Chapter Twenty-Five
When he reached the next clearing, he froze. Even from the edge of the clearing, he knew what laid above fit him nearly perfect.
Well, calling it a clearing was a bit of a stretch. The dense foliage vanished, but there were still plenty of trees, though with thinner trunks than the trees beyond the clearing. Despite the trees, he instantly spotted the familiar three tree supported platform which lured him in like a siren song.
The snake atop his head shifted, but didn’t move in hopes he skipped the trial like the last ones.
Unfortunately for the snake, Arden couldn’t resist the lure. Even though he grew up in the desert, the stone trees always gave him a sense of home. Now basking in wood attributed mana, it became too much. Any thoughts of moving on drifted away as he approached.
A numbing jab froze him just as he called forth his Wood Spike card. He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs, then gasped when he noticed he stood right in front of the platform. The last thing he remembered was entering the clearing.
That discovery cleared any residual compulsion, though the lure remained. He took a dozen steps back, sighing in relief when the pull weakened.
One thing was for sure, he had a high compatibility with wood attuned mana. It explained why he leveled his Wood Manipulation card so easily. Not that his other cards were much harder to level. As much as he would love to gain more wood attuned cards, he should continue his scouting.
There was still one attunement he was missing. It felt similar to wood, but not quite. Maybe there was another clearing. He proved his theory these clearings formed a ring around whatever laid at the end of the middle path.
With a force of will, he trotted past the platform, following the trail out of the clearing. Only when he exited the clearing did he realize how much it affected him. He would’ve been helpless if something ambushed him. Who knew if the snake would defend him? It was more likely it would grab its stash and leave him to die.
Now with a clear head, he scanned his surroundings with all his senses, ears twitching, head on a swivel while his mana sense stretched to its limit. That turned out to be a mistake as his mana sense latched onto the wood attuned mana of the clearing freezing him mid-step. Fortunately, nothing took advantage of his momentary weakness.
To avoid it from happening again, he trotted ahead quickly, putting the clearing out of his mana sense range.
He soon found himself back at the three-way intersection. At least he thought it was the same intersection.
A scaly tail dropped into his line of sight, pointing at the center path once again, this time with much more insistence. To punctuate its desire, it gave him another stab of venom, though much weaker than it usually did.
Maybe he should backtrack to one of the trials. It would get rid of the snake for a little while, but he couldn’t help but be curious about what laid at the end of the middle path.
Would the opportunistic snake take advantage of him, or maybe it was the key to completing his class quest? If he completed his class quest, he could partake in the benefits of this forest to his heart’s content with no time limits.
Any further resistance melted away. Still, he kept his focus on his surroundings just in case something jumped him. Even with the snake scaring off most creatures, he found it hard to believe there wasn’t something willing to attack.
Unless there was a bigger predator keeping everything else at bay. That thought only increased his paranoia. From the books on dungeons he read, the center of a dungeon almost always had some boss. The question was if he was really at the center of the dungeon or one of many circular formations.
He wouldn’t find the answer to his questions unless he ventured forth. As much as he hated taking risks, he needed to in order to progress. No risk, no reward after all. If things were easy, everyone would do it, causing it to be the new baseline. Those who wished to succeed had to push beyond what most would do.
Another numbing stab, quickly negated by his poison resistance, pushed him forward, though not without a swipe at the offending snake. Said snake easily dodged by slithering down his arm, then back onto his head.
An annoyed growl escaped him as he stepped onto the path, but he quickly regained his focus, unwilling to leave himself vulnerable again.
That focus bore fruit within moments as he spotted movement all around him. Small shapes whizzed between trees so fast they were only blurs. Fortunately, none of them seemed keen on attacking, but still he dropped below and crept forward.
A few heartbeats later, he stepped into another clearing, only to stumble back as a wave of potent mana hit him. His bracelets shined brightly as his body burned hot. Utterly incapable of handling the potent mana, he dropped to his knees, muscles trembling. Even the snake atop his head curled tightly as it too struggled.
In his blurry vision, tiny winged humanoid shapes zipped all around him. They spoke so fast he could barely keep up, but with his body incapacitated, there was nothing he could do but focus his ringing ears on the high-pitched voices.
“Intruder!”
“Really!?”
“How fun!”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Elf?”
“Fae?”
“Which one?”
“Both, but not both!”
“Chained?”
“Impure?”
“Both!”
“Potential?”
“Maybe!”
“Not yet!”
“Agreed!”
“Must prove themselves!”
“Trials?”
“Yes!”
Unable to hang on any longer, everything went black.
When he came to, he found himself at the intersection once more. Panic hit immediately, sending him shooting to his feet, earning himself an annoyed hiss. He ignored it in favor of scanning for threats. None presented themselves besides a certain snake hanging from his right arm, so he focused inward.
At first, everything seemed normal. His mana veins appeared the same as before, even his core remained unchanged. However, upon glimpsing his tether, his eyes widened. The unknown, deep green thread grew to the point of taking over half of his tether. Far out classing the rest of his attunements.
Worry built, prompting him to open his Ortus menu and focus on the quest description.
An era long past (Legacy).
Survive the ancient forest below a forgotten civilization and uncover its secrets.
