The Trial does not want me to leave. The dark clouds are moving, and a thousand flying Infernal creatures are approaching. Farsight identifies most of them as Imps with leathery wings, but there are larger creatures mixed in.

There is no way I am climbing down the smooth wall when the smallest infernal can knock me off to my death. I can hide in my illusions, but some will hunt by smell, and some flying creatures might even be sensitive to air movement and locate me by my breathing.

I look at the plains and the Undead. Nope. Not with aerial assault, as well. My best bet is to get inside the stone walls. I moved towards the tower. The roof was gone, but the stone floors were solid. Staying in the corridors of the walls is my first move.

I defeat the Zombie Guards in the tower and remember I have to harvest them as well. Getting that skill was a bad move. I go down a level and defeat the three guards there, but instead of continuing down, I take one of the side corridors and start moving along the inside of the wall.

It is dark. The only light in the towers comes from the arrow slits. Here, there is no light at all. My Perception range is very small, maybe two meters from my body. I use my Spectral Vision and turn it to Spectral Vision (See-thru). This shows the walls and other objects, but the edge of the objects is a thin layer on top, and it is hard to remember. I will need practice.

A different undead creature attacks me. It is hairless and very fast, faster than I am. I am stronger than it, but getting a touch of it is difficult. It is good we are in a confined space. The ceiling is half a body length above my head, and the width of the corridor would take four people marching side by side.

The creature uses the walls and ceiling the same way I use the floor. It crawled on all fours all the time, but if it stood upright, it would look humanoid. I finally skewer it with Shadowbane, but it had taken four attempts with Cutting Light to remove a limb, and that hardly slowed it down. It had wicked claws on all four limbs, and my chainmail took several strikes. One of the claws nicked my upper arm, and it also had the death poison. Minor Regeneration started to burn it out. I identified it as a Ghoul.

I took my time harvesting it so I would know what I needed next time. Claws, teeth, eyes, heart, brain. I almost threw up. It didn’t even use its eyes.

I went through my potions looking for one that might work against this poison, but this appeared to be death magic, and the anti-venom was for various creatures. The closest thing was the Purification potion. That was not pleasant, but putting a bit on the blackened skin seemed to purify it, so at least I had something. I could boost my health with general health potions, and that would let me live longer, giving Minor Regeneration and purification time to work. At least I have a plan.

The Ghoul dropped a silver coin, unidentified meat, and a core. There was nothing in the core.

I kept moving. The Ghouls were trouble. They were only in the corridors where there was no light, but I tried to use Flash against them, and there was no reaction. They didn’t like my Burning Light, but they were not weak to fire like the hounds and Zombies.

Before I reached the next tower, I defeated four ghouls. Their speed and the death in their claws were the hard part. After fighting two at a time, I had to rub some purification potion on the wounds. The claws could pierce the chainmail and leather. The leather repaired itself, and the bone in my armour resisted the claws. The chainmail started showing holes, as did the hide underneath.

The tower room had four flying imps and two Zombie Guards. I easily grounded the Imps with Darts in their wings. They still came at me on foot, but I knew this dance and whittled them down with Shadowbane, Lightreaver, and Cutting Light. All of them were weak to Holy Strike. I harvested and moved on to the next corridor.

I kept this up, resting and catching short naps when I could. It was like running and fighting in the open, but I was walking through dark corridors. I kept moving. When I came to the ruins of the gate tower, I went down a level and worked my way back.

As I fought, I started to feel a connection between my skills. I was using the dance moves of Basic Longsword, Small Blades, Razors Edge, and Steel Serpent, but it was like a link was forming more and more with other skills as well. I would work out what was best against them and refine it with Quick Hands, using Acrobatics to move and Cat Reflexes to retaliate. Ambidextrous was the key to all this for me. It was like I was building my own weapon technique for fighting the undead and infernal creatures. Of all my skills, Holy Strike was used the most. Parry, Holy Strike, punch, Slash, Thrust, Holy Strike.

I lost track of time. The deeper I went, the more Ghouls there were. I now Harvest without throwing up, although I still regret getting that skill.

Then I got a notice.

Basic Longsword is Level 10, Max.

There were several more advanced techniques for the Longsword that opened up to me. Military Fencing appealed to me as it incorporated unarmed aspects into it, like elbow strikes, punches and kicks. This had similarities with Steel Serpent. It was weighted toward humanoid foes. The word military in the title put me off as well. I wasn’t going anywhere near the military.

In the end, I chose the Blade Storm because it focused on fast, multiple strikes and would synergise with many of my other skills.

