What's up with this?
I thought this dragon was really fast.
But after I evolved, she seemed extremely sluggish.
I stare at the reddened scales of the white dragon while brandishing my sword.
She's not moving anymore.
It was almost like fighting one of those smaller enemies in earlier waves before evolving.
The evolution made a much bigger difference than I thought.
And this sword has gotten a lot lighter as well.
I can't even tell the difference between this one and the lighter mithril one.
Speaking of which...
I kept the mithril sword sheathed on my back just in case something prevents me from fetching the other one.
But after I evolved, that thing keeps poking my tail and just is in the way.
So I decided to just store it the same way I store the other sword.
I think my fists are more powerful at this point anyway...
The arena shines and displays '13/15' while erasing the dragon's corpse.
Status screen: Open.
Name: Reiza
Gender: Female
Race: Cataclysmic wolfman (prodigy)
Status: Curious
Level: 5000
Health: 135624/137831
Mana: 1095432/1103028
Vitality: 912
Strength: 1141
Intelligence: 7689
Stamina: 972
Speed: 1785
I'm back at the wave with bats and yet...I have barely used any mana.
Unless the last two waves are especially hard, I think I've got this.
A short while later, the bats appeared.
...and then disappeared in a wave of darkness unleashed by my tail.
Just like that, nearly all of them perished.
The rest of them were dealt with another dark barrage shortly after.
Most waves have been like this...
I barely have to do anything.
Just wave my tail around and my enemies are defeated.
The arena changes to '14/15' and soon my next opponent enters the scene.
And it's another winged creature.
It looks like a bird, whose wings are coated in a bright white flame.
Type: Monster
Name: -
Gender: Female
Race: Malio crow
Status: Enraged
Level: 2500
Health: 125000/125000
Mana: 150000/150000
Malio crow?
That reminds me of the third wave.
There were some winged enemies called crows.
Could this be a higher evolution of them?
It's quite a bit bigger than them as well.
Before it even finishes its battle screech, my tail shoots out at it.
The bird squeaks as its wing is hit.
Type: Monster
Name: -
Gender: Female
Race: Malio crow
Status: Enraged
Level: 2500
Health: 97751/125000
Mana: 150000/150000
...but it's still weak.
Just one swing of my tail already dealt so much damage.
The bird flaps its wings and sends a flood of light blasts toward me, but I easily dodge most of it.
However, the few that do graze me actually deal quite a bit of damage to me.
And so, I decide to just use my own mana and wipe the bird in one shot.
Combining mana generated from the tail and my own, I release a huge blast many times bigger than the bird.
The deafening roar created by the blast echoes from the arena walls.
Eventually, when the view clears up, I see...nothing.
Where did the bird go?
I look all around, but fail to find its body.
...
A little while later, the arena's floor glows and changes to '15/15'.
Oh...
It didn't even leave a corpse.
Maybe that was an overkill...?
Well, whatever.
The next wave is the last.
After the glow, my final opponent is revealed.
And this time, it's...a single angel.
Like wave five and ten, it's just one angel with huge wings and is equipped with a long spear.
Type: Humanoid
Name: Calamity
Gender: Male
Race: Archangel
Status: -
Level: 2500
Health: 100000/100000
Mana: 150000/150000
This time, his name is 'Calamity'.
What's with those names?
Menace, destruction and calamity?
Do they mean something?
Most of the enemies in this trial didn't have names.
The exceptions are those three angels, the dragon and those three in wave four.
Hmm...
Right after spotting me, the angel dashed at me.
As always, I swung my tail and bombarded him with dark magic.
However, he seemed to block it all with his massive wings and continued charging at me.
In response to that, I brought out my sword and prepared to intercept him.
The sound of metal clashing reverberated in the arena as I warded off his spear, which was about to stab me.
Using the perfect chance, I quickly prepared a fire spell in my left hand.
[Inferno]
As fire covered my vision I took a few steps back.
But unexpectedly, a spear suddenly shot out from the cloud of fire and aimed for my head.
I jerked my body to the left and shortly after, the angel along with his spear flew right past me.
This one seems surprisingly good...
Before the angel turned around and continued his assault, I gathered mana and slashed with my sword.
[Phantom annihilation]
The screeching sound is accompanied by my vision getting split.
But not in the way I was expecting.
My attack cut off a portion of one of his wings, but also left me open for his counter attack.
He lunged at me at full speed without giving me a chance to recover.
But just before his spear hit me, I managed to catch it with my tail.
I just did it instinctively...
Even though I did not have this tail for long.
With him being so close to my tail, I release the dark mana from it right into his face.
He lets go of his spear and jumps back in hopes of avoiding it.
But I start preparing for another attack right away.
[Phantom annihilation]
This time, my spell slashes his torso in half.
With that, the angel's corpse collapses and ceases to move.
...
Phew...
After confirming my victory, I relax.
How unexpected...
He was really tough even after my evolution.
...
Wait.
Couldn't have I just used illusions like before?
They worked against the other named angels.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
...
Well, whatever.
I already defeated him, so it doesn't matter.
I store my sword as well as the spear I stole from him.
And soon, the arena starts shining again.
But this time, it doesn't stop and instead gets more and more intense.
