[Ah…] It was finally over. That fight really took a lot out of me. There was no way in hell I could fight against all of those golems at once. Fortunately, I had collected enough new Souls on my hunts to be able to hold my own, but even so, my energy stores were looking rough. If there was another fight like that, I would struggle. It wouldn’t be impossible, but I would be cutting it really close. I would be on the brink of energy starvation.
I looked at my hands covered in blood and then at the crimson ground. Pieces of flesh could occasionally be seen among the rubble. It was good that I stuffed my rings with the corpses. Never know when you might need a snack. The final blast cost me more than just energy. Even though most of my flesh was reabsorbed by my bones, a large chunk was still destroyed by the blast.
Another 5% or so was lost. Fights between powerful people could get quite costly in that regard. Losing decades or centuries of accumulated Essence.
It sucked, but I didn’t feel too bad about it. I was already recovering a tiny bit from the snack I had, and the globs of cooling metal all around me also helped. Celestial Metal. There was so much of it.
I began gathering the mangled remains of those statues. It was unfortunate, but their weapons were all gone. Just before they were all destroyed, the one with the bow shot an arrow at me. A glowing string appeared, connecting the two ends of the curved stick, and then it fired off a spectral arrow. It never reached me before it was blasted away, but it was interesting to see how energy could be used. Some people were really creative with their use of conjuration magic. I preferred to be more straightforward. If a simple strategy could achieve the desired result, why change it? Complexity appealed to stupid people.
“So…” Sonic came with the other three following close behind. He was looking around at the destruction with a clear interest. “What now? Is there a way out?”
[Timer.] I answered shortly and pointed at the numbers counting down at the other end of the hallway. The wall there was split down the middle, and I suspected that was the door to the next room.
“Right, yes, of course…” Sonic nodded, not looking up at me. “We’ll just… wait over there.”
I loudly snorted, blowing hot air from my nose, and then went back to gathering the slag. The molten Celestial Metal splattered all over the hallway, and as it cooled down and hardened, it became nearly impossible to remove. Since it was stuck to the walls, it couldn’t be transferred into my storage space. I first had to manually scrape it off the indestructible walls. It took a bit of convincing, but my fists and claws were great at negotiating with the metal, and piece by piece, I cleaned it all up.
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The timer reached zero, and we heard another sound of a horn. The entire place lightly shook, and just as predicted, the far wall split down the middle and began to open. The path forward was revealed.
“Um… Should we go?” Ruth asked, pointing at the door.
Everyone looked at me for permission. I just shook my head. [I’m not leaving until there is nothing left to take from here.] I already collected a lot of material, but there was still so much to take.
The rest decided to follow my actions and began to scrape the drops of metal off the walls and floor. They tried to give it to me, but I just told them to keep it. It was a pittance compared to what I was recovering. I already had more than enough for my needs, but you just couldn’t go wrong by taking more.
The others didn’t seem to be in any hurry, and the door remained open, so there was no rush. I steadily collected the Celestial Metal scraps until there was not even a single speck left.
I considered melting the front door as well, but those things were so large and enchanted on top of it, I decided to spare them. I didn’t have Qi to be just tossing around anymore. More than half of the Souls I had were already gone, and I didn’t know if I would have to fight later. Better safe than sorry.
[Alright, let’s go.] I called.
We came up to the open doorway and looked through. Visibility was dogshit. There was enough light, but the other side was full of golden mist. A trap to prevent us from preparing for the trouble on the other side?
“This looks like a trap.” Irit stated grimly. The guy has been very pessimistic recently.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[We can’t stay here anyway. The path back is closed.] I replied and firmly stepped into the mist. Whatever trouble there was, I was ready for it.
“We really have no choice, huh?” I heard Naran sigh. “Fuck it. I’m going.”
I heard the others follow soon after, and then the doors closed. As expected. The group murmured among themselves, keeping close not to get lost. The fog slowly lessened as we advanced and soon things began to clear.
We found ourselves in a large bright hall painted yellow and gold. It was very shiny and warm. The golden mist disappeared and I looked behind us to see where we had come from. My expression turned into a scowl. The door was right there, a few steps behind us. I could have sworn we walked for ten minutes at least.
[Great. Spatial distortion… Just what we needed.]
The others noticed my gaze and looked back, appearing just as shocked and confused.
