Corwin entered the trial in a blinding flash of light. The portal was more powerful than ever before; after passing through it, Corwin felt disoriented. His gaze shifted upwards and he made out the familiar light green glow on the non-corporeal figure of a spirit. He wasn’t ready to talk yet, so he continued to observe his surroundings. ‘Oh great, another staircase’ he thought. After some time, the dizzy feeling was gone and Corwin felt normal.

He approached the spirit, stepping over some strange ruins on the ground floor. The ruins didn’t seem to be part of an array and they were so ancient that Corwin had never seen anything like them. He observed the white floor intensely, paying particular attention to the green ruins. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what they were for. He couldn’t figure out what language they were in or what symbols they were. His curiosity unsatisfied he decided to talk to the spirit.

“Hello, great spirit. It is an honor to be here.”

“Hello challenger. Would you like me to explain the rules of the divine trial?”

“I’m curious about these ruins, could you tell me about them first.”

“These ruins are symbols of the array technique of this world. They are very ancient, older than the technique of many worlds. The technique of this world focuses on elemental arrays, generating great powers and affinities. The two ruins are an earth array known as preservation. The stone here is over 100,000 years old yet is unworn and unaged.”

Corwin was floored. He thought he’d be able to recognize any array. It shocked him that he couldn’t even tell it was an array. “I have great interest in this technique. I’m a student of arrays in my own world, and despite my experience I couldn’t even tell the ruins were an array. Remarkable.”

“One of the paths of rewards will teach this array technique. Perhaps you’d like to pursue that path?”

“I have much interest great spirit, but I’ve come here pursuing the space manipulation legacy.” Corwin said hesitantly.

“All reward paths lead to that legacy if you’re strong enough to earn it. The other reward paths are the martial path, and the magic path. Since you’ve treated me with respect I’ll let you know that the martial path is the hardest path with the strongest rewards.”

“Thank you for your honesty great spirit. I pursue the martial path yet cannot shake the feeling that I must learn these arrays. You give me much to think about.” Corwin sat still for a while, pondering his choices. The ruins continued to glow and call to him.

“I have decided. In my heart I must learn these arrays. There will be other martial paths.”

“Very good challenger. I shall now tell you the rules of your challenge.”

“This is a comprehension challenge, where you will learn arrays and reproduce them to an acceptable quality within a time limit. If you advance far enough you will be given a chance to comprehend the space legacy. What you take from it is up to you.”

“What would have happened if I pursued the martial or magic challenge great spirit?”

“You would have left the divine trial, never to return. Only those who admire the great array art are eligible to receive it. There is only one true path for this trial.”

Corwin breathed a sigh of relief, glad for listening to his gut. The spirit was quite manipulative, those great martial rewards were extremely tempting. He perked up as the spirit started to fade, speaking one last line.

“You are most interesting challenger, I hope to see you at the top of the staircase.”

Corwin began the challenge. On the first 55 stairs were runes, each of which needed to be drawn. Corwin learnt to draw the runes easily, and by the 30th stair he understood they were letters of the ancient language. On the 56th stair there was a reward, a small book. Upon opening it, it turned into a bright white stream of light that vanished into Corwin.

You have learnt a rudimentary understanding of the language of ancients.

For over a hundred stairs, Corwin formed words out of the ancient language. He knew the words were rudimentary. Toddler-speak. But all words had power. These words were very basic primitive arrays. Eventually, on the 200th stair there was another book, this one somewhat larger. A familiar light streamed into Corwin.

You have a primitive understanding of the language of ancients.

Corwin continued, losing all sense of time. Hundreds of stairs followed. In each, he learned several words with the same meaning. Only his high comprehension meant he could understand the differences between them. The nuances were variations, each stronger at some things and weaker at others. After some time, he reached another reward stair.

