Mana control regulated the amount of mana that went into the core. Too much mana and the core would be destroyed, but this boss core needed more than the other cores. I slowly increased the amount of mana, and suddenly, it burst into the core. I had to grab it with mana manipulation and stop it from damaging the core. With mana manipulation, I can sense there was a skill there. I don’t know what type, and I had to stop myself from getting excited. If I lost control now, I would ruin everything. Plus, it was probably only a skill that allowed a skull to grin.

I manipulated the mana to encircle the skill and slowly disconnect it from the core. It was well-connected. This was a boss core. When only a couple of connections were left, the core was becoming very unstable, so I used Mana Manipulation to cushion the skill, then sliced the connection and pulled as hard as I could.

I had never extracted a skill from a monster core before. I can understand why people wait for the experts to turn them into skill stones. But fuck yes, I did it. Who's the best? Yes! Marvin the Magnifique for the win.

Fuck you, trial. It wasn’t just a skill. No, it was an Ability. Something rare and only available in trials. I was celebrating loudly as Minor Regeneration was added to my status. “Yes, yes, yes! I got this now!” I yelled at the trial.

Then, the skill started working, and the pain hit. The broken fingers in my hand ground against each other as they slowly moved back into alignment. The partially healed wound in my stomach gurgled, and it simultaneously felt like I was going to throw up my stomach and that stomach acid was leaking through that part of my body.

My skin felt like I had ants crawling under it as the minor cuts and bruises that covered my body slowly healed. I say slowly, as this took time. I don’t know how long, maybe half and hour, maybe an hour?

After it had done its work, I realised there were drawbacks to this skill. The time and pain would make it very difficult for me to fight while this was happening. The Mana cost would also need to be managed, as it used mana to heal.

This didn’t make me invincible. I essentially beat the knight with this skill because I ran him out of mana. However, my prospects for survival have significantly improved.

I took off the bandage that held my broken finger and flexed it. It is good to have it back. I took the opportunity to look up how much Minor Regeneration would have cost me if I used Skill Points to buy it. There it is for 5 points. Regeneration was 10 points, and Major Regeneration was 20 points. I can’t even imagine having that many points. This was my first one ever.

While I was there, I looked at what else I could spend my Skill Points on. I could get the Basic Longsword skill, but I felt that was a waste as I could learn that with training and practice. In fact, I was picking up weapons skills quite easily. Easier than normal, I am sure. Was that some hidden ability of mine, or was it due to the trial? Maybe it was a bit of both?

I picked up Small Blades easily and just put it down to my natural orientation to knives and the Rogue class I had back then. Maybe when I specialised Rogue into Thief, I should have gone with Assassin instead. I preferred Thief, as there seemed to be more money in it. And I am good at it.

I looked at what I could get for my Skill Point to make my Illusionist Class more useful. All the general mage skills were greyed out as my specialisation is toward light skills and, by extension, shadow skills. What I learned was that one Skill point only buys the most basic skills. I need to save up, probably for a weapons technique. There was a good axe one there called the Blood Moon Cleave. The sword technique Eclipse’s Edge seemed to incorporate my light skills. It was greyed out, and I needed at least basic sword skills first. It was also three points.

There were some good dagger techniques there, too. Both Shadow Dance and Moonshade seemed to incorporate my light; in fact, Shadow Dance was a sword-and-knife combo. I really liked Shadow Dance, but it was five points. I pulled out the sword. Maybe it is time to learn some sword skills. Then I put it back. The sword is not great against skeletons. The axe is better.

I would save my point for now.

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My Observant Eye noticed a dust cloud heading my way. Quite a large one. I couldn’t see what was making it, but the trial never leaves you alone for long. I need to find a safe zone. Yeah, right, like that was going to happen.

What were my options? This trial seems to be challenging my weaknesses, and my current weakness is against range attacks. I turned around and looked at the cliff. Can I get up there before the attackers arrive? Maybe. It is an extremely dangerous climb, but it would change things, and it would be me changing things, not the trial.

