William didn’t wait or wonder, he just pushed the door open and stepped in with determination. As he entered, he saw three plinths. Three separate chambers lay adjacent to their corresponding plinths, as large as the Golem’s chamber had been. The room was illuminated by numerous sconces of blue flame, around the perimeter of the trial grounds. The ground this time was not plain stone, but was pure white marble up to the chambers, where each had different flooring. The eastern chamber contained a pine wood floor, like a martial arts hall he went to briefly as a young kid had. The walls contained various wall scrolls written in a language he couldn’t understand. Lining the walls in various small alcoves were indoor plants, that apparently didn’t need sunlight or water. “Probably Magical.” William thought. The Northern chamber contained another plain stone floor accompanied by a plain stone wall. He had a feeling that it was a sparing chamber of some kind.
The western chamber was also rather interesting as it appeared to have no floor, and instead, various planks, stones, and bars strewn across the room in an obstacle course of some kind. He could also see the tips of metal spikes protruding just over the edge of the chamber, indicating that the floor was a spiked pit fall of some kind. As he finished his perusal of the trial room a prompt appeared before him. It took him aback slightly as he hadn’t touched a plinth yet, but it made more sense as he read it:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Trial}
{Goal}
Complete the 3 final trials of the Arcane Sword.
{End}
William could guess that the plinths activated each individual challenge, hence why the prompt had come before hand. He wasted no time and headed for the eastern chamber as it seemed like the most calming one. William activated the plinth and was surprised at the appearance of a Spectral Swordsman with his arms crossed and a sword at his side.
“Welcome, Disciple. You have trained and honed your strength in the previous trials, and now your final tests will begin,” the figure said, in a manner of practiced speech, like he had said this to so many others before him.
He was the first to discover the dungeon however, so it indicated that the dungeon possibly could have been pulled into GAEA at some point in the past. The man looked older, and William had watched enough anime to know that the older swordsmen were often OP as fuck. William hoped that he wouldn’t have to fight this one as he had a feeling that the man was a swords-master.
The figure continued, “Your first test is one of the mind. Enter, and take a seated position in the hall.”
William didn’t bother replying, as he had tried with one of the Spectral Swordsman already to no avail. He sat down and waited. The figure didn’t walk, and instead, teleported opposite William, sword resting across their lap unsheathed.
The blade was glorious. It shimmered with arcane energies, and the metal seemed to swirl as if animate, yet held in the solid shape of a truly refined blade.
The figure spoke once more, “We will test your mind from our teachings. You must answer three questions correctly. Each failure will result in one strike from my sword. If you fail three questions, you will die.”
William’s heart started racing and sweat started to form on his back, chest, and brow. He didn’t get chance to fret further as the first question came.
“What do those following the way of the Arcane Sword strive for?”
William had hoped it would be multiple choice. He cursed inwardly as he was not that lucky. He wished he could phone a friend or do a fifty-fifty or something. He didn’t seem to be timed however and after a couple minutes of consideration passed, nothing changed and the swords-master just stared unmoving in his direction. He tried to picture the first swordsman he fought in hopes to garner some insight.
It was after another minute of deliberation before William stated, “Unyielding Defense.”
The swords-master considered the answer, his eyes scanning William.
After a brief moment that felt like an eternity, the figure replied, “Correct. The answer was rough, but had some semblance of accuracy. If you survive, hone your mind further and refine your answer from our teachings.”
There was no emotion of praise or condemnation in his tone, just plain truth and conviction. William smiled a little and waited for the next question. It seemed that there was a margin of error to each question, though the extent was still impossible to determine.
The swords-master spoke up again with the next question, “What are the traits we strive for?”
“Fuck.” William thought, not having a clue as to the answer. He regretted not looking at the sword-forms before entering the trial, but regret wouldn’t save him. He pondered the answer and considered two aspects that old senseis in martial arts movies strove for.
With some forlorn hope, William replied, “Balance, and Inner Peace.”
The figure frowned slightly, showing the first real emotion of their encounter and concern crept into William’s mind.
It coolly replied, “Balance correct. Inner Peace correct.”
