Mavis's life is very peaceful in this bland room of his. He would wake up, practice his spells, read some books in the library, eat if he wanted, bathe if he wanted, and then repeat it the next day. He hasn't felt like this ever in his lifetime.
He didn't let his thoughts wander about his past that much though, and immediately put his mind back into the grind. He looked over towards the center of the room where the countdown of the trial was placed.
[3 days: 14 hours: 58 minutes: 23 seconds]
It has been almost 3 days since he was transported to this room and every waking hour still seems like a dream. Even his sense of day and night has fully been blended. Although he still finds his situation a lot more satisfying than his life back on Earth, assuming that this place is a space, created solely for the trial.
He got up from his bed and started doing his daily routine. First, he freshened up his face, then he rummaged some food in the fridge to eat -which he noticed on his second day, would suddenly be refilled with food every time he woke up. And lastly, he would take a nice long warm bath to wash away all his grogginess.
After his wake-up routine. He would go straight to the library to read some information about the culture, beasts, languages, and anything else that he deemed important, of other planets in the universe.
He had also started learning the universal tongue, so he wouldn't be restrained from any language barrier he could come across. He also learned a lot more about the trials and the harmonization of a new reintegrated galaxy.
In the book, it said that galaxies are separated by a thin veil of essence. The veil acts as a defense and a restriction for the planets and anything that passes through it will only be greeted by illusions, put up by the creator of the universe. It also acts as a protection from any outside forces by barring them and preventing them from intruding. After the veil of essence was completely taken down, the imposed limit on any living and nonliving organisms in the entire galaxy was removed, and the sapient beings were given access to the system.
It usually takes about billions of years for a galaxy to be fully saturated by essence. It is a process needed so the planets can be properly introduced with essence along with its denizens. And that process is further improved through the creation of the trial.
The trial consists of 9 stages that the takers had to overcome. And each stage has a different theme that tackles the new norm of the reintegrated denizens. Mavis also looked up what happened to those who were not eligible for the trial, and he discovered that all the ages 15 and below are sent to the nearest galaxy that has already been harmonized by essence. They were taught hands-on by volunteers who had been employed by Ego, through the exchange of other benefits.
'It may seem peaceful for now, but whenever the trial starts, any semblance of safety and security will be shattered along with any expectations that anyone would have.' Mavis thought deeply. He mulled over the fact that the trial wasn't what he thought it was. Because people could die in the trial and have a mortality rate of at least 50% per habitable planet. He just hoped that only the right people would survive and that the people he hated wouldn't, which was a piped dream.
Especially for someone he as a person, personally knows. Julian, of all people, would revel in this kind of environment, and his already well-established talent would bloom further into towering heights.
Mavis could only sigh, thinking what Julian would have become the next time they crossed paths. The only thing he could do now was to try and mimic his pace of growth.
Moving past all that, Mavis took some time to look over a branch of the system that he might have been neglecting. He opened his status and picked the race tab.
[Race]
Base: Human
Ascent:
Traits: Varied Growth, Blank Slate, Racial Accord
'Every trait gives 1 unallocated point per level, and it will be up to the user on what attribute they want to increase. You could gain a trait every time you create a star as well.' Mavis recalled what he read from the trial book. "It didn't say anything about the "ascent" though. I suppose It's something I'll encounter later on." He then focuses on one of his traits, one of the things that he couldn't decide because of the lack of information.
[Racial Accord]
Type: Innate
Compatibility: Gifted
Effect: You can choose 1 trait from all of the other six sentient races and adapt it as your own. Has a chance to evolve and entirely change the trait to become compatible with the user.
He read the effect and then proceeded to go further into the trait selection.
[Racial Accord]
Dragon
Demon
Elf
Dwarf
Beastian
Viridian
He recognized the race Beastian right away, back when Ego mentioned it. It means these are the other sapient races that live across the universe. The question is, how come none of these races are present on their planet? Was it intentional that only humans managed to survive, or is there more to the history of the earth that has been lost and buried through the ages of time?
