Vesper run with a huge shit eating grin on his pale face, as he moved further away from the old coot’s house, who would have thought he would also get a dagger from the exchange though an old dagger wouldn’t help him in the long it was better than fighting with his bare hands.
He turned corner to corner in the maze that was the slams of the Capital city of the Empire of Kasnador on its home planet of Aliria, the young empire was in the scope of the universe a fledging nothing more than an empire that rose to power more quickly than others.
As of today, after 100,000 years of war and success the empire has amassed a 1000 worlds under its banner but it has also stagnated with so many years of peace under the new emperor, if the old mans rumbling would to be believed the empire had another 50,000 thousand years before it went to shit.
But Vesper didn’t care about that, because all in his mind right now was a way to survive the upcoming trial. What the old man said that the heavens were going to give him a fighting chance was a great weight lifted of his shoulders.
Still thinking he would survive with easy would be his death sentence, for the last 2 years he trained and ate whatever he could so he could at least have a somewhat physical advantage in the trial with... let’s say minor success.
What could he do? He was always broke getting chased around by the gangs that were more numerous than rats in these godforsaken slums, what he usually ate consisted of some hard lumps a bread and rats’ meat with the occasional beating he got when he tried stealing fresh meat.
As of now his only real advantage really was the dagger and the half-broken leather amor he stole from a gang members corpse 1 day ago, he had some dried and salted rat’s meat and bread in his pouch that was strapped tightly on his waist.
‘Let’s hope this is enough’ Vesper thought as he made his way towards the main city gates.
…
“NEXT!!!” the inner-city gate guard said as a pale young man went inside the gate building to be allowed throw the inner city.
“State your name and purpose for entry” as he stared at the pale young man in front of him.
“Vesper, purpose of visit is the trial taking place at the solstice Square and here’s my slot ticket”
!!!
The guard was surprised. This little thing was going to be entering the trial? He looked more emaciated than your normal slum rat with barely any muscle and more beat up than usual, he seemed more like a ghost with his dirty silver hair that was held in a ponytail by a piece of string, creepy pale skin and rubylike eyes. Why was he wearing a piece of half torn leather Armor that clearly looked too big for him and smelled like piss was anyone’s guess, he couldn’t help but let out a snort.
“You are going to be entering the trial like that?” the guard said clearly holding in a laugh as he read the ticket and gave it back.
“…”
Vesper just stared at the guard with a deadpan face.
“Hmph, ok you can pass good luck on coming back”
Vesper just sighed and nodded going behind a corner and disappearing from the guards view.
“What a weird brat… anyway NEXT!!!”
Next came a stunning beauty of utter proportions, she had hair that of a red dragon, eyes of a light pink mixture and sense of beauty the guard couldn’t ever imagine. She wore a neat white T-shirt and a pair of black pants with a sword strapped on her back.
“Uhm... state your name and purpose for entry please”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Alexandra Ze Kasnador, purpose the trial of the wrathful heavens”
“…”
“…”
“Your imperial majesty this lowly one greets thee, of course you can pass” the guard said as he quickly took the knee while sweating buckets, who would have thought the emperor’s grandchild would be taking the trial in the commoner square and not in the confines of the royal square.
The princess just stared and started making her way inside but stopped after feeling the gaze of the guard.
“What?”
“AH I… um”
“Spit it out you imbecile” The princess said clearly not happy at the lowly guard ogling her.
“Uh I’m sorry for asking your majesty it’s just you… don’t seem to be wearing any armor...”
“… hmph” Alexandra laughed a little.
Suddenly the princess’s whole body was enveloped in a pale golden light before reliving a slick but fashionable golden armor that covered her whole body, once it was revealed her armor she just walked away while leaving the guard staring dumb founded.
“A... a high Tier armor type shard” he mumbled as he stood up his eyes couldn’t believe it, he only had the tier 1 shard armor that he got from the system after his trial, after fighting tooth and nail all those years ago and his tier 2 sword that he paid and arm and a leg to buy.
Items that were rewarded by the system or given when slaying corrupted Monstrosities were called shards, they were categorized as in 4 groups Utility shards, Armor shard, weapon shard and multi shards. With the last one being a combination of 2 or 3 Category of shard types and were extremely hard and suicidal to get, they came in the range of 9 tiers with the tier one shads just being a somewhat better mortal item with a small enchantment.
Shards could also be crafted by Shard smiths who had gained a utility type class but they came from one if the 3 different clans that had a lineage in shard smithing and the cost of using their services was quite expensive for normal peasants and most could only handle up to tier 4 shards if they had some talent with most others managing up to the 2nd tier while the best smiths who had the talent could craft up to tier 8 shards were exclusive only to the rich Clans, Sects and the imperial family as they usually worked for not only gold but also needed Top grade materials that you could only get from slaying beast of the alpha grade and up or corrupted abominations of the corrupted emperor rank which only these powerful families and clans could manage to acquire.
Still for an unchained class cultivator to have such a high tier shard was almost unheard of, it was probably a tier 5 shard as it materialized from thin air but he couldn’t understand how that was possible as for shards of the 3rd tier and up to be used or even factional you needed to unlock the system so you could access your soul zone ,he didn’t know how she did it.
“that’s royal for you and their stupid vast amounts of wealth and connections and I even forgot ask for a ticket” the guard sighed as he watched the back of the princess slowly disappear, he reached for his pouch behind his back that housed some rations his lunch.
“What in the nine heavens?” his pouch was gone just who the hell stole his lunch?
…
Vesper played with the sac he just “Burrowed” from the guard, it wasn’t like he was going to miss it, it had some standard military rations and a canteen of water nothing valuable unfortunately, but it was a great boon for his diet inside the trial.
He didn’t know who that red haired lass was, probably some rich noble or something but she made him a great service showing off like that it gave him just enough time to grab the kneeling guards pouch before skedaddling from the scene. That shard she showed off just made him even more stressed for the trial he only had his almost ruined non tier armor and a dagger that was most likely just a normal mortal dagger he didn’t know what else that girl had on her if she could summon such high tier shards maybe she had a whole table inside of her full of food who knew?
He sighed as he made his way to the square and already quite a crowd of people was forming in front of a wooden stage.
Vesper went to the far corner of the square so he wouldn’t be close to the crowd and waited for something to happen, he really didn’t know how the proceedings went when entering the trial as he couldn’t for the life of him get any information as every time he tried that bitch would ruin any hope of getting more than a few scraps of information, at least she had the decency to give him a ticket before saying she hoped he died.
Remembering that Vesper swore if he ever got the chance, he would choke her to death with his own arms, he shook his head to calm down it’s not like it was possible going back knowing that if he failed here he had no chance in returning to the slums or the sect building without dying from all the high level individuals he scammed the pass few weeks for information about the trial, one guy already found his ‘home’ which was a small shack his mother left him before she to died and burned its so he was also no only dirt poor but also finally homeless.
Thinking these thoughts while the chattering of the audience kept getting louder, he saw a tall male knight walking over to the stage and waiting for the crowd to shut up, when the didn’t an aura so terrifying spread throw the arena that damh nearly made him scream with fright. Once the crowd quieted down, he spoke.
“Welcome dear sealed and unchained guest to your ticket to your future or damnation”