Chapter 6 - Trial

Niko had a very complex look on his face. He had been walking for some time and no traps were seen or activated. The orb had said that there would be traps everywhere, however, not a single sign of traps in this whole place.

The rusty gate led to another rocky tunnel that looked endless. The tunnel was glossy gray with lumps of stone throughout the walls and ceiling. Even though there didn't seem to be a light source anywhere, the tunnel wasn't too dark as if there was something making this tunnel visible.

Niko had checked the time on his status which said that there were 20 hours and 09 minutes left. He was extremely pleased that he had already acquired a skill in such a short amount of time, however. The skill wouldn't aid him in combat, therefore, he was in need of something that would allow him to defend or protect himself.

¨Swosh!¨

Suddenly, a powerful gust of cold wind blew past him. The wind was making his whole body shiver as it took him by surprise.

Niko paused.

'Damn! How can there be such cold gusts of wind inside of this cave? Can it be that the exit is just ahead?' Niko asked himself as he continued walking. His black clothes flapped like flags raised high above the ground on poles as the wind blew by..

Niko continued to walk forward, however, as he walked further and further, his steps were getting slower and slower and an ugly expression could be seen on his face.

¨Swoosh! Swoosh!¨

The wind was becoming much more violent the further he walked forward. The wind was also getting colder and colder as if at the end of the tunnel there was a snow storm..

Niko gritted his teeth as he raised his arm in front of his face. The violent wind was bombarding his body, and his face was taking a beating from it. He was shivering violently while at the same time struggling to move forward.

¨I need… To do… This… For my sister!¨ Niko told himself. As he thought about his sister and how power could mean finding her again, and because of that he was able to find an extra bit of strength and determination that helped him move forward. He had looked for her long enough. This was his chance to find her.

After thirteen hard steps, Niko´s eyes widened. There was a silver gate just ahead of him. The gate shined in a silver light as if it was brand new. The gate looked extremely clean and well preserved, however, the most peculiar thing about it was the faint green aura around it.

The green aura that surrounded the gate possessed loose strands that floated out majestically towards Niko. The strands of the aura looked like loose fabric under a clear slow water stream.

¨The wind… Seems to be coming from there… I need to get to that gate...¨ Niko struggled to move forward. Moving his body felt like going against waves of water that tried to push him back at every second.

¨Arghh!!!¨

Niko pushed. He pushed not only for his sake but for his sister's. He pushed for power. He pushed for whatever was on the other side of that gate. He pushed to survive.

Step.

The freezing cold became much colder as the wind became much more ferocious.

Step.

The Wind began to cut through his clothes, leaving small cut marks on his body.

Step.

The blood from the small cuts began to freeze as his body moved forward with persistence. Niko began to hear low whispers near his ears, however, these things didn't stop him from moving forward.

Step.

The cold seemed to have reached a limit as if continued to cut through his clothes, however, the persistent Niko continued.

Step.

The whispers turned to screams as he could hear mourning all around him. From children to women, screams were heard all around. Outlines of faces could also be seen coming from the aura that surrounded the gate. To anyone, this would've scared them senseless and ultimately made them lose the courage to step forward. However, this was Niko. Not only his life but the life of his sister, his only remaining family member relied on this.

He was one step away from the silver gate.

¨Come on!!!¨ He screamed.

Niko began to extend his hand towards the gate. His arms were trembling and as he got closer, the wind began to cut through the sleeves of his shirt and formed light cuts in his arms. Niko continued, until ultimately.

¨Swoosh!¨

The ferocious wind suddenly stopped blowing and the gate slowly began to open. The screams disappeared as silence filled the cave. Everything that had just happened felt like an illusion. Niko then fell to the floor. He was weak and to his surprise, the light that surrounded the gate began to move and surround his body.

His body felt a warm sensation as the cuts on it began to heal. There was a comfortable feeling sweeping through him as it made him extremely calm.

Relief then began to appear on his face as he was finally out of that hell of a place. It felt like fortune approaching the door, and thankfully he was able to make it.

¨This trial surely must have rewards!¨ He grinned as though about becoming more powerful.

¨Ding!¨ In his mind, a message appeared.

[For passing the Spirit Kings trial, you have been awarded.]

[Unique Title Awarded: One Surrounded by Spirits]

Niko´s eyes lit up as he looked at the message.

´Status!¨

[Name: Niko Lazar]

Level: 1

Exp: 0%

[Stats]

Strength: 1

Constitution: 1(+2)

Agility: 1

Intelligence: 1

Mana: 1

Mana Power: 3/3

[Unique Titles]

One Surrounded by Spirits(Passive)

+2 Constitution

+1 Mana Power

Detail: This unique title allows the user surrounds himself in the aura of spirits, ultimately making those who are lower level than the user receive side effects, depending on the affiliation with the user.

The effect depends on the user's mood.

[Skills]

Celestial Probe I

¨This...¨ Niko murmured in disbelief. This was something extremely useful. Sadly his current level was too low, however, this could become extremely useful in the future.

Unique titles were similar to skills but with a few different mechanisms. But most importantly of all you weren't able to activate them as you pleased, as they were activated at all times or at special situations. They were useful boosts on status, while some even possessing other effects like this one.

If skill gems were rare, then unique titles were even rarer. These required a person to go through much more hardships to achieve. There was a very low chance of receiving one and Niko had gotten extremely lucky here.

Even though the title only gave two constitution, those two points in the constitution could save his life. These support points will play a huge role in the future. The base points would be normal points received through killing monsters, whiles support points come from skills, items, and titles.

Niko was glad that he was one of the people to stay behind and read the small booklet. Even though the booklet was small, the amount of information within it was rather valuable and helpful, especially for beginners. He understood a lot about the world now.

The descriptions of the unique title below it, began to disappear leaving just the name. A light green aura emitted from Niko, but it was almost unnoticeable as it would take a lot of focus and patience to see it.

Niko felt energetic again as his body had been healed and stood up from the ground.

He looked forward to finding a silver door. The door looked ordinary just like any other common door, but the carvings of ghosts around it made it stand out.

¨This is the end of the cave...¨ Niko said as he approached the door and opened it.

¨Creeeak!¨

Opening the door, white mist began to escape from the other side of the door completely covering his legs. Niko's eyes widened as a library stood in front of him.