It seems I’m not very good at conveying the character’s thoughts and emotions. I’ll try harder to help the readers understand the thoughts and actions of Frost and others when they show up. It’s intentional with some of the other character so keep that in mind if you don’t understand some of them.

Still working on my writing and storytelling skills, so bear with me. Thank you for your constructive criticism.

I’m trying not to spend too much time on this part but I also don’t want to skip it.

That moment when I miss one tiny symbol and it messes with my entire chapter so it takes an extra day for me to figure out what I did and upload the chapter.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 14: The Trials

Frost watched as the golem stood to its full height and thought about the best method to take down the monster before him. He quickly thought of a strategy and then dashed at the golem, ducking under a huge fist as he slipped under it. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do enough damage to the golem, even with all his skills combined. Its defenses were too high, so he had to use the one ability that cut through all defenses. He slapped the golem as he passed underneath, tethering its shadow.

Frost activated Shadow Cutting and started slashing at the golem’s shadow on the ground. Before the ten seconds of the skill were up, he was forced back by the frightening swings of the golem’s arms that shook the air when they passed by. Despite ignoring the monster’s defenses, it still had a ridiculously high amount of health and Frost began to realize the full terror of this test.

There was no exit to the room so he definitely had to defeat the golem to proceed. If he hadn’t realized right away that he had to use Shadow Cutting, he would have spent valuable time trying to fight the thing under normal circumstances and would have lost precious stamina and probably shadow energy on pointlessly trying to chip away at its health. Even still, the skill wasn’t enough at that rate, due to the fact that striking at the shadow on the ground was too awkward and the cuts were too shallow. He wasn’t able to maximize damage output under the circumstances.

Frost tried again, just to confirm that he wouldn’t have enough shadow energy to kill it at the rate he was going. With the shadow energy he had left, he could probably get it to about half health, but that wouldn’t do him any good. He had plenty of stamina but if he ran out of shadow enemy before killing the golem, he was screwed. He also didn’t have any more time to think of a plan, considering he couldn’t stand still or he’d be crushed. Eventually, he’d run out of stamina and die.

He felt something was off, as if he was missing something. This was supposed to be a test, meaning that it had to have a solution. The golem had a large upper torso, which blocked some of the torchlight, but its shadow was still small. If he could knock out the torches on one side of the room, he could easily hit the giant shadow without having to fear retaliation. Unfortunately, he had no way of even touching the torches that were at least fifteen feet above him at the lower ring. There had to be a hint somewhere, but he just didn’t see it. At best he could hide between the legs of the golem and…

Frost saw a possibility and hoped it was the solution, considering he had no other ideas. Every part of the room was focused around the golem being in the center of the room and having a single vulnerable spot, being its shadow. He cautiously made his way under the golem, using his high agility to stay out of harm’s way. If it were a normal boss, it probably would have used some sort of area of effect skills or other deadly abilities rather than just swinging its huge arms around.

He activated lightning blade and shadow cutting together the moment he was directly under the golem, and began slashing at its shadow on the ground, and then the shadow on its body. Cutting through the shadows was like cutting through butter. Attacking the shadows on the golem’s body allowed him to hit much deeper strikes, and also allowed him to land more attacks since he was practically surrounded by strike zones. It apparently worked so well because the Shadow Cutting skill only did damage to the shadow. His sword passed right through the golem, not hitting anything but the shadow.

He kept activating the skill and attacking the golem’s shadow, with Lightning Blade active so that he could land more strikes in the limited time he had. At that rate, he could quickly cut down the golem while staying safe below it. The golem leaned to one side as Frost continued to slash away. Then, the golem smashed its legs together suddenly, trying to crush him. It happened too fast for him to dodge the huge leg.

Frost lost a large chunk of his health, falling below forty percent and becoming stunned, as his skills were interrupted. The golem stepped back and raised a giant fist above its head, preparing to bring it straight down on him. The fist began its descent as the stun wore off and Frost’s head cleared. He dove to the side, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid being destroyed. The ground shattered, and Frost coughed, still feeling a bit weak after taking so much damage in one attack.

“Fuck!” He dodged another strike, and ran forward, trying to get back beneath the golem. Now that he knew the golem’s tell, he could take it down, but he would have to do it more carefully. If the golem managed to hit him one more time, even with a glancing blow, he would die and fail the test. Emiri’s trial was no joke. He needed to have immediately noticed the golem’s weakness, known to use shadow cutting, and needed the agility or fortitude to survive the golem’s deadly assault. He also needed to have the skill and judgment to pull it off.

This time, he didn’t use Lightning Blade because it was eating up his stamina too quickly. He just kept cutting away at the golem’s shadow, no matter how cheap a strategy it was. He dodged when the golem tried to crush him like it did before and the fight became simple. The golem fell below ten percent health as the fight drew to a close.

