like it was overflowing.

Aqua sat up quickly.

"Treasure! Finally, something GOOD!"

Lyra sighed.

"Don’t jinx it..."

Caria cracked her knuckles.

"If a monster jumps out of the chest, I’m breaking it."

Sophia shook her head.

"It’s a system reward. It won’t attack."

Puddle floated closer, eyes sparkling.

"Shiny box..."

Rhys stepped forward and placed his hand on the lid.

The chest opened on its own.

Golden light burst upward, swirling into the sky before fading. Inside were several items—each glowing softly.

A system message appeared in front of everyone:

[ Sunfire Plains Reward Distribution ]

[ Reward 1: Sunfire Blessing – Permanent Resistance to Heat Damage ]

[ Reward 2: Sunborn Emblem – Increases damage by 15% under sunlight ]

[ Reward 3: Skill Unlock – "Solar Break" (Party-Wide)** ]

[ Reward 4: Sunborn Relic (Randomized Per Person) ]

Aqua blinked.

"We... we got all of that?!"

Caria grinned.

"About time we got something good."

Lyra leaned over the chest.

"So what relics did we get?"

One by one, golden lights floated to each of them.

Sophia received a glowing staff headpiece shaped like a sun.

Aria got a pair of sun-forged wind rings.

Lyra’s sword hilt gained a golden extension that pulsed with energy.

Caria’s axe got a new sun-steel edge.

Aqua received a small sun-shaped charm that boosted her magic.

Puddle... floated as a tiny golden crown lowered onto her head.

Puddle gasped.

"I... Puddle queen now?!"

Rhys laughed.

"Looks like it suits you."

Finally, his reward floated down.

A small golden blade-shaped emblem landed in his hand.

The system marked it:

[ Sunborn Relic: Solar Edge – Enhances elemental slashes with sunlight power ]

Rhys nodded in approval.

"Not bad."

Aqua got up, stretching her sore arms.

"So... we’re done here, right? No more trials? No more glowing monsters?"