“Maybe there was something in the mist, making us confused? Or perhaps it was all an illusion.”
[Maybe.] I didn’t like that place. Things weren’t making any sense. I started to doubt that was just some kind of an automated anti-burglar system. It seemed to be something more. Something much more complex. Fuck complexity.
We walked forward and saw raised steps with a glowing golden throne on top. A person sat on it. A large, ten-meter giant dressed in sparkling golden robes. A long, thin beard reached his waist, and silver hair rested on his shoulders. The eyes which were previously closed, opened with a snap.
The man stood up with a smile.
“Welcome, Challenger.” His voice boomed across the large hall. The others covered their ears while I just stared at him. At his long, pointy ears and pale skin. “You came so far, solving the puzzles the Council has set up for you. Formations, energy control, and finally insight!”
“You have endured the challenges, and emerged victorious!” The man continued his speech. “Consider yourself blessed, for the last three challenges stumped a thousand participants before you. Blown apart, disintegrated, and cut to pieces. That was their fate for failing to solve them. But you, you are different.”
I felt the blood rush in my face and blushed. Was that guy trying to insult me? I clearly failed every single challenge. Heck, I didn’t even know they were supposed to be challenges with a solution!
I could hear amused snorts behind me but chose to ignore them.
“Now, for the final trial! The greatest test of them all, to see if you truly are worthy of joining our ranks!” The man paused for effect. “Your instincts will be tested and your abilities discerned.
To join the ranks of Divinity is no easy feat.”
[Divinity?] I blurted out.
The speech didn’t stop despite my interruption, because, why would it? The man wasn’t real. He was just a projection. An illusion. I continued to listen.
“For the final trial, you will be given a technique to reform your body and prepare it to be able to accept the Divine Essence Pill, the final reward. Should you succeed, your power will rise, and you will leave behind the mortal coil, ascending higher, taking the first step towards true Divinity.”
“Words appeared in mid-air, an entire Body Cultivation technique like none I have ever seen. Just from a single glance, I could tell it held profound mysteries and secrets.
“The trial of wisdom. You will learn the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path.” The illusion continued. “Each part has to be mastered and completed in the allotted time, or the power will destroy you from within. This is your one and only chance to give up and return to mediocrity. Your memories will be wiped and your body restored. You will know of your cowardice and loss, and nothing more. Do you wish to surrender?”
[Hell no! Are you kidding me?!] I shouted immediately. Giving up a chance to advance at the speed of light? I would have to be braindead to do that.
“Very well. In that case, I wish you luck.” The illusion of the High Elf took a step back.
[Wait! How long do we have to learn this?]
“You have until the start of the next trial, or until you perish. Your time starts… now!” The man sat on the throne and closed his eyes, not reacting to any of my questions anymore.
[Hmm.] I frowned and looked around the place. There was no clear exit, and the doors behind us didn’t seem like they would be easy to open. We were trapped. It was either succeed or die.
“Um… Excuse me, Gerald?” Sonic called. I turned and noticed the man was pale.
[Yes?]
“Are we… trapped?”
[Whaaaaat?] I said in an exaggerated manner. [Nah, man, we just have to learn this. No big deal!] I pointed at the writing hanging in the air.
“Yeah, um… The thing is, we can’t read that.” The man said.
I stared at him. He stared back.
[Oh. Right. But you understood what he was saying?]
Sonic shook his head. “He wasn’t really speaking. I mean, he was, but he was also more just transferring concepts.”
[Really?] I looked at the other three and they nodded. [Huh.] I understood him perfectly, so maybe that was why I didn’t notice.
[Anyway, let me get you a translation…] I took out some paper and began writing down a translated copy. I simplified some things and used multiple words to describe others since the High Elf language was quite broad. It took me hours just to get it all down. The technique seemed needlessly complex. Or maybe that was the point, to compress it down into a usable form. Maybe that was the trial of wisdom. I had no idea. The old High Elves were weird.
“Thanks.” Sonic said after I handed over the last page. They gathered in a circle around the copy and made a few more, one for each of them.
[You are welcome.] I smiled. I then went to find a good place in the middle of the room and plopped my throne down so I had something to sit on. The place was as otherwise as empty as it was large.
I leaned back and crossed my hands behind my head. I read the entire technique a few more times and then grinned. [Let’s see, the first on the agenda, upgrading my blood. Seems easy enough.]