The golem began to scream a high-pitched sound as it fell to its knees and wrapped its arms around its body. Frost was easily able to avoid being crushed as he gained some distance, considering it was not trying to attack him, whatever it was doing. Then, it began to glow red, the light growing stronger by the second. It looked like it was going to destroy itself and take him with it by self-destructing, or so it seemed.

He turned toward the exit, the hallway he had come through, but it was gone. Suddenly there was no way out. The golem’s health went to zero as it died, but the light continued to grow brighter. He gained the experience from killing the golem and went up to level seventeen, but that meant nothing if he failed the test by dying. He had to do something to escape, to get out of the room before that golem exploded and killed him. He didn’t see anything as he ran around the room, looking everywhere.

He then saw a dark orb hovering just in front of the golem. Frost stared at it for a moment before he realized what it was. It was the golem’s shadow. It was all the way across the room, and if Frost went there he would be next to the explosion when it happened. There would be no surviving that, but there would probably be no surviving the explosion anyway.

Considering that the explosion looked just about ready to go off, he used his new ability, Burst of Speed to run as fast as he could to the shadow. He didn’t know if the shadow could help him survive, but he might as well consume it in case it could somehow do something. He activated Shadow Eating and his body jerked as he inhaled suddenly. The shadow was sucked into his lungs as he stood there taking a deep breath.

The light of the golem grew to its brightest and Frost knew he was about to take the explosion directly. He suddenly felt slightly dizzy and lost his footing, falling backwards. He shouldn’t have lost his balance and fallen, but he did anyway. He braced for the pain of hitting the hard ground and also the pain of the explosion, expecting either of them at any moment. Instead, he fell into the ground and the force of the fall brought him to his feet again.

However, Frost was in another realm, looking at a strange scene. Everything was in shades of grey, black, and white. He was in some alternate version of the world and he felt nothing as he watched the golem explode. A few moments later, he fell again, returning to the normal world. Whatever had just happened, he had no control over it. However, he felt perfectly fine other than a slight dizziness that quickly faded. The rubble of the golem was strewn about the room and a single doorway was visible.

*Ding*

Ability gained: Shadow DiveFall into the shadow realm where the mortal realm cannot affect you.

Duration: 20 seconds

Cost: 10 Shadow Energy

Cooldown: 60 seconds

‘Was that a sort of scripted event then?’ He had just gained a very powerful ability with multiple uses. Most importantly, as it was just displayed, he could avoid area of effect abilities that otherwise wouldn’t miss.

Frost sat down to let himself recover stamina and shadow energy that he would almost certainly need for later fights. He repaired his equipment that was beginning to get low on durability and sharpened his sword with a whetstone, even though it wasn’t really necessary. It was something to do while waiting for his body to recover, and he found it relaxing.

“It’s rare to see someone sharpening a sword like that.”

“It’s therapeutic.” Frost would have been surprised to see Emiri, but he had been half expecting her to show up.

“I see… You have passed the first test. That was the hardest of the tests, so long as you continue to keep your wits about you and use the skills I have given you.”

“That’s almost disappointing.”

Emiri smiled. “I think I’m beginning to truly like you, Frost. I said that the next tests would be easier, but this first one was nearly impossible for someone of your level. You barely won that fight, and in a way even I did not expect. I did not expect you to discover that secret of Shadow Cutting so quickly. I expected you to fail as the others did before you.”

“There were others?” If other players knew about his skills to such an extent, it would be bad if that information spread.

“Not for many years. None of the children that I have chosen in the past managed to defeat my golem. However, I’m glad that you did. I want you to succeed. I need you to succeed.”

Frost relaxed. It seemed that the other potential champions were NPCs and had failed anyway. “If you need a champion that badly, why did you make the test so difficult?”

“I need someone strong, unwavering. I need someone who will never stray from their path, no matter how difficult the journey. If the trials were simple, then even if I chose a champion, they would only die, perhaps when it matters most.”

“Then how do you know that this much is enough?”

“That is a story reserved only for my champion.”

“I can’t wait to hear it then. Frost stood and slowly walked to the exit, towards the next challenge. When I’m done here, you’ll have to tell me everything.”

Another long, dark tunnel preceded the next room, which was dimly lit by chandeliers hanging fifteen feet above the floor. The room was long, to the point that he couldn’t see the end of it. Countless tunnels lined the walls on either side of the room that was a little more than twenty feet wide. As he stepped into the room, it began to grow brighter as glowing beings started pouring through the tunnels as far as he could see.

He put his sword away and pulled out his staff, activating Dark Infusion as the glowing people approached. Their faces were twisted in hatred, and Frost knew they weren’t anything human, despite their appearance. He swung his staff and the enemies it touched simply dissipated. He had expected the dark element damage of Dark Infusion to be more effective against light based creatures, but this kind of effect was something else. They must have been some weak creatures, meant to die easily when hit by the dark damage of his skill. They left no shadows behind.

