《Magnifique》 1. Run. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Just run. Keep running. You can do this. You are Marvin the Magnifique, you can''t die here! Not only was I probably going to die here, but I was also going mad and talking to myself. Fuck Carl and his, Its only one night, well be fine. It is not bloody fine, and he is now dead. Fuck they are closing on me. I activated Dash again. I have never used it so much in one go, and my stamina is dropping fast. I am going to die here. I am not going to die here. I refuse. I just have to figure out how to survive. I am smart. I figured out how to get out of Prince Seths palace with a bag full of stolen loot. I can figure this out. Sure, I had to spend the loot to escape the city. Those Immortal soldiers are relentless, but I still did it. No other level twenty can say they pulled off such a heist and got away. It hurts that I cant say it either. I am still in the kingdom, albeit on the edge of the kingdom. I dont want to alert the nearest Immortal Garrison. There are probably wanted posters, and there is no honour among thieves. Fuck. I am not in the kingdom anymore. I am in a fucking dungeon. A wandering dungeon. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Dungeons, or Trials as they are officially known, come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fixed in one place, and towns and cities are built around them as they are farmed for resources. The fixed dungeons also provide a safe area around them, which keeps away wandering trials like this fucking one. Sure, Carl, it is only a quick two-day dash between safe zones, Carl. Nothing will happen, says Carl. Well, you know bloody what, Carl? Something happened! I had only joined with Carl and his troupe of entertainers six months ago. I figured it was good to hide in a crowd. Carl had four musicians and three actors, plus himself. They specialised in musical plays, which Carl and Susie usually wrote. They were quite good, too. Some were sophisticated romances for when we performed for the nobles, and we had some good slap-stick comedies for the taverns and for when we did street performances. I joined as an illusionist. My ability to create scenes and images of monsters really upped their game, and we were now getting more invites to perform for nobles. I thought my days of solo performances and pickpocketing idiots were over. I am going to need one hell of a performance to get out of this. Illusionist is a specialisation of the Mage Class. I was only offered the specialisation because I had stumbled on the Light Manipulation Ability Stone. I say I stumbled on it because that wasnt what I was breaking into that safe for. Who keeps such a valuable ability stone in such a simple safe anyway? Ability stones only drop from trials like this one, so they are really rare and expensive. I hadnt even specialised my Rogue Class into Thief yet, but I still got into that safe. It did max out my Lock Picking Skill. I wouldnt have been able to learn Light Manipulation if I didn''t have an affinity for it, anyway, so stuff whoever that merchant was going to sell it to. It is mine and always will be now. I looked around. No, trials like this dont produce the Light Manipulation Ability. The terrain was barren dirt and rocks, the sky was billowing black clouds, and the air was humid and heavy. I glanced behind me. Skeletal warriors were chasing me, between eight and ten of them. Some with rusty swords and some with spears. There was the occasional piece of armour on some of them. This was some sort of undead trial. Fuck Carl and his tight fisted scrimping. We should have at least hired some guards to protect us. I looked at my dwindling stamina. There was enough for one, maybe two more uses of Dash. I looked at the rocky formation I was running towards. It would be touch and go, plus I needed enough stamina to fight when I got there. Fuck, fuck fuck. I activated Dash again. I remember the time I got the skill. I smiled a bit. Francescas husband was chasing me. He was surprisingly fast for a guy who spent all day in an office. I was just a young Rogue back then. Francesca was using me like I was using her, but it was fun right up until her husband came home unexpectedly. I considered sending him a thank you note, as that skill has saved my butt more times than I can count, but Francesca was on a good gig there, and I didnt want to spoil it for her. Then I noticed Dash had levelled and maxed out at 10. Suddenly, my stamina usage wasnt dropping so fast, and my running felt freer and easier like I could keep going forever. That feeling was an illusion, of course. I know illusions. My Stamina was still dropping. I risked glancing at my skills to see what had changed. I had learned a new skill and a point in my Agility Attribute. This happened occasionally when you maxed out a skill. Not all the time, but sometimes. My new skill was called Free Runner, and it allowed me to run further and faster with less stamina cost. As the skill levelled this would improve. It is definitely what I needed here. I dont know how long I will need to survive this trial, but there is plenty of open space, and I will be running a lot. I still have Dash available as well. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. They say trials are a test and are there to help you grow. They say trials will provide a way for you to succeed if you are good enough. I say those people are fucking liars. Trials are death traps, and they are out to kill you. Well fuck you, you undead trial. I am Marvin the Magnifique, and I will survive in spite of you. I thought about my skills, as I have to fight soon. It isnt looking good. When I specialised my Mage Class to Illusionist, I lost a lot of my previous mage spells as they werent compatible with Illusionist and the light-based specialisation. I didnt mind back then, as I could do so much with light, and it meshed well with my Rogue Class. I can manipulate light, which means I can create my own shadows to hide in. I can create illusions for guards to chase or distractions for my pickpocket skills. It was great. It is not so great now. Right now, I could use some Ice Spikes or a Fire Bolt. Fuck, even a bloody gust of wind would be helpful. The thing with Undead is they are pretty much immune to light. They dont use light to see, so I cant blind them with Flash or distract them with images or, in fact, any illusions. These skeletons have no flesh, so my Burning Light wont have the same effect. Fuck. It is my Burning Light that probably got the others killed. We appeared in the trial suddenly and unexpectedly. We only had what we were carrying; the horses and carts were left behind. I was carrying my Spatial Bag, which was fortunate. It has forty slots and reduces the weight of what is in it by 80%. It was a hugely expensive bag, and the previous owner was incredibly angry when she discovered it was missing. It might have been a gaudy yellow shoulder bag with pink flowers, but I replaced the strap and covered the outside with a dark material. I also added a clip so it clips to my belt and doesnt get in the way when I am running or performing my acrobatics in the well-planned and sometimes improvised escape manoeuvres. OK, mostly improvised. My bag has my personal supplies, including my knife collection and emergency food. You never know when you might need to leave a place suddenly, so I kept it well-stocked. I am not going to need my disguises here, though. When we arrived, Tim said we would be in a safe zone for several hours so we had time to sort ourselves out. A lot of that time was spent discussing our situation. Loudly and angrily discussing our situation and blaming Carl for getting us here. Looking back, I think that time could have been spent in better ways, but we were rather upset and angry. None of us noticed when the timer ran out of the safe zone. The first thing I heard was Susie screaming. Then, I saw these pale, flesh-like creatures surrounding us. They were tall and humanoid, naked and hairless. I have the Identify Skill, as it is incredibly important for me to identify unsuitable marks. This Identified them as Fleshlings, and the ones I Identified varied between levels 15 to 20. There was more screaming and yelling as people scrambled for weapons. They all had some type of weapons. We were outside the safe zone, and they are not complete idiots. Knives are my weapons, both for fighting and throwing. I had maxed out my Throwing Skill, and I got Precision Throw, which makes me incredibly accurate. I threw a knife into the face of the nearest Fleshling, and it sank into where the eye should be, but it didnt really do anything else. It certainly didnt kill it, and it didnt slow it down. The Fleshlings were not fast, and they didnt seem to be smart, so that was good. They were still going to be hard to kill. I saw Tims arrow have the same effect as my knife. The good news is these things are not fast, and I was. Agility and Dexterity are my top attributes, second only to my luminous Intelligence. I got my fighting knives out and stepped forward to the nearest Fleshling. I didnt have the Duel Wield Skill or even Ambidextrous. What I did have was Clever Hands, and I got Quick Hands when I maxed out my Pickpocket Skill. My Basic Small Blades Skill is also on the verge of maxing out. I Dodged the claw strike from the Fleshling, sliced deeply into its leg, and dodged away again. Dodge is another one of my favourite Skills. This hampered its movement, so I did it again. It was a pretty dumb creature, so I did it again. This put it on the ground, but it was still alive. I ignored it for now and concentrated on putting the next one on the ground as well. If I can make a hole, we can certainly outrun them. Then I saw a flash of flame, and Carl yelled, Hey fire works! They burn! I saw Susie use the simple charm Spark to light up one near her, so I stepped into the gap I made and used Burning Light to light up a whole row of them. I dont use the Burning Light Skill much. I found the skill stone lying around in a store, and it was light-based, so I took it with my five-fingered discount and learned it to remove the evidence. It is less effective than my Firebolt, which I still had back then. It is a smaller area and in a straight line. It also took more Mana to set things alight. They do burn easily and hot, like fat. But they dont burn quickly, and they can still move when they are fully alight. The smoke started to choke me, and I heard others coughing, and the burning figures moved forward to attack us. I stabbed one to try and bring it down, and the flames burned my hand. My leather jacket was the only thing that saved my arm, and it was blackened from that. I sliced it with my other arm to make it go down, and my jacket caught alight. I pushed my way out of the smoke and flames and shrugged off my flaming jacket. That was my favourite jacket gone. I actually paid for that jacket. The Tailor added hidden pockets for me. That annoyed me until I looked back toward the others. All I could see was smoke and flame, and all I could hear was screaming. Horrible, gut-wrenching screaming of people burning to death. I turned and started running, and I haven''t stopped yet. 2. Fight. I am going to need to stop running soon. I picked up these skeletal warriors about two hours ago. They tried to ambush me, but I have the Observant Eyes skill, and I Dashed past. This is how I know trials are out to kill you, not help you. My only weapon skills are small blades. Knives. I am a Thief, not an Assassin. Knives are great against flesh. They are not great against bone. This Trial is out to kill me. My light and illusion Spells are useless, and now my main physical weapon is next to useless. I am hoping those rocks have something I can use. The rough terrain will benefit me more than them as well. I am an agility build, and I have the Acrobatics Skill, but I do not have much Stamina to use with it. As I approach the rocks, I refrain from using Dash to conserve stamina. My new Free Runner Skill is great, but it may not be enough. I jump up on the first rock, which appears to be a from a rock slide from the cliff behind it. The footing is loose, which is what I want. I jump from rock to rock away from the flat ground, and the skeletons start to climb onto the rocks to follow me. They are much slower on the rocks, which is great. I look around and pick up the biggest rock I think I can throw far enough. Strength is not my forte. I throw it at the head of the lead Skeleton, and it cracks the skull, making the skeleton fall. I dont think it is dead yet, but I am already picking up the next rock. My Throwing Skill and its successor are not just for throwing weapons. They work for anything I throw. That includes full chamber pots, but that is a different story. I pound the skeletons with rocks until the last one is killed. Once they are all dead, the bodies should disappear, and loot drops should appear. If I had the harvesting skill, I could harvest the bodies and get better loot, but I dont have that, and I had no need for it. Yes, the bodies all faded away, and copper coins and other items appeared. Mostly, there were bits of dried meat and a couple of bottles of a weak health potion. I drank one of them immediately to help heal the burn on my hand. There was also a mace. I used Apraise on it. Appraise is an essential Skill for a Thief. The mace was just a common mace with a +4 for damage. This would help with the next bunch of skeletons I met. While my strength was not great, it was enough to wield it effectively. The other thing that was left as loot was monster cores. These can be sold for a good price, so most people keep them to sell. I need to live in order to sell them, and my first priority is to live. Fuck you, Trial. Monster cores sometimes hold skills that the particular monster has. Sometimes, maybe one in a hundred or more. These undead probably have nothing more than their sensing skill, whatever that is, but I need all the skills I can get. Gold coins I can get almost anywhere. Skills are what I need now in order to live. There were nine monster cores. To extract a skill, I needed to insert my Mana using Mana Manipulation, grab the magic core, and pull it back into me. I need good Mana Control, as if I insert too much mana, the core will turn to dust, but not enough will do nothing. Too much mana will destroy the core, whether it holds a skill or not. It is also mana-intensive, but with my light-based skills being useless, I have mana to spare. I grabbed the first monster core and, using Mana Manipulation and Mana Control, moved into the core and grabbed the magic. It is not as easy as I was told. The core resists. I guess this is why they are refined and processed when done properly. I dont have the tools or skills to do it properly. I have to brute force it. My Mana Control is higher than my Mana Manipulation. The core magic almost slips away from me, but I get it in the end. The core didnt contain anything. I move on to the second. Empty. The third is empty as well but my Mana Manipulation rises a level. I have to rest after the fourth empty one to regenerate my mana. All nine Monster Cores are turned to dust in my hand and there are no skills in any of them. That is OK. I will carry on and I will beat this trial. I am certainly going to cheat if I can, but if I cant, I will still get there. I rested for a bit to recover my Mana, and I cast the Self-Clean Charm, which made me feel better. I am going to need to find somewhere to sleep eventually, and I had no one to keep watch while I did. I looked around. My Observant Eyes are good for finding hidden places and small clues to hidden places. It is not Far Sight like most Scout types get, so the distant hills were just a blur in the haze. Trials like this are supposed to have safe zones scattered around, but finding them is just a matter of luck. This trial is out to kill me, so counting on luck will not work here. I look around and put some rocks into my Spatial Bag. Even with only 20% of the weight, I can feel it. I think my best bet is to follow the base of the cliff for now. If it is an undead trial, there should only be undead in it, so I should not meet any rock creatures or anything like that. I have no idea how long I have been here. It''s been less than a day, certainly, but there is no sun, so there is nothing to tell the time by. There is probably not going to be a night, either. Just the dark, cloudy sky and the humid, heavy atmosphere. I pulled up my Status sheet to look at it and review what I had.
Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human
Level: 20 Sub Level 6 Class: Illusionist 8/ Thief 12 Profession: Performer 6
Health: 440 Stamina: 440 Mana: 420
Strength: 24 Agility: 36 Dexterity: 39
Constitution: 20 Intelligence: 42 Wisdom: 30
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 0
Skills
Precision Throw 3 Quick Hands 2 Riding 8
Basic Small Blades 9 Detect Traps 8 Appraisal 5
Disarm Traps 5 Dodge 8 Stealth 9
Identify 7 Animal Care 4 Acrobatics 3
Light Armour 4 Sewing 5 Mana Manipulation 7
Grappling 4 Observant Eye 5 Free Runner 1
Mana Control 8 Clever Hands 9 Climb 5
Thrust 6
Mastered Skills
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max
Lock Pick 10/Max Dash 10/Max
Abilities
Light Manipulation 7
Spells
Spark/Charm 4 Self-Clean/Charm 6 Self-Dry/Charm 4
Trim/Charm 5
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 5 Flash 5
Project Image 6 Animate Image 4
I am going to need to use the Mace and try to get the Blunt Weapons Skill. Some skills come easier than others. Everybody is different and more inclined to some skills and classes than others. I am definitely inclined to Light and Rogue. I had really enjoyed my life, even though parts were difficult. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Some people say life is a Trial, and I tend to agree. Life is out to kill you just like this trial is out to kill me. That is why my motto is, Take what you can, leave no trace. I have only been partly successful. I take what I can, including enjoyment where I can get it. I haven''t been quite so successful at leaving no trace; that is why I am on the run. A motto is something to aim for, isnt it? It is my motto, so yes, it is. I set out again at a slow jog, which means my Free Running Skill can be active, and my stamina will only reduce slowly. Less than half an hour later, I saw a shimmer around me, and suddenly, I was surrounded by another group of Fleshlings. I put the mace away and drew two fighting knives. I used Dash and went straight for the one ahead of me and then dodged to the one next to it, using the knives to cut deep into its leg, taking its leg out with a precision double strike. That is the advantage of a high dexterity. Dexterity is often defined as hand-eye coordination, but it is more fine muscle control, and I have invested heavily in that. Combined with my Observant Eye, I can often hit weak spots that others cant. With the fleshling on the ground, I leap over it and Dash a bit further. The Fleshlings are slow, and that is what I am going to use against them. I keep moving back as I let loose my Burning Light. The first few burst into flame, and they burn hot. I keep moving away from them as they keep coming toward me in flame and smoke. The burning ones are slow, and the rear ones catch up, and the flame spreads easily. The smoke is affecting me, but I am not in any danger as long as I can stay ahead of them. Eventually, the last one goes down. I keep a careful eye on my surroundings as I dont trust the Trial not to ambush me while I am dealing with this. No ambush appears, but I bet it will later. I am still in the easy part. Always remember the Trial is out to kill me. When the Fleshlings dissolve, I go back for the loot. More coins, a single potion, and eleven cores. The potion was a mana potion this time. The trial is out to kill me. Burning Light is the only spell that is of any use here, so I am not using much mana. Health and Stamina potions are more useful to me, so of course, I get a mana potion. I get back to my slow jog and work on the cores as I move. All I get is more dust. A dust cloud is moving toward intercepting me. I pick up the pace and look for a defensive area to fight from. It does depend on what is coming at me. There are more undead than skeletons and Fleshlings. As the cloud moves closer, I see there are more skeletons, but they seem to be moving a bit faster. I get the mace from my bag. Time to see if I can get the Basic Blunt Weapon Skill. One thing about all this killing is that it is giving me plenty of experience points, so I can level one of my classes soon. I reach the rocks I was heading for just before my pursuers and start my dance. I am much more nimble than they are, although they seem to be upgraded on the last ones. I try fighting in a hit-and-run style with the mace and occasionally throwing a rock with my offhand. They might struggle with the rocks, but I have to be careful as well. The mace is much more effective at breaking bones, but I was just starting when a rock moved under my foot, and I went over into a roll with my acrobatics Skill to stop me from spraining my ankle or worse. The rocks stopped me suddenly, causing me to lose my breath for a second. The nearest skeleton brought its mace crashing down toward me. If I get a broken bone, I am dead. I bring the rock in my off hand up to block the mace, and one of my fingers is crushed, but it is better than the alternative. I roll toward the skeleton''s legs, and that puts him off balance, but I have to get up before the others get here. My finger is throbbing, and I throw the rock in that hand at the skeleton''s head as he lands near me. I then use my acrobatics to flip to my feet just in time to block a sword with my mace. I dont have any skills to block or parry as a swordsman would, and my arm is aching from stopping the sword. It must have had some sort of skill behind it. I stomp the skeleton''s leg bones on the ground, making sure he won''t get up again, and then dodge to the left as the mace from the one on the ground and the sword from the other one both come at me. Dodging is much better than blocking, but both block and parry are skills I need and dont have. I crash my mace into the arm of the sword wielder and dodge away from another one coming at me. I whittle them down, breaking bones and skulls. I took a cut from a sword thrust, but it was a shallow slash along my ribs as I managed to dodge mostly out of the way. Even my dodge can get overwhelmed. It may have been a skilled strike. When the last one was down, I got the first aid kit from my back. I took a weak health potion and strapped my broken middle finger to the fourth finger on that hand. The weak health potion is not going to fix the broken finger, but it should close the cut without me needing to bind it. I collect the loot. This time, a weak health potion and a rusted chainmail vest are available, which is better. I also collect the coins, meat, and coreseleven cores this time. I am very surprised I didnt take more injuries. I slip on the chainmail and tie it down with my belts The longer I spend in this trial, the harder it is going to get. The only reason I can defeat eleven skeletons is that they are slow and weak. What happens when they are stronger, and the mace doesn''t break bones so easily? What happens when my injuries mount, the time between attacks reduces, and my stamina falls? That will happen. 3. Pep Talk. Stop being a negative Nelly. I dont know who Nelly is, but dont be him or her. It is only the first day or maybe we are into the second day. I dont know, but this is a marathon, and I need to keep my head in the game. I could be here for a week or two. I checked my status. Yes, I have Basic Blunt Weapons Skills. That is good and a great start. Now, my classes. I want to be faster and hit harder, and to do that, I need to level my classes, so I get attribute points. Fighting alone certainly means you get a lot of experience points or XP. Duh. What an idiot. Fighting alone means I get all the XP. Both my classes are Specialised, so they will both give me 4 Attribute points to use for each level. Thief is higher, so it will take more XP to level than Illusionist. However, Thief also gives bonuses to Agility and Dexterity, whereas Illusionist gives bonuses to Intelligence and Wisdom. I need Agility and Dexterity more right now. I feed the XP into Thief and push it up to 13. I dont need much more to get it to 14. With Thief going up, my total level will rise to 21. OK, where do I put my attribute points? Agility and Dexterity will collect the bonus, but maybe I need a bit more Constitution. It will help with the injuries and help me resist getting more injuries. I have four points, and I put one in Agility, one in Dexterity, and two in Constitution. My Dexterity is pushed to 40. I am not sure if that is significant. Nothing happened when my Intelligence passed 40. Well, not nothing. I celebrated my brilliance. When I get out of here, there will be a huge celebration. You better believe it. Right, I need to keep moving. I need somewhere to hole up for a few hours of sleep. That will help my mental state. The two points in the constitution also help. The higher the constitution, the less sleep I will need. I start jogging again. I am watching the cliff as I am hoping for a cave or something. Some space I can block off so I can sleep. While I jog, I start working on the new set of cores. Dust, dust, dust, dust. Mana Control up one level, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, and more dust. That is depressing. I dealt with two more attacks by fleshlings. The same system worked as before, but they are going up in level, as one of them got a claw on my chainmail. My chainmail jingles and it annoys me. I have been trying to arrange belts to stop it, and I have been partly successful. I know I shouldnt be worried about it, as the undead hear the same way they see, i.e. not at all, and they have some other skill they use. The next attack brings something different. There are six Skeleton Warriors, but they have with them two undead hounds. Big ones. The hounds are the size of Dire wolves and have rotting flesh and fur on them. They caught me in a gap between rocks as well, although I dont think rocks will work that well against the hounds. They look pretty agile. I speed up. I am really thankful for the Free-Running Skill. The Skeletons angle toward me, but they loose the hounds, and they bound forward and will catch me before the rocks. I activated Dash, but I am not going to make it. I pull a rock out of my bag with my offhand. I debated getting a knife for my offhand, but even though they have fur and flesh, they are rotting, so something else is making them move, and cutting tendons is unlikely to work. Plus, two of my fingers are strapped together, and I will find it hard to hold a knife. My only advantage is I had a chance to deal with the hounds before the Skeletons got here. It is a brief chance, but it is the only one I have. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. When I hear them close, I dodge to the side and bring my mace around hard. I catch one of the hounds in the ribs, and I break a lot of them, but I am not sure that will stop him. The other hound changes direction and pounces at me. I dont have time to dodge again and go down with his claws digging into the chainmail on my chest. His teeth are reaching for my neck. I bring the rock up and use it to club his head to the side. I am sure I broke some of his bones there, too. I roll with my acrobat skill and kick a hound away, getting back on my feet. I see fur and crash the mace down on it. My off-hand gets teeth biting into it, but the jaw doesnt close properly, so I broke something with the rock. I shake my arm loose and bring the mace into an uppercut under the jaw. There wasnt a lot of power there, but I hope it was enough because I had to throw myself into a backflip to avoid a spear thrust from the lead skeleton. Praise the many gods that I have acrobatics. Coming back to my feet, I parry the spear with the rock and break some bones with my mace. A sword scrapes the chainmail and cuts some rusted links. As I throw the rock, crushing a skull at short range. One and a half down, four and a half to go. I dash to the side to make some space and check my opponents. The two hounds are lying motionless, and one skeleton is just a pile of bones. The other skeleton I wounded had a broken arm, and it was trying to use a two-handed spear single-handedly. I roll my head and shoulders to loosen the kinks and get another rock from my bag. OK, let''s do this. Skills like Basic Blunt Weapons are more than skills. They are a series of skills that flow together, and when you are good enough with them, you can make them flow in different orders and sequences. I know Basic Short Blades very well from using and levelling it over the years. Basic Blunt Weapons is new to me, and I couldnt dance with it like I could with the short blades. I know my knives, and I can dance the dance with them, but the mace and the rock were very different, and I felt stilted and stiff. I got the job done, taking out the axe wielder first, throwing the rock at the sword wielder, and finishing it with the mace while dodging the last swing of the next axe and breaking its legs. Then there was one and a half. I left the half till last and almost got a spear in me for my trouble. I was lucky there wasnt much power in the strike as it only had a single hand. I rested briefly. The chainmail was rusted to start with, but now there are more holes in it. It has done its job. I have a couple of blood spots on my chest where the hounds claws were through the chain and a slight cut where the sword went. It would have been a lot worse without the chainmail. I start collecting the loot. The loot has improved this time. A skill stone was dropped, which is exciting. I appraised it, and it is the Parry Skill, which is useful and needed. I learn the Skill. Yeah, that is going to help a lot against skilled attacks. Now I am worried that the difficulty is going to rise again. A one-handed war axe was also dropped. I just put it in my bag. I had no axe skills, and I was only just learning the Mace. I drank the health potion and stored everything else. While there were only six skeletons, they were at a higher level, and more skilled attacks came at me. I guess that is why the trial is increasing the reward. Then there were the Hounds. I stayed where I was and worked on the cores. By now, I must have ripped into fifty, and not one had any skills. I knew the odds. I am just hoping to beat the odds. I figure I have been on the go for at least three days now, maybe four. I looked at my status sheet, and I levelled Thief again, getting it to 14 and putting the attribute points in the same way as before. I need to bolster my constitution or the wounds are going to add up. I need more strength as well, but that might be good for next time. Half an hour later, I spot a crack in the cliff that I might be able to use to rest. I go and explore. I was worried it was going to lead to a deep, dark prison or something, but it was just a crack that stopped about three body lengths in. I built a wall with rocks and lay down to rest. 4. Wake up. I started awake to the sound of pounding and crumbling of rocks in the wall I built. I jumped up knocking my head against a rock protrusion. I could do with a helmet. The problem with building a wall in front of a cave to sleep in is that I now have to fight my way out, and I have no idea how many are out there or what they are. Fuck, that wasnt a good idea. I needed a rest, and I am not sure what else I could have done. Now, I am in a tight spot, literally and figuratively. To top it off, I dont feel rested. I probably didnt sleep for long. How do I get out of here in one piece? The answer is the same as always: as fast as I can. I use the Mace to smash the rock out, and as soon as there is a hole, I dive through and make a Dash for it. These skeletal warriors were a bit different. They seemed weaker and less armoured. The mace tore through them easier than the others. There were more of them, but I am not sure how many. I dashed away, breaking some legs on the way, and turned back to face them. They all had a weapon of some sort but no armour or anything. Then I saw hima Skeletal Knight in full plate armour sitting on an undead horse on a dusty plain, just watching me. He wasnt coming onto the rocks. He was just watching me fight his minions. Well fuck. It looked like some sort of mini-boss. I kept dodging and dashing and fighting his minions, whittling them down, and he seemed content to just sit there and watch me. Well, thats good. Your turn will come, asshole. Then I giggled a bit. He is a skeleton. He doesnt have an asshole. I think my mental state is declining. I took a few unavoidable hits, and the chainmail saved me some blood, but the holes were getting bigger. I took a cut on my arm as well that bled. I didnt want to stop to bandage it with the Assholeless Knight sitting there watching me. I chugged a weak health potion. We stared at each other while I hoped loot would appear. The bodies disappeared, but no loot appeared. I swear the knight was laughing at me even though he didnt move or make a sound. He obviously didnt want to bring his horse up on the rocks, and he didnt want to get off his horse. I was trying to figure out how to fight him or fight enough to run away. If I went out on the dusty plain, the horse would run me down quickly. He was in full plate armour, so he was going to be difficult to damage, and I bet he was tougher than the weak minions. Then, I swear that the Assholeless Knight grinned at me, even though that was not possible with a skull. The helmet had an open face, with a strip of metal running down to protect his nose. A bone skull cannot grin. He raised his arm like he was raising the dead, and ten skeletal minions rose out of the ground in front of him. Maybe they were the same minions I had just killed, and he had just raised them back up. Fuck. The minions started towards me and climbed up on the rocks. Fuck. It is like I have made no progress. I reset myself and picked up a rock in my offhand. Ok, boys, lets dance. I deliberately ignored the fact that my stamina was down and I was bruised and bleeding. If these ugly gentlemen want to insist I dance with them, then I will dance. The hit-and-run tactics on the rocky terrain were working for me, although I renamed it the Dash and Dodge Tactics. They were working for me right up until they didnt. I lost my footing, and a mace clipped my arm, and my mace went flying. Acrobatics turned the fall into a roll, and I would have new bruises from the rocky terrain. I didnt have a weapon as I lost the rock from my hand when I needed that hand to get me into a roll, and my broken finger screamed at me in pain. It protested at being bent that way. I am sure it was rebroken. I had no weapons, and Mace Minon was coming at me. I rolled to my feet and grabbed the bony arm that held the mace. Then, I went for a grappling hold. I had gotten into a lot of fistfights over the years, and I had maxed out my Unarmed Combat. I took some lessons and learned the Grappling skill. Grappling was all about holds and subduing your opponent, and it was usually a good fit for my line of work. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Holding my opponent wasnt going to work here, as an axe minion was coming at me. Well, it partially worked when I put the Mace Minion in the way of the axe strike. I was lucky the axe actually hit bone and didnt go straight through to me. The other aspect of grappling was making parts of your opponent''s body bend in ways they are not designed to. That is not so easy to do when there arent muscles and tendons that can tear, but the neck is still a weak point. I toss the headless pile of bones at the axe minion and Dash backwards so I have time to grab a weapon from my bag. The looted axe is going to be better than my knives, even though I have no axe skills. It is heavy and can break bones, and to start with, I can pretend it is a mace. Come on, you Assholeless Minions, lets keep this dance going. My voice was dry. I had a canteen in my bag that slowly collected water, but I needed to finish this dance first. Thats right. A dance and then a drink. I even have a wineskin in my bag, but that is probably not such a good idea. I can celebrate when the Assholeless Knight is dead. Dead again? Fuck, dont think, just dance. When the last one went down, I was exhausted. I pulled out my canteen and took a long drink. I looked around and spied my mace lying on the ground. I have a small keg of ale in my bag as well. I really wanted to break that out, but the Assholeless Knight was still there watching me. I chugged another weak health potion. I was going to run out of these at this rate, as I am not getting any loot from these fights. I chugged the weak stamina potion as well. I hefted the axe as I started to limp to the dropped mace. I think I like the axe. I like it more than the mace. When I got the Basic Axe Skill, I started to use it very effectively. The fact it can cut and smash things is a good fit. I should have learned this a long time ago. Mind you, I usually avoid fights, so it is not surprising I didnt learn these skills. If I wanted to fight, I would have joined the stupid army. Dont you grin at me. Fuck, ten more really? How often can you do this? There has to be a limit, right? It has to be costing the knight something. I pick up the mace. Hmmm. Mace in one hand, axe in the other? My Clever Hands Skill would probably let me do it, but my broken finger wont. I decide to put the mace in my bag and fight with the Axe and a rock. This time, I am careful and lead them around a bit. I was conserving Stamina but also thinking. If I want this to stop, I am going to have to take out the knight. He doesnt summon them again until all ten are dead, and there is a pause between the last death and them fading to dust before he can resummon them. That is the gap I have to make my attack in. If he is wounded or fighting, will that mean he cant summon? I dont know, but I do know I need to do something. He is in full plate armour, but the horse isnt. Plan A: Take out one of the horse''s legs and run for it. It sounds like a good plan to me. I manoeuvred the last minion to the edge of the rocks. Then I kill it and make a Dash toward the Knight. I swear it was grinning as it moved the horse to face me and drew its sword. Shit. I am committed now. The horse starts walking toward me. I dodged the knight''s sword, but he was definitely faster than his minions, and I think that would be the end of the chainmail. I turn the dodge into a roll with my Acrobatics and bring the axe as hard as I can against the joint in the horse''s leg. Fighting with the axe has shown me the value of my high dexterity, and I can precision chop very accurately. I like the axe. Unfortunately, my strength is not really up there. I was hoping to cut it clean off, but I had to settle for cracked bones. The horse still took its weight off that foot, so that would have to be good enough. I rolled under the horse and managed to avoid the hooves. I dashed away from the knight on the plain but parallel to the rocks so I could make it back if I had to. The knight turned the horse in my direction, and then I saw him lean down and touch the horses leg. The bones healed. Fuck, he has a healing skill as well as a summoning skill. The horse pawed the ground with its newly healed foot, and I dashed for the rocks again. Shit, this trial is going to kill me. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I dash back up on the rocks, and the horse trotted close to where I am. Calm down, Marvin. You are Marvin the Magnifique, illusionist extraordinaire and the thief who robs princes. I can do this. I dont know how, but I can do this. The Assholess Knight raises his arm, and ten minions rise up. Fuck, fuck, fuck. There has got to be a limit to this. His energy or whatever he uses to summon the minions and heal the horse must be coming from somewhere. It is like my mana and my stamina. There has to be a limit. Wait. The minions arent attacking straight away. They have every other time, so why not this time? There is a limit, isnt there? There is a limit, and he is stalling for time to regenerate whatever he is using. No, no, no, you assholelessness. You dont get time to do that. I have you on the ropes now. Plan A didnt work, so it is time for Plan B. I turn my back on the Knight and toward the cliff. The cliff is made of crumbly rock, as demonstrated by all the rubble I have been fighting on. It is a very dangerous climb, but if he is giving me time, I have the Climb skill at level 5. I take my first hand holds, with the Climb skill guiding me where to hold. My broken finger is a hindrance, but we do what we must. My foot dislodges a small rock slide, but I keep my grip. I glance back. The minions are coming. Yes. Now we are back in action. I drop to the ground, having only got about a meter up. I grab my axe. It is time for the next dance, and it is my turn to lead. 5. Dancing for life. I was cautious again. I was very conservative with my stamina because, after this dance, it was the last dance for the night. That was the big one. By this time, I knew the skeletal warriors and their moves. Their dancing was stilted and formulaic. They didnt step outside the set moves of the formal dance. When I started dancing this evening, I was the same. I didnt know my partner or my opponents. Now, I knew my opponents. I knew their moves and their limits. I knew the steps they would take in this dance, as we had danced it before. But now I was getting to know my dance partner better. We started to move more to the rhythm of the song than sticking to the formal moves of the dance. Basic Axe levelled, and we were more in sync. Dont over-commit here; that is enough strength in the chop; step here to avoid that thrust and be able to reply; Parry that blow and slam the hilt of the axe into the skull; step, chop, move. The dance started to make sense with the axe, just like I learned it with my knives. When I was down to a final dancer, I moved out of the rocks and onto the dusty plain. The Knight brought his horse around to face me and drew his sword. The final dancers were in position. The last song for the night was about to begin. I stepped back out of the reach of the last minion, turned, and threw the rock at the Knight with everything I had. He saw it coming and turned his face away, so the rock bounced off the side of his helmet with a clang, signalling the start of the last dance. My opening steps were fast as I Dashed toward the Knight, ignoring the minion. By the time the Knight looked back, I was there swinging at him, but the Knight was a new dancing opponent and had moves I had not seen before. The Knight did not use his eyes to see, and his sword was already rising to the opening crash of sound. My dance partner and I were in sync, and the feint to chop the Knight was modified to the horse''s neck, and my beautiful partner dug deep. This was the final dance, and we would hold nothing back. I had no special skills to empower the strike. If I had my knives, I could have used Thrust, but that does not work with axes. Even though my partner dug deep, we didnt sever the spine. I dodged under the sword of the Knight and under the neck of the horse. As soon as I appeared on the far side, I cast Burning Light into the wound. My opponent has a healing skill, and anything to hinder that healing and make him use more of his already depleted reserves was of benefit to me. With the last minion still alive, I was hoping he couldnt resummon them. The dance picked up the tempo as we clashed axe to the sword in a dance where I tried to keep on the opposite side away from his sword hand, and he tried to bring his horse around. Then I was in retreat as the horse suddenly reared, and the hooves were striking at me in a quick step. I dove backwards, trusting Acrobatics to orientate me, and it did roll me backwards, so I ended up on my feet. I had to drive to the side as the horse charged forward, and the Knights sword clashed with my axe in a crashing finale to end the opening sequence. I have used too much Stamina for too little gain. The Knight and the horse soon came back around at me. I got ready for the next movement. I fainted to the Knights offside and then dove the opposite way, bringing the axe in against the same leg I struck in the dance I called Plan A. I was never so pleased with my investment in dexterity than now as I managed to strike the right spot on a galloping hoof. This time, the horses movement and the strike left the leg hanging by a thread, and I was channelling Burning Light the whole time. My dance partner was ripped from my grip and tossed out into the dusty plain, but the horse was down to three feet, and it looked like it would stay that way. They limped back towards me, and I sent burning light into the wound again. Healing it would cost him dearly. I so hoped he was running out of whatever he used for energy. The Knight dismounted and came striding forward. I moved forward to meet him, wondering if I had anything else I could use, but the answer kept coming up empty. What I had was it. I hope it was enough. The knight was fast, and the sword kept coming. The Knight was armoured, and I only had a rusted chainmail shirt that was barely hanging together. I had lost my main dance partner. The substitute mace felt heavy and clumsy. The only thing that kept me alive was my investment in agility and dexterity. The only things that allowed me to do some damage were my Observant Eyes and my dexterity. The gaps in his armour were small. I doubted most people could hit them constantly, especially with the dance we were engaged in. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. My main damage dealer was my Precision Throw, using my offhand, supported by my Clever Hands and dexterity. The rocks did more damage than I thought they would. Maybe the energy is tied to his health. I hope so. Parry, block, dodge, throw, and strike were my go-to dance moves, and I was running out of rocks. The knight was limping now as I pounded his knee and burned what I could. The dance was coming to an end, and the final moves took me by surprise. The knight''s leg finally gave way at the knee, and I moved forward to pound his face to dust when a sword pierced me through from behind. I forgot about the jilted dance opponent from the last dance. I swung around, and the sword withdrew, cutting the hole through my guts wider as it did so. I brought my dance partner around and took its head but collapsed to my knees, bleeding. The Knight was also on his knees, but he was not finished with this dance and was coming toward me. The only way I could survive now was to kill the knight and hope the loot provided something that would heal me. I parried the sword that came at me. There was no strength behind it, and I threw the rock point-blank at his face. I struck to the side of the nose guard, and the skull cracked, so I threw myself at him and brought my mace down on his face again and again until I collapsed. I tried to stop the bleeding, but there wasnt much I could do. I looked around, and the horse was just a pile of bones at the death of the knight, and then the body faded, leaving the loot. The first thing I saw was the health potion. It wasnt a weak one, either. I drank it quickly, without even appraising it. The bleeding stopped, and the wound healed some but not fully. There wasnt enough for the finger, either. That might require a bone-mending potion. Fuck you, Trial, not even giving me what I need to heal properly. I am still alive, you bastard! I yelled. I made a rude gesture with my hand. I had actually been hoping this was the final boss and the trial would be over. Defeat the boss, and you will exit the trial with your final rewards. No such luck. It was only what they call a mini-boss or a floor-boss, even though this trial doesnt have floors. I dont even know what the criteria are to get out of here. I look at the remaining loot. There is a skill stone. Maybe it is a healing skill. No, of course, it is not a healing skill. I learned it anyway because I bloody earned it. It was the Skill Steady Footing. Typical. The bloody trial gives me something I need AFTER I need it. If I got out of here, it will be a really useful skill. Steady Footing does what it says. Most fighters try to get it, and it keeps them steady in a fight and, at the higher levels, can help counter charge-type skills. That is not why I wanted it. I often find myself in precarious places: narrow ledges in high winds, tight rope bridges, etc. It will be great; I just need to survive. I collected the coins, and there was not just copper this time but silver. I really think I deserved gold for that. Fuck you, trial. There was the Knight''s Longsword. Spare weapons were always good, even though I had no sword skills. Actually, that is not true. The Thrust skill I got for my knives to penetrate armour can be used with a sword. This trial is going to be a long one. The Knight also dropped his helmet, so that is good. I really think I need a shield or something. My main worry is that I have no defence against a ranged attack. The trial is out to kill me, so guess what is coming? I put on the helmet and found the real prize underneath. It is a small white stone, like a Skill stone, but it is not a skill stone. This stone gives me Skill Points, with which I can buy skills. I can get a healing skill with this. It is only one point, but I gather up my axe and the monster core and go and sit and look at what I can get for my skill point. The list is long, but most of it is greyed out, and I dont meet the criteria. I am looking for healing skills. Without some sort of healing this trial will kill me. Even a broken finger is significantly hampering me. There are some awesome weapon techniques, but only the most basic can be bought with only one point. That is not worth spending it on. I scratch in the dirt what options I have. Purification no, thats two points. Area Purification, 5 Points. Basic Heal, no two points. Area Heal, 5 Points. Wound Stitch is one point. It stitches closed wounds, and that is it. Basically, it stops bleeding. My wound is closed, and I am not bleeding, so this is too limited. Bone Mend, 3 points. Curse cleanse 3 Points. Fuck this trial. It teases me with a single point, and I need two for a Basic Heal Skill. I am going to have to keep this point and earn another somewhere. This trial is definitely out to kill me. I look at the XP I earned. It is almost enough to level Thief again. I could level up Illusionist, as it is cheaper, but it is very limited in use here. Thief is one level from 15, and sometimes, these levels can trigger a second specialisation of the class, so I might wait. What mostly triggers new classes is the acquisition of new skills, and I do have a number of new skills. I look forward to what options open up. The last thing is the monster core. It is a bigger core than all the others. Did that mean it had a skill? Not necessarily. This was a boss core, and some people claim the chances of a boss core having a skill are greater than an ordinary core, but who knows? Knowing this trial, it will be empty. The Knight had a healing skill, so that is what I really wanted, but I would settle for the skill to summon minions to fight for me. Any skill would help. Dont get your hopes up, this trial is out to fuck with me. Thats why I only got one Skill Point when I needed two. Boss cores are also more difficult to get skills from. My Mana Control and Mana Manipulation are higher than most mages due to me holding and manipulating images rather than just firing off a fire bolt. Only Enchanters and Alchemists would generally have higher skills and they may have even better ones. My Mana Control is on the verge of maxing out. Ok, enough stalling, lets do this. 6. The Only Way is Up. Mana control regulated the amount of mana that went into the core. Too much mana and the core would be destroyed, but this boss core needed more than the other cores. I slowly increased the amount of mana, and suddenly, it burst into the core. I had to grab it with mana manipulation and stop it from damaging the core. With mana manipulation, I can sense there was a skill there. I dont know what type, and I had to stop myself from getting excited. If I lost control now, I would ruin everything. Plus, it was probably only a skill that allowed a skull to grin. I manipulated the mana to encircle the skill and slowly disconnect it from the core. It was well-connected. This was a boss core. When only a couple of connections were left, the core was becoming very unstable, so I used Mana Manipulation to cushion the skill, then sliced the connection and pulled as hard as I could. I had never extracted a skill from a monster core before. I can understand why people wait for the experts to turn them into skill stones. But fuck yes, I did it. Who''s the best? Yes! Marvin the Magnifique for the win. Fuck you, trial. It wasnt just a skill. No, it was an Ability. Something rare and only available in trials. I was celebrating loudly as Minor Regeneration was added to my status. Yes, yes, yes! I got this now! I yelled at the trial. Then, the skill started working, and the pain hit. The broken fingers in my hand ground against each other as they slowly moved back into alignment. The partially healed wound in my stomach gurgled, and it simultaneously felt like I was going to throw up my stomach and that stomach acid was leaking through that part of my body. My skin felt like I had ants crawling under it as the minor cuts and bruises that covered my body slowly healed. I say slowly, as this took time. I dont know how long, maybe half and hour, maybe an hour? After it had done its work, I realised there were drawbacks to this skill. The time and pain would make it very difficult for me to fight while this was happening. The Mana cost would also need to be managed, as it used mana to heal. This didnt make me invincible. I essentially beat the knight with this skill because I ran him out of mana. However, my prospects for survival have significantly improved. I took off the bandage that held my broken finger and flexed it. It is good to have it back. I took the opportunity to look up how much Minor Regeneration would have cost me if I used Skill Points to buy it. There it is for 5 points. Regeneration was 10 points, and Major Regeneration was 20 points. I cant even imagine having that many points. This was my first one ever. While I was there, I looked at what else I could spend my Skill Points on. I could get the Basic Longsword skill, but I felt that was a waste as I could learn that with training and practice. In fact, I was picking up weapons skills quite easily. Easier than normal, I am sure. Was that some hidden ability of mine, or was it due to the trial? Maybe it was a bit of both? I picked up Small Blades easily and just put it down to my natural orientation to knives and the Rogue class I had back then. Maybe when I specialised Rogue into Thief, I should have gone with Assassin instead. I preferred Thief, as there seemed to be more money in it. And I am good at it. I looked at what I could get for my Skill Point to make my Illusionist Class more useful. All the general mage skills were greyed out as my specialisation is toward light skills and, by extension, shadow skills. What I learned was that one Skill point only buys the most basic skills. I need to save up, probably for a weapons technique. There was a good axe one there called the Blood Moon Cleave. The sword technique Eclipses Edge seemed to incorporate my light skills. It was greyed out, and I needed at least basic sword skills first. It was also three points. There were some good dagger techniques there, too. Both Shadow Dance and Moonshade seemed to incorporate my light; in fact, Shadow Dance was a sword-and-knife combo. I really liked Shadow Dance, but it was five points. I pulled out the sword. Maybe it is time to learn some sword skills. Then I put it back. The sword is not great against skeletons. The axe is better. I would save my point for now. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. My Observant Eye noticed a dust cloud heading my way. Quite a large one. I couldnt see what was making it, but the trial never leaves you alone for long. I need to find a safe zone. Yeah, right, like that was going to happen. What were my options? This trial seems to be challenging my weaknesses, and my current weakness is against range attacks. I turned around and looked at the cliff. Can I get up there before the attackers arrive? Maybe. It is an extremely dangerous climb, but it would change things, and it would be me changing things, not the trial. I had no idea what was on top of the cliff, but I couldnt let the trial keep manoeuvring me. The cliff is very crumbly rock. If I fell and broke a leg, I would be at the attacker''s non-existent mercy. Minor Regeneration was slow and Painful. I did have a helmet now, so cracking my head open was less of a risk. Lets do this. I approached the cliff and let my Climb Skill guide me. I had climbed many things in the past, but most of them were structures built by people. Buildings, walls, fences, etc. I have climbed a number of trees and vines. I have only climbed a few cliffs, but they were generally hard, stable rock. It felt like my hand and foot holds were going to crumble at any moment. I kept three points of contact with the rock at all times. Despite my attacker''s fast approach, I moved slowly and carefully. It is just as well that I did as I had a hand and both feet secured while my other hand reached for the next hold when the rock under my foot disappeared in a rock slide. I was left with one hand and the opposite foot holding me there. If I fell now, Minor Regeneration would not save me. I found a new handhold and then moved my foot up. Whose bloody stupid idea was this? Going back down now was more dangerous than carrying on. The only way is up from here. Slow and careful, one grip at a time. I had two more scares; one caused a fairly major rock slide, and I was left clinging to the rock with one hand. Fortunately, once the loose rock was gone, there was firmer rock underneath. Keep going. Rock climbing is a combination of agility and strength. I had plenty of agility; it was strength where I was lacking. At the next level I will invest in strength. I was two body lengths from the top when the first arrow bounced off the rock near me. Shit. They dont even need to hit me. They just need to cause a rock slide. I sped up, but only slightly. If I fell, I would be doing their job for them, and we cant have that. I glanced down. Mounted Archers and undead Hounds. Fuck you, trial. Arrows started coming faster, and I moved faster. I must have been near the limit of their range, which was helpful. The arrow hitting my back almost made me lose my grip. It struck one of the few places in the chainmail that was not holed, so it didnt penetrate. The arrow didnt have a lot of power as we were near the limit of the range. The arrow that tore through the outer edge of my thigh hurt like hell, and the feeling of Minor Regeration kicking in was almost as bad. I made it to the top and rolled away from the edge in relief. Yes, fuck you, Trial! I looked at my Status, and Climb had gone up a level, but what was better was that I earned a point in Strength. That was awesome. It has been a long time since I earned attributes. It gets harder as you move out of the lower levels. The only way is up, and that is true not only for the cliff but also for me and my attributes and levels. That is the only way I will survive this. I sat up and looked around. The top of the cliff was just as barren and dusty as the bottom. It wasnt as flat, and there were rolling hills. It looked like more cliffs in the distance, but I didnt have Farsight. One of the nearby hills was surrounded by what looked like a rotting wooden palisade wall, and there were buildings behind it. I marked it as my next destination. Trials are not always about just fighting and killing. They often have hidden areas, and you can find amazing treasures. I didnt know if this trial was like that, but it was certainly bigger than any trial I had ever heard about. I had been in some minor trials when I was a young rogue. A rogue is the eyes of a normal party, and my job was to find and disarm traps. These skills worked great for me when I went on to thieving. I was convinced to go into a bigger trial with a party once. I almost died on the seventh and final floor, and three members of our party did die. The three of us who got out were well rewarded for clearing the trial, but that put me off going into trials ever again. A big part of my reward was the additional Class slot. I started life with one Class and one Profession slot. When I got the additional Class slot, I chose to be a mage. I had a good affinity with magic, and there were lots of jobs for mages outside trials. At that point, my interest had turned toward thieving. Many people protect their possessions with magic, and that was really my motivation. Plus, I could play the part of the bumbling, uncoordinated mage and get away with a lot of stuff. This is also why I chose the Illusionist Specialisation. It is fantastic for a thief, and I would have never escaped Prince Seths palace and the Immortal Guards without it. 7. Hunted. I pulled out some food and my canteen and ate and drank. How long had I been here? I didnt really know. Without the sun and a day-night cycle, I couldnt really tell. I am pretty sure it is longer than a week. I got up and got my axe in my hand and a rock in the other and set off at a steady jog toward the ruins I could see. It was going to take me several hours to get there, and I assumed I would be attacked. I really like this Free Runner Skill. I was attacked about half an hour later, and I never saw it coming. Wide open spaces, dirt landscape with no vegetation, and the Observant Eye Skill and I was still ambushed. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a large cat creature was jumping at me with claws and teeth ready. Its coat was the same colour as the dirt, and it must have had good camouflage skills. While it took me by surprise, I had good and well-trained reflexes. I dodged to the side and swung with my axe, slicing it down the side of its body. The large cat, which was about the size of a mountain lion in my area, also had good reflexes, and my strike only cut a thin line down its body, drawing blood. It landed on its feet and immediately turned to pounce again when my thrown rock smashed against its head, and I came in with a chop of the axe, removing its head. Wait a minute. This thing is bleeding. The Undead dont bleed. I Identified it before it disappeared. It was an Infernal Lynx. Infernal means demonic, not undead. I know some trials have different creatures on different floors. Is this a different floor for this trial? I dont know. Ho, ho, ho, this is awesome. Trial, you have stuffed up big time. Infernal is not undead. Infernal creatures are susceptible to my illusions and light abilities. They can be cut and bleed. I pulled out my knives. Yes. Now, I was in business. My Basic Small Blades skill was on the verge of maxing out. Yes, I knew this dance. I felt like a new man. I didnt put away the axe just yet. A single infernal creature did not mean there were no undead. Now, I looked around carefully. I need to train my Observant Eyes to detect the Infernal Lynxs camouflage. Yes, this is where I am good. This is where I excel. I picked up the few copper coins, the meat and Monster Core. The core didnt give me anything, but that was fine. Before moving off, I engaged in some major illusions for the first time in the Trial. Project Image created a copy of me standing next to me and slightly ahead of where I was. The image was wearing a different outfit than I was, as I had spent a lot of time with a lot of mirrors to create this image with the Copy Image Spell. I then used light manipulation to wrap light around me so I could become invisible. I left two small gaps for my eyes so I could see, but with all my practice, I was very hard to spot. I was very aware that not all creatures hunt with their eyes, but for most, it is a big part of their hunt. Prince Seths guard dogs taught me that in a painful lesson. The large image was also mana-intensive, and I couldnt keep it up for a long time, but that was not the intention. The intention was to bait out the Infernal Lynxes and train my Observant Eyes. Then, we set off at a steady jog. I was slightly behind and to the left of my copy, close enough that my stink would appear to be his stink, and most attacks would miss or at least be miss-timed. I used the Skill Animate Image to make it look like it was running. There was no dust rising from his feet like mine, and I could have tweaked the image to make it appear that there was, but if I was just dealing with animals, there was no need. In the next attack, there were two of them. One pounced from the side and the other from the front. My observant eyes caught the second one, and there was a slight distortion from the coat and the background. I dispatched the first with a knife and a stab to the eye with the Thrust Skill. The second flew straight through the image without disturbing it, and I think it was quite confused. I used a throwing knife and Precision Throw to end its life. One strike kills. These are fairly low levels animals. A few more, and I will be able to pick them out well enough to dismiss the copy. After the fifth attack, I was confident I could spot the Lynxes, and I dismissed my copy. I was about halfway to the hill with the palisade on it. I cast the Self-Clean charm to get rid of my stink. It was now time to hunt. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I left the Light Manipulation on, so the light bent around me and moved forward. I could keep this up for hours. I didnt bother to go into stealth but jogged quietly forward, looking for my prey. I equipped a knife in each hand. The hunted had turned into the hunter. The first Lynx I found was larger than the previous and alone. I slipped into stealth and snuck behind it, then dashed forward and sliced and diced, with my Clever Hands supported by my dexterity. It didnt even realise what hit it. I jogged forward. I knew the trial was out to get me, so it wouldnt let me get away with this for long. I had to make the most of it. I killed my way to the palisade wall, and then I hunted my way around it, inspecting it. There were a lot of gaps in the wall that I could have gotten through. If I can get through them, so can lynxes and other creatures. I hunted my way around and found the broken gates. The Lynxes were becoming a higher level, and there were often several close together. I was surprised when dispatching two large lynxes and got pounced on by two more. It was a frantic few moments, but I had illusions ready to go, and one lynx mistakenly pounced on me drinking a cup of tea. It was not the first time I had been surprised and needed emergency illusions. I took some scratches, and Minor Regeneration handled it. I had to get used to it operating in a fight. It was like any skill, and I could turn it off, but I didnt want to. It only used mana when it was healing, and I wanted to get used to it. I also had to judge how much mana it used and how long it would take for various healings. Mana management was critical. Poor Mana management was the death of the Skeletal Knight, and I would do my best for it not to be the death of me. That fight was enough to max out my Basic Small Blades Skill. I knew it was on the brink. I got an attribute point in agility for it and a number of more advanced knife-fighting techniques I could choose. My normal style was a mobile fighter, and mostly, I just did enough to run away. People hunt murderers a lot more ruthlessly than they hunt thieves. This meant I was not really interested in learning the Death Knife Technique. The Razors Edge, though, looked good. It focused on precise, lightning-fast slashes at vulnerable parts of the body. In my mind, I could use this to kill or disable. I was all about precision, and this suited me. Time to see what the dilapidated village held. I waited in stealth by the broken gate and watched me walk through into the village. My images dont do sound, unfortunately, but a tossed rock was like knocking on the door. The copy did not get far past the gate when two small arrows went through it, and three small creatures pounced with knives and short swords. They also went through the image, and I stopped projecting before they realised what had happened. It was Infernal Imps, and it was quite a large infestation. I wouldnt be surprised to have some Lynxes in there as well. I didnt have to go in, of course. I could bypass it and carry on my way. This was like an optional quest, and the quest suddenly appeared in my status. Infernal Infestation, (Optional) Clear the village of infernal creatures. Reward: 2 Free Skill Points, Two Armour Pieces, ???. Yeah, this trial knows how to entice me. If I hadnt learned the Minor Regeneration, I would have needed those skill points for the Minor Healing Skill. I would also still be wounded. The pieces of armour is also enticing. They are probably part of a set, and if I can get them all, there are usually bonuses. This wont be rusty chainmail or a clunky helmet. I still want those points. Shadow Dance has my eye now, and for that, I need five points. I withdrew the longsword from my bag. I also need sword skills. Optional places likely also hide other treasures, and I am good at finding hiding places. There is another reason to go in. This is a known risk. If I bypass it, the trial will throw something else at me, probably something I am not ready for. That will come eventually, but I can manage this. I will get skills and levels as well as, hopefully, treasure. I can also manage the pace. I dont know how long I have to be in this place or what the criteria are for getting out. Maybe I have to kill a certain number of creatures? Maybe it is to survive for a month? Maybe it is to find hidden areas? Maybe it is killing the boss? Complete a certain number of Quests? I dont know. A quest when I entered with information would have been very helpful. I didnt get that. If I do this, it is a managed risk, and I am in a better state than I could have been. The Trial probably knows this and has made this harder, but it is still a risk I can manage. Infernal imps are about the size of a human child, about 8-10 years old. They have longer arms with claws and tough, leathery skin. Their face is shaped like a monkey, and they have sharp teeth. The worst part is they know how to use weaponsknives, swords, and bows. They also have small bows and light weapons, but they are dangerous in numbers. There are numbers here, so the key to doing this is not to let myself be swamped or surrounded. That is OK. I excel at fast, mobile fights in complicated environments. I hefted the longsword, but it felt awkward in my hands. Is this really the time to break in a new dance partner? The trouble is I dont think I am going to get a better time. The Trial wont stop. I will be thrown into new and more challenging tasks. To survive, I need new dance moves. I hefted the sword again. Come on, darling, show me your moves. I stepped into the village. 8. Infestation. Of course, nothing happened when I stepped into the village as I was still wrapping light around me, and I had re-cast Self-clean to remove any smell. I looked around with my Observant Eye. There was an open square just inside the gates, and around the square were dilapidated one-story buildings. It looked like they could have been shops, craft people''s workshops, and accommodations. Planks of wood were missing, and roofs were generally fallen in. The floors look rotted out as well. I used seak to move around and get an idea of the layout and how many creatures there might be. These buildings were the best of them, and further back were small huts and hovels, some of which did not have a lot remaining. The layout was a couple of larger lanes and then a small alley between buildings where walls were still standing. The walls of the mud hovels stood the test of time better than the wooden buildings. Nothing was left of their roofs, which probably had been thatched or similar. Some buildings were just a pile of rubble. There were imps, a lot of imps. There were Infernal Lynxes, and I couldnt get too close to them, or their noses would start twitching despite my self-cleaning. There were three Lesser Devils. They had fangs, horns, and hooved feet. The Lessor Devils were spread out throughout the village, and I would start the fight by removing one of them. They were the strongest and highest-level creatures here. I retreated to a hovel that still had all its walls but no roof and planned my opening moves. Plan A was if I could kill it without alerting any other beast, and they got more complicated from there. There was going to be a lot of improvisation later, but that was normal and I was well practiced. I would start with a two-handed sword strike, but I had my knives close by, especially my throwing knives. My throwing knives were my only way to take out the archers from a distance, and I had a limited supply of them. I still had a few rocks, but not many. I gripped the sword and waited, and waited, and wai Now, I dashed out and performed a two-handed sword thrust into the heart of the Lesser Devil, using my Thrust Skill. This was successful but didnt stop it from squealing loudly and moving violently. I grabbed a knife with my offhand and used Razor Edge for the first time to cut his throat and silence him. He, in turn, had turned around, and I barely held onto my sword, but I did, and it came out of his body. How much constitution does this devil have? As he turned, he struck at me with his claws, and my poor abused chainmail gave up and was torn off, leaving me momentarily off balance and claw marks on my chest that started bleeding. I lost control of the light and became visible. I stabbed his body with the sword and cut his arm with the knife, and then I did it again. He finally went down. I could feel Minor Regeneration working at the claw marks, and I looked down because they should have been shallow cuts. The skin around the cuts was turning black from some sort of poison or death skill, and the Minor Regeneration was fighting it. Shit. Fuck you, Trial! I yelled regardless of the consequences. I needed to save more mana as if I ran out, Minor Regeneration would stop working, and the poison would kill me. This will also take longer for Minor Regeneration to fight and heal. The trial answered my yell as my head was violently jerked forward as an arrow bounced off my helmet. I would have to be careful with my illusions and Light manipulation. I started to move as Imps were running toward me. I was with an unfamiliar dance partner, and I felt awkward and stiff. I dodged another toothpick arrow, decapitated an imp with my sword, and then cut the tendons on another''s arm with my knife. I was pushing my Clever Hands Skill in doing this, but I knew I needed to push things. I moved into an ally out of line or sight of the archers and killed the imp coming down it. Then, I turned around to fight backwards as they followed me. I was not used to the length of the sword, and it hit the mud wall when I turned. I need to learn new moves from my dance partner. The sword''s reach was great against the Imps, even with the alley''s restricted movement. I left two more dead as I exited the alley and ducked, bringing my sword up to rake the Lynx that pounced at me. My acrobatics turned the duck into a roll, and I came to my feet as the lynx turned to ponce again. It was bleeding from the cut. More imps were coming out of the ally. Regeneration was still fighting this poison. It was a strong one. I used my Flash Skill to blind my opponents temporarily and struck at the lynx before it could recover, Thrusting my sword deep into its body and slicing its neck with my knife. I think that I finished it, but I didnt stop to check. I anticipated this rolling, moving fight, but I had to be careful. One thing I absolutely need to avoid right now is engaging another Devil. If they can stack the poison on me, it will overwhelm the Minor Regeneration, and that will be the end for me. I move and cut. I was thinking and saving my mana. I would need to break from this fight and rest soon and I will need a hunk of mana to do that. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. A toothpick arrow pierced my shoulder, and I ripped it out. Another thing Regereation will need to work on. Any stacking damage will keep Regeneration working and eat at my mana pool. I sliced, stabbed, parried, dodged, and slowly started learning my new dance partner. I left bodies and limbs behind me, but I was careful to stay in the same general area and not go close to the other devils. I hope they stay where I saw them. Fool. Of course, they wont stay where I spotted them. It is time to break away from this fight, find a hiding spot, and let my mana and stamina replenish. I identified possible hiding places when I scouted the village. It''s time to action that. I moved to where I could escape, and suddenly, the timing was right. The first was a huge green warty frog the size of one of the hovels that appeared directly in front of me. I manipulated light around me and disappeared, and then I cast Self-clean to get rid of my smell. The lynxes hunt by smell. I set off a huge flash of light with the Flash Skill as the frog disappeared and leapt for the top of the mud wall near me, activating Steady Footing. Having this skill was new. I was usually just relying on my Agility and Acrobatics, but Steady Footing made it much easier. As I took some quiet steps along the wall, me in different clothing, ran down the road in the opposite direction. I do have three sets of that clothing in my bag. I lept from the wall over one of the still-standing timber walls into one of the wooden buildings. I didnt quite think through the landing as I crashed through the remains of the timber floor and onto the ground underneath. Fortunately, it was only knee-deep. I found myself straddling a floor joist, so it could have been really painful if the ground had been below my waist. I climbed up onto the joist, crouched, and listened to see if I had been heard and if anything was coming to investigate. I didnt hear anything and may have got away with the mistake. That was lucky. I dont like relying on luck. That will just get you killed. I cast self-clean again and moved to hide behind a counter. I released my Light and let everything go except Regeneration. Regeneration had finished dealing with the poison, but I dont know how long it took or how much mana it consumed. I sat and rested, letting my mana pool fill slowly. I ate some rations and drank water. My stamina also started going up. To be safe, I think I will try not to go below a quarter full in my mana. I will refine that once I have a better handle on Minor Regeneration. I look around. I am crouched behind a shop counter, although most of the front wall of the shop is gone. I am out of sight, and my use of Self-clean should keep my smell down. If one of the Infernal creatures came into the shop, I would be discovered quickly enough, so I cant really rest. I might have time for a short sleep after I clear this quest. How far through the quest am I? One Devil is dead, and maybe a quarter of the monsters? It is hard to estimate in this type of fight as I cant stop to make sure of a kill. Time to check my Status. Holy fucking, Terahs tiny tits. That is awesome. No, Not the Basic Longsword. That is there, too. No, it is my Clever Hands. It has maxed out at ten, and I have a new skill, Ambidextrous. This is going to make it so much easier to use a different type of weapon in each hand. This is amazing. I got a point in Dexterity for it as well. Now, levelling will give me more attribute points, so what class can I level? I have enough XP to level Thief, but with that amount, I can level Illusionist once and be very close to levelling it a second time. Levelling Illusionist will increase the bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom, and this time, mana is my scarcest resource. Intelligence makes me smarter, but it also increases my Mana pool. Wisdom helps me with my thinking through wise choices and with how fast mana regenerates. I pour the XP into Illusionist, and it goes to 9, giving my total level to 23. I have never levelled up so fast before, nor have I ever gained so many new skills in such a short time. I assign one attribute point to Intelligence and one to Wisdom to boost the bonus, and the other attribute I need is Strength. The monsters are getting stronger and harder to hurt, and I need to be stronger, too. I also need more weapons skills than just my Thrust. People with weapons classes like swordsman or axeman generally get additional skills like chop and triple strike, etc. I dont have a weapons class. If I had gone for Assassin instead of Thief, I would have things like Backstab, but I didnt. Thief gave me Pickpocket, Lockpick, and Detect Traps. I cant change the past, and until now, I have been very happy with my life. Now, I need more just to survive. I sat back and just rested. My eyes wandered over the part of the ruined shop that I could see. I couldnt work out what it used to sell. Then, my Observant Eye picked up a small anomaly. There was a low cupboard that still had a door attached. I looked around. No other cupboard had that. I crawled over, keeping low. I looked carefully for traps. There didnt seem to be any. I got out a knife and worked it into the gap between the doors. No trap sprung. I put a bit of pressure on the knife to lever the doors open slightly. The was a small sound of rotten wood breaking, and I paused. No monster came to investigate, and no trap sprung. I used the knife to gently open the doors to see what was inside. It was a small cupboard and not very deep. Sitting on the bottom were two skill stones. Yes, yes, yes. I stopped myself from reaching in to grab them in case it triggered a trap, and I used the knife to roll them out of the cupboard. Once they were out of the cupboard, I picked them up and used Appraise to appraise one of them. It was the skill Holy Strike, which gave bonuses against Infernal and Undead. Yes, maybe I was too harsh on the trial. This is just what I need to fight with. It takes mana to use, but the cost would go down as it levelled, and the power would go up. I learned it right away. It had to be used with a weapon, but any weapon was fine. It was a weapon skill. Awesome. This was so helpful that I appraised the other stone, hoping for something equally helpful. Well, fuck you, trial. Yes, it was equally helpful because it was a second copy of Holy Strike. If I get out of here, I will get good gold for this when I sell it. No, when I get out of here. No, if about it. In the meantime, the trial is definitely fucking with me. I will have the last laugh. I will get out of here and sell this for gold. I put the second stone in my bag for selling later. Right, it was now time to bring the Holy wrath of Marvin the Magnifique to these creatures. 9. Holy Strike. My first ambush of a Lesser Devil had been successful, so there was no reason not to do it again, this time with Holy Strike and experience of how fast and tough they were. This time, I hoped not to get poisoned. I was now Ambidextrous, and I knew my dance partner better. This time, I also made my throwing knives easy to reach. After killing the Lesser Devil, I wanted to kill as many of the annoying archers as I could. They are firing small arrows, but the damage still adds up, and I would not like to find out what getting one in the eye would do. My helmet is good, but it is the only piece of armour I have. I hope to have time to collect my knives later. That is the problem with throwing weapons. If you dont get to collect them, you have lost them for good. Archers have the same problem, although I know there is a common Create Arrow Skill. Maybe there is a Create Knife Skill, too, but I havent seen it. Before I leave my hiding place, I re-cast Self-Clean to remove as much smell as possible. I wrap myself in light, and, using my stealth, I head out. The density of monsters has thinned. That is good. Progress is being made. I went into full stealth with light wrapped around me, and I had cast the Self-Clean Charm twice. The fucking trial is out to kill me. The Lesser Devil now has an Infernal Lynx prowling around it. The Devil is still the main targetit is the most dangerous. I need to distract the Lynx long enough to kill the Devil. I waited in the back, watching and waiting for the Lynx to not be between me and the Devil. I switched out my sword for the axe, with a knife in my off-hand. The stab with the sword was only partially successful last time, so I would try a chop to the neck. I wish I had more weapon skills, like the Chop skill. My highest level of weapon skills were still my knives and the Razors Edge technique, hence the knife. No, wait. I made a mistake. I put the axe away and got the sword back out. That was close. The reason I was as effective as I was last time was that I could use Thrust with my sword. No, wait. I cant use Thrust and Holy Strike together. I can use one after the otherThrust with the sword and Holy Strike with the knife. That is the best combo. Or, I could Holy Strike with the axe and Thrust with the knife. No, the sword is longer, and I am better to Thrust with the sword in this case. My Knife technique is better at slicing than thrusting. I really wish I could practice these skills before going into combat; things like that will get me killed. Sword, then knife, and I can probably strike with the Razors Edge Technique two or three times with the knife in quick succession. Ready Wait GO! Dash, Thrust, Light Flash, Holy Strike Knife, Knife, Holy Strike Knife, Light Flash, Sword strike, and Dash to the Lynx. No poison this time, Yes! Dodge the claws and Holy Strike with the sword. I let my Light Manipulation go, so I am visible now. Holy Strike also uses mana, so I need to be careful. The rolling, moving fight is what I need to whittle down the numbers. Lets dance, you monsters! The Lynx got its teeth into my arm while I dodged an arrow, but a Holy Strike knife to the brain fixed that, and then I was moving and striking. These Imps were pretty good to practice on. They were only dangerous in numbers, and as long as I kept moving, I wasnt in a lot of danger. Minor Regeneration was working, but it was not too distracting for the small stuff. I had some close calls. I was almost cornered by three Infernal Lynxes, and I took deep lacerations on my leg. I almost exited the fight to rest but decided to go a bit longer as Regeneration was working OK. That was a bad decision. I should have exited and rested. I am an idiot. I was going to fight cautiously, and I did not act cautiously. I just killed the last of the three lynxes and threw a knife to kill the last archer I could see, and I ran around the corner right into the claws of the last Lesser Devil. With the Devil were two more Lynxes. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I dodged, and instead of ripping my heart out, he only exposed some of my ribs. The flesh immediately started turning black. The feeling of Minor Regeneration kicking in was almost as painful. It seemed like it was trying to burn out the poison. I knifed it with Holy Strike, and it did not like that at all. I had to go into violent acrobatic dodging to get away from the Lynxes. I threw a knife, and it penetrated one of the lynx''s eyes but didnt kill it. I thought that was a good thing, though, and I blinded the other eye as well. That one was out of the fight, and I figured doing that to the Devil would be a good thing, but I only had one throwing knife left. Half blind is still good, so I threw, and the fucking Devil was fast. I missed the eye. It did score a deep cut on his cheek, but that was not going to do much. Now, I only had my fighting knives, and I wasnt going to throw them as they were more effective in my hands with my skills. Knife and sword. Ambidextrous was really starting to shine, as was Razors Edge. I could easily do two different things with each hand: Parry the Devil with the sword and simultaneously slice tendons on a lynx with Holy Strike with the knife. Then there were the Imps. Dont forget the bloody Imps. I was moving faster than I ever thought I could, chaining skills and really leaning on the moves of my two dance partners. I could dispatch an Imp with one precise hit, but the lynxes and the Devil needed Skilled strikes to do any serious damage. I was taking damage as well. The rotting, burning pain in my chest carried on, but I was also getting cut and clawed, and Minor Regeneration wasnt keeping up. The last Imp finally fell, whoops duck, except for the last archer. The blinded Lynxe was dead, and the Devil was missing a hand, and the last remaining lynx was down to three legs. I was limping. I rolled and grabbed a throwing knife from the dead Lynx and got rid of the last archer. The poison and rot in my chest were growing as Minor Regeneration couldnt keep up. I grabbed a weak Health Potion and sculled it to try and help, and then I moved to finish this dance. Stamina and Mana were both low, but it was Mana I needed most for Minor Regeneration. This would be a dance with weapons, except I started a Flash and Dashed to the Lynx. Sword Thrust, Holy Strike knife, knife, knife, and it was done. Dodge, Dash, and I was dancing with the sword and knife. Thrust is a stamina-based Skill, but Holy Strike uses Mana. Parry, Thrust, Basic Longsword, and Razors Edge were what I used to whittle the devil down, and I finished him with a Holy Strike to the neck. That was it. I was done. My Status screen flashed up, Quest Complete - Infernal Infestation removed. The village is now a Safe Zone. That is great news. I can relax for a short period. I felt it, too. There was a sense of calm and peace. I knew this feeling from the previous Trials I had been in. I dont know when the safe zone might end; typically, they could last anywhere from four to twelve hours. I needed to loot and then get some sleep. I looked around, and I couldnt see my reward. I checked my bag. Nothing. I will find it. I have a village to loot. All the monsters I killed had turned into loot, and I had noted a couple of suspicious places where there might be hidden caches. Before I started, I checked my status. Razor Edge and Basic Longsword had both risen to 2. In fact, a lot of things went up, including Ambidextrous and Quick Hands. Quick Hands surprised me, but I was pushing things speed-wise. The pain was still there in my chest, so I looked in my bag, but I had just finished the last weak health Potion. Then the bodies in front of me disappeared, and the loot was there, including a Medium Health potion from the Devil. I skulled that, and it seemed to be enough for Minor Regeneration to start overpowering the poison. One of the lynxes had dropped a weak mana potion, so I skulled that, too. Then, I started collecting loot and monster cores. The Devils monster cores were larger than the lynxes, and they were larger than the Imps. There were a number of weak potions and a lot of copper coins. The Devils gave silver coins. I started working on the Monster cores as I roamed the village. Getting that death poison would be great. I did find a skill stone that had dropped from a random Imp. It was a skill called Create Dart. I learned it, and it did what it said and used mana to create a dart in my hand. Apparently, the toothpick arrows were called darts, and it had a groove at the back for a bowstring and looked like a small arrow. I created one and threw it, and it threw very well and accurately. It penetrated the mud wall exactly where I aimed. As the skill levelled, the mana cost came down, but the strength of the dart also increased. I had been collecting my throwing knives, but this was a good fit for me. The monster cores have not produced any skills yet. I am about halfway. I paused at a shop. I could see the reward chest in the middle of the square, so I went over to collect my reward. 10. Loot. The quest promised two skill points, and the little white stones were there. I would check what I could buy later or save for the Shadow Dance. We will see. The Quest also promised armour pieces. In the chest was a pair of boots. I pulled them out. They were dark leather and went calf-high with a sturdy sole. Each boot had a knife sheath and a hard toe, which was some sort of bone reinforcing. I looked, and the side of the boot was also reinforced with a bone. I used Appraisal on them. Bone and Leather Boots. Part of the Armour set, The Dance of Death 1/5. +1 Agility, Self Repair, Sure-grip. They were good bootsbetter than I had ever owned. The Boost to agility was amazing on its own, but then it had two enchantments: Self-Repair and Sure-grip. My current boots had self-repair and would have cost a fair bit of gold if I had paid for them. These were much better. I put them on, and they were very comfortable. It wasnt soul-bound equipment, but it was the next best thing. Also in the chest were some trousers. Bone and Leather Pants. Part of the Armour set, The Dance of Death 2/5. +1 Agility, Self Repair, +1 Stealth. That was great. There was bone reinforcing on the thighs, and they fitted with the boost, allowing easy access to the knives. They were the same dark brown leather with black trim. There were a couple of pockets on the side of each thigh, one obvious and larger and one smaller and hidden under the bone reinforcing. They fit well and were a significant upgrade from my worn and ripped pants. There were some other items in the chest. There were two potion vials, and I appraised them. One was a Major Health Potion, and one was a Strong Poison Antidote. Typical trial, giving me things I need AFTER I need them. I was tempted to drink the Poison Antidote and get rid of this pain in my chest, but I didnt. My Minor Regeneration was dealing with it slowly, and I had time to deal with it as this was a safe zone. I need to get used to the feeling of Minor Regeneration working, and this would also help it level, which would hopefully make it quicker and better. There were some gold coins as well. It was time to get back to looting the village, and then I could rest. Definitely loot before rest. Maybe that could be one of my mottos. I went to the other side of the village first. I left the wooden building for last as they were the most likely places for the hidden caches. My Observant Eye already identified two probable locations. The remaining village had more monster cores, weak potions, and copper coins. I examined three Devil cores, twelve Lynx Cores, and fifty-seven Imp Cores, and there was not a single skill. The bloody Trial is more tight-fisted than Odvian, the god of merchants. I entered the first building, and two walls were still standing. Is it still a building? My observant eye saw a patch of wall that was sturdier and less worn than the rest. I checked the outside, and there was an unusual depth there. I worked my knife between the timber and carefully levered it open. There was a wrapped package there. I carefully pulled it out and unwrapped the old oil skin. I found two knives and a skill stone. The Skill stone was actually a fighting technique for dual knives, but not just any knives. I unwrapped the knives, and one was not a knife but a Haladie. The Haladie had a wooden handle and a knife blade extended from both ends of the handle. I picked it up, and it felt awkward. I was not used to two blades on a knife. The blades were slightly curved, so it was more for slicing than stabbing, but it could do both. There was a steel bar from one blade hilt to the other, which protected the hand and seemed to be shaped like a knuckle duster. The second knife had a short blade that was curved in almost an S. There was a solid steel guard on the wooden handle and a larger solid part behind the handle. There was a steel guard that went between the balance guard and connected to the solid part behind the grip. This protected your hand, and it also seemed like it could act like a knuckle duster. This knife looked like it was a specialist knife for parrying. The Skill Stone, or it probably should be called the Technique Stone, was called the Steel Serpent and was for using these weapons. It used fast, fluid and unpredictable strikes that snaked around defences. It combined fast, rapid punches and seemed to suit me very well. I learned it because why in all the gods wouldnt I? Basic Small Blades and Basic Unarmed Combat were two of my maxed-out skills, and this combined both. Maybe I dont need to save for Shadow Dance, but maybe I do. The longer reach of the sword is very nice to have. I have heard of people making their own fighting techniques, and I can see how tailoring something to your own skill set would be useful. I grabbed the knives and moved through the Steel Serpent Technique to get a feel for them. This was certainly more effective and complicated than the Basic Small Blades and also different from Razors Edge. I said I needed new dance moves to survive. I now have some new moves. I moved to the next place my Observant Eye picked out. This looked to be an underground storage area. I was only small. I checked diligently for traps and then leaned in. It was only about a meter down, a meter wide and two meters long. I pulled out two bags. One had some weapons, and the other had coins. I went to store the coins in my bag when I realised they werent all coins. There was a skill stone in there. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I appraised the skill stone. It was the Medium Armour Skill. I already had Light Armour, which reduced the weight of any armour I wore, but this was different. It worked on any armour that was not metal, and it increased its toughness and resistance to things like cutting, piercing and less obvious things like acids that would degrade it. The effect was only slight at the lower levels but would be remarkable at the higher levels. I learned it straight away. I opened the weapons bag and appraised each weapon as I pulled it out. A Sword that could be used either one-handed or two-handed. The blade was slightly curved and single-edged. I hadnt seen the design before. The Appraisal said it did bonus damage against Infernal Beasts, so that was good. Again, it was something I needed before now! There was a one-handed battle axe and then a larger two-handed axe. Both had bonus damage against infernal beasts. I guess I have more infernal beasts coming. Or maybe the Trial is just fucking with me again. The one-handed axe had a spike at the end of the shaft and a larger spike on the rear of the main blade. I could probably use Thrust with the end spike, but my basic axe skill does not include any such moves. I guess it is BASIC Axe. The Two-handed Axe was double-bladed. I dont know if I am ever going to learn two-handed weapons. It seems to be the opposite of where I am headed with my Ambidextrous Skills. I stored it for sale. It''s time for a nap. I need to level my class and assign my attributes, but I can do that when I wake up. It wont take long, and I need some rest before the safe zone expires. I had been getting used to surviving on ten-minute catnaps, so a longer rest was sounding great. I awoke with a start. Something has changed. I was getting used to being a light sleeper. I didnt appear to be in any immediate danger. Good. I felt better after my sleep, although I had no idea how long I slept. I went out. Ah, the safe zone is breaking down. I estimate it will only last another half hour and it will be gone. I went to the gate to see what might be waiting for me. Well, shit. The Trial is out to kill me. Outside the gate were ten skeletal Mounted Archers and eight undead hounds. They found a way up the cliff. They were arrayed in an arc well within sight and bow range of each other, and the hounds were interspersed. They could see the front half of the village and well around the edge. Fuck. All the loot I found is good against Infernal, not undead. They are ranged attackers, and with all the loot I found, did I find a single shield? I did not. Fuck this bloody trial. We are back to undead. My light and illusions are useless again. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Trials are out to kill you, and dont let anyone tell you differently. My knives are back to being next to useless. They wont cut bone. I learned a fancy knife technique, and now that is useless, too. I need heavier weapons like the axe for this. I could try an axe in each hand. My Ambidextrous would let me do that. That is not going to help me defend against ranged attacks. Their arrows will have a greater range than my Darts, and I doubt the thrown darts or even the knives will do much against skeletons. Fuck. What are my options? I have three Skill Points I can use. Can I buy something to help? Skill points, buy skills, not equipment, and I could really do with a shield. I can Level a class as well. I was going to level the Illusionist Class because of the bonuses for my Mana. I still might, as Holy Strike is effective against Undead as well as Infernal, and I am going to need a lot of Regeneration to get within striking range of that lot. Lets level and then see if I can buy a movement skill. I funnel the XP into Illusionist to get it to 10, and something weird happens. The XP doesnt stop flowing. It is like I am being sucked dry of all my XP. Fuck, fuck, fuck, now what? I know I have a lot of new skills, so maybe I have new class options, but that shouldnt suck all my XP. When you get the new class options, you get to choose your class from those options. What is this? I have no options. I have one choice available to me. One! And I cant go back to Illusionist either. What happened to my options? Is this Trial fucking up my classes too? The only option for me to choose is something I have never heard of. What is a Spectral Slayer? I have heard of a Spectral Knight. It is a specialisation of the Knight Class that uses light, but what in the name of all the gods is a Slayer Class? At least it still uses light, so I might not lose all my light spells. One thing is certain: Spectral Slayer is a warrior-orientated class, not a mage class. Illusionist came from the Mage class, so how did I get into a fighting-oriented class? OK, thats obvious dumb ass. All my new skills are weapon and fighting skills. All of them. Well, all of them except for Free Runner, which was so I could run away from fighting. Yeah, that worked well, didnt it? I dont have a choice. You are supposed to get options, but I dont even have the option to go back to Illusionist. I also dont have time. The safe zone is breaking down, and unless this turns into something amazing, I am dead. I dont think even three Skill Points will buy me a way out of this one. I select Spectral Slayer. Three skills populate my status, but I am not looking at them yet. Basic classes get three attribute points per level, and Specialised classes get four. Why am I looking at five attribute points? That would mean Spectral Slayer is an advanced class. Nobody gets advanced classes. At least nobody I know. They are almost a myth. I have an Advanced Class. Spectral Slayer is an Advanced Class! I look at my classes. My level has dropped. My Level 9 Illusionist is now a Level 1 Spectral Slayer. I am still a Level 14 Thief, but my total level is now 15. That worried me for a minute until I realised I had not lost any of the attribute points of the previous levels, and I still had all my skills. I also had five attribute points to use. Classes give bonuses to attributes. The Illusionist gave bonuses to Intelligence and Wisdom. The Spectral Slayer doesnt. It seems to give bonuses to Constitution, Agility, and Intelligence. I also have three new skills, no, that is not quite right. I have two skills and one spell. I had better look at those before assigning my points, as it might affect where I put them. 11. Slayer. I brought up my status to get an overview. There have been a lot of changes recently.
Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human
Level: 15 Sub Level 6 Class: Spectral Slayer 1/ Thief 14 Profession: Performer 6
Health: 510 Stamina: 510 Mana: 430
Strength: 27 Agility: 39 Dexterity: 42
Constitution: 24 Intelligence: 43 Wisdom: 31
Free Attribute Points: 5 Free Skill Points: 3
Skills
Precision Throw 3 Quick Hands 3 Riding 8
Razors Edge 2 Detect Traps 8 Appraisal 5
Disarm Traps 5 Dodge 9 Stealth 9
Identify 7 Animal Care 4 Acrobatics 3
Light Armour 4 Sewing 5 Mana Manipulation 7
Grappling 4 Observant Eye 6 Free Runner 3
Thrust 7 Mana Control 9 Ambidextrous 2
Climb 6 Basic Blunt Weapons 2 Parry 3
Basic Axe 2 Steady Footing 2 Basic Longsword 2
Holy Strike 2 Create Dart 1 Steel Serpent 1
Medium Armour 1 Light Speed 1 Spectral Vision 1
Mastered Skills
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max
Lock Pick 10/Max Dash 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max
Clever Hands 10/Max
Abilities
Light Manipulation 7 Minor Regeneration 1
Spells
Spark/Charm 4 Self-Clean/Charm 7 Self-Dry/Charm 4
Trim/Charm 5
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 4 Flash 6
Project Image 6 Animate Image 4 Cutting Light 1
The Spell seemed the easiest to understand. Cutting Light was an improvement on my Burning Light. It cut instead of burned. It was a very narrow beam and a very strong cutting ability. It cut all the way through the mud wall. It is only close-range and uses mana, but it is very strong. It will definitely cut bones. The range is only five meters from me. That will get further as the skill levels increase, but it is still effective against skeletons and undead. Light Speed. It is a movement ability. It is an extremely fast movement ability that uses both stamina and mana. The further I travel, the more stamina and mana it uses. The cost will decrease with the skill levels, but it is awesome. It is also quite disorientating, as I am almost instantly somewhere else, but I will get used to that. I need both Steady Footing and the Sure-grip in my boots to stay on my feet, but I will learn to do that too. The skill can be chained one after another, and for now, two meters is a good maximum distance. The limits of the skill are not in the skill but in the cost of using it. I can easily run myself dry of both stamina and mana. It is also pretty devastating if I hit something while moving at Light Speed. I will have to be careful using it in battle. A weapon in the wrong place, and I could decapitate myself. Well, those two are awesome. What is Spectral Vision? I activate the skill, and nothing happens. I kind of expected something to happen, and from the name, I expected it to enhance my vision somehow. Wait, there seems to be something elsesomething I need to adjust. I experiment, and the area around me takes on a new tinge, some reddish and some blueishjust slightly. Then I look at my hand, which has quite a stronger red tinge. Am I looking at heat? Can I see if something is hotter than something else? I use the charm Spark, and a small flame appears on my hand, blazing in my spectral vision. I am looking at heat. That is incredible. It is not costing me anything, either, like my Observant Eyes. I get excited. That is fantastic. I set a plank of wood on fire using Spark and moved back to get a sense of the range. The range seems to depend on the amount of heat differential. The hotter something is, the further I can see it, but the heat for something like the body heat from a Lynx is probably only visible at maybe five meters. Observant Eye is better than that for now, and the two seem to be able to work together. The sensitivity or range will probably improve as the skill levels. Then I came back down to earth. Undead dont have body heat, so it is useless for them. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. There is another setting. I dialled it up one way, and if I put it all back to normal and then move it the other way, things get a bit weird. I look at my hand, and it looks like I am looking under the layer of skin. Is that possible? Am I seeing through the skin layer? I move to a wall. I think it is seeing through the layer. Rotten Timber is easier than the mud wall, so the material matters. The distance is short, but the closer I get, the further through it I can see. If I level this skill, will I eventually see through walls? This is awesome for a Thief. What use is it for a Slayer? Sensing heat and, therefore, seeing through stealth and tracking people, I can see that it is useful for a Slayer. Too bad, who cares? My inner Thief is jumping for joy. My thief is ecstatic. I can see Cutting Light making short work of safes and locks and escaping at Light Speed. That is exciting. I need to live and get out of here. I can make this work. Wait, what are the levelling requirements for Spectral Slayer? 1000XP, Kill 100 enemies with weapons abilities and Level three Basic Weapons Skills to 5. Wow, that is a lot. A hundred enemies are not going to be a problem here, but the requirement for using a weapon and level weapon skills reinforces that this is not a Mage Class. This is a warrior class. I have Small Blades maxed out, so I need two more Basic Weapon Skills to get to Level 5. I am going to choose Longsword and Axe. Blunt Weapons is not my favourite. I have wasted no, not wasted, spent most of my time, and the Safe Zone has almost disappeared. How am I going to handle ten archers and eight hounds? If I can draw them into the village, then that will limit the archer''s sight lines. Will they come? If I were them I would play the waiting game and wait me out. They could send the hounds in to try and flush me out. I cant make a run for it against mounted archers. There is no hope. If it comes to a fight, I have to get close and very quickly. I get out the two one-handed axes I have. These will be best against the Undead, and my Ambidextrous will manage it. I allocate my attribute points to constitution, strength, agility, and intelligence, which gets two. Now I wait to see what they do. The safe zone disappeared, and I waited back from the gate by one of the timber buildings. I could see them through the broken gate. They just sat there and waited. I waited. They waited. I waited. They waited. Hmmm. They had more patience than me. They are undead. I might try sneaking out a gap in the wall to the side and see if I can sneak around them. Surely, my Stealth will do something to restrict whatever they sense with. I backed off and worked my way to the side, and I manipulated the light as I went into full stealth mode. They didnt use light to see but I might as well try anything. Soon, I came in sight of the nearest archer, and a hound was also in sight. As soon as I was visible to them, the hound raised its bow and fired at me, totally disregarding the fact that I was in stealth at Level 9 and wrapped in light. The hound started towards me, and the next archer and hounds came around to fir as well. I stepped out of the line of arrows, but I was not going to fight undead hounds while dodging arrows, or at least not if I could help it. A third archer appeared, and there were three arrows at a time coming at me, and it was only going to get worse. I retreated back to the village, hoping to entice one of the hounds to follow. It didnt. Now what? When did they get smart? I went back to looking through the gate at them. This cant last forever. If I dont do something to break the siege, the trial is going to fuck me over in some way until I am dead. Probably more and more undead will arrive and I will have no chance. How am I going to get out and keep moving? I need to keep moving. I am too vulnerable in one spot. The absolute back of the village might be out of sight, but how will that help me? If I go out the back and run, I will soon be visible to the ones on the edge, and they will ride me down, and the hounds will come as well. I cant pretend to run with an image because that is not how they see. Will they even know there is an image there? Probably not. That is easily tested. I move to the open gate, staying to the side. As soon as I am near the gate, four archers'' heads turn to mine, and bows come up. That is interesting. That must be their sensing range. They dont fire their arrows, so their sensing range must be longer than that of their bow range. I create an image of myself, and it runs straight towards them. It is ignored. What exactly are they sensing? They know the difference between me and the image. I can see heat now, so maybe they are sensing body heat? They dont have body heat, so it doesnt sound right to me. I am alive, and they are undead. It makes more sense that they are sensing my life force or maybe my mana. I throw a bit of wood out and burn it with Burning Light. That doesn''t get their attention either. None of this seems to help me. Question. Why are they not coming into the village? It cant be the Trial is stopping them. The safe zone is gone, and the quest is gone. If the trial is stopping them, I would be able to lie down at the gate and go to sleep with no worries. I could stay here for weeks with the meat I looted from the quest. The Trial wont allow that. The Trial wants to kill me. Why? Are they waiting for something or someone? If that is the case, I need to be gone before then. Do they have some sense of tactics? Do they see the wall and the village and know they will be at a disadvantage here? Maybe it is both of those reasons? Or none? I cant think of any other reasons, and I need to be out of here before any reinforcements arrive. Therefore, I need to do something to change the tactical situation. I need to do something, so lets try it. 12. Dancing with Death. I am a fast mobile fighter, although I mostly use it to escape. I am not one to hide behind walls and buildings. I am one to break into them and get the loot. Many times, I have caused destruction to cover up my escape. If the archers are staying back because of the walls, I will remove all the walls and the wooden buildings. All I needed was protection against the smoke. I systematically went around lighting fires. The Undead must have some way of sensing the environment around them, even if they mostly track me with my life force or my mana. It has to be one or the other, or maybe both. I covered my mouth and nose with a wet cloth to keep the smoke out. Undead dont breathe, so the smoke wont affect them. The smoke was blowing to the side, but trying to escape in the smoke was a failure. I moved to the upwind side and waited for the fire to do its work. The timber was rotten and dry and burned quickly. Soon, there were just piles of ash and embers. I stayed close in. Now, what are you going to do? The barrier is gone. Will you attack now? They did move closer, so their bows reached into the village, and now it was time to start with a slow dance. Hopefully, it appeared like all my cover had been destroyed, and there was more clear area for their bows. All the walls and timber buildings were gone, but all the mud hovels were still standing. I still had a complicated environment, but it was less obvious. I certainly complicated it for myself as I used light to see, and the smoke was a hazard. Surely, those empty skulls cant be that intelligent. The Archers had moved forward, and the hounds started coming into the village. Were the archers ordered to keep the hounds in range so they could shoot when I attacked the hounds? Now that the archers can see beyond the wall, can the hounds come in? The trouble with that is I have eight hounds all at once instead of a few at a time. And I have to dodge arrows at the same time. Fuck this Trial.
  1. Slow dance first. The Dash between mud walls, drawing arrows. I worked my way around and drew two to four arrows at a time, so the archers could see the mud walls, but they dont shoot when I am behind the walls. I figured some time they could lob arrows over the wall, but they didnt.
I had my Spectral Vision showing me the infrared, so I kept away from hotspots, as there was a lot of smoke still around, and hotspots could be under rubble and ash. That was how I spotted my first undead hound. It came between me and a hotspot I was keeping an eye on. The hound itself had no body heat, so it blocked my spectral vision. I moved and struck with my axes, wounding but not killing it. I kept moving now. The dance was speeding up. I was conserving mana, but I couldnt help but test Cutting Light on the hounds. It would take limbs, but I had to be accurate as it was a very precise spell. I was back into a complicated, moving fight when another thought occurred to me. The hounds have fur. Maybe I could help them have some body heat. I manoeuvred and gave one hound the boot sending it into a hot spot. Oh yes. The Hounds are weak to fire! This dance was about to heat up! Then I mistimed a gap, and an arrow went through my arm, and another made my head ring as it bounced off my helmet. Shit, it took a bit to get my head on straight after that. I made sure my reaction was to run, and I might have careened off a couple of walls, but that was better than becoming a chew toy or a pin cushion. Burning Light and the charm Spark were added to my dance moves. If they got close enough for me to use Spark, I would be in trouble as it was only a small flame, and I had to be close enough to touch them. I was in trouble a couple of times. There were eight Hounds, but I only could find seven cores. I am reasonably sure it was in a pile of ash somewhere, and the Hound was dead, but I would have liked confirmation. I paused as long as I dared to let Minor Regeneration do its thing and regain my stamina. I now had ten mounted Archers to deal with. This was going to be expensive for Mana and Stamina. At least their ground support was gone. May the gods bless fire. Right. The bite on my leg and the arrow in my shoulder are not hampering me, courtesy of Minor Regeneration and Weak Health Potion. I gripped the two axes. It was time to Tango. I Dashed at the left most Archer and when four arrow were in flight I switched to Light Spees for two meter ad almost stumbled. I wish I could have practised more. I was only saved by Steady Footing and my Sure-grip boots. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I cant stop now. The Archer was moving his horse to keep its distance, and I cant have that. Dash, Light Speed, Dash, and I was there, bringing down my axes on the archer as I used Cutting Light through the horse''s front leg. It was weak, but this didnt kill it. The Axes did take an arm, so I moved on as it could no longer use the bow. I had to keep moving and keep the movements unpredictable, or I would become a pin cushion fast. I dashed off at an angle, and the Light Speed changed my direction. I did stumble, but I didnt fall. I Dashed past the retreating archer and hit the one behind with a Cutting Light aimed at his bow. That worked before it could retreat. I had to reduce the number of arrows in the air. They could fire one a second. My Quick Hands Parryed one, but Dodge Dash and Light Speed were my only real hope. My main attacks are Cutting Light and Holy Strike with my Axes. Then, the arrow that signalled my death struck me. It slammed fully into my thigh, and if I hadnt had the leather pants, I would have been crippled and turned into a pin cushion. There was enough force in the arrow that the bone plating in my thigh armour cracked, and It was obvious what it would have done to my thigh bone. It did penetrate into the thigh muscle, but not far. I am sure even the small boost Level 1 Medium Armour gave me made the difference between life and death. I yanked the arrow out, and Minor Regeneration got to work. The armour would take several hours to self-repair, so I would have to be careful with that leg. That arrow was not a normal arrow. It was fired with some sort of Skill to increase the force or penetration. How often could they do that? Not being hit was still my best plan, but that worried me. One of those arrows in the heart or brain would be an instant kill, despite my investment in my constitution. The dance had to be finished. I had killed two and disabled three when an arrow glanced off my steel helmet. That helmet from the knight has saved my life multiple times already. This arrow must also have been a skilled shot, as the steel was dented. The dent rubbed uncomfortably against my head and was an uncomfortable reminder of how close to death I was. The armour set might be called the Dance of Death, but I am dancing with death right now. The three disarmed archers did not remain out of the fight. Their mounts were trying to run me down and trample me. If I kill the archer, the horse dies as well. If I kill the horse, the archer will die. That is helpful, but it is easier to kill the archer. It was a race. Catch and kill before my Stamina and Mana depletes. Dash, Cutting Light, damn, I missed the neck, Dash, Light Speed, Holy Strike, gotcha. Dodge, roll, Dash, axe, axe, Dodge, and so the dance continued. A horse''s hoof clipped me, and my shoulder broke, making me drop an axe. The dance must go on, or it is death. The last one was the most difficult. They kept riding away and shooting arrows, and I had real trouble catching them. I could dodge single arrows easily enough, but my stamina was dwindling. Free Runner showed its worth. I finally got it at the extreme range with Cutting Light after disabling the horse by Precision Throwing my Axe. It was slow, close to running me out of stamina, and then I would be dead. I had already drunk all my weak stamina potions and half of my supply of weak mana potions. Fuck this Trial. I just sunk into the dirt and let the pain and exhaustion sweep over me for a while. Minor Regeneration was slowly working on my shoulder bone. Because I couldnt stop, I kept re-breaking the bone and undoing the regeneration that had occurred. Constant pain. I checked my status while I sat. Dodge had maxed out, and I got an Agility point for it but no next-level skill. Free Runner, Steady Footing, Holy Strike and Basic Axe went up to 3. Light Speed and Cutting Light both went up a level. I have decided on the longsword for Infernal Monsters and Axe for Undead. I had one longsword and one axe that had bonuses against Infernal, so I could pair them, although I am not sure even my ambidextrous is up to two such different weapons at the same time. I would probably need a technique for that. I am eighteen kills into my class level, and I need two more levels for Basic Axe and three for Basic Longsword. It''s time to collect the loot and go hunting. I pick up the coins, meat and claws and start jogging back to the other kills when I thought, when did my attitude change? I was running and avoiding fights, but now I want to hunt. I remember wanting to hunt the lynxes, but that was a lot of joy in being able to use my illusions again, wasnt it? Is this trial changing me? I look in. I am more aggressive and looking for a fight. This gods forsaken trial is changing me, and a big part of the change is my new Slayer class. The change is right there in the name. It is a class for killing. All my life, I have minimised killing. Stealing, wounding and fighting if necessary, but very seldom killing. Do I want to change? I have to fight and kill to survive here, so the Trial is changing me. Why couldnt this be a puzzle trial? I would be good at that. This trial is out to kill me, and it is changing me into a killer. A Slayer. If I had wanted to be a killer, I would have chosen Assassin instead of Thief. I am going to have to watch this. The Class is trying to turn me into a murder maniac. The Trial is trying to turn me into a murder maniac. That is not who I am. I will use it for now to survive, but I will keep a reign on it. Killing should be the last option, not the first. One of the Archers dropped a bow with bonus damage to the undead. It was typical of the Trial that there were no arrows, and my Create Darts were too small. I had no way to use the bow. I examined the monster cores, and there was nothing. No Create Arrow skill, just a useless bow. I am not even sure I want to use the bow. A shield would probably be better, but there is no sign of that. I will store it for later. 13. Moving Forward. I equip my Infernal Sword and start jogging forward. Ambushes are likely to be Infernal in nature rather than undead. I dont manipulate Light yet. My mana pool has not yet been filled. Minor Regeneration is hard at work still. As I move, I try to use my Observant Eye with my Spectral Vision. The two should work together, but it takes some mental effort. I spot the Infernal Lynx from further out than the Spectral Vision can go and watch as it comes into view and lights up with a red tinge. There are two, one behind the other, and I dispatch them with the longsword easily. Some more specific weapons skills on top of Thrust and Holy Strike would be good, but they will come either as I learn them or skill stones. Spectral Vision is interesting. I experiment more. It seems like I cant use both the heat and the Spectral Vision (See-thru) together. I decided to call the other option the Spectral Vision (See-thru), as that is what it does. If I look at my hand, it is not completely see-thru; I can see an outline of where the outer skin is, but I can also see what is underneath. If I look at my finger, the bone is close to the skin, and I can see the change to the harder bone. The leather and bone in my trousers are the same, and looking at the hole that was punched through by the arrow is very interesting in the layers. I definitely need to get some levels in this, and it should become clearer. I switch back to Spectral Vision (Heat) and move forward. The lynxes are getting tougher, and then there is a change. I see them well off, as they are not trying to hide like the Lyxes. I alter my course to avoid them, but of course, they pick up my scent. This Trial is out to kill me. I picked up my pace. Free Runner is one of my new favourite skills. The Pride of Infernal Lions started after me. I am sure the mane of the male was trailing smoke, so it has some sort of fire affinity or fire skill. I needed somewhere to fight so that they couldnt surround me. As far as I could see, there were nothing but rolling hills. No handy village with a wooden palisade, no cliffs, no nothing. Why would that be? It couldnt be because the Trial is out to kill me, could it? I picked up the pace and started thinking. Surely, this couldnt be as hard as the palace of the upstart prince. I need to kill, but maiming some will help. They are Infernal, not Undead. Illusions will partially work, but they also hunt by smell and hearing. As the lions gained on me, I peppered them with darts. I was going for the eyes as this was the most vulnerable for such a small weapon. Even with Precision Throw, the fact that we were both not quite sprinting made my accuracy shit. Adding some sort of poison to the darts would help, but guess what? The trial didnt drop a poison skill. Surprise, surprise. Shit! I Dodged and brought the sword up and sliced the Infernal Lynx that tried to ambush me. I cant just concentrate on the lions, no, of course not. I am pretty sure the lynx is too wounded to follow me, but I am not stopping to check. Okay, the next thing is, can I string out the lions so I can fight one at a time? They are fairly closely bunched, and they are catching up to me, so they are likely faster than me. What do I have Skill-wise that can help? OK. I have a plan. Timing and positioning are critical, or I will die. I grab the sword with both hands. I slow down and turn, so I run backwards, relying on steady footing. The first lion looked like it was about to leap because I slowed. I positioned the sword, angled my body, and engaged Light Speed. Two meters was enough to the side of the pack. I felt like my body was jerked violently, and it was. From running backwards, I switch to Light Speed forwards. I aimed for the edge of the pack of lions, so I didnt kill myself. Light Speed moves my body in the direction I am facing as the speed of light, well, it seems that way anyway. My sword was held out horizontally to my body at the height of a lion, and it also moved with me at the speed of light, empowered by Holy Strike. I was lucky. The Lions were moving faster than I thought and, therefore, were closer than I thought. The blood near the hilt of the blade demonstrated how close I came to losing both hands. The front lioness was bisected in two lengthwise, and the one behind her had a deep cut into its chest, and the heart was also destroyed. Another had lost a paw. The Lions didnt know what had happened, and I had the advantage for now. I struck using the Basic Longsword Dance, and in my offhand, I got out a knife. I was tempted to try the haladie, but this was not the time. An ordinary knife and Razors Edge were what I was most familiar with. Leaning on Quick Hands and Ambidextrous, I waded in, doing as much damage as I could. The lions didnt take long to rally, and the remaining three, plus the big guy, were surrounding and attacking. I was very thankful for the trousers, and the bone reinforcing saved me a lot of injuries. The Big Guy burst into flames on me, and my shirt was burned, and the trousers took a lot of repairs. So will my skin, but I got out of the worst with Light Speed and then Dash and Dodge and Holy Strike for the kill. I scooped up the loot and kept moving. I knew I was going to end up leaving a lot of loot behind as I kept moving, so when I had a chance to grab some, I grabbed it. I had an ominous feeling that I had to keep moving. These feelings have saved me before, so I dont neglect them. Usually, I walk away from jobs where I have this feeling and refuse to do them. Now, I am running away. The next days, possibly weeks, merged into a pattern. Run, fight, run, rolling battle, run. Higher-level fleshlings, Skeletons of various types, and I started seeing more Undead knights and hounds. Then there were the infernals, and I was seeing more Lesser Devils. I also started to understand the benefits of an Advanced Class. It wasnt just the Skills. The bonuses it gave to Consitution, Agility and Intelligence were very noticeable. It was harder to damage me, and the Constitution was working with Minor Regeneration to heal faster. It was keeping me going longer with less sleep. The Agility was faster and better. The fancy move I did with Light Speed should have seen me flat on my face regardless of Steady Footing and Sure-grip. And my Mana pool was noticeably larger, but it also seemed to use Mana more efficiently. I pulled out the Haladie and the Parry knife and practised new dance moves with Steel Serpent. The Haladie was a very different type of knife; with a twist of the wrist, I could double slice. It was classed as a small blade, but it needed the advanced technique of the Steel Serpent. This technique was going to be awesome if I needed to fight people. It was unknown. It got around defences and was partly an unarmed combat. The thing was, there was a lot of synergy with Razor''s Edge, and I never really had techniques that synergised together. I picked up some new ones. I learned Chop using the axes, which I can also use with the longsword, and Slash using the longsword. Both Skills increased the damage dealt with my weapons, and they were needed as the enemies were getting harder. My Slayer Class is pretty insistent on me raising my weapons skills through the kill requirement. Holy Strike was a weapon skill that counted as a weapon kill, but Cutting Light did not. I was really starting to like the Haladie and the Steel Serpent Technique, but I had to make myself use the longsword as I needed to raise its level. The axes were still the best against the undead, and as such, it was the Basic Axe that got to level 5 first. When I could pick up the loot, I did, but I had to use the monster cores, or I would run out of room in my bag. That was my excuse and I was sticking to it. Not a single skill. Mana Manipulation went up, though, and I feel I am very close to maxing out Mana Control. I did get some interesting items as loot. There were several swords, axes, maces, bows and knives, with bonuses against Undead and Infernal monsters. I even got some arrows with bonuses, but I have not used the bows yet. I didn''t get any shields or shield skills, which was noticeable as I felt shields would be very useful. I did get a skill stone with the skill Block in it, which could be used with a shield but was also useful with weapons. Most of the skill stones I collected were attack-focused, not defensive. Bloodletting was only useful on infernal creatures. Long Slash did what it said but was only useful in certain situations. Crushing Blow was best with Blunt Weapons, but it was fine with axes, and it helped get through armour and shields. The undead knights had shields and shield skills, but they didnt drop any. Quick Strike was by far my favourite. Combined with Quick Hands it was usually too fast for my opponents, and when used with the Haladie and Steel Serpent, it was even better. Quick Strike and Steel Serpent were made for each other because they could be used with punches as well as knives. Basic Axe hit level five before Longsword, but I finally levelled Spectral Slayer and assigned the points. I still needed more strength, so I put two into strength to bring it up to 30. The class''s level requirements increased: 2000 XP, Kill 200 enemies, and have two basic Weapons skills at Level 10. The requirement that enemies be killed with weapons has been removed, but I will need to concentrate on either the longsword or axe to get to level 10 to join Small Blades. I actually like both weapons. I like the longsword for the extra reach and because it works well with a knife or the haladie in my other hand. I like the power of the axe. The terrain was getting steeper, and rocky canyons and cliffs started appearing. I saw a Castle on the top of an escarpment. I veered away from it, but it was like I was being herded towards it. I am not going to stay in a single fortified position. That is a death trap for me. The Trial is out to kill me, but I am not going to let it. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I veered up another valley to avoid the approach to the castle and shit. That wasnt a lesser Devil or even a Devil. It was a Greater Devil with its own horde of infernals. I turned away before they saw me. I was being driven to the castle. I couldnt make out much of it except for high, strong walls and corner towers that seemed in OK repair. The stone was in good repair, but the roofs had collapsed. I examined the road up to it. I could probably veer off the road and climb away. I didnt really think the Trial would let me, but it was worth a try. As soon as I hit the base of the road up to the tower, I received the Quest Notice. Monarchs Raiment The Alrashian Stronghold of Windshire has been overrun. Retrieve as many items of the Monarchs raiment as possible. Reward: Dependant on the number of items retrieved. Well, shit. This Trial knows how to lure people to their deaths. I equip my Infernal Sword and start jogging forward. Ambushes are likely to be Infernal in nature rather than undead. I dont manipulate Light yet. My mana pool has not yet been filled. Minor Regeneration is hard at work still. As I move, I try to use my Observant Eye with my Spectral Vision. The two should work together, but it takes some mental effort. I spot the Infernal Lynx from further out than the Spectral Vision can go and watch as it comes into view and lights up with a red tinge. There are two, one behind the other, and I dispatch them with the longsword easily. Some more specific weapons skills on top of Thrust and Holy Strike would be good, but they will come either as I learn them or skill stones. Spectral Vision is interesting. I experiment more. It seems like I cant use both the heat and the Spectral Vision (See-thru) together. I decided to call the other option the Spectral Vision (See-thru), as that is what it does. If I look at my hand, it is not completely see-thru; I can see an outline of where the outer skin is, but I can also see what is underneath. If I look at my finger, the bone is close to the skin, and I can see the change to the harder bone. The leather and bone in my trousers are the same, and looking at the hole that was punched through by the arrow is very interesting in the layers. I definitely need to get some levels in this, and it should become clearer. I switch back to Spectral Vision (Heat) and move forward. The lynxes are getting tougher, and then there is a change. I see them well off, as they are not trying to hide like the Lyxes. I alter my course to avoid them, but of course, they pick up my scent. This Trial is out to kill me. I picked up my pace. Free Runner is one of my new favourite skills. The Pride of Infernal Lions started after me. I am sure the mane of the male was trailing smoke, so it has some sort of fire affinity or fire skill. I needed somewhere to fight so that they couldnt surround me. As far as I could see, there were nothing but rolling hills. No handy village with a wooden palisade, no cliffs, no nothing. Why would that be? It couldnt be because the Trial is out to kill me, could it? I picked up the pace and started thinking. Surely, this couldnt be as hard as the palace of the upstart prince. I need to kill, but maiming some will help. They are Infernal, not Undead. Illusions will partially work, but they also hunt by smell and hearing. As the lions gained on me, I peppered them with darts. I was going for the eyes as this was the most vulnerable for such a small weapon. Even with Precision Throw, the fact that we were both not quite sprinting made my accuracy shit. Adding some sort of poison to the darts would help, but guess what? The trial didnt drop a poison skill. Surprise, surprise. Shit! I Dodged and brought the sword up and sliced the Infernal Lynx that tried to ambush me. I cant just concentrate on the lions, no, of course not. I am pretty sure the lynx is too wounded to follow me, but I am not stopping to check. Okay, the next thing is, can I string out the lions so I can fight one at a time? They are fairly closely bunched, and they are catching up to me, so they are likely faster than me. What do I have Skill-wise that can help? OK. I have a plan. Timing and positioning are critical, or I will die. I grab the sword with both hands. I slow down and turn, so I run backwards, relying on steady footing. The first lion looked like it was about to leap because I slowed. I positioned the sword, angled my body, and engaged Light Speed. Two meters was enough to the side of the pack. I felt like my body was jerked violently, and it was. From running backwards, I switch to Light Speed forwards. I aimed for the edge of the pack of lions, so I didnt kill myself. Light Speed moves my body in the direction I am facing as the speed of light, well, it seems that way anyway. My sword was held out horizontally to my body at the height of a lion, and it also moved with me at the speed of light, empowered by Holy Strike. I was lucky. The Lions were moving faster than I thought and, therefore, were closer than I thought. The blood near the hilt of the blade demonstrated how close I came to losing both hands. The front lioness was bisected in two lengthwise, and the one behind her had a deep cut into its chest, and the heart was also destroyed. Another had lost a paw. The Lions didnt know what had happened, and I had the advantage for now. I struck using the Basic Longsword Dance, and in my offhand, I got out a knife. I was tempted to try the haladie, but this was not the time. An ordinary knife and Razors Edge were what I was most familiar with. Leaning on Quick Hands and Ambidextrous, I waded in, doing as much damage as I could. The lions didnt take long to rally, and the remaining three, plus the big guy, were surrounding and attacking. I was very thankful for the trousers, and the bone reinforcing saved me a lot of injuries. The Big Guy burst into flames on me, and my shirt was burned, and the trousers took a lot of repairs. So will my skin, but I got out of the worst with Light Speed and then Dash and Dodge and Holy Strike for the kill. I scooped up the loot and kept moving. I knew I was going to end up leaving a lot of loot behind as I kept moving, so when I had a chance to grab some, I grabbed it. I had an ominous feeling that I had to keep moving. These feelings have saved me before, so I dont neglect them. Usually, I walk away from jobs where I have this feeling and refuse to do them. Now, I am running away. The next days, possibly weeks, merged into a pattern. Run, fight, run, rolling battle, run. Higher-level fleshlings, Skeletons of various types, and I started seeing more Undead knights and hounds. Then there were the infernals, and I was seeing more Lesser Devils. I also started to understand the benefits of an Advanced Class. It wasnt just the Skills. The bonuses it gave to Consitution, Agility and Intelligence were very noticeable. It was harder to damage me, and the Constitution was working with Minor Regeneration to heal faster. It was keeping me going longer with less sleep. The Agility was faster and better. The fancy move I did with Light Speed should have seen me flat on my face regardless of Steady Footing and Sure-grip. And my Mana pool was noticeably larger, but it also seemed to use Mana more efficiently. I pulled out the Haladie and the Parry knife and practised new dance moves with Steel Serpent. The Haladie was a very different type of knife; with a twist of the wrist, I could double slice. It was classed as a small blade, but it needed the advanced technique of the Steel Serpent. This technique was going to be awesome if I needed to fight people. It was unknown. It got around defences and was partly an unarmed combat. The thing was, there was a lot of synergy with Razor''s Edge, and I never really had techniques that synergised together. I picked up some new ones. I learned Chop using the axes, which I can also use with the longsword, and Slash using the longsword. Both Skills increased the damage dealt with my weapons, and they were needed as the enemies were getting harder. My Slayer Class is pretty insistent on me raising my weapons skills through the kill requirement. Holy Strike was a weapon skill that counted as a weapon kill, but Cutting Light did not. I was really starting to like the Haladie and the Steel Serpent Technique, but I had to make myself use the longsword as I needed to raise its level. The axes were still the best against the undead, and as such, it was the Basic Axe that got to level 5 first. When I could pick up the loot, I did, but I had to use the monster cores, or I would run out of room in my bag. That was my excuse and I was sticking to it. Not a single skill. Mana Manipulation went up, though, and I feel I am very close to maxing out Mana Control. I did get some interesting items as loot. There were several swords, axes, maces, bows and knives, with bonuses against Undead and Infernal monsters. I even got some arrows with bonuses, but I have not used the bows yet. I didn''t get any shields or shield skills, which was noticeable as I felt shields would be very useful. I did get a skill stone with the skill Block in it, which could be used with a shield but was also useful with weapons. Most of the skill stones I collected were attack-focused, not defensive. Bloodletting was only useful on infernal creatures. Long Slash did what it said but was only useful in certain situations. Crushing Blow was best with Blunt Weapons, but it was fine with axes, and it helped get through armour and shields. The undead knights had shields and shield skills, but they didnt drop any. Quick Strike was by far my favourite. Combined with Quick Hands it was usually too fast for my opponents, and when used with the Haladie and Steel Serpent, it was even better. Quick Strike and Steel Serpent were made for each other because they could be used with punches as well as knives. Basic Axe hit level five before Longsword, but I finally levelled Spectral Slayer and assigned the points. I still needed more strength, so I put two into strength to bring it up to 30. The class''s level requirements increased: 2000 XP, Kill 200 enemies, and have two basic Weapons skills at Level 10. The requirement that enemies be killed with weapons has been removed, but I will need to concentrate on either the longsword or axe to get to level 10 to join Small Blades. I actually like both weapons. I like the longsword for the extra reach and because it works well with a knife or the haladie in my other hand. I like the power of the axe. The terrain was getting steeper, and rocky canyons and cliffs started appearing. I saw a Castle on the top of an escarpment. I veered away from it, but it was like I was being herded towards it. I am not going to stay in a single fortified position. That is a death trap for me. The Trial is out to kill me, but I am not going to let it. I veered up another valley to avoid the approach to the castle and shit. That wasnt a lesser Devil or even a Devil. It was a Greater Devil with its own horde of infernals. I turned away before they saw me. I was being driven to the castle. I couldnt make out much of it except for high, strong walls and corner towers that seemed in OK repair. The stone was in good repair, but the roofs had collapsed. I examined the road up to it. I could probably veer off the road and climb away. I didnt really think the Trial would let me, but it was worth a try. As soon as I hit the base of the road up to the tower, I received the Quest Notice. Monarchs Raiment The Alrashian Stronghold of Windshire has been overrun. Retrieve as many items of the Monarchs raiment as possible. Reward: Dependant on the number of items retrieved. Well, shit. This Trial knows how to lure people to their deaths. 14. Greedy Thief. My greedy thief certainly raised its ugly head. Loot a Castle? That I know how to do. I reviewed the quest again. Monarchs Raiment The Alrashian Stronghold of Windshire has been overrun. Retrieve as many items of the Monarchs raiment as possible. Reward: Dependant on the number of items retrieved. Monarchs raiment, which basically means clothes and shit. That is not just raiding their wardrobe, though. To be the raiment of the monarch would be clothes or items that symbolise the monarch. A crown, probably, but possibly robes, ceremonial armour, maybe a sceptre or special sword. It is an Alrashian stronghold, so it will be an Alrashian monarch. Alrashians are a known warrior race, so armour and weapons certainly. The King from whose Immortal Soldiers I am running from claims to be Alrashian, although he only looks human. Maybe I can get off his wanted list if I offer him the historical artefacts of their monarchs? Assuming I can get some of them, of course. No, that is way too cheap a price. I would want a lot more riches than just being off the watch list. I would want to be made a noble, get a castle, and more. This is a big deal. This is also a big risk. I can hide from Infernal, but I cant hide from Undead, and there will be both. It doesnt say how many items there are. If the Undead and Infernal overran the stronghold, they would not care for shiny trinkets. There could be a lot of gold and riches lying around and hiding places undiscovered. Oh, this Trial knows how to tempt people. And it is working. The first thing I need to do is lose these pursuers and escape into the stronghold that is not watched. Over the last days weeks, maybe? I have figured out the sensing range of the various types of undead. The archers had the longest range. I was jogging up the track, looking for an exit off the track to make my escape. There was a cliff on one side and a growing drop on the other. Then it occurred to me that the track was reasonably narrow, and I had skills to level. The narrow track will restrict my movement, but it will only a few will come at a time, and if I choose a spot around a bend, they cant see then the archers will be unable to shoot from a distance. In the back of my mind, I had a sense that this was the Slayer Class influencing me to take the more aggressive route, but I did it anyway. Longsword and haladie. Steel Serpent and Basic Longsword. Lets dance. Two by two, forward and back, Slash, Chop, Thrust, Bloodletting, Quickstrike, Quickstrike, Block, Thrust, Parry, Longslash, and so it continued. On and on. Slash, punch, Slash, Flash, Chop, Dodge and a boot to send it off the edge. I was forced back, and I was cut and clawed and poisoned, and I stayed my ground until I was the only one standing. I was barely standing, and I drank the anti-poison potion to survive. Minor Regeneration levelled. When I rested, I collected the loot. There was another knife and a lion''s skin vest, which was better than what I had. I lost my jacket in the first fight, and the chainmail was ripped apart, so getting something to replace it was nice, but quite late in the fight. Thank you for giving it to me AFTER I needed it. If I had it earlier, it could have stopped that first lot of poison. There were no skill stones, and all the monster cores turned to dust. What did level with the work on the monster cores was Mana Control. It maxed out. I got a point in Wisdom for that. I also got offered a choice of skills that became available when Mana Control maxed out. Mana Sensitivity increases my sensitivity, and I guess it was from my careful control of mana in the cores. I know crafters seek this skill. Mana Strength increased the power of the mana I could use. My images could be stronger. Could they grow strong enough to affect the real world? I am not sure. Mana Disruption, to disrupt the mana flow. That has a lot of potential. A lot of traps use mana to trigger them, and disrupting it would make life easier. It might also help disrupt others'' spells. These are skill choices, not class choices, where I have limited class slots. I chose all three. Mana Sensitivity immediately kicked in, and I could feel the mana in me and around me at a level I never dreamed of. All mana had a flavour or aspect. It was like a whole new world opened up. My mana had a light aspect, but the air was heavy with undead mana. Why undead and not infernal? Yes, there are hints of infernal mana and something else that I didn''t recognise. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I am not yet sure how this helps me, but the skill is only level 1. I turned my attention to the sword I was holding. It was the one with bonus damage against infernal creatures. Mana Sensitivity was giving me a mild anti-infernal vibe. Is Mana Sensitivity the key behind Appraisal skills? Possibly, it is a key component behind the Identify skill as well. No wonder enchanters and other crafters seek it. I looked at my trousers. Self-repair was strong, probably because it was actively working. The other effects were things that affected me. Agility and stealth. The Mana in the trousers wrapped around, or perhaps embedded itself into me. There was other stuff as well, but my sensitivity needed to level. I assume it was the set bonuses that were not active yet. Mana Strength could be used to increase the power of the enchantments, and Mana Disruption could be used to remove the enchantments. These were enchanting skills and possibly alchemy skills. I am neither. That doesn''t mean I can''t use these skills to give me an advantage; I just need to work out how to do it. Mana Strength does give a sense of solidity to my mana. I created the image of a small rat that I often used to distract people. I dont seem to be able to make it affect the physical world like I hoped. Not even the smallest dust. There goes the first idea. I will have to experiment, and I shouldn''t spend much time on it now. There doesn''t seem to be anything to test mana disruption on right now, so it''s time to have a look around this stronghold. I continued up the track until the top was only about 15m above me, and then I climbed up the cliff. This cliff was solid rock, and the climb was easy. The land in front of the Stronghold was a gently sloping plain down away from it. It was swarming with undead, infernals and wait. Are those Orcs? That is the third flavour of the mana. Orcs. What are Orcs doing here? No wait. That makes sense. Alrashians and Elves are known to fight over just about anything. The only thing they might form a temporary truce over would be to kill Orcs. If, in history, Orcs were part of destroying the seat of one of their monarchs, that would help explain it. I have no doubt now that this trial is from an event in history. It has been twisted and distorted, but the basis is there. I am not going near that plain. I turn my attention to the Stronghold. From this side, I can see more, and it is more damaged than was obvious from the other side. The gates are smashed open, and there are the ruins of a twisted portcullis on the ground. From what I can see from this angle, there was a fire, and I can see the stonework and blackened beams. The Stronghold is also larger than it appeared from the other side, and it is multilevel. There is a large open space just inside the gates, and I can see undead milling around, and some types I have not come across before. I am not going in through the gates. I backed down the cliff, went back down to the track, and then off the other side. I started working my way along the cliff to the strongholds wall. The easiest way in would be the physically hardest, and that would be to climb up the outside wall. This depends on whether I can climb the wall. If they have used Stone Manipulation to smooth it or enchantments to stop people, then the way is blocked, but it is worth investigating. I work my way along the cliff until I am around the corner and out of sight of the plains. There is a watch tower on the corner, and going up where that meets the wall is probably best. The wall was about four or five stories high above the cliff, and the watchtower rises another two or three stories above that. There are arrow slits in the tower starting about a story below the top of the wall. My first target is to poke my nose in one of those and see what the inside is like. I climb the cliff to the base of the wall. The wall is smooth, maybe once stone-shaped to be smooth, but it is now old and weather-worn. It is not going to be easy, but I think it is doable. I am very glad about the investment I put into strength. The other surprising help is the Sure-grip enchantment in my boots. It wont grip on a smooth surface, but with the tiniest cracks, it will grip, and my Climb skill adjusts to use it. I wouldnt be surprised if Climb levels from this. Slowly but surely, I make my way up to the nearest arrow slit. I refuse to look down. The most dangerous things are the gusts of wind. There havent been strong winds in this trial, but there is definitely some wind in this high and exposed place. My finger and foot grips are not strong, but the shape of the tower shelters me some. As I near the arrow slit, I sense a different type of mana. Mana Sensitivity has been solidly stone mana up until now, and now I am approaching something different. I think it is an enchantment-type trap, and my Detect Traps skill flares a warning. That is very interesting. Mana Sensitivity is making my Detect Traps skill much more sensitive than it used to be. That is great and will help a lot. I approach slowly. The strain is starting to shake my arms slightly. I reached out with my Detect Trap skill to try to sense what type of trap it was, and it seemed to be an alarm type only. I try my Disarm Trap skill. Oh yes. The Mana Disruption Skill definitely improves the Disarm Traps Skill. I pulled myself up and looked through the slit. The room was dark. I used Spectral Vision to confirm there was no body heat in there, and then I used the See-thru part to check for Undead. The room was dark, and the fire had not made it this far as there was wood lying around. The room was basically empty, and the only light was from the two arrow slits. The room was the size of the tower, so it took the floor, and there was a door at each end. The doors were broken, and I could see a corridor from one of them parallel to the wall. There were also narrow stone stairs curving around the wall and a hole in the floor where it came up from below and in the ceiling where it continued to the top. There was no way I would fit through the arrow slit, so I continued to climb to the top. 15. Stronghold. The lower sections of the crenellation on the wall had alarm traps, but Disarm Traps dealt with them easily, and I slipped to the walkway on top. Then, I had to Dodge and activate Light Speed to avoid the Zombie Guard. It was fast and armed with a sword and shield. I drew my longsword and haladie and engaged. I was barely keeping up with it in speed, and it was stronger than I was. I am lucky there was only one. My arms were still exhausted from the climb, and I was underpowered and under-skilled. In desperation, I lined up my sword at neck height, activated Lightspeed and aimed to decapitate it. My sword shattered against its shield. I dont know if it was lucky or fast enough. I very much hope it was luck. The force of the strike pushed the Zombie off balance, and I was able to get two Quick Strikes and Slashed in with the haladie across its neck. Zombies dont bleed, but the punch rocked to my back, and I finally decapitated it, and it collapsed. I looked around. We didnt attract any attention, and Zombies dont speak. I pulled out another looted single-edged sword before I crept into a corner to recover. That was very close. With Undead guarding the place, I was not going to be able to sneak. I need to be able to hide from their sensing skill, and I dont know the range of the Zombie Guards'' sensing skills. I waited for the loot: copper coins, meat and a core. The core was empty. I looked at the Stronghold that rose above me. To get into the stronghold proper, I would have to go down three floors to ground level and then across the wide road that ringed the wall. There are three areas that I figure I need to check out. There will be a throne room and somewhere behind that, but close will be a place for the Monarch to get ready for royal audiences. Then, there will be the Royal chambers themselves. Finally, there will be a vault somewhere, probably below ground. Maybe more than one vault. I was planning to start with the vault. The first thing I needed to do was get to the ground. I could go down inside this tower or another tower, or I could climb down the inside of the wall. I watched the road, and there were pairs of Zombie guards. The question is how far can they sense. Hopefully, the tower would allow me an element of surprise. The walls do hinder their senses a bit. There was no Zombie Guard on this floor of the tower, so I started down the stairs. I am not opposed to fighting single Zombie Guards. I need to improve my Basic Longsword Skill, and I can only do that with practice. Two would be too much for me. The trial is out to kill me, so I need to plan for two. There was only one on the floor below, and it attacked me as I was halfway down the stairs. I jumped to the floor and settled into the dance. I kept on the defensive to start feeling out the Zombie and the type of sword and shield skills it had. I was trying to learn its dance moves. It was fast and strong like the other onestronger than me, and it had some sort of shield bash I had to avoid. The first time, it caught me full on, and Steady Footing broke, and I went flying across the room. I am sure I cracked a rib. It was on me straight away, and only Light Speed gave me some space. It was not the first time Id had a skill break from coming against a stronger skill, so I rallied quickly. It had no answer for Light Speed, Quick Hands gave me the advantage in speed. It had counters for the Basic Longsword moves, but Steel Sperpant regularly surprised it. Cutting Light can take limbs, and Zombies, like the Undead Hounds, are susceptible to fire. That knowledge gave me confidence in how to take on more than one. My preference would be to sneak through the Stronghold, but I have no counter to the Undead senses. Wait a minute. Maybe I do. I still have three Skill Points to Spend, so maybe I can find something to hide me from their senses. The last time I looked, I was looking for Healing skills and Weapons techniques, not stealth skills. My stealth skill is almost ready to max out, and I might get choices to advanced skills when it does, but there is no guarantee, and in this place, it is only useful against the Infernal. Shadowmeld is no it is 5 points. Ethereal Step is a stealth movement skill and 8 points. Chameleon Skin and Cloak of Invisibility I can do with my Light Manipulation. Mindfog creates a mental fog in the enemy, but it is not clear if it will work on the undead. Plus, these are all too expensive. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I can already do all the invisibility options. Pocket Dimension is 20 Points. Phantasmal Disguise is fantastic and might work if it wasnt 10 points. Mimicry also sounds great but is too much. Echo Cloak no. Three points is just not enough. Ok, it was worth a look, but we are back to plan A. The next floor was empty, but the ground floor had two zombies. It was a mad scramble until I managed to cut off the leg from one of them. I then practised improving my Longsword on the other until I killed it. I tried to use only my longsword, but I wasnt there yet. It did level. I was learning this dance, and I think the Slayers bonus to Intelligence is speeding up the learning. The ground floor had equipment storage, or it used to. The weapons lockers were emptied, but I checked for hidden spaces with my Observant Eye and Spectral Vision (See-thru). I found an undisturbed potion cupboard and grabbed the common potions in it. There were ten moderate health potions, five stamina, and five mana potions. I tried to dash across the road between Zombie patrols, but they sensed me, and I ended up fighting in the smashed doorway to the main structure. Fortunately, the small room was empty, but I didnt finish them fast enough, and the next patrol also came to join in. I tried to hold them in the doorway, but that shield bash was nasty. My Cutting Light was the thing that evened it up in the small space. A Skill stone dropped from one of the Zombies, and I appraised it. It was the Skill Shield Bash. I tried to learn it even though I didnt have a shield, and I couldnt. I tried several times and then realised why. It was because I needed at least the Basic Shield Skill before I could learn the Shield Bash. I had no shield skills at all. Thank you, Trial, for giving me a useless skill stone. I stored it away to sell if I never ended up with shield skills. I started moving through the rooms and corridors, looking for a way down to the area that must be below ground. Some rooms were empty. Some had a Zombie Guard, some had two, and some had undead hounds. I hadnt encountered any infernals or Orcs yet. I scrutinised each room for hidden spaces and hidden stairways. I found a few coin stashes, but that was all. I found the servants'' passages, which were hidden from the main corridors. I went to explore them even though they would definitely not go to a vault or anywhere with loot. They should take me to key places where nobles used to be, though. I found the kitchens first. And that was bad. I tried to back out without them sensing me, but the Undead Hounds were too quick, and the Infernal Cats quickly got my scent. The Hounds I could deal with it was the cats that were the problem. They werent big cats like the lynxes and lions. No, they were small domestic cats who were quick and vicious. I killed the hounds, but my sword was not agile enough for the cats, so I dropped it and went with the Haladie, a knife, and Razor''s Edge. They were infernal, so I let loose with Bloodletting and the standard Holy Strike and Quick Strike. I was never more glad of the armoured Trousers, the Lion hide vest and the dented helmet. If I hadnt had those, I would have bleed to death regardless of regeneration. My arms were ripped to shreds by the end of the fight, and the Lion hide vest was in tatters. At least my trousers would self-repair. Medium Armour Levelled. Below the kitchen were the food storage rooms. The food was gone, but I found a full set of butcher knives and two skill stones. The stones both contained the same skill, which was the Butchering Skill. It was a small-blade technique that involved skinning and butchering various carcasses for food. I learned it easily. I can become a butcher if I am ever looking for a job. I stored the spare stone to sell. Then it occurred to me that the Butchering Skill will be very closely related to the Harvesting Skill. The Harvesting Skill allows the harvesting of monsters for extra materials before the loot appears. The Butchering Skill is for non-monsters, but if I can learn this, I can probably learn the other. I dont need the other. Yes, I would get more things to sell, but I have nowhere to keep them anyway. My 40-slot Spatial bag is basically full. Just move on. One of the small Infernal cat cores had a skill. That got me excited. How many hundreds have I checked since getting the Minor Regeneration? To many. Please dont be useless, please don''t be useless. It wasnt useless. It was just a skill rather than an ability like Minor Regeneration. It was a very useful skill. Cat Reflexes 1 enhances all my reflexes, and I thought it was amazing. It was basically a boost to my agility and dexterity, and it would level. It seemed it would synergise very well with Quick Hands, Acrobatics, and Dodge in particular, and I spent a bit of time in the kitchen practising and getting used to it. I found the throne room first. I didnt want to. I really didnt want to, but as soon as I realised where I was, there were already a half-dozen eyes on me. Sitting on the throne was a massive Orc with a crown on his head. He had three massive spears beside the throne. Standing beside him were two slightly smaller orcs, one with dual wickedly serrated swords and the other with a sword and shield. All three were heavily armoured. Shit. I dont know this dance. I have never fought Orcs before. 16. Orcs. I was about to turn and run when the massive Orc stood and let out a massive shout. It was a Skill, and it had a stunning effect. He grabbed a spear and threw it at me. I let myself fall. There wasnt a lot else I could do with my muscles locked up. The spear ripped through my lion skin tunic and some skin. The spear slammed into the door behind me, permanently blocking it. My Cat Reflexes showed their worth, releasing me from the stun before I hit the floor. With Acrobatics, Cat Reflexes moved me into a roll. The other two Orcs were drawing weapons and moving toward me. I reflexively let out a Flash and then used Light Manipulation to cover me and dived for the other side of the room. This turned out to be a good thing. Orcs are susceptible to the light. The big Orc yelled again, but it wasnt a skill. Find it! he growled, and the female with the shield turned to the centre of the room and stamped her foot. The ground shook. I bounced off a seat, and everybody''s attention was drawn to me. The shield wielder executed a Charge Skill. I tried to Dodge, but it still clipped men, and I was sent rolling, and I lost control of the light. The third orc yelled and came at me swinging his serrated swords. My Cat Reflexes got me to my feet, and I blocked a sword, but the power of the strike overwhelmed my level 1 Block, and the sword dug deep into my shoulder. I used Cutting Light, but the Orc''s armour was thick, and cutting through the greave took longer than usual. The orc ripped his sword out before the Cutting Light started digging into his flesh, causing him to yell. I dropped the Haladie from my now semi-useless hand, and my longsword struck the gap in the armour behind the knee. I Flashed them again and Thrust the sword deep into his armpit with Bloodletting. I was sent flying from the shield lady, and the wounded Orc seemed to go into a rage. He pushed the lady away and came after me. I rolled away under Light Manipulation as a slightly different me continued on the original trajectory. I was dismayed at the blood trail the real me left, and I could see the female orc looking at it. A spear slammed through copy me, and the enraged orcs serrated swords slammed into it. I slammed my longsword deep into the gap under his other arm and added Cutting Light, and I left it there as I ducked under the shield lady''s sword and dove to where the Haladie was lying. The enraged orc was now even more enraged, and the shield orc had to deflect a random strike from him on her shield. I grabbed a health potion and got most of it down before I had to dodge a spear strike from the big orc. I think he was following the blood trail as well. Fortunately, the enraged orc was throwing blood everywhere. Unfortunately, I was still leaking a lot. I ducked and sliced with the Haladie, and I cut two fingers off the big orc, causing him to activate his stun yell again. It only partially caught me this time, but I still skidded out of control and the shield orc saw. The shield orc and the big one were intelligent, which was the worst. I jumped and threw the Haladie into the eye of the Shield orc. Unfortunately, this didnt kill her; she must have a very high constitution. I ducked past the enraged orc and ripped out my sword, activating a Long Slash at the same time to cause as much damage as possible. The Earth shook again, but I was ready, and this time, Steady Footing and Sure-grip kept me on my feet, and I went on the attack at the shield orc. She was good and caught my sword on her shield, and we exchanged several blows, even though she couldnt really see me. She must have some other sensing skills because she was good, even blind in one eye. I Parried a spear thrust and then moved at Light Speed, Slashing at the large orcs neck. The longsword dug deep but not enough to cut the artery. He must have a high constitution as well. I am pretty sure he wont be able to yell again. I Dashed away, but the Shield orc intercepted me, and I had to Dodge. I attacked with everything I had: Quick Hands, Cat Reflexes, Quick Strike, and Slash. Then, while she was engaged, I used my wounded hand to throw a Dart into her other eye. Still, her sword clanged off my helmet. While I was at it, I threw a dart at the big orcs eye, but he ducked and lunged at me with his spear. I dodged behind Shield Orc and Thrust my Sword through her neck. Blood spurted everywhere, and she slipped on her own blood. I Parried another spear thrust, but halfway through the thrust, he spun, and I was slammed with the shaft and sent spinning. I realised I lost control of all light at some stage, but I Flashed as large as I could. But the haft of the spear came down on my chest, breaking ribs, and I felt like the haft would go through me. It didnt, maybe because of the remains of the Lion hide and Medium Armour. I thrust up with the sword, cutting the inside of his leg, causing blood to pump. I used quick hands and did it again with Bloodletting. He staggered back and then brought his spear around, and it slammed down through my guts and into the floor. He staggered forward, leaning on the spear, and it ripped out. Looking at my own intestines was not pleasant. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I expect this is the end for me. Big orc collapsed in a pool of blood. I fumbled for a potion and just poured it on my guts. I hope it was a health potion. I turned my head, and the Enraged orc was dead in a pool of blood. Shield orc was half-decapitated, and I watched the light go out in the big orcs eyes as he died of blood loss. I also expected to die of blood loss. Or maybe I would die gutless. I giggled at the sight of my guts out of my body. I was going into shock, but I didnt really care anymore. Then the bodies faded, and the loot appeared. There was a potion within arms'' reach from Big Orc. It was the colour of a health potion, so I reached for it and just tipped it in my mouth. Then I just lay there in blood and guts in agony, not knowing if I would live or die. It all went dark. I am not sure how long I was unconscious, but I was still in agony when I woke. My guts were closed, and my shoulder was semi-functional. I dragged myself to a sitting position. There was blood everywhere, but my body was the only one in the room. The coppery smell of blood was almost enough to make me gag. A lot of it was mine. There was loot where each of the other bodies had been, and a reward chest was up by the throne. Was the Quest finished? I checked my Status because it didnt require moving. Fight for the Crown (Optional Quest. Part of the Monarchs Raiment Quest) Kill the Orcs guarding the Crown. Reward: 1x Armour Piece, Monarchs Crown, ??? Okay, it looks like I got the quest when I entered the throne room; I was just too busy at the time. I levered myself out of the blood and limped to the throne, as it was the cleanest place in the room. I cast Self-Clean twice. I sat next to the chest and opened it. There were only three things in it. I expected more after all that. I know there was loot from each of the bodies as well, but I basically died. I pulled out the Crown and put it beside the chest. I reached in and pulled out a pair of Bracers. Bone and Leather Bracers. Part of the Armour set, The Dance of Death 3/5. +1 Dexterity, Self-Repair, Sure-grip They were actually more than bracers. They were also gloves with very fine leather on the fingers. The bone reinforcing ran up the bracers, and each one had a small hidden knife sheath. I was past complaining about this trial. I looked at the hide vest I was wearing, which could no longer really be called armour. I needed a chest piece, and it gave me bracers. When I climbed the wall, I needed these with their Sure-Grip, but did I have them? Silly question. I just put them on and slipped a knife into each sheath. Then, I picked out the third item in the chest. It was a skill stone. I was not expecting much and I Appraised it. Oh, you sweet, sweet Trial, I take back everything I said. It was an Ability, but not just any ability. It was the Storage Ability. The storage ability was like my spatial bag, but inside and accessible only to me. Nobody could steal it, and it was 100% weight reduction. It would also grow as I levelled it up and become cheaper in Mana to store and retrieve things. Every thief and merchant in the kingdom wanted this ability, and it could not be bought or stolen. It was now mine. First, I emptied all the coins from my bag and put them into storage. With the number of coins, I got a notice that Storage had levelled to 2 and gained the Bank Function. The coins were sorted into copper, silver, and gold and didnt even take up space, freeing up multiple spaces in my spatial bag. I then transferred my emergency supplies and all the weapons. They would be easier to get from my storage and freed up a lot of bag space. Then I transferred the potions. This just left a few miscellaneous things in the spatial bag. This was awesome. I wanted this for years. I put the crown into my storage. I was feeling a lot better now, so I got up and limped to the Enranged Orc. He had dropped his swords. They were ugly, brutal-looking swords, but when I appraised them, they were a paired set and, when used together, gave damage bonuses. They were not just a paired set. They were named swords. Bloodrage and Bloodrend were their names. They were heavy. I think I would need higher Strength to use them, although I am not sure I want to use them. Appraisal said the minimum strength was 35. The Damage rating on them made them attractive, especially if I could get a technique for them. I put them into storage for later. They would be worth a lot to sell. He also dropped coins, but his core gave nothing. A technique for the swords would have been fantastic, but no, there is nothing like that. The shield orc dropped her shield. It was a big and heavy thing as well, and I would have to have a higher strength to use. Again, Strenght of 35. Of course, I would need more strength to use it. She also dropped the skill stone Basic Shield, so I learned that, enabling me to learn Shield Bash. Now, I just need a shield I can use. Typical bloody Trial. Her core also gave nothing. The big Orc followed the same theme. He dropped his massive spear, which was too heavy for me to use - minimum Strength 35, and the Skillstone Basic Spear. I learned it because why not? I cant level all these skills, and the spear is in the same category as two-handed weapons for menot where I am heading. Maybe I should have kept it to sell. Not everyone can learn all these skills, but I think I can because of the Slayer Class. There were a lot of skill level-ups, and I noticed that my Basic Longsword was now at level 8. I hope the other pieces of the raiment are not so hard to get. 17. Idiot. I am an Idiot. As I sat there recovering, I thought about the fight. I am an idiot, I reiterated, this time out loud. I am letting the Slayer Class lead me around like an idiot warrior, and I am not an idiot warrior. I am a smart thief. I could have avoided this fight. If I had been moving in stealth with Light wrapped around me, I could have backed out of this room and not fought and almost died. I could have figured out a way to steal that crown from the orcs head. Maybe I would have needed to take the head with me, but that would have been better than stomping in here like I bloody owned the place. Arrogant like an idiot warrior. Sure, I have been fighting undead who can sense through stealth, but there is more than undead here. There are Infernals and Orcs, both of whom I can sneak around. I am an idiot, and I am letting the Slayer Class change me. I need to get back to my roots, get back to being a thief. I have been waiting to level my Spectral Slayer Class, and for that, I need Basic Longsword to max out, but I am an idiot. I have been raking in the experience, and I have another class I can level. I have the experience to level Thief twice, so why dont I? I am a bit scared. What happens if this trial hijacks my Thief class into something weird? I steel myself and feed the XP into Thief. It levels normally to 15. I guess all my new skills are fighting skills, not thieving skills, so I do it again. I now have eight attribute points to spend. I only need to use five to bring my strength up to 35 to use the new weapons Think about it. Do I need more strength and not just to use the weapons? That is the Slayer Class talking. Climbing the wall, I needed more Strength. The Zombie Guards are stronger than me. The orcs definitely were. Being able to use the swords and the shield would help, especially the shield. I put five into strength, two into intelligence, and one into wisdom. Intelligence and Wisdom will improve my Light Skills. Then I noticed my Constitution had gone up two points. That must be from the damage I took. By the time Basic Longsword is maxed out I will have enough XP to level Spectral Slayer. Okay. Good. I get out the shield and practice the dance moves, and then I do the same with the paired swords. My Ambidextrous lets me use the swords competently, but I really could do it with a technique for them. From everything I have collected to date, they are the weapons that will deal the most damage. I browsed the skill list, but three points are still not enough for anything decent.
  1. Stop and Think. Think like a thief. This is the Throne room. There are going to be some hidden caches here. There will be defensive weapons for the Monarch if they are attacked in the middle of an audience with their plebs. These will be close to the throne or behind the throne, where the monarch will retreat to the back room.
I start examining the throne itself. The armrests are where I would put a knife or two. This is where Spectral Vision and the See-thru part comes into play. Mana''s Sensitivity enhances this, and there are enchantments all over the throne. The more I look, the more I want to take the whole throne with me, but I cant. Storage would have to level a lot, and something this large and magical may never fit. I found a knife under the righthand armrest. It was a named weapon as well and paired. Lightreaver was a fighting dagger made from a metal I did not recognise. It was almost a short sword, and my mana Sensitivity and the Appraisal said it came with +1 Dexterity and self-repair. Self-repair was unusual on a weapon. The dagger was designed for speed strikes. Now, where is its pair? I found the pair, Shadowbane. It was a sword cleverly hidden in the back of the throne. It was a double-bladed longsword with a straight blade. I found that interesting as more than half of the swords I have found here are single-bladed and slightly curved. It was only made to be wielded with a single hand, which made sense if it was paired with a dagger, but again, most swords I have found were capable of being used with two hands. It had +1 Agility and Self Repair. The metal for both the dagger and the sword was light. They were designed for fast movement. Oh, sweet goddess. These two weapons are not just named weapons; they are soul-bound weapons. The damage was as good as the blood brothers, but being soul-bound, they would grow and change with me. I fed mana into them and bound them right away. I appraised them as a soul-bound pair, and there was more to the appraisal. Lightreaver Dagger: +2 Dexterity, Self Repair, Radiant Counterpart. Shadowbane Sword: +2 Agility, Self-Repair, Radiant Counterpart. Radiant Counterpart was interesting. I would need to explore what that meant, but radiant was obviously a reference to light, and a counterpart is a copy or duplicate or where two parts complement each other and work together. It seemed these would work well with my light abilities, but now I just need to work out how. I guess it made sense the monarch would have his soul weapons close to them when they were in public. This was the sort of thing you rob palaces for. They were worth a fortune, but now they were mine. The Shadow Dance Technique would be fantastic with these weapons. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Then I stopped. Shit. If the king finds out I have soul-bound weapons from the ancient monarch of the Alrashian, he will take them. They are soul-bound to me, and the easiest way for him to take them would be to send my soul to the gods so he can have them for himself. I will need to be careful to hide these until I leave the kingdom. Then, I will still need to be careful as they are great weapons, and others will just want them. That is alright. I can be careful. I am a clever thief and not an arrogant warrior. I strap them to my belt. They will be my main weapons while I am in this trial. I carefully searched the throne again. There was a trap. I carefully disarmed the trap, and a small compartment opened. Inside was a ring. I appraised the ring. Signet Ring of the Alrashian Monarchy ???? Oh, this is definitely one of the items of the Monarchs Raiment. It was a gold ally band with a large red gem surrounding my smaller gems of different types and colours. It would barely fit on a finger. My appraisal couldnt determine the properties of the ring. Mana Sensitivity said it was heavily enchanted, but I could not access those enchantments. I pulled out the Crown. It was made of similar materials and had similar gems. I guess it had meaning to Alrasians. I Appraised it. Crown of the Alrashian Monarchy ???? Maybe you need to be Alrashian to access their properties or a descendant of Alrashian Royalty or something. It certainly didnt work for a random human thief. I went over the throne again, but I could not find anything else. It''s time to move onto the room. I start with the floor around the throne. There are enchantments there, but no secret stashes. I moved to the back wall by the obvious exit door for the monarch. I say obvious exit door because I am betting there are hidden doors for troops to swarm in and the monarch to exit unexpectedly. There was a false panel by the door that I only found with Spectral Vision (See-thru), and there was a stash of greater potions: three mana, three Stamina, four health, two purification, and several anti-venom potions of various types. These will sell for a fortune to alchemists who will try to figure them out. They may also keep me alive. If I need them, I will use them. They all go into my Storage. I love that ability. I dont go through the door for now but start working my way around the room. I find a hidden door just in front of the throne, and it opens easily. There is a large room behind the door. It is obviously a staging room for troops, probably ten or so. I imagine I will find a similar room on the other side of the throne room. The one had already been looted as someone came in through the troop entrance and raided the place. I check anyway. There is an upper platform but no ladder. I climb up, and there are slits that can me opened for archers. There are quivers of arrows but no bows or anything. It all goes into my storage. I check the other side of the throne room, and the set up is mirrored there. It has also been raided, but I do find two short bows on the upper platform. I work my way around the room, but I dont find anything else. I am looking for trap doors and escape routes, and I am puzzled that is all I find. Then I realised what an idiot I was. I looked up. The ceiling above the throne end of the room was lower than the rest of the room. The taller walls were for the archers, but why the lower part if not for an escape route? I pull out the orcs spear and start poking it at the ceiling panels. That sounds hollow. I move the furniture to give me some height and climb up, and the trapdoor opens up, so the person escaping only needs to jump up at the right spot to get up there. I could do it easily. I climbed up, and this was large enough for someone to stand. There was a nice carpet on the floor. This was for the monarch. I looked around carefully. I found a potion cupboard stocked the same as the one below. There was a fancy bow and two quivers of arrows. There were more knives and swords. They were good quality, but nothing named. The Alrashians are a warrior culture, and the monarch is no less than the others. It is time to see where this leads. I moved forward with full stealth and light manipulation. I can learn from my mistakes. The small but comfortable room turned into a short corridor and then opened into a more public room from a hidden door. We were one floor up from the throne room. This is probably the dressing room. It had been raided and trashed. However, I am not here for the obvious but the hidden. I am betting there are more weapons here and probably more potions. I found the potion cupboard, but it had been broken into and raided. I found the hidden weapons locker. Alrashians are paranoid. I smiled. I am doing very well from all this. I decided to follow the wide, richly decorated corridor as it probably led to the living chambers. It used to be richly decorated. A few meters down the corridor, a fire ripped through the area. My Mana sensitivity indicated the fire had been controlled by some sort of enchantments and was limited in scope. I had a chance to test out Lightreaver and Shadowbane when I came across some Zombie Guards. My stealth and light didnt fool them, but I kept it up anyway. My new soul-bound equipment was amazing. The living chamber might have been protected from the fire but not from the destructive raiders. Walls had been smashed, and the place had been torn apart. The floor was stone, but following on from the throne room, I bet the ceiling was the place to look. The ceiling was the place to look. The ceiling was absolutely the place to look. My Observant Eyes, Spectral Vision and Mana Sensitivity all levelled when I found it. This is why I became a thief. This is what I love doing. This door was heavily trapped, and I had to get something to stand on to reach. My Disarm Trap and Mana Disruption both levelled and it took me an hour of careful work to open this without it killing me. This is how I prefer to risk my life. My brain is figuring out how to get into where somebody doesnt want me, and I am smart. I am a good thief! When the trap door finally opened, a ladder lowered. What have you got for me this time? 18. Eye Opening. Hidden Quest Complete! Revealing the Hidden. Discover and raid more than ten hidden locations. Reward: Secondary Attribute Perception 2. Wait! What? I read it again. Secondary attributes are a myth. Well, obviously, they are not a myth as I have one. At level 2 as well. This is amazing. It was like my eyes had just been opened. Everything was clearer, and there was a bubble of space all around me that I could perceive all at once. This was incredible. Then I used my two sight skills, and they were super boosted. Observant Eye was picking up things it would never have before, and Spectral Vision had doubled its range, strength, and sensitivity. This is amazing. I scrambled into the luxurious space, pulled up the ladder behind me, and sat for a bit, just getting used to it. I didnt sit for long because my perception showed me what a treasure trove was in front of me. There were the standard Potions and spare weapons. These must have been the favourite of the monarch. The swords were all curved, one-sided blades that could be used with one hand or two. Draped over a mannequin was an ornate robe. Vestments of the Alrashian Monarchy ???? And that makes three. There was a pile of gold coins, but the real treasure was the shelf of Skill stones. A lot were simple, and I already had them, so they went into storage to sell. I found a Create Trap stone to go with my detected and disarm traps. I learned Basic Archery so I could at least use the bow I had picked up, although I dont plan to focus on it. The Scribe Skill was there, but I couldnt learn it. I would need to train or something, or maybe I just found it boring. What I debated over was the Harvesting Skill Stone. I was sure I would be able to learn it due to the close nature of Butchering, but did I want to? If I learned it, I would not have loot appear, and the monster corpses disappear. I would have to harvest the corpses of the monsters first, and then the loot would appear. Yes, I would get that extra stuff from the corpses, hide, teeth, claws, venom sacs, etc, but did I want to do that? I am no hunter. I do have Storage now, so I can store blood and guts without it spoiling, but do I want to? I guess I didnt hesitate to learn butchering, so why would I hesitate here? Monsters are inherently worse than animals. Why would I want to harvest a rotting zombie? On the other hand, some of the poison from the Devils would be very useful. If I chose not to harvest something even though I could, I would miss out on the loot, including the monster cores. I am happy to make that choice. I learned it. I can choose to miss out if I want to. There were several technique stones, most of which I had never heard of. What is the Ocean Meets the Shore technique? It sounds like beach combing, not a weapons technique. I stored them away until I could find out more. There was also an Unarmed technique called Three Steps. I stored it away as well. If it only had three steps, I would be better off with what I had. There were five Ability stones there as well. I learned Farsight, which would pair well with my Perception and other sight skills. I debated learning the Map skill, as it would sell for an amazing price, and I wasnt sure I needed it. I did learn it in the end, as it would be good to map what I could see. I wasnt able to learn Earth Manipulation. I also now had another copy of Storage to sell. I was a bit annoyed that I couldnt learn Air Manipulation either. I could see a lot of uses for that. Never mind, I cant be good at everything. They would all sell very well, and I was going to be rich. What I have to concentrate on now is making it out of this god''s forsaken place alive. I have not found the vault yet, but I think it would have already been targeted and raided. My inner thief is telling me there will be hidden stuff like this, but more. What makes me a successful thief is my ability to know when I should quit and not go for the shiny extra because that is when you are caught and killed. I have hit the jackpot, and I am very conscious I am in a trial that is out to kill me. Has it given me this stuff because it tried to kill me, and I survived, or is the challenge still to come? Will it try to stop me from leaving with my loot? Absolutely, it will. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I dont even know how to leave this Trial. I have completed quests, although the Monarchys Raiment hasnt yet been completed. With the reward dependent on how many items you found, I figured it would be complete when I stopped looking or maybe when I left the Stronghold. There are obviously more than three items, or it would have been completed already. I am used to managing my Thief Class, which wants more. I am getting to know this trial as well. If I go down to find the vault, there will be something equivalent to the Orcs waiting for me. But it will be worse. The Trial is out to kill me, and the vaults will be a death trap for certain. There will probably be another two or three pieces of the Raiment and hidden loot there, along with a Quest and associated reward. My Slayer Class says I can handle it, like I handled the Orcs, while my Thief Class wants the loot. It is time for me to take charge and stomp down on both of those. The Trial wants to kill me. I have enough loot. It is time to get out with my life. It will probably also have another piece of my armour set. If I dont make the full set of armour, so be it. The pieces I have are excellent, regardless. Which way do I go? On the plains before the stronghold, I saw a large horde of Undead and Infernals with a huge Undead boss. In the valleys below, there was a large horde of Infernals and a Devil, or greater Devil boss. I dont plan on attacking either boss. I plan on running. I survived for weeks in rolling and running fights, and it is time to go back to that plan. My skills are better against the Infernals than the Undead. I have more potions, including antivenom. I am going back down the cliff. First, this is a relatively safe place, so I am going to catch a bit of sleep. Once I get back out there, it wont be more than a half hour at a time. The rug is soft. I woke with a start. I dont know what I heard, but something woke me. I am reasonably rested, so it''s time to clean this place out and get back on the move. I shoved everything I could into my storage and a few things into my Spatial bag. That included the rug, the chairs, and the desk. If only there had been a bed. In the desk drawer, I found a key. I am sure it was not there when I went through the place before I went to sleep. The Trial is trying to tempt me. It is tempting to just go and have a peek, but I clamp down on that hard. I am leaving. The first question is, what is waiting for me in the room below? There is no other way out. This is built like a safe to keep the monarch secure. I am tempted to wait here as long as possible, but I probably shouldnt have stayed here this long. Something woke me. I moved to the trap door and disabled the mechanism that lowered the ladder. I put the ladder in my storage. Then, I bent light around me and lifted the door slightly to see what awaited me. Undead heads turned to face me. That was interesting. Some sort of enchantment blocked the undead''s senses until I opened the door. I wanted that, but now was not the time, as an Infernal lions claws raked the ceiling as he jumped at me. Plan A. I swung the door wide, stepped back, and pulled out one of the bows with bouses against infernals and a quiver of arrows. It was time to test out new skills in a target-rich environment. Even with Basic Archery, I was pretty shit at it. I had never fired an arrow in my life before, and knowing the skills and doing them are two different things. At least I didnt put an arrow in my own foot. I had plenty of quivers of arrows, so I could afford to waste a lot. I wasted a lot. I felt I was starting to get the hang of it by the time more than half were dead or disabled. Basic Archery had not levelled, though. I was still shit at it. I stored the bow, equipped the Lightreaver and Shadowbane, and dropped down into the room below. This was much better. I moved and learned how good my new Perception was in combat. You might say it was eye-opening. Knowing what was around me the whole time made me feel like I had taken everything to a new level. I could fully make use of my new Cat Reflexes and intercept strikes that would have wounded me before. I didnt get off without any wounds, but it was fantastic. My perception also made transitioning to and from Light Speed much better. I dampened my enthusiasm as the trial was just going to throw harder things at me. When I cleared the room, I realized I needed to start harvesting. Why the hell did I get that skill? First, I had to learn what to harvest by Appraising every part of the monster to see if it had value. This was slow! Getting Harvest was a bad move. I had to stop mid-way and deal with two Zombie Guards. This was frustrating. I collected a lot of teeth, claws and hide from the infernal cats and eyeballs, fingernails, and lungs from the zombies. The lesser devil had claws, teeth and a heart, but there was no poison. I wanted that poison. I am starting to think it is not poison now but some sort of Death Affinity. I got a chainmail shirt but chose a new hide vest because my Medium Armour skill would not work with metal. Wait. Dont be an idiot. I put the chainmail on top of the hide. I harvested the cores as they came upI was that slow at harvesting. None of the cores had anything. I suppose I had room to store them for sale now if I wanted, but I didnt want to. I had plenty for sale, and I still needed skills if I could get them. What was the quickest way to get to the wall? Out the window and down the side of the building. Light Speed across the road and then up the inside of the wall. When I got to the top, I had to fight a pair of zombie guards. I harvested them and checked where I was. Farsight, even at Level 1, made a huge difference to what I could see. I am too near the plain, and I want to move past the next tower before I descend. I turn to move along the wall and look toward the canyons. Oh, Fuck you, Trial. 19. Change. The Trial does not want me to leave. The dark clouds are moving, and a thousand flying Infernal creatures are approaching. Farsight identifies most of them as Imps with leathery wings, but there are larger creatures mixed in. There is no way I am climbing down the smooth wall when the smallest infernal can knock me off to my death. I can hide in my illusions, but some will hunt by smell, and some flying creatures might even be sensitive to air movement and locate me by my breathing. I look at the plains and the Undead. Nope. Not with aerial assault, as well. My best bet is to get inside the stone walls. I moved towards the tower. The roof was gone, but the stone floors were solid. Staying in the corridors of the walls is my first move. I defeat the Zombie Guards in the tower and remember I have to harvest them as well. Getting that skill was a bad move. I go down a level and defeat the three guards there, but instead of continuing down, I take one of the side corridors and start moving along the inside of the wall. It is dark. The only light in the towers comes from the arrow slits. Here, there is no light at all. My Perception range is very small, maybe two meters from my body. I use my Spectral Vision and turn it to Spectral Vision (See-thru). This shows the walls and other objects, but the edge of the objects is a thin layer on top, and it is hard to remember. I will need practice. A different undead creature attacks me. It is hairless and very fast, faster than I am. I am stronger than it, but getting a touch of it is difficult. It is good we are in a confined space. The ceiling is half a body length above my head, and the width of the corridor would take four people marching side by side. The creature uses the walls and ceiling the same way I use the floor. It crawled on all fours all the time, but if it stood upright, it would look humanoid. I finally skewer it with Shadowbane, but it had taken four attempts with Cutting Light to remove a limb, and that hardly slowed it down. It had wicked claws on all four limbs, and my chainmail took several strikes. One of the claws nicked my upper arm, and it also had the death poison. Minor Regeneration started to burn it out. I identified it as a Ghoul. I took my time harvesting it so I would know what I needed next time. Claws, teeth, eyes, heart, brain. I almost threw up. It didnt even use its eyes. I went through my potions looking for one that might work against this poison, but this appeared to be death magic, and the anti-venom was for various creatures. The closest thing was the Purification potion. That was not pleasant, but putting a bit on the blackened skin seemed to purify it, so at least I had something. I could boost my health with general health potions, and that would let me live longer, giving Minor Regeneration and purification time to work. At least I have a plan. The Ghoul dropped a silver coin, unidentified meat, and a core. There was nothing in the core. I kept moving. The Ghouls were trouble. They were only in the corridors where there was no light, but I tried to use Flash against them, and there was no reaction. They didnt like my Burning Light, but they were not weak to fire like the hounds and Zombies. Before I reached the next tower, I defeated four ghouls. Their speed and the death in their claws were the hard part. After fighting two at a time, I had to rub some purification potion on the wounds. The claws could pierce the chainmail and leather. The leather repaired itself, and the bone in my armour resisted the claws. The chainmail started showing holes, as did the hide underneath. The tower room had four flying imps and two Zombie Guards. I easily grounded the Imps with Darts in their wings. They still came at me on foot, but I knew this dance and whittled them down with Shadowbane, Lightreaver, and Cutting Light. All of them were weak to Holy Strike. I harvested and moved on to the next corridor. I kept this up, resting and catching short naps when I could. It was like running and fighting in the open, but I was walking through dark corridors. I kept moving. When I came to the ruins of the gate tower, I went down a level and worked my way back. As I fought, I started to feel a connection between my skills. I was using the dance moves of Basic Longsword, Small Blades, Razors Edge, and Steel Serpent, but it was like a link was forming more and more with other skills as well. I would work out what was best against them and refine it with Quick Hands, using Acrobatics to move and Cat Reflexes to retaliate. Ambidextrous was the key to all this for me. It was like I was building my own weapon technique for fighting the undead and infernal creatures. Of all my skills, Holy Strike was used the most. Parry, Holy Strike, punch, Slash, Thrust, Holy Strike. I lost track of time. The deeper I went, the more Ghouls there were. I now Harvest without throwing up, although I still regret getting that skill. Then I got a notice. Basic Longsword is Level 10, Max. There were several more advanced techniques for the Longsword that opened up to me. Military Fencing appealed to me as it incorporated unarmed aspects into it, like elbow strikes, punches and kicks. This had similarities with Steel Serpent. It was weighted toward humanoid foes. The word military in the title put me off as well. I wasnt going anywhere near the military. In the end, I chose the Blade Storm because it focused on fast, multiple strikes and would synergise with many of my other skills. This meant I could level Spectral Slayer to 3. I allocated the five attribute points to Dexterity, Agility, and Intelligence, as I needed speed. I couldnt allocate any to Perception, or I would have. The next set of level requirements did not include any weapons level, so I guess I am now at the minimum requirements for a slayer. I just have to keep slaying, which I am not that happy about. I was still moving everywhere in stealth. It was more of a reminder not to be an arrogant warrior. It was working. It also maxed out the Stealth Skill. I got a point in agility for it, but there were no advanced skills made available like Basic Longsword. I dont know whether that meant I didnt meet the criteria or if I had to develop my own. I also had the XP to level Thief again, so I did. I didnt trust this trial and was nervous it would take Thief away from me. I was not unhappy with Spectral Slayer; in fact, I was very happy with it overall. I didnt trust the Trial. My total level was back up to twenty. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. My Status was frustrating me, and I found I could organise it a bit, so I grouped things that made sense to me.
Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human
Level: 20 Sub Level 6 Class: Spectral Slayer 3 / Thief 17 Profession: Performer 6
Health: 650 Stamina: 650 Mana: 490
Strength: 35 Agility: 44 Dexterity: 43
Constitution: 30 Intelligence: 49 Wisdom: 33
Perception: 2
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 3
Precision Throw 3 Thrust 7 Crushing Blow 1
Parry 3 Holy Strike 5 Create Dart 2
Chop 2 Slash 3 Block 1
Bloodletting 2 Long Slash 1 Quick Strike 3
Basic Shield 1 Shield Bash 1
Razors Edge 4 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 5
Basic Blunt Weapons 2 Blade Storm 1 Steel Serpent 3
Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 1
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max
Quick Hands 5 Climb 7 Ambidextrous 2
Acrobatics 3 Free Runner 4 Cat Reflexes 3
Steady Footing 3 Light Speed 2 Stealth 10/Max
Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max
Riding 8 Appraisal 5 Identify 7
Detect Traps 8 Disarm Traps 7 Create Trap 1
Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 2
Butchering 1
Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max
Armour Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 3
Mana Manipulation 8 Mana Strength 1 Mana Sensitivity 3
Mana Disruption 2 Mana Control 10/Max
Vision Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 3
Light Manipulation 7 Minor Regeneration 2 Storage 2
Farsight 1 Map
Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4
Trim 5
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 4 Flash 6
Project Image 6 Animate Image 4 Cutting Light 2
This Trial has changed me more than anything previously. It has been bloody tough, though, and it is not over yet. I dont know how to make it over. Do I have to finish the Monarch Quest? How do I get out of this nightmare? The previous weeks have been a learning experience for me in two ways. I have been learning about my skills and how they synergise and work together to form techniques. I have been learning new techniques and how to combine them. I realised I am close to forming my own dance movement, which is my own technique for fighting Undead and Infernal monsters. Holy Strike is a foundational skill, along with my Cat Reflexes and Quick Hands. The new Blade Storm technique fits in very well, as does Steel Serpent. It will be a sword-and-dagger technique, as I have almost exclusively been using Lightreaver and Shadowbane. The other thing I have been learning more about are my two soul-bound weapons. Both have been adusting to me or maybe I have been adjusting to them. They are bound to my soul so we are fitting together more and more. I have been working on the Radient Counterpart. I can use the weapons to channel my light abilities. I dont have to cast Cutting Light when I Slash as a separate action. The sword or dagger can do that in the same action. It still costs the same mana, but I have a feeling that as we fit better, they will also start reducing the mana cost of light spells. The swords will take any of my light spells, including the Copy Image and Project Image and the can look like anything else. The metal they are made out of is very distinctive. I thought it was some sort of Silver-steel, but I am now thinking they might be a Mithril alloy. They were the soul-bound weapons of a warrior ruler. I can now make them look like ordinary basic blades, and it will be very hard for people to pierce through that image. This is good for when I get back to civilisation. They will also channel Animate Image, and I had them dance for me once in a moment of silliness. It is a shame I cant sing. They are my counterparts in more ways than channelling light spells. I can throw them at a foe and then use the soul bond to call them back to me. Lightreaver and Shadowbane are absolutely incredible. 20. Next Level. The walls and, therefore, the corridors of this stronghold extend well below ground. I am standing over the bodies of three dead Ghouls and two Lesser Devils. Ghouls are undead, and Devils are Infernal, yet they work together. They also both have the same death poison. Minor Regeneration is hard at work, burning out the poison, and I smear more Purification potion on the wounds. I found three more intact potion cabinets, each with two Greater Purification potions. I have been using them sparingly, but I am still working through them. I have a notification on my Status. Unnamed fighting technique complete. Do you want to name your technique? This is not the first time this has happened to me, but I felt the technique needed more refinement. I think I might be ready to give it a name now. I look at the half-used bottle of purification potion. Yes. New Fighting Technique: Purifying Dance: To be used with a sword and dagger. Bonus Damage against Undead and Infernal Creatures: +10% Critical Chance, +20 holy damage. This technique is linked to most of my fighting and movement skills and vision skills. It was unique to me. It was a good general technique for a sword and dagger combo, and it became amazing against undead or infernal creatures. I may not need to buy that Shadow Dance Technique now. I stood and stared at the blank wall. Two fights ago, no three or four fights ago, I had a breakthrough. The monster core of a Ghoul gave me a skill, no, not a skill. It is almost part of my armour. It is certainly a defensive ability. Death Resistance 1. It is a resistance against Death poison and, in fact, all Death Magic. It has just gone up to Level 2 and is helping me resist the poison I took in that fight. Even though the help is small, it will level up. If I had learned it the first time I had been poisoned, it would have been maxed out by now. Typical of the trial to try to kill me. Every little bit helps. If I have a resistance against Death Magic, I am going to assume it is something else I cant learn, like Earth and Air. Not that I want to learn Death Magic. That may not be the case. Resistances might not be related to affinities for something. This wall is fascinating, but I had better harvest these kills. I am now well-practised in harvesting from Undead and Infernals, so it does not take me long. I go back to studying the wall. I figured there was a reason the corridors go so deep. I would have a secret escape route out. This just comes from the keep to the walls, but I am sure I would find a way out past the walls if I kept going. Do I want to go into the keep? I guess the first thing is, CAN I get into the keep? This door is extremely well hidden, and there are multiple overlapping traps. I can only see it with my Spectral Vision (See-thru), which is enhanced by my Perception. Observant Eye might be part of the mix as well. The See-thru part of Spectral Vision is seeing a good way into the rock. When I look at my hand or fight a monster, I see bones with overlayed flesh in translucent layers. I am used to it now in these dark corridors. The Devils would have shown up in the Spectral Vision (Heat), but the Spectral Vision (See-thru) sees everything. Mana Sensitivity is helping me trace the mana flows of the traps. This is beyond my Level 7 Disarm Trap Skill. It is probably beyond the level 10 skill. It is the overlapping traps that make it interesting. It was probably made by a master Trapper using his unique technique, just like I created a unique fighting technique. I have heard about this, but it is probably a lost skill. This is probably like a master craftsman but for trapping. This was designed to be opened, but it may have been designed to be opened only from the other side. That doesnt mean there is no way for me to get in from here, but it makes it harder. I continue to map out the Mana patterns. The overlapping layers are very confusing, and I am amazed at how they managed to get them all to work together. Six Ghouls and four lesser Devils later, I might have a place to start. Three more Ghouls and two lesser Devils later, and I was sure I had a place to start and a possible method to start. The thing is, I am not sure my Mana skills are high enough, even the advanced ones. The person who created this was a genius. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. If I do something wrong, various things could happen. Depending on what trap I get wrong, it would seal this door, so even a master miner would take days to dig through. There are cascading disasters from there, all resulting in horrible deaths for me. The challenge is enticing even if I dont actually want to enter. Just exploring these traps has jumped my Level 1 Create Traps skill to level 5, and my Detect Traps Skill has maxed out, giving me a point in Wisdom. I havent done anything yet. Mana Sensitivity is up as well. Some of these traps are so modified they are not really traps anymore. I dont know what to call them.
  1. I am going to wait for the next set of Ghouls and Devils to pass. Then we can start.
Right, Mana sensitivity is on, and the first thing is to take this tiny mana stream and bend it out of the way without breaking it with Mana Manipulation. Then I use the tiniest slither of mana Disruption there and compensate with a little piece of mana strength to the flow there so it doesnt trip that trap. Then, I extract myself and see if I was successful. I am not dead, and yes, I was. My Disarm Trap Skill is guiding me to that section next, but I am sure that was a trap within a trap to catch people like me. We do this bit here, and it disables that section. I haven''t even started disarming the first trap yet; I am merely getting access to it. This is going to take a while, and I have to make sure I am not at any sensitive part when the Ghouls and Devils come every couple of hours. I also need regular breaks, or I will make a mistake. Let''s get into it. Slow and steady. Eighteen Ghouls and twelve Devils later, I was almost there. These were not traps. I have been calling them traps, but they are so far beyond traps that they might as well be on one of the moons. A trap will trip something up or open a pit to fall into. These are works of art. I will take a break now and wait for the next lot of Ghouls to come, as I cant stop when I start the final steps. I have maxed out the Disarm Traps Skill because this is so far beyond what it was designed for. This is a whole new world for me to learn, and I am learning. Mana Manipulation has maxed out, and I got MicroMana Manipulation and MacroMana Manipulation. MicroMana Manipulation is levelling fast. Everything got easier when I got that skill. I harvested what would hopefully be the last Ghouls and Devils for a while and settled in for the final stretch. Mana Sensitivity has almost tripled in level, and from what I can sense now, I realise how lucky I was when I first started this. I honestly think my Cat Reflexes helped save me a couple of times. I roughly slammed home the last mana surge as I was rocked and took a load of Death poison from the Ghouls, plural. I Light Speed backwards and fumbled a Purification potion, spilling it on a Ghoul. It didnt like that and let out a moaning howl. The Potion damaged it! I didnt have time to stop, but I was glad my Death Resistance was there. Once I had myself sorted, dealing with the ghouls and lesser Devils was routine. I left the last ghoul and sprayed it with a Purification potion, and its health was definitely dropping. This is a fantastic weapon to have against the undead. I will check how many potions I have left soon. I sculled a health potion instead of a Purification Potion to save them. When I recovered enough, I looked at my status sheet, which flashed at me. Special Action Performed. New Profession Available A new Profession? Not a new Class? I have one profession, although I have two profession slots. I picked up the profession as a Performer well before I met Carls group. I was putting on performances to scam people and do street Illusion acts. It worked well straight off my illusions and made them more believable. I am looking forward to these options. Do you wish to take the profession of Wardweaver? Yes, please! New Skill learned! Weave Ward. New Skill learned! Unravel Ward. New Skill learned! Mana Sight! You have received +2 Wisdom +1 Intelligence. These would have been useful in the last days work. I guess the last day or so was when I learned to do these Skills. This is what I did, and I have been recognised for it. This is bloody fantastic! I am amazing! Just imagine the places I can get into with this skill. Imagine what I can charge to make wards for people! Yes! Yes! Yes! I did a little happy dance. I made Lightreaver and Shadowbane do little happy dances, too. When I calmed down, I decided to find out what was behind the door I had just opened. I went into full Stealth, wrapped light around me, and opened the door. What was behind the door? An empty corridor. I stepped in and examined the wards from the inside before closing the door, just in case I couldnt open it again. Mana Sight was fantastic, and the mana flows were clearer. They were much clearer. This was the inside of the ward and the way people should exit. I traced the mana flow, and they seemed to focus on a spot on the wall. I saw a hole in the wall at that spot. I double-checked. I triple-checked. I reached into my Storage and retrieved the key the Trial had left in the desk in the Monarchs safe room. The key fit in the hole exactly, and when I turned it, the wards were deactivated. The Trial had given me a key. With the newfound knowledge, I went outside the door into the corridor and traced the mana with my new Mana Sight. There was a small hidden hole in the wall exactly the size of the key. 21. Exploring. I will not get angry at the Trial. I will not get angry at the Trial. I will focus on the amazing profession I earned. I earned it, and I am amazing! My Map told me I was under the main keep. The surrounding area was well-mapped. I now stealthed forward, cloaked in light. There was still no light here. The walls held scones where light crystals used to be. I moved carefully. I found some storage rooms. I actually managed to see an Undead before he sensed me. I moved at Lightspeed and Shadowbane and Lightreaver sissered its head off. It is easier to sneak up on Infernal. I am just using Self-clean frequently to keep my smell to a minimum. The storage rooms didnt have much, but I found some common swords, shields and armour pieces. I was very grateful for the Storage ability as the spatial bag would never have managed a quarter of this. I used the map to work my way around the edge. I was only halfway when I came to the dungeon. The metal doors were buckled and torn from the hinges. There was a guard''s room at the end, more doors, and then the cell that lined the corridor. There were two corridors and two rows of cells. All the doors were open and broken, and they were teeming with Ghouls and Zombie Guards. With the narrow walkway between the cells, I could limit the number coming at me, but they were at a higher level and harder to take down. I was very, very glad of the Purifying Dance. I wore them down slowly, and I was absolutely exhausted when I came to the end. Then, I encountered the Revenant. The Revenant was large and quick and carried a sword. Its robes were largly rags, but they moved and entangled my sword, and it seemed to be able to become incorporeal briefly to bypass damage and restore damage that I had done. My Mana and Stamina were low. It could match me in speed and sword skills. In the narrow corridors, there was little room to move, and this now hindered me, just as I had just appreciated it. I couldnt dodge properly or use Light Speed. With my Spectral Vision (See-thru) skill, the Revenant looked solid, but when it became incorporeal, I could still see it in the skill. It was different and translucent, with no solid parts, but it was clearly still there. I am hoping this skill will let me see the incorporeal creatures. I dont know how I might hurt them, but seeing them is a start. Channelling Burning Light on my sword seems to work better to hurt it, but it will go incorporeal and regenerate. I was taking damage and figuring out its dance move while becoming frustrated. I finally broke the dance pattern, Dashed backwards, and threw Shadowbane through the creature''s centre of mass. This caused it to go incorporeal to heal, and as soon as it reappeared, a bottle of greater Purification smashed against it. This caused it to smoke and sizzle, and I used Light Speed to move forward. With Lightreaver and my Haladie, we tore into it with Steel Serpent and Razors Edge. Even then, I had to go beyond my limits, and when it finally died, I sank to the ground and drank a greater Health Potion and a Greater Stamina potion. I did not want to get ambushed by another of these and not be ready. I moved through the cells, Harvesting and Looting. The Revenant gave me something called Shackle Cloth as loot. I hope a tailor can make something from this, but not for me, thanks. Two skill stones were dropped, one for Slash and one for Flash Strike, which was equivalent to my Quick Strike. I stored them away to sell. None of the cores gave me anything. On the other end of the dungeon was an interrogation room. It had some health potions. I guess it was to keep their prisoners alive if the torture went too far. No purification potions, though. I was down to two, having used a full one on the Revenant. On the other side of the interrogation room was a larger guard room, and then there were a couple more store rooms and stairs up. I sat, ate, and rested before exploring more. I was getting totally sick of this place. I didnt know how to get out. Stolen novel; please report. There must be some sort of trigger to exit. The only thing I could think of was that it wanted me in the keep; therefore, finishing the Monarchs Raiment quest might trigger the exit. It is the only thing I could think of. I dont want to do this quest. I want to run. I want to get out, but I cant and I am getting frustrated and angry. I have no idea how long I have been here, and there just didnt seem to be an end. My Mana sensitivity was quite high now, and I was getting different feedback. I didnt sense the Revenant, probably because of all the other undead in front of it. If I pay attention, I can sense what type of creature is in a room before coming close to it. I dont always know how many there are, but I can tell the difference in the mana signature of Zombies, Ghouls, Imps, Infernal Cats, and Devils. It has helped me have an element of surprise, even against the undead. I think there is a lot more to mana than I currently realise. I have used this to search out hidden potions, as I have drunk enough of them to learn their mana signature. I am thinking I can make this into something more useful. Mana is not blocked by wood or stone, and glass vials dont stop me from sensing the mana of the potions. Enchantments and special materials can block mana, but these are expensive. You can learn skills from training and repetition, not just by skill stones. I learned Acrobatics by doing forward rolls and cartwheels, Free Running by running and Riding by riding. I also learned Chop and Slash by just doing it repetitively. Can I learn a skill that will help me seek out different mana signatures? I am doing it manually now, just like I was using Mana Sensitivly to learn the ward, and now I can see mana. I was doing it the hard way, and now the skill has been created, and I can do it much easier. I am seeking out different mana signatures the hard way with Mana Sensitivly, so how can I turn that into a skill to do it more easily? It is not a sight skill. It is a seeking skill or a revealing skill. The type of mana I know best is Light Mana. Can I use that as a benchmark to judge other mana from? I get out three different potions, making sure one of them is Purification Mana, as that is what I really need to find. I reach out with Light Manipulation to the Mana around them. I can see the Mana, but I turn that off because I want this to be different from Mana Sight. I sense the mana using Mana Sensitivity. How does the Purification mana differ from the Healing or Stamina Mana? Using Light mana I no. Using Light mana is wrong. Just stick to Mana. As I get to know different mana types, I will identify what they are. What we want to do is get more detail of something being there, and then can I Identify it and how many are there of it, etc. If I use MicroMana Manipulation to create some mana threads for each of the potions. That is easy, as I know what is there, but what if I dont? Can I create a net of mana to spread out in a direction that seeks out different mana signatures? First, I try making a net of mana threads that will stay together. That is hard enough. Then I try casting it into the next room to sense what is there. It just broke apart. I need to keep a link to it so I can sense it and keep it empowered. Casting it is the wrong image as I really need to let it out slowly as a lure or a sticky spider web, collecting the mana signatures in a room. Up the stairs, I can sense the mana of infernal creatures, probably cats and a Devil, but I want to know how many. I create the net or web slowly and then let it drift up the stairs. It falls apart before I get halfway, but I think I am onto something. I try it again. And again. I make the net wider, but there are not so many threads. I get further this time. Then, a bit further. MicroMana Levels, as does Mana Strength. Mana Strength might be the key to keeping the net together. Then I get it far enough to sense the first Lion. It breaks apart after that, but the Lion doesnt sense the net. I am aware that I can sense the net with Mana Sensitivity and mana Sight, so others will be able to as well. I can break it with Mana Disruption so others can as well. I would judge not many people are this sensitive to mana. Some dedicated mages and crafters, mostly. This is primarily for sensing monsters and hidden mana-rich items. I try again. I go a bit further and a bit longer each time. Finally, it clicks. I have a new skill, Mana Sensing Web. It puts out a web of mana thread to sense other mana signatures. I can make it more sensitive by tightening the weave, but that takes more mana to use. The bigger it is, the more mana it uses. With the skill levels, I will be able to sense larger areas for less mana per second cost. For now, I know there are three lions and a Lesser Devil up the stairs. I go back into the guard''s room and the interrogation room to cast the web around to check that I didnt miss anything. I did miss something. There was a different mana sense in the corner under some rubble in the interrogation room. I moved the rubble, and I found a Skill stone. I appraised it, and it was the skill of Truth Sensing. That is worth a decent amount. I tried to learn it out of interest but couldnt. I wasnt an honest person. I knew that. It would have been strange if I could have learned it. 22. Opposites. The main Vault was on the next level. My Mana Sensing web found it, and it was huge, but it couldnt get past the enchantments and mana-dense material. I worked my way around the floor, avoiding the main entrance to the vault. I managed to get a taste of what was in the Vault, and it was a High-level Infernal Monster of some sort. Just one, I think, but it seemed to sense the mana web and moved, so I withdrew in a hurry. I found some hidden caches. One was just an indent in the wall the Spectral Vision (See-thru) and observant eye found. Mana web did not sense any mana from it, and I almost didnt check it. Fortunately, I did, as there was a small bar of gold and two of silver. Not everything valuable had mana. This was especially true when it came to armour and weapons. Most were common materials, and they were still worth a lot. The floor was almost all storerooms. They were big, and there was a lot. They must have been preparing for a long siege. Most of the rooms had been looted already, but there were things they missed that added up. My storage was full, and the spatial bag was full. I started dropping eyeballs and brains to fit other things in. When I had swept the floor, excluding the vault, I went upstairs to clear that floor. I would clear the entire keep before venturing into the vault. There was something in the vault that was a high-level Infernal. The Trial looked like it was going to make me fight it, so I would collect as much loot as possible first. If I died, it wouldnt matter, but if I lived and the Trial ended, I would leave nothing behind except some brains and eyeballs. There were a lot of storerooms. My Spectral Vision (See-thru) found another hidden vault, which was protected by wards. They were nothing like the wards on the door below, but I had skills that needed levelling. I am sure my motivation had nothing to do with there being valuables behind it. I first mapped the ward with Manasight, and I made a huge discovery. I was mapping the keep with my Map skill because it automatically mapped where I went and what I saw. The Map Ability kicked in with my Mana Sight and mapped the ward for me. I would have a permanent record of what I could see with Mana Sight and the Wards. This was incredible. I could bring up the map, and it would help me reproduce the wards with my skills. My knowledge has just started with Wards, and these were not as complex as the ones on the door. I carefully mapped these in three dimensions and then worked on Unravelling them. That was not as easy as just activating the skill. The Skill guided me, but I had to use most of my mana skills actually to unravel it. The vault had smaller valuable items, including bags of gold coins. The real find was a Spatial Backpack. This only had thirty slots and a 50% weight reduction, but that was still good. I transferred lighter and lesser-value items to it. There were also skill and Ability stones. I picked up a number of duplicates to sell: Dash, Dodge, and Climb. Appraisal and Indentify would get good prices. They had the Create Arrow Skill, which was a bigger version of my Create Dart. I learned it, even though Archery was not really my thing. I did learn the skill Charge, which is a quick movement skill that gives bonuses to a weapon or shield strike at the end. There were several Charms, two or three versions of the ones I had. I learned Mend, which fixed small tears in the cloth. I also learned Trickle, which creates a small stream of water. I drank some, and it was clean water that appeared to be at room temperature. Ability stones enabled me to get another copy of Storage to sell. I discovered that I was no Ice Mage, even though I had once known the Ice Spike spell. Maybe the Spectral Slayer Class is restricting me from learning these things? It is light-focused, and I know I lost Firebolt and Ice Spikes when I specialised in Illusionist. That is a distinct possibility. It might be suppressing things that are not light. I had to store Fire Manipulation to sell as well. I do have to remember that even though I can learn a spell in Fire and Ice that doesnt mean I will be especially good at it. It does not indicate a high affinity. The last Ability Stone was when my swords and I did another little happy dance. Shadow Manipulation immediately went onto my Status. The sneaky classes took shadows, and I had also wanted them for a long time. Then I learned Light Manipulation, and I could create shadows by manipulating light. People think they are opposites, but they are not. They are simply two sides of the same coin. There are still a lot of shadow abilities I couldnt learn with light manipulation, but I could imitate a lot of them. Light and Shadow go together. It is like this has completed me. Who needs Fire and Ice? I have Light and Shadow. There are a few things I need to try right from the start. Things I have been doing with Light Manipulation that a Shadow Skill would make easier. First, I find a dark corner. I would usually use Light manipulation to expand and deepen the shadows to hide in, but this time, I use Shadow Manipulation to cover the corner. My Status immediately says I have Learned the Spell Shadow Cloak. The Mana used for the area cloaked is about the same as when I used my Light, BUT this Spell is only Level 1. It will get better. The second thing is my Flash Skill. It blinds with a Flash of Light, but I have always wanted to do the opposite. I would do this with Light manipulation and remove the light from someone''s eyes so they can''t see, but that takes concentration as well as mana, especially as foes dont stand still. There must be a Spell that uses Shadow to do the opposite of Flash for an area. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I send out my web to find the nearest infernal enemy and head out to experiment. Shadow Manipulation takes a bit of work at level 1, but eventually, I learned Eclipse. It is the opposite of Flash and will plunge an area into darkness for a short period. What I am looking for in looting this place is not just loot but something that will give me the advantage against a high-level Infernal. Undead are weak to purification, but Infernals are not. With Infernals, I can use my light, though, and therefore my Shadows. Shadow Cloak and Eclipse are not enough. They are just extensions of what I already have. Before I go any further, I head back down to the basement door and carefully and in a lot of detail map the wards with Mana Sight. It takes me hours, but this is my only chance. It is going to take a lot of study for me to work them out, but there are some parts that match the wards upstairs, and I can tell what they are for. At least I have a permanent copy now. If I had the Scribe Skill I could have drawn them, but I guess I cant be good at everything. When I head back, I see several Undead and Infernals repopulating the corridors, but not nearly as many as before, and the Revenant is not there. It is time to keep looting and try to find something to keep me alive. The ground floor had the main barracks and the officer''s quarters. All the goods and stuff were gone, but I happily dumped some brains for the bottles of wine that were intact. I went room to room and floor to floor, and my map kept me on track. In the upper levels, I was fighting a lot of flying Infernals. There was nothing that stood out as a fight-winner against a high levelled Infernal. My Storage finally levelled to 4, and I could fit more stuff in. My hardest fight was against an Infernal Griffon, a lion/bird hybrid. The feathers on the Griffon''s wings deflected my weapons, and its claws burned with fire rather than death. It had a bird beak that went right through my chainmail and Hide combo. I would have lost a leg if it hadnt been for the bone reinforcing in my trousers. I Flashed, Eclipsed, and Cut Light. I Slashed, Chopped, and Holy Struck. The only way I could think of to do some real damage was to Light Speed onto its back. I thrust Lightreaver into the back to use it to hold on and braced my legs like I was riding. I Chopped at the wing with Shadowbane, but those cursed feathers negated most of the damage. Then, the Griffon flexed its wings and took off out of the opening in the building. Shadowbane was knocked from my hands and lost somewhere below. I pulled out an axe with bonuses against Infernals and started Choppig at the Wing, and we circled the building as the Griffon tried to get rid of me. I Eclipsed it and finally damaged the wing enough to start it falling from the sky. It clipped the stone keep as it struggled to stay in the air, but we finally crashed into the road that circled the inside of the wall. I let go at the last minute and used Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes to try to stay alive. They both Levelled, and I stayed alive but not without breaking an arm. The Griffon wasnt dead, and a zombie patrol was coming. I drank a Greater Health Potion to support Regeneration. I had lost the axe, so I got out another one and attacked the Griffon with my good arm while Regeneration moved the bones in my other arm to try and fix it. I flashed it, and it attacked the image of me instead of me. The neck was covered in those feathers that were resisting my weapons so I chopped at the legs where the lion hide was. I followed it up with Cutting Light and thinking I needed Shadowbane. Then I realised I could just call Shadowbane back. It was quite a way away from me, so it was not instantaneous. Then I had to distract the griffon again while I dealt with the zombie patrol, who were not fooled by my images. Then Shadowbane arrived, and I Charged at the griffon with a Holy Strike, and landed a precision cut to sever a leg finally. Then I charged back to the last zombie and decapitated it, and then I Eclipsed the Griffon and charged back at the other leg on this side. This didnt sever it, but Holy Strike cut deep. It couldnt fly and now was severely hampered on the ground. It was a matter of avoiding the beak and weaning its health down until it died. Harvesting such a large animal one-handed was very difficult. I had to take a break and deal with another zombie patrol. I Harvested a lot of feathers. I was really hoping I could get those made into something for me, as they were very strong against cutting weapons. I also harvested teeth, claws, hide, and, for some random reason, the liver and the intestines. The loot included silver coins, meat, a large core and a Greater Health potion. The core was empty, of course. For all the benefits I had received here, the Trial is still out to kill me. It is making me fight the monster in the safe and not giving me anything to help. Can I get out of there now? No. If I let go of the Shadow Cloak, I will be swamped with Imps, and I can see two more Griffons. If I want to get out of here, it looks like I have to fight the Infernal Monster and try to end this Trial. I check my Status again. I have the kills and experience to Level Spectral Slayer again, so I do so. What attribute am I going to need to fight this monster? It is in a confined space. I will have limited dodging, so I am going to take some hits. My Strength was barely enough to damage the Griffon. Do I need more Strength or rely on skills? I will rely on Skills. This beast might have Death Poison. I need all the help I can to live. I put all five points into Constitution. The Trial is not going to give me anything to fight the monster, so what can I create? I have a new class, Wardweaver and the Create Traps Skill. There must be something I can do. 23. Boss Fight. I haven''t forgotten I have three Skill Points to spend. I would really prefer more, but three is still good. I also have Shadow Manipulation, which should open up more options. Before, I had been looking at fighting techniques and healing skills. I think it is too late to learn a new fighting technique when I have made my own, and it has bonuses against Infernal monsters. What I need is something light or shadow based that can give me an edge or keep me alive. Shadow Strike is only two points. It is for moving through shadows and striking unexpectedly. There is no unexpected or surprise here. Shadow Faint, no, I can already do that with my images. Shadow Step is cheaper than Light Speed, but limited to shadows. Nights Embrace is a suppression of your opponent, not just vision. Nocturnes Fury is a series of attacks that increase the damage the longer you keep it up. No, that is five points, not three. Holy Shield is a light shield to protect me. But I have never really used a Shield. SunStrike no. it costs too much. Oh, here is one. Purifying Smite. Channel Light into a powerful Strike that also purifies Death magic or Undead. That has potential. It is an Infernal, not an Undead, but if it has Death magic like the Devils this will be good. It may be like the Griffon, and not have Death Magic. How do I confirm? Shit, this is a life-or-death decision here. If this thing stays in the vault, does that mean it is a creature of darkness, and light attacks will have bonus damage? The Ghouls stayed away from any light. Luminous Blade will be ideal for Lightreaver and Shadowbane, as it coats the blades in light, slicing through darkness, dispelling illusions, and bonus against Death magic users. It is only two points. Is there a shadow skill that lets me become incorporeal, so strikes flow through me? I will be fighting in the dark, so the presence of shadows should not be a problem, even if it turns out to be a fire user. That sounds like it would fit my fighting style. Wraith Form is exactly what I want, but it is way too expensive. Is there a cheaper version? Etherial Shadow is five points, and that is getting closer. The Shadow Phase is only three points, but it only causes a partial incorporeal state, so some damage is still taken. Parts of my body could become more fully Incorporeal to pass through objects or take less damage. It is weak to light attacks and magic that targets the Incorporeal. It works on non-metallic armour and weapons. So my swords will stay solid, although it doesn''t say if soul-bound weapons are exempt. That will have to be tested. So it comes down to three main options. Purifying Smite or Lumious Blades will cause good damage if it is a death magic user. Shadow Phase has better general use but only reduces damage to me. A reduction in damage means I will stay alive longer, and if I am alive, I can work out other problems or run. Dead people cant. For better or worse, Shadow Phase it is. With Shadow Phase, I dont really need Shadow Cloak. However, I can cloak others with Shadow Cloak, and Shadow Phase only applies to me. Shadow Cloak is also a spell, so it takes longer to cast. Yes! Shadow Phase applies to me and my Soul-bound Weapons. But only the soul-bound weapons, not other weapons or any metal larger than the size of a belt buckle. My two spatial bags are non-metallic. The Skill gets better as it levels. When it maxes out, I might get a second of full incorporeality. That is OK. I am happy with the points I spent. OK, What else can I do to tip the fight in my favour? I have a lot of things in my storage. One of the consequences of Shadow Phase is that I can no longer wear the chainmail shirt. I also need to remove the steel helmet I have had since the first Skeletal Knight. That helmet has saved my life a number of times. I have a number of leather armour pieces I have collected, so I swap them out. I am going to keep that dented helmet as a reminder. What else do I have? It is time to get a better look at Ugly. I sneak up to the open vault door and look in. I get a Quest notice. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Well, shit. Armour Fight (Optional Quest. Part of the Monarchs Raiment Quest) Kill the Cerberus guarding the Armour. Reward: 2x Armour Piece, Monarchs Armour, ??? It says this is an optional quest. Therefore, this is not the final fight for the trial. I wanted to yell and swear so badly at the Trial. I couldnt do that because Cerberus was looking at me. Well, one of his heads was looking at me. How do I get out of here? Cerberus was the toughest, angriest dog you ever laid eyes on. It had three heads and three slobbering jaws, and when it got to its feet, its shoulder was above my head. It was stocky and had tough bulging muscles and absolutely no fur. Yes, there was only one of them, but there were also three of them. Then it growled, and the low rumble went right through me. Do I run or fight? The Trial has been herding me here. I dont think it will let me run, even though the quest says it is optional. Oh, I wanted to swear so badly at the Trial. I look in the vault. It is double-storied; otherwise, Ugly would not be able to stand up. Two levels of chambers line the central area, most of which had been broken into and looted. The walkway on the upper level was completely missing in several places. There was debris littered all over the place, some of which looked expensive. There was no light at all, but my Spectral Vision (See-thru) handled it for me. Cerberus didnt look like any other beast in my Spectral Vision. In most beasts, I can see the skin layer, muscle layers, and then the bones. It is really useful for targeting the organs. Cerberuss skin was so dense the skill stopped there. How? How do I fight this? I might run anyway. The Trial must have bigger and badder beasts out there, but I can run. I cast out the Manaweb to see if there were any epic weapons lying on the floor I could use, and that set off Ugly. I had to dive out of the way as one of the heads spat something at me. This meant I dived further into the room, whereas I should have gone out. A second head snapped at me, and then I saw the tail, which definitely had a stinger on it. I rolled near one of its legs, and Lightreaver struck with a Slash, and Shadowbane hit with a Holy Strike. They cut into the bone/skin, but not by much. It didnt get through to the actual bone. I Eclipsed the head that was looking at me and ducked under the tail. A massive howl rocked through the enclosed space, hurting my ears and causing a squeeze on my brain. Ugly tried to turn its body to face me, but the space wasnt large. I guess it probably considered this it''s kennel. I had to Shadow Phase as a rear foot swiped at me and caught my side. The sensation was weird. It was like I was being clawed, and the armour negates it some, but it is also like the claws went deeper as they passed through me. The damage was a lot less to the armour as well as to me, but I felt it all the way through my body. I had practised Shadow Phasing, but not while being damaged. It felt really weird. I dont know what I expected, but it was not this. Minor Regeneration kicks in. That is not as bad as usual. Maybe it is the Shadow Phase negating the worst of it. Ten seconds into this fight, I had my brain squeezed, and Ive been clawed in a way that would have ended the fight if I hadnt had Shadow Phase. In return, I gave Ugly a couple of scratches. I do know one of the heads spits a poison or possibly an acid. It''s probably a poisonous acid. One head makes a sound attack, and the tail has a stinger of some type, probably the same poison. On the positive side, I can actually wound it, and it is not healing fast. The initial plan was to move fast, bounce around the enclosed space, and confuse it with Flashes, Eclipses, and images. Admittedly, when I came up with this plan, I only expected to have one pair of eyes to confuse, not three. Uglys heavy body crashes the side of the vault, denting the metal of the lockers lined up there. He was trying to crush me, but I was leaping off a broken locker onto its back. I have added some scratches, but this is only going to end one way unless I can cause some real damage. One of the heads is turning around to snap at me. I Dive forward to where I dont think it can reach me, and I stab down at the spine of one of the heads using Thrust, but this time, I activate Shadow Phase before Shadowbane touches the skin, and the half-incorporeal blade sinks in much further than before, and it became corporeal when I took my hand off it. I am so glad Shadow Phase works on the soul-bound weapons. Oh, that hurt it. I was thrown off the back of the monster as it bucked wildly, and my Cat Reflexes and Acrobatics righted me but didnt save me from crashing down painfully. Shadowbane was still up there, embedded in the back of Ugly. It was bothering the brute, so I decided to leave it there for now. One of the heads was trying to reach around and remove it, but it couldnt quite reach. I moved again and Flashed the middle head. I tried to get my darts into the eyes of the third head. It would blink, and the darts would just bounce off the eyelid. I forgot the tail. The stinger on the tail slammed into my torso, and I Shadowed Phased, but that did not stop the poison from being injected. Only being half incorporeal meant only half the poison, but it burned and ate at my insides. The tail withdrew and poised to strike again, and I rolled out of the way. There was no way Minor Regeneration could deal with this. I fumbled with my Storage as I kept staggering around. If I stayed still, I was dead. I Flash things at Random. I skulled a Health Potion, and the two anti-venom potions before one seemed to work. I had collected them all from various caches, so it was worth a try. The one that worked seemed to speed up Minor Regeneration, and the toxicity was reduced at a good speed. I noted which potion it was, and then I Dodged and went to Light Speed. In the back of my mind, I recognised that Cerberus had venom, but it was not death magic. If I had gone with the two light options in the skill selection, I would be dead. How many of these potions did I have? I dont know. I can''t whittle the ugly beast down and kill it until it is immobilised like the Griffon. I cant see any way to do that. 24. Fight to Survive. I cast out the mana web again to see if there were any strong mana spots that might give me something to help. There were a number of spots, but the web was disrupted as soon as I started sensing. That is what the third head does, isnt it? It senses mana and attacks mana. I turn on Mana Sight, and the middle head glows. I try to Eclipse it to let out the web again, but the spell dissolves. That didnt happen when I Eclipsed or Flashed the other heads. It had a skill like my Mana Disruption. That probably means it can disrupt all my spells and illusions. I create a copy of myself that runs in front of the beast, and one head spits acid at it, but the middle head destroys the image. What else can it destroy? Spells are disrupted, but can it disrupt skills that use mana like my Light Speed? I keep Mana Sight on as I summon Shadowbane back to me and bounce off walls to avoid claws and teeth. I Eclipse one head, Flash the other, and throw darts at the eyes of the middle one to Dash in. It all goes according to plan except for the dart throwing. I start swearing again as I realise that the darts come from my Create Dart Skill and are Mana constructs, and the middle head just turns them into smoke. I hit it with Cutting Light, trying to blind it, but that spell also weakens so much as it gets closer that it does nothing. I barely Dodge away from its teeth as it snaps at me. I am not quite fast enough, and my spatial backpack is ripped off my body. I hope it is not ruined, but I dont have time to check. I am partially pulled by it and need Light Speed to escape. I am chewing through the Mana and Stamina, but I am mostly concerned about the Mana. I have more of both than I ever had in my life, but it is still not enough. More Skills use more Mana and Stamina. I pull out my throwing knives. I have barely used these in the Trial, but they are not mana constructs. I only have five left from my original set of eight. It took me a bit to get back into position, and the cursed tail got me again, in the arm this time. I had the right potion this time. I would be dead without Storage as well. Eclipse, Flash, double Precision Throw of two knives and Light Speed, Shadow Phase. I Thrust Lightreaver into the eye of the middle head with Shadow Phase and left it there as I cancelled the skill. I then brought Shadowbane down on its nose with a Holy Strike. The dagger went into the hilt, but it did not kill the head. My brain was squeezed as the other head Howled, and I slowed down because it was hard to think. I triggered Shadow Phase, and that saved me as claws raked down my back and a glob of acid poison hit me full-on. This is unsustainable. I went high up the side of the vault with Climb as I tried to get some space to take more potions. My Mana sight latched on to something that might help. They were broken. Everything was smashed and broken, even more so since we started this fight. I will need time to fix it; for that, it is even more important to blind or kill the middle head. I dodged a glob of acid spit by jumping to another broken second-story locker on the. I then pushed off that and let my acrobatics and Cat Reflexes guide me down. I swung my sword, and it hit the tail coming at me in a partial Parry, but I was in the air, so I changed direction and landed awkwardly with a head coming in for a bite. Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes saved me again. And I struck this head with a weak Slash. It is only using Skills that allow me to damage this ugly brute, just striking it with my sword doesint do much. I need Skilled Strikes. Purifying Dance helps, and I am familiar with it enough to adjust it on the fly for this beast. That is the advantage of creating my own technique. It might still be low-levelled, but all the dance moves are uniquely mine. I am using a different knife as Lightreaver is stuck in the eye, and I would rather leave it there for now. I have a lot of various weapons, and many have bonuses against Infernal Beasts. This knife stays solid when I Shadow Phase, although I have no problem holding onto it as I am only partially incorporeal. I work my way around to keep Ugly confused, and I have started using short snippets of other illusions of me, but I am conserving mana, and that central head does something when it disrupts an illusion. It sucks out Mana. That doesnt happen if I end the illusion first. Ugly has hidden dance moves, but I am learning them. Now, I need to stay alive to use that knowledge. The tail is a problem, and I am drinking health potions to prevent Minor Regeneration from being overwhelmed. I finally saw an opportunity and I created a decoy Copy Image and Light Speed onto the back of Ugly. I Shadow Phase and slam Shadowbane down hard at the point where the tail meets the body, then let go and Light Speed away, and Ugly goes wild. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I am caught in the violent movement and smashed against the side of the vault. I feel my ribs break, and my head smashes against the wall. The leather helmet softens the impact but does not negate it. I think the only reason I am still alive is I was still in Shadow Phase, but my mind is all fuzzy. Maybe it is a concussion or something, and my automatic response is to grab a health potion. That cleared my head while Minor Regeneration worked on my bones. This isnt going well, and I am going to die. I roll and move, using Light Manipulation and leaving a copy lying there for a little bit. That middle head worries me. Then, I gain a little bit of hope as the tail is hanging limp. Two of six eyes had been blinded, and the tail was broken. That is progress, even though I have been so close to death more times than I can count. I have to blind or preferably kill the middle head. For all I know, it has ways of sensing that use mana and not eyes. Wait, wait, wait! I am an idiot, and fucking concussion is no bloody excuse. You are not the only ugly thing here that can Disrupt Mana. How do I use this? I started with using Mana Manipulation, directing Mana Disruption at the head, and then I remembered I have a skill I have never used called MacroMana Manipulation, it is specifically for use in larger areas. Oh yeah! You dont like that Ugly? Superpowered Mana Disruption! Boosted with Mana Strength! Oh shit, my brain is being squeezed. I lose control of the mana, and fire darts at the howling head to stop it. I got some in the roof of its mouth, which shut it up. I cant keep this up. It is too much. There are too many of them. I called both Lightreaver and Shadowbane back to me. This settles me. They are mine. We are soul mates. They feel comfortable in my grip, and they feel right. It''s time to reset and finish this one way or another. I drink a Mana Potion, and then I start not conserving Mana. I start firing off Eclipse, Flash, and Copies of me, and I move at Light Speed. Mana starts dropping like a stone. I Climb a wall and Light Speed in a leap. Charge and Shadow Phase. Shadowbane sinks deep into the central heads eye with a Thrust, and Lightreaver slams up under its jaw with Holy Strike, but I dont wait to see the result. I Dash to the side as I create more and more copies of myself and other things I have ready. I wrap light around myself and cast Self-Clean to remove any smell. Mana is dropping as I confuse Ugly with a continual stream of images away from where I am. I am trying to do this while I concentrate on what is before me. Before me are the ruined vault doors. They are smashed and lying on the floor, but when I was on the upper wall with Mana Sight, I saw the broken wards on the door, and I recognised them. They were bigger and more complicated than the small safe I opened, but I recognised the part that was broken and thought I could reproduce enough to fix the ward. While distracting the two working heads, I started to Weave Ward and put the broken bits back together. This was hard enough for my first time using the skill and manipulating the mana without having to keep the images going as well. Suddenly, I stopped everything, grabbed another mana potion, and drank it down. I am sure drinking all these potions in quick succession is not good for me, but that is another problem for later if I survive. Ugly turns his two heads to find me. I noticed that the third head is not dead, but it is not working right either. I might have caused some brain damage there. I walk backwards out the gaping door of the vault, watching Ugly the whole time. One head howls, and the other spits poison at me. I dodge the poison, mostly. It is not just mana I am out of. Then Ugly come charging at me. I just watch it come. I have no stamina. I have no Mana despite the potion I just took. I take another Mana Potion. I am feeding all my Mana into the newly working ward, trying to speed its power up. Then Ugly crosses the broken doors lying on the ground, and the ward triggers. At least I got that bit right. Is there enough power? The thing with the safes and with the door I opened is that they are not just defensive and alarm wards. They will attempt to kill you if you trigger them. This one exploded. I was flung backwards and slammed against the far wall. Ugly became pretty, and bits of it flew in all directions. Blood and guts were splattered over the vault walls and out toward me. It was a beautiful sight. I just stayed where I had been thrown and drank a health potion, and then another mana potion so Minor Regeneration could fix my broken bones. Quest Complete Armour Fight (Optional Quest. Part of the Monarchs Raiment Quest) Kill the Cerberus guarding the Armour. Please collect your reward. I lay there for a bit. I checked my status while I did, and my profession of Wardweaver had risen, along with the skill. There were numerous increases, so I left it for now. When I could stand, I limped to the remains of Ugly. It was still a beautiful sight, but there was nothing left to harvest. I think the Trial recognised that, and the loot appeared. I was glad I didnt have to Harvest. I hate that skill. However, I am sure I am missing out on things. The Loot was better than I thought, so maybe the Trial was compensating. Or maybe not. I beat its sub-boss or area boss, so it has to reward me, but I am not fooled for a minute that it would prefer to kill me. Let''s see what you have, and it had better not be useless! 25. Complete. Three skill stones appeared, and a huge monster core was formed. There were some claws and teeth, but not nearly enough for three huge slobbering mouths. Two Potions formed. A Health Potion, and a Bone Mend Potion. The claws, teeth and potions were stored. I pick up the first Skill stone. I appraise the first stone. Oh, you underhanded, conniving, gods forsaken Trial. What in all the gods names am I going to do with the Acidic Poison Saliva skill? Well, I suppose I can give someone the kiss of death. You, you... Thats not a reward! I yell. I am probably lucky there is no response. I store the stone. Maybe somebody will buy it. I felt a sense of resignation when I appraised the next stone and discovered that it was a Paralysing Howl. Why did I bother? My eyes lit up at the third stone, and I learned it right away. Mana Syphon was a fantastic skill. It would only syphon small amounts of mana in the low levels, but it would become a fantastic source of mana during extended fights while depriving my enemy of mana. I might as well see if there was anything in the core. I didnt expect there to be. My rate of skills from cores is only three, from probably close to a thousand kills. Minor Regeneration was the big one, but Cat Reflexes is also amazing. Death resistance was also useful and kept me alive. This core had a skill as well. I was quite amazed at that. It would also be a useful skill. It was a defensive Skill, Toughened Skin. At level 1, it made my skin slightly tougher, but at level 10, it was probably going to help my skin be like bone like Uglys. I hope I dont lose all my hair like it did. A chest had appeared in the centre of the vault. It looked more like a coffin. I assume this is the Optional Quest reward. I limp over. I am just tired. No, I am exhausted. This needs to be over, and I dont know how to make it be over. I opened the coffin. Inside was a complete set of fancy armour. It was gold, jewel-lined, and full metal plate. It was obviously not meant for battle. The helmet had a funny shape, and then I realised it was designed for the Crown to fit over it. It was a five-piece set: helmet, Chest piece, legs, boots, and gauntlets. It is enchanted. I am never going to find a buyer for this, but I guess I can melt it down. Fuck you, too, Trial. I leave it in the coffin for a minute as I get out the two pieces of armour I am more interested in. Bone and Leather Jerkin. Part of the Armour set, The Dance of Death 4/5. +1 Strength, Self Repair, +10% Armour. Bone and Leather Helmet. Part of the Armour set, The Dance of Death 5/5. +1 Wisdom, Self Repair, +10% Armour. The style and design are similar to the other armour pieces. They have the same dark brown leather and black trim. The bone plating is very clever and doesnt restrict movement. The helmet almost acts like a hood and folds down onto the jerkin. It is a separate piece, and the bone cleverly folds down. There is padding on the inside as well. The Jerkin has a lot of pockets and places for knives and potions. This is a great armour set, not like the gaudy monstrosity in the coffin. Then there are the set bonuses because the armour is complete. The Dance of Death Set bonus: +2 Agility, +2 Constitution, +10% Critical Damage This is what great armour should be. When I defeated the Orcs, I got the Storage Ability Stone and the crown. I searched the Coffin for an amazing ability stone. There was no amazing ability stone, but I did find two free Skill Points. I guess that was OK. My Storage was pretty full, but I reached in and stored each piece of the Monarchs Armour. Once I had stored the last piece, I got a notice. Special Action: Storage Level 5, 1 Armour Set, Over 20 armour pieces. Storage now has an Armour Storage Chest. I checked, and all the armour pieces were now separated into chests and now have a separate space. This includes the hide armour I had been looting. I noticed the chests had cleaning function but no repair function. The cleaning was really good and the cost of using the Chest was more than half the normal cost of Storage, and it was faster. I guess that comes from the organisation. Then another Notice. Special Action: Storage Level 5, 1 Weapon Set, Over 20 weapons. Storage now has a Weapons Locker. This must have been waiting for Storage to get to Level 5. I guess the weapons set was Bloodrage and Bloodrend. All the weapons were separated into the weapons lockers, which also had a cleaning function. This freed up a lot of space in the Storage. Then I got another notice. Special Action: Storage Level 5, More than 1 Ability Stone, Over 20 skill or spell stones. Storage now has a Skill Cupboard. All my skill stones were separated out and stored in the cupboard. This helped organise the space really well, and the mana cost went down for retrieving things from all these spaces. Wow. I wonder what other functions this Storage Skill could have. Then I got another notice. Quest Complete. Monarchs Raiment You have retrieved all ten items of the Monarchs Raiment. Collect your Reward. I looked around, and there was another chest there. It was a lot smaller than the coffin. Then I stopped. That quest notice is wrong. There are not ten items. I have only collected eight items. There are five pieces of armour that I have just collected, and then there is the Crown, the Ring, and the Vestments or Cloak. Why would it say ten when there are only eight? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Then, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I looked at Lightreaver and Shadowbane. Did I soul bond two pieces of the Monarchs Raimant? Oh, I am so dead. If anybody finds out, I am so, so dead. These are items from an Alrashian Monarch. They are not a forgiving people. In fact, the monarch of the kingdom I am escaping is straight-up vindictive. That is why I am escaping the AlVerren Kingdom. It wasn''t even that good a loot that I stole. If it ever gets out that I have the raiment of an ancient Alrashian monarch I am so dead. I will head out into the wilds, get everything broken down, and sell the gems and metal separately. I will still be rich, plus I will be alive to enjoy being rich. Lightreaver and Shadowbane will stay in disguise, and if I am near any Alrashians, they can stay in my storage. There is no way I am getting rid of them. They are a part of me now. I move to the chest. There are ten stonesten free skill points, one for each item of the Raiment. That is a very rich reward. My mind goes to some of the ten-point skills I saw. I could get Ethereal Shadow with this, but I don''t need it now with the lesser Shadow Phase. I have twelve points now. I am sure I can find something interesting and powerful. I probably need something I can use to hide. I get up and find the spatial backpack that was ripped off my back. The strap is broken, but it still functions. I wander through the vault and find a few small pieces that I collect to sell. I spent some time resting. I need to get out of this trial. How do I get out and end this nightmare? I have finished the quest, but that didnt end it. I am tired. I am exhausted. I have no idea how long I have been here, but it has been a long, long time. I checked my status. I have the XP to level Spectral Slayer, but I need to kill some more monsters. Ugly counted for a large number of kills toward the skill, even though it was only one monster. It must be based on level or something. I can use the XP to level Thief, and then I will have enough left over to do it again with just a few more kills. Thief is considerably cheaper to level than Spectral Slayer, even though it is a higher level. That is one of the differences between a Specialised Class and an Advanced Class. I level Thief and put the attributes to Agility and Dexterity. I wonder if there is an Advanced Class for Thieves? There probably is. I wonder what the criteria are for getting it. I certainly dont want another Slayer-type class. I checked my full status.
Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human
Level: 22 Sub Level 8 Class: Spectral Slayer 4 / Thief 18 Profession: Performer 6 / Wardweaver 2
Health: 700 Stamina: 700 Mana: 500
Strength: 35 Agility: 45 Dexterity: 45
Constitution: 35 Intelligence: 50 Wisdom: 37
Perception: 2
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 12
Precision Throw 4 Thrust 7 Crushing Blow 1
Parry 4 Holy Strike 6 Create Dart 2
Chop 2 Slash 4 Block 1
Bloodletting 2 Long Slash 2 Quick Strike 5
Basic Shield 1 Shield Bash 1 Create Arrow 1
Shadow Phase 3
Razors Edge 4 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 5
Basic Blunt Weapons 2 Blade Storm 2 Steel Serpent 4
Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 1 Purifying Dance 4
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max
Quick Hands 6 Climb 7 Ambidextrous 3
Acrobatics 4 Free Runner 4 Cat Reflexes 5
Steady Footing 3 Light Speed 4 Charge 2
Stealth 10/Max
Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max
Riding 8 Appraisal 6 Identify 8
Detect Traps 10/Max Disarm Traps 10/Max Create Trap 5
Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 3
Butchering 1 Weave Ward 2 Unravel Ward 1
Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max
Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 4 Death Resistance 3
Toughened Skin 1
Mana Disruption 5 Mana Strength 4 Mana Sensitivity 8
MicroMana Manipulation 5 MacroMana Manipulation 2 Mana Web (Sensing) 2
Mana Syphon 1 Mana Manipulation 10/Max Mana Control 10/Max
Vision Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 4 Mana Sight 2
Light Manipulation 8 Minor Regeneration 2 Storage 5
Shadow Manipulation 2 Farsight 1 Map
Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4
Trim 5 Mend 1 Trickle 1
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 4 Flash 7
Project Image 7 Animate Image 5 Cutting Light 3
Shadow Cloak 1 Eclipse 2
There have been major changes in the trial here. This place should be safe for a couple of hours, so I barricade a locker off and bunk down for a nap. That will help my mental wellbeing. Then i need to find and exit. I am certainly avoiding any boss fights at all costs, and I will fight to avoid them. I am not doing this again. My latest theory is that I need to find the exits. My Manaweb should help with that, and I will concentrate on spreading it out wide. There might be something I can do, but with my 12 points to help, there might be some sort of divination-type skill. I am happy to spend the points to get out of here. But first, I need some sleep. 26. Nobody. I don''t know what woke me, and I don''t even know how long I slept. I gathered my gear, ate, and drank. Then, I removed the barricade and stepped out with Lightreaver and Shadowbane ready. It was still bitch black, and my Spectral Vision (See-thru) was telling me nothing had changed. Something wasnt right, though. I could feel it. Then, suddenly, everything changed. I was no longer standing in the dark in a destroyed vault. I was standing in a great reception chamber. Everything was well-lit, and there was an empty throne at the end on a dias. This was a king''s reception chamber, but it was much larger and grander than the one in the stronghold. On the steps below the throne was a reward chest. The Trial, Lands of the Undying Lord, is complete. You have survived for two months. You may collect your reward. That is it? Am I done? I am not sure I quite believed it, but I was not going to waste any time. If I am done, I should be transported out as soon as I empty the rewards chest. I didnt quite run. The chest was small, and as soon as I opened it, I saw there were only three stones in it. One was an Ability Stone, but the other two were stones I did not recognise. I scooped them up and stood up. You have left the Trial, Lands of the Undying Lord. I found myself standing on a grassy hillside. The horses and wagon we were with were next to me. They must have been in some place that did not move because they looked exactly the same as when we had left them. The trouble is, this is not the same place we entered the trial from, and I had no idea where I was. The Trial is a wandering trial, and they are avoided for exactly this reason. Well, it is one of the reasons they are avoided. If you survive, you might end up in a completely different place. I looked around for threats. This was natural now. Then I remembered to switch my Spectral Vision from Spectral Vision (See-thru) to (Heat), and that was better. The sun was shining and the sky only had a few light clouds. The air was fresh. The contrast from the trail couldnt be more different. I re-looked around with my Spectral Vision (Heat) vision, and there were only a few low-level horned hares. Happy I was safe for now, I checked the two horses. They were already hitched to the wagon, and we were ready to move out when the trial caught us. No others had arrived, so I was the only one who had survived the two months. I guess the wagon and horses were mine now. I knew where Carl kept his Strongbox with the coin, but that was not urgent. I had more coins and valuables in my storage than the group would have earned in several lifetimes. I looked around again, this time into the distance with Farsight. I needed to get moving and get into a safe zone around a permanent trial. For all I knew, the Lands of the bloody, undying lord would scoop me up again, and I was not going back there or to any other trial for a long, long time. I could see a lake in the distance, and there looked to be a village near it. But it would take me all day and a half to get there with the wagon. I could run it quicker, but I refrained for now. It was my best bet. My map was empty around me. It would map everywhere I went, but I had got it in the trial, so the Map knew nothing. I jumped up on the wagon and got the horses moving toward the lake. I kept checking for threats, but once we were moving, I relaxed a little, ducked into the wagon, and got some fresh food. Oh, that was divine. I complained about Tims cooking before, but there were only compliments now. Once I had eaten and moved back to the front driver''s seat with a wineskin, it was time to see what the trial had given me. Only the Ability Stone responded to my appraisal. The others only came back with question marks. I learned the Ability Stone, and it was great. Spectral Cloak was added to my status, and it absorbed Shadow Cloak as it would do the same thing much cheaper and easier. It was an Ability, and Shadow Cloak was only a spell. I could cloak myself in light with little to no mana cost, make myself look like I was wearing anything, and have pink skin and blue hair. I could make light move through me, so I was invisible with no holes for my eyes, and I didnt need to concentrate on it once I set it up. It was only light, but it was better than doing it manually with Light manipulations. In fact, I couldnt do most of this with my level of Light manipulation. Then I remembered to make sure Lightreaver and Shadowbane were well disguised as ordinary swords and daggers. I wanted to play some more, but I had two unknown stones to open yet. I picked one at random and moved to incorporate it into my body. I worked just like a skill stone, but then I felt something I had not felt before. I checked my status and saw a new line. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Companion Bond. I can get a companion bond. I have heard stories, but I have never known anyone with one. Apparently, you can bond with an animal or a monster, and they become a companion for life. Animals will change to become bonded and able to level up with you and develop their own status. Now that I think about it, I realize that the stories are all Alrashian. I am not Alrashian. I checked my status to be sure, and it still says Human. So, the stories are not all correct. How would I go about getting a bond? The only thing the stories say is that young Alrashians go into the wild and find their bond, and most of them turn out to be horses. All the stories agree that the Alrashians are horse-mad. Even vindictive Alrashian Kings are horse-mad. Can I go to an Alrashian and ask for advice about a bond, or is this something else they will kill me over? If bonds are an Alrashian thing, then I am betting this is something else they will kill me over. That is definitely something the Trial would do to me. It still hasnt stopped trying to kill me. I will avoid Alrashians in the foreseeable future. I will either have to work this out myself, or it will be another useless reward. Trials are definitely out to kill you and defraud you of your rewards. I guess I need to try the last stone. This one hurts. I am not even surprised anymore. It is like something is being carved out of my soulor carved into my soul. The pain goes away quickly, and I look at the notice. You have an additional Class Slot. I have a what? This is good. Only a few nobles have three class slots, and I started my adult life with one. I now have a third. I opened it up to look at what I could get. Classes are available if you have the right skills and aptitude. I have a multitude of choices available to me. There are the Warrior Classes, and I can choose any of their specialisations: swordsman, axeman, spearman, etc. I don''t want a fighting class. I look at at Mage Class. I can be an illusionist again or the more general specialisation of mage apprentice. I almost chose this over illusionist the first time around. Apart from mage apprentice, there are no other specialisations available. There is no Fire Elementalist, or Water mage, or anything. No, wait, yes, there is. I can become a Death Mage. I have no desire to become a Death Mage. I think this is the Trials fault as well. The Rogue Class is there, and this is what I first started out as. I could choose assassin, but I have no desire to. I now have new options from the Rogue line. I could choose to be a Scout or a Hunter. I guess this is because I now have Farsight, Create Traps, and probably Archery. What do I like doing? I like being a thief. I like finding and stealing hidden things. Then I get to the classes I have only heard about as rumours and some that I have never heard of at all. Blade Master is a small-blade specialist. Weapons Master uses all weapons. What was a Grey Hand? I had never heard of it, but apparently, I could become one. There were a lot of what looked like mage-warrior hybrids, but it didnt clarify much. This was a big decision, and I let my eyes scroll down the list. That alone amazed me. I had to scroll down the list. What madness was this? I could close the list and get advice. No, I cant. Nobody has a list this long. Nobody. Nobody can give me advice. I was mulling it over when we passed into the area of a permanent Trial. Well, thank the gods for that. I am safe from wandering trials. The village is still most of a day away, but I am happy enough to take my time now. I took my time as we plodded along and tried to get a sense of what I could learn from the classes. I am being drawn to one in particular. It is called the Seeker Class, and I get the sense that it seeks out hidden things and hidden knowledge. It is available to me because I have Perception, Map, Farsight, Observant Eyes and Mana Sight. I felt there was also a minimum Intelligence requirement. That is quite an unusual list of abilities, and that is why I am not going to be able to get advice on this. Nobody else will have this, or at least nobody else in this part of the world. The ability to seek out things and knowledge really appeals to me. I mull it over as the village gets closer. Then I make camp. We should only have a half day of travel tomorrow, and then I will have a propper bed. I lie awake late into the night, listening to the sounds and thinking about my options. I might be able to use the Seeker Class to find a suitable companion bond. That appeals to me. As I got underway in the morning, I put my stored XP into the Seeker Class. It sucked up 1000 XP, and I got five attribute points to spend. This means the Seeker Class is also an Advanced Class. The Seeker Class gives boosts to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Perception. These boosts to attributes are amazing and take them to another level. I can see why Advanced Classes are so powerful. I got three skills with the class, which is good because it means the class suits me. The first Skill is the Seekers Intuition. As I feel out the skill, it seems to give me hints about things; it is almost certainly a divination-type skill. I will have to experiment, but it sounds very powerful. I remember that I used to get these feelings about jobs and things, and I had some of them in the trial. This skill perhaps enhances and structures these feelings for me. That is a good start. The next skill is called the Pathfinder Skill. It is almost an advanced tracking skill that works with Map, Farsight, and Intuition to find the right path. It is like a hazard identification skill as well as a tracking and mapping skill. I never had the tracking skill, so I feel it lacks some underlying information to use, so I should probably try to learn that skill. The third skill is very different. It is the Lore Skill. It seems to help me learn languages and solve puzzles, study ancient scripts, and find clues. It is hungry for information, and I feel it is loving Wardweaver, working out the wards and mana flows, and figuring stuff out. This is also what I like, and it boosts my Wardweaver profession, which is fantastic. It works from Intelligence and Wisdom, Map, and Observant Eye. Now that I think about it, it seems to tap into the knowledge of all my skills. This was a good choice and a great fit for me. The level requirements are the XP and the requirement to find something significant. If I had this when I was in the Trial it would be highly levelled by now. It does not define what significant means, though. Significant to whom? Coins, knowledge, what? I am going to have to trust my Intuition. I practice with my Pathfinder Skill as we travel towards the village. I was using Observant Eye Spectral Vision (Heat) sight to follow and track the wildlife, and I had learned the Tracking Skill before we got to the Village. I earned a point in Wisdom for that as well. Looking at the wildlife, I was thinking about a Companion Bond. I need one that wont stand out when I am around people and one that will help me find things. 27. Pyrewatch. The village looked new. There was a wooden palisade wall around it and a wooden watch tower. There was a guard at the gate. I felt the guard uniform was familiar, but I couldnt place it. I had already used Spectral Cloak to subtly change some of my facial features and lighten my hair. Good day to you, I greeted, and then I realised these were the first words to another person that I had spoken in two months. I almost teared up. Civilisation at long last. Even if this was the smallest and newest village ever, it contained people. Welcome, was the gruff reply. We need to record some details. Name, please. Where are you coming from, and what are you carting? Sure, I replied. Do I use my real name? What is the likelihood he has Truth Sensing or similar? The name is Marvin Omma, and I was dumped by a wandering Trial about a day and a half away. Where am I? The guards face showed some sympathy. This is Pyrewatch, a village administered by Duke Lewis Aldross, of Aldrossford. Right, I said, the uniform clicking in my mind, So I am still in the Alverren Kingdom then. That was bad and good. The Aldross are right out near the edge of the kingdom, but I thought he was a Baron. No, sir, you are not in the kingdom. The Duke has split from the kingdom, and this is now an independent Alrashian territory. My heart sank at that news. No, no, no. I am in the territory of another mad Alrashian dictator with visions of establishing a kingdom, and here I am carrying the Raiment of an ancient Alrashian Monarch. I kept all that from my face, Right, well, we will leave the politics to those with the Noble Class. Where can I get a good meal or three and a soft bed for the night? The only place is the Roasting Rabbit. They have a few bunks available. I will need to have a look in your wagon if you dont mind. He would do that even if I did mind. I showed him the wagon and told him about the people whose gear it was. If you want to report the deaths to the next of kin, that is free here in AlDross, but the nearest place to do that would be Aldrossford, which is a week''s travel back in the direction you came from. Thanks, Sarge. I will get to it in due course. It has been two months, so a few more weeks will not make much of a difference. I wasnt actually planning to get around to it. My plan was to get a good meal or three, lay low, sell some unremarkable stuff to lighten my load and get out of here into the wilds. Plus, there was probably a bounty out on me, and as soon as I used my Adventure Society ID it would locate me for any interested bounty hunters and the Immortals. I hadn''t set foot in an Adventure Society building for over two years now. The Roasting Rabbit was a brick building and the only two-story building in the village. It was across the road from the lake, and there was a large open square next to it, which had stalls set up as a market. I emptied all the valuables from the wagon, and a kid took it and the horses around to the stables. Afternoon, was the cheery greeting from the bar, I am called Mags. What can I get you? The ground floor was a bar and kitchen with seating and a few tables dedicated to games of chance. Marvin, I said, I need a room for a couple of days and meals, thanks, Mags was a homely woman. I''m glad to be of service. Room 2 is up the stairs on the right, and two meals a day are served at the standard rate. Are you here to challenge the Trial? Ha, I laughed, Not likely. I have had enough of Trials. How far away is it? It is right there, she said, pointing at the lake through the window. What, you mean the lake? She nodded. Unusual, I said. What kind of trial is it? A Trial of endurance, she said. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Endurance, I dont think I have heard of that before. Is there something you have to fight? No. You just have to endure. She looked at me. It is called the Burning Lake. I winced. She laughed, Yeah, that reaction is common. It is obvious what you have to endure. Olaf in town did it and sang its praises. He is our local blacksmith. He never said what he got, but part of it was definitely Fire Resistance. Not for me, I said. I just got out of a nightmare. I am not going back into one. I will have an ale, though. Mags poured me the drink, and I started pumping her for local gossip. Here, she said, You had better read these. The first was a book on classes and how to get them, including advanced classes. Some of my choices were listed, although Seeker wasnt. This was banned information in the kingdom. Well, the Alverran kingdom, anyway. I guess Duke Aldross had different thoughts on the matter. I did know some of this. Information is there for those who want to find it. Thieves and Rogues sneak in and out of the kingdom, and there is talk. It was strange to see it laid out on paper in a plain, factual way. There was a lot more here than I had heard before. Maybe I could have got better advice. The second piece of paper was a document written by a Cullen of Aldrossford, who was apparently a crystal-ranked adventurer. Crystal! They were the highest rank. I had a lowly, barely used copper rank token in my storage. It was one up from a newbie. After surviving the Trial, it may be upgraded to iron if I go to an Adventure Society to update it. Those quests I completed, as well as the Trial quest, will all count. This Cullen doesn''t mince his words, and he definitely has it out for the Alverren King. The document was entitled You Were Born Stupid, and You are doing it all wrong! The first half of the essay rants against the AlVerren kingdom and the restrictions of the classes and information in the kingdom. He has one hell of a grudge. I wonder if he is the one influencing AlDross to split from the Alverrens. I hope they have an answer for the Alverren Immortals. Good luck to them. I am not sticking around. Once Cullen gets past his rant, he has some good things to say about how to do it right. How to level to get strong. I disagree with him when he says Trials are there to help you get stronger. Trials are definitely there to kill you and cheat you on your rewards. You get stronger by saying, fuck you to the trial and surviving anyway. His other insights on trials and surviving in the wild are good. I steel myself because I realise that by taking the Seeker Class, I am almost certainly destined to go out in the wilds, away from the safe zones. That might be my intuition flaring, but it is going to be a big part of my life. I will need to go out there to find my bond. I will need to make some mental adjustments. I have mostly operated in cities. After all, that is where the coin is. However, I have realised from the Trial, the Land of the Undying Lord, that there is a lot of coin to be made in Trials as wellnot in the small, permanent trials but in the large wandering trials. My Storage is chock full of gold coins, weapons and skill and ability stones. The Trial might have been horrifying, but I came out rich. If I am going to move on from stealing from Nobles and start stealing from Trials, then I am going to need a teama strong team I can rely on. That is going to take some time to find, and I am not going to find it here in this tiny village. The best place to look for such a team is by delving into permanent trials and building trust. The biggest permanent trial close by is Aldrossford itself. I still want to avoid Alrashians, so I need to find out about other independent places. I guess I have a lot of skill stones for when I find the right team members. Maybe I will keep some of them, especially the ability stones. It is not like anybody around here has the coin for them anyway. Hey, Mags. Does anybody around here want to buy a wagon and a couple of horses? I am pretty sure old Edrei from the general store was planning to get one next time he went to Slyhill. Slyhill? I asked, It is a town about three days away. It has a small permanent Trial. The Academy that trains Adventurers is there. Slyhill might be worth a visit. Ill talk to him, thanks. The tavern started to fill with the evening crowd, and I had their signature dish for dinner. I sat at the bar and just enjoyed the company. Being around people again was great. I had switched my armour out for normal clothes. The same outfit my Copy Image used by coincidence. I sat and enjoyed the banter and relaxed atmosphere and drank ale. Then I went to sleep in an actual bed with a mattress. It was bliss. The trouble was me. I was not used to sleeping more than an hour at a time, but with the bed, I made it to two hours. I got up and went for a walk. I sat by the lake edge and thought some more. My solo days are definitely over. I am not doing that again. I need strong people with me. Im not too fussed about roles, but they need to be survivors. That will take time. My Seekers Intuition might help. I also need to take a page from that Cullen madman and get stronger. Right in front of me is a Trial. It''s not a nice Trial, but none of them are. My Intuition is telling me there is something for me in this Trial. It is not a strong feeling. I dont have to do it. The madman Cullen is right about seizing opportunities to grow; this is not a fighting trial, which is good. I stand up. If I want a strong team, I will need to be strong. 28. Fire. I figure if I am going in the water, I should strip down to my trunks. There is no point in getting my armour wet and if I need to swim well I dont have the swimming skill so I had best be as little weighed down as possible. I looked at the lake with my Spectral Vision (Heat), and it looked warmer than the air but not overly hot. I wasnt fooled. This Trial has a way out. If you start in and cant handle it, you call to exit, and you will end up on the beach. You might think this trial is not going to kill me, but what it is doing is trying to make me fail. There is going to be a lot of pain, and I will always know I can make it stop by simply calling out. The exit is going to be very tempting, and it will always be available. This Trial is like all the rest. It is trying to make me fail and stop me from getting my reward. I put a foot in the water; it feels warm but doesnt hurt. Why am I doing this? Was that document enchanted and I have been infected with the madmans disease? In the book on Classes, I saw that many advanced classes required the Secondary Attribute Endurance. Where else would you be likely to get that? I figure I had endured a lot in the Land of the Undying Lord, and this may be something else the Trial cheated me out of. This Trial might do the same. You cant trust Trials. So why am I doing this again? The water is up to my knees now. The water was unpleasantly hot but not painful. Yet. Am I going to feel like I am boiled alive? Why am I doing this? I should be snuggled in my nice warm bed, not here, thigh-deep in boiling water. There are three or four hours before dawn. I should go back to bed. The heat seems to bypass my Toughened Skin. The pain does not seem to be causing damage, as nothing is triggering Minor Regeneration. My Constitution is reasonable and boosted by the Spectral Slayer Class. Constitution will resist damage, but it wont lessen the pain. There has to be a pain resistance skill. Maybe I will get that because it is getting worse. And up to my chest now. Do I have to swim? I need a mantra to focus on rather than the pain. Fuck you, Trial. I started repeating it out loud. Fuck you, Trial. Fuck you, Trial. This is my mantra: I will not let you win. Fuck you, Trial. Neck deep. Fuck you, Trial. I am being boiled alive, and still, Minor Regeneration is not kicking in; well, Fuck you, Trial. How far do I need to go? Fuck you, Trial. Fuck you, Trial. This is never-ending. Fuck you, Trial. Then the water gets shallower but, for some reason, hotter. Suddenly, I am facing a wall of flame. Well, fuck you, Trial. I wade through the fire as my whole body is wracked in pain. It goes on and on, and finally, I collapse on a beach, curled up and whimpering. Fuck you, Trial, I whisper. Quest Complete. You endured the Burning Lake and passed through the Purifying Flame. Constitution +1. You have unlocked the Secondary Attribute Endurance +1. You have 1000XP You may collect your reward. I am an idiot. I didnt need to do this. I have been infected by the madman. I sit up and see a reward chest on the small rise. Did the trial only give me a single point in Endurance? This was worth more than that, you cheating trial. All trials are the same. The attribute will unlock a lot of advanced classes even with only one point, but still. Endurance gives Constitution and therefore Stamina a nice boost, though. A very nice boost. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I checked my status, and my Constitution has gone up one. Eventually, I got up and opened the chest. There were two small stones and a ring. The first stone gives me Fire Resistance, which starts at level 3, so that is something. The second stone gives me the skill Burning Strike. This is a weapon skill like Holy Strike. I can''t cast it like I used to with Firebolt. I have to use it with a strike of a weapon or my hands. It is a very useful skill. The ring was a weapon ring. I put it on and fed a little bit of mana into it. A large knife appeared in my hand. The knife had enchantments, and it afflicted a burning condition on the wound without any further input or mana from me. I had my storage, but this was definitely more convenient. It was a high-damage knife with a burning effect that I could use with a thought. I was quite pleased with this. It has the same effect as Burning Strike, but at no cost to me in mana. I found myself suddenly back on the beach, only wearing my trunks. I engaged Spectral Cloak, so it appeared I was wearing my street wear. The sun was high in the sky. It looked like it was lunchtime, so it had taken around 10 hours of pain. I walked around the bank to the Roasting Rabbit and entered by the side door. Marvin! You missed breakfast. Lunch is almost ready if you are hungry. Thanks, Mags. I will be down to grab some soon. Sure thing, said Mags, and dont be depressed about it. A lot of people try the Trial and cant go the distance. Oh, right, I said, reeling a bit. Thanks. I went up the stairs. I guess she sees a lot of people come to try the Trial. She knew how long it took and assumed I had failed because I was back early. Ok. Interesting. I am just going to let her keep thinking that. Then I got to my room, and I actually put on some street clothes. I wasnt going to wear my armour everywhere. This is a quiet village. I wonder what it would take to get a function for my storage to equip clothes and armour automatically. There is probably a wardrobe function that does it. I wonder what it takes to unlock. I went back downstairs for lunch. Mags brought me out a plate of stew and bread. Mags, I said, Ive decided to go to Slyhill with Edrei at the end of the week. I want to keep the room until then. Sure, no problem. You said Slyhill had an academy, right? They must be in the market for some low to mid-end gear. Do you know the storekeepers there? Any recommendations? Sure. We deal with Lucia and Dean a lot. They run a general store, but all the storekeepers are OK to deal with there. However, if you want to offload some gear here, a travelling emporium arrived this morning and is set up in the square. I had a look. He is well-stocked but doesnt seem interested in bargaining. You either accept his price or dont deal. Oh? That is an unusual way to operate. Ill check him out after lunch. I ate a leisurely lunch. As everyone carries a weapon of some sort, I equipped a disguised Shadowbane and Lightreaver. Then, I decided to see what this emporium had to offer. A travelling salesman will buy more items that would be hard to sell locally, plus they might be open to trading in volumes that local stores cant. I step out of the door and see the mobile store across the square. Then I see the massive wolf and the emporium owner, who is very clearly Alrashian. I stop before taking another step, as my intuition and Identify Skill are screaming at me that they are not who they seem. They are incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous. It was too late. Both had turned to look at me. The emporium owner was of medium height with the typical angular features of the Alrashians. The eyes stood out as they were silver. The wolf was hugecertainly a Direwolf. Before me was an Alrashian and his bond. I wanted to run. Either of these two could squash me like a bug and probably not notice they had done so, but it was too late. The man was striding toward me with his long legs. Hello, young lad. I am Ranar Wygon of clan Wygon. It is a pleasure to meet you. What is your name? Marvin. Come, come, Marvin. I believe we have some business to discuss. Please come into the Emporium, where we can have some privacy. I didnt have any choice. Before I realised it, I was inside the shop, and he was putting a privacy sign on the door. I realised this was more than just a sign. There would be complete privacy until he released it, and I would not go anywhere until he released me. Come and have a seat, said Ranar. Let me introduce you to Arakai, referring to the wolf. Would you like a cup of tea? I nodded because I had heard rumours about Alrashians and hospitality, and I figured that I needed all the protection I could get, even if it was only customs. Now, he said when we had our cups. You have a problem I believe I can help with, and I believe you have been sent with some Alrashian artefacts that I can help you with. Sent? I said as this was sounding a lot like a scam. He obviously knew about the Raiment. I am not sure how, but with someone this powerful, he may have talked to the gods themselves. I fought and bled for those artefacts. Indeed, Ranar said, and the Trial Keeper was impressed at your achievements. I wish to purchase them from you, and my prices are always fair. What is a fair price for a priceless artefact, or eight? I asked. Or ten, he corrected, nodding to the swords at my side. At this point, I was not surprised he could see through the illusions. I was pretty stuffed here. There is no way he is going to let me keep them. There is no way we can let a human keep such a legacy. However, he continued, The fact that you could even soul bind the sword and dagger means you have some Alrashian blood in you and high blood at that. I can help you awaken that blood. I wont say all the clans will be happy with you running around with Lightreaver and Shadowbane, but they wont kill you immediately. And in payment for this, you require the other eight artefacts? I asked figuring out where this was going. That doesnt seem fair, said Ranar, and my prices are always fair. How about we call it payment for two artefacts, and we discuss the other six. That was a better deal than I was expecting. Worst case, I died here. Second worst, he rips the weapons from my soul somehow, and the best scenario, I figured, was walking out with only the swords. OK, I am interested, I said, as this seemed better than my best case. What are the benefits of awakening the Alrashian blood? 