This meant I could level Spectral Slayer to 3. I allocated the five attribute points to Dexterity, Agility, and Intelligence, as I needed speed. I couldn’t allocate any to Perception, or I would have. The next set of level requirements did not include any weapons level, so I guess I am now at the minimum requirements for a slayer. I just have to keep slaying, which I am not that happy about.

I was still moving everywhere in stealth. It was more of a reminder not to be an arrogant warrior. It was working. It also maxed out the Stealth Skill. I got a point in agility for it, but there were no advanced skills made available like Basic Longsword. I don’t know whether that meant I didn’t meet the criteria or if I had to develop my own.

I also had the XP to level Thief again, so I did. I didn’t trust this trial and was nervous it would take Thief away from me. I was not unhappy with Spectral Slayer; in fact, I was very happy with it overall. I didn’t trust the Trial. My total level was back up to twenty.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

My Status was frustrating me, and I found I could organise it a bit, so I grouped things that made sense to me.

Classes/Attributes

Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human Level: 20 Sub Level 6 Class: Spectral Slayer 3 / Thief 17 Profession: Performer 6 Health: 650 Stamina: 650 Mana: 490 Strength: 35 Agility: 44 Dexterity: 43 Constitution: 30 Intelligence: 49 Wisdom: 33 Perception: 2 Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 3

Skills

Precision Throw 3 Thrust 7 Crushing Blow 1 Parry 3 Holy Strike 5 Create Dart 2 Chop 2 Slash 3 Block 1 Bloodletting 2 Long Slash 1 Quick Strike 3 Basic Shield 1 Shield Bash 1

Techniques

Razors Edge 4 Grappling 4 Basic Axe 5 Basic Blunt Weapons 2 Blade Storm 1 Steel Serpent 3 Basic Archery 1 Basic Spear 1 Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Basic Small Blades 10/Max Basic Longsword 10/Max

Movement Skills

Quick Hands 5 Climb 7 Ambidextrous 2 Acrobatics 3 Free Runner 4 Cat Reflexes 3 Steady Footing 3 Light Speed 2 Stealth 10/Max Dash 10/Max Dodge 10/Max Clever Hands 10/Max

General Skills

Riding 8 Appraisal 5 Identify 7 Detect Traps 8 Disarm Traps 7 Create Trap 1 Animal Care 4 Sewing 5 Harvesting 2 Butchering 1 Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max Armour Light Armour 4 Medium Armour 3

Mana

Mana Manipulation 8 Mana Strength 1 Mana Sensitivity 3 Mana Disruption 2 Mana Control 10/Max Vision Observant Eye 7 Spectral Vision 3

Abilities

Light Manipulation 7 Minor Regeneration 2 Storage 2 Farsight 1 Map

Charms

Spark 4 Self-Clean 7 Self-Dry 4 Trim 5

Spells

Burning Light 3 Copy Image 4 Flash 6 Project Image 6 Animate Image 4 Cutting Light 2

This Trial has changed me more than anything previously. It has been bloody tough, though, and it is not over yet. I don’t know how to make it over. Do I have to finish the Monarch Quest? How do I get out of this nightmare?

The previous weeks have been a learning experience for me in two ways. I have been learning about my skills and how they synergise and work together to form techniques. I have been learning new techniques and how to combine them. I realised I am close to forming my own dance movement, which is my own technique for fighting Undead and Infernal monsters.

Holy Strike is a foundational skill, along with my Cat Reflexes and Quick Hands. The new Blade Storm technique fits in very well, as does Steel Serpent. It will be a sword-and-dagger technique, as I have almost exclusively been using Lightreaver and Shadowbane.

The other thing I have been learning more about are my two soul-bound weapons. Both have been adusting to me or maybe I have been adjusting to them. They are bound to my soul so we are fitting together more and more. I have been working on the Radient Counterpart. I can use the weapons to channel my light abilities.

I don’t have to cast Cutting Light when I Slash as a separate action. The sword or dagger can do that in the same action. It still costs the same mana, but I have a feeling that as we fit better, they will also start reducing the mana cost of light spells.

The swords will take any of my light spells, including the Copy Image and Project Image and the can look like anything else. The metal they are made out of is very distinctive. I thought it was some sort of Silver-steel, but I am now thinking they might be a Mithril alloy. They were the soul-bound weapons of a warrior ruler. I can now make them look like ordinary basic blades, and it will be very hard for people to pierce through that image. This is good for when I get back to civilisation. They will also channel Animate Image, and I had them dance for me once in a moment of silliness. It is a shame I can’t sing.

They are my counterparts in more ways than channelling light spells. I can throw them at a foe and then use the soul bond to call them back to me. Lightreaver and Shadowbane are absolutely incredible.