Corwin checked the auction house but no one was selling magic crystals anymore. People wanted to experiment with the new unlocks. Corwin began a long overland journey. The last trial was 6 hours west of the village of Colmar where Corwin had started. That would be a 30 hour journey from here, but Corwin could use space manipulation to reduce it to 4 hours. Not wanting to draw attention Corwin found a discrete place to open the portal and closed it immediately after stepping through.

Corwin travelled through the scenic fall forest into the mountains. It was pretty even by lightstone. He travelled up the mountain and the weather got colder. Eventually there was snow. The snow reflected the light from the lightstone and became a strong yellowish white. Corwin started to circulate his mana feeling the heat from it in his body. Finally, as he reached the top of the mountain he found a gate. And on that gate were the familiar two rainbow streaks. Corwin entered the portal and began another divine trial.

He once again saw a spirit and a staircase. The spirit talked to Corwin and instructed him on the trial. This trial was the trial of the hunted. On each stair, he’d be pursued by a stronger and stronger army and had the choice to fight or evade them. If he lasted 1 hour or if the opposing forces were dead he could move on to the next stair. There were 27 stairs in the trial and Corwin wasn’t about to spend anywhere near that long in the trial. He would fight the armies quickly and then only evade if he couldn’t fight.

On the first four stairs the armies consisted of 10 ordinary soldiers, which Corwin defeated easily. The 5th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, but the iron chest had only 4 crystals bringing Corwin up to 15 in total. The next four stairs were more challenging, the armies consisting of 20 elites. Fortunately, they split up to search and Corwin was easily able to defeat the 10 small groups of 2. The 10th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, this one a silver tier. Corwin happily gathered the 10 crystals, getting a total of 25. This was enough to upgrade his plate or gloves, but Corwin held out, planning to get up to 38 crystals to equip the amulet.

The 11th stair was a substantial step upwards. The army consisted of a general (a chieftain), 3 troop leaders (special elites) and 27 soldiers (elites). The troops split into groups of 5 for the search, with the general on his own. Corwin killed each group in turn, finally killing the general and getting the dropped magic crystal. This pattern continued for the next 3 stairs, and Corwin happily reached 29 crystals. The 15th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, which was also silver tier. Corwin had 39 crystals, and very quickly he had 1 again. He had upgraded the amulet from trash tier to gold tier. He sacrificed 60 trash amulets bringing it to level 12. Corwin looked over the powerful amulet.

Amulet of Skill, Divine Growth Type

Currently Gold Level 12, +96 All Basic Stats

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Qi. (+5 Qi)

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Soul (+5 Soul)

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Air Affinity (+5 Air Affinity)

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Earth Affinity (+5 Earth Affinity)

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Fire Affinity (+5 Fire Affinity)

Corwin was shocked. This amulet was the ultimate combo with his ring. He’d unlock new hidden attributes and then receive massive boosts to them. He equipped his new amulet excitedly. When he equipped the amulet something else happened that excited him to no end.

“You have sufficient fire affinity. Unlocking Ring of Elements skill Fire Manipulation”

Fire Manipulation, Tier 0 Level 0

For the next 30 minutes, you have precise control of all flames in the area. This can be used to weaken any source of fire, or to make it more powerful. It can also be used for precise control of flames in alchemy. Your precise control enables you to increase a flame by 50% or decrease a flame by up to 50%. Upgradeable for 4,000,000 XP. Cooldown, 4 hours

Corwin was excited by this skill, with it he could weaken fire monsters by at least half. He could also use it to make his alchemy reach a whole new level of accuracy. It also answered a question for him. Since Air Manipulation, upgrading his ring didn’t give him new manipulation skills. Apparently, he needed more affinity for them.

Corwin continued onwards, facing the next stage. In this stage the general was a lord, the sub-commanders were chieftains and the regular soldiers were special elites. Corwin was equal to the task and picked up 5 magic crystals from each step, until reaching step 20. On step 20 was a gold-tier magic crystal chest, which Corwin opened for another 16 magic crystals. He was back to 32 crystals, but he wanted to save them. He was hoping that the next upgrade of the amulet would unlock another Manipulation skill. This was more important than the extra defense and stats from upgrading either his gauntlets or his plate armor.