He couldn't answer all of that for now, maybe if he asked Ego, it would answer all of his questions again. But he doubts it, Ego seems to only answer things that are related to the present and the trial. And some of the history of the universe that he mentioned was merely a way to fuel his curiosity. Mavis preferred it that way, anyway. He wants to the mysteries of the universe on his own, and maybe discover more from it than even Ego didn't have any idea of.
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After all of his mulling, Mavis then began to inspect the traits of the races, and what they could offer. He wanted to pick a trait that could go well with his class and attributes, something that would give him a better edge in spell-casting. He expanded them one by one and picked the race with a potential application.
[Demon]
Blue Blood: Demons have conductive blood that readily accepts mana. Abilities that require mana had their cost reduced.
Blooming Crown: Demons grow a horn for every star creation, and each horn can contain mana over time. The capacity of each horn depends on the quality of the created star.
[Elf]
Nature Attuned: Elves passively regenerate more mana in nature untouched by civilization or any environment reclaimed by nature.
[Viridian]
Stored Energy: Viridians gain the ability. "Flawed Eruption". Viridians can choose between mana or aura to completely refill their capacity. In turn, after they are completely depleted, they would be paralyzed and unable to regenerate their mana or aura for a prolonged amount of time.
Mavis only marked the ones that had piqued his interest and ignored the others.
Demon's Blue Blood and Blooming Crown have a distinct appeal to him. Blue Blood would make his casting more efficient by the reduced mana cost, however, he wouldn't be able to freely increase the input of mana into the spell if is still lacking. Blooming Crown on the other, truly appeals to him. He would just have to train on his own to gain efficiency and with the help of the trait, he could access a backup storage if he ever runs out. The only downside would be the growing horns part. It doesn't seem practical at all and could hinder his movements in battle.
The Elf's Nature Attuned also has massive flaws. It could only give him a boost when he is surrounded by nature, which means it is useless when he is on a planet that's been deprived of flora.
Into the last one he marked. The trait Stored Energy from the Viridian race has the same application as the Demon race's Blooming Crown. Only the paralyzed part is worrisome. For Mavis who had decided to not partake in any group or community in the future, the trait's drawbacks could become a deadly problem.
Every single one of them has a flaw that Mavis didn't want. He could only pick the one that didn't bother him that much, so he eliminated the others that he thought had massive disadvantages until only the traits of the Demons remained.
He was still hung up from the growing horn part, and couldn't move on. If that wasn't the case, he would have already picked it up in a heartbeat. Although, he could always gamble and pray that the trait would evolve into something to his liking.
After a few more seconds of consideration, he finally picks the trait he wants and thinks that sometimes in life, you just have to your chances, and just go for it. And so he did then proceeded to pick the Blooming Crown trait in the end.
[You have chosen the Blooming Crown trait]
[Scanning the user's being]
[....]
Mavis brought his hands together, almost like praying. Even though he wasn't religious at all.
[Scan successful. The trait has one possibilities to evolve.]
[Would you want to proceed?]
Mavis immediately proceeded with the evolution."Yes please." He said in excitement.
[Trait is Evolving]
He waited patiently for it to finish while having the feeling of something slightly caressing every part of his being. Then the feeling momentarily disappears later, along with the new screen appearing, showing that the Evolution has been completed.
[Evolution Complete]
[Astral Crown]
Type: Innate
Compatibility: Gifted
Effect: An invisible astral crown that becomes visible every time the user taps the stored mana from it. The number of spikes in the crown will increase at every star creation. The capacity of each spike depends on the quality of the created star.
It's still basically the same without the horns part. Mavis was glad that he didn't have to live his life, with a horn growing out of his body. Although, now he literally will have a crown appearing in his head whenever he uses the mana from it.
"Better than a horn though." He said, the relief noticeable from his words.
As a part of the process of gaining the trait, Mavis immediately experimented with it. He could feel a muscle at the back of his head that if he flexed, would manifest the crown. It looked simple with the appearance of a golden band with a single spike at the front, and only with the color of dark blue. At this point, it's more like a circlet than a crown.