William began to feel relieved, and as he had composed himself again feeling more confident, a silhouette of the sword flew from it and shot into his chest. William screamed briefly, but paused. There was no pain. He grew cold however when he saw that his current health was 310/410HP. It didn’t hurt, but his HP had dropped by a hundred. William then grasped the dire straights he was in.
“You fail the question. You missed the other two traits,” the figure continued.
William took a couple moments to regain control of his breathing and beating heart. He had missed two, but at least he knew there was four now.
The swords-master moved on to his next question, “What are the latter two traits we strive for?”
“You vindictive motherfucker!” William cursed in his mind. He wasn’t going to let himself get hurt again due to such bullshit and channeled his annoyance into thinking of other old guru type traits.
A few minutes later, William mustered a response, “Stillness, and Determination.”
“Stillness correct. Determination incorrect.”
William winced at the reply and tensed up as he saw a second silhouette enter him. 110/410HP two hundred HP gone. One more was certain death. It didn’t hurt, but he was beginning to feel colder inside, as if on the precipice of life and death.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“What is the fourth trait we strive for?” The swords-master asked.
William was beyond frustration now and couldn’t think of what it could be. He considered so many different traits. Eventually he found a train of thought. Defensive combat seemed to be the art form of the Arcane Sword. Tanks were defensive, and other than the traits he had gotten correct, he realized that there was something else that all those on any frontline ever had one thing in common.
William replied with confidence, “Courage.”
“Correct.”
Relief and jubilation washed over William. Hope was rekindled in him, and he readied himself physically and mentally for the final question. He was two for two so he had to get the question correct on the first try otherwise it was the end for him.
“How many of the six forms are focused primarily on defense?”
That was a tough one. William considered that it might be three offense and three defense, but if they focused on defense in this art, then it could be all six. After more consideration he thought back to the first trial. The swordsman did have a sharp and efficient attack stance to begin with, so they must have at least one attack form at minimum. He visualized the fight further and remembered that it didn’t take much to force the swordsman on the defensive. In the end, he risked the educated guess.
It took a few seconds more for him to reply as he was gathering resolve in the face of death, readying himself.
William took a deep breathe and replied, “five defensive forms, one offensive form.”
The figure stared at him for a moment and William felt despair wash over him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. He thought to his family, and regrets of the distance that had grown between him and them. He felt some guilt for the relationship with his mother being so strained, and neglecting to look after his little sister. He also felt guilt for disappointing his father for so long. He then felt frustration as he couldn’t put it right any more.
“Correct. You pass.”
William’s eyes shot open, “W-what?”
No reply came. William felt relief once more like a colossal weight had been lifted and tears formed in his eyes. The pent up air in his lungs escaped him, carrying a colossal amount of trepidation with it.
The swords-master got to his feet and William did the same. Suddenly the two silhouette swords that were inside him shot out and returned to the sword. He was relieved when he saw his health bar. 440/440HP. He was glad that he wouldn’t need to go into the two remaining chambers with only a hundred HP.
The swords-master sheathed his sword and with a tone of dismissal said, “A passable effort. Barely. Improve through your remaining trials and beyond. You may now do the second trial.”
William had no opportunity to respond as the figure faded out of existence in an instant. William looked back toward the plinth, just in case it was a teleportation skill, but only the three plinths were within the center chamber.
William walked straight up to the second plinth and activated it. The same figure reappeared.
“Welcome, Disciple. You have succeeded in the first test of the final trial. You now stand before the second trial. This trial is a test of the body,” the figure stated.
William proceeded inside and stood near the center of the chamber. He was expecting a duel or something as this was to be a test of the body. The swords-master appeared in front of him once more and drew a different sword form the first trial. This one was plain in appearance. It looked like a cheap training sword of some kind. He had no illusions however, that the figure wielding it could probably work wonders with the tool.
“For this trial, you are expected to block three of my strikes. Conversely each strike on your body will mark you with a soul brand. If you gain three soul brands, you will die,” the figure said, still with zero emotion.