You have a basic understanding of the language of ancients. You know the grammar well enough to form simple sentences

Corwin started to understand the two ruins protecting the staircase were a primitive sentence that roughly translated to. Sacred Place. The word place was highlighted in the sentence, and had nuances of protection and a lasting over time. The language of ancients was so detailed that such things were possible. Corwin had committed each word he learnt to memory, eager to reach the level where he could design his own ancient arrays.

Thousands of stairs followed. Each one contained a two-word sentence and each sentence had more complexity than a long sentence in Corwin’s own language. Corwin noticed that the non-primary word of the sentence was always a compatible supporting word. Words in the ancient language could be compatible or opposing, and opposing words would not be able to form arrays. Corwin memorized the sentences, understanding they had the lightest touch of power. Not enough to be a true array. Finally, another book followed.

You have a reading knowledge of the language of ancients. You know what most words mean, and can decipher others from their runes. You writing is the most rudimentary form of copying, unable to shape words on your own. You cannot speak the language at all.

Many stairs and codexes follows, the language was syllabic, each rune represented a single syllable. Strangely, each syllable always contained a single phoneme. There were pronunciation variants in how the syllables combined, too numerous to name. Whether something was said hard or soft would change the meaning and how it was written. Most strangely of all, the language was not tonal. Most languages of eastern mysticism were, but Corwin could sense this was older than all of that. Speaking the words of an array would empower it further and make it stronger. Corwin learnt to speak as he wrote the many sentences he was challenged on, discovering the pronunciations by experimentation, finding the variant that made the array light up most fully. Finally, he reached a new book.

You have knowledge of the language of ancients. You know what most words mean, and can decipher others through runic inscription. Your writing is basic, and you have learned to shape words through experimentation.

Corwin continued on and the journey seemed almost endless. It felt like he had been inside the array for days. He persevered. Finally, he reached a book, and he knew this was the last book. When he took it, he received a notification and the ancient spirit suddenly appeared.

You have sufficient knowledge of the language of ancients. You may challenge the legacy of space.

You have done well challenger, few possess the comprehension to make it this far. On the next stair is a pillar and a portal. You may stay there for up to 5 days. You can portal out at any time earlier if you wish. When you leave, your comprehension of the space legacy will be told to you.

Corwin stepped on the stair, worried about falling 5 days behind. If his iron equipment became worthless he’d struggle to make the next payment on the game. If he had to play catch up to others he wouldn’t have new valuable equipment to sell. Nonetheless, this legacy drew him in and he stayed.

By the end of the first day, he could see through the pillar to the primordial energy within. He understood the primordial energy made up the universe. By the end of the second day, he could see the individual atoms in the primordial energy. On the third day, he discovered that in the nuclei of each atom was a word of the ancient language. By that night, though he had never seen it before but somehow new it meant ‘origin of all things’. On the fourth day, he discovered the bonds between atoms also formed words. It took to till the 5th day to discover the meaning of those words. It was hard to translate but close to ‘that which joins all things’. The meaning also had hints of energy, power, and creation. Corwin continued to study, and discovered that the words on the bonds would change when an advanced molecule formed. He couldn’t discover the meaning of the words before the molecules would quickly collapse back to their primitive form. Finally, just minutes before the 5th day ended he comprehended the word. It translated loosely as ‘advancement of the form’, it’s meaning was tinted with energy, power, creation but also destruction. Corwin reflected on all the words. He had missed another hint that had been present, all of the words carried in them hints of ‘entropy’. In that moment, Corwin understood that our universe had been created by these ancients and for some unknowable reason they had designed it to fall apart. The timer expired and Corwin received a notification as he was forced from the divine trial.

You have received an S-class evaluation. You have received the full legacy of space. As a swordsman of space you have gained the skill Spatial Slash. You will gain new space skills at each tier you advance

Corwin Swordborn

Spoiler : Level 10: 90% 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)

Soul: 217 (base:20)

Air Affinity: 217 (base:20)

Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20)

Def: 5593

MDef: 4251

HP:20910/20910 (base: 1000)

MP:8110/8110 (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:

Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0

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 8

Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8

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