29. Al’rashian. There are many benefits, one of which is forming bonds like Arakari and I have. Did that Trial give me something I could have gotten anyway? We will need a Spirit Summoner to awaken that ability, but there is one heading this way, Ranar continued. OK, maybe I will let the trial off on this one. I seem to have that option already opened to me. Really? The Trial did this? I nodded, Maybe you could tell me how it works. Certainly. Do you know from your history which clan you might be from? No, but I hope it is not the Alverrens. They are not a clan I want to be a part of. Fair enough, Ranar said, I have heard what they are doing, and I would not be a part of them either. There is a reckoning coming to them. From the Aldross? We dont usually attach the Al to the names, but that is a different story. Duke Lewis Dross may do it, but what they are doing is unsustainable and will implode anyway. The Dross are a good clan, and they are here. They could adopt you. What about the Wygons? I asked. They are far from here, and I am not currently in a position to represent them. Why would I want this? The clans can train you in many classes, which are their speciality classes. Challenging trials with your clan mates are more successful, especially with the training the clan provides. There are many benefits. I silently added that it was the only way I was going to get out of here with Lightreaver and Shadowbane. Very well, I said. Clan Wygon produced you, so I would like to join that clan. Plus, they were a long way away. I was not about to join the Alverrens, and the Dross were about to enter a war that I wanted no part of. Ranar looked at me carefully. I am pretty sure he could see right through me. Very well. Clan Wygon will be glad to have a new member. We will need the signet ring for this. I got out the ring and the crown. These are for you. He grabbed them and then held out the ring to me. Just touch the jewel. I could feel with my Mana Sensitivity that he was doing something, but I couldnt tell what. I reached out and touched the jewel, and a feeling swept through me. It felt like each cell in my body was awakened for a moment, and then it went back to normal. It wasnt painful, just weird. Thats it? I asked. Check your Status, he replied, And there it was, right there on my status. I was no longer human but Alrashian. Wait a minute, I said, my surname changed as well. It now says I am Marvin Wygon. Really? Ranar said. That is unusual. Can you display the partial status for me? I did so. Fascinating. Your blood must be strong, and maybe you also have a connection with the Wygons. This could be interesting to explore. You are more than just an adopted brother now. You are true clan. Have my looks changed? Do I look Alrashian? No, not even the eyes which I would have expected, said Ranar. Your blood or soul has awakened. I suspect a full change a Spirit Summoner with a Spirit Orb will be required. I was rather excited at this, as it could be a way to escape the bounties that were put on me. I am no longer Marvin Omma, Human, but Marvin Wygon, Alrashian. What is it you want for the other items? Ranar asked. I have no idea, I said. You are clan now. You should know some basic information about Alrashian fighting. The Unarmed Technique Three Steps is also the foundation of our other weapons forms. I have a skill stone for you. Actually, I already have one. I just havent learned it yet. I needed more information. We discussed the different fighting styles of the Alrashian, including their signature single-bladed curved weapons, which I had collected a lot of. I sold most of them to Ranar and kept only a couple. Their top sword technique for this type of sword was called the Ocean Meets Shore technique. I learned the Three Steps, but as Shadowbane was not in the Alrashian style, I didnt learn the sword form. Yet. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The Alrashians had a number of mounted fighting techniques. Most of them are horse-mad. The Dragoon class was common. I was not that interested in mounted fighting, but I learned a lot just by listening to Ranar. I need a team to work with. Do you have a skill I can use to evaluate people who want to join? There is nothing that will evaluate loyalty; your intuition is probably best used for that. If you combine it with the Identifying skill while you are seeking team members, you should be a reasonable judge. You know, without actually using the Identify skill, you can get an idea of someone''s danger level? I nodded. The skill is more than the numbers; you can get a sense of people without actually using it. Some people describe it as a tingly feeling. You can possibly do the same with your Seeker Intuition, although that skill is limited to what you are seeking, Ranar continued. If you want to assess someone''s capabilities, I have an ability stone called Assessing Eyes. It will give similar information to the skill that the Scribe Profession gets, although that one is dependent on the other person''s permission. This is not the case here, although their permission makes it easy. If you are doing it anyway, it comes down to the skill level and who has the most willpower. Which is how you know I have the Seekers Intuition even though I never told you that, I said. What else did you discover? Ranar smiled and put the Ability stone on the table between us. Intelligence is good. You are very strongly focused on light and shadow, so you probably won''t learn any other affinities. So it would surprise you to know I was offered the Death Mage Class. It would, yes. Your Death Affinity is so far below the other two I would not have judged it to be high enough to register. This is an art, though and not absolute. As Death Mage was available, You should have this affinity stone as well. Ranar put the Death Manipulation stone on the table beside the other. I am not sure I want to focus on Death, I said. Death will never be your focus, but if you can learn it, you should, Mr Wardweaver. With this, you can use death in your wards without any external source. If you want to add fire to your wards, for instance, you will need fire mage or monster cores of beasts that used fire, probably several of them, depending on the power levels. It gets expensive. I nodded. He definitely knows what he is talking about. Let me add this. It is a charm called Wither and will help you train your Death magic. You will never be as good at death as you are at light or shadow. This Skill will also help. It is Death Strike. It is basically the opposite of Holy Strike. It will work on anyone, but Holy creatures are weak to it like Undead and Infernal are weak to Holy Strike. I just nodded. I had never encountered a holy creature, but my Lore skill was soaking up the information. I have some skill stones I can swap for these, I said. I suggest you keep them. My prices are always fair, but if you were to sell your stones to the traders in this kingdom, you would get prices that are better than fair. His eyes seemed to twinkle. Let me add the charms Glow and Dim, as you dont have them. Light and shadow charms do what they say but are very cheap as charms are. We will call these a down payment on an artefact. Is there anything else you want? Information, I said immediately. Any and all information. I was never going to get a better source. Ah yes, the curse of the Lore Skill. You should learn the scribe skill as well, He places another stone on the table. I tried to learn it, but I couldnt, I said, passing it back. I have a stone for that. Some skills require effort to learn, Ranar said. Find a scribe and learn from them for a few hours, and I am sure you will then have the basics to learn the skill. For both your Seeker Class and your Wardweaver profession, you will find it invaluable. I have some books you can learn from. Here is a History of Alrashia, Alrashian Language, Elven Language, Classes and Skills, and I have a Monster Compendium. I dont have anything on Ward Weaving or other languages. I suggest you learn the basics of other professions for your Seeker Class as well. All knowledge is important for that class. Five large books were stacked next to the stones. Wow. This was not what I expected. I suspect my name change signalled something to him that he is not saying. What can you tell me about my bond? Choose carefully. The monster must be willing to bond. Bonds cannot be forced. They will be with you for life, which can be a very long time if you level up past 50. There is another life extension at every 50 levels. The bond itself will come naturally, but choose carefully. Use your Seekers Intuition and have what you seek in a bond firmly in your mind. I took out the five armour pieces and the Vestment. Ranar looked at them with a little awe, if that was the right word. I cannot pay you for this. I will give you a token, which should open doors with any Alrashian Clan, but especially Clan Wygon. It is like a promissory note of a debt we owe to you. I figured something like that was what we would end up doing. They are priceless relics. Ranar bought all the goods from me that he didnt think would be valuable in the Aldross Duchy, as it was now called. He suggested I keep the Acid Saliva and the Paralysing Howl, as they may be suitable for a future bond. He added Night Sight, as that was a generally useful skill. I didnt need it, as I had Spectral Vision, but I could see its usefulness. I left Ranars Emporium a changed man, literally. I spent the rest of the day sitting and processing what had happened. I did browse the History of Alrashia book. I need books or information on Wards as well. That is very high on my priority list. When I went back for dinner, Ranar and the Emporium had left. He had only come for me and the Monarchs Raiment. I had three days before we left for Slyhhill. On one of them, I paid the town''s Mayor to teach me the Scribe skill. He had the full Scribe Profession and would run affinity assessments fo r the village kids. He had me do his paper work for the Duchy. I was paying him to do his job. Learning the skill took longer than I would have liked. He constantly corrected my penmanship, clarity, and accuracy. Talented people apparently learned the skill from his tutorage alone in about half a day. Near dinner time, I learned enough to be able to use the Skill Stone. I was never going to be great at the skill, but I only needed enough for it to be useful to me. A skill that you are not aligned to is slower to level as well. The other days were pleasant as I sat around, enjoyed Mags cooking, and read my books. Soon enough, I was helping Edrei load his wagons, and we were being accompanied by some guards who were rotating out of Pyrewatch, as well as some other villagers who had business in Slyhill. We set out on the three-day journey, one day of which was outside the safe territories. I had to remind myself that this was not the same as before and that we had experienced guards with us. I was also not the same person as before. 30. Slyhill. Slyhill was, as expected, on a hill. I examined the town with my Farsight as we approached. There seemed to be an old part and a newer part of the town. The older part was closer to a gated area, which I assume was where the Trial was located. I couldnt identify the building from this angle, but the one with the building extension was probably the tavern. The newer part had a large compound, which I assume was the academy they were talking about. There was a new satellite Adventurers Guild here as well. It was established when the academy had to move because the Trial at Bellrise changed to become too hard for the students. You should never trust a Trial. I wonder how long this one will last before it plays up. The crossing between the two safe zones was uneventful. I practised tracking and pathfinding on the trip. I am wearing my Dance of Death armour, and the Guard Scout let me come with her a couple of times. She pointed out things I would have missed and helped level up my Tracking skill. My Pathfinding didnt budge, probably because we were following an established track. I have also been practising my Assessing Eyes on the villagers. One person had a surprising amount of will and was very offended when he discovered I was peeking. If the subjects'' willpower is high they will be able to contest my Appraising Eyes, and that means they know about it. I was able to settle him down with the right application of gold, but it is good to know that now. The information I receive is the first line of my status, followed by an idea of their health, stamina, and mana. So I know their classes and professions. Then, there is an impression of their attributes, such as whether they are fast or strong or intelligent, etc. This is just an impression. Then I can sense the things they favour. Do they favour blunt weapons or knives? Do they like earth or water or fire? These are all jumbled up, with the strongest coming out louder than the weaker. I assume that as the skill levels increase, I will get more information, and I will also improve as I get used to understanding what I am sensing. I didnt try this on the guards travelling with us. My Identity with Intuition is telling me they are dangerous. I am getting the danger tingle from them, so it doesnt matter what level they are. They are dangerous to me. They are more dangerous than me, even accounting for my advanced class. My guess is that on the scale of basic classes, they are all in their high forties and low fifties. They are veteran troops. This Duke seems to train his soldiers well and treats them well enough to keep them. I have been thinking of what type of persona I should have when I get to Slyhill. I am going to leave the entertainer/illusionist behind. I should start by being the visiting adventurer. That is how the Pyrewatch villagers think of me. I am Alrashian now, even though I dont look like one. They are known for their adventurers. I started on the Alrashian language book. The Lore skill is helping me pick it up, but not being able to hear how it is spoken means my accent is going to be atrocious for a while. I can still pass for human as I look human. A human adventurer is probably the way to go. I dont want to come across as a beginner like the academy students but a mid-level adventurer with a focus on treasure hunting. I am looking for people about my level to form a team. The level is not so important; I want people about my strength. If I didnt have the Advanced Class, I would be over Level 30 by now, probably in the high 30s with the amount of experience I have earned. My skills have all jumped as well. My first task is to visit the Adventure Guild Hall and update my membership ID. An Iron rank adventurer will carry more weight than a Copper one. I can also find out if there are any outstanding bounties on me. If there are, I can just run. We approached the gate. I could see a new permanent wall being constructed around the expanded town. The guards with us greeted the gated guards in a friendly manner. They also knew many of the villagers. They didnt know me. Two dangerous ones came up to me. Welcome to Slyhill. Name a purpose of visit, please. I would be certain one of them had a Truth-Sensing Skill or equivalent. For all I know, they could be assessing my status. My time with Ranar was eye-opening. Marvin Wygon, Adventurer. Here to challenge the Trial. That last wasnt completely true, but I would probably do that while I was here. May we see your Adventurer ID, please. Sure, I said to the not request. Is there a problem? We have had a problem with spies from the Alverren Kingdom, so we are checking new people. They looked at my copper token and then at me. The token seems a little low for someone of your power. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. That wasnt a question, but I replied anyway: I am here to update it. I got caught in a wandering trial and dumped out in the wilderness near Pyrewatch. They seemed to accept that. It was true, so that helped. It is a silver to enter the first time. If there is no trouble next time, it will be half that. Really, a new person tax? I queried as it sounded like a bribe. New people are usually the ones who cause the trouble. I shrugged and paid it. Slyhill was busy, so I figured I had better secure accommodations first. I had the coin, so I chose a nice-looking place with a sign-out advertising Rooms to Rent. It was a bed and breakfast, and it would be quieter than a tavern. The landlady was a bit disappointed that I only booked it for a week. Then I just wandered the town for a bit, getting a feel for the place. It was bigger than it looked and busier. There were a lot of young-looking adventurers. I assume they were the students. They were acting like immature teenagers, and then I realised that was exactly what they were. I wouldnt be finding teammates among them. I checked out the stores and the prices. There were three taverns, and one of them seemed to be the favourite of the students, so I was going to avoid that one. I had dinner in a tavern and listened to the gossip. The main talk was about skills and classes, with a side of when the Immortals would show up. They didnt seem as scared of that as I thought they should be. The main feeling was that they would do everything to get stronger and stand up to the Immortals. They had a long way to go before that could happen. I had a long way to go. Once the crowds had reduced, I wandered the town in stealth to get a feel for the place at night. The guards were vigilant. I spotted a couple of students testing their stealth against the guards. The Guards seemed to be good-natured about it. One even gave some tips. I assume these guards treat the academy as a recruiting ground. I slipped into the room I rented without alerting anyone and slept for a few hours in a lovely bed. I might go shopping for a bed and a nice mattress and keep them in my storage for when I am away from town. I wonder if there is a furniture addon for my storage. I asked Ranar about Storage, and he said I could not automatically equip armour or clothes until it gets to level 7, and I can get the Armory or Wardrobe options. They will require multiple armour sets or multiple enchanted clothes sets to trigger. He said there were a lot more add-ons for Storage, but I could find them out by myself. I borrowed items from Pyrewatch to trigger the clothes chest, meat locker, vegetable bin, herb cupboard, potion cupboard and drinks cellar. These separated the items into separate spaces, reducing the mana cost and expanding the space. This meant that I no longer needed my spatial storage bags. They wouldnt go into my storage, though. I had to carry them. I will try selling them. Ranar didnt want them. I had a leisurely breakfast with the landlady. The other two guests were rich students at the academy, and they rushed off to their lessons. The Adventure Guild is the key to today, and that will determine whether I am still here tonight. The Guildhall looked the same as any other, but this one was a lot smaller than the city ones. It still had a stone questing pillar with a ball of green glass on top that radiated peace. There were the Service counters where adventures went to hand in goods collected and get paid. There was a door out the back with a sign labelled Fighting Pits and stairs up where I knew there were libraries and rooms to rent. The library would be quite small in a guild this size, but it was probably worth checking out. I looked out of place with my matching armour set. I should have worn some old armour. Everybody was in mismatched armour and robes, as was the norm for adventurers. You wore what protected you the best, not what looked good. I could pick the students, but there were older, more seasoned adventurers as well. The first thing was to go to the questing pillar, which should update the Token and let me know any outstanding bounties and what quests I can take. I approach the pillar and place my token against it. I feel a sweep of mana goes through me from the pillar. My Mana Sensitivity skill is opening me to things I would not have noticed before. I felt the token heat up in my hand and then things cooled andn teh normal quest screen appeared. I ignored it for now and looked at my token. It was iron. It had more symbols on it and was slightly bigger. The next rank up was steel, then silver. I wondered how much I needed to get to steel. Completing quests was the way to rank up in the guild, and I didnt do much of that. I was probably lucky I made it to iron. Iron rank was a respectable rank. Now, it was time to check out bounties and quests. There was a bounty out for Marvin Omma, and I could accept the quest if I wanted. There was no bounty for Marvin Wygon, and it hadnt been transferred. Fantastic. I was interested to note there was a marker on the bounty to indicate it was from the Alverren Kingdom, i.e., a different legal territory from where I was. The Duchy is real; I had been half afraid it wasnt. I looked at the quests I could take. There were local quests, mostly related to the Trial. Then there was Area Quests, which was the Aldross Duchy and then World Quests, which the Bounty on Marvin Omma now fell into. I checked the local quests, and it appeared the Trial was full of Rats, Lizards, and Spiders, judging from the need for Rat Tails, Lizard Tongues, and Spider Legs. That wasnt all that was requested, but it was the most. This Trial didnt seem to have ore, gems, herbs, or anything. I didnt take any quests; those could wait until I find out more about the Trial and /or if I can find some people to run it with me. I left the Guildhall feeling a lot lighter without the bounty hanging over me. 31. Grouping. I sat in the corner of the Guild bar, watching people come and go. I was using Identity passively to get a feel for the level of adventurers, and this was quite a low-level area. Few seemed like a threat to me. I also had my Intuition running, seeking a party with whom to explore the Trial and maybe make a longer-term connection. I was in my Dace of Death armour, but I had Spectral Cloak running, so it looked mismatched and older than it was. Getting information on the trial was easy. It is literally a hole in the ground. Rats on the first floor with a floor guardian Rat King with a recommended party of six Level 8 people to take it out. They recommended having area-of-effect attacks as the rats swarm and the Rat King summons swarms. Floor two was Spiders. Hidden ambush predators with a sticky web and poison. The web is weak to fire. The floor Guardian is a Spider Matriarch with poison, and again, she will summon a swarm of small, fast spiders. Area fire attacks are the easiest to take them down. Potions with the poison antidote can be purchased, and I already have a stock of them in my Potions cupboard. The matriarch is recommended to be dealt with at a party of six level 12 people with a fire mage. Floor three is the lizards. More ambushes, but these have long, sticky tongues and quick bites. The final boss is a lizard humanoid with a lot of speed and regeneration. A party of six level 15 people is recommended. An armoured person to hold the boss still is the recommendation. Overall, the recommended party make-up is six, including a good scout to spot the ambushes, a fire mage with area spells and a person with a taunt skill. The layout and the make-up of the creatures change, but this trial is well known. I could solo this Trial now that I know what to expect, but I wont because that is not the purpose of being here. I am here to find others to work with. I am starting to worry; I am in an area that is too low-level to find people. The top academy students are levels 12-14, but most are lower. Most students dont go past the second floor. Only the top might go onto the third but may not challenge the guardian. The older adventurers might form parties of two or three and clear the dungeon a couple of times a week. Farming the trial. There is very little risk and a steady income. The trouble is that the older adventurers have their groups and are not looking for new members. The students are too low-levelled, and if I joined them, the Trial would raise the level for me, and they would find it difficult. There was a notice board for groups looking for people to run the trial. The most requested are scouts and fire mages. They were student groups. I am pretty sure this is not the place to find team members. However, there is a trial with swarming creatures. This is perfect to get my kill count up to level Spectral Slayer. The XP will be pathetic, but you cant have everything. I hit on a way to meet people as well. I adjust my Spectral cloak to show my Dance of Death armour and only have a few facial distortions. This way, I look like I have some coin. I approach a table of five. I understand you are looking for a Rogue/Scout to be eyes for a trial run to the third floor. At the nod of the lady in charge, I said, I am Marvin, a level 18 Thief. She nodded, I am Jane, a heavy warrior with Taunt; this is Joe, our Healer; May, our mage with some fire spells; and Fred, the swordsman, and David the Maceman. Hello. I understand you want to fight the lizards on the third floor, but not the boss? I said. I dont think we are ready for the boss, Jane said. Right, well, I have a deal for you. I have the Harvest skill. That got their attention. Few at the academy had the skill. I also have this spatial backpack to carry it all, but here''s the deal. I am willing to harvest for you and carry the loot, but I want to go for the boss. I will forgo my share of the loot, all except the boss drops that are designated for me, and we attempt the boss. If we take the boss, I will charge you a silver. With Harvest, we will clear two silver pieces each, possibly more. That doesn''t make sense for you. What the catch? Jane asked. I am not as interested in coin as I am in levelling a new technique, I said, showing the Haladie. I could see they were looking at my expensive armour and thinking I was rich. You dont pay me unless we take the boss, and then you spread the word of the deal, and I can do this multiple times. You are new here? Joe asked. I smiled my stage smile, Thats right. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. What about sharing XP? Jane asked. I am working on developing the team leadership skills to form groups, but I am not there yet. You guys are part of a group with a charter? They nodded. The Charter would allow the sharing of XP and the distribution of loot. Is there a clause for a temporary contractor to join? Jane pulled out the Charter and scanned it. I was surprised she didnt know it. They must be a really new group, and this is their first group. Jane nodded. Right, I sign as a temporary Contractor under the Charter for one run. That will protect me against betrayal in the dungeon and give me some assurance that you will not betray me as well. Can I read the terms? Jane nodded and slid it to me. I read carefully, and this was binding in the system, and the system would enforce the penalties. It was a standard guild contract. Jane was the group leader, and Joe was her Lieutenant. I am OK with that, I said. One run only, though. What happened if you take off with the loot? Jane said. Then you spread the word I am a Thief, and the penalties are enforced. Plus, that is the end of my runs. Jane looked at Joe. They nodded. I was in. We met the next day at the hole in the ground that was the Slyhill Trial. There were two ladders down the hole. This was an Instanced Trial, so we would get our own run with no other teams in there. Well, they might be in there, but they will have their own version of the Trial. This was not common for a Trial, but it was not unknown either. Remember, said Jane, I will see how we fight together, and it is my choice as to whether we fight the boss. I nodded. Agreed. But if we dont fight the boss, I will keep my share of the loot. Jane nodded. This was still a win for them as I was able to harvest, and that would be shared. Jane was in plate armour with a shield and sword. Her armour was obviously second-hand, but she moved well in it. Jow was in Leathers with a knife and Staff. May also had a staff and a robe that was enchanted somehow. Fred was in a chainmail shirt and leather pants with a sword and a small buckler shield. I was in my Dance of Death, and I had the Haladie and a disguised Lightreaver. I was playing the knife fighter, and it would be good practice for me. Ok, gather around, said Jane, May conserve mana on the first floor. Save it for the spiders on the second and then the boss. We dont have a good ranged person. Marvin, do you have any options in the range? I throw darts that I create. They are not great damage, but I also throw knives for higher damage. Ok, that will be good. I will taunt the swarms, and you lay into them, and May, only use low mana options. I know, May said in a voice that said you have told me this a thousand times already. I wondered why she needed to be told a thousand times. I have to remember these are teenagers. Ok, The first floor should be easy, but surprises can happen, so we go carefully. Lets go. We climbed down the ladder into the dark. The ladder suddenly stopped, and the others let themselves drop. I followed, dropped a body length and entered the trial proper. The first room was a safe room, and May had created a light ball to see through. The others were examining the walls. This is the Rat Poison version of the Dungeon, May said disgustingly. Dont worry. Joe now has the Cleanse Poison Spell, but you should also have a backup potion. Jane replied. How bad is the poison? I asked. It is not a strong poison, Joe replied, but it stacks, and these are swarm creatures. If it is starting to build, come to me, and I will cleanse it, but, and he looked at May, Only if it is overwhelming your constitution. Some of us dont have a high constitution, she muttered. I will let you know, I said. Want me to go on ahead and scout? Probably not a lot of point on the first floor, but sure, Jane said. We wont be far behind. I nodded and left the safe room, and went into the dark tunnel. My Spectral Vision (See-thru) picked everything out fine, and I used my Spectral Cloak to make myself invisible. It was cheaper and easier than me doing it manually with Light Manipulation. I counted thirty rats in the first cavern. They would be one-hit kills for me, and I could stealth around them, and they wouldnt even know I was here. I didnt. I heard the others coming and waiting until the rats responded to them, and then Jane used her taunt. The Rats rushed her, and they started killing them, even Joe with his staff. Fred was good with the sword. May was using some sort of mana bolt. I dropped my stealth and started killing with my Haladie and knife. I came from the back but off to the side a bit. May wasnt too accurate with her bolts, and I didnt want to get hit. It took longer to harvest them than kill them. The following caverns were the same, with increasing numbers of rats and increasing levels. There were some branching tunnels. May just wanted to go for the boss, but Jane wanted to clear the floor for a slightly better reward. Jane was the boss. She was maximising the use of my Harvest skill. I didnt mind. The Rat King was about the size of a human and had a spiked tail. He would call repeated swarms of rats. Jan designated May as the rat killer as she taunted the boss, and we damaged it. May brought out a skill that created a rain of fire in an area about the diameter of two of my body lengths that burned down the rats. Janes shield stood up to the tail strokes, and she was good at anticipating and redirecting the strikes. Fred and I got into the boss, and Joe watched and occasionally healed Jane or May. The boss''s loot was disappointing but about what the others expected, so I didnt complain. I got a Rat Tooth dagger. It was way less damage than my current daggers and didnt even have poison. I would sell it. 32. Simple. The Spider floor was one large open cavern. I hate this floor, I heard May mumble under her breath. We could see the matriarch and the other end of the cavern, but there were rock protrusions and webs, so an archer couldnt just stay here and target it. It had been tried, apparently, and the Matriarch could send her spiders to you. That was considered a valid tactic to clear the floor if you didnt have a scout but could deal with swarms of spiders. The spiders came out of stealth and to you. You can easily get buried in webs, though. We would move around the cavern and deal with the spiders piecemeal. Once I recognised the different spiders and their hiding techniques, I could spot them easily enough. The only ones to watch out for were the ones that dropped from the ceiling. One type of spider camouflaged and looked like a rock, while others hid in crevasses or created hidden traps in a web that looked like solid ground. My Spectral Vision (Heat) was the best way to find them. I was a bit annoyed that I couldnt have Heat and See-thru on at the same time. I also trained my Observant Eye to spot them. I stayed with the others, spotting the spiders. May maintained her light ball and used firebolts to burn the webs. The spiders needed more than a fire bolt to kill, so Jana, Fred, and I were kept busy. I sheathed Lightreaver and used my knife from the ring, which was very effective. Jane was interested in buying it from me but knew she couldnt afford it. May looked at it enviously as well. Joe was kept busy cleansing the poison. I am sure he noticed he never needed to cleanse me, but he didnt mention it. There was no real danger here as long as you could spot the spiders and counteract the webs and poison. The Matriarch was a little dangerous, but this is what Jane had May save her mana for. The Matriarch called fast, small spiders to attack, and May constantly had her rain of Fire going. They would be very annoying if I was here alone. I figured I would basically have to concentrate on taking down the Matriarch and just take the damage from the small ones and deal with them afterwards. Burning Light would work, and I could possibly get some flammable alchemy liquid to splash around. I was not showing Burning Light to these people. In fact, I was keeping all my Spells quiet, including my images. The Images might also distract the small spiders. The Matriarch soon fell to the five of us. The loot was only a little better. I got a robe the webs would not stick to. It didnt have any other armour value. I looked at the enchantment on the robe with Mana Sight, and I could possibly turn this into a ward, but I needed sticky webs, not non-stick webs. It could be a good academic exercise for the class. Wards are different to enchantments. Enchantments use a series of symbols to join together to make an effect, like joining letters to make a word. To make the enchantment into a ward, I have to examine the mana flow, densities, and types and replicate that in weaving the ward. Enchanting was totally different. Enchanters looked for different symbols to learn and put them in different orders, but you needed the enchantment skills to power them and imbue them on different materials. At least, that was my simple understanding. There was probably more to it. I got the feeling Jane and Joe were getting very hopeful about taking a shot at the final boss. The Lizard Floor was a mixture of tunnels and caverns. The Lizards were cold-blooded, so they didnt show up in my Spectral Vision (Heat). I relied on Spectral Vision (See-thru) and Observant Eye to spot them. The lizards were at a higher level and harder to kill. They were also faster, with a nasty bite, and their tongues could get you off balance. They all had a mild regeneration, so you couldnt leave them wounded. They didnt have poison, though. We worked through and cleared the floor. The Boss was upright on two legs and looked more like a crocodile than a lizard. Its tail could sweep around, and it had a higher heal rate, so we had to concentrate the damage to beat out the healing. There were no swarms, though, so it was a straight fight. The boss was fast, but Jane kept it focussed on her. She had potential as a front-line fighter. They were obviously stretched in the fight and I had to do a couple of saves, but it wasnt bad. I thought I would have an easier time taking this boss down alone than with this group. Lop off a few limbs with Cutting Light and just keep cutting. The Matriarch would be the hardest boss for me as a solo fighter. My reward from the lizard was a long bullwhip that gripped with a sticky substance, like their tongues. I am not sure what that would be useful for. I guess it could restrain things. The team was happy, and I handed over all the loot, except for the boss loot, for the silver coin. This completed the conditions of the temporary contract, and we went our separate ways. They would spread the word that I was good to work with, and I would meet people and build a reputation as a good rogue/scout. In a sense, I was farming the students rather than the Trial, but it was fine for a while. I lengthened my stay with my landlady and started doing a trial run a day. Student teams would seek me out. We didnt always get to the final boss, and I let them suffer injuries for their stupidity, but I didnt let anyone die. My map was mapping the Trial floor which was different each time. Well, not each time; we had repeat floor layouts and different tweaks in the monsters. It was a good gig for a while, and I settled down. I would get bored eventually, but this was relaxing in the meantime. I was levelling my small blade techniques and getting kills for the Slayer class. I also levelled my Harvest skill but didnt have to deal with the loot. Sure, I had loot when we didnt reach the boss on the final floor, and I used it to complete the quests in the Adventure Guild, but becoming a high-level Guild Adventurer was never high on my list of things to do. I was a thief, and stealing shit was more my line. I found the Alrashian Three Step technique quite useful. It was the footwork that kept me poised and ready. The students came in a wide variety. Some were open to advice, and some were not. I let the ones that were not carry on, but those who wanted to learn, I advised as I could. I had Assessing Eyes, and I could tell he was a better water mage than a fire mage, but whether he would listen was up to him. She would be better with a blunt weapon, and he needs to get a spear, even though the spear is not so useful in this trial. I helped a few rogues who were on a team and wanted to learn from me. This was my specialty area. I could give hints to the mages, but nobody knew I used to have the mage class, so my advice wasnt so highly regarded. I kept my relationship with the students friendly and professional, occasionally going for a celebratory drink with them. I became well-known to the students and built my reputation as an adventurer and a familiar figure in the town. It was a couple of months well spent. I even got an invite to join a senior group when their rogue was out of town. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. In my off time, I worked through the language books and searched the Guild Library. The library was small, but I found some gems. There was an introduction to Sapient Species, and there were a lot of them, from the Fairies to the various animal kin, the Fauns, Satyrs, Centaurs, Minotaurs, and Merpeople in the oceans. Then there were the cursed races like Orcs, Goblins etc. It did not claim to be a complete guide. Humans, Alrashians, and Elves were just plain boring. I found a herb book and learned Herbalist 1 from reading it. I also found a book on minerals and learned the Mining skill. I am guessing the Lore skill enabled this, and the Seeker Class could include searching for herbs and ores. I was not going to be a miner or herbalist, but I picked up some general tools to do this if needed. Lore levelled as I absorbed this information, and I paid an Elf to teach me Elvish to supplement the book. I was in street clothes and sitting in a restaurant relaxing. I was starting to think my time in Slyhill was coming to an end. I had levelled my Spectral Slayer Class twice and Thief once. The trouble was my Seekers Intuition was nagging me that there was something here I was missing. Something enough to level the class, but I couldnt figure it out. I think it has something to do with the Trial. I have cleared it over forty times now, plus a number of partial delves. I am thinking that for the last time, I will solo it and then go, but I have no direction to go. I have tried Seeking my bond, but nothing concrete has yet come up. That is the problem with intuition. I was looking at my map of the first floor of the trial. Because I have been in so many times, I overlaid the variations of the tunnels. There were some twisty variations to the floor. My seeker Intuition Levelled as I noticed that in all the variations, there were six places that were common in all the layers, not including the starting safe zone. Six. I did the same to the tunnels on the third floor. Again, there are six common points. I sketched them from both floors using my Scribe skill, and they were the same distance from the starting zone on each level. They were the same six points at each level. The middle level is one large cavern. It varied in size and shape, but I am betting the same six points map there as well. I think it is definitely time for a solo run and time to investigate what I have discovered on my own. You are definitely not just a thief, said a voice, drawing my attention back to the restaurant. A tall, elven lady stood there looking at me. It is very hard to judge the age of the elves, but she was not a student. Identify gave me warning tingles that this lady was dangerous. Good. There are very few of them in this town. I dont believe we have met. Can I help you? Why is someone with your power hanging around with students? Are you some kind of pervert? I dont think I am more perverted than most, but that is always up for interpretation. I am Marvin, by the way, but I am guessing you know that. You are? Professor Myantha. Why are you hanging around students? Has there been a complaint? I asked. No, but you are giving them too good a deal. People dont do that without ulterior motives. What are yours? Why dont you have a seat? It is not like I am going to spill all my secrets to you. However, I have enjoyed the last couple of months. It has been relaxing. I needed that. She did sit carefully. Most people dont consider Trials relaxing, even low-level ones like this one. It depends on what you are relaxing from. What are you the professor of? At the Academy. Trials, Theory and Practice. Why are you so calm? I come at you with serious accusations, and I know you are getting a threat signal from me. I have been accused of worse and by worse. I had done some of them as well. Basically, though, her threat level was way below Ranars. I didnt say any of that. You are definitely a Rogue. So what is it you really want? I wanted to test you. You are too good and most good people have gotten bored and moved on by now, Myantha said. Funnily enough, I was thinking it was getting near time to move on. Are you here to make me an offer? She looked at me in silence, then said, Do you know a student called Grace? I have done several runs with her team. She said you told her to switch to blunt weapons, and when she did a week later, she got a specialised Class. Good on her, I said. Do you remember Mahola? Specialised Mage Apprentice, I believe. Yes, and she said you taught her a Mana Control technique, which has caused it to shoot up the levels. How do you know so much about Mana Control if you are just a Thief? As you already pointed out, I am not just a Thief. You told Hone he should become a thief rather than an assassin. Thieves are good. I like being a Thief. He said that you showed him how to spot the rock spiders and helped him practice, and as a result, he learned the Keensight Skill. And? Is there a point to this? I asked. Do you have the Trainer or Teacher Profession? No, and I already told you I am not spilling all my secrets to you. What do you want? Some of the staff wanted to sound you out about working for the academy, she said. They might, but that is not what you want. The answer is no, by the way. Why do you have an Alrashian surname? What. Do. You. Want? She paused, looking at me. She obviously came to a decision. I want you to come with me to an academy-sponsored expedition to an Alrashian ruin in the northeast. It is probably a months travel. Each way. I thought you said you were the Professor of Trials, Theory and Practice, not the Professor of ancient Alrashian ruins. I teach more than one course. Why is an Elf studying the ruins of their ancient enemies? I asked. You are intelligent. That is good. And I am not the only one who wont spill all their secrets. Ok, I am interested. When is this expedition leaving? About a month. I have two prerequisites before I decide. I had already decided, but she didnt need to know that. I need to read up about the place you are heading. I want to borrow your source material. She nodded, And the second? I want you and I to clear the Slyhill trial together. Just you and me. What? Why? I know you have cleared it fifty or sixty times, and I have cleared it more than that. What is the point? You are the Professor of Trials, Theory and Practice. Have you ever poked a Trial in its sensitive spots? I asked. It is a Trial, they dont What do you know? I dont know anything, but I might have an idea about where to poke around a bit. Do you want to come and see? Yes, she said definitively and stood up. In three days'' time at dawn. I will make sure the trial is clear of other challengers until we are done. She obviously thought I was on to something, and I hadnt told her anything yet. I thought I was, but I could be wrong. That could be embarrassing. I stood as well and smiled at her, Its a date. 33. Trials. I turned up at the hole in the ground at dawn, and there were three guards there instead of the usual one. I was wearing my Dance of Death armour and had my Haladie and a disguised Lightreaver out as I normally would for the students. Myantha arrived shortly after me. She was wearing a tight dark green leather outfit with light chainmail over her chest and metal bracers and greaves. She didnt make a sound when she walked. She had twin swords in back holsters. They were curved, single-bladed weapons. They were shorter than the signature Alrashian blade and were only single-handed swords where, whereas the Alrashian blade could be single or double-handed. I dont know what the fascination with the single-bladed weapons was. Here, swords were very ornate and had some sort of enchantment. The Trial is empty, Maam, the sergeant told her. I have also notified Aldrossford that this is happening. They want to know what is happening. Myantha looked at me. I shrugged. We will let you know as soon as we know, sergeant. Yes, Maam. They will probably be sending someone to investigate. Myantha just nodded. She looked at me. Are you ready? I nodded, and we jumped into the hole. I landed beside her, and she looked at the walls. There was no light; she could see in the pitch dark. The Trial will have adjusted to our levels. You have no students to average things down. I just nodded. Then I got a request to join a party, which I accepted. Myanthas health was shown, and her position was added to my map, which was helpful. Its poison. That wont worry you? she asked. Lead the way, I said. The first rats were bigger and at a higher level than before. There were also more of them. I was watching her fight just as she was watching me. She was very graceful and had no wasted movements. Whatever her sword technique was it was efficient and smooth. I was more than halfway between combining Steel Serpent and Razor''s Edge into my own Haladie/knife technique, but I was not there yet. I felt clumsy next to her, but I wasnt too far behind in the kill count. I will need to push myself. I might start using more skilled strikes. She was a bit faster than me, but I think I had more endurance. These runs holding back for students have slowed me down, I said as I started harvesting. Let''s clear the floor, and then we can explore without being interrupted. Lead the way, she said. The floor went smoothly, but as the trial scaled the difficulty up, it must have reached a limit it couldnt pass. Myantha had many blade skills and some air spells. She was also almost completely silent, even when fighting. She was faster than me and obviously had a very good dual-blade technique, as well as Ambidextrous, or maybe even its successor, Dual Wield. Once it was clear, I led the way to the nearest point. It appeared to be a random place in the middle of the corridor. Why here? Myantha asked, looking at the stone walls and rough floor. Because in the multitude of layouts, this trial has on this and the third floor, there are always six points that are included. This is one of them. Really. Always the six on both floors? You have a mapping skill? I nodded. So the six are likely to be on the middle floor as well. I nodded again. It is nice not having to explain everything. I started with Spectral Vision (See-thru), but nothing really stood out, and I didnt really expect it to. I switched to Manasight. The mana flows in this Trial are quite structured, and this was where it was flowing to and from. A Mana conduit? I asked. Possibly, Myantha could follow the mana too. I engaged Mana Sensitivity and cast out Mana Web (Sensing). What is that? Myantha said suddenly. I dont sense anything different. What was it? I asked. You did it. It is something you did, she replied. Ah. It is called Mana Web (Sensing) and is used to sense mana fluctuations. I have not seen anything like that before. It seemed like she was accusing me of something, but I just ignored her as I was getting feedback from the web. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It is rat-flavoured mana, but there are other flavours there too. My Lore was helping me analyse the mana flavours. Spider and Lizard, certainly abut under that stone and earth. I squatted down and kept sensing. I vaguely knew Myantha was basically just watching me. Can I change the flavour? Not the big flavoursthey are too strongbut the minor flavours. I tried to apply my Mana Disruption to it. There was a small, small effect. While it is disrupted, could I add a flavour? I looked at the Haladie in my hand and the steel it was made of. Steel is Iron and carbon, my Lore reminded me. Could I add those flavours to the mana? I disrupted the rock again, and while that was happening, I used Macromana Manipulation to grab the mana flavour from the Haladie and mix it with the rock. It was only a minute amount, so I did it again. After the second time, I was mentally exhausted. When Myantha saw I had stopped, she asked, What did you do? I tried disrupting the Trials mana flow and injecting the sense of iron and carbon. I think it may have worked in a tiny way. How? Myantha asked. How what? How did you disrupt the mana, and how did you inject the mana. With Mana disruption and Mana manipulation, I said in a tone that indicated, obviously. Are you a Wizard? I was a Mage. No, I asked if you were a Wizard, not a Mage, she said. I dont know the difference. Wizards are a lost class, and only our oral traditions mention them, not in much detail. They supposedly manipulate Mana directly. Then no, I said, I am using skills. She looked like she didnt believe me but didnt continue the conversation. Let''s have a look at the next one and see if we can repeat it. I said, and we moved on. We went to all six, and I tried to do the same thing to all of them. I dont know what it would do. Maybe bits of iron ore or carbon would start appearing. Maybe not. Maybe the rats would appear in iron or steel armour. I dont know. Maybe the whole thing will blow up. We will see. We cleared the second floor before following my map to the first point. Myatha had some fire spells, I am guessing she had a general Mage class along with the swords. I looked around. Spiders. A big cavern. Underground. I looked at Myantha. Have you got any mushrooms on you? Really? Do you think you can seed the level with Mushrooms? What are you trying to do? I am experimenting, and then we will see what happens. A whole town relies on this Trial. You are putting everything at risk. So that is a no then. She was arguing with me, but she was not stopping me. Does it look like I have a bag of Mushrooms? she said. Oh, right. I figured you might have Storage or something. Does it look like I am rich and powerful enough to have Storage? Well, yeah? I said. She huffed. You know what? I might know a guy. I said You what? I might know a guy with Storage for sale. Let''s say around 30 gold? You know a guy with Storage for sale? Well, yeah. Where do you think I got mine? If you have storage, why do you have the spatial Backpack? she asked. Really? I am a Thief. I need to keep up appearances. Do you want one or not? Twenty gold. Twenty-five. I countered. Deal, she said. That was good. Ranar said he sold his for thirty silver. He wouldnt sell me any, though. I could have made a huge profit. I looked through my storage, particularly the Herb Cupboard and the Vege Bin. The land of the Undying Lord didnt really major in Herbs. Or veges for that matter. I had some cooking mushrooms, but did I have anything better? I cast my Mana Web (Sensing), and the spiders were strong here. After them were the rats and lizards. Then, the same rock and earth. Rock and earth were the only things I thought I could affect. We could go with more iron, but that is boring. I have some Infernal and Undead weapons, but I dont want to introduce them here. I have Venom antidotes. The spiders have Venom. They are weak to fire as well. I could see what my Burning knife produced. I have an Earth manipulation stone and an Air one. They are too good to risk. Charms. What if I introduced magic from the charms I have? I have Spark for Fire, Trickle for Water, Wither for Death, Glow for Light, and Dim for Shadow. I dont want to introduce death or light. Maybe Shadow or Water? I know Shadow the best. Let''s try that. I cast Dim on my hand. We were in pitch black as neither of us needed light, so you couldn''t see the charm working. I reached out for the weakest mana flow, started to disrupt it, and then inserted Shadow mana. Once I got a handle on it, it was surprisingly easy. Easier than steel. I knew Shadow much better, but Shadow may have been in the trial already. Duh! I am standing in a pitch-black cavern and wonder if there is Shadow around. Shadow is absent of light. Dont tell the Elf about that moment of idiocy. What did you do? Myantha asked. I experimented. I am not going to say. We will leave this floor as a test case. I could tell she was trying to figure out what I was doing from her senses. She senses my Mana Web (Sensing), but apparently, that is it. She is not a high-level mage. We went around all six positions, and I injected and maybe enhanced the shadow mana. One floor to go. 34. Changing. We cleared the Lizards. The boss was as easy as I thought. I didnt even break out any of my light spells. We then went around to the first spot. I thought Fire Lizards was a good idea. I did not consult with the wise professor next to me. She looked as clueless as I was. I got out my Burning Knife from the Burning Lake, disrupted the mana and tried to insert Fire Mana. That was not easy. That was very hard. There was no fire in this Trial, and it does not seem compatible. I rested and did extra at each point as I was not sure it worked. Maybe I should have switched to something else, but I guess I am stubborn. Plus, I had no clue what I was doing. When I completed the last one, the ground shook, and we received a notice. Minor Permanent Trial has Changed Recommended Levels 1 through 20 Keeper will be replaced or confirmed in 6 hours. A new floor will be open to all challengers after the keeper has been confirmed. Exits have been sealed until changes are complete. I looked at Myantha, Ok, that was not expected. What do you know about Keepers? They are the ones that run the Trials under the eye of a Trial Spirit. So they are the bastards that were out to kill me? Careful, they can hear you, Myantha said. Well, this one seems to be up for a job review. This is not good, Myantha said. A trial change was the reason the Academy moved from Bellrise. Oh, I didnt know that. I was attempting to add resources, not a whole new floor. The main problem with Bellrise was it developed a boss that wandered between floors. I went in a few times with other academy experts, but we couldnt figure out why. It is unusual. Lets hope that doesnt happen here. If we are between Keepers, who is sending the messages? I asked. You should take my course, Myantha said. Trial Spirits keep the Trial Keepers in line and make sure the Trials are fair. It says the exits are sealed. We are stuck here for six hours. I noted. Then, of course, the Quest came up. The Trial Spirits are out to get me as well. Quest. Clear the new floor to assess its strength. Reward: New Trial Clear Rewards, +4000XP, Trial Keeper Confirmed. Failure: Trial Keeper Replacement. Trial turns Dark. I am guessing the Trial Turning Dark is bad? I said. The worst. We suspect that might be what happened at Bellrise, and it was only partially stopped. But look at the rewards! Clearing a new trial gives amazing rewards. Ability stones, Skill points, Soul bound equipment. This is an amazing opportunity. Spoken like a woman after my own heart. She gave me a dirty look. You are the expert here. What do you think we need, I asked. Depends what we are dealing with. What did you do? I tried to inject Steel, which is Iron and Carbon, Shadows and Fire, into the Trial. Then those are the things we will be dealing with. I am no good with shadows. Iron can always crack against steel, she said, indicating her sword. Fire. I am not great with Fire. I am not great with water. I am better with air, but my wind spells will enrage the fire. I need Air Manipulation to suck the air out of the fire. But I dont have it. I might know a guy. What? I might know a guy with Air Manipulation he couldnt learn. She just stared at me. How much? she asked eventually. Same as Storage? I cant afford it. The Storage cost cleaned me out. It is not worth as much as that, anyway. Storage is worth way more. You are right. Lets do half the cost of storage, and you can owe me. Do you trust me that much? This is only our second meeting. You wont be getting them back once I learn them, She said. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Call it intuition. Plus, I can keep stealing things from you till it is paid off. I am an excellent thief. We need something to control Fire. Light and Shadow are my thing, but I am shit with everything else. As you say, we can beat iron into submission. I tossed her the two ability stones. She looked at me for a second, and then the stones disappeared. Then, the air around us started to fluctuate. Then, it thinned significantly and came back. I am going to need to level it to get the most from it, She said. I think we will have plenty of opportunity over the next six hours. She removed a slim backpack, and the items disappeared from her storage. The backpack, which blended with her armour, was actually enchanted, but it was less than my backpack. Thank you, she said as she put the backpack back on. You will get your coin. So you are a Light and Shadow Mage. You haven''t displayed any skills yet. It is how I am seeing, but I havent needed to. I suspect that is about to change. So you are an Elven Swordmaster? Nothing so limited. It is an Advanced Class called Blade Whisperer. It merges Assassin and Swordsman, plus some other requirements need to be met. Let me guess, I said, When you merged the two, did you take a mage class? She nodded. With Air Manipulation, I will work toward turning it into an Aeromancer Class. It will work well with Blade Whisperer, and it is where my strengths lie. What about you? I was a Thief and Illusionist. Due to a really bad but lucrative experience, Illusionist became Spectral Slayer. She gasped. What? I asked. The Slayer classes are Alrashian classes with a long and bloody history. I figured that out when I read a History of Alrashia. There was also a hint in the name. I am still a Thief. Neither of those Classes can explain what you did here. Do you have some sort of Trial ability or something? I didnt know there was such a thing. I have only read about them, and that was vague. She said. No, as a reward, I received a third class slot. I picked the Seeker Class. I havent heard of that class. No, and it is not in any of the books I have read. It is all about searching for things and knowledge. It is a good fit. Working out the secret for this Trial has given me its first level. Oh, you and I are going to be working together a lot, she said with hunger in her eyes. Yes. I figured you were looking for something, and something Alrashian. Shall we check out what awaits us on the next floor? she said, diverting away from what she was searching for. Let me assign my attributes, and I have some Skill Points I could spend if there was something we needed. You have Skill Points? The bad experience was very lucrative. I boosted Agility and Dexterity to keep up with her. I then stored the Haladie and got out Shadowbane. What is that? Myantha asked. My usual sword, knife combo. They have bonuses for Light and Shadow skills. Those are powerful paired weapons. Stick with me, lady. I might show you a bad time, but we will become rich and powerful. She snorted a laugh. I might be breaking through the facade. We dropped down to the next floor, which had a safe room and a tunnel like the other floors. Myantha examined the carvings on the wall, but they didnt mean much to her. I decided to hold my skill points for now. Ill lead, as my Trap detection is probably higher than yours, I said. I am guessing if this Spirit thing is assessing the strength of the monsters and floor, that it will be more challenging than before. That is a reasonable assumption. It will see what it takes to kill us. Typical trial then. The tunnel was short, and an open cavern appeared. Spectral Vision (See-thru) told me it was empty. I didnt believe it. Heat gave me nothing. Manasight lit everything up. It lit the monsters up, but I could not see the walls and floor. Spectral Vision was a separate skill in my perception, and my intelligence allowed me to have See-thru running at the same time as Manasight. It would take a bit to get used to, but my high intelligence should be good for something. I should have been practising this. They were a shadow creature. They were definitely incorporeal, or partly incorporeal and made of shadow mana. The near one approached, and I was suddenly leaking mana. Are you seeing this? I asked Myantha. Partially. A shadow-type creature? Yes, and it seems to suck your mana dry. Let''s see if two can play that game. I had a skill I had not used much yet: Mana Syphon. I activated it on the creature. You suck from me, and I suck from you. Its skill was a much higher level than mine, but it reduced the drain. The creature had a high concentration of mana in my Mana Sight, and it continuously changed shape. The volume was about the size of a sheep with a fluffy fleece. Suddenly, the creature was struck and severely wounded. Holy Strike seems to work partially, Myantha said. You have Holy Strike, awesome. Let me try a few things. This should be my area of expertise. You might want to cover your eyes. I could feel the creatures through Shadow Manipulation, but they resisted it, so I activated a strong Flash, and the whole cavern lit up. Flash is usually a blinding, distracting skill, but not against these creatures. Against them, it is a powerful area attack. The nearest two were killed, and the ones further out were wounded. The ones further out are now mad and swarming toward us. Major incoming, I warn Myantha, using Light Manipulation to light up Lightreaver and Shadowbane. I slip into the Purifying Dance. It needs adjusting as there is nothing for them to hit, but they cut through the shadow creatures. Burning Light and Cutting Light are both surprisingly effective. Shadow Creatures being weak to light skills should not surprise me. Myantha is moving beside me, using Holy Strike and another skill I dont know. I target the far ones when I can with Mana Syphon. It makes a difference. When I think they are all in range, I say, Flash in 321 Flash. A couple needs finishing off, but this chamber is done. I look around with Manasight. There doesnt seem to be anything to harvest, I said. I suspect these are not Trial monsters but actual creatures from another realm, Myantha was examining the small piles of dust left behind. I get out a broom and start sweeping it up. Really? queries Myantha. Do you want some? It could be interesting to experiment with. Like dissecting corpses. She wanted. 35. Fourth Floor. So the creatures are from an incorporeal reality, Myantha said after we cleared the second cavern of shadow creatures. This means if we come across any fire creatures, they are likely also to be incorporeal. Iron is fairly corporeal. Could there be multiple realms? I asked. Possible. We are in new territory here. I swept up the bodies here, too. If these are real creatures It doesnt make sense. Why are they just crowded into a cavern and waiting to be slaughtered? What should they be doing? Myantha asked. Even animals know how to hunt. They have instincts. They may be swarm-type creatures, and that is their method, Myantha replied. Possible. I am a hard counter to them, so they might not realise that danger. I wasnt totally satisfied with that, but If the fire creatures are the same, that could be a problem. Exactly. Level 1 Air manipulation will not be enough, she sounded a little worried. Your other air skills are not useless. You have a strong wind to keep them away, right? Gusts, yes. We are missing something, I said. I cast out the Mana Web (Sensing). The cavern is not overly large, and I cover the whole cavern, sensing nothing. I reduce the size of the web, increasing its density. Then I do it again. The Mana web is for sensing Mana variations, including where I cant see them. I reduce it again. And again. I then went around the cavern carefully. I got a twinge of something halfway up a wall about two-thirds of the way to the end. It was too deep in the wall for it to register on anything except my Mana Web (Sensing), which was designed to go where I could not see. I got out my mining equipment and started chipping around the spot. The rock was hard, and I had to go in about two handspans before I found a fist-sized crystal which was pitch black. It was strongly shadow-orientated, and my Shadow Manipulation felt it but couldnt penetrate it. I handed it to Myantha, Any idea? She examined it for a while and shook her head. Maybe it is where the shadow creatures live? I am guessing. They are completely foreign to anything I have seen or read about. Let''s check the first cavern. After we check for more here. There were no more in that cavern, and we found one in the roof of the first cavern. I had to stand on Myanthas shoulders to mine it, and we both showered in rock. She also had Steady Footing and Acrobatics. Her strength was more than enough. I didnt need my Spectral vision (Heat) to know there was a fire in the next cavern. We both moved forward in stealth. She had good stealth, which you would expect from a former assassin. It was incorporeal fire creatures. I was half expecting molten iron golems, but the theme seems to be consistent. There were just as many as the shadow creatures. We could try stealthing it. I said, Take them in small groups. Our skilled strikes will work, ust not as effectively as light worked against shadow. Risky. If we get swarmed, we dont have the equivalent of your Flash. What if we try and find the Crystal and get that early? I''m not sure how that will help, but we could try. You would have to hold them off while I mine. Let''s see if there is anything I could buy to help. She waited while I went into the Skill Points to see what I could get. Water Bombs and Water Auras were greyed out as not compatible. I am restricted to Light, Shadow and Death. Solar Reflection was too expensive. Photon Dampening reduces light intensity and cools an area, reducing heat. It is a specialised ability. There are very few other applications outside this. Photon Shield is better as it creates a barrier of light reflecting heat away. Either will cost ten points, and for the limited application, they are not worth it, in my opinion. Buying for for specific situation in a waste. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. What about shadow skills? The Eclipse Field is an extension of my eclipse to a wide area, and I suppress other energies like heat. Darkness Wave will disburse opposing energies, including fire. Both are ten points. I am pretty sure when I max out Eclipse, I will probably get Eclipse Field, or something similar. Here is a five-pointer which might work well with Myanthas Air starvation. Umbral Cold. It lowers the temperature in an area of shadow. That will give us some protection from the fire and reduce the strength of the creatures. Combined with Myanthas Air Manipulation, it will enhance our chances. It will have uses outside of this. It would slow the cold-blooded lizards effectively and even people a little bit. More as it levels up. I buy it. As the spell settles into my mind, I realise that in the higher levels, it would get close to an ice skill. It is limited only to shadows. That actually might be a problem I didnt think about. The cavern is lit up in flickering flames, and there is very little shadow. I can push out shadows with Shadow Manipulation, but it is only Level 1 as well. I am not sure if I can bend Light as I do the other two at the same time. That is very mana intensive. Whats done is done, and I only have seven points left. I look at Myantha. We go in stealth as much as possible. I reduce heat, you reduce air, and we cut for all we are worth. Lets start on this side, work our way around the edge, and look for the crystal as we go, she said. We moved out, and there were two close by that we isolated. She sucks out the air from the area, and I push Shadow Manipulation against the light of their flame and lower the temperature. Lowering the temperature is good as it is very hot in the cavern, so hot the rocks underfoot are glowing. We knew it was hot, but we didnt realise how hot it was. We managed to get the first few and move to the next three, which were harder. I am not sure how these things sense, but we have avoided attracting attention for now. After those ones were killed, we stopped, and I cast out the Mana Web (Sensing). Myantha regenerates her Mana at this time, but I am still spending it with my Mana Web (Sensing). The heat is hard to handle without Umbral Cold, but I need to conserve mana. Then, we move on to the next group. I was using Mana Syphon to at least get a little bit of mana back. I should have been using it and levelling it rather than coasting with the kids. We got about halfway when something went wrong. I am not even sure what went wrong. Suddenly, they were all swarming to us. I slammed Shadow Manipulation and Umbral Cold in a wide area as I could, and Myantha was sucking air from the place as best she could, and we stood there and defended ourselves. It was a pleasure to be fighting beside someone who knew what they were doing. I was Mana Syphoning, and Gusts of Wind would push them back. I think Myantha was trying to get them into a line. Holy Strike worked, as Myantha said, against the Shadow ones. Death Strike was surprisingly effective. I didnt bother with Burning Strike. Quick Hands, Quick Strike, Slash, Chop. I wasnt moving much. The heat was building and became too much for Umbral Cold, and I stepped forward to take the point, and I started to burn. This wasnt such a good idea. Back toward the tunnel, Myantha said, and I followed her, walking backwards and trusting my Perception to know where to step. By the time we get there, Myantha is chugging her second Mana Potion, and I will be on my first despite the Syphon. Both our armours have significant burns, and so do we. My Toughened Skin, Fire resistance, and Minor Regeneration mean I am better than Myantha. She does seem to have some sort of self heal ability, but it is less than Minor Regen, and more costly in mana. When we back into the tunnel, there are significantly fewer than there were, and we can manage them better. We are both hurting and exhausted when we finish the last one off. I look at Myantha and give a small laugh. What? She asks. No eyebrows. You had better check yourself first. I raise my hand, and anything outside my helmet is burned away. My skin is healing. I give her a nod. Eventually, we get ourselves to our feet, and she holds out her hand, I can sweep while you search. I nod and hand her the broom. The dust remains are orange rather than black. So is the crystal when I find it. We have to be able to do better than that, I say. Yeah, she replies. Next time, we pull a few into the tunnel entrance at a time, and if we get swarmed, we are already there. I nod. That will help control them without you wasting mana on the gusts. We move through the tunnels, clearing one chamber after another. Some chambers have multiple tunnels connecting to them, but my Map records where we have been. We are conscious that we are on the timer. The six hours are going fast. Six Shadow Chambers and six Fire Chambers. Six of each crystal. The problem is there is no sign of iron. Will there be no iron? Did I do it wrong? Or will the Guardian boss be Iron? We snuck up to the last chamber. We had about forty minutes on the timer. The trial Guardian was a Myantha-sized crystal golem. Black and orange crystals. It was carrying four dark blue crystal swords, one in each of its four hands. The forearms were Fire Crystal, and the upper arms were Shadow. The shins were Fire, and the thighs were Shadow. The torso and head were dark blue crystal. Six of each type of crystal. We definitely missed something when coming here. I hope it doesnt bite us now. The swords are something other than shadow or fire crystals, Myantha whispered. I nodded, Iron Crystals, I think. We might have missed collecting them. It''s too late to go back now, Myantha said, and she was right. I am the better swordsperson, she said. I will engage, and you figure out how to destroy it. I nodded. Sounds like a plan. 36. Crystal Clear. Myantha Dashes in there so fast it is hard to see her. She becomes a whirlwind of blades. I am not the only one holding back. Her dance is beautiful, but she is two swords against four, and the golem is just as fast. I enter in full stealth, and Spectral Cloak makes me invisible to sight, not that the golem seems to have eyes. Then the golem spits out six fire creatures six shadow creatures and a thin layer of dark blue crystal starts covering the Golen. I Flash the Shadow Creatures and cover the golem in shadow and cold, and the air thins. Then my Spectral Vision (See-thru) spots eighteen small crevices in the walls of the chamber. Shit. Intuition is telling me to move, and I place six Fire Crystals on one side and six Shadow Crystals on the other, leaving six empty places. Six more fire and shadow creatures emerge, but they are attracted to the crystals on the wall rather than us. The trouble is that the crystalised iron armour is getting thicker, and we have no way to stop it. Well there is no Crystal clear way to stop it. There is the old-fashioned way. I ignore the fire and shadow creatures that appear every ten seconds or so and put away Lightreaver and Shadowbane. I pull out two heavy maces and start smashing limbs with my Basic Blunt Weapons. I then use a skill I have not used since I got it: Crushing Blow. I start chipping away at the dark blue crystal. Myantha is definitely the better swordsperson. She can keep four arms busy with just her two. I really hope the crystals on the walls dont fill up with the creatures and then start spewing back out at double the rate. We have to kill this thing before that happens. How many shadow creatures were in a cavern? The Iron crystal is tough. If I had found the iron crystals, this golem would have been easy to take down. If I had not found any crystals, we would be dead already. I searched the caverns. Where would they be? Well, that is blindingly obvious. They will be hidden in the tunnels. The tunnels are more than just a way to get to the caverns. They are part of the trial. Why does this trial like the number six? Crushing Blow! Finally! Four became three. Shit. Shadow Phase. That hurt. Cutting light, Crushing Blow, Cutting Light, Crushing Blow. Syphon Mana. Myanthas swords always seem to be where she needs them to be, but even her Skilled strikes dont do a lot. Neither do mine. My Holy Strike and Death Strike dont add as much damage as a straight Crushing Blow. This must be a function of the Iron crystal. Cutting Light helps if I use it in the gaps made by Crushing Blow. The second arm finally falls. The golem is very lopsided now, with only two arms, both on the same side. I attack the torso and Myantha the head. The golem collapses with four minutes on the timer. We both collapse, exhausted after it. She has less endurance than I do. I thought you were going to lose your leg there for a minute. Was that an incorporeal shadow ability? She asked. Before I could answer, we both got a notification. Quest Complete. Fourth floor was cleared. Guardian Confirmed. +4000XP Earned You may Collect your reward. There was a chest each. Another notice appeared. Trial Floors Adjusting. Trial Entrances open in Two minutes. Fourth Floor Guardian: Recommended Group of Six at Level 20. Additional Rewards are available for 60 hours. That is going to cause a rush, Myantha said. I nodded and helped her up, and we went to look at the rewards. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I picked up a stone I had not seen before. Attribute stone? I said to Myantha. She didnt reply, but I noticed she had some as well. I had four. Skill Stones, Myantha said in amazement. I had four of those as well. I went over and looked at the Guardian''s remains. A couple of crystals were salvageable. I picked up the Crystal Swords. Two of those belong to me, Myantha said. I tossed them over. I also collected the crystals from the walls. They were now pulsing with energy. What are you going to do with those? Myantha asked. You found them. They are yours. I will probably sell them to an academy to study. I have a lot of unknown dust as well. I might know a girl who is interested. That wouldnt be the same girl who is in debt to a guy I know? She laughed, No one of the other professors. Let me keep one of each, and there might be a commission if you get a good price. I handed them over along with most of the dust. I will let you know. She turned to the exit. It''s time to let people know what''s going on. When we exited the trial, it was late afternoon. I left the explanation to Myantha. She kept it short: a new floor, level 20, etc. A lieutenant was there and a lot of curious people. The Lieutenant took charge. Right, two squads of Guardsmen will clear it first. I will lead one, and the Sergeant will lead the other. We will assess the changes. Then, the Adventurers Guild will make a list. This Trial used only to handle four teams at a time, so we will do that until a Diviner comes to assess it. When one team exits, the next can enter. There was a bit of grumbling, but the Guard was out in force. I slipped away into the crowd with Spatial Cloak, but the Lieutenant caught my eye regardless. I had a feeling Myanntha, and I would be getting a visit. This was not over by a long shot. I had time, as he had a Trial to clear. A bath and a nice meal were in order. I had a lot to ponder. It would take a while and a good amount of research, but I wanted to know what Wizard Class is. Myantha was fascinated by what I did. I have a copy of each crystal, including two Crystal Iron swords of the golem. I dont know what Myantha would do with the other two. The head and torso were too damaged. I also have a copy of each of the two crystals that have shadow and fire creatures in them. What can I do with that? I also need to seriously consider my Skill Points. I need to spend them when I am not under pressure to solve a problem. I am not unhappy with Umbral Cold. In fact, I think it is needed in my skill set. However, all the better skills were worth ten points or more, and I want something that will support my Seeker Class and maybe my Thief Class. When I am in a Trial, it is always fighting. I am interested in the Diviner the Lieutenant said was coming. My Seekers Intuition is a diviner-type skill, so I can probably learn similar skills. I will look at those options as intuition is very powerful. It was time to relax for a couple of days, except for student teams who wanted me to join them in the new trial. More coin and kills and XP. Especially the XP. My classes are starting to need a lot of XP. I got 3000 from the first clear, plus what we earned, and I can level Thief, but I want to wait until I choose a skill with my skill points as it might open up options. Meanwhile, I get paid and cruise through the new trial, which is giving out more XP per kill. Except it is not such a cruise now. The first three floors are basically the same, except that Shadow and/or fire creatures might appear at any time, even during a boss fight, which can be disconcerting. I picked the better student groups. I was avoiding idiots. There were now crystals that could be mined on each floor. Finding them was not the easiest task, and the miners had the skills to help, but there were few miners among the students. I mined a few but left a lot as they wanted to carry on, and I was not sharingnew rules for a new Trial. The fourth floor was similar, but I could not find the hidden crystals, just normal mining crystals. The floor boss let out Shadow and Fire creatures, but they were less frequent and there were no crystals to attract them. They had to be killed. Only one of my teams attempted the boss, and I had to help them a lot. I took the opportunity to practice different skills, which I should have been doing from the start. I did go back to mostly the Haladie and Lightreaver, but I broke out the maces for the boss. I need to level them as well. Overall, the trial was still deemed suitable for students, especially on floors one and two. The mining skill was also becoming popular. Students were always looking for more coins. I was browsing my Skill Points for something that would be useful. Divination skills are expensive. Precognition was 20 Points, but there was a much lesser version called Danger Sense for 10. Scrying was a lengthy spell, and I am not sure how useful it would be for me. There were several variations. Clairvoyance was about searching for things you cant see, and my Mana Web (Sensing) did that. Astral Projection was about leaving your body to search for yourself, but I was not comfortable leaving my body undefended. I had the same problem with Dream Walking and Prophecyanything that put me in a trance-like state or left my body vulnerable. Fate Weaving sounded interesting, but it was not what I was going for, and it was too expensive. Spiritual Communication was obviously communing with Spiritual entities. Not overly help ful to me. I wanted to find and connect with my bond, not random spiritual entities. Then there were reading signs in various things: Astrology, the stars; Geomancy, the ground; Bone Casting; Chronomancy; Haruspicy, in the entrails of sacrifices; etc. All in all I had not yet found what I wanted. I am not sure that divination is where I want to go. Some of that stuff is very weird. I was looking at my Status, and the influence of the Slayer Class is crystal clear. Most of my new skills and skill growth are related to combat, and it also leads me toward combat. The biggest exception is the Ward Weaver Profession. It has potential, but there are no books on it. I even asked the professor who owes me. The time I spent in the Trial meant I successfully dodged the Lieutenant who was looking for me. He had a sight skill that could pierce my illusions. No skill is without a counter skill or skills. The fact he was looking at me right now meant I was not getting out of this one. 37. Decisions. Do you mind if I join you? I was sitting in the outdoor seating of a bakery, enjoying an early breakfast. I figured it wasnt going to change much if I said I minded, so I just nodded. I wondered if he would take that as yes, I minded or yes, take a seat. He took a seat. He was tall and thin, and his face was thin as well. He almost had a sly look about him. I am Lieutenant Alistern Craw of the Duke''s Scouts, he introduced himself. If he were a lieutenant in the Scouts, he would have multiple sight skills. He was giving off a dangerous vibe to my senses. I am Marvin, but you know that. He nodded, I spoke to Professor Myantha. She doesnt know what you did in the trial. She couldnt sense it. What did you do? I took a minute to let the silence linger just because I wanted to. Then I said, I injected some aspected mana into the Trials mana flow. How? Mana Skills. How else? What are the Skills names? I didnt see a problem telling him. There must be craftspeople with these skills. I used Mana Disruption to destabilise the flow and then Macromana Manipulation and Mana Strength to inject new mana while it was unstable. It soon stabilised itself again, so the window was short. Where did you learn these skills? They appeared as options when I maxed out Mana Control and Mana Manipulation. There must be others with these skills, I said. Not that I have heard of, but I will make inquiries. Why those six points? I described how the mapping overlay of the first and third floors led me to the six points, but I didnt mention my intuition. Are these six points still there? No, I checked. The Trial has changed. Professor Myantha theorises that different Trials have different criteria to grow, just like our classes have different criteria. Possible, I said. That is her area of expertise, not mine. And what is your area of expertise, Marvin? Alistern asked. I am a Thief. So why you? Why are you finding out these things, having these skills and helping Trials to grow? I shrugged, Trials have riches to plunder as well as princes. His eyes narrowed. Yeah, he is not dumb. He knew that was not a random example. Damn it, I dont get to brag much. Would you be interested in a job with the Duke? We have other Trials we would like you to investigate. No, thank you. Why not? You have demonstrated competence in trials and a knack for finding key things out. Two main reasons. The first is that government employees are generally not paid that well. The second is the Dukes heading into a war with the Alverren kingdom, and that is something I want no part of. You might be surprised at the opportunities the Duke provides. Alistern said, The Duke is also trying to avoid a war. At my sceptical look, he continued, The Alverrens are all about information control regarding classes and levelling. By disseminating the truth amongst all the people, the Duke is making this a very unpalatable area to retake. Unless you are a vindictive little snake of a king. Even then, I would not bet against the Duke, Alistern said. Of course, you wouldnt, I said, pointedly looking at his uniform. I have had a run-in with the Immortals. I know their strength. You had a run-in with the Immortals, Alistern said, Yet you are still alive and free. That should tell you something about their strength. He stood up, The offer is still open. Just contact the garrison here. It was interesting to meet you. I am not sure I wanted to be interesting to a person like that. I pulled out a fire crystal I mined in my last delve. It was smaller than the one from the first clear, basically a large gem size. All three types of crystals are very much in demand with the crafters. New merchant stores are being set up, and different crafters are arriving. I think the town is going into another growth period because of this Trial change. It is a shame I cant skim a small percentage off the top. I caused it. I know I could weave wards that were empowered by these crystals if I could figure out how. Thats why I haven''t sold them. There are three types of crystal: fire, shadow, and iron. I place one of each on the table in front of me. Everybody is excited about these crystals, but they pale in comparison to the crystals from the first clear. Those have entities imbued in them, even the crystal sword. If I could work out how to use them, maybe they could cover me in a layer of hard crystallised iron. So far, they havent responded to anything I have done. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The swords themselves are very hard and heavy. I have used them in some sword movements, and I find them awkward and heavy. The blades are wide and thick, and the single cutting edge is serrated. I''ll leave them for now. What I need now is a skill or skills that help my Thieving or Seeking. I am moving away from Divination skills. Danger Sense interested me, but again, it was fighting-orientated. What am I missing to become a Seeker or Treasure Hunter? I made a list. I seem pretty well set up to be an explorer and treasure Hunter. I know I am well set up as a Thief, I have been doing it since my first class selection. I make a list anyway as I will help me think. This has highlighted areas I could improve. Leadership and forming parties are probably at the top of the list. Physical Disguises are next, and I will practice subtle uses of the Spectral Cloak. I can see Tinkering and Artifice being useful and working well with Ward Weaver. I also need to set up a training regime and shake out the cobwebs in some of these skills. There is a river, but nowhere that I can learn to swim. I will purchase a skill stone for it. If I need it and cant do it that could be fatal. I need to go shopping for disguises. Wigs and makeup are not easy to buy, especially in a small town like this. Clothes for different looks are easy. Putting on a pretty dress with some fake boobs can fool a lot of people. I can even add small touches like eyelashes and enhanced lips with my Spectral Cloak. It is a lot more subtle and harder to detect. I have a plan to up my game here. Thank you, Mister Lieutenant, for showing me a weakness. I need to burgle a few places and join in a few games of chance to keep me sharp. Perhaps learn Sleight-of-hand. That should not be difficult for me. All that is good, but it doesnt help me select a skill. Well, it does. It eliminates some things and sets my mind in the right direction, which is non-combat. Leadership. How do I form a party? It will be a skill, and my Lore skill is reminding me of a book in the Guild Library. Team Leader is a Profession. Leadership is a skill that enables the formation of parties and the sharing of experience. It also provided bonuses when moving and doing things as a group. You earn it by being a recognised leader and showing good leadership skills. I could buy it for two points. I would have trouble levelling it unless I showed good leadership. There was a lesser skill called Commanding Aura that only shared experience, but you couldnt form a true party, so health, etc, was not shown, and the other bonuses were not there. It was only one point. I should try and earn it, but that meant I needed to lead parties and develop those skills. I needed to do that anyway. Maybe I need an apprentice. What was the name of the kid who learned Keensight? He showed promise. Tinkering and Artifice are weaknesses, but they could be a real strength with Ward Weaver. I need to learn to weave wards first. That needs to be a priority for me. I can learn some basic wards I can create quickly and possibly have some premade in my storage. I have a plan for my training and development, but I dont know what skill would be good. I relook at the skill list with this new mindset. Teleportation is worth 20 points. Moving through walls is a useful skill. I can see through walls, well, some thin walls. I have Shadow Phase, which is limited incorporeality, Ethereal Shadow is the one I can afford that will allow me to move through walls. Shadow Phase might give me a second of full incorporeality when maxed out. I am unsure of having two that are so similar. Shadow Phase would be wasted, although I guess it is not a waste as it saved my life. I put it in the Maybe column. This is why spending points in a crisis is not good. Time Manipulation is worth 20 Points, and Time Manipulation (Minor) is worth 10 points. It enables the slowing or speeding up of time in a limited area. How does that help Treasure hunting? Slowing down an attacker has benefits. Allowing an ally to escape by speeding up time for them. Escaping a trap by slowing or speeding up time. Making an arrow go faster by speeding time for it, or a sword. That is fighting and escaping benefits. Treasure hunting? I dont know. Could I reverse time and cure a wound? Not with a minor skill. I think it is a cool ability, so I put it in the maybe column and definitely ahead of Ethereal Shadow. It just sounds useful. And it sounds fun. What about a combination of lesser skills that work together? I can bend light, but I cant mask sound or smell. Muffle Sound and Muffle Smell are both two points. Control Body Heat is Five points. That, along with my Light, is getting me really close to not being detected. Air Manipulation users could still sense me. That is why incorporeal is better. It is only really detectable with mana skills. Scratch that idea. The Luminous Phase is the Light equivalent to the Shadow Phase. Lightform Shift is similar to Ethereal Shadow. This is not an easy decision, but it is better to make it now when there is no pressure. 38. Training. Which cup is the coin under, young man? Putting your copper on the line here adds to the pressure, so it will help you grow your perception skills. Which cup? Did you follow my hands? Cup 1, 2, or 3? Students were quite gullible. I suggested simple games to help them grow their skills and put their copper on the line, and I was learning sleight-of-hand while earning coins. I am sorry, it is actually under cup number 3. You are almost there. I bet you get it next time. Do you want to go for two coppers this time? The pressure helps the skills grow. Two coppers it is. If you watch carefully, miss, youll get the trick of it, and we can test you next. New Skill Learned: Sleight-of-hand. +1 Dexterity. That didnt take long at all. These academies are a good idea. They are a good training ground. I picked up a Swimming skill stone cheaply. Swimming uses Stamina to compensate for weight like Armour. It doesnt compensate for the drag. I was picking up clothes for disguises. I had Old Poor Man, Old Poor Woman. Rich Noble Man, Rich Noble Woman. Woodsman, Apprentice Crafter. For apprentices, men and women tend to dress similarly, so fake boobs make the difference. I made my own fake boobs - two different sizes. I also made some fake teeth to appear like I had an overbite. I couldnt eat with them, but drinking was fine. I also made some elf ears. The voices were the key. Making the accents sound realistic and different. Female voices were harder for me. There was a Skill I could buy for a single point called Mimic Sound. That was tempting. I put it on the wish list. Single-point skills seem to be ones I could teach myself, though. Then I had to practice. I would dress like an old man, go out and buy a cup of tea, and interact with people. The Noblewoman was the hardest. I will need to observe them. Unfortunately, we are in a small town with few nobles. I took the rich nobleman out for an evening of cards at the local Tavern. I even made sure he lost, and that was harder than it should have been. I found that my Perception ability meant I knew where every card was and who was swindling who. He got invited back. All in all, my training was progressing. I have also changed how I run groups through the Trial. Before, I joined their group for a fee. Now, I have a reputation, and they join me for a training run. I make the decisions and teach as we go. It cost to pay for a Guild Charter designed for temporary training groups, but if I get the leadership skill out of it, then it will be worth it. Any charter is expensive, which is why single-trip charters are never seen, and this is only worthing as I am doing five to six runs a week. Students pay to join my group, and I have a deal with some senior students who are good at filling in some gaps if I need to. Having someone with Taunt or similar to control the boss means students are less likely to panic. The healers cost more than the taunt skill. I could probably learn or purchase a Taunt skill, but do I want one? I decided I did when my learner tank was knocked out and the boss went wild. The healer kept him alive, but I had to go full out onto the Lizard boss of the third floor while the others backed off. I brought out Shadowbane and went wild. Holy Strike, Death Strike, Burning Strike, Cutting Light and the works. There werent enough pieces left to harvest as this was the boss with the regeneration. My reputation with the students who watched went to almost hero worship level, and I had students knocking on my door. Good for my rep, but if I had a Taunt Skill, I could have controlled the boss, and the students could have stayed in the fight. We, and by we, I mean the students, would have been in trouble if it happened on the previous floor with the spider swarms. I might not have been able to keep them alive. Most of the students try to learn the taunt, Battle Cry, and you can hear them practising at all hours. The second most common is the Enraging Shout. It is often learned by those trying to get the Battle Cry and getting frustrated. An Enraging Shout can send the monster into a rage, which is not ideal a lot of the time. I had the coin that students didnt, so I purchased something a bit more flexible and subtle. I found a merchant selling the Provoking Aura. It would become more powerful and wider as I levelled it, but I could control how many I provoked by the size of the aura. I could attract all the monsters in an area or keep the aura close to my body and stay close to the one I really wanted to provoke. They would stay provoked for longer as the skill levelled. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Academies are a good idea overall, and I guess I am learning to be a leader. I learned enough to get the skill at the start of the third week. At the first level, I could have five others join me, so six total. The more I levelled it, the larger the groups would be, and the more the benefits would grow. I started using it right away to level it. I could control how much information to share with the group or designate one person to get more information, like the healer knowing all the health information, etc. I normally kept an eye on the students Stamina and Mana. Some of them were not careful managing that. The Leadership skill was a big improvement. All of this is great, but I still have eleven Skill Points to spend. At this time, I was also reading Myanthas information on the ruins we were going to. The Ruins were called the Merryport Stronghold and were razed about 1200 years ago in the Alrashian/Elvish war. Actually, when the fighting started, I was not sure if they ever stopped, so it was a battle in the warthe Battle of Merryport. As the name suggests, the Stronghold overlooked the town of Merryport, which was a quite sizeable trading port on the sea called the Majestic Abyss. The Account in Myanthaa records the Elves chasing Alrasian raiders to Merryport and demanding they be handed over to be judged for their crimes of hitting a civilian village and killing everyone, including the children. The town refused and struck at the warriors, killing the leader and defiling her body. Elvish warships blockaded the port, and battle mages pounded the town and stronghold. The warriors then moved into the town and discovered everybody had retreated into the stronghold, whose barriers were standing strong. The Elves were settling in for a long siege when the leader in the fortress activated a powerful artefact that killed many Elvish warriors and ships but also turned the fortress into rubble. They were unsure if it was a deliberate suicide act to take as many elves with them as they could or if they had thought they would be safe from the blast. Knowing the fanaticism of the Alrashians, it was probably the first. My book on the History of Alrashia has a paragraph on that battle. There is no mention of raiders or defilement. The elves struck at night without warning, killing indiscriminately through the town, and their mage covens pounded innocent civilians. The Alrashian warriors saved as many civilians as they could by getting them into the stronghold. The barriers were strong and would last until reinforcements arrived, but the elves would not wait and used an artefact to level the stronghold, including all the civilians. About the only thing in common between the two accounts is that an artefact was used. Well, that and the fact the stronghold was levelled. Over the last 1200 years I am sure the ruins have been picked clean. This doesnt say what she is looking for, but I would bet it is not the artefact. Neither account says what the artefact was or how it caused the destruction. There is another obvious piece of missing information. We build towns around permanent trials to be safe from wandering trials and farm them for resources. Do you think they did things differently 1200 years ago? I would suggest not. There is no mention of the permanent trial. Myantha is a Professor of Trials: Theory and Practice. I am betting what she actually wants is related to the trial. If a permanent trial exists, a new settlement will probably be built near it. So what is she actually after? If the Academy is paying for this, she has promised them something. There must be a reward for their outlay. A big reward. The risks are great. We could get caught in a wandering trial and killed or dropped off; who knows where? Actually, I would know now, with my Map skill. I can zoom out to see this place so I will always know how to get back, and as I map more, this will only increase. It is a fantastic ability. When it came to the final week before we were to leave, I needed to make a decision on my Skill purchases and then level up. Even the new Leadership will open options, and Provoking Aura and Sleight-of-hand will as well. I havent learned Mimic Sound or the companion skill of Voice Throwing. I want both of those skills, as they will give sound to my images and greatly boost my disguises. They are both one point, and I have been trying hard but failing. If I buy them, I will reduce myself to nine points, which will exclude a lot from my wish list, including Time Manipulation. That just sounds like a fun skill. If I, reluctantly, only have four and five-point skills to choose from, I need to play to my strengths. I need to choose either Blackout or Nights Embrace. Both are 4 points, and both can be used in conjunction with Umbral Cold. Blackout is designed as a sudden battle changer and plunges a wide area into sudden darkness. It is sudden and designed to turn the tide of a battle or as part of a finisher move. It is better if used in bright areas, as sudden changes are part of how it is designed to affect the battle. Nights Embrace is more subtle and covers a smaller area per level. It doesnt have a sudden shock value like Blackout, but it lasts longer and clings to the enemies. In addition to reducing sight, it also restricts other senses. Muffles Sound and smell and mana senses. This also gives Umbral Cold longer to work. Thinking about it, Nights Embrace is the way to go. I am not orientated to large battles. That leaves me five points. I really like the Radiant Slash Skill, as it bypasses a lot of armour. But it is another fighting skill. What I have really learned about working and leading a party is that you can never have too much healing. I have a good self-heal, but we are going to be away from potions and shops. I spent my last points on Rejuvenating Aura, which is not quite a healing aura. I couldnt afford that. It rejuvenates, so it boosts stamina and mana regeneration, as well as the body''s ability to heal itself. I am done. It is time to level up, and I have a week to train these skills before we leave. 39. Specialised Advanced. Thief is my last specialised basic class. The book explained it as a Basic Class, like Rogue, Warrior, etc., followed by Specialised Basic, so Thief, Swordsman, and my Illusionist Class. Then there are the Advanced Classes and Specialised Advanced Classes, and then there are Rare classes. There are higher classes, but they are only hinted at. The difference between Advanced and Specialised Advanced is not in the attributes they give, but in the bonuses they give. Because Spectral Slayer and Seeker are not listed in the books I read, I dont know if they are Advanced or Specialised Advanced. It doesnt make any practical difference to me; they are what they are, and they do what they do. I hoped some skills I learned and levelled would allow Thief to advance. They did, and the resulting class was in the books as a Specialised Advanced Class. I went from a Level 19 Thief to a Level 1 Pilferer. My total level dropped, which was a bit depressing, and I only got two skills from it. BUT, what amazing skills they are! No, neither were skills. One was an Ability called Helping Hand. This Hand could be made from Mana, but it might also be made from Light, Shadow, or Death. At Level 1, it was about the length of my arm and could hold the weight of a small knife. At each level, it could grow longer and hold more, PLUS, I got an additional hand every second level. This will make pickpocketing a breeze. It will make pilfering a breeze. The hands could access my storage, and I could hand out potions without pausing my fight. Or feed me a potion without pausing. I can do so many things, and all the arms are Incorporeal. I can reach through walls! I am not sure if I can take objects through walls, but that can be tested right now. The answer is... only objects that can be fully enclosed by the hand. That is OK. They will get bigger as the hand grows and becomes more flexible. Speaking of making them flexible, I cant change the shape of the hand much at level 1. That will come, I think. What I can do at level 1 is give the hand claws. I can slash against Light with my shadows and vice versa, and I can infect something with Death magic with my Death handadded damage at no extra cost. And that is only the first thing. The second thing makes three alterations to another of my abilities. It alters Storage in three ways. The first is a straight-up doubling of space with the addition of the Thieves Cache. Doubling at each level. The second addon is called Golden Plunder. It opens Storage to the world in the form of a display stand where I can display goods for sale. The goods remain untouchable in my storage, but they can be appraised. I can pull them out if I want to sell them. It is a salesman''s stall where I can sell my loot. I am wondering if Ranars Emporium is an advanced version of this. The third add-on got me the most excited. It was a Disguise Wardrobe. I could wear a disguise and then activate the Disguise Wardrobe, which would store it directly. When I wanted that disguise, it would equip it exactly as I had stored it, including false teeth, ears, wigs, boobs, etc. The first disguise I stored was my Dance of Death armour and weapons. Pretending to be warriors was fairly normal. I could only have one disguise per level of storage, so at this time, I could only have five disguises. I stored the nobleman with the overbite, the old lady, and the young crafts lady. There are old people around, and they are always non-adventurers. Adventurers either die young or slow their ageing after level 50. I debated the last disguise but settled on normal casual street clothes. I could switch from normal clothes to my armour, to an old lady, to a noble, to a young crafting apprentice, all one after the other, and it took about a second each. This was fantastic. I was so glad I took Mimic Sound to make these people come alive. I can act, and now I sound like the person as well. I played around with that for a long time, practising switching and acting. I really wanted to show the skill off, but it needed to remain a secret. I remember Ranar saying the Wardrobe would not be available until Storage reached Level 7. There are obviously exceptions to that, and maybe it is limited to five because Storage is under-levelled. Maybe when I get to Level 7, it will open up. I cant wait. I have a week to practice my disguises and my new skills in the Trial before we leave for the Happy Farm. Sorry, I meant Merryport. The first thing I did was borrow a Tailor''s shop with mirrors and create Copy Images of each of my disguises, including the ones I did not have in my wardrobe. Then I can Project and Animate those images and now I can even add sound with Mimic Sound and Voice Throw. Now, I am starting to feel ready. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I dont want my new abilities to get out, so I decided to solo the trial and test out everything. That night, I sneak past the guards and drop down the hole. Technically, I am only level nine now. Maybe the trial will give me more rewards for fighting above my level, or, more probably, it will recognise my strength and give me fewer rewards. Knowing Trials, it will be the second. In order to level my new Pilferer Class, I need XP and to steal something significant. The Pilferer class gives significant bonuses to agility, dexterity, and all my movement skills, including cat reflexes, ambidextrous, and light speed. I mean all my movement skills, and I have fifteen of them. It is pretty amazing. I equip my Haladie and Lightreaver. I am close to finalising my own knife technique with the Haladie, and this is a good opportunity to refine it. I move into the first rat chamber and just start to get used to my new movement speed. I dance. I am pleased I have not finalised the knife technique, as Sleight-of-hand has something significant to add. The Steel Serpent Technique is about snaking around defences, but Sleight-of-hand means the knives are not where you expect them to be. It adds a layer of trickery and deception that I like. It needs refining, too, as there are wasteful and unnecessary moves. I have time and a whole trial. The chamber is cleared too quickly. I get out my mining equipment and go over the chamber in careful detail. I mine every crystal I can sense. I have figured out how to weave a ward to draw power from a crystal, so I need as many crystals as possible. Using the section of the vault door ward, I repaired I have the trigger for the ward and using the safe I opened, I have one effect I can cause. The effect will come from the powering source at this time. I havent figured out how to imbue my own effect yet, but I am close. In the next chamber, I start experimenting with my Helping Hand. It feels natural to use, like a normal hand. Ambidextrous works with it, so it can work independently. It is not strong, so it doesnt work well with a knife, although the skills work with it. It is just not that powerful. It is more a utility tool than a weapon. Using it to make monsters flinch is better than cutting them with it. Tripping and tossing darts work fine to distract the opposition. The claws of the Death Hand probably cause the most damage. I am looking forward to fighting people and them reaching for a knife or potion only to find I have stolen it. I encounter the first shadow creatures here, as two of them materialise near the end of the fight. I switch my hand to a light one, which is effective and damages the shadow creatures. All in all, it is a successful testing chamber. I get to harvesting and mining. I do something different in the next chamber. This one is bigger, and there are more rats, two shadows, and one fire creature. I pulse out, Provoking Aura to get them all to come to me, and then I bring down the Nights Embrace. They get a little confused, and their movements get a little sluggish. Then I chant the spell Umbral Cold. They slow down again, and I see their muscles shiver in the cold. These skills have good synergy and will only improve as they level. I move through the slow, shivering rats, putting them out of their misery. This is possibly better than manipulating and slowing time. Umbral Cold would not work with Time as it is not Shadows, and Nights Embrace dulls the senses as well. The shadow and fire Creatures are not affected by Night''s Embrace but teh fire are affected by Umbral Cold. I deal with them early. The Shadows are easy with my light, and the fire takes longer. The Fire Creature actually negated Umbral Cold on the rats near it. That was new information. Each floor of the trial was larger than the previous version. Many teams would skip side chambers and go for the boss, but this time, I went systematically from chamber to chamber and cleared everything, including the crystals in the tunnels. I started using my new images to trigger ambushes and distract as I wanted to incorporate them into my fighting again. I had not been using them with the students and didnt want them to know about them. It is time to get back into using all my skills Kill. Harvest. Mine. I practised, tested different skills and combinations, and refined my new technique. Learning fighting techniques that have already been established and proven to be effective has benefits. The Three Steps unarmed technique was proof of that. It provided excellent footwork for almost everything else. Making your own technique is even better in my book. It combines my unique skills in ways that are uniquely me, making them hard to predict and counter. It also makes the best use of my combinationswell, I keep refining them until I think they are the best use. Because I created the technique, I can continue to tweak it in small ways. You cant do that with techniques made by others. By the time I got to the Rat King, I could name my knife technique, but I didnt yet. There were still things that could be better. I dont want to lock it down until I have the best version I can for now. I controlled the Rat King''s swarms with Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold. I turned on the Rejuvenating Aura, which was really close to my body, as it would boost my body to heal small wounds without the distraction of Minor Regeneration. I Provoked the Boss and worked on perfecting my new techniques as we fought. I wore him down and got a Rattail whip for my trouble. I have had a lot of those. 40. Clear. The Spider Cavern was also larger. Rock protrusions blocked a clear view, but it was classed as a single cavern. I systematically set out to clear this section by section. The webs were weak to fire, but the spiders werent more than normal. I sparingly used Burning Strike to clear when webs started restricting my movement. I started to pick off the spider with my throwing darts. My Helping Hand didnt have a strong throw but used Precision Throw to target eyes and joints. I was discovering that just as I could Manipulate Light and Shadow, I could also Manipulate Death. I was weaker with Death, but it was also fundamentally different to Light and Shadow. Lightreaver and Shadowbane were attuned to light and shadow, but I could use manipulate light on other weapons with more effort and concentration. I could also use Death on weapons with effort and concentration. It took a little bit of effort and very brief concentration to imbue Death on the throwing Darts as I made them. The Death would start rotting the flesh of the spiders. I need to keep using my skills in different ways to learn more about what they do and level them, of course. For the Matriarch, I was planning to try my new Wards. I Provoked her and slid three round shields into three different areas of her domain. She summoned her spider swarms, and as the small spiders moved over the shields, the wards flared with fire. It was enough to kill the small spiders, but only the ones that moved over the shields. The wards would keep firing as long as the crystal held fire mana. I was taking some damage from the Matriarch and her swarm, and I switched Lightreaver out for the Burning knife in the ring. I wasnt in real danger as long as I was careful. Nights Embrace slowed the small ones down even without Umbral cold. I was testing the wards and led the Matriarch over one. I was also testing the Rejuvenation Aura and the healing and Stamina bonuses. Not having Minor Regeneration kicking in for the small stuff or fixing the small stuff faster was definitely a benefit. I was dragging the fight out to see how the mana levels worked. I was sticking to my Haladie and the Burning Knife and my knife technique against a larger opponent, and I could still make efficiencies. My Helping Hand was good at peppering the small spiders with Death-imbued darts. I was really annoyed when the Matriarch got a lucky kick that sent me flying with a broken rib. I know it was my fault for playing with her, but I was not going to get many chances to test things like this. After that, I got serious and finished the fight by lopping limbs with Cutting Light. All in all, it was over an hour of fighting. The Matriarch loot was more sticky web. I had a short rest, and Minor Regeneration was at work on my rib, so I started searching the chamber for crystals. I even brought a ladder to get the ones in the ceiling. It took a while, but I had time while I healed, and it levelled my Mining skill. I was pleased with the wards I created. Although they were the most basic wards, they worked well and consistently. When they were triggered by something on them, they produced a burst of flame. You couldnt get more basic. They were almost a trap. It was progress. There were still charges in the crystals, although the Matriarch had damaged one, and it was not working any more. Eventually, I dropped to the Lizard floor. There are more Fire and Shadow creatures here than floors above. I again moved systematically, clearing chambers and tunnels. The lizards sometimes ambushed from the tunnel roofs. Clear monsters, Harvest, and mine gems. I used my images to trigger ambushed early and generally worked methodically. I always considered the Lizard boss easier to solo as it didnt summon swarms. The lizard had a lot of regeneration; this is where I planned to refine my knife technique and hopefully finalise it. This fight lasted about an hour and a half and, from one perspective, could have been considered cruel to the monster. However, the monster was a construction of the Trial, so it could not be considered alive. As I sat afterwards, I collected another sticky Lizard Tongue whip. This one had multiple prongs. I did decide the techniques were ready. It came from the Steel Serpent Technique I picked up with the Haladie in the Trial, so I reflected that in the name. The Serpents Blade Dance was added to my techniques. I was happy with it. The fourth floor was different. There were chambers of incorporeal shadow and fire creatures, and you were attacked by small, extremely hard Crystal Iron creatures that were straight-up tough to kill. You really needed blunt weapons for this. I equipped Shadowbane for the incorporeal creatures and a mace for the hard little buggers. I dropped to the final floor. As before, the fire creatures were the hardest for me to deal with. Night''s Embrace combined with Umbral Cold certainly helped, but it was not definitive. I burned. I healed and Rejuvenated, but I still burned. I tried to isolate them in small groups, and that worked sometimes. Peppering them with Death Imbued Darts also helped, but I still burned. I stored the mace and got out Lightreaver as the pair was the best I had, but I still burned. Shadow Phase limited the damage, but still, I burned. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I had ward shields for this to trigger shadows when they were set off, but the shadow only helped the Umbral Cold and did nothing by itself, and the incorporeal creatures did not trigger the wards, only the Iron creatures. I would have to figure out wards that would trigger. These were not successful in this situation. The Shadow Creatures were easy. The Crystal iron creature in each chamber could largely be ignored or avoided until the other creatures were dealt with. I cursed the person who thought the fire was a good idea for this Trial. Crystals were more abundant on this floor than on the previous three, and the time I spent looking for them and mining them was time I could heal. I didnt forget the tunnels, and the Crystal Iron creatures were more frequent in the tunnels. Then I came to the boss''s chamber. I had probably been down here eight hours or so. Dawn cant be far away. The boss was similar to the first: four arms and six crystals of each type. The pattern of spawning is well known now. Every minute of the fight, six creatures would come from the boss. First were shadows, then Fire, then Iron. The creatures would attack you and have to be killed, or you would soon be overwhelmed. All the while, you needed to fight the boss with four swords. The recognised tactic was a heavy defender taunting the boss, and everybody else killed the spawns as soon as they came and piled on the damage to the boss. You could reduce the number of creatures spawning by cutting off limbs from the boss, but that was not easy, and blunt weapons were generally needed. I could deal with the shadow creatures easily. I could pretty much stay away from the iron creatures, and that left the fire and the boss. Umbral Cold helped, and Night Embrace was good for creating the shadows for it, but the other features of Night''s Embrace were useless against the incorporeal creatures. It would slow the iron crystal creatures a bit. My plan was to kill the shadows quickly, slow the fire with Umbral Cold, pepper them with Death darts, avoid the iron creatures, and stay focused on the boss. Moving was my strength, so I would move. By the fifth minute of the fight, there would be twelve fire creatures after me. I did plan for this, and that is the advantage of fighting a known Trial. I had several single-use water items I had been saving for this fight. They werent cheap, and I wanted to save as many as I could, but I was not going to die just to save some coin. I entered the chamber with a Charge and crashed the double maces down on one arm with a Crushing Blow. I followed up with a Cutting Light as I danced away from swords coming at me. It didnt sever the arm, but it was heavily Damaged. I danced back and Charged forward. I had to defend with one mace, so only one crashed down, and it was off-target a bit. I dropped a Mace and grabbed Shadowbane to counter the swords with Parry and Block, but my best moves were Dodge and Light Speed. I would Charge in with a Crushing Blow every chance I could; the arm was almost severed when the first shadow creatures came out. I Flashed and sliced them with Burning Light. My armour had stopped or blunted several hits. I had a new appreciation for Myanthas sword skills. Five fire creatures were better than six. I kept dancing on the edge: Dash, Dodge, Parry, Charge, Crushing Blow, Dodge, Lightspeed. My armour is going to need some serious repair time after this, and my Medium Armour and Toughened Skin both went up. The second limb took a lot longer because I did not receive the benefit of the initial Damage I managed. I had five iron rugrats to avoid, but the fire creatures were constantly weakening with Umbral Cold and Death Darts. I threw out the shadow wards as more shadow was always good, and the rugrats could trigger them. Once the second arm was off, I had an opening into the main body, and I could dance away from the other two swords. Nine Fire creatures were too many, though, and I triggered the Water Spout and hosed them down. The central body was tough, being Iron Crystal, but at least there was not continuously growing armour like there used to be. Then it occurred to me that I had the two Crystal Iron swords in my storage. They would be stronger than my mace and would have the bonus of my maxed-out longsword skill. I dropped the two weapons I was carrying and equipped them from my weapons locker. Oh, yes. They were large and heavy, but they did much more damage than the mace. The boss only managed one more fire spawn before it went down. I killed the fire creatures before hunting rugrats. They didnt die when the boss died. When it was done, there was a pause while I waited for the trial''s clear notice. What I was not expecting was the following: Minor Permanent Trial has met conditions for Change. Condition met: Mine all the crystals on all floors and defeat the final Guardian. Recommended Levels 1 through 25 Keeper will be replaced or confirmed in 6 hours. A new floor will be opened for all challengers after the keeper has been confirmed. Please choose a new floor based on the options provided, or one will be chosen at random. Choice options are open for 5 minutes. Exits have been sealed until changes are complete. Six pillars appeared in the boss room, and a special token dropped as loot from the boss. I am going to be in so much trouble. 41. Choice. It was obvious what I had to do to make a choice. Each pillar had a symbol carved into it and a place for me to put the token to indicate my choice. I went over to examine the pillars. The first one was a dog/lizard creature with a spear. Probably Kobolds. Kobolds are known for their traps, so that is a good option for me. My Traps are maxed out. The second was a winged creature, probably some type of bat. The third was also winged but different, maybe a moth creature? I think I would find winged creatures very annoying, The fourth was a snake, so there would be lots of poison. The Fifth was a mushroom of some sort. I am not sure what this meant, but mushrooms often had airborne spores, etc. The final pillar had what looked like a Goblin but was probably a Grak. They were similar in size, used simple weapons, and looked humanoid. Goblins were a cursed race, and Graks were monsters. It will be a Grak. For me, the best choices were the Kobolds and traps or the Graks, which would be a straight-up sword or knife fight. I think I was pretty much done with this Trial and its stupid growth conditions. I pulled out Lightreaver and Shadowbane. A straight-up fight is what I need, and then I am not going to set foot here again. I put the token on the Grak pillar, and the opening to the new floor appeared. I read the Quest, which looked like the last one. Quest. Clear the new floor to assess its strength. Reward: New Trial Clear Rewards, +5000XP, Trial Keeper Confirmed. Failure: Trial Keeper Replacement. Trial turns Dark. I dropped to the new floor, and two things were soon obvious. Firstly, it was Graks and Greater Graks. Secondly, it wasnt just a straight-up fight. It was a bloody maze. This is a nightmare and is going to be hated by everybody. This will be a major time sink, and I am not sure I can get to the end in six hours, even with Map stopping me from backtracking. At least I didnt pick the kobolds and had to look for traps as well. I was running and fighting as I turned corners and came upon Graks. I was an hour in, and I realised I was doing this all wrong. I stopped. I am an idiot. I have a Pathfinders skill and Seekers Intuition. I stop and take a breath. I am seeking the final Guardian, and my intuition says I missed a turn. Pathfinder is assessing the maze I have covered so far in my map, and I am using it to plot the optimal path and work out the maze logic to predict it. It confirms with my Intuition that I missed an optimal turn. This is not how I thought Pathfinder would work, but a maze is a very specific environment, and in the absence of other environmental clues, this is a way to find the path. The more of the maze I uncover, the better it will get. I decide to trust the Pathfinder skill and switch my Seeker Intuition to finding hidden things. I wont stray off the path to get them because I am on a time limit, but maybe I will come back and explore the maze. Bloody, sneaky Trial tempting me back. I am not helping you grow again! Of course, Incorporeal Shadow and fire creatures are appearing here as well just to mix things up, as well as the crystal Iron rugrats. What is the story with them? They can come down but not go up? I send out my Mana Web (Sensing) looking for crystals and hidden anomalies. There are occasional crystals in the walls/floor/ceilings here, too. I mine a couple, and they are the same crystals. I then leave them, as I am on a timeline, and I dont want to trigger some obscure growth condition. At least the Graks are easy to defeat, even the Greater Graks. They are randomly in small groups, or sometimes there is a bigger open space for a larger group and a Greater Grak. Pathfinder levels, making it easier to work out where to go. I find a hidden cache high up in a wall. I am pleased I have the ladder. It has a good knife and a skill stone with Basic Small Blades on it. Basic Small Blades is fairly easy to learn with practice, so it is not very valuable. The next cache has the skill of Mining in it, with a pickaxe sitting next to it. I keep the pickaxe because it is better than the one I have, and the mining skill will sell well among the students. Another cache had Camouflage skills, I assume, as did the spiders and lizards. I will decide whether to keep it for my bond or sell it. This is one I dont need with my Spectral Cloak. The final hidden cache I found has Nightsight in it. I have a copy of Nightsight from Ranar, as he thought my bond might need it. It may not, but it might, depending on what it is. If I bond with a shadow element or something, it wont need any of this. I have always wondered if I should learn Nightsight. I use Spectral Vision (See-thru) to see in the dark, but if I want to use the Heat version, I cant see the solid things around me. Mana sight has covered the slack to date. All living creatures have Mana, so I cant think of a time when I might not too bad. I have a spare copy, and I am just going to learn it. Ok, that was an unexpected synergy. Nightsight works with Farsight, which Spectral Vision and Manasight do not. Observant Eye also works with Farsight. I had half an hour left on the clock when I found the Guardian Chamber. There is a horde of Graks and six Greater Graks. Well, I wanted a good, solid fight. It will be a challenge to get through this lot in half an hour, but lets not waste any of it. I equip Lightreaver and Shadowbane and get to work. Graks are dumb and have poor eyesight, so my images easily fool them. It is just methodical work. Fast, methodical work. I start with Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold. I make two copies of myself to move around and cause confusion, and I get to work with Purifying Dance. Slash, Longslash, Thrust, Chop, Parry, Quickstrike, Death strike, Burning strike. All the while, my Helping Hand is Throwing Death Darts. It is a slaughter, not a fight. Yes, I am churning through the Mana and the Stamina, but a clock is ticking. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I finish my grisly work with a couple of minutes to spare. Quest Complete. Fifth floor was cleared. Guardian Confirmed. +5000XP Earned You may Collect your reward. Trial Floors Adjusting. Trial Entrances open in Three minutes. Fifth Floor Guardian: Recommended Group of Six at Level 25. Additional Rewards are available for 60 hours. I see the reward chest there. I move over to it, and there are four attribute stones. But instead of Skill Point stones like last time, there is a large token with the symbol of a lizard on it. That is different. I feel the Trial changing as the floor adjusts. This is a summoning token. It is required to be used before I leave. That is not always the case, but I guess this trial is going to give me a summons, and I cant sell it. Summons are different from bonds. There is debate about whether a summoned creature is really alive, and the people I have seen with summons treat them like tools. You get a summoning tattoo, and they can be absorbed into the tattoo. I saw a guy summon a horse once, and I have seen a summoned sabertooth cat. I had to run from that one. It looks like I got a lizard. I''m not sure what to do with it. It will probably be like the lizards on the third floor and can help me with ambushes and stuff. A summoning is easy. You hold the token and inject your mana. The better the mana control and Mana manipulation the easier it will be. I hoped I wouldnt get the boss lizard. That thing was ugly. All the lizards had some regeneration capabilities, but the Boss was strong in that, so there would be some benefit in getting the Boss. The Lizards had camouflage, but they had no poison. I kept getting visions of long, sticky tongues. The Lizards on the third floor grabbed prey with their tongue and had a strong bite. They also had no problem walking on the ceiling, so I could use it to check out and loot difficult places. They also had quite a sprint on them. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. It is better than summoning a rat and definitely better than a spider. It is infinitely better than summoning a smelly, dumb Grak. I wouldnt have minded a flame or shadow creature or even an iron crystal rug rat, though. What I have is a Lizard. Before I started, I tried my Seekers Intuition on it. I was not sure what I was seeking, but I suppose it was getting something useful. My Intuition gave me a mad idea. I have never heard of anybody doing anything besides the basic summoning I have never heard of anybody wasting attribute stones on a summons or in a summoning ritual. Should I? Would it waste them? How would it even work? There is nobody here to tell me I am being stupid, even though I am probably wasting attribute points. This is stupid, but it is an exciting sort of stupid. I place all four attribute stones on the summoning token in my hand. What is this going to do? Attributes Stones hold the potential to raise one of my attributes, such as strength or agility. I could use it on any attribute; that is the potential of the stone. What effect will they have on a lizard summons? I have no idea. This is stupid and a waste, but I am going to do it anyway. Then, I have an even crazier idea. I have an acidic, poisonous saliva stone in my storage. What would happen if I added that? The lizards in this trial are not poisonous, but maybe my summons could be? Is that what I want? I was saving it for my bond, but there will be other stones Yes? No?... Oh, I am just going to go all in. I will trust my Intuition and do it all. I placed the acidic poison stone in the centre of the token with the attribute stones balancing on the edge. Then, I start the Ritual and feed the mana. My Lore reminds me of some rituals I read about that were slightly different from the ones we are taught, and I alter things slightly. Then, mana starts pouring into the token. A lot comes from me, and some comes from the trial, and I watch as all the stones melt and are absorbed into the ritual. My whole arm is suddenly in pain as a tattoo imprints itself on my skin, up my entire arm from wrist to shoulder. A flash of blue light comes from the ground inside the circle of symbols that appear in front of me. When it clears, I see a wall of scales. Then, an eye blinks open. Then, a huge lizard uncurls and gets on its feet. A tongue flicks out and tastes the air. This is my lizard. I can feel it connected to me through the tattoo. It is long. It stands on its feet. It is low to the ground, but because of its size, it comes to a low chest height on me. That is about 1.2m off the ground. The body is about 1.5m wide, and tip to tail it is about 12m long. The scales are dark green, but I know it can change them to suit the environment and blend in. I can ride you, cant I, you beautiful boy girl do you have a gender? You need a name. I used Identify on it and, Oh, you are sweet. You can be called Rob. With your adaptive Camouflage, I can see us moving without being seen. You will help me Rob a lot of places.
Summons Name: Rob Race: Greater Lizard
Health: 800 Stamina: 800 Mana: 510
Night Sight Adaptive Camouflage Acidic Poison Saliva
Sprint Crushing Bite Viscous Tongue
Suction Paws Tail Smash Regeneration
It seemed to me a Summons was like a soul-bound piece of equipment. It would grow with me in power, and it had its own abilities, like Lightreaver and Shadowbane worked with light and shadow best. The abilities wont change easily, but it will grow. Do I need to get a saddle made for you? Yes, if I want to be comfortable. Those attributes and poison stones were not wasted. 42. Exit. There was a summoner class, where they didnt need a ritual and could have multiple summons. The book said the Class gave some summons, and they could find others. I dont know how many I could have. I suspect not many. Why would I want to work with a creature like Rob? The exit portal is just there. Shall I exit? There are probably a grumpy bunch of soldiers waiting out there. On the other hand, the Maze has been reformed, and the monsters have been seeded. I suspect that as soon as I leave the Guardians chamber, the floor boss will appear. I am feeling the call of hidden loot and a maze to solve. I need to learn to work with Rob, although some of the passages will only be wide enough. This is not avoiding the consequences. I am here to train, so this is training. We entered the maze and immediately noticed it had changed. We started moving and mapping. I am sure the floor boss will be there when we return. I jumped on Robs back, and he carried me. He was fast, and where he couldnt fit on the floor, he was halfway up the walls. I fell off the first time, but Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes let me land on my feet. Rob stopped and looked at me like I was stupid. I would need to level my Riding Skills and get a saddle to give me something to hold on to. I was just pleased he did not decide to use the roof instead of the floor. The first Graks we encountered sprints forward, chomps down and then swallows it. He then uses his tongue to drag another to him and chomps down with this Crushing Bite. I kill the other two, or there will be nothing left to harvest. There is nothing to Harvest from the two he ate, and the loot drops just appeared. I think Rob enjoys his food. We moved through the maze, mapped it, and cleared it out of Graks. I found six lesser caches and two larger hidden caches. I can see there are many complaints about the maze and the time it took. They are lucky I didnt pick the Kobolds, or they would be in a maze of traps. They should thank me. I made sure to leave one of the smaller caches unopened, and I didnt want to trigger a hidden growth quest about finding all the caches. The five smaller caches gave me basic skill stones and reasonable weapons. I did get a general Poison Skill Stone. It did not specify saliva, and I almost learned it myself. I held off because I have my Death magic, so I kept it for a potential bond, and if they didnt need it, I could sell it or use it. One of the larger caches gave Chitin armour. It was probably spider chitin, but it was good quality. It was not named or part of a set like my Dance of Death, but it was good armour with self-repair. The other large cache had the Map ability stone. That would sell for a lot. I can see Map being needed in a maze. I wont get a great price here in Slyhill, so I will keep it for now. When I find somebody in need who can pay extravagant prices, like a certain elf, then we will have a market. Eventually, we ran out of the maze to explore. The floor boss was a little tougher, but that was nothing against Rob and me. Eventually, there was nowhere to go but out. I activated the Summons Tattoo, which took up the length of my arm. Rob faded from my sight, and the fact that I was so sensitive to the mana meant I could feel it moving into the tattoo. It is like Rob was still there but asleep, or maybe only partially conscious, was a better way to put it. Those who dont think summons are alive and treat them like tools must be made of stone. Rob is obviously still there with me, and partially conscious, is still alive. I can level, so I do that before I leave. Finding the caches is enough to level Seeker again, or maybe it was the growth condition of the Trial. I am not sure, but I leveled it. I have enough left over to level Pilferer, but I need to steal something significant. The advanced classes are not easy to level.
Classes/Attributes Name: Marvin Wygon Age: 24 Race: Al''rashian
Level: 10 Sub Level 8 Class: Seeker 3 /Spectral Slayer 6 / Pilferer 1 Profession: Performer 6 / Wardweaver 2
Health: 800 Stamina: 800 Mana: 510
Strength: 40 Agility: 55 Dexterity: 51
Constitution: 40 Intelligence: 51 Wisdom: 41
Perception: 2 Endurance 1
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 0
Companion Bond
Skills Precision Throw 5 Thrust 7 Crushing Blow 3
Parry 4 Holy Strike 7 Create Dart 3
Chop 2 Slash 4 Block 1
Bloodletting 4 Long Slash 2 Quick Strike 5
Create Arrow 1 Shield Bash 1 Death Strike 2
Shadow Phase 4 Burning Strike 3 Nights Embrace 2
Auras Provoking Aura 1 Rejuvenating Aura 1
Techniques Razors Edge 6 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 5
Basic Blunt Weapons 3 Blade Storm 2 Steel Serpent 5
Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 1 Purifying Dance 4
Three Steps 3 Basic Shield 1 Serpents Blade Dance 1
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max
Movement Skills Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Quick Hands 6 Climb 7 Ambidextrous 3
Acrobatics 4 Free Runner 4 Cat Reflexes 5
Steady Footing 3 Light Speed 4 Charge 2
Sleight-of-hand 2 Swimming 1 Stealth 10/Max
Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max
General Skills Riding 8 Appraisal 6 Identify 8
Detect Traps 10/Max Disarm Traps 10/Max Create Trap 5
Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 5
Butchering 1 Weave Ward 2 Unravel Ward 1
Tracking 4 Scribe 1 Herbalist 1
Mining 3 Leadership 2 Mimic Sound 1
Voice Throw 1
Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max
Armour Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 5 Death Resistance 3
Toughened Skin 2 Fire Resistance 5
Mana Mana Disruption 5 Mana Strength 4 Mana Sensitivity 8
MicroMana Manipulation 5 MacroMana Manipulation 2 Mana Web (Sensing) 3
Mana Syphon 3 Mana Manipulation 10/Max Mana Control 10/Max
Seeker Seekers Intuition 3 Pathfinder 3 Lore 2
Vision Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 5 Mana Sight 2
Nightsight 1
Abilities Light Manipulation 8 Minor Regeneration 2 Storage 5
Shadow Manipulation 3 Farsight 1 Map
Spectral Cloak 3 Death Manipulation 2 Assessing Eyes 2
Helping Hand 1
Charms Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4
Trim 5 Mend 1 Trickle 1
Wither 1 Glow 1 Dim 1
Spells Burning Light 3 Copy Image 6 Flash 7
Project Image 7 Animate Image 5 Cutting Light 4
Eclipse 2 Umbral Cold 3
Summons Name: Rob Race: Greater Lizard
Health: 800 Stamina: 800 Mana: 510
Night Sight Adaptive Camouflage Acidic Poison Saliva
Sprint Crushing Bite Viscous Tongue
Suction Paws Tail Smash Regeneration
I am finally as ready as I can be. I trigger the exit portal. As expected, there are a lot of guards, adventurers and students hanging around. I am lucky the observant lieutenant is not there. The senior Guard approached me, Professor Myantha. You are not listed as entering the Trial. Trials are my area of especially, Sergeant. Of course, I was in the Trial. I was very pleased with my Mimic Sound skill, and the Voice Throw meant I slipped into the crowd invisible in my Spectral Cloak while Myantha distracted the guards. Once I was away from the eyes, I triggered the Nobleman Disguise. I then looked on with interest at the discussion as I worked my way to the back of the crowd. What can you report, Maam? I was glad Myantha wasnt here either. I will send the guard a copy of my full report as soon as it is complete, but the new floor is a maze, Copy-Myantha said. There was a lot of muttering at the confirmation of a Maze. She started to walk away, and people made a space for such a distinguished person. But, Maam, where is your party? The Sergent was too well trained, or maybe he had a skill that was tingling. Later, Sergeant! Copy-Myantha said and disappeared around a corner. Nobleman me sauntered away from the crowd, and I bought some pasties to nibble as I made my way to my rented room. I duck into an alley for a second, come back out in casual street clothes and continue on. I open the door to my rooms, and the real Myantha is standing there looking cross, with a smirking Lieutenant next to her. Where had you been! she accused. Getting pastries, I said, holding up the evidence. Sorry, if I had known you were here, I could have got extra. We have been here for hours, she said, In fact, it was not long after the Trial changed that we came looking for you. Right. I just heard about that from the crowd and the entrance. I can do a run with you, but you shouldnt have waited for me. Myantha was about to explode at me when Lieutenant Alistern interrupted and said, That is a great idea. I would love to do a run with both of you. We do need to go now, though. I assume that is fine after waiting all this time? he was smirking again. Does he ever stop doing that? My visions of a soft bed were fading. Neither of them were fooled. Very well, let''s go. After you, Alistern said, indicating that we were both to go first. It was almost like he wanted to keep me in his sight. None of us spoke much as we retraced my steps to the Trial entrance. I did stop to buy more pastries. We approached the Guard, and Alistern pulled rank to go straight in. He was in Guard uniform, Myantha was in partial armour, and I was in street casual. Professor! Didnt you just come out of the Trial? The sergeant approached us. No, Sergeant, I haven''t been in yet. The sergeant looked confused, But you just came out and spoke to us, Alistern interrupted, How long ago was this sergeant? Less than half an hour, Sir. That''s fine. Lets put it down to confusion for now. That was worded as an order. Well be clearing the Trial for a few hours, Sergent. Keep good records of everybody coming and going, please. Yes, sir. I got a request to join the Party of Alistern Craw, which I accepted. Myantha also appeared in the group a second later. After you, Alistern said politely. I dropped into the hole. 43. Back Again. Myantha drops beside me and starts putting on the rest of her armour. Alistern drops beside her. I was still in my casual clothes. I looked at Alistern. This was the only place where we could guarantee privacy, he said. Except for the Trial Keeper, I quip. He nodded. So what happens in the trial stays in the trial, He repeated the mantra. This is a safe zone and private, so tell us what happened. Myantha was looking at me as she strapped on her weapons. You brought us down here to avoid spies, I accused. There has been no official war declared, he said, but we are at war. A permanent Trial growing and a source of crystal significantly strengthens the Duchy. I have already removed one assassin from Slyhill. There will be more. That made sense, and the Lieutenant had several sight abilities and saw through my illusions. Then, I realised, You thought I was an assassin. Or spy, Alistern said. Those are great illusion skills. But you changed your mind. Why? He nodded. The professors account of you actually causing the trial to grow, and when we talked, you were truthful about your run-in against the Immortals, plus I had the Diviner the Duke sent to check out the Trial also check you out. I raised an eyebrow at that. We three are some of the most powerful people in Slyhill at the moment. I needed to be sure, he said unapologetically. And what did the Diviner say about me? That Spectral Slayer was a Specialised Advanced Class and that your intention was to carry on seeking your fortune in the wilds. Your intentions are definitely anti-Alverren, and you could go a long way. That is a lot for a Diviner. They must have been at a high level. I didnt sense anything. She is actually a Seer, and she was the single most powerful person in Slyhill while she was here. Both Myantha and I raised our eyebrows at hearing there was a Seer. That was legendary. If the Duke has a Seer on board, he has reason to be confident. That was revealed in confidence, Alistern said unnecessarily. I looked at both and shrugged. So I came down here to train I walked them through what was relevant to the Trial''s growth. Any clue as to what would trigger the Trial to grow again? Alistern asked. Well, I avoided clearing all the secret caches in the maze, but I suspect it is nothing so simple. No, I suspect not, but we can always try to repeat it. He indicated the tunnel. " Shall we? After all, the kill requirements for the Slayer classes just keep getting higher. He winked at me. He jolly well has a Slayer Class as well, doesnt he? I wonder what type his is, or is it just a basic Slayer Class? I switched to my armour disguise and equipped the Haladie. There is no sense in giving away all my secrets. I was a little confused when Alistern equipped a bow, but I guess he is also not giving away his secrets. I guess there could be a ranged Slayer specialisation, but the class seems to be strongly melee-focused. All the floors had grown again, but things went faster with the three of us. Alistern wanted to mine all the crystals again, which was a larger job. He said the Guard would buy them off me. Alistern was amazing with the bow, and I strongly suspect that is his basic Scout Class, not his advanced class. I really wanted to bring Rob out to play, but I had skipped over the rewards in my account, and they hadnt asked. I silently promised him I would get you another opportunity. None of us really had to break a sweat defeating the Rat King. The spider cavern was huge. No spider came near us that Alistern didnt allow. I stopped helping and just got to mining. He was soon filling the Matriarch with arrows as Myantha, and I cut the hordes apart. The lizards were not much more difficult. I spent most of my time mining. The lizard boss was not hard. Alistern let Myantha and I take it apart. It turns out Alistern can create arrows to kill incorporeal creatures. Plus, he has some sort of Spray Shot skill, and he could walk through caverns where I burned. I was getting a little envious. It was the Crystal boss when I finally saw him get serious. He stored his bow and equipped two wicked-looking swords. They were a paired set. He and Myantha tore into the crystal golem. I think Myantha was the better swordsperson, but not by much. I basically watched them and took out the extras as they came. Then we hit the maze. The maze layout had changed, so we started at random, and as my map filled in, my Pathfinder Skill and Intuition started guiding us better. Alistern was rapt with the Graks. They will be great for the students. He was also very pleased with the basic skills and weapons the trial produced, which were again ideal for the academy. The Students are going to hate it down here, Myantha said as we navigated the maze. Yes, agreed Alistern, but this is actually the best floor for them. Myantha nodded, Shame they cant just come straight here. Alistern kept the Map ability and Iron crystal weapons we found in the larger caches. He compensated us, but nothing like what I could have got. I didnt really mind. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. This is great, Alistern said. I will get the sergeant to let slip to the students that the final floor is dropping the map ability and good weapons, and that will motivate them to persevere. The Graks were easier to clear than the Lizards, even the final horde. I still used my Haladie and Lightreaver, and I didnt show my Helping Hand. The Serpents Blade Dance leveled. Before we left, the Trial Alistern turned to me, It might be a couple of weeks before we are ready to leave for Merryport. Our guide has been held up, but he is worth waiting for. In the meantime, I would like to flush out as many spies as possible. What are your plans? I learned a lot of new information from that. I didnt know Alistern was planning to come with us or that there was a guide. This also hinted that the Academy was not running this trip, but the Duke was. You are asking my plans because you want my help flushing these spies and assassins, I stated. Giving them a juicy target generally entices them to take risks. Surely, the professor here is a good sitting target, I pointed out. Her value as a target is done. It is how I caught the other assassin. Both Alistern and Myantha smirked at that memory. I wonder what happened. My plans are to ride the area, map it out and get my new summons ready for the trip. Summons? One that you can ride? Myatha asked. It was my reward for the first clear of this floor. That could work, Alistern said. Every second day, you come back for a night. It will give me time to set you up and a window of opportunity. And if they follow me out of town? I will ensure your trail is clear. That is another window of opportunity. It was obvious Alistern was a good scout, and not much would get past him. I guess it will help me train in some different areas. OK then. I have business getting a saddle made first, but Ok. If you go to Smith and Jones Mounted Leather Emporium, the Guard will pay the cost as payment for luring out spies. OK, then. We exited and Alistern went to talk to the guard and spread whatever rumours he wanted. I looked at Myantha and said, Drink? She accepted, and we went to the nearest tavern. The next day I had some shopping to do. I started with Smith and Jones, and they measured up Rob. So, you will need a quick method to saddle him, Smith said. Summons cant take anything when they are absorbed into the tattoo, Jones continued. Anything he is carrying will fall on the ground when he is absorbed. Do you have a method to store the saddle? Smith asked. Otherwise, we can design a spatial pack for it, sort of like the ring you are weaning, Jones added. But this costs significantly more, Smith said. I will take the spatial pack for one, I said, But if you make me a spare saddle I can store without for a backup, that would be great. You will find it is worth the extra cost, Smith said. We can enchant it to pack up when you absorb the summons automatically, Jones explained. It is very popular, Smith added. I couldnt store the ring with the Burning Knife in my Storage like I couldnt store the spatial packs, so I assumed I could not store this either. Backup for a long trip was always good. The saddle needs to have straps for grips and a way to strap me in if necessary. He can easily go vertically and totally upside down, I said. Easily done. Do you want to be able to carry passengers or luggage? I am not sure how strong he is yet. Smith looked at Rob and checked his paws. A second person should be fine, but not a lot more. We can make saddle bags as part of the design, but they cant be spatial bags if they are going into the pack. Some small storage bags would be handy, I said. Do you want weapons attached to the mount, and if so, where and what type? Smith asked. I haven''t worked out mounted fighting yet. I plan to practice it over the next two weeks. Do you use a bow? If so, quivers are the most obvious and useful thing to have. I dont generally use a bow. I am more into throwing things. Smith looked at Jones, and they said together, Javelins! What? Javelins are a great throwing weapon, Smith said, More power than darts or most arrows, Jones said, Easy to make and use, Smith said. We can get a javelin holder right there without interfering with the mount''s movements, and they are in easy reach, Jones added. Javelins or spears, no more than 2.5m long, though, Smith warned. Where? I started Wyatts Wooden Weapons, two blocks that way, Jones said. Before you go, do you want any armour included in the design? What would you suggest? The heart and lungs are usually right here at the base of the neck just before the front paws. A section of hardened leather is usually a good idea. I checked Rob''s organs with Spectral Vision (See-thru), and the placements were the same. I dont think so, I said. It will interfere with his Adaptive Camouflage, and in fact, all the leather needs to be as thin as possible so as not to be seen. Right, Good Information, Smith said, thinking. Two saddles, Jones said. Two saddles, Smith agreed. One for travel and a passenger and a thin one for stealth and combat, Jones said. The travel one can have key armour and javelins and be for open fighting, Smith said. The Stealth one basically only key straps, Jones added. One of each with a spatial pack and one spare without, I added. Perfect, they said together. Alistern did offer to pay, so I might as well take advantage. Welcome to Wyatts Wooden Weapons. How can I help you? Smith and Jones sent me to inquire about throwing javelins or throwing spears. Excellent. The key aspects of throwing weapons are the balance and the piercing head. We have a wide variety of tips, similar to different arrowheads. Come this way. Some were a straight wooden tip, and then there were a variety of steel tips, depending on what you wanted to pierce, which made it difficult to get the spear out of the body. I bought a wide selection so I could try them. We have a selection of Skill stones that help. With these, the throw skill is best supported by the Basic Spear Skill, at my nod that I have both of those, he went on. Precision Throw, Power Throw, and Piecing Throw are the more advanced stones here. It is best to have all three as they have a clear synergy. You will need a minimum of 25 in Strength, Agility and Dexterity. Power Throw and Piercing Throw were added to my status. This will help my darts and knives as well. I asked about making the javelins, and there were crafting skills available, but you needed some wood affinity, which I didnt have. The best I could do was sharpen sticks. 44. Mana. I picked up information in the Guild Library on summons. Apparently, there is a loyalty rating for the summons that I cant see. If I mistreat Rob and the loyalty drops below zero, the summons connection can break. Even those who dont think summons are alive should treat them well, or they might lose them, although this lends more weight to the summons being alive. The idiots who treat their summons as tools wont have them for long. The information is available in a book available to all Guild members. There is no excuse for idiots. I ride Rob out the gate, drawing stares. This will probably make Alisterns job easier. The saddle wasnt ready, so Smith and Jones gave me straps to use temporarily. Rob was low to the ground, so I was sitting significantly lower than the people mounted on horses. The second thing was Robs length. He was 12m long, and the tail was about half that. There were some annoyed people following me. Once we cleared the gates, I let Rob run. I needed to get an idea of speed and stamina over longer distances. We would practice me staying on with him sprinting later. Robs could keep the pace of a trotting horse for a long time. His sprint was swift but also at a very short distance. I earned a level in my Riding skill by staying on. The Skill is close to maxing out, and I need something more sophisticated than basic riding for this. I found a problem. Rob was nocturnal, and the bright sun hurt his eyes. While I was riding him, I could give him shades with my Shadow Manipulation. He was okay under the shade of trees, but open grassland, desert, and snow were going to be a problem. We rode out to where the Slyhill safe zone used to be and then kept going to find the expanded area. The Trial expansion gave not only more resources but also more safe, usable land. We could ride all the way to the Burning Lake and not leave the safe area now. This was big for trade. On the first day, we just rode and mapped the area. I let Rod go and hunt. I didnt think he needed to eat, but we were discovering what he liked, and I know he liked to eat, even nasty Graks. He was mostly a carnivore. Because he had the suction pads on his feet, he didnt have claws. He had his Viscous tongue for catching small prey, his bite, and the acid poison I introduced. He had a good tail swipe as well. In the late afternoon, I found a gully with a reasonable-sized stream. I set up camp and let Rob roam. I watched as he used his Adaptive Camouflage to disappear next to the river, dart in, snatch a fish, and then go back to waiting. He was definitely alive. I got out my purchases to practice my Ward Weaving. I could do simple attack wards with a crystal powering them. Now, I wanted to adapt them to be powered by my affinities. What I have discovered is that different materials can hold different amounts of injected mana, what I place the ward on matters if an external source like a crystal does not power it. The other common thing I can use to power it is monster cores. I can inject my mana into the core and increase the mana in it, but it has to be compatible. All those cores I wasted searching for skills would have been great for holding Death Mana and, to a lesser extent, Shadow Mana. I have cores from the Slyhill trial, and the rats are good for death and shadow, the spiders are only good for shadow, and the lizards are good for shadow and life mana, which I assume is a source for their regeneration. The elements are obvious. I didn''t know there was Iron Mana, but it seemed to be an offshoot of metal. They could also hold Crystal mana, which I didnt know was a thing, either. All in all, I had some cores that could take my death, some that could take my Shadow and none that could take my light. Adjusting the weave to use a monster core as a source was not difficult. However, the monster core was not nearly as dense in mana as the crystals, although the higher-ranked scores were better. Before I left town, I purchased some monster cores from a swan bird monster that was receptive to my light. I also bought a selection of other cores with different inherent mana types to test the durability and effects. Changing the weave to use monster cores was fairly easy, as it was still a concentrated source of mana. Using a material like wood or metal meant the source of the mana was spread out, not concentrated. If I only pulled mana from a single point, the material broke. That would take more work, so I put it to one side and concentrated on the monster cores. I pulled out the monster core for the Matriarch Spider. As I was sensitive to shadow, I sensed the Shadow Mana first, but there was also other mana there in descending concentrations. I focussed my Mana Sensitivity, and Spider Mana was the highest. Do species have their own mana or only monsters? That is a question for later. Then there was Web, Poison, Shadow, and Camouflage. There were others, but these were ones I could probably use. The less there was, the less it would last, and then the core would break down, wasting the other types. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I need to work on wards that draw different types and weave them together. That is what the door in the Stronghold did, and I need to work out those different weaves. I can draw one type from one source for now. What I need to do is have a number of smaller input points spread throughout the ward, which will probably enable me to use mana in the material rather than a single source. Once I have that, maybe I can change those input points to take different types of mana. I have a long way to go. I set some single wards from the mana stones around my camp. It is probably too early for assassins, but maybe not. I also let Rob roam around at night. He is nocturnal. The night is when he is at home. I have to keep that Loyalty rating up. Also, if the rating gets low, it breaks the connection, so the rating improving must do something good. That is my theory. With my constitution, I only need three hours or so of sleep, so I am up working on my wards. I wet some rocks and plants glowing with my charm, Glow. Not that I needed to, but that I wanted to. I need to experiment with that and dim and wither, using the charm with the appropriate manipulation skills. Then I realised I was an idiot yesterday when I used Shadow manipulation to shade Robs eyes. I have a charm that is exactly right for that, and I dont need to concentrate on it. When the sun rose, I cast Dim on each of his eyes and adjusted it with Shadow Manipulation, and I would only need to recast it in a couple of hours. If I level the Charm, I could probably get it to last all day. Charms are simple everyday magic, and we neglect them too often. I set up targets by using Glow on items such as tree trunks, branches, and leaves and practised throwing javelins and short spears. Precision Throw I was familiar with. Power and Piercing throws were different but had a lot in common. I practised with each hand and at speed. Then, I mounted Rob and practised while riding. My accuracy went down, and I needed to keep practising. The metal-tipped short spears were a lot more durable than the straight wooden javelins. I could get a file and keep them sharp and smooth out the dents. These are the ones I would stock. I could use them as spears as well. However, that was not my preference. After decimating the local trees we started riding the perimeter of Slyhill and practising Farsight and Observant Eye and I was mapping more detail using both than using Farsight by itself. I also practised my Tracking and Pathfinding skills. Tracking was rising up the ranks quickly, but Pathfinding wasnt. It would sometimes highlight unstable terrain or where good ambush sites were, but it was only occasional. I would stop and harvest herbs when I saw them; it was another skill to level, and it could be very useful. I spent quite a lot of time running beside Rob and just looking at him from various angles and in various actions. I wanted to perfect my Copy Image and Animate it correctly. It had nothing to do with my sore butt on his hard scales. True to my agreement with Alistern, we returned to Slyhill late on the second day. The stealth harness was ready, but the main travelling saddle would take a couple of more days. A tiny spatial pouch hung from my pouch, and I could deploy the harness and retract it to the pouch as required, which only took a couple of seconds. It wasnt any more comfortable. In the morning, I showed myself in the market, selling a few bits and buying more supplies, and then we headed out of town again. I am pretty sure Rob was happy. He hadnt been in the tattoo since we left Slyhill three days ago. He trotted after me to the market, ensuring I was noticed. This time, I was looking for some gullies and cliffs for Rob to go up and hang on to the new harness. Slyhill was more rolling hills than steep cliffs, and I found an old quarry face and a few other places where I could practice hanging on while Rob went up. Rob was faster climbing them, but I would feel safer climbing on my own. The Sure-grip enchantment in my gloves got a workout. I set up camp, and we practised Throwing and Wards. The next day was more hard terrain and this meant Riding levelled and maxed out. Because I was essentially riding bareback on steep terrain, I was offered Bronc Riding, which helped me keep my seat regardless. It would be useful and needed. I was looking for a skill more like Stunt Riding, though. The mount sales places might have a skill stone for sale. I will check them out. Bronc Riding didnt come with any padding for the butt. I came across a body on my way back to Slyhill that afternoon. It had arrow wounds and a throat slit. Whoever killed it had already looted it. I looked around but didnt find anything, not even with Tracking now at level five. Pathfinder took note of the terrain; if an ambush took place here, it would be a potential hazard to watch for. If Alistern is making progress, I might see if Smith and Jones have any riding Skill Stones. 45. Map. Smith and Jones had no skill stone, but they sent me to Fine Mounts, where I purchased Agility Riding. It was a very versatile skill, basically adapting existing skills for use when riding. It did this by somehow using Agility to compensate for the riding movement. I realised I was being corrupted. Since when do I pay for skill stones when I dont need to? I need to get my head back in the game. This academy has corrupted me. What Smith and Jones did have was Rob''s travelling saddle. It was in a bigger spatial pouch that fit on my belt and worked the same as the stealth saddle. It had padding for my butt! I stored the spare saddles in my Storage and thanked them for their great work. They were worth every copper that Alistern spent. The next day, we went out to do some longer runs to get used to the new saddle, and I practised with the javelin holder. It was a very clever design. That night, we made camp as usual, and I practised my stuff. Then I switched Rob to his Stealth saddle, and we snuck back to Slyhill. He was in his adaptive camouflage, and I was hidden by Spectral Cloak. My Spectral Vision (Heat) was how I knew when Alistern was around. I didnt let on about that. The difficulty was that he would have a lot of long-distance sight skills, and Heat was short-ranged. It was why I had scouted and then used the terrain and Pathfinder when I headed into town. We stuck to gullies, wooded areas, etc., to negate the longer-distance skills. It was my first real use of Pathfinder outside of the maze. We were running out of time, and I wanted to level my Pilferer class and needed more information on the expedition. I could solve both problems simultaneously. I left Rob outside the wall to wait. I could have absorbed him into the tattoo, but I was used to him out and about now. He could be another pair of eyes for me, but he did nothing while in the tattoo. I scaled the walls, avoiding the alarm traps. They were simple but did the job. Actually, no they didnt do the job. I looked closer with mana sensitivity and mana sight and they were the decoy traps. I slipped past the traps and over into the town. I suspect it is becoming a large town and might even become a small city in a few years. I slipped into the old lady''s disguise and meandered through the streets toward my destination. It was getting late for an old lady to be out. When I headed back, I would need the drunk nobleman. I slipped into the academy grounds and into the staff offices. I found Professor Myanthas office easily enough. I picked the lock and disrupted the alarm signal. I examined the room with all my sight skills and picked where the safe was most likely to be. Sure enough, it was under the rug. It was a good model, but not great. I would need to pick the lock simultaneously as I disabled the ward. It was a ward, too, so I mapped it out with mana sight. It was basically an alarm ward with a bright flashing Light. I traced the connection to the Monster core source and disrupted the connection. I disrupted the connection to the monster core, and the alarm would not go off. That was easier than the other method I had used before when I didnt understand wards. I was puzzling how to protect my wards against the method I had just used. That would take some thought. And that was one reason the door in the trial was so difficult. The safe popped open, and I started going through the documents there. Sure enough, there was information on the expedition. People, Supplies ah, there we are, a map. I laid it out on the desk and studied it. The first was a general map of the area with major features shown: a mountain range with passes through several known permanent trials, and then I found the Burning Lake and everything orientated. My map skill connected, and the features started being dots and labels on my Map. That was what I wanted. There were a lot of blank areas between the labelled features, but it would let me orientate when I am out there. Then I found a second map, and this was older, and parts were warn away and faded. It was labelled Merryport Stronghold. Whole sections were missing, but the layout was familiar. This Stronghold had been built using the same template as the Windshire Stronghold in the Land of the Undying Lord. That was very useful knowledge. I had been over every part of the Windshire Stronghold. I noticed some minor differences. They changed the outer area to fit the terrain. The keep looked very similar. There were other documents that Myantha didn''t share with me. They were all written in Alrashian. My speaking might be shit, but my reading is reasonable. The first was part of a log of the captain of a ship, the Tail Wind, which listed cargo for several ports, including Merryport. It turned out my Alrashian vocab needed to be expanded. I understood some of the items but not others. I expanded my knowledge of their measuring system. They fought some type of sea monster, but it escaped, and the crew grumbled about no loot or levels. If I am interpreting the text right, the creature was over level 100. The crew must be very high levelled if they were disappointed they didnt kill it. I noted to avoid the ocean. The name Majestic Abyss already sounds ominous. Beast levels and Trial levels are based on the Basic classes. With my three advanced classes, I am sure I was stronger than a level 40 base class, even with me now being level 10. Make that level 11, as I can level my Pilferer class now. I pumped the attributes into Agility and Dexterity. I needed to be faster, although the boost the Pilferer class gives to my movement skills at each level makes up for a lot. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. There is a trading company ledger of their goods going through Merryport. The goods are mostly related to forests, ores, and the oceans, which gives me a clue as to what sort of terrain is there. There are several shipments of wine. Maybe that is where Merryport got its name. It doesnt give me a clue as to what sort of trial is there, though, unless one of those categories is the trial and not the area. An ocean trial would be very challenging. A wine trial would be interesting. I have more information about Merryprot and where it is, but not about the target. If the Duke is sponsoring this, then it is probably a military objective. Why else would he send troops away at this time? Alistern will know more, but his information will be locked away in his storage. I am an idiot. I sold Myantha Storage. Where do you think she has her key information now as well? What I have found is still useful, especially the map. I put everything back and reset the ward. I made a note of the safe''s makers. They had someone who could do basic wards. I could learn from them, but it looks like I could also sell my services. They were the Safety Sisters of Aldrossford. I exited the building. Did this place have anything else I wanted while I was here? I have actually paid for a lot of stuff recently that is quite out of character for me. It doesnt really. It is still only a mid-sized town. I exited, and Rob ran me back to our camp. I circled the place in stealth. One of my wards had been triggered. Was it a person or animal? It is a shame I wasnt here. I wanted to know how effective it was, as it was a Light Flash ward. Did I blind them? If so, for how long? I searched with my Spectral Vision (Heat), and my Nightsight let me see fine. I followed some footprints for a short distance as whoever it was ran, and then I lost them. Alistern didnt trigger it then. Rob had a better sense of smell than me, and we followed his tongue. We were both in full stealth, and I was walking to the side of Rob when he suddenly stopped and faded completely. His Adaptive Camouflage is not fast at adapting, so it usually takes the general background colouring. When he stops, though, he can fade almost completely. I crept forward. I regret not getting the Muffle Sound Skill. I am pretty sure Myantha has it or something even better. There were two of them. One gave off a dangerous feeling, the other, not so much. I wonder where Alistern was. I guess he cant always hog my tail, and I gave him the slip last night. I used my Copy Image Skill so I could show him who was following me. I listened to their conversation so I could mimic their voices. They didnt say a lot, though. If the skill was at a higher level, it could have interpolated new stuff better, but for now, it is quite limited to what I actually hear. The question is, what should I do about it? They werent stopping long. They knew they triggered the ward but realised I was not there, but I would know. They are on their guard and this was a short rest. If I take them on, I need to have the advantage. Fairfights are only for dead idiots. These two are assassins who specialise in underhanded tactics. I looked around. Yes, I could see a temporary trap set up, so there will be more. The area was sheltered, so there were no long-range archer shots available. At least one of these guys knew what they were doing. Then the opportunity came, and the younger one went into the nearby bush to take a leak. I tow throwing spears and The young idiot came running out of the bush and yelled, Titan! Titan turned his head to look, and I power-threw the first spear. The real young one came running out. I had been tracking him by his heat, I threw the second spear at him and Charged. Titan was quick and partially dodged the spear, but the young one didnt. My charge was met with a Parry that turned Shadowbane thrust to the side, but he was down an arm, and Lightreaver struck a Slash with Bloodletting. It was only partially blocked by his armour. The young one was not dead either, but unless he had a strong heal, he would be. Titan was an excellent swordsman and kept me at bay with just one hand. In fact, he was manoeuvring me to one of his traps. I saw the youngling scull a potion. I would be worried he could do something to intervene, except a tongue wrapped around his foot, and he was dragged into the bushes. He will need both acid and poison resistance to get out of that. I saw him stabbing the tongue. That was not on. I was distracted, and liquid splashed into my eyes, and an earth spike slammed up to me. I was only saved by a quick Light Speed move and dodge, but the liquid was burning my eyes. Spectral Vision and Mana Sight dont actually use my physical eyes, or I would be done. I was tracking the heat of Titan, and it was not as accurate, but the Perception attribute made up for it. I knew what was around me. I didnt recover and made sure I didnt lose my focus again. I didnt want him to have another chance at spiking me, so I threw Lightreaver at him and immediately stabbed him with the Burning Knife. Shadowbane tried to Parry a power strike, and my low level of skill was broken by his higher-powered one and his higher strength. I had not invested in Agility for nothing and dodged away, immediately Charging Back with a Holy Strike, as it was my highest-level Skill. He still parried it. His Parry must be maxed out. I wrapped him in Nights Embrace as the earth trembled under me. My Steady footing would have broken if the Sure-grip enchantment in my boots didnt support it. This meant he was not ready for my Thrust from Shadowbane, and he was slowed slightly by Nights Embrace. It pierced his armour and tore into his stomach. His punch with his sword hilt crashed into my nose. I Flashed his face and punched Burning Knife deep in his chest. I Shadow-phased an earth spike so I didnt have to move away and kept stabbing. His legs were swept out from under him by a Tail Smash from Rob, and I finally separated his head from his shoulders. That was too close. If he had had his other arm, he would have won. I have no doubt about that. 46. Assemble. Minor Regeneration boosted with Rejuvenating Aura got to work. My eyes were really bad. That was a closer fight than I thought it would be. I need to pay attention to the dangerous feelings. Identify is the most basic skill of judging an opponent''s level. It is not critical that I upgrade it, but a higher skill will probably let me know more details, like elemental affinities. That first surprised Earth spike could have been the edge he needed. When I felt up to it, I made sure to reward Rob. Without him, I would be dead as well. I then went to see what they were carrying. I was pretty sure Titan had Storage, as he didnt have a pack or anything. I wonder if there is a ritual or something to access a dead person''s storage. I felt I was missing out on a lot, and there was nothing I could do. The armour was a good quality set, not quite up to Dance of Death, but not far below. It was not suitable for me. It must have come from a Trial like mine. I stripped it off and stored it. Appraisal said it was the Earthen Warrior Armour, and there were three pieces. Boots, Leggings, and Jerkin all had earth bonuses and Self-repair. I would get a good price for it. He had several Knives on him but no offhand weapon except his sword. Maybe he used a knife, or maybe something was stored that he couldnt get with his ruined arm. The Sword was a named weapon, but not soul-bound. It was the Blood Moon Reaver and had some nice bonuses. I left him for Rob to eat and went to see the younger one. Rob hadnt eaten him yet, so that was good. He had good-quality armour but nothing from a Trial, the same for his weapons. This dude had a spatial bag, so that would be useful. He wasnt rich, but he had a good stock of potions and a few Poisons. He had some good backup weapons. He was a member of the Adventurers Guild. Maybe there was a reward. It was not that likely, but worth checking. I went back to see if the Guild Token had dropped for Titan as that would indicate there is a quest available to complete. I found one, so a trip to the Guild Hall is in order. I sat for a bit and thought about the fight. It was too close. I chose to fight. I could have backed away, and that would have been the wiser course. I need to be ready for these fights because sometimes I will be ambushed and fight at a disadvantage. What could I have done better? More Images, maybe. I used Flash, but combining it with Eclipse straight after might be more effective. I didnt try to disrupt his mana or syphon his mana. I need to test that. If I could Dirupt his mana, I might not have been earth spiked. I see Toughened Skin went up a level. Most of all, though, I need to level my skills. His ability to parry my skilled strikes, including Thrust and Holy Strike, was impressive. After we rested, we moved in a circuitous direction and back to Slyhill. I decide to head to the Guild Hall first. I havent been since before the Trial upgraded for the second time. Raising my membership status will enable me to be eligible for more quests, but it has never been a priority for me. Quest Complete: Remove Alverren Grey Hands, Red Hands, and Silver Hands from the AlDross Duchy. Reward: 1x Grey Hand, 500 Gold; 1x Red Hand, 100 Gold. That is quite a reasonable reward. The Questing Pillar also liked the Trial First Clears. I would need to do quite a bit more to get from Iron Rank to Steel Rank. I imagine I might be there by the time this trip is over. Special Action: You are now eligible to receive Bounty Hunter Quests. Would you like to be registered as a Guild Bounty Hunter? Y/N Bounty Hunters are specifically tasked with bringing down or capturing Sapients. They are more dangerous than monsters, as I witnessed in my last fight. My seeker class allows me to locate the bounty, but I need a team to help me. The last fight was too close. I chose yes because I can pick and choose what bounties to collect. When I know who I am going for, I can also get a team together. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. A number of local, regional, and world quests became available. I checked the local quests, and I assumed those Hands were the Alverran Spies, as there was a standing bounty for them. There seemed to be no other local bounties, but there were some sizeable World Bounties, especially for Duke Lewis AlDross and Cullen of Aldrossford. I was not touching those, regardless of the Gold. I tested my Seekers Intuition on some others, and a couple seemed to be heading in the direction we were headed, so I picked them up. You never know. I can choose to walk away. The bounties werent that high, so I figured they would be more like the Grey Hand than Cullen. The next few days, I was collecting supplies for the trip. If we didn''t get delayed, it would be a months travel each way, and I figured we would be a month at the destination. I wanted at least three months'' supplies, even though we would probably find places to supply on the way. The Permanent Trials on the map will have towns around them. They may not be friendly towns, though. There are plenty of local warlords and dictators that would rather rob you than sell to you. With all the Supplies I was storing, my Storage levelled to 6. It was good to have the extra space and the extra Disguise. I also added a Dry Goods Larder to storage. I had fourteen small add-ons to Storage now, and I had the feeling several could be greatly expanded if I figured out how. Ranar told me about the Armory and Wardrobe functions, but things like the Golden Plunder Stall showed there was so much more. We assembled at dawn on departure day. Alistern was leading two squads of six soldiers, all of whom looked experienced. In addition to the twelve, there was a sergeant who was Alisterns second in command and a Healer, so fifteen soldiers in all. There was a Scout in each Squad and a mage type, but the others didnt seem to have discernible roles. I approached Alisern, Can they Duchy spare so many experienced troops now? He grinned, I am told we have time, and part of the reason for this is to gain levels and experience. That is right, they have a seer. They probably know what the Alverrens are up to. They, probably want advanced classes for their troops, as well. In addition to the troops, there were eight from the Academy. Myantha was in charge of those. I made nine. We were all mounted, and there were three pack horses/spare mounts. There was no wagon, and all the supplies were in spatial bags or peoples storage. Then, a small, skinny, but tough man steps up to Alistern. He is on foot. I am definitely getting the danger warning from him. He might be an Elf or probably half-elf. Elves look down on halfbreeds, and usually cast them out. It always seemed strange to me as half-breeds require a full elf parent. Therefore a lot of consensual cross breading happened as rape is taboo to elves. They are not as united as they appear to the world. I look at Myantha. She regards the newcomer with mild disdain, so her reaction is not as strong as some others I have seen. She is one of two elves on the academy contingent, and the other one is having a stronger reaction. Rylark did not come across as a danger to me, so he had better watch himself, or the newcomer would slap him down. Alistern spoke up, I want to introduce you to Zeek. He is a Professional. He has the Explorer Profession and high-level Pathfinder and Route Planning Skills and will be our guide to Merryport. He is on contract to the Guard, so he takes orders only from me or my second. A professional specialist. You dont see many Professionals outside the safe zones, but it does make sense that there will be professions that specialise in other areas. It is an Infinite World. This guy seems like someone from whom I can learn a lot. I wonder why he chose a profession before a class. That means he levels his profession like I level my class, and his class acts secondary to his profession. He definitely had a Class. He is giving me the danger signals. We have at least a month on the road, so there will be plenty of time to talk to him. We were soon on the move. Rob was the only non-horse Mount with us, so he stood out. It would take us two days to leave the extended Slyhill safe zone. This was a properly equipped and Skilled group to head out into the wilds with. This is how it should be. NOTE. If you saw this story for sale, it has been STOLEN. I have reported a stolen copy that appeared on Amazon. This is fanfiction, and I don''t have the rights to the universe. This will always be free and is only published here on Royal Road. 47. Wilds. "Run! Run fast, run far! Danger''s coming, closer, closercant you hear it? Thump-thump, thump-thump! The ground trembles, the air shivers! Dont look back! Never look back! Ha-ha! If you see it, its too late!" Parroting the Wise. Our professional Explorer was sniffing. We were away from the Slyhill safe Zone. I managed to get a few short conversations with Zeek the Explorer, but he seems to be a man of few words. I say man because he is male, but I dont know if he is human. He has some elf features, but there is something else in the mix that may not be human. As we travel, he is away from the main group more than with us. He sometimes goes out with the scouts, sometimes with Alistern and often alone. He is always on foot and never seems to tire. It is obvious he is travelling slower than he would if he was alone. We have made camp for the night. Can I ask what you are sniffing for? I ask. He looks at me in silence for a minute, and I am not sure he is going to answer when he says, I am sniffing to see what Wandering Trials are in the area. What? How? A skill. Is it a Skill you can teach? I asked. Dont know. I am combining Mana Sense with Mana Compass. Do you have either of those? No. I have Mana Sensitivity, though. Humph, he grunted. Just sense the flavour of the mana. It might work for you. Are there many around? No. There is a trial break west of here, and they are all circling to pick off what they can over there. I am not sure I understand. When a Trial breaks, it not only releases its monsters, but its patterns that other trials can pick up and then use. I still dont understand. Then go and ask your elf lady. She is the expert, and the conversation was over. Sensing wandering Trials would be helpful. I cast out Mana Web (Sensing), getting a sharp look from Zeek. He can sense that, huh? Mana Web is for sensing things I cant see. I didnt even know it was possible to sense wandering Trials, but as it is, this is my best tool. I focus on combining it with Mana Sensitivity. Mana Web is only Level 3, but Mana Sensitivity is Level 8. This time, I will widen the web out as much as I can. Trials will have a strong mana signature, so wide gaps in the weave should be fine and not so easy for other people to detect. I was not sure what I was sensing. Zeek said there werent many around so I guess it was not surprising I cant sense anything as such. I will practice keeping the Mana Web active and see what changes. My tracking has increased in the last four days, and it has provided Pathfinder with more information. Zeek has had us take some detours from the general direction we were heading several times, and I dont know why. I asked to accompany him on his scouting trips once and got a sharp no. I did go out with the Guard Scouts a few times, and this helped my Tracking and trained my Observant Eye. Farsight started Levelling as we scanned the distance, and the scouts pointed out key things in the landscape and wildlife to watch for. Rob didnt have as much stamina as the horses, so I spent a lot of time running, so he was not carrying my weight. Free Runner was good, and I quite enjoyed it most of the time. The point in Endurance helped a lot, as did Steady Footing. I couldnt keep up with Zeek, though. He must have multiple running and endurance skills. Zeek didnt interact much. I did overhear Alistern ask him about the Burning Lake, and he gave a small smile and said, Two extra for Endurance. He added two to the endurance he already had. How many did he have? That is insane. It explains why he never stops. He never needs to. The Guards wake early every morning and go through a training routine and some sparring before breakfast, and we set out not long after dawn. I started to join them. I am awake anyway, and it is abundantly clear I need to level my skills. Alistern is a better Swordsman than I am, and his Sergeant is OK with a sword but amazing with the spear. Practising against Sergeant Juth and her spear was great for me. She gave me some tips on my own Basic Spear work. The guards seem to be of the opinion that you should be competent in all common weapons as well as your specialisation. That included the mages and scouts as well as the healer. The Guard minimum for a full Private I level 5 in Basic Small Blades, Sword, Unarmed Combat, Spear, and Shield. Then, they would have a specialisation area. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Healer Austin would do the rounds of the people and animals after their practice session and make sure everybody was good to travel. I think he had some specialist animal healing abilities. Zeek was never seen at this time. I assume he was out planning the route for the day. We encountered a number of beasts. Some we avoided, and some the Guards dealt with. There was a massive pack of Howlers we couldn''t avoid. The Guard took the front line and dug trenches, as we had plenty of warning from the scouts. We had to protect the horses. It was a large pack of over three hundred, but howlers were not individually strong. Alistern and the Scouts had trapped the area to thin them out, and the two squads of guards spread out on each side and showed their coordination and competence in dealing with them. Rob and I took one side of the horses and cut down the ones that got around the guard. None went through the guard. This wasnt a big threat, so I practised with my Basic Spear. I pulled out the large spear I got from the Orc in the trial, the one I used to practise with Juth. I need to improve all my skills, and Thrust, Quick Strike, Slash, Bloodletting, and the Holy, Death, and Burning Strikes all benefit from being used with a different weapon, although only Bloodletting and Death Strike actually levelled alongside Basic Spear. I also took the opportunity to experiment with Nights Embrace and try casting it lightly over the fight. It was daytime, so this was more difficult than it would have been at night. I also tested how Umbral Cold worked with this. The light application of Nights Embrace meant the movement and senses restriction part of the skill didnt really work at all, but it was enough for Umbral Cold to work fine. The Spear is never going to be a favourite, but there is no excuse not to have a minimum level of proficiency. Especially as I will have short spears on hand, which are going to become my heavier-range weapon. The same levelling is needed for my Basic Shield. I also have Basic Archery and three trained scouts to learn from. I started going out with the scouts every day, and we would hunt meat to bring back for the group. The Create Arrow skill can only create a basic arrow, and to be truly effective with a bow, you need to craft arrows. There are also skills that will imbue the arrows with elemental effects, and I put them on my list to get, but they were not high on my list. My throwing skills were much better than my archery and would always be my go-to ranged skill. Hunting had the effect of levelling my Butchering Skill. This sped up the skinning and field butchery, and I learned the Skinning Skill. One of the Scouts had a charm called Prepare Hides, which was good for cleaning the hide and making it useable, but not full leather. If I was going to spend time in the wilds, that was the sort of useful charm I needed, and I could use the hides for shelters and repairs without the lengthy cleaning, salting and drying that was normally required. I found I was not riding Rob much. We were better at operating separately and were improving our coordination. I was also improving my wards and using them in my Traps. I had never really used my Create Traps Skill, and it only levelled because of the synergy with my Wards. The Scouts also showed me the effectiveness of a good trap. Setting a snare trap with a ward was even more effective. Setting a Trap and then having a massive Lizard appear on the other side of the prey is really good at making them run blindly in the opposite direction. Rob is good, but his acidic poison tends to spoil the meat almost as much as my Death Magic. Rob has never got the hang of spitting poison like the head of the Cerebus I fought. His tongue is coated with it, though. That tongue can be lethal. Travel is not good for working on my Wards. I need a stable place to work, and I cant do it while travelling. The evenings are generally busy, so I have limited myself to making notes about ideas, but I cant test them. My map tells me we are taking a roundabout route. I am not sure why, but I shouldnt have known where the destination was, so I didnt want to comment. I am sure Alistern at least had the map I stole a look at, so he knew what was going on. There was a permanent trial out this way, so maybe we are heading there first. We were halfway through the day when I saw Zeek appear and talk with Alistern, and he stopped everyone. Gather up everybody, Alistern said. We have an incoming wandering Trial, and I am not sure we could avoid it if we tried. However, I think it is one we want to do. Zeek has sensed similar trials before, and it seems to be a Hunter-type trial. This is the sort of challenge we are looking for. What if we get moved while we are in it? Mayantha asked. I noted she did not object to going in. Wandering trials are a risk, and this must be one of their objectives on this trip. Zeek says it is not fast-moving, and the Hunter-type trials usually have the simple, clear option of just finding the exit. We should be able to find an exit fairly easily with Marvin and Zeek. However, depending on what it is, we might want to stay a couple of weeks. It might shorten our trip, we might have further to travel, or it might do nothing. That is the risk we take. I looked at the academy crew. None of them seemed surprised or afraid, not even the two younger assistants, Cybil and Walter. Hilke worked with Myantha in Trials, so they were looking forward to this. Then there were the three Historians: Rylark, Elf History, Esdras, World History, and Barnard, Historic weapons and warfare. They were just getting ready. The last member was Taan, and she was an artefact specialist. We have about half an hour, so get ready. There is usually a safe zone for the first few hours, but dont count on it, Alistern finished. It is possible we might not arrive in the same place, so form groups, Hilke said. People got ready and checked their weapons. Most people were ready, and most equipment was carried in spatial bags on the person, not the horses. The two squads of soldiers formed a party, one with the healer and Sergeant and one with Alistern. The Academics were split: I was with Myantha, Hilke, Barnard, and Walter in Alisterns group, and the others were with the Sergeant. They had the healer, so that group had the less able people. I assume Zeek was with the other group, so we each had someone with directional capabilities. I tried to extend my Mana Web further. Rob should be fine coming through with us as he is a summons, but the ordinary animals, like the ones from my original group of entertainers from the Lands of the Undying Lord, will be picked up by the trial and held separately. Rob already wore his Stealth harness. Then I felt it in my Mana Web. It was unmistakable. The Mana felt like an old forest but also like a powerful predator stalking me. 48. Hunters. "Ah, the forest, the dangerous forest! Not like the others, no, no. This one breathes, it watches, it waits. The trees, they whisperwhisper secrets, whisper lies. Every shadow hides a trap, every path twists and turns, leading nowhere. Or worse... leading you right where it wants you!" Parroting the Wise. Hilke was right. We were split up. If we hadnt formed parties, we could have been scattered individually. Our party found ourselves at the base of a ginormous tree. The trunk was bigger than some city blocks and disappeared above us, further than we could see. The forest floor was relatively open, but similar trunks were visible. It was dark. Very little light made it this far down. It was also damp, and the humidity was high. It would probably be better the higher we went. We all scanned our surroundings for threats. This is a safe zone, Hilke said, but it is disappearing fast. We might have less than an hour. Any idea what we are facing? Alistern asked. Hunters, certainly, Myantha said, doing something with a box she had retrieved from her storage, sometimes there is a truce between challengers, but I dont think that is the case here. Everybody is hunting everybody, and there will be more challengers than just us. There will be trial monsters and beasts from the world looking to get stronger. There could be other hostile people. The other group is in that direction, Alistern said, pointing. He had an item as well, which must be paired with one his sergeant had. I cant tell how far. I was using my Seekers Intuition, I think there are exits in those two directions, I pointed, but they probably move. One has the sense of a Boss. The first objective is to join the other group, Alistern said. My Pathfinder Skill is indicating the best way is to go up, I said. Alistern nodded like that was not unexpected. Class Quest (Optional): Hunt a Hunter. Seek out and hunt another Trial Challenger. Reward: 1000XP, A Stealth-enhancing Skill. That was interesting. Was this a Seeker Class Quest or a Slayer Class Quest, possibly both? The Trial will throw Challengers at us, and they will challenge us. I was pretty sure this was Alistern warning the academics. The Guard seemed to know what they were about. I assumed they were trained in other permanent Trials. The Guard will help you, but you will have to defend yourself. Is anyone going to have difficulty with the trees and moving and fighting at height? Walter spoke up, I dont have the Climb Skill. Private Ryan will watch out for you, but I imagine you will pick it up quickly here, Alistern said, and one of the Guards moved to Walter. Walter didnt look happy. If he were afraid of heights, he would have a terrible time. Right, Marvin and I will scout ahead, Alistern continued. We wont go far. Suda, he indicated to the other scout, will lead you and follow our signs. Pok will watch our backs. Everybody ready? He got no dissent, so he nodded to me. I grabbed onto Robs harness, and Rob ran up the trunk with his suction paws. I stayed on with Bronc Riding. Rob engaged his Adaptive Camouflage, and I went invisible with my Spectral Cloak. I was looking around, with all my skills. Spectral Vision (Heat) was the most useful, but Observant Eye and Mana Sight were on full alert. I also had Mana Web at a moderate distance. This was a Trial of Hunters, and some of those will have stealth abilities that get around many senses. For Close Range, I definitely relied on my perception. Conversely, I hunt by sight, heat, and mana, but there are other methods by which I will be hunted. Smell and sound are only two. Vibrations in the tree and air are two other obvious ones, and there are wood sensing and other more esoteric ways. Alistern was not far behind us. He had Stealth, but it was not more than normal stealth. He probably has camouflage skills when he is stationary. We went up past various branches that spread out, some as wide as roads. I stopped at a likely branch, and Alistern caught up. We were probably almost 200m above the forest floor, but I couldnt see it through the foliage of the branches I passed. This one? he asked. This is one, but it will be fluid as it will also depend on the route the other team takes.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. I got off Rob, and we went slower as Alistern marked the branch for the other Scout. The foliage was denser on the branches, blocking sightlines. As we moved along, I was cautious. I had a half-second warning, and I was struck on the side hard and fell toward the edge of the branch. I felt blood and activated Rejuvenating Aura in a close area. I stopped myself from falling and was glad of the Sure-grip enchantment on my gloves. My feet were hanging over the drop. I sensed Alisterns arrow chase my attacker but didnt hear the result. It had hit me regardless of my Spectral Cloak. As I pulled myself back up onto the brunch, another fast-flying animal came at me. I ducked as Robs tongue flashed out, knocking the animal off course. He didnt catch it due to its speed, but it would be poisoned. Two more shapes flashed toward me. Alistern''s arrow pierced one of them, and it dropped away below. The second, I sliced with Lightreaver as I rolled to the side. Small, with brown feathers and a flash of red, is all I have been able to pick up. Then there were three, and I Dodged, but a fourth slipped in from another angle, and my Perception was too short a range for the speed. I spun as it glanced off my shoulder, and Lightreaver spun away below. I ignored the Soul-bound weapon and grabbed Robs Tongue with one hand and the edge of a branch with the other, thankful for Sure-grip. My Helping Hand started throwing Death Darts. I Shadow Phased a hit by a Woodpecker, but it still spun me around, and I pushed a bit with my hand on the branch and let Rob retract his tongue as I fell. I let Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes guide my landing on the branch 20m below, but it was a hard landing with nowhere to roll to eliminate the momentum. The smaller branch broke, and I jumped for another as the Woodpeckers came at me. I couldnt tell how many there were, but the trick was to keep moving as they attacked with swift dives but had limited manoeuvrability during the attack. It was similar to my Charge Skill. I survived with my Perception, Steady Footing and Climb, enhanced by the Sure-grip in my boots and gloves. My images did not fool them, but I Dodged and had one slam into the branch behind me, and I finished it. I was jumping and dodging while throwing darts. Nights Embrace didnt seem to work as they were already in their charge skill, but Umbral Cold had an effect. The Death mana was also effective. My Cutting Light and Burning Light were too specific to be accurate on such fast-moving and small objects. I pulled out a round shield and started using it to protect myself, then tried to head back to where Rob was. Rob was making his way to me. These dark trees were good for him, and his body''s length and flexibility, along with his suction paws, made moving easy for him. He was being attacked as well and was regenerating several punctures his scales couldnt stop. If he died, I would lose my Summons, which is why most people keep them stored safely in their Tattoo. I was trying to think what I had that would be effective in this situation. The Woodpeckers would punch a hole in my armour where there was no bone plating. These things were denting the shield, and they would still fly away. Then I remembered Slyhill. I had a mountain of sticky web from the matriarch, and I grabbed some and slammed it on the outside of the shield. That might hold them for a few seconds, enough for my Helping Hand of Death to infect it with Death Mana. I just used the hand with claws. Then I saw the sticky lizard tongue whips. I chose a short one with multi-prongs and lashed out with it. This was less effective as the speed of the Woodpeckers tore through the prongs, but it slowed them down and sometimes changed their trajectory. The Sticky web on the shield was more effective with the Death mana. The attacks were slowing down when I finally connected with Rob. I asked if he wanted to go into the Tattoo to heal. When I say asked, it was more impressions as he couldnt speak. He wanted to fight with me, which was the impression I got. I mounted him and tossed my latest ruined whip. I had to hold on to his harness, as the shield was the most useful part, and I put Agility Riding into action. Robs tail was a mess as he was using his Tail Smash Skill to swat the Wood Peckers, but they were causing a lot of damage to it. I wasnt too worried, as a tail was the easiest part that he could regenerate. I switched to the Shadow hand, reapplied the sticky web to the shield, and then switched back to the Death hand with claws. On Rob, we really started to move, and the diving Woodpeckers couldnt keep up. We started to be more offensive, Tail Smashing them into branches and then twisting so I could Shield Bash and Death Claw them. Rejuvenating Aura really boosted Rob''s natural healing. I started trying more things with Agility Riding and dipping to the ground to scoop up the loot from the ones Rob ate. I would stand briefly on Rob to stretch my shield into place. Steady Footing and Agility Riding working together. The Woodpeckers slammed into the shield, some dropped off, and I only got a quick claw strike with my Death Hand, and some would be stuck for longer. If I killed them, I could get loot drops, but a lot fell away, and the drops were lost to me. The flock was thinning, and I guided Rob back to where we were. The Map had a three-dimensional view that was quite intuitive, so I could tell how far I had fallen. The Woodpeckers were less frequent, and my Observant Eye was better at spotting them. I dismounted and moved alongside Rob. I jumped to an adjacent branch, and Rob just stretched across. There was about four meters between his front and rear paws. I had not been attacked for a little while now, so I stored the battered, sticky shield and did a quick scan through the loot drops. There was a Skill stone. I Appraised itDiving Attack. It was probably the Woodpecker main attack. I debated learning it, but it seemed to require some sort of vertical movement, and I already had Charge, which didnt require that. The only use I could think of was if I grew wings, or dived at something from a higher branch, or if I were in a water environment. Even then, Charge might work. I stored it. I decided to summon Lightreaver back from wherever it had fallen. It turned out it was not far below me, probably caught on a branch. There was a squawk of protest when it came back. It probably disturbed a creature. I prepped for an attack, but it didnt come. We moved to a branch sloping up, and I hadnt been attacked, so we sped up. We met the main group and stayed with them to the right branch. They had not been attacked yet. 49. Apeshit. "Hairy apes! Big, big, and wild! You think youve seen beasts before? Ha! Nothing like them, no, no. Covered in fur, thick as the forest itself! Strong arms, fists like hammers, they break, they crush, they throw! They swing from trees like the wind, faster than you can blink. Ha-ha! You hear them, but never see themuntil they''re right in front of you!" Parroting the Wise. I spoke too soon. Half the group were still on the trunk when a hairy mammal swung down and smashed into Walter, sending him flying. Private Ryan was on the ball and grabbed him, but that meant he couldnt defend himself. They were large ape-type creatures, and there was a large pack of them. Their fur was tough and strong. They attacked with sticks, hands, and teeth, and they could also throw things. Their fur was a yellow-red colour, with sharp teeth. Our Scout was called Suda, and she was good with the bow. Ranged weapons were going to be key in this fight. One of the other privates was protecting Ryan with a shield as he hauled Walter back up, and I saw Myantha strike with her blade and draw blood, but not a great amount. Arrows started being shot from above us, and I assumed Alistern was the source. I heard a Damn, my knife must have fallen out from somebody. I checked my weapons as it could happen. I had re-engaged my Spectral Cloak at the attack, and I was ignored, which meant they couldnt sense me. This was a Hunter''s Trial; let''s go hunting. I grabbed Lightreaver and jumped on Rob, and we slipped through the branches. The apes were very tall. If they stood straight, they would be up to my chest, but their arms were very long, and their feet acted like hands. I was surprised they didnt have a tail. I lept off Rob and landed on the back of one with my Haladie and Lightreaver going deep with Thrust. This didnt kill it, but I probably dropped its health by half. A long hand grabbed over its shoulder and dragged me with it. It was very strong. I identified them as Apecots. I sliced the muscles in the arm with Burning Strike and Bloodletting, and it tossed me away. I spun with Cat Reflexes and dropped Lightreaver again to grab a branch. I could only use one weapon as I needed to grab things. I only had two hands, whereas the Apecots essentially had four. I stored the haladie and drew Shadowbane. It would enable me to keep some distance, as I needed to keep out of reach. I summoned Lightreaver, and I would use it as a throwing weapon. Robs tail smashed into the wounded Apecot, but it was holding on tight and charged toward the exposed Rob. I Charged toward its back and Slashed at its neck and drew a lot of blood, but didnt sever it. Rob chomped on its leg with Crushing Bite, administering acidic poison, and I slashed again twice more, killing it. I Stored the body in my Storage to harvest later. I am not sure if the trial will give me drops after it has been stored, but it is worth testing. The chances are good if I am still in the Trial. I was slammed from the side, and another Apecot launched itself at me from above, and we both flew off the branch. I grabbed its arm as Shadowbane went flying. I brought the Burning knife from the ring and stabbed it as we crashed through the smaller branches. It was tougher than I was, and I landed hard as it bounced once, reached out for the next branch, and swung away. I moved from where I landed and cloaked up. These were not monsters Rob could deal with, so I sent him back to the main group, where he could be of more use helping there. He could Tail Smash and bite and rescue those who fell. It was the latter I really sent him back for if he fought below them. I ran along the branch, calling Shadowbane back to me. An Apecot swung past, oblivious to me in my cloak, although I noticed its nose flare. I swung Shadowbane in a Longslash as it went past. It didnt fall but was bleeding a lot as it dropped to a branch below me, probably confused as to what hit it. I discovered Charge didnt work unless I had something under my feet, so maybe I should learn the Dive Attack. I had launched myself at the Apecot, but it kept moving. I landed, and Acrobatics used the momentum to launch myself after it. I Thrust Shadowbane deep and slammed the Burning Knife up into its skull, killing it. The ring knife was very convenient as I stowed it away again. I Stored the body as I kept moving, jumping to another branch and throwing Lightreaver and a dart at a passing Apecot. It carried on and disappeared into the foliage. I targeted another that was ripping a branch off to use as a weapon. I brought Shadowbane down in a Chop and hit the bone, severing the bicep. I whipped the blade around in a slash as the Apecot looked for what attacked it and struck out blindly. The slash severed the hamstring on a leg but didnt go all the way through. It was a really tough hide. I ducked a wild swing of a branch held by the Apecot and Thrust into the stomach as my Helping Hand threw a Piercing Death Dart up its nose. It flailed around in pain, and I didnt quite get out of the way in time, catching a solid hit. The Bone Armour stopped my leg from breaking, but I was shoved off the narrow branch, and Steady Footing and Sure-grip were not enough. I spun with Cat Reflexes, dropped Shadowbane and grabbed a branch. The Sure-grip in my glove combined with Climb, and I hauled myself back up, calling Shadowbane and Lightreaver back from wherever they were. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I jumped back up to the wounded Apecot and finished it with a Thrust to the brain. I stored the corpse and looked for the next opponent. I cast Self-clean as the smell was the main way they could find me, and ran and jumped to another branch. I sliced an Apecot swinging past and threw Lightreaver and a dart before I backstabbed another. If I had been an assassin, I would have had a bonus skill for backstabbing, but I was not and just had to rely on Thrust. I was slicing through thick hide when an arrow pieced its eye, and it died on me. I will need to watch that, or my allies will take me out. I shoved the body in my Storage and moved on. I was well below the others now, and I saw several falling Apecots. There were no falling people so far. I would need to make a conscious effort not to go down too far. Down is the easy way to go. I headed up. Light Speed, Thrust, Dodge back, Slash, Burning Strike, Piercing Throw to the nose, Chop. Usually, four Skilled Strikes from a surprise attack were enough to kill an Apecot, sometimes more if it is a higher level. This Spectral Cloak hiding me is fantastic for these monsters, but it''s a shame it doesnt work for all monsters. I would have liked to know how the Woodpeckers sensed through it, but I guess I never will. Skill Learned: Ambush Strike: The initial strike from an unseen position doubles the power of the strike. +1 Agility, +1 Intelligence. That is a very useful skill. I put it to use, and it reduced four strikes for the lower levelled Apecots to between two and three, depending on how accurately I struck. I started distracting them with my Mimic Sound, but I didnt think it was worth the mana bringing images into play. The occasional Eclipse was less attention-grabbing than Flash. Several Apecots responded to my Flash, and I backed off and picked them off one by one. Getting mobbed was dangerous. Special Action: Store over twenty unharvested monster corpses. Storage over Level 5 Storage gains Monster Morgue. Store unharvested monsters for harvesting later. Length of time the Monster Corpses will take to dissolve into loot extended x10. That should give me plenty of time to harvest them later, as it takes ages for a monster to dissolve into loot when someone has the harvesting Skill. I wonder if I can get it to do the harvesting for me. I imagine the answer is, not easily. This must be a large herd or group or whatever they are called. I have killed well over twenty. There are twelve of us in our group. Even if the average is fifteen, that is almost two hundred kills, and there are still plenty around. The key to this fight is to manage the stamina and mana usages. If I run out, I am dead. That is the advantage of being in a larger group: you can rest. I have plenty of potions, but there is a long way yet to go. I have forgotten where Lightreaver is. I am glad it is soul-bound, and I can summon it back. I saw a flash of steel and green and jumped and moved toward it. Myantha and Alistern were fighting back to back with their swords. There was an unmoving body at their feet. They were trying not to be swamped and were fighting quite a mob with more dropping on them all the time. If the body was dead, they wouldnt have bothered, so I moved close and created a Copy of myself next to me. I then slammed Provoking Aura over the area, and my copy ran off down the branch with a hoard of Apecots after it. I let Spectral Cloak go and approached, That wont distract them for long, I said. Alistern was feeding a potion to the Private and then went to pick him up. Wait a sec, I said. Rob is on his way. Thanks, Alistern said. I went around storing bodies. Myantha looked at me with a raised eyebrow. It is for Harvesting later, I said. We could do with the drops. An Apecot went flying sideways above us as Rob dropped his Adaptive Camouflage and lowered himself on the branch. I saw the Apecot bounce off a branch and then catch itself and start climbing back up. Ill get the Private to the group, Alistern said. I hope your Riding Skills are good, I said, showing him where to hold onto the harness. Be gentle, Rob. You have an injured person. Alistern mounted and held the unconscious Guard across his front, and Rob headed toward the trunk. There was a hoard of Apecots heading back toward us from my image that had disappeared, so I summoned Lightreaver, only to discover it was already in its sheath on my belt. I drew Lightreaver and Shadowbane and turned beside Myantha, who had her dual swords out. I tossed a shield with a Ward on it in front of us, and when the Apecots ran over it, it started Flashing. Every time an Apecot touched the ward, it flashed, and it continued to Flash until the Beast Core ran out of mana. It was a strobing light. I added a pulse of Provoking Aura to the confusion, and Myantha and I started to take advantage of the half-blinded and confused monsters. I added Nights Embrace to contrast the Flashing and add to the confusion. I forgot to ask Myantha if she could work in this sensory nightmare, but she seemed fine, although she stayed on the edges. Purifying Dance didnt have the bonuses against these creatures as it did against Undead and Infernal, but it was still a good weapon technique. I added in my Ambush Strike as I used Spectral Cloak and my own Flashes and Eclipses. The Ward was drawing in more Apecots. Some dead bodies were dropping past us now as Alistern, and maybe the scout archer was thinning the herd. This was a good idea, drawing attention to a ward and away from the people. I will definitely say it was my intention from the beginning. I replaced the ward when the monster core ran out. And the apes kept coming. Other Guards appeared and started fighting on the edge, and Rob roamed above us. Eventually, the horde was finished, and the harvesting began. The horde of Apecots was not too challenging, so the trial was still in its easy stages. 50. Toughen up. "Thieving from a hunter! Oh, bold, so bold! But clever? Ha! The hunter sees all, hears allhis traps are set, his eyes are sharp as steel. You think you can take what''s his? Snatch a trophy, a trinket, a bit of gold from his hoard? Ha-ha! Foolish, foolish thieves!" Parroting the Wise. Alistern collected all the useful loot for distribution. We could keep the coins, meat and cores that we killed. The trial gave some Gloves with the sure-grip enchantment and some tough hide armour pieces. There were four Skill stones dropped. Two were Power Punch, and one was a Strength Boost using mana. They went to various guards who could use them. I was interested in the Enhanced Jump stone, but Alistern passed it on to the Scout. I was pumping my Rejuvenating Aura to refresh and replenish the group. I made an offer for the monster cores. I gave them less than the market price, but they wouldnt clog up their limited storage devices. People assumed it was for my Profession, and I would keep some for that, but I had gotten some good skills from monster cores before, so why not again? I ended up with a hundred and ninety-six cores. The chances of one containing a skill were good. Before I started turning them to dust, I wanted to try something. When we made camp to rest, I got all the cores out and stacked them in front of me. Then I covered them in my Mana Web and cranked up my Mana Sensitivity. They were all from the same monster so the mana was similar in all of them. Similar, but not the same. I was picking up small differences, particularly in the variations of the amounts of mana. There were a lot of tree and primate mana, if I was identifying it correctly. But there were different amounts, and some seemed to be more plants than trees, and some were lighter, so maybe some air skills were needed. Some felt stronger than others, but I could not tell if that was a strength enhancement or the tougher hide. What would highlight to me if they held a skill or not? Then, there was a matter of compatibility. If the skill involved manipulating wood, and I had no affinity for that, what would happen? I assume I would not be able to learn it, but would there be a backlash? I didnt know. They had a tough hide, but how would that fit with the Toughened Skin Skill that I already had? Would I grow yellow-red fur? Before I worried about what skill it was, I had to try to figure out if there was one and where it might be, preferably without going through one by one. Skills were mana-concentrated and formed in a way that followed the way the skill worked. Surely, the mana would be different in the core with the skill, although I suppose it could be masked by the general mana that is also there. I started using my Mana Web a bit more actively and penetrated the cores a little to see what was below the surface. I tried using Micromana Manipulation to wiggle the web into the core just a little. I worked my way through the cores by doing this. I was getting a feel for this core, and I pulled one out that felt different. I wasnt sure how different, but it was. Then there was another. Was two a lot? I think two was a lot. I stored the rest away and tried to sense what might be in the cores. I grabbed a core. Searching and drawing out the skill was not hard with my enhanced control and manipulation, but the skill seemed like it hit a barrier, and then it crumbled with the core. I had the sense it might have been related to trees and wood, but I was not compatible with it. I will have to figure this out, as I could have sold it to someone else. I will learn. The next core was definitely a skill as well, so I have at least learned to recognise them. This slotted nicely into place and gave me a defensive skill called Toughened Body to complement my Toughened Skin. I felt a wave of toughness or resistance go through my body. This was far superior to the skin as it seemed to strengthen the bones and other organs as well as the muscles. Is this why the Apecot were so tough and handled falls well? This might stop me from breaking limbs if I fell. I looked down and decided it would help after I levelled it. It didnt merge with Toughened Skin. I thought it might, as they have similar names, and Skin is a subset of the Body. Are specific Skills like Toughened Skin stronger than more general Skills like Toughened Body? Will the general Skill take longer to level? I dont know. I also had enough kills and XP to level my Spectral Slayer, so I did. Agility was the key thing here. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. We were soon on the move again. We made good time. I felt as though we were being watched every now and then, but it wasnt constant. Rob and I led, and Alistern was out with the other Scout. We ran into a couple of creatures. One was a squirrel crossed with a crocodile. It was fast, and those jaws were not just for show. Wella and Hist from the Guard produced spears that held it at bay, and I threw Spears that pierced the squirrel''s legs and bushy tail. I really dont want to know what it was. It doesnt matter If it was another challenger or a Trial beast. It was just weird. The other one we ran from was a massive snake-type creature, and nothing we had could get past its scales. We mistook it for a branch at first, and it was more than twice as wide as Rob and many times longer. I am sure it was another challenger. Fortunately, it was not that interested in chasing us. It could have swallowed one of us whole, possibly more than one. There are bigger and scarier things around, and I dont want to be near when the trial sends something to test that challenger. If it had been a trial beast, it would have chased us. There was a night and day cycle, which made sense. There are a lot of nocturnal hunters, and they are often some of the most dangerous. Alistern found us a good crevice in a trunk we could use to hole up in. The night was a lot livelier than the day. Night in this Trial was not for sleeping. The sounds of fighting came often. The Hunt went up in difficulty at night by a lot. Everybody in the party was strong and had a reasonable constitution, so sleep could be minimised to a couple of hours a day. The first attack was the moths. They were surprisingly agile and sucked out mana with surprising speed. Those with high agility could often hit them, but often only one at a time. The moths were not visible with Spectral Vision (Heat) or (SeeThru) but were bright to Mana Sight. Nights Embrace did nothing, but Umbral Cold slowed them down enough for Rod to snatch them with his tongue and snack on them. Following Robs example, I pulled out a sticky whip and picked off the ones he missed. Rob was curled up under me, having a nice time. When we ran out, I pulsed Provoking Aura to draw a few more in. I got some nasty looks for that. There were no monster cores from this; there were just some coins and the occasional mana potion. Anyone seen my pipe? Private Ryan asked in the morning as we prepared to move out. We looked around, shaking our heads. Wasnt it in your spatial pouch? Suda asked. No, I had it in my hand last night and slipped it in my pocket when I went on watch, he replied. Nasty habit anyway, Suda said, Toughen up. We moved on, and Alistern and Suda shared the scouting. Rob and I gave the directions. We chased away a large cat of some sort. The fact it ran indicated it was an intelligent challenger and not a Trial beast. It got away with only a couple of arrows in its flank. It was too fast for my thrown spear, and that is one wasted. It was late afternoon when we fought off a large group of Rabid Tree Squirrels. Small and fast attackers are our weaknesses. I have Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold, but they dont cover that large an area yet. The Fire Mage, Norm, had Wall of Fire and Rain of Fire, but there was too much of a risk of setting our tree on fire, so he was limited in what he could do. Myantha had her Cutting Wave, which she could use on one side, but the Squiiels tended to go under or over it. Joe, the Heavy Infantry Guard, has a Caltrops ability, but it is lying on the ground. He could put up a Shield Wall, but the pests went up and over it. Small, fast attackers were difficult for us. What actually worked was that Joe and I anchored each end of the branch. He laid out his Caltrops in one direction, and I did my Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold in the other. Then he let loose his Furys Challenge taunt, and I released my Provoking Aura. His Furys Challenge was a much higher level than my aura, but this drew them into us, and we could deal with it as a group rather than as a long-drawn engagement and them hassling us for a long time. Robs Tongue was good at catching Squirrels, especially as they were slowed with Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold. They still got through with their high agility, and there were some injuries, but nothing that peoples self-heal skills or potions couldnt handle, boosted by my Rejuvenating Aura. When we started moving off, I noticed Lightreaver was not in its holster, so I summoned it back. There was a loud squawk of protest, and it sounded like the last time that had happened. My suspicions were rising about this. I think we are being hunted. The scout, Suda and I went to investigate, but there was nothing we could see. We would be on alert and maybe set some traps. We moved on. The night was approaching, and we were looking for a defensible position before the nocturnal hunters came out to play. The best we could do was a hollow where a branch met a trunk. I was pretty sure it was going to be a long night. 51. All Night. "Clever thieving, oh yes! Not just any thievingsmart thieving! The kind where no one sees, no one hears, and no one knows you were there! Ha-ha! The best thieves leave no trace, no clue. In and out like a shadow, quicker than the blink of an eye!" "You dont just take, no, no! You wait. You watch. You listen! Know your mark, know the traps, know where the eyes are and where the eyes arent! Be light as a feather, quiet as a breeze. Pick your moment, make it count! One wrong move, one sound too loudsnap! The games up! But not for the clever thief! Ha! The clever ones slip through cracks and vanish like smoke." "And what do you take? The small things, the valuable things, the things no one will notice are gone until its far too late! Shine, sparkle, jingle-jangle! Not too much, no, nojust enough to fill your pockets and leave them wondering. What happened? Where did it go? Ha-ha! Thats the clever thiefs secret." Parroting the Wise. It started by raining snakes. Small, very venomous snakes. They were dropping on us from above like somebody had opened the bottom of a snake pit. They were everywhere, and they were vicious. They didnt like the cold, and I didnt need shadows to crank up Umbral Cold as much as I could. Because they were falling on us and were amongst us, we all got multiple bites, and their venom was stacking up. I was cranking up Rejuvenating Aura as much as Umbral Cold, and we were stomping and brushing snakes off each other. Full armour helped, but there was no guarantee of protection. I was hardening my armour with Medium armour as much as possible. I know my Toughened Skin was also helping. Minor Regeneration was like fire in my veins when it came to counteract the poison. Others were not as lucky as I was and had to drink potions. This is where we wish we had the Healer in our group. Rob was doing it hard, and I helped him a lot. I was close to absorbing him into the tattoo. His Regeneration was better than mine, and my Rejuvenation was helping him. His Crushing Bite was working well, but his tongue was getting too swollen from the venom where the snakes had bitten it. When the small ones eased off, the bigger ones started dropping. These had a rattle in their tails, designed to incite fear, and those with low Willpower started to panic. I was close to panicking. Is Willpower a secondary attribute like endurance? If it is, I should have gotten it in Burning Lake. Is that something else I was cheated out of? Walter collapsed from the poison. Suda and Barnard were also looking close to collapse. They had all been taking potions as much as they were able. Hist and I will start harvesting, Alistern said. We need anti-venom drops. My Toughened Skin made it harder for the snakes to penetrate both the armour and my skin, and when they did, my Toughened Body made it harder for the poison to spread, which gave Minor Regeneration a lot longer to work. The fire in my veins didnt help, though. These larger snakes were too tough for my Helping Hand to penetrate, so I sliced with my Haladie and Lightreaver in the confined space, but my biggest contribution was still Umbral Cold and Rejuvenating Aura. Sir, Hist said, a potion! Alistern appraised it, Anti-venom, feed it to Walter now. He got back to harvesting. A little while later, I heard, Ah, fantastic. An ability stone for Poison Resistance to go to Suda. He reached over, and then the stone dropped out of his hand and rolled to the edge of the branch. He scrambled after it, but even with all his speed and dexterity, it seemed to just be out of his reach, and it fell off the branch. I had never heard him swear like that. He was cursing the genitals of multiple gods. By Rindell''s shrivelled nuts, what the of all Terahs wrinkled genitals I missed it; I cant believe I missed it. Lieutenant, Myantha called, getting his attention. That wasnt your fault. I felt Air Manipulation that was stronger than mine. Somebody stole our loot? he said. I was impressed. I knew Air Manipulation would be good. It is a real shame I couldnt learn it. Why are you both looking at me? I said, dealing with another snake off Robs back. I dont have Air Manipulation. I wouldve if I couldve. Myantha looked away to deal with a snake, but Alistern said, My father always said the best person to catch a thief was a thief, and he would know. I didnt know who Alistern''s father was, but my Intuition indicated that this was what I was seeking. I nodded, and we both went back to work. We both knew we wouldnt get the stone back as the thief would have learned it. Hunt a hunter was the Quest. The Thief was definitely a challenger to the triala challenger with Air Manipulation. The thief was probably in here alone and was using us to buffer the Trial and get the loot they would not normally get access to. If I were here alone and came across this group, I would probably do the same thing. When did Ryan lose his pipe? Wait, a knife was lost at the start of the Apecot fight. I am betting other things were missing that hadnt been noticed yet. I thought this through a bit more. The things in Storage would be safe from a thief, but the spatial bags would be vulnerable, but probably not from a distance. The thief would have to get close to open the bags. What did the thief want? Skill and ability stones, certainly. Knives. Did they take off with Lightreaver? Probably. Would they want tobacco for Ryan''s pipe? Why steal the pipe? Is it practice? Just because they could and needed to level a skill? I used to do that with my Pickpocket Skill. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! To catch a thief here, we need to bait a trap. Myantha would be good to have with me to sense Air Manipulation, although my Mana Web might be enough. She has good stealth skills, so she would not be detected. I need the right bait. Lightreaver might work. Is it a person or a beast? I think it is a beast. There are so many people on this team with the skills to detect people, whereas a beast might slip through undetected. That is still some good skills. I have some Skill stones that might bait a trap better than Lightreaver. I have Poison, Paralysing Howl, Diving Attack and Nightsight. I think I might learn Poison, but the other three are options. Would a beast be able to tell what a stone was? I dont know. Ouch! First, we need to get through the night and get rid of these snakes. Alistern and Hist got a couple more potions, so nobody was in danger. There was another skill stone, but it was Viper Strike, which sounded like a specialised version of my Quick Strike. He made sure to keep a good grip on that one as he passed it to one of his guards. The snakes eased off. The loot contained several snakeskin items, some of which had piercing resistance and some that boosted poison resistance. None except the Poison Resistance Ability stone interested me, except for the monetary value. Said stone was now gone for good. I bought all the monster cores, but these were empty. We were recovering from the poison when the hit-and-run attacks started. A group of fast predators planned to wear us down. Several attacks were fended off, but then two guards were severely wounded, needing emergency care and potions. It was some sort of agile cat, bigger than a house cat but smaller than a panther. Their claws and teeth were very sharp and tore through leather armour and gaps in plate armour. I thought cats were lone hunters, but these werent. I guess lions arent, either. Necks were a vulnerable target. I guess that is what gorgets and arm cops were invented to protect, but a double or triple-coordinated attack by these monsters showed they were not enough. It took me a bit of time to set up. It has been a while since I have done an area illusion. The darkness helped. Guards appeared in front of where they were, and my short spears and Joes Caltrops were there instead, the guards behind them. That was so the smell and heat from actual bodies were close and therefore strengthened the illusion. Those with Stealth were hidden nearby. I am not sure that my Create Traps knew what to do with this trap. It was a trap, but it was not one of the almost pre-prepared traps it was used to. It went up when the first Leocat was killed and then again with the second. The fifth levelled it to 9. Create Traps maxed out on the eighth kill. I got a new skill called Maiming Decoy, which adds to the damage of my traps, especially when I use illusions. That was a good skill. Illusions are my thing and ideal for traps. The Leocats were persistent, and all three image skills were levelled. Alistern said I could keep all the loot from the twenty-four Leocats we killed. None of the Monster Cores had a skill. There were some nice pelts, and there was a skill stone with a Lacerating Claw attack. I wasnt sure that I could use it if I learned it, but it might boost the claws on my Helping Hand. I stored it for now, as it might be good bait in a trap for a thief. There were still a couple of hours before dawn. We were all tired but tense. I was still pumping out Rejuvenating Aura. We waited for trouble. And waited. And waited. As we waited, I thought about my senses. Spectral Vision has two specific uses. In this trial I am concentrating on sensing body heat as it is more useful. Mana sight helps with specific types of mana signatures and Mana Web takes mana sight beyond what my eyes can see. I know there is a skill that senses air movement and another that senses vibrations in the ground, or tree, in this case. My focus is light and, conversely, shadow. Eyesight is essentially sensing variations in reflected light, and Nightsight enhances that in low-light conditions, but it is essentially the same thing, just enhanced. Is there such a thing as shadowsight? Can I use Shadow Manipulation to sense things hiding in the shadows? I am soon going to be hunting something with high camouflage-type skills. This place is full of shadows even in the day. I extended the Shadow Manipulation to a concentrated piece of darker shadow. I could move it, extend it, or shrink it, but I dont want to do that. I want to sense what is in it. What is hiding there? When I bend light with Light Manipulation, I create a shadow. When I extend the shadow, does it bend the light from the negative side? One is working to do the same thing from one side, and the other is doing the same from the dark side. Or maybe extending the shadow doesnt bend the light but absorbs it. I should be able to test that. The light is dim, but it is there. I extend the shadow There is not much light there, and extending the shadow is easier than in bright light. Shadow is the negative or absence of light, but Shadow Manipulation is not the reverse of Light Manipulation. Shadow Manipulation does absorb light if it has to. That is why using Nights Embrace in full light is so expensive in mana. It absorbs the light. It doesnt bend it. It can bend the light as well. If I reduce the shadow over there, the light bends around the leaf and shines in the spot. But Shadow is more than the negative of light. This is big. Shadow absorbs light. Shadow absorbs light. But think about it. Shadow absorbs more than light. Umbral Cold is more than Shadow Cold. Shadow is absorbing the heat in the area. Shadow Phase absorbs matter. Me, in fact. I Shadow Phased my hand while looking at it. It is partly incorporeal, or, should I say, the corporeal part of me has been absorbed into the Shadow temporarily. Shadow is like a different realm. Bending light reveals the doorway, but only Shadow Manipulation can open that door. This is going to change how I use Shadow Manipulation. It is so much more than I have been using to date. If I thought about my skills, Nights Embrace, Umbral Cold and Shadow Phase this should have been obvious. Nights Embrace restricts senses. How? By opening the door to the Shadow Realm and it sucks in the sound, light and matter when restricting movement. To make it more effective, I need to open that door wider. It is the same for the Shadow Phase. I need to move more fully into the shadow realm. I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest the only way to survive in the shadow realm is with mana. If I run out of mana, I will die. Well, with Shadow Phase, if I run out of mana, I become corporeal again, as it is a partial transformation. If I had chosen Ethereal Shadow, it might be different. That is probably why the Shadow elementals shone in Manasight. Now, with this new understanding, what can I do with it? 52. Distracting Thoughts. "Ha-ha! Foolish, so foolish! Thought you were clever, didnt you? But oh no, no, no! You made the wrong move! Took the wrong step! Now look at you! Tripped over your own feet, caught in your own trap! Ha-ha! I saw it coming, yes I did, but did you? Nooo!" Parroting the Wise. Shadow Manipulation has already gone up a level. It is easier to open the door and manipulate the Shadow with my new understanding, so it went up a level. My goal is to sense what is in shadow. Normally, I would say that both light and shadow dont go through solid objects, but my Shadow Phase and Spectral Vision (Seethru) both give the lie to that. I I might have stumped myself with sensing in shadows. I mean, there are some ideas. If I open the shadow door, can I sense what is not shadow there? Possibly, but I have no idea how especially when the door is not next to me. I could use Eclipse and send out a shadow pulse that is barely visible no Shadows absorb. They dont project. Eclipse is absorbing everything in a certain space actually, Eclipse is only absorbing light. Could I adjust it to perhaps absorb heat and maybe matter as well? That is an interesting idea. I am definitely going to work on that. I have a Death Strike and a Holy Strike, but I dont have a Light Strike, or a Shadow Strike. Why not? The other thing this new understanding affects is my Helping Hand. It can take Shadow Form. I use the Death form a lot but not so much the Shadow or Light. I create my Shadow Hand and examine it with all my senses. I can feel it with Shadow Manipulation; there is much Synergy there. Shadow Absorbs: This is how I can move a small, enclosed object through a wall. It takes it into the shadow realm. The more interesting thing is that it also brings it back. What if I didnt bring something back but left it there? I try with a small piece of bark, but when I stop enclosing it with my hand, it is still here in this realm. That is because it belongs here. It is corporeal. What if I move it through another object and open my hand to make it corporeal while it is still inside another object? I grab the bark again, move it through a twig, and then release it. SNAP! Everybody jumped. It wasnt that loud, but I forgot everybody was tense. Sorry, I whispered, Experimenting. I got a lot of dirty looks. It is getting lighter, so we will be moving soon. What I had was a mess of mangled wood in front of me. That was just a small piece of bark and a twig, and it mangled both. The damage was large in proportion to the items, and the items were similar in strength. What would a stone in the flesh do? Or an arrowhead with Death Poison? This was a powerful weaponising of a utility tool. Can I use my Shadow Hand to open the door to the Shadow Realm and, say, absorb all the heat? The answer is maybe, eventually. That will need work. It looks like it is absorbing some light, so we should work on increasing that first. Making a skill function too far outside its intention will not work. If I am lucky, I will be offered a new skill for that function. This is what happened with my Create Traps Skill. I look through my Storage. I dont have any arrowheads or stones. What I do have plenty of is claws and teeth. I am sure the trial will give me a beast to experiment with soon. Alistern soon gave the command to move out. I might have been a little distracted. I was playing with my Hand and Eclipse. Eclipse absorbs all light suddenly and for a short period. Can it also absorb the heat and flash freeze? It is a sudden skill. I am trying to add Umbral Cold to Eclipse. This was a bad idea in a Trial. In a Trial, you have to be aware of your surroundings. This is a mistake I was constantly pulling the Students up on, and now I am making the same mistake. I hear Alisterns warning too late. A wooden shaft slammed through my rib cage and destroyed a lung on the way. I spun and went down on my knees, coughing up blood and finding it very hard to breathe. With my perception, I saw the others duck similar shafts and hacking at vines. Joe had his massive steel shield out, and several guards had smaller shields. I just sat and sprayed blood on the branch I was kneeling on. Joe moved in front of me with his Shield to give me some protection. Everybody was too busy to help me, and we had no dedicated healer whose job was to keep us alive. Rob was confused and sticking near me. He used his Tail to smash a shaft away and his Crushing Bite on a vine. I eventually remembered to Shadow Phase and remove the shaft. I poured a healing potion directly into the wound, spilling most of it. I drank a second for good measure. The forest lit up. This was serious if Norm, our fire mage, was going all out regardless of the consequenses. It''s probably a plant-type creature. Stolen novel; please report. Shit. I was a sitting target, and I couldnt really move. And it was my own fault. Remember, Trials are out to kill you. Always remember that! I forgot about it, and now I am paying the price. The trial doesnt want to reward you. They want you dead. Head in the game. You have to fight for every reward you can squeeze out of the trial. I pulled out a Shield for my good side, so I had some defence. I was not going to be of any use in this fight, so my job was just to stay alive. Minor Regeneration was working hard and adding to the pain. I expanded Rejuvenating Aura. This is going to take a while to heal, even with the strong potions I took. This is where a good Combat Medic is useful. Patching people up to get back in the fight or at least get moving again. I cant bandage my ribs. I cant move. I hide myself with Spectral Cloak and create a copy of myself two meters to my left. It is the only defence I have right now, besides Rob, who is Camouflaged next to me. The fight has moved forward, and all hands are needed. I needed some defence as scavengers could be attracted to the fighting and/or opportunistic thieves. Plenty of people would slit my throat and take everything they could. I would. I wouldnt bother with the slitting of the throat, but taking what was left lying around is certainly my thing. It turns out it is not just my thing. My perception caught a flash of wings, but there was no sound. The wings were green with red feathers underneath. It landed on the other side of my copy and went into camouflage, and I could only track it with the slight disconnect between it and the background with my Observant Eye. My Spectral Vision (Heat) saw it fine. It was a type of parrot. I was not an expert on parrots, but it was large, almost half a metre long. It was olive green, and the tail and outer wings were a dull blue. There were red, or maybe orange feathers under its wing. I guess I am the bait for the trap. The question is, do I have the energy to spring the trap? I decided to Identify the parrot. I was not getting any dangerous vibes from him. A Kea parrot. I had never heard of it. I need to upgrade my Identify skill so I get more information from it. The Kea definitely had Air Manipulation, as it was trying something on the copy and puzzled as to what was there or perhaps not there. It spread its wings and hopped closer, but it used its wings rather than walk. I am getting a hint that it has some sort of noise-reduction ability for its wings. I moved my hand slightly to get the whip handle ready. This was a long bullwhip, not a short multi-pronged whip. I needed the length. It was made from a sticky lizard tongue from Slyhill. I waited for the parrot to try to grab something from a pocket. I was very surprised when I recognised the skillit used the pickpocket skill. I would recognise that anywhere. That meant I was late flicking the whip. It hurt to do it anyway. Fortunately, Rob was not so slow, and his tongue flicked out. It connected with the bird and started to drag it towards us. I figured it had Poison Resistance, so the saliva would not kill it immediately. The Kea tried to get away, and several feathers came out as it spread its wings. My whip connected then and wrapped around a wing, bringing it back down. Something cut the whip, but Rob had pounced and trapped it under one of his suction paws. It twisted its head to peck the paw and that must have been a Skill or something as the paw was significantly damaged. I rolled over there as I was not really up to standing, and it froze as Lightreaver stopped a millimetre from its eye. It squawked, Mine. Mine. Mine. Whats yours? I asked. It twisted awkwardly and tried to grab Lightreaver in its beak. I turned it and tapped its head with the side of the blade, No, Lightreaver is mine, I said. Mine, Mine. Mine! it squawked. No, it is mine. I repeated, You stole from us. I accused. It looked at me like I was an idiot. I dont mind that, I said. I have stolen from many others, but the thing is, you got caught and caught by an invalid. It looked up at Rob, and then looked at me and squawked, Liar. Liar. Liar Rob and I count as the same person. He is my Summons. The thing is, I think we could make a good team. Liar. Liar. Liar. I am going to get Rob to let you go shortly. The parrot''s head cocked to look at me. If you steal from us again, I will catch you, and you will be killed. However, you could bond with me, and we could make a good team. There was a mocking, jeering squawking. I will catch you. Do you want to brave this Trial on your own? You led the Woodpeckers to us, didnt you? You couldnt even handle them. However, if you join me, then you join this team. They will protect us. The bird looked pointedly at my wounded side and chirped derisively. That told me it was probably more intelligent than it was letting on. Where are they now? I asked. They are killing the plant monster that is too much for you or me. There are more benefits. I pulled Lightreaver back and stabbed it in the tree branch we were standing on. Lightreaver here is soul-bound to me. If you want Lightreaver, then you have to bond with me. I also have Storage. Do you want somewhere to store your loot? We will be stealing, and we will be stealing a lot, but not from our team. I have the Pilferer Advanced Class and Light and Shadow affinities. The bird looked very interested now. There is a problem, though, I said. I bring all of this to the bond. What do you bring? I dont want a junior partner. I want an equal partner. I backed away. Let him go, Rob. Rob removed his paw and backed away, then reactivated his adaptive camouflage. The bird got to its feet, shook itself, and stretched its wings. It didnt fly away but just stood there looking at me. It cocked its head in thought. It shook its feathers again and poked at some of the missing feathers with its beak. It finally squawked, I have some, I have some. Not equal. Not equal, but some. Wait here, and it flew away. 53. Tāwai. "Ah, you need a partner, dont you? Someone clever, someone who sees all, hears all, yes? Ha-ha! Well, look no further! I know thingsoh yes, secrets, shortcuts, the tricks to get what you want without losing your feathers. You could use me! Imagine how far we could go, together! You keep the hands busy, I keep the eyes sharp. You do the dirty work, and I give the warnings. Fair trade, yes? You get your prize, and I get my sharea bit of shine, a little taste. Thats all I ask! Ha-ha!" Parroting the Wise. The bird returned a few minutes later carrying a large basket of woven leaves. It was very cleverly made. That is a clever bag, I said. My name is Marvin Wygon. It chirped. Twai. Twai. Twai. I am Twai. It nudged the leaf basket, Got weaving skill, it said proudly. That indicated he had a high dexterity. I looked at the clawed feet; they were very flexible and tough. Twai opened the top of the basket and nudged it on its side. I saw a familiar pipe near the top. It put its head in the basket, almost disappearing. He lined up five Skill Stones for me to look at. I appraised them. Those two are powerful abilities, I said, pointing to Plant Manipulation and Water Manipulation. I cant learn them, but I can sell them and get some useful things with the coin. Shiny. Shiny. Shiny. Coins are shiny. I would like to learn that one. I said, pointing. He squawked dismissively and used his beak to roll it over to me. A creature with wings probably looked down on Feather Fall. It was basically a weight-reducing ability, and my Acrobatics had great synergy. It would change my trajectory in the air, making me less predictable and extending my jumps. I am pretty sure that at the higher levels, I will be able to use it to run on water. Stone Skin and Wood Cutting didnt interest me. Wood Cutting was a Carpenter Skill and will sell to woodworkers everywhere. I laid out Paralysing Howl, Nightsight, Diving Attack, Lacerating Claw and then, reluctantly, Poison. Five for five. He pushed back on Paralysing Howl and Nightsight. Why not Nightsight? I asked. Dark Vision better. Much better, he replied. Dark Vision was an advanced version of Nightsight. Nightsight enhanced low light to allow better vision, while Dark Vision didnt need any light to see. He cocked his head at me again, studying me. For me? he queried. But not fair. Not fair! You have Air Manipulation. I really wanted to learn that, but I couldnt. I have seen you use it. You are clever. Clever is what we need, and it is what I am looking for in a bond. He looked at my wound. Not so clever. I still caught you. Then I said, But you are right. This wasnt so clever. I need someone to watch out for me and help get me out of trouble. I will do the same for you. He cocked his head back and forth and stepped to the side, thinking. Get shinies? We will definitely get shinies. He stopped and just stared at me for a long time. You need wings! he declared. I laughed, Wings would be great, I said, But its probably not going to be soon. Feather Fall will help. Maybe instead of wings for me, we need a growth ability for you, and then you can carry me. He thought about it briefly and then gave a cheeky chirp, Might be fun. I didnt need to be a seer to know he was thinking of how he could use me for his fun in the air. Feather Fall will need to level fast. I have Assessing Eyes, and you have a minor Light and Shadow affinitiesmore than my Air affinity. I will look out for another copy of Light and Shadow Manipulations. Bonding is permanent. I have a skill called Seekers Intuition that is telling me we would be good together, but nothing is certain. He squawked, Silly, Alrashian. Silly. Silly. Silly. Wait, how did he know I was Alrashian? I look human. Silly, Alrashian. Silly. Silly. Silly, he repeated. "We already bonded. He bent down with his beak, picked up each stone, and learned them. I checked my status, and there he was, Twai (Kea Parrot). I checked his status.
Name: Twai Age 12 months Race: Kea (Parrot)
Level: 8
Health: 400 Stamina: 400 Mana: 160
Strength: 20 Agility: 30 Dexterity: 24
Constitution: 20 Intelligence: 16 Wisdom: 12
Free Attribute Points: 0
Abilities Air Manipulation 5 Poison Resistance 1
Pickpocket 8 Adaptive Camouflage 3 Claw Strike 4
Peck 6 Wind Blade 2 Mocking Call 6
Gust 5 Weaving 2 Dodge 8
Lacerating Claw 1 Dive Attack 1 Poison 1
Camouflage 10/max
Movement Skills Swift Flight 5 Silent Flight 4
Vision Dark Vision 3
You need some defensive skills and a self-heal, I said.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Twais head bobbed in agreement. You need wings. he reiterated. You should have access to Storage. Check the Skill Cupboard. I dont think I have anything there that is useful, but it pays to check. We might be able to trade with someone. Quest Complete: Hunt a Hunter. Seek out and hunt another Trial Challenger. Reward: 1000XP, Muffle Sound. Right. That is convenient. My seeker class can level now, as I have found one of the things I was seeking. I levelled it and bumped up my Constitution to help with my current situation. It will also bump my Stamina. In fact, I have found two things I was seeking. The quest was a quest for seeking and finding Twai. I can level it twice. I am finding the XP not to be a problem at these low levels. The other class requirements are slowing me down. I am sure that will change as the XP increases as the classes level. I checked what else Twai had in his basket. There was a collection of Potions and coins. He seemed to be collecting the loot drops we missed when they fell below, or we moved on. Smart. He had a number of random stuff, as well as Ryans pipe. A shiny rock, a guard insignia, buttons, etc. I resigned myself to my Storage having a lot of random junk in it. Things like the Guard insignia could be useful in a disguise though. Then I noticed Twai had used my spare Slash skill stone. I saw him trying another ability. He tossed it away in disgust. I caught it in my Helping Hand. Dont throw it away just because you cant learn it. It is valuable, I admonished. Not fair. Not Fair. Fire and Air good. I knew he had no affinity for Fire, and his inability to learn Fire Manipulation was not surprising. Self-clean, good, he said as my spare Self-clean charm disappeared. I practised my Copy Image and created a copy of Twai next to him, and he jumped. That was good. I made the Copy jump as well. The more moves he did that I could copy, the better I could animate the copy. Stupid Image. Stupid image. Stupid light. he squawked at me grumpily. You know, I said conversationally, Your Dark Vision does not use light to see and, therefore, will see right through the images. He squawked at me angrily, but I got the feeling he was more angry at himself for not thinking of that. I just smirked. I could have my own fun. I recreated a copy of myself like before. Twai was not the only scavenger around, and it was going to be a while before I was mobile again. Minor Regeneration was good, but it wasnt fast, especially with a serious wound like this affecting bone and organs. It will probably be a couple of hours before I can move properly, and it will probably be tomorrow before it is healed properly. I can probably take another potion soon without risking mana poisoning or wasting most of its healing ability in overlapping the other potion. About an hour later, Alistern appeared with Myantha on his heels. At least they hadnt forgotten about me. Alistern was the party leader, so I guess he knew I was still alive. I did have a bunch of XP come in, so they killed whatever it was. Myantha looked at my copy, but Alistern looked at me and Twai. Twai ducked behind me. I dispelled the Copy and the Spectral Cloak. Myanthas eyes snapped to me, So youre alive then? She said. Yes, although it will be a couple of hours before I can move enough to ride. My armour is probably going to take several days to repair. Whats that? Alistern said, pointing at Twai. I have sensed you around. You are the thief, arent you. This is Twai. He and I are now bonded. We are a team, I responded. You stole from me, Alistern accused. And I considered that a huge recommendation for joining my team, I said to Alisterns displeasure. Suda could have died without that stone. But she didnt, and Twai has something better for her. I pulled out a stone, Plant Manipulation. She will be fantastic with this. It is worth much more than Poison Resistance. Alistern nodded at that. We want something in return. Alistern looked suspicious, What? Healing or defence skills or spells we can use. Why should I? he asked. Because Twai is now a part of our group, he will be much more valuable than a single stone. I conveniently left out all the other things he stole and the loot that should have been ours. In a way, it was now ours, or rather mine and Twais. If I catch him stealing from us again, I will kill him regardless, Alistern said. Hear that, Twai? Dont get caught. I didnt say that. Alistern tossed a stone over, That is Heal Wound. It wont do anything for bones, blood loss or any number of other things, but it will heal a flesh wound. Not a deep one at the low levels, but it will grow. I tossed Plant Manipulation over. Then I rolled the stone to Twai, who grabbed it in his beak and learned it. I felt the skill wash over me. It wasnt very strong at level 1, but it was something. So, what did you fight? I asked as others started arriving back. A Tangle Vine, Myantha answered. Very large and high levelled. Without Norms fire, we probably wouldnt have won. As it is, there are several wounded, and we need to rest for a bit anyway. I noted that the others looked worn, and Norm was obviously out of mana but looked quite pleased. I saw Alistern talking to Suda and handing her the stone. They then had a longer conversation, and then Alistern went to scout. The others were sitting around and eating or meditating; some were drinking potions, and some were drinking alcohol. I could do with some of that myself, but it will need to wait a bit until I heal. Suda came over. I believe I have you to thank for the Plant Manipulation? That would be Twai, I said, moving him forward. Pretty girl, pretty girl, he squawked, the cheeky bastard pretending to be less intelligent than he was. Well. Thank you, she said. I got the Create Vines skill from the Tangle Vine, but with Plant Manipulation, I was able to get an Advance Class. I never thought I would, but now I do, and it is thanks to you. What is it? I asked, If you dont mind me asking. I dont mind. It is no longer a scout class, although all my scouting skills are better. I am now a Nature Shifter. I have never heard of it, but I can blend into nature and Meld into plants and adapt to environments. It is amazing. Thank you. You are welcome. Who got the core? The Lieutenant gave it to me. Do you want to buy it? She pulled it out. It was a large one. I ran Mana Web over it. There was a skill there, but I suspect it is not for me. You know, sometimes these can hold skills, I said. You should probably see if there is one in there for you. Can you tell if there is? she asked. Not usually, I said, but sometimes I have a feeling about things. She looked at me, It is worth a lot. Yes, but it is months away before you can sell it at full price, and skills are always worth more. Do you think there is a skill? I shrugged, I will buy it off you if you want. She looked at me, No thanks, not this time. It took her longer than it took me my first time, but she got there. Bark Skin complemented her class very well. 54. Back to Basics. "Smart? Oh yes, smarter than most, smarter than you, maybe! Ha-ha! I see the things others dont, hear the whispers no one else catches. Thats the trick, you seeknowing before anyone else does! While they stumble around, blind as bats, Im two steps ahead. Always thinking, always watching." Parroting the Wise. We ended up staying the night close by. Everybody needed rest, and with the Tangle Vine dead, there shouldnt be high-level monsters around for a while. We had a relatively peaceful night. Twai was introduced to everyone, and they all got to know him, which would reduce the chances of him being targeted by accident. He played the simple parrot with a limited vocabulary. More accurately, he played the cheeky, inquisitive parrot and had his beak in a lot of places. Alistern wasnt fooled, and I am pretty sure Suda also suspected he was more. I think Alistern gave him a pass, as Sudas advanced class was the reason he had bought these guardsmen out here. This was what they all needed. This was the power they needed to challenge the Immortals. Myantha and Twai trained their Air Manipulation together. I am sure Myantha saw through Twais facade. She trained intelligently, and he responded. He was using his Gusts to manoeuvre better in the air, and he was helping her with finer uses of Air Manipulation. I listened in on them. Air transmits a lot of things. Pollen, poisons, even sound. I am trying to create a sound barrier, but I havent been able to yet. Squawk, Arrows. Arrows. Yes, there are arrows as well, but they are a lot heavier and move at speed. It takes a lot more effort over a bigger area to divert arrows. Chirp, Chirp, Twai hopped in a circle and then did something that caused the leaves to move in a circle. Create a whirlwind? Myantha asked. That would upset arrows. It would make aiming difficult anyway. We should try it. It was pretty obvious that Twai was intelligent, even if he didnt know the words for things yet. They spent a lot of time trying to create a whirlwind that was bigger than the other persons. They were trying to create a skill, or maybe a spell. That is the main advantage of learning manipulation Skills; they open up all sorts of possibilities for an element that you couldnt do before. Nobody can create a whirlwind skill if you cant manipulate the air. You have to wait for a skill stone or a class skill. That reminds me that I was investigating my Shadow Manipulation skill. I am an Idiot again, but I am not going to tell Twai that. Seriously, the clue is right there in the name. Lightreaver. What reaves light? Shadow does. Conversely, Shadowbane. What is the bane of shadows? Light is. I have already used light manipulation to enhance them, and they work better with light than other skills. Lightreaver specialises in shadow, and Shadowbane specialises in light. I get Lightreaver out. I use Shadow Manipulation to cover the blade. It is easier than the cutting light I used to use. I am almost certain that if I use this in a fight, I will get Shadow Strike. I will do that tomorrow. I am very surprised I havent got Light Strike yet, but I will do the same with Shadowbane tomorrow. That is not enough for me, though. Shadow Strike will add damage, but Umbral Cold and Shadow Phase have shown me there is so much more to shadows. I use Shadow Manipulation to open the gate, and the temperature around Lightreaver drops. Then Lightreaver phases into shadow, which is not what I want. Well, it might be useful, like the bark phasing back into reality in another object, but it is not my primary aim at the moment. I spent most of the night healing and experimenting. The next day, we moved on. There were some small fights, which Rob, Twai and I stayed out of. I discovered one big difference between Rob and Twai. I dont share my XP with Rob, yet Twai takes half. I get my share of XP from the Party distribution, and then it is split with Twai. You had better help me earn double, I whispered to him. His head bobbed up and down, which I took as a yes. It is also in his interest for us to level up; he is smart enough to know that. He is a bit like me, and combat is not our primary focus. Combat, for us, is a means to an end. Our focus is to find shinies, and combat is a necessary skill. Twai and I joined in on the last fight of the day as we needed to learn to work together.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Twai, I said exasperated, if you blind them, how will they see my amazing images? All I got in reply was a mocking laugh, Too slow, too slow. We will see who is too slow. I Light Sped to the next one and got a squawk of surprise in response. They were a species of squirrel with their own type of mocking laugh. They were not a danger to us, and our heavy hitters stayed out of it to give the others some experience. They were annoying. I did add Shadow Strike and Radiant Strike to my status. I had considered buying Radiant Strike at one point, but that would have been a mistake. I didnt necessarily want more skills. I needed to level the ones I had. However, it didnt make sense to be so strong in Light and Shadow and not get skills that work with my strengths. The fight didnt last long enough to work on a more complicated Shadow skill, but we will get there. That night, we had to chase away another powerful challenger. The fact we had a defensible position and demonstrated we were too tough to be taken easily meant it moved on to easier prey. We made good time the next day, probably because the way was cleared for us by the Night Prowler. I started experimenting with Feather Fall. I would make small leaps as we travelled and see how far it would let me drift. It was a weight reduction thing, and it was an 8-9% reduction, so when I maxed it out, there would be an 80-90% reduction. By the end of the day it levelled and the stamina cost also reduced. That night, Alistern walked in with Zeek, our professional explorer, and said, The other group is two days travel away, or a day each to meet in the middle. Zeek has a way of sharing his map with others with the map skill, and he has found a spot to camp. Suda and Marvin, if you would. I went forward, and Zeek immediately looked suspiciously at Twai but didnt say anything. I didnt do anything to share the map info; he simply touched my shoulder, and my map was updated. It had a cross where he thought a camp would be. Those were neat skills. I wonder how you get them. Maybe they came from his Explorer Profession. Zeek then disappeared out into the night. He didnt seem worried about the nightlife around here. I examined my updated map. Zeek had made several trips to the forest floor and very high up, I would assume, to the top of the canopy. He is definitely an explorer. Then, I noticed that what he had shared with us was truncated. He had gone further, but it was not shared. That got my Seekers Intuition twitching. Not all shiny things are gold. When I raided the keep of the Lands of the Undying Lord, I came away with many valuable thingsskills and abilities, metals, armour, etc. This trial has to have things to raid. I need to get back to basics. Trials are out to kill me. Therefore, I am going to Pilfer everything I can from them. I am not going to be satisfied with the meagre handouts it gives as rewards. I am going to alter my motto specifically for Trials. It will change from Take what you can, leave no trace, to Take everything you can, full-stop. I have a Pilferer class to level and a bond to whom I promised Shinies. I might want to strip this trial clean, but I am not suicidal. I need some backup. I approached Myantha. After we meet the other group, I want to do some exploring. Are you interested in joining me? The last time I joined you, we changed a trial, she said. I grinned and winked, No promises. Absolutely, I will join you. The lieutenant wants time for his guards to level so he will not hurry to the exit. We will have some time. Who else were you thinking? I am thinking the Explorer Zeek. She raised her eyebrows. I explained my reasoning, He has already explored further than the rest of us. He knows how to travel to avoid fights, including at night. Even though he is a professional and not a classer, he knows how to fight. I bet he has at least an advanced fighting class. She nodded thoughtfully. We can ask. The day went reasonably smoothly. I bought a half dozen cores. I continued to work on my Shadows with Lightreaver. We encountered a number of slime creatures. We could have just gone around, but in the Lieutenant''s eyes, it is all experience. He paired his people off, and I chose one for myself. I got out Lightreaver and cast Umbral Cold. It didnt like the cold, and it shrunk in on itself. I poked it with Lightreaver, and the outer layer stiffened against the cold. Twai just watched from the top of Rob''s head and refused to take part. This also meant it couldnt attack me easily. Others were dealing with squirts of slime, but the stiff surface meant mine couldnt do that. While the others were using long spears to try and reach the core to kill the slime, I got out my dagger, Lightreaver and started slicing, trying different combinations of Shadows. I was only halfway through when I hit on a good combination, and Frostshade Rend was added to my skills list. It had the freezing power of Umbral Cold condensed into the blade, and the cutting power was closer than anything else I had to Cutting Light. The damage was well above Shadow Strike, which told me the Strike-type skills were the base-level skills. I tried the Frostshade Rend on Shadowbane, and it worked, but the cost was higher. It is most efficient on Lightreaver. There has got to be an equivalent light skill for Shadowbane, which will be the next project. I carved out the core, and the slime died. I looked around for another one and saw a small one close by. I started to consider what light was in the same way shadows had depths, but I realised now was not the time. Now was the time to practice and level Frostshade Rend. I didnt bother with Umbral Cold, and I started hacking. I got a face full of acid slime for my trouble. Idiot. Twai thought so, too, and I heard the chirping laughter. The bastard. He will pay for that. I guess this is part of the experience Alistern wants us to learn. 55. Down to Earth. Zeek and I are going to scout the boss, Alistern announced. I will then put together a team to take it out if I think we can. Killing the boss is always worth it, if possible. Not only are there skills, but soul-bound equipment and unique classes and class slots are also often available. We will need the right team, though. We will discuss that when we get back. It will take us two days to get there and two more to return, so think about it while I am away and take the time to train against the trial beasts. Sergeant Juth is in charge while I am gone. Sergeant. he nodded to her to take over. We recommend you go out in groups of three and have one of the guards with you. Juth started. The guards will have an emergency locator if there is trouble. Getting a healer for you will take time, but you are not a raw recruit. You know the risks, and managing them is up to you. Let me know who you are grouping with and when you expect to be back. If you are not back by then, we will come looking, so all you have to do is survive. Everybody is to be back here in five days. I guess that is Zeek out then, Myantha said. I nodded. Suda? I asked. She is fast and quiet, Myantha agreed. It turned out Suda was spending the first two days with Juth and the healer as part of the response team. Which way are you heading? Suda asked. We are going down first. I want to see the forest floor, I replied. I want to go down, Joe said. Joe. Big bulky Joe with the Heavy Infantry Class. No stealth. Slow. No subtlety. He had Challengers Call and Caltrops and is good with a shield. He is strong. If you come, you are the target, I said. I glanced at Myantha. She nodded. You are the one they will see and attack. We will cut them down from behind. He nodded, Fine with me. What is your riding skill like? I asked. Average, he said puzzled. If we have to run, you will be riding Rob. You will have to stay on, and that is not easy. If we have to run, Joe said, There will be plenty of motivation for me to stay on. At least he wasnt dumbactually, Alistern probably hand-picked these guards. None of them will be dumb. Right then, daylight is wasting. Juth, we hope to be back in two days. If we are not back in three, send the search party. My intuition was tingling. She gave me a nod. I went to create a party with my Leadership skills, but it turns out Myanthas leadership was higher than mine, so she had to create the party. She did something I would never have thought of. She sent Twai his own invite, and he became a party member in his own right and not as part of me. That was awesome. I will remember that. Alistern must have known that. He was messing with us. I will remember that, too. Going down was easy. It is coming back up later that is going to be hard work. We stopped for a break after dealing with some large, blood-sucking mosquito-like creatures. I am surprised Joe has any blood left in him. He is looking pretty white. Twai had practised his Dive Attack and Lacerating Claw. The mosquitos were easily killed; they were just fast, and there were a lot of them. Umbral Cold was effective, as was Myanthas blade wave, or whatever it was called. The mossies made it easy for air manipulation users to manoeuvre into the cutting wave, making it very effective. I worked through the loot drops. Lots of needles. I held up a stone, This is the Skill Replenish Blood. Yes, please, said Joe. I tossed it over. Twai could have used it, but I thought Joe needed it more. Shouldnt I be the one distributing the drops? Myantha said, I am the leader here. I backed away and held up my hands, sure thing, boss! Carry on, she said magnanimously. It is called delegation. Are you going to try for the trial boss? she asked. I probably will, said Joe. It is a good opportunity, and the Lieutenant makes good plans. I shook my head, No, Im not. I will leave it to the fighter types. There are other rewards available for less risk. What about you? Depends what it is, she replied. Fair enough. The humidity rose the lower we got, and it got gloomier. We were not just going down, I had a particular direction in mind. We had crossed outside of Zeeks explored map a while back. Eventually, I stood on a thin branch about twenty meters above the ground. Rob, Joe and Myantha were still well above me. Twai swooped low over the ground, inspecting it. The soil was dark. Roots poked out occasionally. A few rocks were visible. There were rotting leaves and broken rotting branches scattered about. A stagnant pool was visible through the trees. The air was heavy and still. We were close, but I didnt really know what I was looking for. Shinies is not an accurate description. I was searching for things of high value. I could hear Joe approaching. The branch I was standing on shook as Myantha landed lightly. Her eyes were automatically searching for danger. Nothing stood out in my Spectral Vision (Heat), and my Observant Eye supported by Nightsight wasnt picking up anything. Manasight was showing a low glow all over the ground. There were high concentrations of mana in the trees, and I traced the major roots, but the soil also had high mana. High mana soil grows high mana plants. I thought as I looked at the trees. Whats the plan? Joe asked as he arrived. Youre the target, I said. The plan is you drop down, and we see if anything attacks you. He chuckled, I suppose I should have guessed that. Any sign of anything? I looked at Myantha, and she shook her head, No.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Which means there is definitely something. I wish I could see better. You dont have a night sight ability? I said, surprised. Not yet, Joe said. Alistern didnt have one? He seems to carry a lot, I said. I am not the priority for that. The Lieutenant is strongly need-based. I could sell you Nightsight. What do you have to trade? I saw Myantha shaking her head. You can have all my monster cores till it is paid off. That''s a lot of cores, I said. He shrugged. I have been wanting Nightsight for a while. Deal? Deal, I said. I almost tossed him the skill until I realised he wouldnt see well enough to catch it. I passed it over. Thats better, he said. Well, dont die, or I wont get paid. At least you are motivated to keep me alive, he said. Everybody ready? Yep. Yes. Chirp. Monster Mash! he yelled as he jumped. He landed with a solid Thump. Shield up. We all waited. Silence. We waited. Silence. Shall I shout a Challengers Call? he asked. If we can avoid a fight, we should, I said. Joe stomped forward. The soil was soft, and he left clear footprints. Myantha, Twai and I followed from the lower branches. Nothing happened. There is something valuable down here. The Trial always protects valuable things with monsters, often boss-type monsters. Nothing. No giant earthworms, or beetles or anything. Nothing. I know there is something here. We just have to find it. Maybe it is trapped, or maybe the valuable thing is the monster. That would annoy me. That is going to be it, isnt it? Joe moves around the ground, searching and ready as we follow him from the branches. A half hour goes by. Nothing. How long since our last fight? We should be getting normal monsters soon. Nothing. We investigate the stagnant pool. Frogs? Slugs? Leeches? Big bad swamp monster? No, nothing. An hour. Nothing. Squawk! I look. Joe is lying face down and not moving. We look for the cause. Nothing. His health is dropping, Myantha said. As the party leader, she has access to that information. Ill go, I said, and I jumped a copy image down to see if it is attacked and we never saw anything. Nothing happens to it. I jump down myself using Feather Fall. My boots make an impression in the soil, but it is less than it would have been. I am not attacked. I move to check on Joe. No obvious wounds. He has the highest constitution of all of us. I feed him a general health potion and pump out my Rejuvenating Aura a bit. That is helping, Myantha said above me, His loss has slowed, but it is still dropping. Joe starts to come around from the effect of the Health Potion. What happened? Not sure yet. What can you tell us? Nothing was happening, so I was playing around with my Replenish Blood skill, getting a feel for it, figuring out if it would give me high blood pressure, that sort of thing. I was starting to feel a little off, so I stopped. Next thing I know, you are here feeding me a potion. He looked at me. Could a skill like this be bad for me? No idea. I wouldnt have thought so, though, I said. Shouldnt be, Myantha said above us. The professor has spoken, I declared. She is a professor with lots of learning, so she would know most of us. We are in a Trial, I continued. Lets assume it is the Trial trying to kill us. The question is, how? I seem fine, Myantha said. Twai? Happy Chirp. Joes health is still falling slightly. How are you, Marvin? I feel fine. I am going to try turning off Rejuvenating Aura and see if that makes a difference. Then, I felt a slight burning in my chest. Wait a minute, I think my Minor Regeneration kicked in. Joes health is falling faster. Yeah, I am starting to not feel so good. Plus, I am totally jealous you have Minor Regeneration. Joe added. Try using Replenish Blood, I suggested. That helps a bit, Joe said. Are you and Twai still OK? I ask Myantha. Yes. Chirp. I think there is something in the air down here. I think Joes constitution and Replenish Blood held it off, but it must be stacking up in his system. Can we get Joe back up there? Sure, Myantha said, Are you going to be alright? For a while. My Rejuvenating Aura and Regeneration will be fine for a bit. A rope soon dropped, and Joe climbed up. I looked around. It looked the same: soft, dark soil, rotting leaves and branches. What are we missing? Joes health is shooting back up, Myantha said. I crouched down. Is there something in the soil? Of course, there is something in the soil. I scoop a handful of soil up to examine. There is a layer of tiny dark mushrooms or some sort of fungus growing on the dirt, I said. Right, said Myantha, poisonous mushroom spores. There''s not much we can do about that without a fire mage or maybe a nature mage. We should probably leave it. Not yet. There is something valuable down here. It is guarded by a monster, which are tiny mushrooms. I looked closer. Are you what is valuable? I asked. The mushrooms didnt reply. If they had, the spores would have probably been affecting me more than I realised. What if? I tried to store the mushroom in my Storage. Did it get stored in the Monster Morgue? No, it didnt; I was stored in the general storage. It wasnt even in the Herb Cupboard. I guess it is not a herb. The dirt was stored with it. Was it high mana soil, or was it the fungus that was causing the soil to appear to be high mana? I brought it out of my Storage. It still looked alive. It hadnt shrivelled or died. I am going to store some of the fungi, and we can find someone to examine them when we return. It seems to stay alive in my storage. Myantha just nodded. Joe was not interested. I got out a spade and started storing the top hundred millimetres of fungi-covered soil. My Identify skill calls it Toxnightcap. How much are you taking? Myantha said. Everything I can, I replied. I waved my hand, I figure the area to those rocks, those roots and that trunk. How big is your storage? she muttered. I ignored her and kept clearing the ground. Special Action was performed. Store more than one cubic meter of Mana-infused soil. Awakened has the Herbalist Skill, Mana Strength and Storage over Level 5. Storage gains Mana Garden. A separate area for growing mana-enriched plants. I didnt stop shovelling, but wow. I never thought I would be a gardener. I examined the Mana Garden while I was working. The Mana Garden would grow things. The only thing in it at the moment was Toxnightcap. The garden was divided into separate areas, so I guess the poisonous stuff like Toxnightcap didnt kill other things. I looked around. These giant trees must have some sort of seeds. Take everything you can. 56. Mine. You guys dont want any of the Toxnightcap? I asked. I dont have Storage, Joe said. No thanks, Myantha said. It is all yours. A derisive squawk from Twai I didnt tell Myantha about the Mana Garden. She can work these things out for herself. She is the professor. I had a spare copy of Storage, but if Joe was paying off Nightsight in Monster cores, there is no way he could afford to buy Storage from me. I looked up at Twai. He might have sounded derisive, but he wasnt as disinterested as he sounded. Eating Mana-enriched food has many short-term benefits and sometimes permanent benefits. I just had to find mana-enriched plants to grow that were not poisonous. My Rejuvenating Aura and Minor Regeneration were keeping the toxin at bay. My Toughened Body ticked up a level. Ok, the Rejuvenation and Regeneration were mostly keeping it at bay. Joe must have a monstrous constitution to have lasted down here an hour with only Replenish Blood. My spade clinked against a stone. I worked my way along the base of the rock outcrop, collecting mana soil and Toxnightcap. The body of a white grub with teeth fell beside me. It was about the length of my leg. I finished it off with my spade and figured I might as well harvest the Huhu Grub. I could hear the fighting above me. Are you guys OK up there? I yelled. I got a raucous squawk in reply, which I took to mean they were fine. A rock outcrop in a mana-intense area. That is a thought. It is a very dark rock. I switch out my spade for a pick. And start breaking into the rock. I step to the side, and another, longer Huhu Grub lands where I am standing. This one was dead, so I just stored it for later. I glance up. I bet they are aiming for me. The colour of the rock changed, and my mining skill definitely kicked into overdrive. This was Darksteel. Darksteel is used in many high-end weapons. It is often mixed with steel and titanium to make various alloys by Master Smiths. The mana conductivity is massive, especially the darker mana types, Shadow, Death, Nature, Demonic, etc. It works well with fire, making a dark flame. It doesnt work with Light or Holy mana. It takes enchantments very well. Alloys are often used in making safes. Needless to say, it is valuable and in demand. It will be good for putting wards on. Maybe I can get a blacksmith to make some plates for me with it. I mine steadily, dodging the occasional body. Then, a white beetle with a broken wing crashed down, so I put the pickaxe through its head. It looks like they dont just have the Huhu grubs but the beetles as well. Are you guys sure you are fine? I ask. Ooof, grunted Joe, so I took that as a yes and kept mining. My Rejuvenating Aura ticked up a level. There are still plenty of toxins down here. Then, I found something even bettera Duskmantle Onyx. These gems were even more valuable. I kept mining. Eventually, the bodies stopped dropping. I had mined a good-sized pit by this time and got a number of gems. Myantha finally dropped down to harvest the bodies. Oooh, it is nasty down here. I will only be able to do short stints. Does Joe not have the harvest Skill? He says not but maybe he is just avoiding this. You must have a strong skill. It is a combination of skills. How much longer will you be? she asked. I have found each edge of the vein, so it depends on how deep it goes. Here, I tossed her a Duskmantle Onyx, and one for Joe. Squawk! Come down here and get your own! I told Twai. Then, I stepped to the side, Dont you try shitting on me!You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Squawk! Myantha just shook her head and went back up into the branches to recover some health. She passed me Joes cores, but there were no skills in them. The ore vein went deep. Special Action was performed. Store more than five cubic meters of Ore. Storage gains Ore Hopper. I mined through the night. Night and day really had no meaning this deep. I did have to help fight off a Night Owl. It was high-levelled and vicious, and it was targeting Rob. It just wouldnt die. It was large, large enough to make a meal of Rob. I was throwing Spears at it, and a Power Throw wasnt enough. I had to do a Piercing Throw to get through the feathers and then follow it with a Power Throw to get the spear deep enough to actually hurt. Joe was great and basically stayed by Rob with his shield and a spear, keeping it away. I was very glad I sold him Night Sight, or he would have been ineffective. Twai was frustrated. He couldnt get his claws past the feathers. What was most effective was Flash at disorientating it and making it veer away from its attacks. I had to warn everybody before I Flashed it as it was hard on all their eyes. My Cutting light would get through the feathers, but it was fast-moving, and I missed more than hit. I had a lot of missed spears to collect as well. Radiant Strike hurt it. It was weak to light skills. Frostshade Rend hurt it even though it wasnt a light skill. It is just more on the same power level as the Night Owl. Myantha had a couple of strong skills that would damage it. Rob was getting shredded, and I almost brought him into the tattoo to save his life when Twai finally used Gust and Swift Flight to manoeuvre into the right place and his Peck Skill to take out an eye. That was the beginning of the end for it. There was a lot to harvest from the Owl. A lot of feathers, claws and the beak. It dropped a skill stone, Silent Movement. Twai already had Silent Flight, I had Muffle Sound, and Myantha had skills from her assassin days. Joe wasnt sure he needed it, but we insisted. His armour was the main culprit, and this should at least muffle it. Now, we need to teach him some stealth. We probably had better find him another skill stone. They let me have the monster core, and I gave it to Twai to peck the skill out of it. We were both hoping for whatever made its feathers so hard to pierce. What he got instead was called Hunters Eye. It was partly a camouflage-piercing ability, along with being able to spot weaknesses in his prey. It was a good skill. We dont have anything that spots weaknesses. My Spectral Vision is pretty good at seeing through camouflage, but there are all types of skills in this world. This was probably how the owl saw through Robs camouflage. Robs regeneration was very good, so he was healing fast, boosted by my Rejuvenating Aura and Twais Heal Wound. Twai sat on Robs back and pulsed his Heal Wound skill regularly. I then went back to mining and the others to overwatch. Joe has probably done the best out of this excursion in terms of skills. Twai was next, but Myantha and I werent complaining. We were levelling what we had, and I was particularly pleased with my Storage and Toughened Body levels. I was mining below ground now and mostly being guided by my Spectral Vision (Seethru). The skill could easily see where the Darksteel ore was as opposed to normal rock. The Duskmantle Onyx also showed up clearly. The next difficulty was the Toxin Hogs that showed up to eat the Toxnightcap. They didnt like that I had stripped away over half their delicacy. It was a large herd, and only Joe and I could fight on the ground while the others attacked from above. Spears and Piercing. Spears and Piercing, Twai announced from his Hunters Eye. My short spears were good boar spears, but my Spear skill was lacking. Joes wasnt, and he maxed out his Basic Spear, and he got the Impaler Spear technique. He was very pleased. The Hogs had tough hide against slashing attacks and blunt weapons. They had a charge skill, and Joes shield got a workout. My Umbral Cold did nothing; they were pretty immune to poison and Death strikes. Burning Strike and Bloodletting were both very good, but Burning Strike left the lingering smell of cooking toxic bacon. The hogs were very short-sighted, so my images were useless. They had an acute sense of smell. Twai tried landing on their heads and Pecking their eyes were only of limited value, but Pecking their noses sent them wild. It was a long slog to kill them. Twai could spend longer and longer down here fighting as his (stolen) Poison Resistance levelled. Myantha didnt have many piercing skills. You might say she had a cutting personality but lacked a penetrating wit. You might say that, but I wouldnt recommend it. She is an assassin. She followed Twais example and sliced noses. Harvesting the hogs produced lots of toxic pork, which I had no idea what it could be used for. You couldnt eat it. We also got hides that were both poison-resistant and slashing-resistant. The Trial loot gave us a Poison Resistance Ability Stone, a Scent Tracker Stone and Hog Hide Chaps. All three of us wanted the Poison Resistance Stone, but the other two ruled that I didnt need it, as I was doing better than any of them in the Toxic environment without it. They decided that Joe would get the Poison Resistance and Myantha would get the Scent Tracker. I got stuck with the chaps I didnt want. When I indicated I wouldnt mind the Scent Tracker, Myantha said, You seek out things, not people or beasts. I am the Assassin, and that was that. I insisted that Joe help with the mining as he now had Poison Resistance that needed levelling. He came down. He was strong but a useless miner. No Skill at all. He was almost as useless as Twai. I insisted Twai come down and level his skill as well. I had forgotten he had that and should have been down here from the beginning. He hadnt forgotten. He just hadnt wanted to be here. The toxin wasnt so strong now anyway, after being trampled by the hogs. It was nearly evening again. I had another level in Toughened Body, and my Minor Regeneration levelled. That was a hard skill to level, but having it running constantly for a day and a night did it. That was when I came to the end of the Darksteel vein and dug up the reward chest. 