I had no idea what was on top of the cliff, but I couldn’t let the trial keep manoeuvring me. The cliff is very crumbly rock. If I fell and broke a leg, I would be at the attacker's non-existent mercy. Minor Regeneration was slow and Painful. I did have a helmet now, so cracking my head open was less of a risk.

Let’s do this.

I approached the cliff and let my Climb Skill guide me. I had climbed many things in the past, but most of them were structures built by people. Buildings, walls, fences, etc. I have climbed a number of trees and vines. I have only climbed a few cliffs, but they were generally hard, stable rock.

It felt like my hand and foot holds were going to crumble at any moment. I kept three points of contact with the rock at all times. Despite my attacker's fast approach, I moved slowly and carefully. It is just as well that I did as I had a hand and both feet secured while my other hand reached for the next hold when the rock under my foot disappeared in a rock slide. I was left with one hand and the opposite foot holding me there. If I fell now, Minor Regeneration would not save me.

I found a new handhold and then moved my foot up. Whose bloody stupid idea was this? Going back down now was more dangerous than carrying on. The only way is up from here.

Slow and careful, one grip at a time. I had two more scares; one caused a fairly major rock slide, and I was left clinging to the rock with one hand. Fortunately, once the loose rock was gone, there was firmer rock underneath. Keep going. Rock climbing is a combination of agility and strength. I had plenty of agility; it was strength where I was lacking. At the next level I will invest in strength.

I was two body lengths from the top when the first arrow bounced off the rock near me. Shit. They don’t even need to hit me. They just need to cause a rock slide. I sped up, but only slightly. If I fell, I would be doing their job for them, and we can’t have that.

I glanced down. Mounted Archers and undead Hounds. Fuck you, trial.

Arrows started coming faster, and I moved faster. I must have been near the limit of their range, which was helpful. The arrow hitting my back almost made me lose my grip. It struck one of the few places in the chainmail that was not holed, so it didn’t penetrate. The arrow didn’t have a lot of power as we were near the limit of the range.

The arrow that tore through the outer edge of my thigh hurt like hell, and the feeling of Minor Regeration kicking in was almost as bad. I made it to the top and rolled away from the edge in relief. Yes, fuck you, Trial!

I looked at my Status, and Climb had gone up a level, but what was better was that I earned a point in Strength. That was awesome. It has been a long time since I earned attributes. It gets harder as you move out of the lower levels.

The only way is up, and that is true not only for the cliff but also for me and my attributes and levels. That is the only way I will survive this.

I sat up and looked around. The top of the cliff was just as barren and dusty as the bottom. It wasn’t as flat, and there were rolling hills. It looked like more cliffs in the distance, but I didn’t have Farsight.

One of the nearby hills was surrounded by what looked like a rotting wooden palisade wall, and there were buildings behind it. I marked it as my next destination. Trials are not always about just fighting and killing. They often have hidden areas, and you can find amazing treasures. I didn’t know if this trial was like that, but it was certainly bigger than any trial I had ever heard about.

I had been in some minor trials when I was a young rogue. A rogue is the eyes of a normal party, and my job was to find and disarm traps. These skills worked great for me when I went on to thieving.

I was convinced to go into a bigger trial with a party once. I almost died on the seventh and final floor, and three members of our party did die. The three of us who got out were well rewarded for clearing the trial, but that put me off going into trials ever again. A big part of my reward was the additional Class slot. I started life with one Class and one Profession slot. When I got the additional Class slot, I chose to be a mage. I had a good affinity with magic, and there were lots of jobs for mages outside trials.

At that point, my interest had turned toward thieving. Many people protect their possessions with magic, and that was really my motivation. Plus, I could play the part of the bumbling, uncoordinated mage and get away with a lot of stuff. This is also why I chose the Illusionist Specialisation. It is fantastic for a thief, and I would have never escaped Prince Seth’s palace and the Immortal Guards without it.