You have encountered the home of the fairy. They found you unworthy of their gifts. Prove yourself worthy by completing the trials of the firsts of life.
1/5 Trials Completed
Time Limit: 3 days, 5 hours.
Arden stiffened at the time left. He lost an entire day. His hands clenched and unclenched as he took a deep breath to calm himself.
He may have lost a lot of time, but he gained some clarity on his quest. It appeared he needed to complete the trials he planned to do anyway before venturing further. If they worked like the poison trial, he shouldn’t lose too much time since the timer paused within the trial.
Plus, unlike the poison trial, all the other clearings were close to each other. At least he hoped they were the trials he needed to complete. Even if they weren’t he wanted to complete them, anyway.
With a clear plan of action in his mind, he strode down the right path, reaching the fungi clearing soon after. To his surprise, the snake now atop his head didn’t flinch back as he approached the trees supporting the platform.
In fact, the snake seemed almost eager. Before he could even create the first wood spike, the snake slithered off him and up the tree, leaving behind its horde.
The temptation to check out the card stack sparked, but he knew he would regret it later if he did. Instead, he focused on creating his wood spike ladder.
Halfway up, he paused, realizing his only fungi attuned card wasn’t in his active hand. A quick opening of his Ortus menu changed that. He almost switched out the other cards in his active hand, but he held off just in case something attacked him before he had a chance to re-add them.
No point in leaving himself vulnerable on the off chance they would level up when he didn’t want them to.
When he reached the platform, he found the snake laying limp within the hut but any thoughts on that froze as the presence housed in the crystal yanked him forward. Then blackness was all he knew.
In the next moment, he found himself in a dark cave. Mushrooms grew all around him, some glowing providing just enough light for him to see his surroundings.
In the dim light, his flashing bracelets caught his attention instantly, prompting him to open his Ortus menu, though he kept one eye on his surroundings just in case something attacked.
An era long past (Legacy).
Survive the ancient forest below a forgotten civilization and uncover its secrets.
You have encountered the home of the fairy. They found you unworthy of their gifts. Prove yourself worthy by completing the trials of the firsts of life.
1/5 Trials Completed
Time Limit: 3 days, 5 hours (Paused)
Survive the Dark Garden.
Trial begins in 10 seconds.
He scrambled to prepare, but like the previous trial, every weapon vanished, and the only ambient mana was fungi attuned. That meant he only had one usable card. It was finally time for his Dispense Spore to shine.
The moment the countdown hit zero His vision swam, sending him crashing to the ground. It happened so quick he couldn’t even activate his card.
To his relief, his poison resistance kicked in, banishing any ill effects within a few heartbeats, allowing him to regain focus. With focus, he activated his Dispense Spore card.
A puff of air exploded out of him, clearing the particles barely visible in the dim light from his immediate surroundings.
His poison resistance went silent as he took a deep breath of the moist but clear air. Another wave of spores exploded toward him from all directions, but yet again he activated his Dispense Spore card, repelling the assault.
Still, despite the ease he had in defending himself, he remained on guard Dispense Spore at the ready. However, after one more assault, the surrounding things calmed, and his bracelets flashed. He glanced though he kept his card on standby.
Survive the Dark Garden.
First Stage Complete.
Beginning Second Stage in 10 seconds.
Already? That seemed way too easy. Oh well, he couldn’t complain. As long as he remained on guard.
The next stage started the same as the last, but this time, he was prepared. His card propelled the spores the moment they filled the air.
A frown formed as three waves, not unlike the last stage, exploded forth. He repelled each the same way, completing the stage within a minute.
Survive the Dark Garden.
Second Stage Complete.
Beginning Final Stage in 10 seconds.
He almost felt disappointed. This trial was nothing like the challenge of the poison trial and he didn’t even reach the third stage. Was he doing something wrong? Should he let the spores affect him? No. That would be a needless and stupid risk. He would continue with his current strategy. It worked, so why change it?
Mind made up, he conquered the final stage in record time, as it appeared identical to the previous stages.
His vision blocked out as soon as the final stage completed. The next thing he knew, he was flying out of the hut, landing hard at the edge of the platform.
When he recovered, he glanced down at his flashing bracelets.
An era long past (Legacy).
Survive the ancient forest below a forgotten civilization and uncover its secrets.
You have encountered the home of the fairy. They found you unworthy of their gifts. Prove yourself worthy by completing the trials of the firsts of life.
2/5 Trials Completed
Time Limit: 3 days, 5 hours.
Survive the Dark Garden Completed.
Stage One: 1%
Stage Two: 1%
Stage Three: 1%
He winced as he saw the results. Just like the poison trial, he failed to take advantage of all the trial could give him. He should have known better, but he didn’t want to take risks either.
Didn’t he decide he would take risks if it meant improving himself? He knew he couldn’t die in the trial. Why did he think it was a good idea to take the safe route?
As if to punctuate his thoughts, a certain snake slithered out of the hut as if the wall didn’t exist, a stack of cards in its jaws. In a flash, the snake deposited its prizes into its stash, then took its place atop his head.
Thoroughly defeated, Arden turned toward his ladder tree, only to stop when he felt the presence within the hut. It radiated annoyance, but a light descended on the platform right in front of him. Two cards formed far slower than usual, as if the presence really didn’t want to give him a reward.