He sprinted forwards, sweeping away the enemies before him, reactivating Dark Infusion when it ran out. Weak as they were, they were still endlessly pouring out of the tunnels and there was no end in sight. Continuing on, his Shadow Energy eventually reached half and he had a choice to make. He could continue to run and hope that an end to the long hallway would eventually appear, or he could try one of the side passages. All his knowledge of similar tests in games told him that he needed to take a side path, because this one was an endless path that would only result in his death.

His thoughts were to take a narrow side path where he could use his staff to push through and defend the back at the same time. It would be a lot easier and might lead to where he needed to go. Distracted by his thoughts, he tripped over a rough patch of ground and took a hit from one of the glowing men. The attack both shocked and burned him as the creature’s arm passed through his shoulder. He struck it down and continued to run straight ahead. He needed time to think, but didn’t have it with the endless hoard of nameless monsters chasing him.

An idea crossed his mind and he activated Shadow Dive, falling into a pool of shadows that seemed to grab him and pull him down. In the shadow realm it was an exact replica of the hallway, but without the color or the glowing spirits. Since they didn’t have a physical form, he decided that was what they were probably closest to. He stood there and quickly came to a decision on where he would go. Straight ahead. He ran as the last few seconds of the skill ran out and he was thrown back into the mortal realm.

His staff once again charged with shadow energy, he activated burst of speed to move forward at 150% speed. Frost was already a fast character so the increase to his speed allowed him to fly through the hallway as quick as lightning, destroying any enemies in front of himself with the staff. There was no cooldown on the skill and his shadow energy would still run out before his stamina did, so he kept using Burst of Speed to continue moving faster.

He used Dark Infusion yet again, which left him with twenty-one shadow energy at that point. He was also losing stamina at an extremely fast rate because of his skill, and he still couldn’t see the end. He knew though, that he couldn’t give up. It was too late to try for the side paths and he felt that going straight was the correct decision. Even if there were a light at the end of the tunnel, he wouldn’t be able to see it with all the glowing spirits in his way, so he just ran.

He activated Dark Infusion one last time and nearly a minute later, under the same conditions, it was about to run out and he wouldn’t be able to use it again. His energy recovery rate was simply too low. He ran up the wall as the skill ended and used the last of his energy to dive into the shadow realm. He fell from the wall and rolled to his feet, continuing to run.

When the skill ended, he appeared surrounded by the spirits and a swing of his staff passed through them harmlessly. Their attacks burned painfully but he tried to ignore them as he pushed onward, his health dropping fast. He passed through a spirit and cried out in pain, but he was also in an open space. Suddenly, all the spirits were behind him. They still chased him, but they weren’t able to keep up with his speed. He continued to run, without looking back or straying from the path.

Occasionally, he would pass another side tunnel, tempting him to enter and escape through the narrow passageway. He didn’t. He ran until his stamina dipped under a hundred points and then he kept running. Ahead of him, he could see a chasm, with a ledge on the other side. If that was not the end of this trial, he was finished anyway, so he used one last Burst of Speed and jumped. He floated over the chasm and crashed into the ground on the other side where he lay on his back, panting from exhaustion.

He looked around and saw a wooden door nearby, lit by torches attached to the wall. The glowing spirits watched him from across the chasm, not daring to attempt the cross. Frost closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting out the tension and allowing himself to relax.

*Ding*

Ability gained: Shadow Jump

When standing in a shadow, you can teleport to another shadow. Cannot jump to the shadow of an untethered enemy.

Cost: 5 Shadow Energy

“Once again, you have passed a trial. Congratulations.” Emiri seemed to have simply appeared out of nowhere again.

“It’s thanks to the hint you gave me.”

She smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He smiled back at her. ‘ ”I need someone who will never stray from their path, no matter how difficult the journey.” ’ Those were the words she had said to him right before the challenge and he might have tried the side paths without that subtle hint.

“These tests seem awfully considerate of how much shadow energy and stamina I have.”

“Well, the tests are based on you and your abilities. They take into account your level, your stats, and your Shadow Energy. The last test was designed so that even if you ran at full speed the entire time, you would not have enough shadow energy to make it to the end of the hateful light spirits.”

“Doesn’t it sort of seem like cheating to use my ability that increases my speed?”

“Not at all. Having an ability that allows you to overcome the trials is expected. If you rely too heavily on the powers I have given, you may forget to rely on the other resources you have.”

“What if I didn’t have such an ability?”

“Then perhaps you would have failed.”

“I thought you said the trials would be easier now.”

“Hahaha. They might be a bit easier than facing the golem, since you now have more powers, but they are still very challenging.”

Frost turned to look at the door. “What about the next challenge? What will I need to win that?” There was no answer, and when he looked, she was gone again. How many more tests did he have to face? Would he be lucky with those tests as well? He must succeed or he would lose his class. He had come this far, and he refused to lose now.

When he had fully recovered, he stood and walked up to the door, running his hand over the wood as he moved it towards the handle. It felt so real that he almost couldn’t believe he was playing a game. He turned the handle, and the door opened.