I close my eyes and wait in anticipation.
Eventually, I experience the feeling of falling again.
And after a little while...
I open my eyes.
I see the chalice in the middle of the room and three oversized doors behind it.
The left door, which has 'endurance' written above it, starts cracking.
More and more cracks start appearing on the door and eventually, the door crumbles down.
Behind that door...is a solid wall.
No light, no entrance to a room, nothing.
Just a wall.
Then, suddenly a line appears on the 'endurance' going through the middle of it.
...
I guess that's done.
So the next one is...patience?
Hmm...
I glance at the middle door, which reads 'Sinlessness'.
...he said I need to do these two first, right?
What happens if I enter here though?
I approach the door and try to touch it.
But the familiar barrier repels my hand.
The barrier again...
Except this one is much thiner, but at the same time, it feels a lot stronger.
Well, I guess there's no other choice.
I walk over to the 'Patience' door and touch it.
Just like with endurance, the door flings open and a bright light envelops me.
It doesn't take long until I finish transferring and open my eyes.
What comes into the view right away is...
Angels.
Everywhere.
My first instinct is raising my tail and preparing to shoot.
...
But they aren't aiming at me with arrows like last time.
In fact...
They are all ignoring me.
Some of them are reading books at the tables.
Others are carrying books from one side to another...
Wait...this place...
Is a library?
"No fighting."
Suddenly a voice came out from behind me.
As I turn around, I spot him again.
An angel in silver armor and closed eyes.
Name: ASE-021B
The former lightning skeleton.
"...what is it...this time?"
Without relaxing my guard, I ask him.
"The trial...of patience."
"Your task...is simple."
Simple?
Like I would believe that...
"I will ask you...three questions."
"And you...need to correctly answer them."
...questions?
"There is no...time limit."
"There is no...limit on the number of your...guesses."
"But you can't...give me an answer for at least one hour...after you answered incorrectly."
So I can't just keep randomly guessing, huh?
"First question..."
"Why did Claudia reject Tim's proposal?"
...
...
...
Huh?
Claudia?
Tim?
Proposal?
What...?
"The answer lies...somewhere in this place."
"Good luck..."
He then turned around and walked away, leaving me flabbergasted.
...
I look around myself...
And see all the shelves stacked with books.
The answer lies...
In one of those books?
Are you for real?
Do I have to read all of these books to find out?
...
Sigh...
'Patience', huh?
A little annoyed, I decide to walk through this place to find out just how big it is.
After walking past about fifteen of those bookshelves, I reach the end of the room...
Only to discover stairs leading up and some kind of picture drawn on the wall next to the stairs.
The picture...is ten rectangles stacked on top of each other.
Each rectangle has a number from one through ten.
And...the one with number one...also has written 'you are here' on it.
...
You can't be serious, right?
Filled with dread, I decide to walk up the stairs.
With each step, I grow more and more uneasy.
And when I finally reach the next floor...
I see exactly what I feared I would see.
A huge room filled with bookshelves, tables and angels reading or handling the books.
Just like the one down below.
...
There's ten floors of this?!
How many books Will I have to read until I find what I'm looking for?!
This is ridiculous...
...
And...
Where will I get food from?
Will I have to kill myself every so often?
That would mean I will have to remember which books I read and which ones I didn't...
...
Damnit!
I thought the other trials would be easier now that I evolved.
But it doesn't help me at all with this one.
I thought...my freedom is near...
Ugh...
I sat down while holding my head.
All of my thoughts were screaming 'I don't want to do this'.
But after a little while, I finally got up and walked back down the stairs.
I just need to start.
This is what this 'trial' is about.
Maybe I will be lucky and find the right book soon.
But sitting here won't solve anything.
When I get back to the bottom floor, I take another look at all the bookshelves and sigh.
It's so weird...
Why is it, that books are more intimidating than a dragon now?
----------------------------------------
Bonus:
So it's Black Wolfman->Shadow Wolfman->???->Nightmare Wolfman->Cataclysmic Wolfman.
Just out of curiosity, what is the name of the lvl 500 evolution Wolfman?
Question by R3B3lMilco.
Level 1 - Black wolfman
Level 100 - Shadow wolfman
Level 500(0) - Darkshade wolfman
Level 1500 - Nightmare wolfman
Level 5000 - Cataclysmic wolfman
If you think the names sound too lame or chuuni, you know who to blame.
"Hey!"
"Are you still stuck up on that small mistake I made?"
It's a small mistake with a huge consequences.
Have you ever 'accidentally' pressed a button to launch a nuclear missile?
"Er...that comparison isn't really fair..."
"If I fixed it earlier, Reiza would still reach this evolution at some point anyway."
Well, whatever.
"It's not like you are the only one upset anyway..."
"Although the rest of this stage is still relevant, that doesn't apply to the next one at all!"
"If I leave it as it is, she will breeze through it like it was nothing."
"So, now I need some time to remake it again."
"I just hope she will take her time with the remaining parts of this stage."
Just raise the numbers.
What's so hard about it?
"Haha...well yeah."
"That's what it will boil down to."
"But it's not as simple as rewriting a few numbers you know?"
Excuses...
"They are not!"