“You… mentioned a master? Is that the dungeon master of this place?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She responded.

“You just said…”

“I did not.”

Her face was rather expressionless, so I wasn’t able to get anything from it. I was pretty certain that she was the voice I heard when I grabbed the handle earlier today, the one that called me ‘master’. However, she wasn’t the voice that brought me into the dungeon. That was more robotic, like an automatic response.

“Are you the dungeon master of this place?” I asked, trying a different line of questioning.

“I am merely a guide, created to assist you in your trial.”

I took a breath, or was I even really breathing? “What is the trial?”

“You must work your way down ten levels. Each one will test your abilities, disposition, and character. When you reach the end, you will receive the ultimate gift.”

Although she spoke in an emotionless voice, it felt like whenever she said the word ultimate gift, her voice quivered slightly.

“What is this gift?” I asked, only half expecting an answer.

“The gift you will win is the ultimate weapon.”

“A weapon? Is that the ancient sword?”

She didn’t respond, but it did make sense, didn’t it? The sword in the stone was a trial, giving you access to the powerful sword. However, instead of the sword itself being the trial, the trial was actually this soul dungeon. Once you completed it, you would gain the sword as a prize. It seemed pretty simple to me. There was just one thing that I still didn’t understand.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Why was my body destroyed? Couldn’t I slip into a peaceful sleep or something?” I asked.

“For your body and the sword to be as one, you must be pure soul energy, uncontaminated by the mortal world. You need not be afraid. If you complete the trial, you will have a new body, stronger and more durable than you could ever imagine.”

“Can you explain the trials?”

“No.”

Her words were dismissive, but her tone didn’t shift at all. I made a face, but there didn’t seem to be much that I could do about it.

My mana pool did return to me, but the second I reequipped Hero and used the Return skill, nothing happened. I tried to subtly cast portal as well, but that was also a dud. I even went for dimensional travel, and that was denied.

“You will be unable to use physical transportation in a soul world. Even if you did manage to escape this place, you’d be an aimless ghost without a body, no longer able to resurrect, forever severed from the physical realm.” She seemed to catch on to what I was doing, causing me to blush.

I had always wondered about the difference between ghosts and free souls. It seemed like when the bond between a soul and a body was severed if the body survived, it became an undead, and if the soul survived, it became a ghost. Well, I had read that stuff before, but this is the first time I came to understand what it meant. At the moment, I was nothing but a ghost. My body wasn’t just destroyed, but the connection to my body was severed. I still didn’t grasp fully why. Perhaps this ultimate weapon was combined with my soul somehow. It sounded dangerous, but it also sounded powerful.

“I see…” I sighed and decided to confirm one last time. “And if I complete this trial, I will be given my body back?”

“You will be restored to the physical plane.” She responded.

“Okay… then let’s get going.”

Since it seemed that I had to complete this challenge and there was no other choice, then I would do everything that I could to complete it as quickly as possible. Eliana and Faeyna were in trouble. No, all of Aberis was in trouble. I’m the only one who knew and accepted that the Demon Lord Aberis was back. I had to save my girls and warn the prince. Time was of the essence.