While climbing the tree, Reinhard fell into thought.
The Frost Trolls were a surprise but expected for the trial. There were only a few trials that had no creatures that needed to be killed or were seen as obstacles.
But those trials required the person to survive the dangerous situation they appeared in.
He heard stories of a famous Inquisitor having to run through a thunderstorm with countless bolts of lightning striking down. All while the ground below erupted in fire, and dangerous toxins were spreading through the area.
Or another person having to withstand constant pain for an entire day without passing out.
After hearing that, Reinhard desperately hoped he didn't get anything close to that. Since that sounded more like torture than a trial.
And it made him question what kind of Beast did that person make a connection to get such a crappy trial.
Reinhard sighed as a blizzard came rushing by him, forcing him to press himself closer onto the roots. His body shivered as the blizzard swept by, forcing him to close his eyes and hope for it to quickly pass.
The world seemed to hear his plea as the blizzard faded after five more seconds, leading him to sigh and continue climbing up.
Reinhard continued moving up, feeling his arms crying out in pain and the cold. The cold was increasing on his hand, but the cloak continued to deter most of it to his relief.
He couldn't help but thank his past self for using the cloak as gloves, or else his fingers would have already been too numb to move.
Finally, after ten more seconds, he pulled himself up to another open area covered in snow and interweaving roots. He first looked around to see any trolls, and sighing in relief when he saw none, he looked towards the massive tree.
But he frowned when he saw it covered in ice, and it looked pretty thick.
"Why is this part covered in ice?" Reinhard muttered as he walked over towards it. He trudges through the snow before reaching the ice-covered trunk and touching it.
The moment his hand touched it, he swiftly pulled back with his face scrunching up. It was too cold, enough that he could really feel it through his gloves, and there was no grip.
He glanced to see the ice-covered roots and branches before sighing as he knew he would simply slip or ruin his hand if he tried using this.
"I can't go this way, but there should be another path." Reinhard muttered as another wisp formed from his breath. He glanced to the left to see a ledge that dropped off into a swirling white, a dead end. To the right, he saw a pathway between massive roots with a gust of flakes and wind.
Reinhard began walking along the pathway, squinting against the wind gust. He had to close his eyes sometimes from water appearing in his eyes, and use his hand as a cover.
Then his blue eyes widened as he saw silhouettes ahead.
It was Frost Trolls.
There were six of them moving around the area and dragging their weapons around, leaving behind trails in the snow.
Reinhard squinted his eyes to see that their weapons were ice clubs, a frozen tree branch, and a jagged ice spear. He quickly crouched down as he saw their blue eyes sweeping through the area before growling.
Reinhard walked towards a large root and hid behind it. "I can't fight six of them at once, and trying to pull one of them might lead the others to come. And even if I could, the others might hear the battle."
Reinhard began looking around and taking in his surroundings. He wanted to see if there was another way or what he could use to help him defeat the Trolls. He saw multiple roots of varying size, massive rocks, and large bushes covered in snow.
"I can use these." Reinhard muttered as he began moving from the large root and moving towards the other.
Reinhard moved from root to root as he avoided the sight of the trolls.
He paused when he saw the Frost Troll moving from left to right, and then once it turned its back. He dashed forward, not caring about any trail left behind, as the snow around here was already messed up.
He passed the Frost Troll and hid behind four snow-covered bushes. Then Reinhard continued moving, the sound of the wind masking any sound he made as he reached another snow-covered bush.
Then he peers from the side to see the second Frost Troll moving closer. He squinted to take note of its pattern, walking three steps forward, then pausing before turning and moving four steps to the right.
The second troll was moving oddly, but Reinhard still memorized its pattern and then waited for it to turn away from him. Then he quickly rushed past the troll and headed behind the large rock.
He releases a breath after leaning against the rock and crouching. With another cloud forming as he feels the cold seeping into his clothing.
He couldn't stay here for long, and so he looked out to see two trolls moving together. They were moving in parallel lines, but saw that for six seconds their backs were both turned to each other.
Reinhard then glanced behind to see that the other trolls weren't looking over here. When the two trolls cross each other and move, he swiftly rushes ahead through the snow.
He quickly passed the two trolls and moved towards the ice-covered root. Then he pressed himself against the root and looked over to see the other trolls.
But his eyes widened in joy as he saw an entrance like a cavern. The opening was dark, and he could see some roots hanging down from it, but he couldn't see much as it was still a dozen yards away.
"Just need to get past those remaining trolls." Reinhard muttered as he looked at the two trolls.
He then saw the fifth troll scanning around the area while dragging its large clubs. But to Reinhard's delight, the movement of the troll was easy to predict and follow.
And he quickly rushed over past the fifth troll, moving past the rocks and bushes.
Then, as he reached the large rock after passing the fifth troll. He heard a roar and growl from behind, leading him to glance back to see the fifth troll shaking his club. His eyes then widened when he saw the fourth troll coming up with the third troll, leading him to inwardly curse.
He quickly hid behind the rocks as the five trolls moved past the area and joined up with the sixth troll. Then all the trolls began growling at each other and showing no sign of moving away from the area.
Reinhard frowned as he moved carefully across to the left side, crouching under a thick root and pressing his back against the icy surface.
The trolls were maybe thirty feet away, close enough that he could see, and he sighed. He couldn't stay here and wait for them to move, as the cold seeping into his body would only get worse.
He began looking around for another option, but he didn't see anything of use. Until his gaze went upwards, and then a smile appeared on his face as he saw it.
Above him and the troll was a series of branches and roots with a massive amount of snow piled on top. Looking closely, he saw that it looked unstable, and then he couldn't see the end of the pile of snow.
A plan began to form in his mind.