Chapter 26: Crystal Guardian Trials. Part One
Coal tries to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and trying to focus his thoughts.
He tries to think back to what might have caused this situation.
He remembers the cave they had entered, the glowing crystals, and the mysterious beings that had sent them back to the academy.
Could it be that those beings had somehow trapped him in this dark space? Was this one of the ways to test him?
Had it all been a trap, no they were more than powerful enough than to have to make a trap for him.
Coal tries to reach out with his mind, hoping to make some kind of connection with those beings or anything else that might be nearby.
But all he feels is emptiness, an endless void of nothingness.
He tries to summon his spiritual energy, hoping that it might give him some kind of guidance or help him break free from this darkness.
But to his surprise, he can't feel any energy flowing through him. It's as if his connection to his spiritual core has been cut off completely.
He could not even feel his connection to Muddy. This all seemed impossible. What was he to do in this darkness all alone.
Coal starts to panic, feeling completely helpless and alone in this dark void. He wonders if he will ever be able to escape or if he's doomed to be stuck here forever.
His hope that whatever was going on would quickly end diminished more and more as what seemed like hours, days, and weeks passed.
What had he done to be subjected to this. Luckily the one thing that had always been with him even before being born was still there.
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Name: Coal
Race: 99% - Human, 1% - ???
Class: N/A
Titles:
Farmer’s Son - Learns farm-related things easier (+1 Strength/Endurance)
Mana/Qi/Aura: 300
Strength: 50
Endurance: 55
Intelligence: 48
Willpower: 80
Skills:
* Speech - Intermediate
* Farming Tools - Competent
* Agriculture - Competent
* Hunting - Novice
* Archery - Nil
* Spearmanship -Nil
* Swordsmanship - Competent
* Earth Skin - Competent
* Earth Sense - Competent
* Fire Burst - Competent
* Fireball - Competent
* Flame Armor - Competent
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Traits:
* Blessed by Earth (Intermediate)
* Blessed by Fire (Intermediate)
* Steel Mind (Small)
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During this endless nothingness left to only his own thoughts, his stats had helped to keep him sane.
The willpower stat had risen while he was stuck here and once it hit eighty the Steel Mind trait had appeared in his traits section.
Apparently it assisted in warding off mental attacks and helped keep him calm and less prone to going insane.
All those effects were quite nice, and using his stats he found that even if he could not feel his spiritual energy that if he tried to cast spells or circulate his energy that though he could not sense it the stats showed that it was being used.
Coal realizes that even though he cannot feel or see anything, his stats and traits are still functioning.
He decides to focus on that and try to use his skills and spells to break free from this darkness.
He tries to cast Fire Burst, focusing his mind on the image of flames bursting forth from his body.
To his surprise, he feels a surge of energy and a blast of flames erupts from his body, illuminating the darkness around him.
Coal's eyes adjust to the sudden brightness and he sees that he's standing on a stone platform, surrounded by darkness.
He tries to move his legs but finds that they're stuck in some kind of gooey substance.
He looks down and sees that he's standing in a pool of what looks like tar.
He realizes that this must be some kind of trap or test set up by the crystal beings.
They must have transported him here and immobilized him to see how he would react.
Coal takes a deep breath and focuses his mind on his Earth Skin spell, trying to harden his skin and break free from the tar.
After a few moments, he feels his skin hardening and he's able to break free from the tar.
He takes a step forward and sees that there's a path leading away from the platform.
He decides to follow it, knowing that this must be the way out of this trap.
As he walks along the path, he realizes that the darkness is not complete.
There are faint glimmers of light coming from somewhere, like distant stars in the night sky.
He focuses his attention on them, trying to make out what they are.
As he gets closer, he realizes that they're crystals, just like the ones in the cave where he first encountered the crystal beings.
He remembers the words of the faculty member, warning him and his friends not to go back to the caves.
Coal continues along the path, his mind racing with questions and theories about what's going on. He wonders if the crystal beings are testing him for some reason, or if they have a larger agenda in mind.
As he approaches the crystals, he notices that they're arranged in a particular pattern. It's almost like they're pointing in a certain direction, leading him somewhere.
He follows the path indicated by the crystals, moving deeper into the darkness. As he walks, he begins to sense a faint energy in the air, like a hum or a vibration.
The energy grows stronger as he gets closer to his destination, and he can feel his own spiritual energy responding to it.
Finally, he reaches the end of the path and finds himself in a large chamber, filled with a soft blue light.
In the center of the chamber, there's a pedestal, and on top of the pedestal sits a crystal sphere. The sphere is about the size of a basketball, and it glows with a bright, pulsing light.
Coal approaches the sphere, feeling a sense of awe and reverence. He can sense that there's something important about this object, something that he needs to understand.
As he reaches out to touch the sphere, he hears a voice in his mind, clear and strong.
"Welcome, Coal. You have passed the first test. You have shown that you are strong and determined. But there is much more that you must do. Take the sphere and carry it with you. It will guide you on your journey."
Coal hesitates for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then he remembers the words of his mentor, who had always told him to trust in his instincts and follow his heart.
He reaches out and takes the crystal sphere, feeling a surge of energy and power flowing through him.
As he holds the sphere, he can sense a direction, a path that he must follow. He knows that this is just the beginning of his journey, and that there will be many more challenges and tests ahead.