[An Auxiliary Trial has arrived!]
[Auxiliary Trial: Choose Your Companion
Difficulty: B-
Conditions/Directions: To accompany you to battle, choose your companion (alternative: let your companion find you).
Time limit: ??
Failure: ??
Reward: Self-satisfactory reward]
[You've leveled up to
That explained why he could access the Clandestine Chest. Typically, to use that feature, one had to have completed at least four trials or be in the midst of completing the fourth one.
Zane stood on the open prairie with a sword in his hands. It was a [Dao] that he'd found lying on the ground. It wasn't much, but he needed to get this body into at least a little shape. The mana-rich atmosphere here should help in that.
So he stood practicing katas. As many as he could remember—from training in the military barracks to the past trials.
[You've invested 1500 species into strength]
[Strength lvl 4 > Strength lvl 5]
Zane brought the sword down for the hundredth time, panting. It wasn't much since Dao wasn't a particularly heavy sword. But… it had proved useful in slaughtering the few ghouls that came his way.
[
Zane glanced at the species that were displayed once he desired to see them. He brought his sword down again.
[Current species: 20,500]
If he wanted, he could carelessly continue investing in his stats. But that would be the 'artificial' strength he'd be earning, it wouldn't help him in 'those' trials. In fact, it would only hinder him. The only way he could actually gain strength… was to work this useless body.
Until he could no longer feel his arms, he continued. He'd brought his sword down almost seven hundred times by now. He exhaled through his nose and slowly lowered both his hands.
[
Zane sat down on the ground and crossed his legs as he thought about what he needed to do. First, he was to gather the
Zane sighed heavily and glanced around. That's when he realized. Three ravens were flying in the sky. And if they were there, that meant that other animals must be there too. He glanced at his palm and noted that it had already started to burn up and redden.
Unless he got past this trial, to
'Even so. I'll be able to purchase the elixirs and store them in my clandestine chest… it shouldn't be a problem,' he thought as his eyes caught sight of a river up ahead. Until now, he'd killed many spirits... perhaps he could find some water ghouls there?
Zane stood up and groaned when his arms hurt. He was tempted to invest in his stats, but he couldn't do that. Skills were one thing, but boosting the stats could also cause…
As he reached the river and looked over the water. He was a little startled to see his own reflection. Ever since he'd come back, he'd been busy. The extreme tan that his olive skin had gotten had ceased to be, and the dark circles under his eyes were gone, replaced with dark plims. His green eyes blinked back at him as he continued staring with a pout on his face.
In the still water he could see the scar on the corner of his bottom lip. 'Ah, that's inevitable.' At least his face had far fewer scars compared to the future. 'Wait… where did my facial hair go?' He blinked at his reflection.
〈"Can I just try it on you once?" she asked him as she reached for one of her sketchy serums she'd been making. It was milky, almost translucent. Zane stared at it in distaste. Why did he have to be the subject of her insistent experiments?
"Why? Go ask that idiot or something," he had mumbled, cleaning the glass table of the coffee stain his cup had left.
"He'll slap me," she said. "Plus, Zany, you're way cuter than him! See, your face is so soft! Please, this will also rid you of your problem of shaving."
"Why should I even do this?" he asked.
"You're my brother, why else?" she said, her lips pulled into a smile.〉
'Ah…' Zane groaned internally. He had forgotten about his sister and her experiments. His brother had reversed whatever she'd done to his face when he'd forced Zane's mana core open, grumbling something about Zane's looking too womanly. 'Well, goodbye, dignity'. That's when Zane caught something in the rear of his eyes. A movement.
He walked over to the boulder behind which he'd seen the movement disappear, the Dao in his hand glowing slightly with mana. He peeked over instantly and noticed a white four-ball. His eyes narrowed, and he poked it with the hilt of his sword. The fur ball immediately uncoiled, and Zane blinked.
It was a bunny—not just a bunny, but it had a red lotus marking on its forehead. 'So cute.'
Zane felt blood on his left palm, and he immediately triggered a skill.
[Personal skill, Naturist Communication lvl 1 is strongly activated!]
[You've invested 2000 species in upgrading the skill!]
[Naturist Communication lvl 1 > Naturist Communication lvl 4]
"What may I call you?" he asked the animal, whose nose twitched in his direction. Zane watched as it blinked its eyes.
[It's been so long since I've heard human speech]
'Huh? An animal with proper consciousness? Could it be…'
"Ah, I take it that you're trying to transcend back into a human body?" Zane asked, crouching down and looking at it.
[That is true. I'm surprised. Typically, players don't talk about that.
[
Sometimes, the Watcher who sponsored you could ask you to kill something or someone, and depending on their 'ranking,' they could enforce it with that much force. Since the
"They don't," Zane replied. "What may I call you?"
