"Pala. Don't. Sit. Up. So. Suddenly. You. Can. Barely. Move. As. It. Is," Informazione said as he quickly supported the weakened god's back.

Giustizia, the God of Justice, nodded his head as his angel wings flapped in concern. "I understand your excitement, my friend, but you must think of your condition first."

Pala groaned. He still couldn't form sentences yet, but, luckily, one of their new allies was present and she was able to aptly convey emotions and sentiments into words.

Comprensione, the Goddess of Understanding - a lesser god to the God of Knowledge not unlike Informazione - nodded lightly. "He says 'I'm fine. I have enough power to lean up on my own, you're too worried about me.'"

The God of Information looked at the book that had a tree growing out of its open pages with a complicated gaze in his mechanical eyes. "You. Are. Wrong. Pala."

Giustizia also looked worried, but he chose to side with the God of Shovels. "I understand him, Informazione, as you should too. Foreign powers can never be underestimated. The value of those stars are beyond anything we could have ever imagined his champion would ever get a chance to obtain."

"I. Understand. Just. Don't. Overexert. Yourself. Pala. Here," the cyborg said before his eyes flickered and began projecting a hologram of Daz.

Comprensione's pages fluttered softly. "Should we not also keep a direct eye on his kingdom? I worry for my champion. The movement from the false god is most concerning."

"My. Champion. Is. Aware. Of. The. Problem. And. Is. Working. On. A. Solution. As. We. Speak," Informazione replied.

A knocking at the window to the lesser god's bits and bobs shop alarmed all of the gathered individuals. The next moment, the same window was opened and a gi-wearing bipedal monkey swung through it.

"Yo," the humanoid monkey with the mane of a lion said casually as he waved his hand. "I miss anything?"

"Bastone... Why are you here?" The God of Justice got off of his chair and raised his hands, ready for a fight to the death. "Servants of Caos are unwelcome."

"I'm not a servant of anyone but myself," Bastone, the God of Quarterstaves, claimed as he closed his eyes and grinned. "Like you guys, I'm worried about my champion. She's living with your champions, so I figured I'd throw my lot in with you guys. This is the deciding era, after all."

Muscoli, the God of Muscles, stepped through the store's door not a second later and rubbed the back of his bald green head with one of his four arms in shame. "Sorry. I brought him here. He seemed to genuinely not believe the higher gods' rubbish anymore... Plus, I like his champion. Give him a chance, please?"

Pala grunted as he leaned back down on the bed Informazione had made for him.

Everyone looked at Comprensione expectedly. "He said 'I don't care.' He's also confident that even if we were exposed and killed that his champion would still complete our greater objective."

The God of Quarterstaves laughed as he held his belly. "You think that mortal boy can kill the gods? You think he can bring equality to the spectroverse? One lone mortal?"

Pala couldn't chuckle due to his condition, but he still managed a smirk.

Comprensione's branches swayed in concern as her book's pages flashed a deep shade of yellow. "Yes, yes he does."

----------------------------------------

"The phrase is really rather simple," Sir Albert said as he pushed his rounded glasses back up his nose. They seemed to have a habit of slipping down his face.

The elderly man turned his back and said, "Come, come, I'll show you."

Daz and Madison followed the man as Hamson floated behind them. The shovel worried a few of the camp's residents, but Daz still hadn't gained his new quintessential shovel art yet.

He had to use the shovel how he wanted the skill to develop for 100-days and it had only been a little over 2-weeks thus far.

To guarantee it grew into an ability focused on Hamson's capability to be freely controlled by Daz, the reaper insisted on making the tool fly at all times.

Of course, he also had the idea to create a shovel out of crystals or gems. He could easily command such a thing regardless of his Shovel Arts skill, could he not? It was an idea he'd put more stock into if the quintessential shovel art didn't pan out as he planned it to.

Sir Albert laid his hands against the massive shining gates of gold then said, "Right here," as he pointed at a line of interchanging images that seemed to have varying styles. "This is actually a very curious thing, King Daz. This is an ancient passage, however, it isn't one language, but four."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Four?" Daz focused on the words and muttered, "Only in death can one truly be alive..."

With a clicking sound, the box being held in his hands snapped open, revealing a greatly ornate necklace with a massive green jewel at its center.

Sir Albert's jaw almost hit the ground. "Y-You understand Aztecan, Mayan, Incan and Muisca?!"

Daz slowly pulled out the necklace within the seal as he answered, "I have a skill that lets me understand all languages. The one from the auction."

"How on Earth- No, more importantly, that's the key then, isn't it?" Sir Albert's studious nature was able to overpower his shock. "If I'm correct, you need only press it against the door to begin the 20 Trials of El Dorado."

Daz nodded. He stored the sealing container in his Industrial Item box before he slipped the large golden necklace around his neck.

"Pretty," Madison commented.

"Need you wear it?" Sir Albert asked curiously.

Daz shrugged. "I have a feeling I'll need it. I won't lose it if it's wrapped around my neck, now will I?"

"Ah, fair point, fair indeed," Sir Albert replied as he stroked his short beard and adjusted his glasses again.

