I am going to need to stop running soon. I picked up these skeletal warriors about two hours ago. They tried to ambush me, but I have the Observant Eyes skill, and I Dashed past.

This is how I know trials are out to kill you, not help you. My only weapon skills are small blades. Knives. I am a Thief, not an Assassin. Knives are great against flesh. They are not great against bone.

This Trial is out to kill me. My light and illusion Spells are useless, and now my main physical weapon is next to useless. I am hoping those rocks have something I can use. The rough terrain will benefit me more than them as well. I am an agility build, and I have the Acrobatics Skill, but I do not have much Stamina to use with it.

As I approach the rocks, I refrain from using Dash to conserve stamina. My new Free Runner Skill is great, but it may not be enough. I jump up on the first rock, which appears to be a from a rock slide from the cliff behind it. The footing is loose, which is what I want. I jump from rock to rock away from the flat ground, and the skeletons start to climb onto the rocks to follow me. They are much slower on the rocks, which is great.

I look around and pick up the biggest rock I think I can throw far enough. Strength is not my forte. I throw it at the head of the lead Skeleton, and it cracks the skull, making the skeleton fall. I don’t think it is dead yet, but I am already picking up the next rock. My Throwing Skill and its successor are not just for throwing weapons. They work for anything I throw. That includes full chamber pots, but that is a different story.

I pound the skeletons with rocks until the last one is killed. Once they are all dead, the bodies should disappear, and loot drops should appear. If I had the harvesting skill, I could harvest the bodies and get better loot, but I don’t have that, and I had no need for it.

Yes, the bodies all faded away, and copper coins and other items appeared. Mostly, there were bits of dried meat and a couple of bottles of a weak health potion. I drank one of them immediately to help heal the burn on my hand. There was also a mace. I used Apraise on it. Appraise is an essential Skill for a Thief. The mace was just a common mace with a +4 for damage. This would help with the next bunch of skeletons I met. While my strength was not great, it was enough to wield it effectively.

The other thing that was left as loot was monster cores. These can be sold for a good price, so most people keep them to sell. I need to live in order to sell them, and my first priority is to live. Fuck you, Trial.

Monster cores sometimes hold skills that the particular monster has. Sometimes, maybe one in a hundred or more. These undead probably have nothing more than their sensing skill, whatever that is, but I need all the skills I can get. Gold coins I can get almost anywhere. Skills are what I need now in order to live.

There were nine monster cores. To extract a skill, I needed to insert my Mana using Mana Manipulation, grab the magic core, and pull it back into me. I need good Mana Control, as if I insert too much mana, the core will turn to dust, but not enough will do nothing. Too much mana will destroy the core, whether it holds a skill or not. It is also mana-intensive, but with my light-based skills being useless, I have mana to spare.

I grabbed the first monster core and, using Mana Manipulation and Mana Control, moved into the core and grabbed the magic. It is not as easy as I was told. The core resists. I guess this is why they are refined and processed when done properly. I don’t have the tools or skills to do it properly. I have to brute force it.

My Mana Control is higher than my Mana Manipulation. The core magic almost slips away from me, but I get it in the end. The core didn’t contain anything. I move on to the second. Empty. The third is empty as well but my Mana Manipulation rises a level. I have to rest after the fourth empty one to regenerate my mana.

All nine Monster Cores are turned to dust in my hand and there are no skills in any of them. That is OK. I will carry on and I will beat this trial. I am certainly going to cheat if I can, but if I can’t, I will still get there.

I rested for a bit to recover my Mana, and I cast the Self-Clean Charm, which made me feel better. I am going to need to find somewhere to sleep eventually, and I had no one to keep watch while I did.

I looked around. My Observant Eyes are good for finding hidden places and small clues to hidden places. It is not Far Sight like most Scout types get, so the distant hills were just a blur in the haze.

Trials like this are supposed to have safe zones scattered around, but finding them is just a matter of luck. This trial is out to kill me, so counting on luck will not work here. I look around and put some rocks into my Spatial Bag. Even with only 20% of the weight, I can feel it.

I think my best bet is to follow the base of the cliff for now. If it is an undead trial, there should only be undead in it, so I should not meet any rock creatures or anything like that.

I have no idea how long I have been here. It's been less than a day, certainly, but there is no sun, so there is nothing to tell the time by. There is probably not going to be a night, either. Just the dark, cloudy sky and the humid, heavy atmosphere.

I pulled up my Status sheet to look at it and review what I had.

Name: Marvin Omma Age: 24 Race: Human Level: 20 Sub Level 6 Class: Illusionist 8/ Thief 12 Profession: Performer 6 Health: 440 Stamina: 440 Mana: 420 Strength: 24 Agility: 36 Dexterity: 39 Constitution: 20 Intelligence: 42 Wisdom: 30 Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 0 Skills Precision Throw 3 Quick Hands 2 Riding 8 Basic Small Blades 9 Detect Traps 8 Appraisal 5 Disarm Traps 5 Dodge 8 Stealth 9 Identify 7 Animal Care 4 Acrobatics 3 Light Armour 4 Sewing 5 Mana Manipulation 7 Grappling 4 Observant Eye 5 Free Runner 1 Mana Control 8 Clever Hands 9 Climb 5 Thrust 6 Mastered Skills Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max Throwing 10/Max Pickpocket 10/Max Lock Pick 10/Max Dash 10/Max Abilities Light Manipulation 7 Spells Spark/Charm 4 Self-Clean/Charm 6 Self-Dry/Charm 4 Trim/Charm 5 Burning Light 3 Copy Image 5 Flash 5 Project Image 6 Animate Image 4