[Shen used to be known as Ahn Anxi. Now, Shen is now merely 'Shen']
"That is so," Zane said, and then paused. "May I ask a few questions?"
He didn't know if this spirit had been royalty in the past, but he didn't want to aggravate it by being disrespectful. The bunny closed its eyes before it opened them again and hopped closer to Zane.
[Ask away]
"Do you know the 'monster' hidden within this temple?" he asked. It would surely be a B-grade monster, or perhaps it could even be a B+. Its true grade could even go up to A, but the current trial would restrict that without appropriate repercussions paid by the monster.
[Why may Shen ask?]
"To kill it," Zane replied promptly.
Almost all temples had two to three monsters in them. They usually guarded the 'core' of the temple. Zane had no interest in the core, he just needed to kill one of the monsters and then gain the perks and the
[Human… you are odd]
"But does Shen know where the monster resides?"
[Shen does know where the monster resides]
"Then does Shen think that they can lead me to it?" Zane asked and sat down on the grass in front of the bunny.
[Only when Shen deems this human worthy of battling it]
Zane's lips parted. "How is that?"
[Shen shall help this human] the bunny said, and there was a momentary pause. [For killing the 'monster' will help Shen's spirit as well]
"How?" Zane asked again, and the bunny tilted its head in his direction, and a part of Zane couldn't help but coo at its actions.
[
Zane would have, but this animal was a spirit. "What can I do?" Zane asked.
[The divine beasts of the temple are
If Zane remembered correctly, he believed that both of them had a connection to having wings…
[Has this human ever hunted a dragon? Have they hunted a phoenix?]
Zane shook his head.
[The
'Kill the phoenix.'
--
The least time that he'd need to train to kill a C-B- grade beast would be almost eleven hours. Hence, almost a day in the 'real' world. And to train, according to Shen, he'd need to meditate for three hours, then spend the next hour by going into the forest and 'curing' the malnourished trees, which would give him honor points.
After earning twenty honor points, he could gain a stigma by the name of
Sure to Shen's word, after curing around fifty trees by transferring his mana to them, he began accumulating honor points. And thus, after curing the sixtieth tree, he saw a message.
[You received 20 honor points from the tree deities!]
[You've earned your first stigma!]
[
You have earned the Stigma,
Zane clicked on a choice to see more information about the stigma he'd received.
[
Preface: This stigma helps you neutralize the 'evil' of a cursed being. It belongs to the ancient ascetic monk, Bodhidharma… +
Pros: works well against 'fire grade' spirits and animals. It guarantees protection against anything 'evil' for a malleable time frame, which is dependent on the level of the stigma.
Working: This stigma can let you rest for 'x' number of hours depending on which level it is at, even when your surroundings are dangerous. It serves as a healing agent for others. Remember that the Stigma must exceed level 10 before you can use it as a safe keep.
Cons: cannot be used to cure oneself]
It wasn't bad, in fact it was quite good. If things in Selvaris didn't change, then he could use this during the <13th Main Trial>. Zane glanced at his palm again and stared at the lotus emblem. He had asked Rhian what it was about, and the other man had just given him a look that asked if he was stupid before saying that there was nothing and Zane's sleep deprivation was catching up to him.
[You've obtained the stigma, human]
Zane glanced to the side to see the bunny nibbling on a strand of grass. [To increase your mana, you must eat the fruit of the hydrangea]
'Isn't hydrangea only a flowering plant?' Zane thought and took in a deep breath. "Is Shen sure?"
[Shen is sure. The Temple's world has more mana than the human realm, thus, the plants have the required energy to bear fruit.
"I see," Zane said. Everything here was rich with mana, and perhaps eating it would be like gaining permanent antibodies—like he'd increase his mana. Or, maybe it would help to make increasing his mana be easier. He rubbed his chin in thought. Could he hypothetically eat the grass and leaves?
[Shen shall lead you to the site]
The bunny hopped ahead, and Zane followed it into the thicket of trees. Not all spirits were malevolent; some had simply lost their consciousness. These spirits couldn't do anything as other players used their souls as mediums to kill them. Zane glanced around as he followed Shen. The mana that radiated in the forest was rich, almost making the air thick to breathe.
After a few moments, he saw the bunny pause. [We are here.]
Zane's eyes widened. 'That was hydrangea!?'
The plant was huge. Perhaps the word huge could be an understatement since it was… the leaves were ten times that of the plant he saw in reality. The flowers were a beautiful lavender, bigger than the size of his head, nearly ten times as huge—and right there, behind them, was the fruit. It was almost the size of Zane's head.
[The fruit is called,