William drew the sword, and readied himself, trying to mimic the stance of the swordsman from the first trial. There was no signal to start as the figure shot straight towards William. He moved in a blur and brought the sword down towards William’s head. William managed to flick the sword upward activating [Indomitable Parry]. The parry worked flawlessly and William darted back to make space, readying himself for the next charge.
The swords-master didn’t give William any respite however as he was upon William in a heart beat. William moved to block the horizontal slash that the figure sent his way, but the swordsman twirled on the spot, reversing the slash in the opposite direction, striking William’s side. The swords-master returned to his starting spot then as William felt a soft burning sensation on the point the blade struck but no laceration appeared. William guessed that was how the soul brand worked and readied himself, seeing he had five seconds of cool-down on [Indomitable Parry]. William didn’t move, instead waiting for the figure to approach him once more. Moments later, the swords-master was upon him, sword coming in for another horizontal slash, form the reverse side this time, and William shifted his sword as if to block, and to his delight, the swords-master repeated the previous twirl, just with direction reversed, and William flicked his own blade into the opposing slash, successfully executing [Indomitable Parry].
William activated the Speed Runes in his boots and dashed to the opposite end of the room. He was waiting for the cool-down of [Indomitable Parry] to refresh as he didn’t anticipate that his speed or strength to block the attacks would be good enough to contest with the blows that the swords-master sent his way. He had already felt the hard force of the attacks he had successfully blocked and they reverberated through William.
It turned into yet another cat and mouse chase like the first trial. William narrowly missed strike after strike, no grace in his dodging at all. He awkwardly twisted and dashed around erratically. He was glad that no witnesses were present as he was rather embarrassed, but a win is a win, regardless of how it’s attained. It was when he had around fifteen seconds on his cool-down that the second landed strike came. It was on his free hand. The swords-master had feinted a strike one way, and then struck from another angle, forcing William to jerk in an awkward manner while in his initial dodge, allowing the figure to land a strike on his free hand that had been extended off center.
The swords-master returned to a ready position as William felt the second brand on his wrist. One more would bring finality to his existence, but as he took his defensive stance, he had seven seconds remaining on cool-down. The figure lunged once more, and swung at an upward diagonal angle, causing William to dodge in the opposite direction.
Six seconds.
William dove into a roll as his foe turned and thrust towards his chest.
Five seconds.
William got to his feet just in time to dart back another two feet as a slash swished the space he had just been in.
Four seconds.
The figure darted forward, blade held directly horizontal, aiming for William’s heart. William managed to twist and fling himself back once more.
Three seconds.
William dashed backwards one foot after the other, twisting desperately to not get hit.
Two seconds.
The swordsman anticipated his next dodge and extended a foot outward, tripping William forward and causing him to slam to the ground.
One second.
He would not fall here, not when he was so very close to victory. Something in his soul that was kindling, become a roaring fire as the swords-master’s downward thrust intended to end William.
“INDOMITABLE PARRY!” William yelled with monstrous ferocity, and activating the skill, he swatted the strike up into the air, causing the strike to miss his head by a hair’s breadth.
He did not need to chant the name of the skill, but chose to affirm his resolve in the face of death.
The swords-master stopped the assault, and sheathed his sword. William lay back on the cold stone, relieved at his victory and even more relieved to feel the brands fade from his body.
“An adequate performance. Your final trial will not be so lenient, and will be a combination of both body and mind. Steel your spirit, attain you're confidence, muster your resolve. You will need all three to succeed. Otherwise, you will die in the third test,” the figure said with disinterest before fading away like in the first test.
William closed his eyes and looked inward at his performance. It wasn’t great, he knew, and luck was a big factor in the dungeon so far. William felt the sheath on his side, and felt that there was no Mana stored, meaning that the sheath expends all the stored Mana when the sword within is drawn, even if he didn’t use it in an attack. William’s mental image of decimating swathes of foes in colossal cleaves went up in smoke, but even one such potential attack could change the fate of him and Greenwell. He looked at the sword and could see some fading Mana from it, the Mana that had collected in the sheath he surmised.
William's thoughts strayed to the next test, and he revisited the swords-master’s words. Just how bloody hard would the next test be?