57. Rats! There are four skill stones, I said. One for each of us. Twai is easy. Darksteel Feathers for you. That got a happy set of chirping and a bit of a happy dance. I am pretty sure this one is supposed to be mine. Onyx Carver. I think it is for my wards. The other two are Darksteel Skin and Darksteel Penetration. Skin, please, said Joe. The Hogs showed that I clearly need a lot more penetration, said Myantha. And that was that. Twais Darksteel feathers made their colour a darker green, strengthening them against cutting and piercing damage. What it also did was sharpen the edges of the feathers. Anyone coming to attack him from behind will find their claws sliced up. Dont rub him the wrong way against the feathers. He might work out a way to use them in an attack, but for now, it was a defensive measure. He would also need to level the skill quite a bit. Onyx Carver gave me a thin, sharp Onyx blade. It was made for carving. It was a skill, and as I levelled it, I could create different blade shapes and carve harder objects more easily. I tried it out on the shovel, and it carved smoothly and cleanly. I only had certain wards I could carve at the moment but I would get there, and this would mean I couldnt blame my mistakes on my tools. Do we want to head back to Camp now or wait till the morning? I asked. Joe now has the Silent Movement skill, so we should be quieter if we head back now, Myantha said. It is only level 1, warned Joe. How about we head up looking for a defensible place and see how we go, I said. Let me level first, said Joe. The boost to my agility will help. A moment later, Sweet, sweet Terah and her tiny tits, that is amazing. I have an Advanced Class. I am now a Steel Warden. There are bonuses to defence, constitution, and strength, as well as agility and sudden attacks. It is a great all-around fighting class. That is exactly what I wanted. I think getting the Silent Movement and Darksteel Skin skills might have been the tipping point. I would never have known that about the silent movement. I definitely need to level it. Well done. Are you going to stay with the guard? You could get a job anywhere with this. I said. I am committed to the guard for another five years. We all had to re-commit to get to come on this trip. I will see after that, but the Duke''s Guard is a pretty good gig. We get bonuses if we get an advanced class as well. I nodded. My idea of poaching Suda now goes down the latrineor poaching any of them, actually. I wondered how they would keep these people. The Duke is not dumb. He knows how to keep good people. My Seeker Class can level again. My Spectral Slayer Class needs more and more kills. Me getting the Toxnightcap and the Darksteel ore is obviously not classed as Pilfering. Thats a shame. The Pilfering Class needs the least XP. Joes Silent Movement skill might be level 1, but my Muffle Sound is only level 2. However, I have many other stealth skills to support it, and I do not wear heavy metal armour. I guess he is trying to be quiet. I wonder if the Mosquitoes swarm at a certain level in the trees as we hit them on the way back up at approximately the same level as when we came down. We were at a higher skill level this time. Joe had Replenish Blood and Darksteel Skin. Myantha and Twai knew what to do with the air manipulation, and Twai, in particular, had improved a lot. I collected more needles. We did get another skill stone drop, but this time it was Blood Sucker. It took blood from your enemies to boost your health. Nobody really wanted that. It was fully dark by the time we had finished with the Mossies. Nocturnal life was out. Joe was still the noisiest and most visible of us all, so he was still the target. This time, it was rats. Possibly thousands of rats. Some of the Rats were the size of normal rats, and some were the size of me. They barely slowed with my Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold. Those were my two area skills that were not worth the mana in this situation. Myantha was cutting them down in waves, and even Twai was doing better than me. They could be deceived by my images mostly. They were easyish to kill. I just couldnt do it fast enough. Even Rob was having a better time than me. He was smashing whole groups with his tail, collecting them with his tongue and chomping down. There were some skills that worked. My Cutting Light and Burning Light both went through multiple rats at a time, but they are quite mana-intensive skills. I had my Helping Hand working and watching my back. I was holding my own and targeting the big ones while Myantha and Twai dealt with the mobs with their cutting waves. Joe was also lacking in area damage. He had his Caltrops, but they were only wounding the larger ones. He decided to do what I was doing and target the larger ones, leaving the smaller ones to Myantha and Twai. He didnt have my Spectral Cloak, so he was always mobbed. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. With this number of rats, we would have to pace ourselves. This fight could last several hours. I can take the pressure off me by hiding in my Spectral Cloak, but Joe cant. I move close and fight beside him. His advanced class has certainly boosted his skills. Let me know when you need a break, I said. I can arrange a short break. Let''s see what you can do, Joe said. Wanting to test it is a good idea. Move left in 321Go, He steps left, and I use Light manipulation to wrap light around him like I used to do before I got Spectral Cloak. I created a copy of him that ran off to the right. Huh? Neat. Ten minutes fighting? Two resting? he asked. So that is what we did. Rob, Joe and I moved together through the rat swarm, targeting the higher-level ones. Myantha and Twai were off-killing hordes. They seemed to be working together. How come it is only me, Twai tries shitting on? I was stuffing so many bodies in my Monster Morgue that I was wondering what it would take to fill it. Storage expanded to Level 6 Warehouse created, combining Meat Locker, Vegetable Bin, Drinks Cellar, Thieves Cache, Dry Goods Larder and Ore Hopper. The warehouse didnt include Monster Morgue, but level 6 gave us more space anyway. The Warehouse seemed to combine all the non-mana goods. I will need to sort it out later. I am a bit busy right now. About half an hour later, Twai flies up. Help needed. Help needed. Follow. Follow. Bossy little brat. Jump on Rob, I tell Joe, and we are off. The rat swarm is larger than I thought. We soon hear the sounds of fighting. Three guards from the other squad are holding off the rats from four academy members, one of whom is not moving. We drop down from above. Take a rest, Joe said, We can hold for a bit. I set off the locator, one of them said. Sarge should be on her way. It was going to take the sarge a while to get here. Four big bastards were the problem. The Guards had wounded two of them, but they were tough and quick. One of them leapt at Rob, and the two went tumbling off the side of the branch. I had one snapping at me, but Twai cast Wind Blades at the smaller rats and then dove off after Rob. He is not such a bad bird. I had Lightreaver and Shadowbane and moved through the dance. Frostshade Rend was still my strongest single skill. I was fighting a large rat. Joe was holding off two, and the resting guards were killing the small ones. I fall into the Purifying Dance, wishing the bonuses would be applied to these monsters. It is still the best technique because it is uniquely mine. I can add Frostshade Rend into the mix. Bloodletting is also good, but Death Strike is less effective than normal. I assume lots of immunity in rats. Holy Strike and Thrust are still my two highest-level skills. I get clawed down my leg, the bone in the armour stopping some of the damage. My Helping Hand is keeping the small stuff off my back, and I am Syphoning more Mana as the skill levelled up. When the Rat finally dies I flick it into storage. I am suddenly remembering why I hate trials. You though you were safe with a high-level group did you? I can imagine the keeper laughing at us. I look over, and Joe is just finishing off his second opponent. That''s right. I have trained warriors with me, and I am not one of them. They should be doing the heavy lifting here, and I should be the support. I indicated that one of the resting guards should take my place, and I stepped back to deal with the small fry. I store Joes two biggies and then start Harvesting. Potions, skills and equipment are what will get us through. I can store things with my Helping Hand, and it levelled so it can stretch further. I position myself so it can reach the dying monsters on the front line. A Shadow Hand is almost invisible, which means I can keep harvesting while it stores bodies. The guards regularly switch out with each other, but they last longer with My Rejuvenating Aura going. I can feel Rob and Twai. I dont know how far they fell, but they are fighting their way back. I need to touch Rob to draw him into the tattoo. Rat Trap, I announce as it appears as a loot drop. I set it. It will attract and kill normal-sized rats as long as it has mana. It will take the pressure off those who are resting. Anyone wants the skill Incisor Growth? No, I thought not. Rodent Stomper boots? Here you are. The drops were coming. I was passing out potions as they dropped. I was pocketing the coins and the cores. Tough Digestion Skill, I announce. Will it let me do Killer Farts? Joe asked. He doesnt need it, someone said Phil already has it, Joe said. Prompting Phil to let loose. I stored the skill. Hide gloves with Rodent Catcher enchantment. Another Bone Incisor knife. I kept at it. Tree Runner Skill? Pok, the other scout, shouted, YES! I passed it to him when he rotated off the front line. This is for you, Joe, I said. Basic Stealth. There is no way he will be able to learn that, said Pok. Watch and weep, asshole. Rats suddenly rain down from above as Rob''s tail sweeps across a branch above us. Twai! I yell and toss a stone into the air. He flashes past, snatching it. Tough Bones will help him a lot. There is a small chance I might be a little biased in my skill distribution. That might be why the Advanced Skill Shadow Stealth found its way onto my Status. Myantha flashed past a number of times, but she likes being mobile. Twai is rejoining her. Rob is rampaging above us. Dawn came, and still, the Rats kept coming. 58. Levelling up. The dawn also brought Sergeant Juth, Healer Austin, Water Mage Akina, Suda, and Guardsman Ryan. Their presence was announced when vines grew out of the branch and entangled a swath of rats. Then, they seemed to dry up and shrivel as Akina drew out all their water. Report, commanded Juth as she jumped across to our branch. Austin went straight to the wounded. I tuned them out and kept Harvesting. Some of the conversation filtered in. Joe reported his Advanced Class as did one of the others I didnt know about. Apparently, the Sergeant was now a Battle Hoplon, whatever that was. That meant four of the fourteen guardsmen now had advanced classes. The Lieutenant will be pleased. Everybody has certainly levelled, and most will have at least one new Skill. When Austin had assessed the wounded, there was not much that could be done about a missing arm. That had to wait for a full clinic. Austin was only a Combat Medic. I got his attention. Any of these interest you? I laid out three Skill Stones. Tough Digestion, certainly, he said. I have ingested all sorts of horrible stuff in my time. Most recently, I sucked out snake poison. It will probably also help me keep down Joes cooking. Incisor Growth, no, but some Beastkin species will snap that up. Nightsight will be helpful, thanks. Always look after the Healer. Hey, I also have one called Blood Syphon. It syphons blood from and enemy and adds to your health. That any good to you? It is dangerous to syphon unknown blood and inject it into your body. Some creatures like trolls and orcs have blood that is poisonous to us. There are all sorts of blood diseases and poisons. It is certainly useful to me, as I have purification skills, and it will pair well with my Blood Injection. I will be able to cleanse somebody of blood infections. Note to self. Always consult a healer before getting skills that inject things into your body. I passed the skill over. We kept fighting. There was less pressure now, and the guards could rest longer. Then, the higher-level rats started coming. The ones with more complicated skills than claw slash. I think the trial was wearing us out and then sending the higher-level rats. It was levelling up the attack. Trials are out to kill you. Poison Rats, Jumping Rats, Camouflaged Rats, Acid Spitting Rats, Wood Spiking Rats, Armoured Rats and Rats that try to gnaw through the massive branch you are standing on. You wouldnt think that would be possible but there are some large rats and a lot with a wood affinity. Juth took Rob, Suda, and two of the guards to attack the rats who were chewing through the branch. I started rotating onto the front line. I needed a better identify my skill as a Radient Strike was best for killing shadow rats, a burning strike was best for wood rats and water rats, and a shadow strike was my best skill for fire rats. I didnt have a water strike skill like one of the guards. It was not always obvious what the rat was. When I rotated off and returned to Harvesting, I realised I was being an Idiot again. I had a better Identification skill. I have Assessing Eyes. Nothing is restricting it to assessing allies. I can assess the monster rats. I started practising, and even a quick look told me the rat''s major alignment. When I rotated back onto the front line, I was much more efficient. When my ability levelled, it was even easier. Enhanced Jump, anyone? I yelled. I felt I didnt need it with my Feather Fall doing a better job, plus I had just learned Acid Strike from another stone. The Strikes might be the weakest of the attack skills, but there was value in having the right one for the job. A skill''s power was certainly a function of its level, but it was also a function of the attributes you had to power and guide the skill. A Strike in the hands of a person with the attributes of level 100 would way outclass me. Acid Resistant Cape. Acid Fang Stilleto. Claw Gloves. The Potions were now going straight to Austin, who had a much clearer idea of who needed what through his healer-assessing skills. I was still pocketing the cores and coins. I also had a Shadow Strike Skill stone stored for Twai. I wasnt sure his claws and beak would be classed as weapons, hence whether he could use them, but we would see. They should be. It is a shame Rob cant learn new skills. As a summons, he can only level the ones he has. I was keeping an eye on Twai. His health fluctuated a number of times. He had also levelled several times, mostly putting his attributes into Agility, which I figured helped his flying. He put a few into intelligence to boost his mana for his air abilities. He was an intelligent bird. Anybody want the Rats Eye Skill? I asked. Whats it do? It is Nightsight but also some sort of Pathfinding ability,If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Yes, please, said Pok, the other squads scout. Didnt you take Tree Runner? He grinned, and Enhanced Jump. We can change his name to Rat! somebody yelled. Are you sure you dont want to grow your Incisors? I asked. He made a rude gesture in my direction. Then Twai swooped down, Prepare to Move. Prepare to move. Everybody up, Joe ordered. Then I saw Rob coming with two bodies strapped to him with vines. Behind him, the sergeant and Myantha were fighting a retreat against some massive Rats. These must be the bosses of the swarm. Then the branch shook. Austin moved to treat the wounded. Hopefully, they were only wounded. This way! shouted Pok, jumping to an adjacent branch and fixing a rope for the less agile people. Austin climbed on Robs back to go with the wounded. I was worried about Rob carrying three as it was only recommended for two. I guess he has levelled as well, and if he moves carefully, it should be fine. I grabbed the Rattrap as that was very useful. My Helping Hand was kept busy storing corpses. Take everything you can! I am looking forward to Helping Hand Levelling as I should get a second hand, or maybe it is a fourth hand. Pok was fighting on the other branch, so the rats didnt chew through the rope. I thought these academics would be faster, although only having one hand would be a hindrance. I jump for the other branch using Feather Fall to make the distance. I almost overshoot, but I can reduce the influence of Feather Fall and so add weight to land correctly. I help Pok clear a space. Then the rope is reinforced by a vine and Rob comes across. Everybody gathers and Austin has one of the Guardsmen back on his feet. One of the large rats jumps across further down, making our branch shake. Akina sweeps the other branch clear of small rats with a water surge and then comes across. I have lost count of who is with us. I think we might have picked up another small group. Actually, that makes sense from the impressions I had from Twai. That was probably what he and Myantha were doing. I counted the Academics. Barnard was the one with the missing hand. He was the ancient weapon specialist, I think. Walter, the assistant, looked traumatised. Hilke was fighting her share, which made sense as she was a Trial specialist with Myantha. Esdras, the historian, avoided fighting but helped Austin with the wounded. That meant we were missing three academics: Taan, the artefact specialist; Rylark, the elf historian; and Cybil, the other assistant. I counted the guards. We were missing three guards, including Norm, the fire mage. I hope they were with the academics. Juth probably knows. Then, the other large rats jumped to our branch, and the other branch started to collapse. Juth grabbed the remaining guard with one hand, cut the rope/vine from her end, grabbed it with her other hand, and swung. Myantha seemed to run across the air. Two guards from this side helped haul them up. Incoming! yelled Joe, bracing his shield. The first large rat was charging toward us and was wreathed in flame. It burned through Sudas vines like they werent there. I could tell Joes Caltrops had it limping. I dropped Umbral Cold on it, which dimmed the flames, and that helped Akinas water hose, so the flames almost were out when they hit Joe''s shield. Joe had some sort of skill supporting his shield, or he would have gone flying. As it was, he skidded backwards, and I had to Dodge to the side. However, he had bled off the momentum of the charge. I didnt need Assessing Eyes to know this was fire-attuned, and I ripped into it with Frostshade Rend. It didnt do as much damage as I expected. Twais Dive Attacked its face, trying to blind it. Lacerating Claws left only what I would describe as scratches. That wasnt good. Arrows came in from Pok, and the other guards stepped up with their skills. The trouble was two more of these beasts were about to arrive. They probably had different affinities but would be no less difficult to take down. Then the Sergeant was there. Squad two with me! She yelled as she ran past. Guards disengaged to follow, including Joe and Suda. Squad two was only missing Norm, the fire mage. I saw Hilke following the Sergeant. Squad 1 was down two other guards, but I guess Akina was best here on the Fire Affinity Beast. There was also a guard still unconscious from Squad One so we were left with Pok, Akina and Phil. Phil stepped forward into Joe''s place and bashed the monster''s nose to get its attention. I could see damage on Phil''s gear, so I suspect he was the other wounded body that was on Rob. This branch was narrower than the one we just left, so there was less room to move. That didnt worry Myantha, who seemed to dart out into the air and back with no problem. It certainly didnt worry Twai. It did worry me. I kept Umbral Cold going, and Akina used water attacks. Myantha was concentrating on the wounded leg. I chose a leg on my side to disable and alternated Frostshade Rend with Cutting Light. Then Phil went flying, and Rob only just kept him on the branch. I saw Austin running to him and casting something, but he was our only shield user. Pok and Akina were ranged attackers, and the rat was about to charge them. I dropped Shadowbane, grabbed a shield and activated Provoking Aura. Its attention snapped to me, and I Shield Bashed the side of its head, and a claw came at me. I staggered back. My Shield skills are not up to this. I sliced its face with Lightreaver and Frostshade Rend but only scored a partial connection. An arrow thudded deep into the rat. The beast headbutted me, and I lost my balance and went over the edge of the branch. Twai let loose with his Mocking Call, which I hadnt heard before and was also a taunt-type skill. It was too late to save me, and I fell. I activated Feather Fall and orientated myself with Acrobatics and Cat reflexes, but I still bounced off a branch and fell again. I landed hard. With the breath knocked out of me and Minor Regeneration activating. I knew Rob was on his way to me, but I was not sure how far I had fallen. There were rats here as well, but only small ones. I protected my face and tossed out the Rattrap that distracted them. Then I realised it would distract them more if I turned off my Provoking Aura. My tough skin was making it very hard for these small ones to bite me. I picked myself up, grabbed the rattrap again, and tried to use Pathfinder to find the quickest way back up. 59. Asshole. Rob found me pretty quickly. I jumped on, and he retraced his steps. When I got back, the rat was on its last leg, literally. Phil was back on his feet, and there was another guard there, I assume the one who had been unconscious. That is the value of a healer. Further down the branch, the Sergeant and Squad Two didnt seem to be doing so well. We need to finish this one and go and help. Just then, a Power Arrow slammed through the rat''s eye and into its brain, and it collapsed. Good on you, Pok. Myantha landed next to me and looked at me head to toe, looking for damage. She said, I didnt realise how much of a difference your Rejuvenating Aura makes. At least you appreciated something about me, I replied. Squawk! said Twai, landing on my shoulder. You two seem to agree on a lot, I said. Chirp, Twai agreed. Phil, Pok, Akina and and and the other one came up. Let''s go and reinforce the Sarge, Phil said. I stored the giant rat for harvesting later, and it also cleared the branch so we could move. We all took a Stamina potion, and Myantha and Akina also took a Mana Potion. Austin ran past us, so we followed. He was treating Joe when we arrived. The Sarge was in the front line with a round shield and spear combination. Ryan, Wella and Hist had formed a shieldwall, but I gathered Hist only stepped in when Joe was knocked out. Both remaining giant Rats were side by side, but there was no more room to manoeuvre. The shield wall was retreating slowly, and the Rats had a forest of vines to fight through as they advanced. One of the Rats was bleeding, but the other didnt appear to be. I used Assessing Eyes. The damaged one was water-aligned, and the non-damaged one was wood-aligned. It seemed caught in the vines regardless, so I suspect the wood is acting like armour. This was not good. They were being forced back, and the damage they were causing was not heavy. Pok started firing arrows. This alerted the sarge we were here. Switch out, right to left, she commanded. The guards moved to obey and relieve their fellows. I looked at Myantha, Hit from the back? She nodded. Then Hilke came up, Have you got room for me as well? I can help, but not from here. I nodded, indicated Rob and said, Hold on tight. She mounted, and I mounted behind her. I manipulated the Light around us, and we hung on as Rob went over the edge of the branch, enough that we were almost upside down. He travelled along with his Suction Paws, not having a problem with the weight of both of us. My Feather Fall skill helped to reduce the weight. We came up behind the big rats, but the branch was swarming with smaller ones. Rob chomped down on some. I landed my Umbral Cold, and as soon as his tail was up, he Tail Smashed a huge number, making space. Twai swooped down on a dog-sized rat as Hilke and I jumped off Rob. Myantha was running on air to us. I wonder how long she can keep that up. Hilke was a close-in fighter. I guess that is why she couldnt fight behind a shield wall. She had sharpened half circles with a handle in the middle. The half-circle blade curved right around her hand, and she had one in each hand. She was slicing through the rats like she was reaping a field of wheat. I saw her use it to punch at one point, and the curved blade just kept cutting. I joined her with Shadowbane and Lightreaver. And we cleared up to the back of the two giant rats. What are they called? I asked when we had a minute. Hand Chakram, or Half Chakram. It is more commonly known as the Crescent Blade. How do you want to handle the big ones? That one will be tougher as it is wood-aligned. That one is wounded and water-aligned. We take that out first, and then everybody piles on the other one. How? Fire to combat Water, also light, I said. I was lining up Radient Strike and Burning Strike.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Asshole, asshole, Twai squawked. Hilke raised an eyebrow. Right. It is weak in the asshole. I put my weapons away and pulled out a spear. You guys want to open me a spot? It cant manoeuvre, so throwing it off the edge works for now as well. It will give us time to deal with the other one. Myantha and Hilke cleared rats. I stored as many corpses as my Helping Hand could reach. Take everything you can. I ducked under a sweep of the Rat''s tail. The asshole was there about chest height. Burning Strike was level 4. Radiant Strike was Level 3. Radiant Strike still had the highest damage because of my high affinity with light. I was in my Spectral Cloak, but it didnt cover the spear as it was not soul-bound. In fact, this was the spear I got off the Orc in the Land of the Undying Lord. I lined it up, and then the rat farted with bits of shit. I activated Charge for one step to get the bonus and then Thrust. Radiant Strike. The spear went about halfway in, and I left it with a stick up its butt. I grabbed Shadowbane and Lightreaver and started cutting for all I was worth. The Rat did not like a stick up its butt and squealed in protest and turned to face us by raising itself up on its mate. This caused the spear to hit the ground and move, causing more pain and, I hope, many internal injuries. Twai was attacking its face as it turned, and Rob used Crushing Bite on its tail and pulled, making the turn more difficult. Myantha and Hilke were trying to cut off a rear leg. An arrow slammed into the side of its face, and vines grew out of it, digging into an ear and eye. Then it was around, and Myantha air stepped out of the way, but it caught Hilke and she went flying off the side of the branch. I cloaked up, and before the Rat could target anyone, a massive Wart Toad appeared in front of it, and I croaked for all I was worth with Mimic Sound and Voice Throw. It tried to attack the image and just passed through it, but it was enough time for me to get into position, and I Thrust Shadowbane up under its chin, hoping to get to the brain, and at the same time, Frostshade Rend its throat with Lightreaver. Blood spurted out all over me from the throat. I left Shadowbane embedded and tried to roll away, but the rat-fink collapsed on top of me. This one was dead, and I was lying under it in a pool of blood, listening to the fight with the other one. I need to invest more in strength. Then I realised what an idiot I was and stored the corpse. Everybody was piling into the other rat, and it was literally a cornered rat. I just sat and watched. I was out of mana anyway. I was almost out of stamina, too. Rob came nearby and chomped at the little rats. I took a stamina potion. It was really too soon after the last one, but I was too vulnerable. I sent Rob to see if he could find Hilke. Ten minutes later, the biggest rat was dead, and the little ones scattered. Austin came over to see if I was alright, but he was only dealing with the big stuff as he only had so much mana. My biggest problem was the blood and shit. I cast Self-clean five times. Wheres Hilke and Myantha? Juth demanded when she did a head count. Went over the edge. Hilke involuntarily, Myantha, Twai and Rob went looking after this one was dead. I replied. She looked at Pok. She didnt need to say anything, and he jumped off the edge to follow. Okay, people, let''s get harvesting. We need these rewards. Juth looked at me. You have the other bodies? I nodded, moved away a bit, produced one, and then moved again to produce the second. Suda started harvesting one, Akina, the water mage, started the second, and I started on the third. We were about halfway through when Rob appeared carrying Hilke, who was alive but damaged. Myantha and Pok were with her, and Austin got to work. Broken bones would take a lot of mana. Once the bosses'' bodies were harvested, the Loot appeared. There were skill stones and armour and weapons. There was something for everyone, and Juth knew her guards and distributed it fairly well. She didnt know Myantha, Hilke, Twai, or me that well, so we had to speak up. I know Suda was pleased when she got Heartwood Bones. I was surprised when Pok got Flame Cloak. It was a black fur cloak that seemed to be smouldering. He could activate it so it could burst into flames. My Apraising eyes showed he had an affinity for fire, and I guess Norm was not here and didnt participate. I didnt see what Hilke got, but Myantha got a wooden cloak. It wasnt actually wood unless she activated it for defence, but it had bonus camouflage in forest environments. I got something I wasnt sure about. It was a Spear, and it was strongly focused on Light skills. It was a named spear, but not soul-bound. It was the Brightlance. Spears had never been my favourite. There were a number of top spearmen here, including the Sergeant and Joe. Neither wanted Brightlance, and I was really the only light user here. Ill get your Basic Spear skill maxed out, Juth promised, Then you might be worthy of the spear. I kind of doubted it. Twais reward was obvious. I really didnt like the reward he got. The Trial is messing with me again. He already has a Mocking Call. Why would he need an Excruciating Screech? That is just nasty. OK, everybody, spend some time levelling up. Grab food and drink. Then we have some missing members to find, Juth ordered. People started getting out their supplies. I did the same. I could level Spectral Slayer, so I did. I put a few points into strength. Sarge, Pok called out. She looked up. Advanced Class, Maam. I am now a Level 1 Trailblazer. Firecut, Speedrun and Fire Eyes. Congratulations. He got a lot of congratulations. This was what they were all working towards and risking their lives for. I was still holding a lot of Rat corpses. I need an opportune time to harvest them, but that wont be until we find the missing six. 60. Search and Rescue Pok, our new Trailblazer, led the way. His Fire Eyes could see heat like my Spectral Vision. Juth wants us to all stay together. There were only two days until the Lieutenant got back. Personally, I really wanted to explore more. This trial has more to be taken, especially after giving Twai Excruciating Screech. I think that is going to become his favourite skill. The Sarge was following the Locator, and the first thing we found was Fire mage Norms body. It was in a blackened area and was half eaten. Sarge examined it. Rat bites. The eating happened after he died. That was a good thing in my book. She got out a knife and dug into his shoulder. I saw her dig out an arrowhead. Other sapient hunters did the killing. Suda came out of the woods. There is blood leading that way. I am not sure whose it is. Locator agrees and up, Juth said. They probably targeted Norm. He was probably the most dangerous. Anyone fall? Twai darted down. Scout the trail, Juth told Suda, Pok can lead us. Suda disappeared again. Twai appeared with a spatial bag. He dropped it for Juth. Burned, burned, burned. Lizardkin. She examined the bag. Looks like Norm got one. Not a lot here. Let''s move. Lizardkin will be in a family group. Twai flew ahead. We set off at a run. Fifteen minutes later, we passed Cybil, the other assistant''s body. The body had been stripped of anything of value. Pok gave Juth some sort of signal, and she gave another signal. Joe moved up to the front with her, and their shields were up. Pok led two other guards to the left, and then I heard sounds of fighting. The guards were obviously moving in a prepared formation as much as they could do in the trees. Juth looked at Myantha, Hilke and me, Guard the non-combatants. Then she was off. Myantha took charge, and we moved to where we had a thick branch at our backs, and we were not easily visible. That also meant we couldnt see far. I laid out some warded shields beyond our cover and covered them with leaves, but they were not well hidden. I also switched to Spectral Vision (Seethru), which allowed me to penetrate the leaves better. The Heat would highlight body heat, but Reptiles and similar cold-blooded creatures dont have much body heat. Rob hid in camouflage above us. What do you know about Lizardkin? I asked Myantha quietly. How big a group? Probably a tribal hunting group. No less than five, maybe up to ten. Older ones train younger ones. Scales, teeth and claws. They mostly use spears; obviously, there is at least one archer. Juths chances? I ask. Hard to tell. Surprise counts for a lot. They cant be at a high level, or they would have left no survivors. I would suggest that our people killed at least one and escaped a trap to run. Juth is good. I know the guard likes to hit hard and fast, so I would rate her chances as very good. I nodded. That made sense. I kept scanning the area. Twai is watching the area between us and the fight. It is possible he might pick up some fallen items from the edge of the fight. He is good, but Pok and Suda would have to be distracted to miss him. I waited, scanning and cloaked. I picked up a movement with Spectral Vision. I used Voice Throw to whisper in Myanthas ear, One to your left, 30m. She was also in stealth and slowly repositioned. I could sense the Lizardkins tongue flicking, tasting the smells. He/she/it would know we were here somewhere. It bent down to brush the leaves off the ward shield they found, but that was enough. It was set to trigger on contact with a high mana object, and the claw of a sapient was enough. This was an eclipse ward, and a flash of darkness came and went. Myantha and I had both moved in that instance. The Lizardkin immediately withdrew its claw, dived to the side, and ran. Twais Excruciating Screech rang out, and it stumbled. I Power Threw my spear, catching him mid-stumble. The spear pierced his shoulder through the scales. I activated my Provoking Aura to get his attention, not that he could see me as I was still cloaked. However, he looked, and this let Myantha strike. She was wisely going for penetration against the scales, and it shuddered as her twin blades stabbed its back. I think one must have severed its spine as it collapsed, and she stabbed into the brain. She rolled away and went back into stealth as I moved and scanned the area. We had been loud, and loud attracted attention. We make a good team.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. After a few minutes of silence and no movement, Twai landed on the corpse and picked its pockets. I saw a claw flash, and he flew off with a bag. About fifteen minutes later, I heard the whistle of the pass tune. I sensed Myantha sniff with her Scent Tracking. A couple of seconds later, Suda stepped out. I was tracking that one, thanks, she said, nodding to the corpse. You got them all then? I asked, dropping the cloak. Yeah. Austin is treating the wounded, but no more deaths. It looks like they were snatched by the trial while on a day hunt as they didnt have a lot. So they probably attacked for the supplies? I asked. That is what the Sarge thinks. Steal it, Steal it, Twai chimed in. We probably could have sold some if they made an offer, I said, looking sideways at Twai. We going to head up there? No, wait here. There is a place for a camp not far back this way, Suda said. It was over an hour later when the Guards arrived, and we moved out. Austin looked like he was suffering mana exhaustion. We travelled for about an hour, and the guards were dealing with any issues. We eventually got to a trunk and moved up several branches, and there was a wide, sheltered area. We set up a camp. There were only two deaths and one lost arm so far in this Trial. We should be thankful it is so low. I am wondering why I signed up for this again. Stealing things is never without risk. Back in Slyhill''s safety, the risk seemed manageable. I dont know how I forgot that Trials are out to kill you. I didnt forget. Maybe it was the greed. Maybe it was the influence of my classes. All three of my classes. Pilferer brings the Greed, Seeker brings the how, and Spectral Slayer brings the confidence that I could not only do this but also kill my way to survival. How did you get in here, Twai? I ask. Flee, Flee. Hunted into the hunter trial. I put some seeds on my palm for him to peck. I leaned back against Rob. Our teamwork is coming along fine, but we need to work on your skills and our goal here. Shinies, shinies. I flipped him a silver coin, which he caught in his beak. Our coordination is coming along fine. I have a lot of the Strike Skills but few higher-powered ones. I need to work on the light version of Frostshade Rend, and you need to work on the air version. I got out Shadowbane. Lightreaver is for shadows, and Shadowbane is for light skills. If shadows are about absorbing energy, then light is about radiating energy. Radiant Strike is called that for a reason. Cutting Light is the radiant light focussed into a small beam. Flash is a burst of strong light. My images also use light, and light comes in many colours. I started manipulating light on Shadowbane in various colours. Then, I ordered the colours in the order of the rainbow. The darker colours, Violet, Indigo and blue, were shorter or quicker than the yellow, orange and reds. Pretty, pretty, Twai chirped. Yeah, I said, but no damage. Before I could get very far, there was a commotion. Alistern and Zeek were back. Zeek split off to the side and started eating while Alistern spent a long time with Juth getting updated. A meeting was called. Alistern stood and said, " Congratulations on making it this far, and a special congratulations on those who have advanced. We are sorry to hear of Norm and Cybil. He paused in respect. We scouted the boss, and I discussed it with the Sergeant. The boss is different. He tossed a shard of stone on the branch in front of us. The shortest edge was curved. The other two edges were generally triangular with rough, broken edges. Part of a pattern was engraved on it, along with some symbols. I assumed they were a language, but they were not a language I knew. My Lore Skill was soaking it in and wanting more. Alistern continued, This is part of the boss quest. We have to hunt out the other pieces to complete this tablet, or whatever it is. We dont know if it is round, oval, or just has one rounded edge. We dont know how many pieces there are, although Zeek thinks another six to eight. He stopped to look around. This piece was guarded by a giant ape. We stole it out from under his ass, almost literally. I doubt they are all going to be that easy. I watched Alistern, and I doubted that whatever they did to get that piece was easy. I figure we have two people here with the skills to hunt them down. Zeek and Marvin, if Marvin is willing. I gave him a nod. This was my speciality, and I would not miss the chance to level up Seeker several times. That means two teams. It will be dangerous. We have already had deaths. We will travel to the nearest exit, and those who dont want to participate will establish a base camp. If things go wrong, they can exit, and we will find them when we exit. Zeek says this Trial is not wandering very fast. Those who want to participate will divide into two groups and hunt out the pieces. We will move out toward the exit in an hour. Come and let me know if you want to participate, and I will share the quest. It is always worth it to participate, but it is dangerous. Alistern had already taken my nod as acceptance, and I got a quest notification. Forest Hunters Trial: Completion Quest. Locate the puzzle pieces and assemble the stone. Bonus objective: Solve the mystery. Reward: +5000 XP per piece. Other rewards are dependent on participation. Accept Quest? Y/N There is not a lot of detail there. The academics will want in on this, but only the solving the mystery part, I bet. I am still not going to get to work with Zeek. The guy fascinated me. I am sure I could learn a lot from him. Now that I had the quest, I concentrated on my Seekers Intuition and had several directions come to my notice. It was hard to tell how many pieces there were. I picked one and tried to sense what might be at the end. I was picking up a little more than just the item I was seeking. This one had the impression of a dangerous predator, but only a singular predator. I dont know how much to trust it, but it is something, and I hope that as my skill levels, I will get more information. I picked another one, and this was higher up, and there were definitely multiple dangers and wind. I might choose that one as Myantha and Twai could counter air attacks, assuming Myantha was coming. Get off your butt, Marvin, Juth said roughly. You have that fancy spear, and we have half an hour. Lets see where your skills are at. I am sure there were some pitying looks from nearby guards. 61. Base Camp. Juth did not think much of my spear skills. We have a lot of work to do, were her actual words. Then she added, I will tell Alistern you will be hunting the stone tablets on my team so we can keep practising, and I can watch you in action. To me, that sounded more ominous than helpful. We moved out with Zeek leading the way and Suda watching our rear. Alistern and Pok roamed the sides. Twenty-four of us entered this Trial, and we are down to twenty-two. Twenty-one if you discount assistant Walter, who is severely traumatised and wont leave the main group. We are twenty if you remove Barnard, who only has one arm. I watch him walking ahead of me. I wouldnt count him out yet, as he has rigged up a hook thing on the stump at the end of his arm and is practising with it. He is a historical weapons expert, so he probably has some tricks up his (empty) sleeve. On the plus side, everybody has levelled a lot, and we have four new advanced classes among us. I am particularly pleased with the new skills Twai has. He is a lot harder to kill now and more dangerous. Hey, Twai. I throw my voice at him. He is flying above us, watching for danger from the higher branches. Chirp, I heard you and Myantha discussing Air Manipulation. Air can carry poison in a cloud form, and you have the poison skill. Have you tried that? A negative chirp. Air also carries sound, and you have two sound skills: Mocking Call and Excruciating Screech. You should be able to use your air manipulation to focus and perhaps amplify them. Chirp, chirp. That was Twais way of saying, Thank you, Marvin. You are the most awesome and intelligent person of them all. You are also supremely handsome and skilled, and I am forever in awe of you. Yeah, right. At least he keeps life interesting. I like him. It took us two days to find the exit portal. It was inside the trunk of one of the massive trees about two-thirds of the way up. There was a crack in the tree, and hidden inside was the exit. Nothing seemed to guard it. You just had to find it. The guard took care of most of the monsters that attacked us. We helped a bit, and I noticed Twai practising his focused Excruciating Screech. He needs more work, but it is still better for his allies. We went down about thirty meters to a large branch and set up a semi-permanent camp. I used my Onyx Carver to carve some wards in the trunk above and below us and then out on the branch. What I needed was to learn wards where they will be set off if something gets close. However, at this point, it is only by touch. Juth would not let me rest without an hour of spear training at night and got me up early for an hour in the mornings. Brightlance was attuned to light, so I also played around with my Light Manipulation with it. It was not as easy as it was with Lightreaver and Shadowbane, but it was significantly better than a normal spear. My Basic Spear technique did level, but it has a long way to go. Juth gave me a set of exercises to do at least three times a day to build muscle memory and familiarity with the spear. I ran through the spear exercises again, but this time, I was experimenting with light. I ran the colours of the rainbow down the spear, from long wavelengths to short wavelengths: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. I did it twice, but it seemed awkward, so I reversed it. Short to long, yes, that seemed better. Darker colours first and then through to the reds. I did it on every thrust of the spear. I was practising in front of a branch, so at full thrust, the tip of the spear was just penetrating the bark. Thrust, step back, defend, flick the spear butt, defend, slash with the head, thrust, thrust, step back, defend, twist, slice with the point, defend, move the feet, slice, thrust. And on and on. I am on the edge of discovering something with my Light Manipulation. I can feel it. However, it was not coming tonight. I settled down to rest and figured it was time to review my full status. Sometimes, that triggers me to try something new. It did when I was creating Frostshade Rend as I compared how my other shadow skills worked.
Name: Marvin Wygon Age: 24 Race: Al''rashian
Level: 16 Sub Level 8 Class: Seeker 6 /Spectral Slayer 8 / Pilferer 2 Profession: Performer 6 / Wardweaver 2
Health: 880 Stamina: 880 Mana: 560
Strength: 43 Agility: 65 Dexterity: 56
Constitution: 45 Intelligence: 56 Wisdom: 45
Perception: 2 Endurance 1
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 0
Companion Bond Twai (Kea Parrot)
Precision Throw 6 Thrust 7 Crushing Blow 3
Parry 4 Holy Strike 7 Create Dart 3
Chop 3 Slash 4 Block 1
Bloodletting 5 Long Slash 2 Quick Strike 5
Create Arrow 1 Shield Bash 2 Death Strike 3
Shadow Phase 3 Burning Strike 4 Nights Embrace 3
Power Throw 1 Piercing Throw 3 Ambush Strike 2
Shadow Strike 2 Radiant Strike 4 Frostshade Rend 2
Acid Strike 1
Auras Provoking Aura 3 Rejuvenating Aura 5
Razors Edge 6 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 5
Basic Blunt Weapons 3 Blade Storm 2 Steel Serpent 5
Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 4 Purifying Dance 4
Three Steps 4 Basic Shield 2 Serpents Blade Dance 2
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max
Quick Hands 6 Climb 7 Ambidextrous 3
Acrobatics 4 Free Runner 5 Cat Reflexes 5
Steady Footing 4 Light Speed 4 Charge 2
Sleight-of-hand 2 Swimming 1 Muffle Sound 2
Feather Fall 2 Shadow Stealth 1 Stealth 10/Max
Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max
Bronc Riding 2 Appraisal 6 Identify 8
Agility Riding 1 Mimic Sound 3 Voice Throw 2
Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 8
Butchering 2 Weave Ward 2 Unravel Ward 1
Tracking 7 Scribe 1 Herbalist 1
Mining 7 Leadership 2 Skinning 1
Maiming Decoy 1 Onyx Carver 1 Create Trap 10/Max
Disarm Traps 10/Max Detect Traps 10/Max Riding 10 Max
Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max
Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 6 Death Resistance 3
Toughened Skin 5 Fire Resistance 5 Toughened Body 4
Mana Disruption 5 Mana Strength 4 Mana Sensitivity 8
MicroMana Manipulation 5 MacroMana Manipulation 2 Mana Web (Sensing) 3
Mana Syphon 4 Mana Manipulation 10/Max Mana Control 10/Max
Seeker Seekers Intuition 4 Pathfinder 3 Lore 2
Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 5 Mana Sight 3
Nightsight 4
Light Manipulation 8 Minor Regeneration 3 Storage 6
Shadow Manipulation 4 Farsight 2 Map
Death Manipulation 2 Spectral Cloak 4 Assessing Eyes 3
Helping Hand 2
Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4
Trim 5 Mend 1 Trickle 1
Wither 1 Glow 1 Dim 3
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 7 Flash 7
Project Image 8 Animate Image 6 Cutting Light 4
Eclipse 2 Umbral Cold 5
Name: Rob Race: Greater Lizard
Health: 880 Stamina: 880 Mana: 560
Night Sight Adaptive Camouflage Acidic Poison Saliva
Sprint Crushing Bite Viscous Tongue
Suction Paws Tail Smash Regeneration
Name: Twai Age 12 months Race: Kea (Parrot)
Level: 13
Health: 400 Stamina: 400 Mana: 200
Strength: 20 Agility: 40 Dexterity: 24
Constitution: 20 Intelligence: 20 Wisdom: 12
Free Attribute Points: 0
Abilities Air Manipulation 6 Poison Resistance 3
Pickpocket 8 Adaptive Camouflage 3 Claw Strike 5
Peck 6 Wind Blade 4 Mocking Call 6
Gust 5 Weaving 2 Poison 2
Lacerating Claw 4 Dive Attack 4 Slash 2
Heal Wound 2 Darksteel Feathers 2 Tough Bones 2
Excruciating Screech 1 Camouflage 10/max
Movement Skills Swift Flight 7 Silent Flight 5
Vision Dark Vision 4 Hunters Eye 2
Charms Self-Clean 1
I have the light show and the colours, but I am not damaging anything. Radiant Strike does damage. Cutting Light does damage. Light damages in two ways. Radiating out and concentrated down into a point. That is what the spell, Cutting Light, does. The spell concentrates the light. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Radiant Strike is different. It is like the radiating light has a short ongoing effect after the strike. I checked my other strike skills, and acid, death and burning all had the same. This made them a little more powerful than the other strike skills. So, what am I trying to achieve with this rainbow stuff? Radiating or focussed cutting? Focussed cutting has always been my strongest ability. I pick the light band with the shortest wavelength, violet. I bring out Shadowbane and concentrate on the violet light in the blade. I try concentrating it on the edge to see if it enhances the cutting power. I tried a number of times, but I cant seem to get it focused enough. Cutting Light is actually a spell, not a skill I can generally use with weapons. Does it need to be a spell to get the concentration? I can focus Cutting Light on Shadowbane and Lightreaver, but is that because they are soul-bound? I tried it on Brightlance and couldnt make it work, so I think it is an advantage of the soul-bound weapons, which are also light and shadow-attuned. Brighlance enhanced Radiant Strike, but that was my only light-based weapons skill. I tried different things with light manipulation, and it was easy to hide the spear by wrapping light around it. This will help me use it when I am hidden in a Spectral Cloak, and it will trigger an Ambush strike, etc. I have made spells before. Eclipse and Umbral Cold are examples. It is frustrating that I dont know what I am doing. A Radiant Strike is a bright light that strikes with the weapon and has damage and short ongoing damage from the radiation. What if I break up the Radiant Strike into separate colours? That is getting somewhere. I use Shadowbane and practice against the tree, splitting Radient Strike into separate wavelengths. I was barely making progress when we were called to a team meeting. Predictably, all the guards volunteered for the hunt, so they were staying in their normal squads. Juth was taking command of Squad Two, and we were down a mage due to Norms demise. To make up for that, they got me, Myantha and Austin, the healer. Alistern and Zeek would lead Squad One. Hilke was going with them. One armed Barnard was in charge of the base camp. Both Joe and Suda were in Squad Two, along with Ryan, Wella and Hist. All three started with a single class slot, and all three had started with the Warrior Class. Ryan and Wella specialised in Swordsman and usually used swords and shields. Hist was a Spearman and, like Juth, used a spear and shield combination. Suda, our nature shifter, was the scout and archer. Joe, our Steel Warden, was our heavy defender. Juth had us all spar before we left, and she made me use Brightlance and start with Hist, although she rotated us around. The Lieutenant is heading down that direction for their one, Juth said, where do you think we should go? I want to go up. I think there is one near the canopy, and with Myantha and Twai, we are good against what I think are the birds up there. Joe didnt like that, but Juth had us head out as per my directions. Pathfinder was a great skill 62. Trial Heights. The forest Trial was actually quite beautiful as we climbed higher. As we climbed, more flowers started appearing, and the air got lighter and brighter. I would never call it peaceful, but it had a beauty. The tree we were climbing had red flowers. They didnt seem to have petals like a normal flower, but a whole lot of red stems formed the flower. It was beautiful. When we stopped for a break, I looked closely and picked a flower. This was one of the smaller ones that fit in the palm of my hand. The flowers themselves didnt seem to be poisonous. The smell was a delicate floral with a woody scent to it. I plucked a couple of the red stems and crushed them in my hand and the scent was marginally stronger, but there didnt seem to be any other effect. Typically, flowers are pollinated to produce fruit or nuts and, therefore, seeds for the plant. This particular tree didnt seem to have any fruit or nuts, and I think the seeds were small, light things held in small pods that would disburse in the wind. I might have Herbalist 1, but this was way outside of any herb knowledge. I stored what I thought were the seeds and was rewarded with them being planted in my Mana Garden. I guess that is one way to identify the seeds. I would be interested in what we could do with a fruit or nut, but we would have to find a different tree for that, and the nearby ones are clusters of this type. If I get a chance, we will move to the top layers and sample other tree types. I also need someone with better gardening and plant skills. Plant skills, huh? Hey Suda, what do you know about this tree and flower? I held up the flower I plucked. Not a lot. There are variations that normally grow near the coast outside this trial, but there are none near this area. Obviously, they dont grow anywhere near this size, either. The Trial has changed them. I would have to wait to get more information. Merryport was near the coast. They might have similar trees. Are there other trees here you recognise? There are some, yes. I am sure I saw an oak variant and some Pine types. They had the needle leaves. A lot of these trees should not be growing in the same environments, and they have been massively changed by the Trial and not just in size. I am not sure how much of the outside knowledge applies to these trees. If we were to harvest some wood, what would be the most useful? Take everything you can! Hardwoods are good for bows and spears. Softer, springier wood is often good for shields. I saw some Poplar variants that would work. What do you think of this tree''s wood? I asked. Suda put a hand against the rough bark and concentrated, I assume, using her Plant Manipulation. This is a hardwood, probably a bit brittle for things like a bow, but probably a good building wood. I looked at the branch and got out an axe. It was the diameter where Suda and I could probably touch hands if we stretched our arms around it. What do you think? Should we take some with us? I think, said Suda, looking up into where the branch went, that if you cut this, it would upset a lot of monsters, and we would be under attack. Good point, I conceded, Shall we find one that might cause less disturbance? It turns out Suda didnt need an axe to cut tree limbs. She found good ones with few knots and twists, and she fell them easily and debarked them. I stored a number of clean logs before I got the notification: Storage upgraded: Timber Racks have been added to the Warehouse. Suda cut and stripped logs, and I picked flowers and seeds. We then crossed to another type of tree. This had some sort of acorn seed, and my garden planted it. There is no way the garden is big enough for even a normal-sized tree, let alone these monstrosities. However, I think selling seedlings with a sample of wood will bring in a good amount of coin. I am not going to grow a forest, but Suda is interested. She just doesnt have anywhere to grow it. Apparently, the Lieutenant has family in Aldrossford and knows the Duke, so she is planning to try to make a deal with them. As long as I get a cut, I am happy. Do you want me to purchase the seedlings, or would you like a share in the business? Suda asked. That was a decision. A share in the business was great for long-term profit, but it was a huge risk as the seedlings might not grow outside the trial. A share certainly. 50/50? Ha! Dream on. I will be doing all the work. In fact, without my Plant Manipulation, there is almost no chance of these growing. 5% max. 40% Seriously? The Duke and Alistern will certainly be taking a cut. 10%A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I sighed, I suppose I can come down to 25%. You are joking. You want a quarter of the profits when you have a one-off job to get the plants to Aldrossford alive, and that is it. Your job is finished, whereas mine is barely starting. This is years of work for me. Decades. 12% absolute tops or forget it. That is how I got 15% of her profits for decades to come and no work. Well, I promised to deliver more seeds when I came across them. It sounded like a good deal to me. Shit. I am now invested in the war. If I cant keep Aldrossford standing, then my 15% is worthless. I wonder if I can convince her to plant her forest elsewhere? The trouble with being in the upper canopy was that the branches were thinner, and the foliage was thicker. Our sight lines and manoeuvring space were both reduced. The monsters were smaller but generally faster. A lot more of them had wings. The flock of fire sparrows was annoying. Tree Squirrels could throw things very hard. The flying foxes didnt actually have wings but thin skin under their arms so they could glide. They had a nasty bite. The magpies were the worst. They were nasty creatures with death magic. Austin spent a lot of time cleansing people. Ryan lost an eye to the magpies. Austin saved his life, but he will have to wait for a full healing team to get it replaced. Dusk was settling as Suda and I put our eyes on where the tablet piece will be. It was in a nest of thousands of large birds with black and white feathers and large, bright orange, oversized beaks. Hornbills, Suda identified, or a trial variation of them. There were hundreds of them, and the tablet piece was somewhere in the middle. A lot of air affinity, I said after using my Assessing Eyes. Twai? I ask. Twais Hunters Eye was worth consulting. Weak body. Weak Body. Strong beak, strong claws. Physically weak, huh? That air manipulation will hamper any ranged attacks. We backed away to consult with Juth and the others. Night is coming, and they dont look like nocturnal creatures. Could a few of us sneak in tonight? I asked. Air manipulation, Myantha said, They will sense the air movement for sure. I am starting to develop that. That was bad news for me. If she can sense air movement, she will sense right through my illusions. Oh, yeah, so will the Hornbills. Between you and Twai, could you calm the air for us to get in? I will hide us from the eyes. You two hide us from air movement, I said. Thin branches are easy to move when you step on them, Suda said. My Feather Fall was only level 2, so there was limited help from that. So Suda needs to come as well? I suggested as she had Plant Manipulation. Juth said, So you are suggesting a stealth strike team with Marvin, Myantha, Twai and Suda? I nodded. What happens when it all comes crashing down on you? You come and rescue us, I said, or better, we run. Whether we have the tablet piece or not, if we are discovered, we run. We run to you and a fortified position. It is night, so we dont want to run far. There are too many nocturnal predators, but that means they might not chase us far either, especially if we go down. That has potential, Juth said. How about we go down now and work our way underneath where you think the tablet is and make a base? Then, all you have to do is sneak upwards. I nodded, The sense is not pinpoint accurate, but that sounds good. We had to go lower than we estimated to avoid the air senses of the Hornbills. Only some quick work by Myantha and Twai saved us. At least we have proved their air manipulation can counter the Hornbills, even though they needed a lot of improvement. Twais warning gave us the seconds we needed. He was flying above us with his Silent Flight and trying to use his Air Manipulation to sense air movement when he squawked a warning. Some of our group were not stealth-orientated. Even Joe had minimal stealth. A dozen Hornbills swooped down at us, and the warning was enough for shields to be raised. The Hornbills all seemed to have air manipulation, and they could do what Twai was only learning. The Hornbill name did not just refer to their massive orange beaks but also the horn noise they could make and focus with their air manipulation. Twai and Myanthas counter only slightly blunted the noise. The shields helped, but what saved us was being stationary and braced. Blood trickled out all of our ears as eardrums burst, and that still didnt stop the sound from thumping through our bodies and disrupting them. Being stationary and braced meant the disorientating and dizzying effect didnt send anyone plummeting off the thin branches. My eardrums burst, but my Toughened Body withstood it better than most. Twais Blacksteel feathers helped blunt it for him, and he only crashed into me. While he was with me, he cast Heal Wounds for my eardrums and then for his own. Rob took it hard, but his regeneration kicked in fast. Joe, Suda and Juth all had skills that blunted the attack. Myantha, Hist, Ryan, and Wella were all struggling. Austin did something to boost us all. I think it was an aura or similar. This was the effect of twelve Hornbills, not hundreds. We would be sneaking in surrounded by several hundred of these. I am starting to have second thoughts about this plan. I sliced a Hornbill in half with Cutting Light. The bodies were quite weak, and they were large birds. Twai was faster than they were. Twai was also mad. He was a bird and made to fly. Being made to crash land got him angry. He took off from my shoulder with a powered Gust. It shot him away at speed, but from my perspective, it felt like he farted in my face. Wind Blades shot out from his wings, slicing into a Hornbill, and then he crashed into it, claws and beak working. The hornbills claws came up to rake Twai, but his feathers blunted it. I think one Blacksteel feather fell amongst the many that Twais claws were ripping out of it. Twai had also positioned himself so his beak was pecking, whereas the hornbill couldnt twist his beach around enough to get Twai. I had to turn my attention to my own defence, but Sudas vines had captured several, and she was bringing down others with her bow. Austin got everyone back in the fight, and it didnt last long. We were lucky that there were only a few at the bottom edge of the flock and that we didnt attract more. The worst-case scenario would be if there were enough Hornbills to make the sound attack continuous. 63. Ruffled Feathers. Suda found a good defensive position with a branch protecting them from overhead attacks. Are you sure we can hide from their air senses? I asked. Myantha, Twai, Suda and I were having a pre-mission brief with Juth. I have had a taste of their attacks and, hence, a taste of their manipulation techniques, Myantha said. I suggest we dont leave until after midnight and approach slowly. We can retreat if Twai and I cant figure it out. The sound attack is the worst. Any ideas for defending against it? Juth asked. Not really, Myantha said. Those that defended the best had a toughened skin or body. Everybody had ears affected and therefore their balance. Earplugs of some sort and putting up a layer of something that will mute the sound is all I can think of. Juth nodded, Austin is already making earplugs for everybody. My mind was spinning off on a tangent. I have the skill Muffle Sound that muffles the sound I make, but does it also muffle the sound coming in? It is a new skill, so I need to test this. I had not noticed a difference in what I could hear when I had the skill running, but it is low level. Maybe it could be adapted to affect the sound coming in as well as going out. My second thought was that Nights Embrace muffled the senses, including sound. That is a shadow skill. Could I use Shadow Manipulation to create a sound barrier? That seems like it could be possible, but I dont have time right now. I will work on that. For now, it is ear plugs and a Toughened Body. I am still getting used to how amazing the manipulation abilities are. If you use them often enough in the same way, you will develop a new skill. It must be so hard for those without them. They are reliant on Skillstones mostly. I look in my skill cupboard. I have copies of Earth, Fire, Ice and Water. Pok, our new Trailblazer, is probably compatible with the Fire one. He is not here. I use Appraising Eyes on the squad members that are here. Ryan, Wella, Hist and Austin. Austin has some affinity for water, but it is not high. It is higher than my Death Affinity. Hist has some affinity for Ice, but it is not amazing like Sudas affinity for plants. Ryan has some Earth affinity. He has a patch over his missing eye. None of them will be able to afford the stones. Juth, I get her attention, What is Alisterns position on buying skills for you guys? She looked at me suspiciously, The general policy is that the Trial will provide what is best for you as you conquer the challenges. I am not sure I agree with that. If you dont have the right skills, the Trial will kill you. I didnt say anything. I just nodded. The Dukes Guard wont be paying for the skills. We left at around midnight. Suda led the way, strengthening the branches. I followed with my Pathfinder guiding us. At this point, I was just deepening the Shadows around us with Shadow Manipulation rather than actually Manipulating Light. We all had good stealth, and I was practising my new Shadow Stealth and Muffle Sound. Twai was perched on my shoulder, smoothing the air. Myantha was bringing up the rear and layering her Air Manipulation under Twais. I asked Rob if he wanted to come or stay behind. If he came, it would have to be in the Tattoo, as his physical size would be a problem. He preferred to be with me. He was summoned for me, and with me, he wanted to stay. Our communication and our connection are improving, and I think it is all to do with the way I treat him. I treat him like a living being, not like an object to be used, like a lot of people. I feed him and care for him, instead of just putting him back in the tattoo when he is not needed, and it is starting to pay off. We are starting to like each other. I had Nightsight and on for my close surroundings and Spectral Vision (Heat) to pick out the position of the Hornbills. It wasnt long till I started sensing still blobs of heat indicating the sleeping or still forms of the Hornbills. Suda picked a path to stay away as far as possible, but this was getting increasingly difficult as the number rose. We paused often to let disturbed birds settle again. As we got higher and the moons were bright, I increased shadow manipulation. I didnt bother asking if they were real moons. I put it down to Trial shenanigans. Shadow Stealth and Muffle Sound levelled, and I started using Feather Fall to lighten my steps. We paused. Suda was looking for a way past a large clump of Hornbills. She indicated left. I touched her shoulder and indicated pause.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I cast Nights Embrace lightly over the Hornbills nearby, then increased it. They didnt seem to sense it, so I increased it again. It would dull their senses. Certainly, it dulled sight, hearing and smell. It also had a small effect on Twais budding air senses when we tested it. It was hard to tell as he was just learning to do it with Air manipulation, so we wouldnt rely on it. We moved forward. I could reach out and touch the nearest Hornbills. We were that close. We crept forward again and stopped. I looked around and saw Sudas problem. They were too close for us to get past. The one shifted and flexed its wings. I shifted to the side and let Myantha pass, then followed her. She was the Blade Whisperer Assassin, but we couldnt let so much as a feather fall. That was my role and my newly upgraded Helping Hands. I now have a second hand, and they can reach further. Myantha pulled out a long, thin knife, and I created two Shadow Hands that reached past her. Her strike was so fast I didnt actually see it, but her hand held the Hornbill around the neck, and the knife penetrated into the heart. Even then, it struggled for a few seconds before dying. She held it aloft away from any branches and tightened her Air Manipulation around us, letting Twai protect Suda. Nothing fell. Nothing was disturbed. My Helping Hand was not needed in this case. She withdrew the knife and passed me the corpse, and I stored it. Myantha turned slightly and struck again. This one was not so lean, as the bird had just started to stretch its wings. They flapped madly for a minute, and she held the bird close to her body, squashing one of the wings against her armour. Her grip on its throat stopped any noise from there, but noise came from the flapping wing, and some feathers came loose in the struggle. My Helping Hand snatched the feathers, and we all held our breaths to see whether her air manipulation would hold. It did. She passed me the corpse, and we moved forward a few steps. This was the way forward from now, a lot sooner than we expected. Myantha was an exceptional assassin. She dispatched six birds before we had a path through this flock and moved into the gap before the next bunch. We rested a few moments and then moved forward and up again. We were getting closer. Four dead birds later, one disturbed its neighbour. I stepped forward immediately, and Ambush Strike separated its head from the rest of it, catching both in my Helping Hands and storing them. We all watched as two feathers floated down out of reach. We watched and waited. Myantha passed me her corpse, and that was the signal to keep moving. We had got away with it. We moved on. Now, I was starting to search for the stone tablet. We were close. We were also in the middle of hundreds of Hornbills and only about thirty metres from the sky. These Hornbills were larger and stronger. It was taking Myantha two or three stabs to kill them, and we were both working together to bring them down quietly. Ambush Strike and Shadow Strike both went up a level. Suda was working hard at giving us solid branches to stand on, moving twigs and leaves out of our way without being noticed. There were a lot more small twigs that would quickly snap if we put a foot wrong. We were moving a lot slower now. Myantha was using her Airstep more, so it was me who was the main danger. I only had Feather Fall, and it had only just ticked up to level 3. Twai was sitting on Sudas shoulder, with his air manipulation working hard. I was worried about how much mana Myantha was chewing through as she was working the hardest of all of us. We were moving in a circle-hunting pattern. It was here somewhere. We avoided what we could and assassinated what we had to, but every assassination was a risk. I was looking for the boss. All these would be guarded by a trial boss, right? I was searching for the largest and meanest hornbill, but there didnt seem to be one. Maybe the whole flock is the trial boss? I think I have found it, Suda said. That way, twenty meters, up a bit, wedged in a branch fork. There are six Hornbills within arms reach of it. Suda and her wood sensing. We focused our senses on the area, and I could see the hornbills, but the tablet shard was not visible to me. I switched to Spectral Vision (Seethru), and it stood out from the wood. We moved in that direction, stopping about eight meters short. It was out of reach of my Helping Hands, but the branches were too thin for access from this side. Myantha could get there, but that amount of air magic this close was a disaster. That left Twai and his wings. The shard was quite large. Twai would have trouble holding it without air manipulation, which would alert the birds around it. I looked at Twai, and he cocked his head back at me. We didnt want to speak this close. In fact, Sudas tiny whisper was the first word spoken after over an hour of careful tense work. Twai stretched his wings carefully, signalling to the others to get ready. We all put in earplugs. The Twai launched himself across the gap with his Silent Flight. We observed as he braked with his wings and my Manasight picked up some air manipulation. He had his claws on the stone shard. The nearest Hornbill stirred and stretched its wings. Then he flapped hard to drag the shard out, and four Hornbill heads popped up. As the shard came out, one hornbills body visibly dropped, and it squawked. It had been partially on the shard. A lot of Hornbill heads popped up. Meanwhile, Twai was halfway back, but I could see the shard slipping from his grip. Then the first sonic attack struck him, and the shard dropped, and hundreds of hornbills looked at him. Twai dived after the shard, and I dove after him. 64. Falling for it. I launched myself off the branch, and as soon as the shard slipped his grip, I caught it quickly. I used Cat Reflexes and Acrobatics to twist and throw the shard at Suda and Myantha just before crashing through some smaller branches and drawing the attention of a whole lot more Hornbills. I glimpsed Suda, catching it and creating a wooden shield, part protecting and part hiding them. The hornbills are focused on me, so let''s keep it that way. I pushed out Provoking Aura and produced a strong Flash. Twai squawked in protest, but the sound of horns drowned it out. Hide! I tried to communicate with him as I Flashed again and tried to land on a branch, but it cracked and broke. I was under constant sonic attack now and disorientated, which wasnt helping my Acrobatics of Cat Reflexes. I flicked on Feather Fall but smashed into a branch, and I am sure my ribs were cracked. I pulled a shield out of my Storage and tried to use it to protect my head and upper body as claws and beaks were coming at me. I Flashed again, trying to blind them. Shit, I cant think. I finally thought to turn off Provoking Aura. I got the shield in front of me, which sort of helped me bounce off a branch. I was still falling uncontrollably, even with Feather Fall. I had no idea where Twai was. Hopefully, he had hidden and avoided them chasing him. I also hope Myantha and Suda can sneak away, but it will be doubly difficult for them. I may have a lot of hornbills after me, but I am sure they are not all of them. And they will all be awake now. A set of claws raked down my back, only partially stopped by my armour and Toughened Skin. I crashed into another branch, and my head took a hit. I am thankful for my helmet, but it does not stop everything. My Minor Regeneration was already hard at work, adding to the pain and disorientation but keeping me alive. I started flashing out stored Copy Images in random directions to try and distract some of the birds, and I tried to grab a health potion, but it was knocked out of my fingers. I was bleeding freely, and my armour was being turned into ribbons. My insides felt like they were being turned into mush from the constant sonic horns. Then, my leg cracked against a branch, and I could see my thigh bone sticking out of the leg. I might not survive this. Then I was bounced off another branch, and this time, I started spraying blood from my leg, and I almost passed out. Then another sonic attack sounded nearby, but this halted the horn attacks as Twai swooped in with Excruciating Screech and Wind Blades. Twai landed on my leg, and his claws rammed against my bone, shoving it back into my leg. Heal Wound, stopping the arterial bleeding. We crashed into another branch, which I think he cushioned with his air manipulation. I saw a hornbill rake him, and his Blacksteel Feathers sliced off the claws. My consciousness was fading. All I could focus on was Tawai riding me as we fell, his Air Manipulation fending off hornbills and branches. There was a massive crash, and I knew no more. Something dripped on my face. Then it dripped into my mouth, and I tasted blood. I tried opening my eyes, but only one of them worked. My brain was still fuzzy, and everything hurt. I fumbled for a health potion, but all the ones in my ready belt were used or smashed. My headache spiked when I tried to use mana to get one from my storage. I tried to make sense of what I was seeing with my one eye. Nightsight was best and required the least effort. The darkness resolved into a set of scales not far above my face. What? The scales moved and then suddenly flicked side to side, and I realised what I was looking at. Rob was standing over me. His rear feet were near my arms, and I was looking at his tail from underneath. It was his blood that dripped onto me, and his tail had just swiped at something. I need to get up and help or get up and move, at least. I may have too many broken bones for that. I put more effort into getting a health potion from my storage. Did I have a Mend Bones potion? I cant remember. I got a Health potion and painfully brought it to my lips. Even swallowing was painful. It helped a bit. I wondered how I was still alive. How was Rob out? I didnt bring him out. Did Twai do that? I didnt know he could. Rob moved above me, but I didnt hear anything. Then I remembered I had Earplugs in. I brought an arm up to remove them and realised I had only one moveable arm, and that was painful every time I moved it. I got one earplug removed.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. At least there are no Horn attacks. How far did we fall? The more urgent question is, why is Rob bleeding? I tried to move my head and discovered that was a very bad idea. The blackness closed in, and I almost lost consciousness. How soon can I take another potion? It is hard to think. Rob moved suddenly. He darted forward, and I heard the snap of his jaws, and then he stepped back into the same position over me. I dont know whether he got what he aimed for, but he didnt chase it. He was guarding me. Where was Twai? My brain was clearing up a bit. Using mana was not the part that hurt, or not anymore, anyway. Everything physical did. I couldnt feel my legs at all, although I could see them. I cast the charm Self-clean to try opening my closed eye. It didnt really work, so I used the charm Trickle to wash the dried blood and then to get water into my mouth to drink. I needed that. I cast self-clean again, and the eye partially opened. It was massively swollen. My brain started working a bit more, and I grabbed another potion with my Helping Hand and drank it. That will be it for a while until the magic settles. I tried to turn my head, and it worked without me blacking out. This had to be better than just looking at Robs reproductive organs. I could see the thick branch we had landed on, and a dead hornbill was in view. There were no horn attacks, so we escaped the hornbills. What was attacking us? It was still night. I am pretty sure it was the same night. Something flashed across my view, but it was too fast to see what. My brain was slow. I quickly looked at my status, as I couldnt do much else. Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes both went up, as did Toughened Skin, Toughened Body, and Medium Armour. I looked down at my armour. From what I could see, I was not sure it would self-repair. Leather was ripped into shreds in some places, and every bit of bone reinforcing had multiple fractures, and one bone section that I could see was missing entirely. I would have to look closer later when I could move. Rob moved fast, raising himself up on his hind legs with the tail stabilising him. Then he came down again. Whatever it was, it was fast and silent and had something sharp. Where was Twai? He wasnt dead, was he? No. I felt the bond. I looked at his status. His health was low, as was his stamina. He had an increase in all his skills, sometimes more than once. He had a new skill called Air Cushion. I came to my senses and started pushing out Regenerating Aura. Why had I not done that first? I might have been hit in the head a few too many times. Then I realised my Seeker and my Pilferer classes could level, and I had the XP, so I levelled both, giving me more attributes. I immediately put some into Constitution to speed up my recovery. Lying here is just making us a target. The rest I pumped into Agility. My bones creaked, and I groaned in pain. I think the tougher my body gets, the longer it takes for Minor Regeneration to work. I didnt realise that when I got it, but I can recognise it now that Toughened Body is at a higher level. Maybe I should have stuck with only the Toughened Skin. Too late now. My bones creaked again. I am not sure how I didnt die, but it can only be a result of Twais efforts. Probably his new Air Cushion. Then, the parrot himself dropped into my view. He was battered, and more than a few feathers were missing. I could tell from his movements he was tired. When he crashed down onto the branch, he was not alone. He had his claws in a brown-furred mammal, which was probably twice his size. The mammal''s claws were ripping at Twai at the same time he had his claws firmly buried in the mammals stomach. They crashed onto the branch, and the creature hit back first and it let out a squeal of pain. Its claws ripped another feather from Twai as his beak went for its throat. It was a stoat or similar mammal. Its strong, sinuous body struggled to get out from under Twai, but Twais wings flapped, keeping him on top. Blood was flowing from them both. I used my Helping Hand to throw a Death Dart in the Stoat''s neck as Twais claws ripped out its intestines. The stoat lay still as Twai just stood there for a few seconds, soaking in my Rejuvenation and casting Heal Wound on himself. He cocked his head, looking at me as if to say, Are you getting up soon? Maybe it was my guilt interpreting that. He could see my status as much as I could see his. What he did say was, You DONT have wings. Then he was off again. He wobbled a bit, taking off. There were more enemies out there. I stretched my Helping Hand and touched the corpse, storing it. I felt useless. I threw myself off a branch to save a piece of stone that it might have been better to let fall and then find again. It probably would have been. Twai was visible and a target of the Hornbills, but did I have to make myself the target? He is the one who can fly. His expertise is in escaping and hiding. What the Terahs tits did I think I was doing? I stuffed up. I should have let the thing fall and concentrated on helping Twai escape. Now, I am lying broken and unable to move, having to wait while others save me. I think I have an ego problem. I fell for the delusion that I am the hero and the one at the centre of the story. I have to save the day. I think I have been on my own too often. One thing is certain: Twai is the hero of this story, and he is saving the day. He is saving my stupid ass. My bones creaked, and I stifled my groan. What else can I do to help? I am not alone. I have a bond and a summons working hard to keep me alive. There must be something I can do. My Rejuvenating Aura will help, especially Rob and my healing. It helps with stamina, but Twai primarily operates out of its range. Loot drops. I need to harvest and get loot drops, as they can make a difference. I have two Helping Hands that are strong enough to hold a knife and a number of hornbill corpses. I start harvesting. Beaks, feathers, claws, throat and heart. There must be more I can do. I need to get back to basics. I am primarily an illusionist and a thief. The illusionist is what can help me now. Illusionist skills. Maiming Decoy. I have the rat trap. I know these are not rats, but I cast out the rattrap and used an illusion to make it look like a struggling Twai. That will make sure Maiming Decoy activates and does some damage. What else can I do? My bones creak again. 65. Rising again. My arm moved easier after that last creak, and I got feeling back in my legs. Getting the feeling back was not a good thing. Then my trap sprung. I was in the middle of harvesting when a stoat ambushed fake Twai. The trap held it for a few seconds, but I wasnt quick enough. Fortunately, I didnt have to be, and Rob''s jaws snapped the head off. All I had to do was grab the body to Harvest and reset the trap. Stoats have fur, teeth, and claws, and interestingly, their spine is valuable. I was getting coins and a couple of weak health potions. I checked the cores for skills as I went. So far, the success rate has been zero. Then, a skill stone dropped. I got excited for a minute but then identified it as Lacerating Claws, which Twai already had. Stupid Trial. It does not give you what you need. It tries to kill you. My trap sucked in another Stoat. I got a death dart in this one, but it got away before Rob could bite its head off. Rob was being attacked less. It is possibly his Adaptive Camouflage combined with my attractive trap. One of the larger hornbills dropped a feathered hat, whatever use that was. It was shaped like a hat with a large brim that ranchers used to keep the sun off but lined with feathers on the outside. There was a large bright orange feather sticking out the top. I appraised it as waterproof. It hasnt rained since we arrived and I am not sure it does here. Another helpful drop from the trial. Twai crashed down with a dead stoat. I offered him a health potion and a stamina potion as I hid him with Light Manipulation. As he drank, I looked him over, and he had a claw twisted the wrong way, and he was favouring that leg. Shall I splint that for you? I asked, and he nodded. My Helping hands pulled out a bandage and a small bone that could be used as a splint. Twai was making the most of being in my Rejuvenating Aura. A stoat landed on the Twai rattrap, and Rob was quick this time. That was good, as my hands were full. My bones creaked, and Twai looked sharply at me. Yeah, I said, as he had obviously heard, They are getting there. Twai nodded. I think he was too tired to bother speaking. Robs movement broke his camouflage, though, and several stoats attacked him as Twai was not out there keeping them busy. I grabbed him before he could fly out there, Dont rush. Rob will be fine, and the fake Twai on the trap flew off into the trees, drawing some away. Twai cast Heal Wound on himself, even though it did nothing for his dislocated claw. I dont think it is broken. He had other wounds to close. Rob jerked as a stoat landed on his back, clawing and biting him. Twai shook off my hand and took off in a gust of wind, and I heard the stoat squeal in pain and drop to the other side of me. My Helping Hand grabbed him with a death claw, and then my other Helping Hand turned Shadow, and I struck it with the knife it was holding and used Frostshade Rend. The Helping Hand did not have much power in a strike, but it was enough to channel other skills. I had not realised that before, but now they are much more dangerous. I went back to harvesting. First, I worked through the biggest and toughest Hornbills, hoping for some good drops. My Helping Hands were slower than my normal hands, but they got the job done. Then I found a Hornbill core with a skill in it. I was tempted to dig it out myself, but the chances of it being helpful to me are much less than to Twai. Hornbills are birds with sound and air attacks. The chances of it being compatible with Twai are much greater than mine. Plus, he deserves it. I need to find a way to identify the skill in the cores, but I do not know how to do it now, and now is not the time. My bones creaked again, and the swelling around my bad eye reduced. I tentatively moved my upper body, and there was noticeably less pain. One of my arms was also useable. One of the fingers was still broken, but I used Helping Hand to bind it to the finger next to it, and I could mostly use it. It was getting lighter. I spared a thought for the others. With the dawn, they will come looking. I really want Austin here healing. I drank another weak health potion. I only had weak ones left.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Twai landed heavily with a dead stoat in his beak, and I created a fake Twai next to him, who hopped over to the trap while the real Twai came under Robs camouflaged body. Have you got time for this? I whispered, producing the core with the skill. He shrug/nodded and went to work on the core while I watched the surroundings. I will be mad if we get another Lacerating Claw or something equally redundant. That is what I have come to expect. A stoat pounced on fake Twai, and Rob got him before I did. I waited for the consequences of that, but he wasnt attacked straightaway. Soon, there was a chirp. I glanced at Twai, and he nodded, seeming to be satisfied. I checked his status. He now had Stout Heart. It seemed to increase his health and stamina regeneration. It did nothing for his mana, but boosted the other two. This was good. No, this was great. It would synergise with Rejuvenating Aura. It didnt seem as strong as Minor Regeneration, but it also boosted stamina, which was better in some ways. It would boost the body''s natural recovery, so it is not nearly as strong at fighting poisons etc. Even now, he looks more refreshed. However, I still won''t take back the nasty things I said about the trial. I flew fake Twai off into the trees, and we waited to see if more stoats would find us. Things were quiet, and I engaged Muffle Sound and stopped harvesting. If we could hide, that would be best to help us recover. My bones creaked again. It was not so bad now. I wiggled my feet. I could probably stand if I had to. I am not sure if I can ride Rob yet, but maybe I could if I tied myself on. Eventually, I got back to harvesting, and Twai settled down to rest. We might be fine now. One of the Stoats dropped claw knuckles, which worked like brass knuckles for punching but with claws. When I next looked at Twai, he was fast asleep. I worked through my stock of corpses, and when my bones next creaked, I decided to sit up. Rob shifted off to the side, and I took over hiding us with Light Manipulation. I assessed my tattered armour. It was so bad I no longer had the set bonuses. One of my boots was missing a bone-reinforced piece, but it still worked as a boot. The Bracers were bashed and the bone broken, but I thought they might self-repair. The boots and bracers were the most useful here as they had the sure-grip function. The boots would need an armourer to replace the bone, and they would be fine. The Jerkin, Helmet, and pants were the worst. They were not going to self-repair. I would need extensive work from an armourer to fix them. I was not going to take them off yet because I hurt too much. The bone lining in the helmet was crushed, and pieces of bone were missing. I am not sure how I survived that, but it probably is one of the reasons I did survive. I looked in my storage chest to see what I had to replace them with. I had some normal clothes from my disguises and a normal set of armour. Did I have any better from the loot drops? I had a Rat fur vest, which was resistant to cutting and water. Nobody had wanted that at the time. I have a pair of Rat Stomper boots nobody wanted, and I dont want them. I have some Snake-skin pants with poison resistance and the Hog Hide Chaps. The chaps go over the top of the pants and have straps that tie to the legs. The snakeskin pants look very tight and have no pockets. I decided I would wear my spare pair of trousers with the Hog Hide Chaps over the top, and the Rat Fur vest was marginally better than my backup jacket. To top off this new fantastic look, I will probably wear a hornbill feathered rancher hat. It is a true mix-n-mismatch adventurers look. I let Twai sleep several more hours and then felt up to getting changed out of my ruined armour and into the true adventurer look. I must admit I quite like the hat. It is not going to protect my head much, but I think I will keep the hat. After the effort of getting changed, I rested, and then Twai and I ate a large meal. Rob also got his share. Twai was looking energetic but battered. His missing feathers would take time, but his wounds were closed and healing. It was probably lunchtime when I gingerly mounted Rob and Twai perched on his head, and we started the long climb upwards. We concentrated on stealth and not disturbing anything. After a while, Twai felt up to scouting again and set out in search of the others. It was mid-afternoon when he led Myantha to us. I am surprised you are alive, were her first words. It was touch and go, I said. Armour ruined? I nodded, You were an idiot, she stated. Yes, I am not sure what I was thinking. I know five different ways we could have retrieved the shard and avoided the hornbills without you leaping to your death. I have thought of a few myself. She frowned. I felt she was holding back on a lengthy and vitriolic lecture. All she said was, I hope you have learned your lesson. I nodded, feeling like a naughty kid. It was a painful one. You also owe Twai big. I nodded, I owe him my life. She nodded to the left, Juth is heading back to the base camp as we thought we had lost our guide. She looked at me closely, Are you up to finding another one? Austin probably needs to be the judge of that. She nodded, Follow me then. 66. Bugger. Juth was not happy with me. She had been updated by both Myantha and Suda, who had stealthed back with little trouble. She lectured me on recklessness. Austin gave me and Twai a thorough check-over and used a specialised bone-mending skill on me. Your Regeneration is best with soft tissue, he said. Having it fix your bones is slowing everything up. With this, you should be fairly right in the morning, although the bones might be a bit fragile for a few days. No more leaps of faith. Twai was given a general health boost and told to rest. Juth didnt give me any rest and insisted we spar with the spears. It was good that we did as I did notice the loss of the attributes from my armour set and didnt really realise how much I relied on aspects of my armour like the bone inlays. This was going to take some getting used to. Some of the sparring was jarring and I felt some of my bones were not as strong as usual. I need to watch that. We headed off to the side. I was letting my Seekers Intuition guide my Pathfinding skill toward the next shard. The guards took care of the threats, but there was nothing they couldnt handle. Twai advised on weaknesses with his Hunters Eye, but we didnt get into the fighting. After about six hours of travel and intermittent fighting, I felt we were close. Juth had Suda find a defensive spot for the night and then scout ahead. Suda came back just before dark and conversed with Juth. I saw Juth frown. As we sat around for the evening meal, Juth said, This is not going to be easy. There is a massive swarm of bugs." Suda displayed dark, round bugs like Crickets. These bugs had large hind legs for jumping, and those legs had small spikes. They also had wings so they could fly. The largest was about the length of my middle finger. Suda took up the narrative. They fly, they jump, they bite and scratch. We dont think they are poisonous. They make a loud sound by rubbing their hind legs together, but we are unsure it this has any special effects. This would be easy if Norm were with us with his fire, Juth said. Even Akina and her water, but they are not. We could head back and let the lieutenant do this one with Akina, but I would like to attempt it, at least. Suda is pretty sure the shard is in the middle of the nest, which is in a hollowed-out branch. Let''s have some ideas. Take a page from the rats and cut the branch? Joe said. That is going to make them swarm, Suda replied. We would need to protect the cutter, of whom I assume I will be one. We need area of effect skills that affect flying insects, Juth said. Insects are generally susceptible to cold, so my Umbral Cold is what I have, I said. Excruciating Screech, added Twai. And Twai and I have Air Manipulation, Myantha said. I would have to test the effectiveness of Umbral Cold. It may not kill them, I said. Excruciating Screech is not designed to kill either. If it is effective, I could draw them into the Umbral Cold with Provoking Aura, but if it doesnt kill, it could be a problem. Austin was poking at the bodies Suda had brought back, Could we burn or smoke them out with a normal fire? he asked. Juth nodded, That is a good idea. How effective is their bite? Joe asked. Did it get through your bark skin, Suda? These few didnt, but eventually, I think they would, and there are a lot of them. I have Darksteel Skin, and I know Twai has Darksteel feathers. Marvin has Toughened Skin, and I think you also have something, Sarge? Juth nodded, That would make us the strike team, then? Joe nodded. I have a skill stone called Stone Skin I could sell if anyone is interested, I said. What would you want for it? Juth asked. It is worth more than the Nightsight I sold to Joe. I am open to offers. He sold me Nightsight for monster cores on credit, Joe supplied, undermining the little auction I was aiming for. Monster cores and coins? Ryan offered. And other non-skill stone drops, I countered. And non-potion drops, he came back. That doesnt leave a lot, I said. He shrugged, I have some coins collected to sweeten the deal? He tossed me a small pouch of coins, and I shrugged and tossed the stone over. He learned it immediately. Do you have anything else that might be helpful here? Juth asked. I suspect she remembered the question I asked about their purchasing of skills. Probably, I said, but your policy is that the trial provides appropriate skills. Maybe the trial has already provided these skills, Wella said in a not quite accusatory way.