I am going to need to use the Mace and try to get the Blunt Weapons Skill. Some skills come easier than others. Everybody is different and more inclined to some skills and classes than others. I am definitely inclined to Light and Rogue. I had really enjoyed my life, even though parts were difficult.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Some people say life is a Trial, and I tend to agree. Life is out to kill you just like this trial is out to kill me. That is why my motto is, “Take what you can, leave no trace.” I have only been partly successful. I take what I can, including enjoyment where I can get it. I haven't been quite so successful at leaving no trace; that is why I am on the run. A motto is something to aim for, isn’t it? It is my motto, so yes, it is.

I set out again at a slow jog, which means my Free Running Skill can be active, and my stamina will only reduce slowly.

Less than half an hour later, I saw a shimmer around me, and suddenly, I was surrounded by another group of Fleshlings. I put the mace away and drew two fighting knives. I used Dash and went straight for the one ahead of me and then dodged to the one next to it, using the knives to cut deep into its leg, taking its leg out with a precision double strike.

That is the advantage of a high dexterity. Dexterity is often defined as hand-eye coordination, but it is more fine muscle control, and I have invested heavily in that. Combined with my Observant Eye, I can often hit weak spots that others can’t.

With the fleshling on the ground, I leap over it and Dash a bit further. The Fleshlings are slow, and that is what I am going to use against them. I keep moving back as I let loose my Burning Light. The first few burst into flame, and they burn hot. I keep moving away from them as they keep coming toward me in flame and smoke. The burning ones are slow, and the rear ones catch up, and the flame spreads easily. The smoke is affecting me, but I am not in any danger as long as I can stay ahead of them. Eventually, the last one goes down.

I keep a careful eye on my surroundings as I don’t trust the Trial not to ambush me while I am dealing with this. No ambush appears, but I bet it will later. I am still in the easy part. Always remember the Trial is out to kill me.

When the Fleshlings dissolve, I go back for the loot. More coins, a single potion, and eleven cores. The potion was a mana potion this time. The trial is out to kill me. Burning Light is the only spell that is of any use here, so I am not using much mana. Health and Stamina potions are more useful to me, so of course, I get a mana potion.

I get back to my slow jog and work on the cores as I move. All I get is more dust.

A dust cloud is moving toward intercepting me. I pick up the pace and look for a defensive area to fight from. It does depend on what is coming at me. There are more undead than skeletons and Fleshlings.

As the cloud moves closer, I see there are more skeletons, but they seem to be moving a bit faster. I get the mace from my bag. Time to see if I can get the Basic Blunt Weapon Skill. One thing about all this killing is that it is giving me plenty of experience points, so I can level one of my classes soon.

I reach the rocks I was heading for just before my pursuers and start my dance. I am much more nimble than they are, although they seem to be upgraded on the last ones. I try fighting in a hit-and-run style with the mace and occasionally throwing a rock with my offhand.

They might struggle with the rocks, but I have to be careful as well. The mace is much more effective at breaking bones, but I was just starting when a rock moved under my foot, and I went over into a roll with my acrobatics Skill to stop me from spraining my ankle or worse. The rocks stopped me suddenly, causing me to lose my breath for a second. The nearest skeleton brought its mace crashing down toward me. If I get a broken bone, I am dead.

I bring the rock in my off hand up to block the mace, and one of my fingers is crushed, but it is better than the alternative. I roll toward the skeleton's legs, and that puts him off balance, but I have to get up before the others get here.

My finger is throbbing, and I throw the rock in that hand at the skeleton's head as he lands near me. I then use my acrobatics to flip to my feet just in time to block a sword with my mace. I don’t have any skills to block or parry as a swordsman would, and my arm is aching from stopping the sword. It must have had some sort of skill behind it.

I stomp the skeleton's leg bones on the ground, making sure he won't get up again, and then dodge to the left as the mace from the one on the ground and the sword from the other one both come at me. Dodging is much better than blocking, but both block and parry are skills I need and don’t have.

I crash my mace into the arm of the sword wielder and dodge away from another one coming at me. I whittle them down, breaking bones and skulls. I took a cut from a sword thrust, but it was a shallow slash along my ribs as I managed to dodge mostly out of the way. Even my dodge can get overwhelmed. It may have been a skilled strike.

When the last one was down, I got the first aid kit from my back. I took a weak health potion and strapped my broken middle finger to the fourth finger on that hand. The weak health potion is not going to fix the broken finger, but it should close the cut without me needing to bind it.

I collect the loot. This time, a weak health potion and a rusted chainmail vest are available, which is better. I also collect the coins, meat, and cores—eleven cores this time. I am very surprised I didn’t take more injuries. I slip on the chainmail and tie it down with my belts

The longer I spend in this trial, the harder it is going to get. The only reason I can defeat eleven skeletons is that they are slow and weak. What happens when they are stronger, and the mace doesn't break bones so easily? What happens when my injuries mount, the time between attacks reduces, and my stamina falls? That will happen.