Daz leaned forward and used his ability to control gems, allowing him to move the massive green jewel hanging around his neck, and he then pressed it against the towering gates.

Rather abruptly, a wave of energy escaped the necklace and entered the gate, resulting in the ridges on its design lighting up with a powerful tone of lime-green.

Following the mighty ringing of a bell that Daz assumed was within the city, the gates swung open majestically.

Everyone was then blinded by a bright flash of white light coming from the city's innards, the next moment, they all disappeared and the gates closed, returning the city to its peaceful slumber.

----------------------------------------

[Welcome, Potential Inheritor.]

"Well, that's odd," Daz said as he slowly opened his eyes and began getting his bearings.

From the looks of things, he was in a stone chamber of some sort, though that was only a guess from the texture of the floor which his hand was pressed against. The room itself was pitch-black save for the glowing white words in front of himself.

'Master Identification on the words and on this room, please, System,' Daz requested. '... Huh? Why is nothing showing up?'

[As agreed with the mysterious entity, I shall explain to you, Potential Inheritor, that your access to the mysterious entity has been sealed, as have any other abilities that would differentiate you from our creators.]

'What? Does that mean my instincts as well? What about my race? Was that suppressed? Soul Vision.' Nothing. He was still blind in this seemingly endless darkness. "Reika? Mofolo?"

[The minor gods resting within your tool can no longer be communicated with nor utilised, though the tool itself is laying next to you, Potential Inheritor, and you are free to use it, though do keep in mind that it too is no longer connected to the mysterious entity.]

'Minor gods? I doubt that means they relate to the system's gods. Maybe the people that lived in El Dorado called spirits gods?' He wasn't sure and had no way to get the answer to that question right now.

Daz got into a cross-legged position and began feeling around his surroundings. A few seconds later he had found Hamson, however, not before he had accidentally pricked himself with one of the barbed edges of the shovel's blade.

'There's no way I'd have cut myself if I had my instincts, right? I mean, it's not really a matter of survival if it's such a small cut, but there's always the risk of infection assuming my Immunity stat isn't being applied right now. Speaking of, system, display my status.' Again, no light-grey screen filled his vision. 'Thought so, but it was worth a shot.'

"So, who or what are you?" Daz asked calmly. 'I hope Maddy's okay. Is Mr Barrier with her or did he get sent into a room of his own as well?'

Questions similar to those plagued the young man's mind, but regardless of how he was feeling underneath his frosty exterior, the strange white words showed themselves to Daz once again.

[Irrelevant, Potential Inheritor. You shall begin the 20 Trials of El Dorado in exactly 5-minutes. Prepare your mind and body for the challenges that await you.]

And just like that Daz was plunged into darkness once again. 'Irrelevant, huh? Is this thing, like, an ancient A.I or something similarly lifeless? It feels a bit personality-less, though I can hardly comment on that regard. Then again, it said 'our' earlier. I assume it's not alone.'

Daz saw no need to try to escape the room he was in or anything of the like. He was here to perform the trials, after all.

Of course, he was worried for Madison, but he also had a feeling that it'd be faster to reach Madison's side if he simply tried his best rather than attempt to break out of the 20 trials.

That was a genuine gut feeling as well, not one influenced by his Survivor's Instincts. 'I've had Survivor's Instinct active for almost my entire life, right? Strange. I thought natural instincts would feel different... They really are pretty much identical.'

He sat in silence for the next 5-minutes, spending the time to attempt to contact the system in various ways. He had nothing else better to do, after all.

----------------------------------------

"Another flash of white light, huh?" Daz said as he rubbed his eyes and slowly stood up. "Well, at least I didn't get knocked out this time, and thankfully, there's actually some light in here."

He looked around to get a bearing of his surroundings and was surprised. "Is this... a puzzle room of some sort?"

He seemed to be in an entirely cuboid room. Each wall was made of stone while a single strip of golden metal was wrapped around the entire chamber about 2-feet off the ground. This sparkling oddity was only split up by the pictogram-littered partitions which lined the walls.

On one side of the room was a massive and perfectly smooth boulder sitting on a golden pedestal while the other side of the room had a large spheroid indentation in its floor that was the host of an intricate design.

The only other thing of note besides the four torches - one on each cardinal wall - was a square grate on the ceiling that Daz felt he could maybe squeeze through, but the thing was at least 20-feet off the ground.

[Trial 1 shall now begin. Successfully escape the pyramid to pass the trial.]

'Wait, pyramid, not room?' Daz frowned. 'One step at a time, I suppose. Now, how to get out of here...'

He held his chin then began talking to himself. "The obvious solution would be to push the boulder into that hole, but that thing must weigh at least a few tonnes. It's fuckin huge. There's no way I'm moving that without my stats... Maybe I can use gravity?"

Daz shook his head. "That's one idea... There're the grate and the golden strip too... Well, at least this isn't a timed thing..."

He half expected water or sand to start gushing out of the overhead opening, but, thankfully, the creators of El Dorado and these trials weren't total sadists, it would seem.