At the 21st step things reached a whole new level of difficulty. The individual soldiers were chieftains, the sub-commanders were lords and the general was a special lord. Fortunately, they searched in groups of 2, and Corwin could handle fighting even a chieftain and a lord at once at this point. He fought quickly and managed to defeat the entire army by a small margin, receiving 35 magic crystals for his efforts. He upgraded his amulet, doubling the stats and getting a double unlock.

Unlock Hidden Attribute: Water Affinity

Skill: Water Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 0

For the next 30 minutes, you have precise control of all water and ice in an area. This can be used to reduce or increase any water or ice effect by 50%. It can also be used for precise control of fluids in alchemy. Upgradeable for 4,000,000XP. Cooldown 4 hours.

Corwin was also excited by this skill, which improved his alchemy even further. It also enabled him to reduce the effectiveness of water and ice monsters as well as survive in hostile cold environments. Corwin knew of one such environment he could enter shortly, a Level 15 ice realm.

Corwin stepped onto the 22nd stair and fought a stronger army of similar composition. He was lucky though; this army was made up entirely of fire minions and elementals. Corwin dispatched the army in half an hour, using fire manipulation to weaken the enemies and all their skills and attacks. He got 35 magic crystals for his trouble and used his 20 magic crystals to upgrade his plate armor to gold. His plate armor gained the powerful ability Soul of the Martial Artist, which doubled the Soul stat.

Corwin stepped onto the 23rd stair and fought an even stronger army. This one was made up entirely of water minions and elements. Corwin used water affinity to dispatch the army in under 30 minutes, getting 35 magic crystals for his troubles. Corwin knew he was expected to run and hide from enemies at this point of the trial, but was powerful enough to fight them instead. The rewards were great. Corwin upgraded his plate armor to epic, leaving him with just 2 magic crystals. His plate armor gained the powerful ability Cultivation of the Martial Artist, which doubled the Qi stat.

The 24th stair was a reward stair. Corwin received a gold tier magic crystal chest happily, getting 32 magic crystals for his trouble. Corwin wanted to save some crystals to upgrade the cuisse he expected to earn on the 26th stair, but he knew the 25th stair would be quite challenging. Corwin upgraded his gauntlets for 20 magic crystals, and was excited to see a new ability on them.

Affinity Boost: Pick an Affinity Stat you possess. That affinity is doubled.

Corwin picked Air for now, as it greatly increased the performance of his wind charge.

Finally, Corwin challenged the 25th stair. He was glad to see the composition of the new army was not on a new tier. There were more of them though. Each army subdivision consisted of 9 soldiers now, but there were 6 subdivisions, for 55 total enemies. The enemies approached in groups of 3, except for the greater lord which kept 3 bodyguards. Corwin fought through 51 of the enemies quickly, taking their individual groups on and fighting 3 chieftains or 2 chieftains and a lord with an expertise that was probably unmatched in the game. Despite being outnumber 3 to 1 by boss class monsters Corwin dispatched each group in under 3 minutes. When he approached the final boss group consisting of 3 chieftains and a greater lord he had over 10 minutes left for the fight. He began with Air Manipulation and received a large bonus for it was enhanced by his insane affinity. His attack speed and movement reached an impressive level and he was unhittable even by 5 enemies. His speed gave him enough time to attack and before the skill was up the chieftains were gone. He was down to 7 minutes to dispatch a greater lord. The general fights were more grindy. After 5 minutes, Corwin triggered the berserk of the greater lord. The demon general, Athanos, grew to twice his size as he received a massive surge of strength. Corwin no longer pushed the general back when he attacked, instead their attacks would bounce off each other with neither of them stepping back. Fortunately, Corwin attacked faster and slipped attacks under the guard. By 1 minute, left in the challenge, Corwin had the demon down to 11% health. Corwin pushed his techniques to the limit and started to use rapid blow non-stop. He had to be faster. Finally, he got the demon to 5% health. The demon’s special ability had only a 5 second timer and Corwin was hit by the powerful wave of darkness energy. He was surprised when his HP fell to 75%, this fast attack was powerful enough to kill someone in all gold equipment. Fortunately, Corwin had mostly epics, his magic defense and HP was on an insane level for this point in the game. After the skill, Corwin burst down the boss successfully, finishing with just enough time to loot him. Corwin rubbed his hands excitedly, he had faced off against all the armies without hiding or running once. He was gleeful about his 64 new magic crystals, bringing his total to an impressive 84.