He tried to access some mana, however, it is still currently empty. However, he could feel mana coming from his head, slowly siphoning mana into it. The excess mana that turns back into wild essence that he naturally expels is now being sucked by the crown.
"I'll let that get filled for now. It'll probably take a long while before it gets fully saturated." Mavis said.
He put his focus back into practicing his spell-casting again because he only had a few more days before the official start of the trial. He needed to get used to his abilities and reduce their casting time a lot more so they could be used effectively in combat.
A few more days passed and Mavis had fallen to the routine of his new reality. He had been busy improving his abilities and reading information about the universe in the galaxy. There are thousands of books that have been stored there, and it would probably take him a long time to read them all. But he is dedicated to doing just that.
A fire bolt flew past across the room and the difference in the impact and stability of it could be easily distinguished from the first time he had successfully cast it. Mavis checked his abilities, ecstatic with the improvements he had.
[Fire Bolt]
Type: Spell
Rank: Common
Proficiency: Intermediate
Effect: Conjure a small ball of fire then shoot it toward your target.
[Earth Raise]
Type: Spell
Rank: Common
Proficiency: Intermediate
Effect: Errect a small portion of land beneath or near your feet.
[Water Sphere]
Type: Spell
Rank: Common
Proficiency: Intermediate
Effect: Covers your entire body within a ball of water.
[Air sweep]
Type: Spell
Rank: Common
Proficiency: Intermediate
Effect: Eject a force of wind out of your palms.
He had successfully increased all of their proficiency to intermediate and shortened their casting time by an acceptable amount. He felt like he was now ready to face the upcoming trial and fly through it with ease. However, he still reminded himself of the dangers that could occur. He then looked above his head and checked the time remaining.
[0 days: 18 hours: 33 minutes: 13 seconds]
It was almost time for it and the excitement and a slight fear of the unknown were consuming his whole feelings.
"I should stop here for now and get some nice rest. I need to get my mind and body ready for any possible things that could happen." He reminded himself. He walked towards the bathroom and then took a shower before heading to bed.
The next time he awoke, he was greeted by Ego, silently watching over him. He groggily sat up and listened to what Ego would say.
"You're finally awake. There are only a few more hours before the start of the first stage of the trial, and I am here to provide you with your basic equipment and explain to you what you are about to face in the trial." Ego rambled. It stretched out its arms and gestured near Mavis's bed.
There lies a robe, a vambrace, and a wooden staff of some sort, neatly arranged. Mavis got up from his bed to approach and inspect his equipment.
[Simple Cloth Mage Robes]
Type: Armor
Rank: Common
Description: A simple mage robe provided by the system to the newly reintegrated trial takers.
Effect: Feeding it mana could harden some parts of the robes.
[Light Leather Vambrace]
Type: Armor
Rank: Common
Description: A simple leather vambrace provided by the system to the newly reintegrated trial takers.
Effect: Can be charged with a spell and be used anytime the user wants it.
[Wooden Mana Staff]
Type: Weapon
Rank: Common
Description: A wooden magical staff provided by the system to the new reintegrated trial takers.
Effect: Amplifies mana spells.
Mavis could tell they were just the basic equipment, nonetheless, he still felt grateful that he would at least have some protection to avoid some lethal damage. Although minimal, it is expected as his current main class focuses more on dealing damage than taking one. He would just have to be smart and slowly approach any situation he finds and work around it.
Without wasting any more time he went over all the things he had to do and then readied himself for the trial. After he was done taking care of his needs, he then wore all the equipment he was provided. He checked them multiple times to make sure that he wore them properly to avoid any mishaps, then went over his status one last time. When he thought that everything js fine and ready he glanced at the remaining time.
[0 days: 0 hours: 12 minutes: 45 seconds]
He had less than 15 minutes to spare, more than enough to use all that time to sharpen his mind. A couple of minutes later he heard a countdown.
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Trial Starts]