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. These actually come from a previous trial I was in, I said. I havent found the right market yet. In my mind, the right market was one that would pay more than usual. Juth nodded, Thats the truth. Interesting. I didnt know she had a truth-sensing skill. The other guards must have known as the tension dropped. It pays to tell the truth, even if it is not the whole truth. What do you have that might help? Juth asked. Hist has a moderate leaning toward Ice. I have Ice Manipulation. Hists eyes lit up. You can have my firstborn, he said. I am telling Angela you said that, Ryan said. I am definitely not interested in children, I said. Yeah, but I am guessing a few monster cores and coins are not enough, he said. Ice would be effective against insects, Suda said. Fire would be better, but cold will kill them. Juth shrugged, Up to you, Hist. The Trial will provide. No, it wont, I thought. You have to take it and grab everything you can while you survive. How about the trial rewards? I offered. You will regret that, Juth said. Hist shook his head, Yeah, too much. You keep it. You are a bastard, Wella swore at me. With ice, he could save lives, possibly your life. You do what you can for your squad, and you get there together. It was a mistake to say what I had. I should have stuck with the stone skin. It was also some impressive loyalty. It was like they were a strongly bonded adventuring team, and then I realised that is exactly what they were. I wouldnt have been enticing any of them away with me. Loyalty together was a strong thing. Marvin is not part of your squad, Juth said. Different rules, different expectations. Wella backed down, but I could tell she was not happy, and I could tell I would be treated differently, always an outsider. In the end, that was who I was. My squad was me, Twai and Rob. Everybody else was an outsider. Juth started planning their assault, including gathering dry wood to set alight. The smoke would help, and the plan is to burn out most of the nest. We tested Umbral Cold; if the bugs spent long enough in it, they would die. I would station myself away from the nest, have Umbral Cold in front of me, and use Provoking Aura to attract the bugs. Twai and Myantha were to be stationed arrow and use Air Manipulation to send bugs, so my Aura picked them up, and the Guards assaulted the nest with fire and smoke. Wella thought it was a great plan with me as a target. I could recognise it was a workable plan without feeling targeted, but it was hard. I think that, as a bonus, Juth solidified the squad together. Austin was also stationed close to me, so I had a healer close if I needed it. I didnt like being the target, but it was the best plan to date. I need a team to work with in the future, but I think it will be hard to have a permanent one. The squad is close-knit, and it is one of the benefits of being in something like the guard. I dont think it is ever going to be me. Zeek does not have a permanent team. I am leaning toward temporary teams for different projects. The bugs were mainly nocturnal, so we waited until an hour after dawn. The nest was in a sloping branch well away from me, and the number of bugs out was more than I expected. Maybe it was a bigger nest than I expected. I cast Umbral Cold between me and the nest and then set Provoking Aura going. A number of bugs came in from the side, but most came from the nest area. I slapped and squashed them. If then made it through Umbral Cold, they were very sluggish, and Austin and Rob helped destroy them. Robs tongue was very effective. Smoke started rising from the nest. The guards plugged the holes with burning wood, leaves and mulch, trying to create as much smoke as possible. This was going to be an all-day affair as they expected the smoke to kill most of them. When bugs started pouring out holes they hadnt found, they were blown into the Umbral Cold by Myantha and Twai, and the guards scrambled to plug the holes. This was an almost constant thing as they were biting bugs and would make more holes. My job was to keep Umbral Cold and Provoking Aura going for hours and kill anything that made it through. I mostly left the killing to Rob. He liked eating the bugs. While I was waiting I was trying to add Mana Syphon to my Umbral Cold, but it was not working. I layered Nights Embrace and tried that but had to stop suddenly as there was a big breakout, and a massive swarm broke out into the fresh air. Both Twai and Myantha were on the job, but I felt the drain of Umbral Cold as many warm bodies entered simultaneously. It was sucking out my Mana, and mana syphon was only a single target ability. If I could turn it into an aura, that would be best, but I have no idea how. I had explored things with Twai before he flew to his post. He has the Poison skill and has learned to use it with his claws, but it is not a strike ability. It is just a general poison ability, so he should practice using poison with his air manipulation. I think this might be starting to work for him. Some of the bugs coming from his direction are looking a little drunk. The stream of bugs slowed and then stopped after lunch. I dropped Umbral Cold and Provoking Aura, and I let Rob go and gorge on the huge pile of dead bugs. The Guards started chopping into the branch where Suda thought the Shard was. I heard their excitement when they found a skill stone and then their disappointment when it was appraised as Painful Bite. The Trial doesnt give the good stuff. You have to take it. I watched as they hauled out larger grubs, which were apparently the queens. They were harvested and had cores. The shard was brought out after the first hour, but they kept digging for more prizes. That, I agreed with. Take everything you can. They got Chitin bracers and potions and coins. Then they got real excited. It was a class stone. Nobody had a spare class slot, and our appraisal skills didnt tell us much about the class other than it was a basic class. OK, people, Juth said, It will suit somebody here. It is a basic class, so only those without an advanced class should go for it. If you want it, tell me why. Austin first. Always look after the healer. Not for me, Sarge. I dont get a healing vibe, and that is where I am headed. OK, Ryan, Wella and Hist talk to me. Not for me, I think Sarge, said Hist. He nodded to me, I will aim more to the cold or ice type classes and that is not cold. Both Ryan and Wella wanted it, so I was interested to see how Juth would handle that and how the group dynamics worked. My Swordsman class is high-levelled, but my second class is Guard and is only newish after breaking with the Verran bastards. I can swap that out for this. Ryan said. I might mean Im not so one-eyed, he added, indicating his missing eye. I also picked up the Guard class after we kicked the bastards out, Wella said, I am feeling this is a better fit for me. OK, said Juth, we will toss a coin. The winner gets to try and use the stone first, and if they are unsuccessful, then the next one. She got out a coin, Duke or Duchess? Duke, said Ryan. Wella nodded acceptance of having the Duchess'' side, and Juth tossed the coin. Duchess up first, Juth said, handing the stone to Wella. Wella took the stone and concentrated on it. After a few seconds it melted into her hand and her eyes went vacant and she looked inwards at her new class. Oh, that is interesting, she said. I have never heard of a summoner class before. Her eyes focussed again, and she looked at Juth, I can summon different animals. Only one for now, and the first is a Bugbite swarm. Rob looked up, very interested. I dont think you will be allowed to eat these, I whispered to him, which disappointed him a lot. 67. Regroup. Wella summoned her swarm, which was maybe a couple of hundred Bitebugs. A tattoo had appeared on her left arm, which she could summon the bugs to and from, like the one I had for Rob. How many summonses can you have? Juth asked. It depends on the summons, Wella replied, I get more capacity as I level the class, but I feel some large creatures will take up more space than others. I feel I can also choose to grow my swarm. How do you get another summons? I think I might get options as the class levels, but I feel I could also hunt out creatures as long as I have capacity. I will have to find information on this. Juth nodded. Ok, let''s finish up here. We will wait out the night at the same camp as last night before we head back to base. No other major discoveries were made. Summoner is a basic class, but one that was restricted in the Alverran Kingdom. Obviously, those restrictions no longer apply. From what I gathered, Wella was now a Level 30 Warrior and a Level 1 Summoner. It is interesting she had not specialised her Warrior class. I think that happens if you are not particularly suited to any specialisation options. This new Summoner Class will probably open more options for her. I looked at Ryan. He looked disappointed but seemed resigned to missing out. Would the reverse be true if Wella missed out? The good news for us was that Twais experiments bore fruit even if mine did not. He has a new Skill called Poison Cloud, which pretty much does what it says. The bigger the cloud, the more dispersed the poison, although this will grow with the skill levels. The cloud is easily manipulated with Air Manipulation, so that is great. If he poisons me, I will know it was deliberate. I gained a level of Umbral Cold and Provoking Aura, and Rob just got fat. I think Rob was the happiest. Bugs are a lizard''s natural food. As I spurred with Juth and Hist, my Basic Spear went up again. I think Hist was quite aggressive. I dont think he is holding a grudge as such, as he did ask if I had any general Ice skills he could buy. Unfortunately, the answer was no. Ryan handed me a Bug core, and I purchased the others. None of them had skills in. We only had one attack overnight, and the guards dealt with it. Rob wanted to go and help, but I held him back. I think he was only interested in Wellas Bug Swarm in action. Juth had us all do an extended training session before we left for Base Camp. The trip was relatively uneventful, as I only got four monster cores from it and a strange pair of wooden boots from my agreement with Ryan. They were flexible like vines, with a resin-type sole that had a good grip. I kept my damaged Dance of Death Boots as the Sure-grip enchantment was still better, even though one of them would no longer self-repair. We arrived back at Base Camp in the late afternoon, and they were still there. I refreshed my wards, and we settled in to wait for the other group. Depending on how well they did, it should narrow down how many pieces were left to find. If they come back with two like us, then we may only have one or two more to get. I looked at my Status, and the Seeker Class can level again, but not the Pilferer Class. I decided to put most of my points into Dexterity to up my precision. Juth had us training hard that night and early the next morning. Once training was over, I started looking at my wards again. If I could understand them better, they could be really powerful. I pulled up my notes about when I cracked the wards in the Undying Lord''s trial. Weaving Wards is the right track. It is like putting together a lot of wards that will then work together, and the key is the mana flow through them. All the wards I have seen protect somethingdoors, safes, etc. If you trigger them, you can trigger alarms, but you can also trigger a deadly response. So far, I have only been able to trigger simple things that I had the manipulation skills for, but that cant be all. I think a Poison Cloud would be great in a ward. Light or air should be good for triggering a ward, but I only know how to trigger it by touch.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I get out of the trust Rattrap. It is looking a bit worse for wear, and it is triggered by touch, but I want to see how it works. It is a trial construct and a good trap. Can I duplicate it or add to it with a ward? I spend some time poking at it and examining it with my Mana Sight. There is definitely a pattern in there, and I think it is limiting the trap to small furry mammals. I slowly map out what I can see. I also took it out and tested it. Twai and Rob refused to be my test subjects, but eventually, I captured a small bird, and it did not set off the trap. The more I look at it, the more I see that it is about furry mammals but does not specify their size. The physical trap limits the size. Could I transfer this onto a foot trap or a snare, and it would only catch furry mammals? This could be an interesting exercise. Team 2 did not arrive that day, and Juth asked me where they were. I pointed in the general direction but couldnt tell her more. I am pretty sure the tracking items they have said the same thing as I did. We defended the Camp a few times, and I took a turn on watch. We trained morning and night. Training with expert spearmen was doing my Basic Spear skill wonders. I wont mention it but this level of training would cost me a pretty penny anywhere else. Alistern, Zeek, and the team turned up at lunchtime the next day. They were missing a person what was his name? Phil, that''s right. They looked exhausted and battle-weary, and all their equipment showed signs of a hard fight or more. They slumped down, and Austin went through them, examining them. Most were not wearing the Guard uniform armour anymore. Several had scars and hair that had been burned off. Alistern and Juth went off to debrief, and I sat next to Pok. You look like you had a hard time of it, I said. He nodded, Alistern pushed us hard. Maybe too hard for poor Phil. He brightened, We got three shards, though, and I have never got so many levels in so short a time. Three? That is amazing. We only got two. How many do you think are left? Pok shrugged, Alistern will get the shards together, and the academics can look at it. Zeek thinks there might only be one left. What happened to Phil? Poor Phil. Keg and Stretch owe him their lives. They are taking it hard, and the three were tight. It was a monster that was hard to describe. It was a walking plant thing with trapping vines and slime acid. The Lieutenant called it a Viridread. Akinas water was essential as the acid had to be washed off real quick. Most of us are wearing our backup armour as our primary armour has been destroyed. Phil got Keg and Stretch out of the vines and to where Akina could hose them down, but nobody could save Phil. Alistern and I certainly tried. At least that god-cursed creature is gone for good. It sounds like we had a walk in the park compared to you, I said. Pok just shrugged. I talked with Hilke, who had gone with them. Apparently, the first shard was in a giant snail-like creature with a squirt attack. It was hard as it retreated inside its tough shell, but once they finally broke through, it was a straight forward fight. The second shard was in a nest of tree squirrels and Zeek and Alistern stole it out from under them. Because that was so easy they had decided to go for a third. Alistern called a meeting midafternoon. The tablet shards were laid out on the branch in front of him. They formed a shape like a rectangle with a rounded edge, like tombstones the rich used in the capital, and about the same size. There was a shard missing in the lower right corner, assuming the square edge was the lower edge. The patterns on it looked like a ward, but not one I knew. I picked out some similar parts from the door in the keep of the Undying Lord, but the symbols, which may be some sort of writing, were totally foreign. I used my Map skill to map the broken paths and symbols like I would map a ward. My Lore Skill was hungry for it to be completed. This way, I could mull it over in my spare time. Thank you for all your hard work, Alistern started. We knew this expedition had risks, but you have risen to the challenge, and we will honour the fallen. There was a time of silence as we honoured the dead. We are down two guards and a research assistant. Alistern continued. We have all had gains. Skills, levels, and several new classes. Congratulations to all of you. As you can see, we are one or possibly two shards away from completing the Tablet. The academy professors will study the tablet to try to work out what it says or does. Any clues yet? I think it is a weapon component, Barnard, the ancient weapons expert, said. It is not elvish, said Rylark, the elvish historian Nor Alrashian, said Myantha. I am thinking ancient dwarvish or one of the Beastkin races, said Esdras, the general historian. That got a scoff from Rylark, but Alistern interrupted before they could really start arguing. As I said, we will let the academics work on it. Just finding the last pieces will complete the boss challenge. If we can work out what it does, there will be a bonus. When will we get the rewards? a guard asked. I think it will be assessed when we exit the trial, Alistern said, and I saw Zeek nodding. For the last piece, we will go as one group, and I will be looking for volunteers. We will be setting out in the morning. 68. All Colours. I volunteered, but Alistern decided just to take the guard and Zeek. I am not sure why. I dont think I was being slighted. Maybe he wanted better rewards for his guard. Myantha and Hilke were also left behind, but they got to study the tablet and join the discussion regarding it. I looked at Twai. Twai cocked his head at me. I used my Seeker''s Intuition. There was something good not far away. They are shafting us. Shaft, shaft, shaft! Twai can get quite agitated about some things. They are expecting the Trial to give them the good stuff. Fools, I replied. Take, take, take, said Twai. Yeah, the Trial will only give you the minimum it can. You have to take everything else, and there is something not far away. Twai cocked his head again, Bring she-elf? I think we will keep this to ourselves. If we need help, we can come and get it. Twai bobbed his heat up and down in agreement. Take everything. I think Twai has shortened our motto. I like it. Rob, Twai and I slip out of the base camp and head out. I switch my feathered hat for a plain leather helmet. This will protect my head more, but I like the look of the feathered rancher hat. I also equip Lightreaver and Shadowbane. Juths tutorage has raised my Basic Spear Skill to level 7, but I am still not keen on the spear. These are my preferred weapons. I am feeling good and ready to steal some shit. I am not looking that good, though. The Ratfur vest and Hog chaps need to go as soon as I can. I want my Dance of Death armour back. I hope we find a town with some craftsmen so I can get it repaired. We get attacked about halfway to our target. Neither Twai nor I saw it until it moved. It just looked like a long stick. It was a preying mantis-type creature, but instead of sticks for limbs and a body, it had logs. I managed to block the first blade arm coming down on me, but there were two of them, and half of Robs tail was sliced right off. The thing was long and thin, like several logs of wood held together at the joints by skin and something. I sliced into one of its legs with a Burning Strike, and it felt like chopping wood. Robs bite only left teeth marks as well, so I am guessing his poison will not be super effective. It had six legs, but the front two were its main attacking weapons. The other legs also had blades on them, but it would only kick out occasionally. It did have a bite on it. Twai Dive Attacked its head, and I saw several wind blades cut into it before his Lacerating Claws left marks. The Wood-Mantis was not significantly damaged. This was going to be a fight of attrition. I reluctantly sheathed my blades and brought out an axe. I liked the axe better than the spear, and this was the fight for it. I started moving through the forms of Basic Axe. It has been a long time since I have practised it, and it is only Level 5. We went to work whittling away at the tree that was the Wood-Mantis. As I worked, my mind went back to the rainbow attack I had been trying to create. How did the Radiant Strike work? I used it to watch what it did. Burning Strike was more effective against this creature, but it was not a treat to us now that the ambush had been expended. I ran the colours of the rainbow with my axe strike and then compared it with Radiant Strike. Short to long wave lengths did feel better than the other way. Violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. Radiant Strike left a lingering effect like Burning Strike, but it was much more subtle. It seems to come from the very nature of light. The name Radiant captures the nature of it. It radiates out and spreads. A Radiation effect. Can I add that effect to my rainbow? No. I dont have to add it. It is already there in the nature of light. All I have to do is figure out how to release it. Release it and focus it. Focussing it is what I can do with Light Manipulation. Chop, Radiant Strike, Chop, Crushing Blow and the leg falls off. Rainbow chop. No, that does not work. I worked with Light Manipulation to split the colours and release the damaging radiation. I worked at it with the next few chops and then it clicked, or, maybe I should say, the light of realisation hit me. The next chop with the axe included the damaging version of the rainbow and a Skill slide into place. The darker colours were actually more damaging than the lighter colours, and they lingered, and the lighter colours added damage to the darker colours. This was not the best opponent to use it on, but it was good practice, and it was more damaging than Radient Strike and even Burning Strike. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. When the Wood-Mantis finally died, we reattached Robs tail before doing anything else. It will be much easier for his regeneration to reattach it than to grow another one. I tied it in place and then wrapped it in bandages. It will stuff his camouflage for a while, and if he uses it in a Tail Smash, it will definitely come off. If he is careful over the next couple of hours, then it should be reattached. It would take him some days to regrow it. Rainbow Assault was the name of my new Skill. Its damage was comparable to Frostshade Rend, but each would have their preferred opponent. Frostshade Rend leaves a lingering cold in the wound, but Rainbow Assault leaves a damaging radiation that breaks apart cells. They both hinder healing in their various ways. I noticed my Light Manipulation also went up. It is now Level 9. Basic skills max out at 10, but advanced skills go higher. The manipulation skills definitely do. Some people can also break the maximum limit on basic skills, but I dont know how. I suspect it is being highly compatible with the skill and/or some item that is used. I would expect my Frostshade Rend and Rainbow Assault would go higher than ten. They are advanced skills, and their damage should keep rising with their level. I harvested the Wood-Mantis and got lots of wood. A Living type of wood. I have no idea what that means, but I might be able to sell it to Suda. I also got a wood-chopping axe with bonuses against wood monsters. I stored it away to sell. I jogged beside Rob rather than ride him. He was much more flexible when I was not riding him, and I didnt want to do anything to dislodge his tail. My Rejuvenating Aura is speeding up the Regeneration. We hit a small swarm of mosquito monsters before we got to our destination, but Twai was much more proficient with his Air Manipulation and now had Poison Cloud. I added Nights Embrace and Umbral Cold, and they didnt stand a chance. The loot was poor. A blood regenerative potion and some coins. Neither the few mosquito cores nor the Mantis core had any skills. Our destination turned out to be a crack in a very large trunk of a tree. The trunk was large even by this trial''s standard. The diameter was about the size of a city block in Aldrossford. A city block in Aldrossford fitted 8-10 houses, which was the diameter. Most of the trunks at this level are about half that. Nothing was coming out of the trunk crack, but it was large enough for Rob to enter, let alone me. The only difficulty was that it was several of Robs body lengths above the branch we were standing on. I look. I look, Twai squawked and flew up to the crack. He had Darksight, which was much better than the Nightsight Rob and I had. He landed on the edge of the dark crack and then carefully hopped inside. Everything was silent as we waited, watching the crack. And we waited and waited. What was taking him so long? I suppose I can hope that he has found a treasure chest and there are no monsters. Nah. There is no way that will happen; it is too far-fetched to even consider. Then Twai popped out and glided down to us. Nothing was chasing him, and he didnt look damaged. Free chest, no monsters! Twai squawked. Free chest, no monsters! Liar, liar. Rindels piss is fire, I responded, giving the report the seriousness it deserves. Squawk! Piss fire, piss fire. I just raised my eyebrow. Twai settled down. He is getting good at reading human body language. Bats, bats and more bats. Stinky bat shit. Piles of Batshit. What type of bats do you know? Bloodsuckers, bloodsucker bats. I think they are the worst kind, I said. Your feathers will protect you, but Rob and I are vulnerable. Can we flood it with your Poison Cloud? Twai shook his head, Too big, too big. That meant the space was too bigat least, that is what I hope it meant, not that the bats were too big. At least it will be dark, and Umbral Cold will be effective. What about my light spells like Flash, as they are night creatures? Flash will upset a lot of them and may not be that effective as they navigate with an echolocation ability. Wait. They will probably also use that in an attack. That also probably means my illusions will not work. That limits our options. Your air skills are probably our best weapons, I said. Twai just looked like that was only what he would expect. Robs tongue should trap the bats, and I can throw darts. I looked at the crack. The trunk cant be hollow, or it would have fallen. However, the bats may go up and down a long way. How big are the bats you saw, Twai? Two, two of me. So, twice the size of Twai. That is a big gap, I said, either there are a lot of bats, or some are bigger, I looked at Rob, possibly Rob-sized. Lots. Lots, and more lots, Twai said. Yeah, probably both, I agreed. It is almost noon, so if we test the ones near the entrance, they will be reluctant to follow us back out into the day. Hopefully. Can we trap the entrance? Twai just looked at me. Yeah, not easily. I need to learn more wards. Some nets would help. I will get some at the next town. I came to a decision, Twai and I will go in and test the bats. You stay at the entrance, Rob. For now, you are our backup and trap. I equipped the Lightreaver dagger and the Haladie. This would be close quarters, and there may not be much manoeuvring space. We climbed up, and Twai and I went in while Rob positioned himself nearby in camouflage. There was not a lot of light. Nightsight struggled with seeing much beyond the entrance. I envied Twais Darksight. I looked through Spectral Vision (Heat), and there were a lot of warm bodies. Too many to count. It''s too many for me to get a sense of the size of the place. I cast the charm Glow on a knob of the tree, and the light increased for my Nightsight. OK, the cavern was about a house-size deep, and it went up beyond my sight and down beyond my sight. Every surface and knob had bats hanging from it, and they were asleep. The entrance was the only clear space, and I guess they avoided the light. The worst thing, though, was the stink. The horrible smell of bat droppings. I had to stop myself from gaging. 69. Bat Shit Crazy. This was a problem. Splat. Getting bat poo splattered on me was a problem, but not the main one. If we kill a bat, it will fall and awaken those below. There are way more bats here than we can kill. Hundreds of thousands, probably. It is only a matter of time before they find and attack the base camp. Could we burn them out like we did for the bugs? I look around. Will bat poo burn? I scrape a good hunk off the entrance and indicate for Twai to head back out. We drop back to the branch below, and I put my poo on the branch and test the charm Spark on it. It flared bright and burned furiously. Yes! We can burn most of them if we set enough fires. They fly. They fly Yes, they will fly out, and this won''t be the only exit, but it will kill a lot of them. Plus, I added, if there is treasure it will be in there. This removes the bats and gives us access to the treasure. I thought briefly, After the fire goes out, that is. Take everything we can with the least effort. Do you know Spark? I asked Twai. He shook his head. We will need something to start the fire, but it shouldnt take much. I said, We can set up near the crack and kill some as they exit. OK. We have a plan. Lets get to it. A few minutes later, I was with Rob by the exit and tied in place on the branch so I could release it quickly if necessary. Twai flew into the crack with several burning twigs and then flew out again quickly, and we waited. We didnt have to wait long. There was a swift chain reaction, and heat burst out of the crack, and it felt a lot like an explosion. I jumped back from the edge, as did Rob. Twai was perched further away. There would not be bats coming out of here for a while. Dark shapes flew in a panic from somewhere above us. That is one big colony of bats. A couple of flaming bats flew/fell out of our crack, but they died on their own. That went spectacularly well. I figured the tree was going to burn for a while. I really dont want to get Akina here to water everything down, as then I will need to share the spoils. I may have to, but we will see. Let''s go and find the other exit, I said, and Twai flew off while I mounted Rob. Twai was soon in aerial combat with several bats, and they were larger than the ones I had seen. As soon as Rob got in range, I started throwing Death Darts. Twai was holding his own, with his Darksteel feathers doing most of the protection. He was ripping their leathery wings, which they were unable to do to him. His Wind blades and Lacerating Claws were very effective. Then Twai was hit by something I didnt see or perhaps didnt hear, and he shuddered and missed a wing flap. He caught himself quickly and flew an increasingly erratic flight, I hope was on purpose to avoid whatever it was. As my skill levelled, the darts I was creating were larger and more robust than before, but they were not quick kills unless I hit something like the brain. I was going for a body shot and trying for the heart as it was bigger, even for my Precision Throw. Occasionally, a bat would swoop to attack me, but Robs tongue would flick out, and he would grab it nine times out of ten. Then I got hit by something strange. I didnt hear anything, but I suddenly felt disorientated, and a bat landed on my back and bit down on my neck. The leather of my helmet blunted the bite, but the teeth still sunk in. I rolled from the saddle, and Rob reached around and ripped the bad from my back, and the fangs were dragged from my neck. I got up, and he crushed it in his bite. I spun and used Shadowbane to cut a bat from Robs flanks. This is how our fight went on: Rob and I were looking out for each other, and I was supporting Twai. Smoke was coming out of the gap the bats were. I am assuming there was less bat shit up this high. The bats kept coming and coming. Only some stayed to fight, while others flew off somewhere. I dont know if the Trial was sending them to fight us or not. It doesnt matter. This is what I wanted. A fight to level our skills. I equipped Lightreaver and left the darts to my Helping Hands. Purifying Dance was still a good technique, even without the bonuses against the undead and infernal. I want to level my Steel Serpent Technique as well, but a sword has a longer reach here. Rob and I were bleeding, and I noticed Twai was missing some feathers again. He had just grown them back. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Finally, the bats were slowing down, and we settled in to wait until the fire died down. We went back down to the first crack we found, and there was a lot of heat coming from it. We continued to wait. I just hoped the tree didnt catch alight, or we may never get in there, and that was where the loot was. We waited until nightfall and then decided that being in the tree was safer than being outside the tree. Rob went back to the Tattoo for now. I think the amount of time he spends outside the tattoo and experiencing the world is making him more useful and needing less direction. I think our relationship is growing, and therefore, his loyalty is growing. I wish I could see it, as there are obvious benefits to this. This time, he went into the tattoo as the only way we would be breathing in that smoke was Twais Air Manipulation. Twai stayed perched on my shoulder, and I started to climb down the inside of the tree cavity. We went down because that is where the bodies fell. Spectral Vision (Heat) was useless, and my gloves took a burning as I climbed down using smouldering wood. Spectral Vision (See-thru) worked well, and I also charmed several items on my armour to Glow, so Nightsight worked a little. There are some things that Spectral Vision (See-thru) just sees right through. I got some extra cloth to wrap my hands in to minimise the burns. It was dark, smokey and hot. In a lot of places, the wood was still on fire. Several times, I had to hold my breath while Twai used his Air Manipulation to starve a fire of air before we could pass. Once, the cloth I was using on my hands caught alight. It was very unpleasant, and I was pleased that at least the gloves of my Dance with Death set were still self-repaired. The boots were getting damaged as well, and one of them was not self-repairing. The bottom of the wood cave was not flat, but it was full. It was full of bones, charcoal, and loot. All the bodies that fell and were destroyed in the fire could not be harvested, so the loot dropped. It was the same when Rod ate the monsters. The fire destroyed all the potions and burned some of the items, but the coins, skill stones, and the less burnable items remained. I got two knives with blood-draining properties, a leather shawl resembling bat wings that were only singed, and a leather helmet. There were three skill stones, including a Blood Syphon, which I stored away. I had already sold one of these to Austin, who warned me against adding unknown blood to my body. There was Acrobatic Flying, which Twai learned straight away. It would make him much more manoeuvrable in the air. The third skill stone was the most valuable. Echolocation was very rare. Twai didnt think he needed it because he had Darksight. I have Spectral Vision, which is not the same, but it does a lot of the same things. We stored it for consideration. Its value in gold was considerable. It was rarer than Storage, although I dont think it was as useful. I dug down into the muck at the bottom of the cave and pulled out a reward chest. This was the true reward. I opened the chest, and there were two skill stones and an ability stone. I appraised the ability stone first and saw Blood Manipulation. I tried to use it and failed. Twai tried to use it and failed. Bloody, useless trials give us things we cant use. It was worth a packet of coins, but it was disappointing that we couldnt use it. I had a thought that Austin had a lot of blood skills and he could probably use them, although he couldnt afford them. The next skill stone was very interesting. Soundless Stun. I think it was what the bats were using against us. It is an acoustic stun, but it is up outside the normal hearing range of humanoid sapients. I was willing to bet the animal shifters could hear it. Do you want this? I asked Twai. Screech is better. Screech is better, he replied. Really? I want it, as this will be a silent surprise attack. It will give me a real surprise edge. You learn. You learn. So I did. The third skill was something we both wanted. It was called Enhanced Hearing, and it increased the range and sensitivity of what you could hear. Mine, mine, mine, Tawai said. But this would massively enhance my You got stun, Twai interrupted, Hearing mine, hearing mine. There is no talking to him when he gets stubborn like that, and it will help us regardless, so I gave in. Flash a few pretty feathers at me, and I just give in, especially when they are on an aggressive bird. Apparently the range of hearing improved with the level, that is, both audio range and distance range. Twai can be more selective and focussed with his hearing as it levels. I think he was telling me all this just to rub it in. Before we left, I checked for anything else like a small shard. But there wasnt anything except a few coins we missed the first time. With that, we climbed up. Even with the smoke and darkness and horrible-smelling space, we climbed past the crack and checked all the shelves and nooks and outcroppings for hidden treasure. My seeker''s intuition was not telling me of anything in particular, but you never know. We picked up more coins and some harvestable bodies, which I stored to harvest once we got out of there. Then I felt the trial was mocking us. I found a charm. The Self-clean Charm. This Trial is definatly laughing at us. Both Twai and I already had the charm so I stored it to sell. I will find something else to steal here. I had collected a couple of hundred monster cores and expected there to be a skill in one of them. I was waiting to get out before I did that as well. We came out of the top exit and found a quiet branch to settle on. I let Rob out, but he didnt want a bar of us. We stunk of smoke and bat shit, and even the Self-clean charm only went so far. I stacked the monster cores and ran my Mana web over them. That one had a skill. I pulled it out and stored the rest. I looked at Twai. Twai cocked his head at me. It is probably just another Blood Syphon, I said. He looked at me disbelievingly. It has a smell of blood, I reiterated. Twai just looked at me. 70. Skills. My seeker class could level again, and I had the XP. I decided to put a bit into strength, but I will need more mana soon as weaving wards will take a lot of mana. Right now, I need a bit more physical power. Then I killed so many that I could level my Spectral Slayer class as well. I put attributes into wisdom to regenerate my mana faster and be wiser in my choices. Bonding with Twai sometimes feels like a mistake, but then I remember how he has saved my life and fought for me. We are on the same side, but why should he get three skills to my one? He does not need Cleanse Blood when he has Poison Resistance and Stout Heart. Yes, it is like his Heal Wounds and he can use it on others as well as himself, but so could I. I reject the argument that I dont need it because of Minor Regeneration. He has no idea how painful that is, whereas Cleanse Blood is easy and only uses mana. It is not fair. I told him his skills would make him a medic, and all he did was mock me. Can you believe that? Twai, the vampire Parrot. Now that he has Cleanse Blood, he should learn the Syphon Blood Skill. The two obviously belong together. Apparently, he is not keen on drinking blood, the wimp. I deliberately ignore the fact I dont want to drink blood either. Yuck. I have a little involuntary shudder of revulsion. The fact that neither of us could learn Blood Manipulation indicates we are not destined for a life saturated in blood, thank the Keeper. It was well into the night now. I looked around. With the destruction of the bat cave, there shouldnt be a lot of other predators close. Lets explore a bit, I whispered to Twai. The three of us went into stealth. I wanted to practice my Shadow Stealth Skill more than my Light Manipulation or Spectral Cloak. I have been thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of various skills ever since Pok got Fire Eyes that could see heat and Myantha got the Smelly Tracker. Spectral Cloak only hides from light, not either of the other two. Shadow Stealth has the benefit of reducing my body heat a little. It will grow as I level it. That is one of the benefits of shadows. All skills have strengths and weaknesses, and as we face stronger opponents, they will have a greater range of skills to pierce the weaknesses. It is also like I have a range of Strike skills, and the right one for the right rat was more effective than just using the same one all the time. This also means that my most valuable skill is Assessing Eyes, and Twais is his Hunter''s Eye. I looked through my skills and realised I had been neglecting some of them. I had barely used Light Speed since entering the Trial, and that is one of my game-changing skills. As we moved through the foliage, I let my intuition and pathfinder skills guide me. Twai stopped us a couple of times, and I think it was something he heard. I need a sensing skill other than sight, and hearing would have been perfect. Mutter, mutter, mutter. Twai is getting too much. I am being too soft. We moved steadily and then slowed. My Spectral Vision (Heat) shows a large heat signature below us. Nightsight picked it out as a large cat of some sort. It was draped on a branch like it was digesting a meal. Twai silently cocked his head at me as if to say, Do you want to ambush it? I nodded and reluctantly put away Lightreaver and Shadowbane and got out Brightlance. I didnt want to use a spear, but these were the large opponents that Spears were best against. I used Assessing Eyes, and the cats head came up suddenly. It felt me use the skill, shit. Twai dive attacked its head, and the cat twisted its body so it partially avoided the attack and got to its feet. Twai gave it a short Mocking Call to grab its attention. I dove off the branch spear first using my Charge Skill and activated Soundless Stun to try to hold it in place. I dont think Soundless Stun was soundless to it, and it tried to move, so my spear attack struck its flank rather than its heart. The thing had some sort of tough hide skill, as the spear did not penetrate far, even with the bonus from the Charge Skill. It struck out at me with a back paw, which I had only avoided because of my cat reflexes. The irony was not lost on me. This monster cat also had cat reflexes, and I was soon furiously defending with my spear and keeping it at bayjust. The spears length was what saved me from multiple claw strikes. Twai was striking from the air and usually going for the head. It was bleeding in multiple places now but was not impaired at all. In fact, a claw strike ripped out some feathers from Twais wing. It was fast and tough, and only his new Acrobatic Flight saved him.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. As it had struck at Twai, it used the Charge Skill again to stab deep, and I added Bloodletting to the strike. Then, when it swiped at me, I danced back at Light Speed. The two skills were heavy on stamina use, but I had more stamina now than ever before. I targeted it with Mana Syphon and dropped Nights Embrace to restrict its senses and Umbral Cold to slow it down. The cat suddenly realised it could not stay on the defensive and pounced at me without warning. I partially deflected with my Basic Spear, but my Rat fur vest was not up to it, and I had claws raking my chest. I stumbled back. Shit, I am too close to the edge of the branch. I Light Speed back to make some space, as being too close is one of the spear''s weaknesses. The cat pounced again, and Twai deflected it with a wind Gust and raked it with his claws. The cat snarled at us and attacked again. Brightlance was a named light-aligned spear, and I thrust in the Basic Spear technique. I fed Cutting Light through the spear, and I ripped a massive cut through the muscle of a paw. The paw was now useless to it, but it was getting desperate, and it pounced again. This time, I was not fast enough, and its jaws caught my thigh and went straight through my leather armour and hog chaps. It shook me like a toy trying to break me. Twai Dived with an Excruciating Screech and took out an eye, and then Rob had his jaws crushing one of its hind legs. It let my leg go and spun onto Rob. I struck it with the Brightlance and Rainbow Assault. The rainbow colours slammed into the beast one after the other, all amplifying the damage and digging deeper into its flesh. Robs poison, Twais poison, the blood loss, the Umbral Cold and the Radiation damage of Rainbow Assault were too much, and I finished it with a spear to the heart. In a longer fight, stacking the ongoing damage is very powerful. All three of us immediately went back into full stealth as that fight was loud and bright and may attract other predators. After about ten minutes, I rose and started harvesting. The fur, teeth, claws, and eyes were all good. Unfortunately, only one eye was left in a harvestable state. It dropped a monster core and health potion and then something usefula cat fur vest. It was superior to the rat fur, so I happily swapped it out. It was tougher against piercing and slashing damage. It was also better looking. I checked the core, but there was no skill there. Of course, there wasnt. Why would I expect a useful skill to drop? The Trial is out to kill you. It felt my Apraising Eyes, I said to Twai. He cocked his head at me in thought. Can you do that? Can you? Can you? Let me experiment with my Mana Sensing Web. It must be mana-related. A skill stone with the ability would have been nice, but nooooo. Trials are not there to help you; they are there to kill you, and you have to take everything you can. I put it on my list of things to learn, along with stopping people from assessing me. There has to be some way to do that. We drop back into stealth and start hunting again. Then, it flashed in my awareness. When we first came into this trial, we were afraid of the nocturnal predators and made a defensible camp. Now Twai, Rob and I are the nocturnal hunters. It shows how far we have grown here. We are certainly not apex hunters, but we can hold our own. Using my basic spear in a fight is very helpful for levelling it, but again, I neglected the basics. Thrust and Slash should be the staple of the spear, and the higher-cost skills as game changers and finishers. I thought about the spear fight. I didnt even use the Block Skill much. I should be getting back to basics with Thrust, Slash, and Block. Bloodletting and the stronger skills I need to keep for a longer fight. That is what will let me keep going. The cat was not a long fight, and stacking the damage was good, but if I had spread out those skills, the damage would have lasted longer, and I would still have mana and stamina. There is a lot I can improve. I never used to be a fighter. I used to be a thief and a performer. I even have the performer profession. Trials change you, and Classes change you. When I get back to civilisation, I am going to carry out a heist just because I can. I look around at the dark trees. What can I steal here? My Pilferer class has not levelled despite the chests I have found/earned. My Seeker and Slayer classes have been rising. I am level twenty-one with three advanced classes, which is amazing, but it is turning me into a fighter, not a thief. Maybe it is not. The way we took out the bats was different from a fighters way. Fighters always want to test their strength and skills. It was more a sneak thief way, but it didnt level the Pilferer class. Why not? Maybe it is not a normal fighting class that I have. It is a Slayer Class. Spectral Slayer kills any way it can. I have plenty of kills to level Spectral Slayer. I just need the XP. I checked and the cat did put me over the needed amount, so I bumped it up again. Intelligence is where I boosted things this time, and next, it will be Agility and Dexterity again. It takes a whole lot less XP to level Pilferer, but I need to meet the criteria there. Do I need to steal without a lot of killing? Maybe? What can I steal here? My Seekers Intuition flared. Up and to the left. It was a long way to the left and up. The sun was rising as we moved, and the shadows reduced. We snuck past a big tree/bear thing that was slow. Taking it on would have been a very long fight for us. We would need a squad with us. Twai poisoned more mosquito monsters. With his Air Manipulation and Gust, he turned his Poison Cloud into more of an aerial spray, which was very effective. We did get a new skill from the mosquitos. Haemorrhage was very much like my Bloodletting, so I let Twai, the medic, learn it. It is actually better than Bloodletting. He knows I get first skill pick for a while. We found a small nook after that and settled down for a few hour''s rest. 71. Moving. I wonder when Alistern will get back to base camp with the last shard/s. I was under no illusions that if they found more than one shard, they would get them all. If he gets back and I am not there, what will they do? They will know we have gone. Myantha checks up a lot. The most probable result is he will send Zeek to find us. He will probably be grumpy that we left. With any luck, we will get back before they do. Yeah, I dont have that kind of luck. We continued to get further away and higher. This time, I spotted the Wood-Mantis before it sprung its trap. My observant eye skill picked up patterns from the previous mantis. I got out the wood axe and levelled my Basic Axe, Chop, and Burning Strike. Twais Wind Blades were getting sharper, but his new Haemorrhage skill was useless on this enemy. Apecots! I haven''t seen them since the start of the trial. For this, I finally got out Lightreaver and Shadowbane. I moved into the Purifying Dance, altering it with my new skills and the old favourites. Light Speed could get me across gaps in the branches without jumping and probably could have saved me from my long, idiotic fall. I chalked it up to a lesson learned the hard way. I had to be very careful with the distance of Light Speed because once I had initiated the skill, there was no stopping it or altering it. This was the practice and the skill levelling I needed. Soundless Stun worked wonders on Apecots. Thrust, Chop, Parry, Dodge, Rainbow Assault. Then, Charge, Chop, Dodge, FrostShade Rend, Lightspeed. This was what I needed. I didnt get off without taking a few hits. The Apecots were not a good enemy for Rob, and I had to watch him. Twai flew rings around them, striking at vulnerable areas and making them Haemorrhage. Twai needs some heavier hitting skills, although he used his speed to add force to his strikes. It was not as big a group of Apecots as last time, but individually they were stronger. Once the fight was over, I got to harvesting and used my Rejuvenating Aura to speed the healing of both my and Rob''s bones. I probably would not have had any broken bones if my Dance of Death Armour was wearable. Big lesson learned. We got a second Tough Bones skill from the Apecots. Twai already had it, and my Tough Body was enough. I didnt want anything else that would slow my Minor Regeneration. It went into the skill cupboard for sale. I was getting quite the collection of coins and weak potions. Wait. Coins. I am an idiot. Coins are used to power small enchantments. I bet I can use them to power my wards instead of wasting a whole monster core. I pulled a Flash ward. Ok, I will have to adjust things for the coins, but the coins are not tainted by the beast from which they came. Coins are pure energy straight from the Trials. This will simplify a lot and save space. I knew this. This is children''s knowledge, but I have not applied it to wards. I am really slow. I added it to my to-do list. I will forget things if I dont actually write a list. I was feeling we were getting close when Twai got to use his Cleanse Blood skill. Spiders this time. Poisonous spiders. They were small, about the size of my head, but they were fast and could jump a long way and very quickly. There were also a lot of them. Their webs were not hard to cut through, so we were not restrained much. However, if we were not careful, they could catch weapons and upset strikes. Umbral Cold slowed them down, and Twais Gusts blew them off course. Rob was the most vulnerable, and the poison started to stack in him, out damaging his prodigious regeneration. What surprised me was Twais Air Cushion. He cast it on Rob, and the jumping spiders would hit the cushion and slow to a stop. They would slowly sink through it if they were left, but it generally gave Rob the time to bring his Crushing Bite into play. He was limited in using his Viscous Tongue as the spiders would use it to add more poison to his system. I stuck near Rob as the Air Cushion made the spiders an easy target for me. I was relying on my Quick Hands Skills and Cat Reflexes, but I was still getting bitten. I was really missing my armour and the fact that I didnt have Poison Resistance. Minor Regeneration was a fire in my flesh and blood as it fought the poison. Twai would land on me or Rob periodically and cleanse our blood of the poison. I am hoping another copy of Poison Resistance would drop from these spiders. I am probably going to be disappointed. The fight was a long one and near the end when we were running out of stamina and mana the matriarch appeared with a group of larger spiders. Twai was the star of the show with his Acrobatic Flying. His Wind Blades couldnt pierce the carapaces on the main body, but he could sever legs. These spiders were fast as well, so they were a hard target. Stolen novel; please report. The Matriarchs body was about the size of mine, so I directed Rob to crash down on her, and he held her in place for the slaughter. Twai kept the attention of her guards with his Mocking Call and Rob and I took out the Matriarch and then helped him finish the guards. I levelled Purifying Dance, which I hadnt done in a long time. The spiders harvested the eyes, poison glands and web spinnerets. The drops were only coins from the little ones with the occasional potion of poison antidote and weak health. One of the guards dropped a ring that shot out webs. The webs were quite weak but could be used as a surprise in a fight. They were not strong enough to take my weight, not even with Feather Fall active. They could be a good addition to my traps. The ring was recharged with mana. The Matriarch did drop a Skill Stone, but it was not Poison Resistance. Enhanced Jump is a good addition to my skills. Enhanced Jump used stamina to enable me to jump further, which had a very good synergy with my Feather Fall. We are not even yet, Twai. We were not as high up as when we found the Hornbills, but the foliage was thinner. Twai was hearing movement with his Enhanced Hearing. We stopped at the edge of his range to rest as what we were seeking was close. Air Manip and Hearing good, Tawai whispered. Sound is transmitted through the air, so the more sensitive your Air Manipulation is, the more skill you might develop in sensing minute air movements, which may develop into a sensing skill. Try it while we rest. We waited, and Twai practised sensing movement in the air. Every now and then, he would ask me to wave something. I am sure he is close, as he has been working on this for a while. It sounds like the Enhanced Hearing Skill has given him a new direction to explore. Eventually, he got frustrated, so it was time to move on. We moved a lot more cautiously than before. I was using Shadow Stealth, Spectral Cloak and Muffle Sound. The more skills I used, the more stamina it chewed through, but this could be mitigated by actually being careful not to make a sound and to keep to the shadows. I am definitely investing in more agility next time I level. We climbed a trunk so I could see further. Twai did not want to expose himself, as this high up, many monsters are of the winged variety. Plus, I am the one with the Farsight skill. I havent used it much since entering the Trial. Farsight would probably be a good skill for Twai to get. I went in full stealth, so I didnt attract attention. The monsters where we were heading were obvious. They were large and nested in a particularly large tall tree. It was a pride of Griffons. Was pride the right word? Maybe a flock of Griffons. They had the powerful lion body with the wings and head of an eagle. They were large, maybe twice the size of an average lion. I studied them for a while. The obvious natural weapons were the beak and claws. The beak looked particularly powerful and nasty. The body was covered in fur, and the wings, head and neck in feathers. I kept watching. They definitely had the Cat reflexes, and I would be willing to bet the feathers and fur were strengthened for defence. The feeling I got from my Identify Skill was that we might be able to beat one of these"might" being the keyword here. However, it would be a long, drawn-out fight, and there is no way we can take on more than one. When I had seen enough, I slowly and stealthily dropped back out of sight. Eagles are known for their long-distance sight, and I would not be surprised if they had better sight skills than my Farsight. We cant fight them, I said to Twai. Sneak, Sneak? he asked. If we are discovered, we will die, I said. Twai just cocked his head to me. Yeah, that is nothing new, I agreed. The main question is whether it will be worth the risk. Twai cocked his head in thought. Take everything, he stated. Take everything we can, I corrected. Can we do this? You could jump and fall and crash away? Twai said, referring to the Hornbills. Cheeky sod. The Griffons will probably catch me, Twai nodded, Hornbills caught you. Go at night, go at night? Lions operate at night, eagles during the day. What does a griffon do? I dont know. However, we are better at night. How about we get close and wait for dark. Twai nodded. I started to move and then looked at Rob. He has adaptive camouflage, but We should put you back in the tattoo, I said, trying to ignore the similarities with the Hornbills episode. It went so wrong because I made one mistake. That is all it takes. I have hopefully learned that lesson. Think before you leap. I stored Rob, and we moved closer. There was a notable lack of other monsters as we drew closer to the griffons. As we got closer, I was tempted to use my Assessing Eye, but I remembered the other cat that sensed it. I would be fairly certain the griffons would be able to as well. We found a quiet place and rested until nightfall. 72. Griffons Galore. We waited for full darkness, and then we waited some more. The Griffons did not seem to have a common sleep period like the Hornbills. Some were napping, others flew off to hunt, and others ran and jumped like cats to hunt through the trees. Griffons were coming and going all the time. I had had a nap when we first arrived in the hollow of the branch, and Twai watched, and then we swapped. Griffons would pass often, and I kept still and used an Observant Eye to pick up the patterns of how they moved and what might trigger them to find us. They are strongly visual, but their sense of smell and hearing is fairly acute as well, from what I could tell. I am not sure we can get past these, I whispered to Twai. He cocked his head and chirped, Try? We need an escape plan. He looked at me. I examined what I had to hand. I wish I knew more wards. I could use the ones I had as distractions, but that was about it. The griffons looked more intelligent than other monsters, and that lessened the effect of any distractions a lot. I had a lot of looted equipment. Orange Apecot hide boots, Rat Fang daggers, etc. Nothing looked useful except maybe the spider silk. The trouble is that it is fragile. It didnt bother me much, so it is not going to bother the griffons. In the early evening, I snuck out to examine escape routes. Down was the obvious one, as gravity is my biggest issue. This time, I used Map to map the area well, so at least I had a plan. I used the spider web ring to secure some of the wards at points for distraction purposes. I felt very underprepared. Griffons were not dumb Hornbills. They were smarter, stronger, and more vicious, as agile as the big cats. They had the best sight, hearing, and smell of the eagle and the lion. They are probably faster, stronger, and more agile than me. What are my advantages? Light and Shadow. I am pretty certain I can move unseen and with Spectral Cloak. Shadow Stealth lowers the body temperature, and Muffle Sound and Twais Air Manipulation, we can hide sound, smooth air currents, and, to a lesser extent, reduce smell. Will it be enough? The Griffons are tougher than the hornbills but not so closely packed together, and there are fewer of them. I am not sure how many there are yet. If we are discovered, we will be at a serious disadvantage. I cant fight them, even one-on-one. Assassination is not workable for me on something like a griffon. I doubt even Myantha could make silent kills. This is a bad idea. The question is whether the risk is worth the reward. I dont know what the reward is, except my Intuition says it is the most valuable thing in this area. What are the criteria that make it valuable? It is my intuition, so it is valuable to me. My life is also valuable to me, and the risks are huge. Twai wants to try. I would try if I were more confident I could escape if I were discovered. When I am discovered, is probably a better way of putting it, as the senses of the griffon definitely put a timer on our stealth. When we did the run against the hornbills, the four of us could kill individual hornbills quite quickly, and we only had to fight to a fortified backup team. I deviated from the plan and almost killed myself. Here, I have no backup team and no safe position to run to. The safest place would be the base camp, which is a long way away. I will run out of mana and stamina if I can stay alive that long. I am seriously thinking it is not worth the risk. My close call with death has definitely made me more cautious. I was starting to get a very uneasy feeling about this. If I knew more wards, I could build a safe space, but I cant do that yet. It is too risky, I whispered to Twai. Might be boss bonus? he chirped quietly back. I investigated more with my intuition, and it went up a level. Does that mean it agrees that it is? More likely, I am just using it in a different way, looking for a specific thing. That is tempting. There is a good chance it is or could be part of the bonus for the boss quest. If the main challenge was split into shards, then it is logical that the bonus part would be as well. That is tempting. A good thief knows when to walk away from a job, but but this is a trial. Is there some way to beat the trial? Trials need to be beaten in both the ways that phrase can be taken.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. My feeling of unease was growing. I looked around. Observant Eye saw something in the corner that it recognised. I turned and looked up where it had caught the glimpse. Two eyes and a beak were staring at us, and the lion''s body was crouched, ready to pounce. Move, I yelled, startling Twai, then launched myself away with an Enhanced Jump. The griffon pounced at the same time and barely missed me. The griffon let out an almighty screech at missing its prey, alerting all the other nearby griffons. I saw Twai launch and throw Wind Blades at it as he performed something like a barrel roll to escape the snap of the beak at him. The Wind Blades just seemed to slide off the feathered neck of the griffon and did zero damage. I used Feather Fall to lengthen the arc I was jumping so I could reach the next branch, but all the nearby griffons were coming, and I was helpless in midair. The nearest griffon had launched itself at me with a snap of its wings, and I saw four clawed paws coming at me. I switched off Feather Fall to change my direction, but it wasnt going to be enough. I had visions of my fall with the Hornbills all over again. I am going to have falling nightmares for a long time. This time, I knew the location of the branches in this area, and with a short burst of Light Speed, I was suddenly near the branch but travelling too fast. Cat Reflexes and Acrobatics had me absorbing some of the momentum with my legs and then launching me into another Enhanced Jump. I had to be very cautious of the amount of stamina each jump cost and the amount of mana I had to power the mana-hungry Light Speed. Then something triggered in Map, and it was like it was in my consciousness, and I knew where all the branches I had mapped earlier were and the distances and details without bringing up the Map itself. Text flashed in my vision, but I didnt have the time or concentration to read it further than New Skill Acquired, Tactical Map 1 . I partially missed my landing because of the annoying text and stumbled off the branch rather than jump. I tumbled and caught a horrifying view of several griffons diving at me. The Tactical Map updated with the number and their current trajectories, although as I lost sight of them, the map couldnt update when they changed their direction. However, the trajectories gave me an out to another branch, and I used Light Speed to get there. When I tumbled, I saw Twai flying like a mad parrot to avoid the griffons chasing him. He was pushing his Swift Flight and his Acrobatic flight to stay ahead of the griffons and out of reach. He was trying to head to me. My Tactical Map showed where he was, and it updated his position and kept it in my view. It must be because we are bonded. I wonder if it is the same for a party? It is a shame the Tactical Map doesnt update for our attackers. I need to keep them in sight to have their positions. Wait. The griffon had mana. I cast Mana Web (sensing), and all of a sudden, the Tactical Map updated with all the mana sources in the web. This, unfortunately, included the trees. As the skill levelled, there might be more control, but now it distracted me, and I landed hard and rolled uncontrollably. Then, pain stabbed in my back as a griffon got its claws into me, ripping through my cat-hide armour. I rolled again, which meant it didnt manage to get a grip on me, and I stabbed it with Lightreaver as it flew over. I didnt draw blood, but I didnt have time to use a skill with the strike. A second was coming at me, so I used Charge to go at it, and it couldnt adjust its trajectory fast enough. Shadowbane cut a leg, and I almost used Rainbow Assault, but I decided to save my mana to escape. It would give me an extra use of Light Speed. Then the Griffon was gone, and another came at me from a different angle. I was running along the branch when the icon on my map that was Twai, merged with a griffon icon, and it started falling rather than flying. I leaned on Dash and Free Runner and then Enhanced Jump with a two-second burst of Light Speed, and I reached out for his unmoving form. I missed grabbing his body and only snagged his wingtip. The wing was broken already, and if he were conscious, this would have been agony. I got an arm around his main body with his broken wing jutting out at an awkward angle, and then claws pierced my back, and I was jerked in another direction as the griffon that grabbed me extended its wings after its dive and headed for a branch. Its claws ground painfully against my ribs and a thigh. The wounds ripped and tore as the griffons wings strained to take the weight to the next branch. I reach my arm down and used Cutting Light to release my leg. It sliced through the claws, and my legs dropped down with talons still embedded. The loss of grip on my legs puts too much weight on the front claws, and they are ripped out as I drop. My back and leg are bleeding profusely, and my leg has dark claws still under the skin. I use Copy Image to have us continue to fall as I Light Speed to a small branch with Light Manipulation around me. They found me before when I was in my Spectral Cloak, but it was hunting us. This should give us a moment''s reprieve. I feed Twai a weak health potion, which is the only type I have. I regret not getting a healing spell I can use on Twai as he has to be awake to use his Heal Wounds, and even then, it wont fix his broken bones. I tuck him under my jacket and tie him there so I can use two hands. I use Lightreaver to cut out the talons in my leg and scull a potion myself. Then I took a weak stamina potion as well. The griffons are already starting to circle, looking for us. The fact I am dripping blood is going to draw them here. I checked my Tactical Map and used Enhanced Jump and Feather Fall to head to another branch that no griffon was heading towards. My leg spasmed as I landed, and my back was raw, and I rolled the momentum away. I ripped my shirt and used it to bind my leg, so it stopped bleeding. I then dropped over the edge of the branch to a lower branch as a griffon landed where I was sniffing the air. My Rejuvenating Aura is at work, but I have it on gently as I dont want to alert the griffons. I cast Self Clean to remove as much blood as possible and run along the branch as I Jump for a higher one. This always going down is predictable, but there is very little I can do about it. I run along the branch, pushing on Dash and Free Runner again. I got to the trunk or maybe it was just a vertical branch. I was about to climb when a griffon landed behind me and stared straight at me. 73. Run. It is obvious this griffon has sight skills that get around my Light Manipulation. If it squawks all the griffons will be on me again. It is a bit awkward with Twai tied on my front, but I get out Brightlance, as spears are better for large beasts. I need to cripple its flight and run. It doesnt give me any more time as it snaps its wings in a quick flap, driving it forward faster than anything has attacked me yet. My Basic Spear technique is telling me to get the fuck out of its way. I Dodge right and Thrust Brightlance at it without a lot of hope of hitting anything. The beak snaps on empty air, which is a good outcome. Brightlance strikes a feathered wing, but it is glancing, and I only dislodge a few feathers. However, I dont stay to do more. I Enhanced a Jump down as the griffon let out a loud squawk of frustration at missing me. This Tactical Map might be the only thing that gives us a chance. Instead of leaping into the unknown, I can plan and land on something. I can also keep heading in the direction of the gate out of here, as I dont even think both squads working together will kill enough griffons. I land and roll. Sorry, Twai. Then, Jump again, and this time, I had my timing right and landed on a griffon''s back spear first. Brightlance lodged in thick shoulder muscles, but it stopped when it hit the bone. I hung on tight as the flying griffon wrenched me sideways, and the spear almost came loose. I let out a Soundless Stun, which seemed to do nothing. The griffon let out a shrill squawk, and the wing caught me on the upflap and knocked me away. Not even the Sure-grip in my glove was enough to hang on. I fell and used a short burst of Light Speed to reach a thin branch, but it was too weak and broke. I fell slower, and I saw Brightlance fall away from the griffon. There is no way of retrieving it. I am guessing it is going to be a treasure for another hunter to find. That really disappointed me, but I had two incoming griffons to avoid. This time, I drew the sword Shadowbane. It is soul-bound, so it will return if I drop it. I burst Light Speed to get away from a beak and in the way of the second griffon. Shadowbane cut deep with Longslash, and the wing lost feathers and was damaged enough to disrupt its flight. Longslash was relatively cheap to use, and stamina was used instead of mana. I need all my mana for Light Speed. I tumbled away from the passing wounded griffon and crashed through another branch. I stabbed Shadowbane into the wood of a passing branch to stop my fall. It only worked because of Feather Fall and the sure-grip in my gloves. Copy Me continued to fall and was stabbed with claws and a beak. I couldnt keep up. I dont know how many griffons were after me, but it was a lot. In the small gap, I climbed to the next branch and checked my main Map. I was not even halfway to the Base Camp. I climbed up onto the branch and froze. A griffon was staring right at me. I didnt hesitate and Charged it. Its wings flared out, and it rose on its hind legs as claws and beak struck out towards me. At the last minute, I dived low under the griffon''s attack and struck at the softer belly area. The fur was still tough and hard to penetrate, but Shadowbane cut deep in one area, and the griffon would not be breeding again. The griffon released an Excruciating Screech that was many times more powerful than Twais. My head rang, and I stumbled and slipped off the branch. The griffon dived after me for revenge. Wings would be great right now. The only way I could control my fall speed was by turning Feather Fall on and off, and the only way I could change my direction was Light Speed. I spun in my fall with Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes and thrust my feet against the diving griffon. My weakened leg was also the one with the damaged boot, and the sure-grip enchantment failed, causing it to slip. My other leg caught, and I pushed off to the side, but not where or as fast as I wanted to go. The griffon''s wings clipped me, and I tumbled off to the side, all control gone. It was better than the claws and beak, but not by much. I searched the tactical map for something within Light Speed distance, but what I saw was angry griffons diving at me. I burst Light Speed upward, and the nearest griffon went beneath me. I tried landing on it, but my leg gave way again, and I tumbled off. The griffon flared its wings to come around at me again, but another varied its dive to snap at me. I nearly avoided the beak with acrobatics, getting my leg out of the way and a slam on Feather Fall, so I was not as low as the griffon expected I would be. But the beak clamped onto my ankle. I Shadow Phased my leg. I was trying not to use that skill as it is high mana use, but I would probably have lost my foot otherwise. I was still falling with little control. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The bad part of the tactical Map was that I knew the branch was coming fast, but neither Acrobatics nor Cat Reflexes could save me from a crash that would break many bones, even my toughened ones. It was like my death was coming at me in slow motion. I barely twisted so Twai didnt land first, and then the branch hit, but it didnt hurt. It was like my speed dropped suddenly, and I managed to grab the branch. Twai was awake and got an Air Cushion between me and the branch. Thanks, I huffed as I swung my one good leg up and did a one-legged Enhanced Jump toward another branch. Twai twisted under my jacket so he could see better, but he wasnt flying anywhere with a broken wing. However, his Air Manipulation gave me better manoeuvrability even if he couldnt make me fly. Coordinating our skills was not easy, and we overshot the branch as Twai didnt account for my Feather Fall. I found I could share my Tactical Map with Twai. I dont know if it was that we were bonded or if I could do it with a party or anybody. I really need to read the description sometime. Twai fired a Wind Blade and made a griffon swerve. Then he burst a Gust under us, raising our trajectory, and another griffon went under us. I have to remember that fighting in three dimensions is Twais speciality. The griffon wings buffeted us, and I said, Stop. He stopped all skills, trusting me, and I used Light Speed to get us to a branch we could land on. Light Speed was something totally new to the griffons, and they were not used to it. Unfortunately, they were getting used to it. I rolled away down the branch and then took off in a limping Dash. I created three Death Darts, and Twai shot them at a griffon with small Gusts, trying to make it dodge. It just ignored the darts, and I was the one Dodging. The Darts are not going to do anything. I had a feeling they were too small and would not penetrate past the feathers and hide. I dove off the branch with an Enhanced Jump, jumping horizontally. I was still working my way to the base camp, or more specifically, the gate out. I was done with this trial. One problem with heading to the gate was that I was starting to get dangerously low, and I had no upward movement. Enhanced Jump and Climb were it. If I got too low, I was going to be a sitting duck climbing back up to it. Climb is close to maxing out as it has been in almost constant use, but it is still slow. I need to stay above the level of the Gate if I can. Some of my wounds closed as Twai used his Heal Wound on me. It wouldnt fix his wing, though. A griffon landed on the branch behind us, and I could feel it chasing us on the four lions'' paws. I dropped a Flash Ward, and when it went off, I dropped off the side of the branch with Copy Me still running on it. I fooled it for a couple of seconds. I assume then its eyes readjusted. A second Copy was falling as I clung to the underside of the branch, wishing I had Rob''s suction pads. The griffon took the bait and dove after the second copy. I tried to get back on the branch, but a griffon came at me from the side. I really feel like my Spectral Cloak is only there for my comfort. The griffons see right through it. I dropped before a beak impaled me. Claws shredded armour and skin instead and I was tumbling again. The tumbling stopped as Twai got us under control. Then I had a bad idea. A thought crossed my mind that this might be as bad an idea as the hornbills, but it was too late. I saw, and I did. I Light Speed and then stabbed down violently with a Thrust of Shadowbane. My arms were almost yanked out of their sockets as the griffon I landed on kept flying. It protested loudly at the sword stabbed in its back and then tried to dislodge us. The griffon was not as acrobatic as Twai, but it was doing its best. I was not going to last long. My legs were dragging behind in the tail feathers, but I could not get a grip around the griffon with them, which meant my Bronc Riding was not a lot of help. Up, I said to Twai, and he seemed to understand we needed height. Twai knew which feathers to Gust to get the griffon to gain height. However, I was falling a few seconds later as the Griffon rolled right over. Other griffons were converging on us, and I Light Speed to a branch. The griffons had been getting used to Light Speed. However, I only had the mana for a couple left, and a Stamina potion was more important right now. A griffon had anticipated where I was going, and I was halfway through the potion when claws and a beak appeared in my vision. Then, two arrows sprouted from its chest, and they had gone deep. Some high-level skills at work there. I was in the process of dropping on my bum as my only dodging method, but the griffon Screeched and changed targets. I scrambled to my feet, and my Observant Eye recognised a human shape in the foliage carrying a bow. I Enhanced Jumped in that direction. I was still Limp-Dashing when Suda appeared from the foliage. She had her bow with her. The Lieutenant and Zeek are leading them away, but there are too many, and they are too high-levelled. We are using the exit. Pok is getting base camp moving. She looked at me as I skulled a Health potion and then a weak mana potion. You wouldnt know what stirred them up, would you? They ambushed me, I said half truthfully. She looked like she only half believed me. The Sarge is in charge. The Lieutenant, Zeek and I are rear guard. Go. She raised her bow, and I turned and ran. I think my thieving still needs some work. 74. Exit. When I got to the exit, there were only two guardsmen waiting for stragglers and the rear guard. I could hear the rear guard not far behind me with angry griffons. Straight through, Joe said, the Sarge will have a camp nearby. As I ducked into the tree with the exit gate, I saw Alistern, Zeek and Suda all make a run towards us. Then I was through, and instead of coming out into the world, I was in a room with only one door. At one end of the room were three chests on a raised platform. The first thing I did was lower Twai to the ground and check his wing. Trial reward? Trial reward with potions? he said, stating what I should have known. The reward chests probably had healing potions. I limped forward carrying Twai. The left-hand chest was covered in brightly coloured parrot designs. The right-hand chest was in bright colours of the rainbow. The centre chest was in the shape of the completed stone tablet, and the tablet was the lid of the chest. We went to Twais chest first and opened it. Inside were some stones and a potion. I identified the potion as Greater Bone Mending. Do you want to use the potion or keep it and wait for Austin outside? I asked. Stones? Maybe Regen? he asked. I identified a stone, Oh, this is good. It wont fix your bones, though. It is a secondary Attribute called Graceful. It enhances Agility and Dexterity. There had better be one in my chest. This will open a lot of options for classes. I tossed it to him, and he worked at it until it appeared on his status as Graceful: 2. There are two levels in it. I had better get that, especially after the burning lake cheated me out of Endurance. I watched as Twai seemed to change, and his movements were smoother. Potion, potion, he said. I ignored him and identified the other stone. Then, as it would not fix his wing, I handed him the potion. He drank the potion, and the wing straightened right out. He gave a couple of experimental flaps before taking off and flying a couple of laps around the room. Faster, faster, acrobatics boosted! he exclaimed in delight. I reached in and picked up the last stone, and tossed it into the air. He turned on a wingtip and caught it. It disappeared, and Farsight appeared on his Status. He let out a happy call. It almost sounded like a mating call. I moved over to my box. Twai came and perched where he could see. My box contained a Greater Health Potion, which I stored away for the future. Between my Regeneration and Twais Heal Wound, I would be fine soon. Ha, ha, I said to Twai. I beat you! Graceful: 3 appeared on my status, and I really felt like chains had fallen off. Everything was smoother and easier. This was going to make lock-picking a breeze. It would make ward carving a breeze. I felt faster and far, far more precise in my movements. I moved away from the chests and went through the forms for Purifying Dance, and it felt like before this, I was merely an untrained apprentice. This was fantastic, and I couldnt wait to get out and use it. This was going to make everything I do better. EVERYTHING! Pisst, mocked Twai. You only got three, as I was more graceful to start. Merely catch up. You just keep thinking that, I said condescendantly. The other object in my box was different. It was obvious what it was, but I couldnt identify it. I pulled out a pair of black leather boots. Oh, I said. I need to bind them. Soul-bound boots. I pushed some mana into them, and the connection to me happened. I used Identity on them, and I got the following: Mirage Boots: +5% Agility, Self Repair, Mirage Facade, Set Binding. I had to look deeper at what they did. Self-repair was obvious. +5% Agility was incredible. My Agility was at 70, so this would add three and a half. The Dance of Death boots only gave a +1. But this will grow. If I get my Agility to 100 I will have five extra. The percentages are amazing and not something you see often. It is part of why Soul Bound equipment grows with you. Mirage Facade meant they could change to look like any footwear I liked. This would be great for my disguises. It could also change the tread pattern. I touched them and made them look like my Dance of Death boots, and they looked exactly like them, even in their current rundown state. I checked them, and it was only in the look. They didnt have the bone reinforcing the Dance of Death boots had. That was a shame. However, the final ability was also incredible. Set Binding meant they would bind with any armour set I was wearing and add to the setthey would be part of the set. If I had the Dance of Death set, they would count as the boots and give the set bonuses. This was also true of other sets. If I had two pieces of a three-piece set, the boots would complete it even if the set did not have any boots. If the set had a helmet and jacket and I was missing the bracers, the boots would count to give the set bonuses. They could only be part of one set at a time, and if I had the complete set, there was no room for the boots to be added. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. These boots are incredible, I described them to Twai. I put them on, and I compared them to the Dance of Death boots. There was no armour reinforcing and no Sure-grip enchantment, but their other benefits outweighed the loss. I will get the Dance of Death Armour repaired when I can because it is a great set. I now have Graceful, and my Steady Footing has improved so I should need the sure-grip less. Shall we? I said, indicating the centre chest that represented the boss challenge rewards. Twai nodded. I opened the chest, and there were more stones. Four Skill Points, I said to Twai, Probably two for each shard we helped retrieve. I thought for a bit. Maybe it was only one skill point per shard, and we got one each for the shards. There were three other items in the chest. Two were small studs for piercings that were popular with the younger crowd. I tried to identify them, but nothing happened. Soul-bound piercing studs? I said in wonder. They look like a paired set. Do you think they have to be worn together, or is it one each? Twais head darted into the chest, and he came back with one of the studs. I watched as he fed mana into it. Through our bond, I felt a connection to the studs, and I picked up the second one. This time, it read: Vital Spark (Paired Studs): +5% Constitution, Life Swap. Just two features? The boots had four. Maybe it was the size. The constitution boost was welcome, but what was Life Swap? Life Swap: Sacrifice your constitution to boost the constitution of the paired soul. Definitely paired and definitely one each, I said to Twai. Where do you want it to go? I asked. Hidden, hidden under feathers. Between wings? I got a thin needle from the Mosquitoes and looked at his back, moving some feathers to find his skin. After the first cut on my hand, I put on gloves. His Darksteel feathers were sharp. I found a spot at the base of his neck and put the stud there to try. The stud took over and inserted itself. OK then. The feather lay back over the top, and you would never know it was there. Your turn, your turn, Twai chirped. Where do I put mine? Somewhere hidden. Soul-bound equipment can make you a target. Stealing it involves killing the soul it is bound to, and we dont want to encourage that. I have seen a lot of facial studs. Some have bellybutton studs or breast studs, and Lady Elizabeth had one on her let''s call it the most private area. Nobody but her lovers saw that. I am not keen on that. A name like Vital Spark could be interpreted as making new life. I chose my belly button. It was out of the way and usually protected. The Stud inserted itself, and I instinctively knew I could send Health to Twai at the cost of my health, which was now 5% higher. I looked in at the last item in the chest. It was an ability stone, and when I inspected it, I found that it was restricted. Mass Variation: Summons ONLY. I didnt trust Trials, and I would have liked more details, but the rewards have been beyond my expectations so far. Maybe not all Trials are out to cheat you on your rewards. I summoned Rob and tossed him the stone. Summons like Rob dont usually get new abilities, although there are many different types of summons out there. Robs abilities scale with mine, so we will see what this one does. Mass Variation appeared on his Status. I looked at him. He looked at me. His tongue flicked out, tasting the air. Ah, Rob, can you try the new ability? Then he disappeared. What the? No, he didnt. He shrunk. He was about a handspan in length. I squatted down, Rob? He was normally about 6m long, but now he is a handspan in length. The Change cost him all his Stamina, Mana and a hunk of his health. His Regeneration was kicking in, and my Rejuvenation helped. Over the next little while, we explored the ability. His previous size was his default size, and the more he changed, the more Stamina, Mana, and Health it cost. He could increase his size as well as decrease it. A change of the magnitude that he did to get to a handspan in length was his maximum, and that was only because of his Regeneration. He was back to full health, mana and stamina after about half an hour, so it was not without cost. Changing back costs just as much. Smaller variations in Mass have less cost, so this adds to his versatility. This had multiple advantages. One, I could carry him instead of putting him back in the Tattoo. This will also let him scout through small gaps, etc. More applications will need to be explored, but I liked him being out, so now I could carry him, and it was great. If he changed back to his default size, he would be ready to ride after about ten minutes, but I would not like to get into fights while he is low on resources, so he needs to pick a size before we go into fights. Then, the Experience Points rolled in. Wow. I dont know how they distribute the experience, but that is a lot. Twai and I both went to see what we could level. I was blocked from levelling Seeker and Pilferer due to the other requirements for the class. Advance Classes are a pain in that way. However, I had plenty of kills to level up Spectral Slayer. The Experience was enough to level it twice, and some was left over for the others. I was tempted to put all the attributes into agility, but Mana was what I was short on. I split it between Agility and Wisdom to help the mana regenerate faster. I saw Twai boost his Agility and Constitution. He obviously didnt like being unable to fly. We must find him a better self-healing skill, like my Minor Regeneration. Unfortunately, four skill points are not going to be enough for that. Especially as the prices kept rising. I never realised it, but every time you buy something with skill points, the prices go up. Minor Regeneration used to cost five points, but now it is listed as seven. You can only buy skills for yourself, so I cant get someone else to buy them. I instinctively realised I could also buy for Twai, but he, apparently, couldnt buy for me. If the Trials arent fair, why would I expect the gods to be? Assuming they are the ones running the skill shop. I looked at Twai. Are you ready to head out and face everyone? I assume the academics are going to be mad at having to leave before figuring out the bonus reward. Twai chirped. What do you mean, that''s my fault? It might be you they were hunting! Twai let out a derisive chirp. Dream on. Let''s find out how many people got the secondary attribute. If I remember that book on classes, it is a key to opening up a lot of the elvish classes. I bet you Myantha got it. Twai chirped negatively. Chicken. That got a loud, indignant squawk of protest. I grinned, and we exited the trial. Updated Skill List
Name: Marvin Wygon Age: 25 Race: Al''rashian
Level: 24 Sub Level 8 Class: Seeker 8 /Spectral Slayer 13 / Pilferer 3 Profession: Performer 6 / Wardweaver 2
Health: 990 Stamina: 990 Mana: 610
Strength: 49 Agility: 75 Dexterity: 60
Constitution: 50 Intelligence: 61 Wisdom: 55
Perception: 2 Endurance 1 Graceful 3
Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 4
Companion Bond Twai (Kea Parrot)
Precision Throw 6 Thrust 8 Crushing Blow 3
Parry 5 Holy Strike 7 Create Dart 5
Chop 4 Slash 5 Block 3
Bloodletting 5 Long Slash 3 Quick Strike 5
Create Arrow 1 Shield Bash 2 Death Strike 3
Shadow Phase 3 Burning Strike 5 Nights Embrace 4
Power Throw 1 Piercing Throw 3 Ambush Strike 3
Shadow Strike 3 Radiant Strike 4 Frostshade Rend 3
Acid Strike 1 Rainbow Assault 2 Soundless Stun 2
Auras Provoking Aura 4 Rejuvenating Aura 6
Razors Edge 6 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 7
Basic Blunt Weapons 3 Blade Storm 2 Steel Serpent 5
Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 8 Purifying Dance 6
Three Steps 5 Basic Shield 2 Serpents Blade Dance 2
Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max
Quick Hands 6 Climb 9 Ambidextrous 3
Acrobatics 5 Free Runner 5 Cat Reflexes 6
Steady Footing 6 Light Speed 5 Charge 2
Sleight-of-hand 2 Swimming 1 Muffle Sound 3
Feather Fall 6 Shadow Stealth 2 Enhanced Jump 3
Stealth 10/Max
Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max
Bronc Riding 2 Appraisal 6 Identify 8
Agility Riding 1 Mimic Sound 3 Voice Throw 2
Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 8
Butchering 2 Weave Ward 2 Unravel Ward 1
Tracking 7 Scribe 1 Herbalist 1
Mining 7 Leadership 3 Skinning 1
Maiming Decoy 2 Onyx Carver 1 Create Trap 10/Max
Disarm Traps 10/Max Detect Traps 10/Max Riding 10 Max
Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max
Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 7 Death Resistance 3
Toughened Skin 6 Toughened Body 5 Fire Resistance 5
Mana Disruption 5 Mana Strength 4 Mana Sensitivity 8
MicroMana Manipulation 5 MacroMana Manipulation 2 Mana Web (Sensing) 3
Mana Syphon 4 Mana Manipulation 10/Max Mana Control 10/Max
Seeker Seekers Intuition 5 Pathfinder 3 Lore 2
Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 5 Mana Sight 3
Nightsight 4 Farsight 3
Light Manipulation 9 Minor Regeneration 4 Storage 6
Shadow Manipulation 4 Helping Hand 3 Map
Death Manipulation 2 Spectral Cloak 4 Assessing Eyes 4
Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4
Trim 5 Mend 1 Trickle 2
Wither 1 Glow 2 Dim 3
Burning Light 3 Copy Image 7 Flash 7
Project Image 8 Animate Image 6 Cutting Light 4
Eclipse 2 Umbral Cold 6
Name: Rob Race: Greater Lizard
Health: 990 Stamina: 990 Mana: 610
Night Sight Adaptive Camouflage Acidic Poison Saliva
Sprint Crushing Bite Viscous Tongue
Suction Paws Tail Smash Regeneration
Mass Variation
Shadowbane: Sword
Lightreaver: Dagger
Mirage Boots
Vital Spark: PairedStud
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Name: Twai Age 12 months Race: Kea (Parrot)
Level: 22
Health: 490 Stamina: 490 Mana: 250
Strength: 24 Agility: 55 Dexterity: 30
Constitution: 30 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 12
Graceful: 2
Free Attribute Points: 0
Abilities Air Manipulation 7 Poison Resistance 3
Pickpocket 8 Adaptive Camouflage 4 Claw Strike 6
Peck 7 Wind Blade 6 Mocking Call 7
Gust 6 Weaving 2 Poison 3
Lacerating Claw 5 Dive Attack 6 Slash 4
Excruciating Screech 3 Air Cushion 3 Poison Cloud 3
Haemorrhage 2 Camouflage 10/max
Movement Skills Swift Flight 8 Silent Flight 6 Acrobatic Flying 3
Darksteel Feathers 4 Tough Bones 5 Stout Heart 3
Heal Wound 5 Cleanse Blood 2
Dark Vision 6 Hunters Eye 4 Enhanced Hearing 1
Farsight 1
Charms Self-Clean 4
Soul Bound Equipment Vital Spark: PairedStud