Corwin upgraded his gloves to epic tier while he waited. He was happy with the ability that came out.

2nd Affinity Boost: Pick a different Affinity Stat you possess. That affinity is doubled.

Corwin waited for his ring of air to reach the cooldown if in case the 26th stair wasn’t a reward stair like he expected. It turns out his caution was unnecessary. He reached the 26th stair and the spirit appeared before him. There were 3 rewards to choose from. But before Corwin could pick the mystery box the spirit spoke. “As a reward for defeating all the armies, instead of picking one of the rewards, you may take all 3.” Corwin picked up the basic potion of attributes, the basic potion of hidden attributes and the mystery box. The potion of attributes he couldn’t use because of the one-use limit, but he could gift it to Kyo. He used the potion of hidden attributes and opened the mystery box. Inside was the expected Cuisse,

Cuisse of the Swordsman, Divine Growth Tier

Currently Trash Level 0

Sacrifice 5 Trash or better Cuisse’s to upgrade.

Sacrifice 1 magic crystal to evolve

Corwin smiled. He spent 18 magic crystals, getting the cuisse to silver tier, leaving him with 16 total. He sacrificed 60 trash cuisses to get it to level 12.

Cuisse of the Swordsman, Divine Growth Tier

Currently Silver, Level 12, Str +48 Agi +48 Con +48

Def 192 MDef 192 Durability 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str

Reduce level of Charm skills by level of cuisse

Reduce level of Charm techniques by level of cuisse

Improve Martial Arts Tier by 0.02 levels/level

All Swordsman Skills +0.02 levels/level

Sacrifice 5 Trash or better Cuisse’s to upgrade.

Sacrifice 20 magic crystal to evolve

Corwin was quite happy with the improvements. Charm was a dangerous ability when used on him because he’d be able to easily kill most players in the game. The new resistance was a welcome addition. Similarly, Corwin planned on getting martial arts skills eventually and having a high tier in the rare pursuit was valuable. Further enhancement of his swordsman skills was always welcome.

Finally, Corwin stepped onto the 27th stair. On the 27th stair, there was a manual and a portal. The manual was a martial arts movement skill, blink. The portal was 10 meters in the air, and could only be accessed by blinking to it. Corwin read the martial arts skill and practiced it for hours before he could finally achieve it. He blinked into the portal ending the divine trial.

Corwin Swordborn

Spoiler : Level 10: 75% of level 11

Str: 1801(base:25)

Agi: 1866 (base:70)

Con:1801 (base:25)

Int: 601 (base:25)

Cha: 601 (base:25)

Lck: 217 (base:25)

Cnc: 217 (base:25)

Sta: 217 (base: 25)

Qi: 217 (base: 20) (*2)

Soul: 217 (base:20) (*2)

Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) (*2)

Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) (*2)

Def: 5593

MDef: 4251

HP:20010/20010 (base: 1000)

MP:8010/8010 (base: 1000)

Gear:

MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con

Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str

OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con

Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str

MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con

768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str

LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con

192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str

G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con

768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str

B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con

768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str

H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con

768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str

RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes)

LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes,

Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels

AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes)

Skills:

Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9

Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9

Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9

Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9

Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0

Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0

Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0

Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1

Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2

Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2

Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2

Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2