Morning came and went. It was sundown, with purple and golden hues leaking through the canopy. The cannon hardly fired yesterday, and most aspirants were now cautiously hiding.
I did not hunt either. Instead, I planted the seeds for tonight's harvest. As I sat atop a high tree branch, my mind drifted to a pressing problem I hadn't had time to process fully.
My shackle system.
Just one shackle was enough to change my entire fighting style. I could no longer dismember my opponents, but had to seek a decisive blow that would end their lives instantaneously. It was a drawback to immortality that was damning. Against skilled fighters, I would find myself at a disadvantage.
But what if I were to die ten times? If one shackle put me at a disadvantage, then ten would put an unbearable amount of weight on my shoulders. I would become a useless immortal, forever wandering the earth, hopelessly seeking evolution.
I sighed, knowing that to ascend, I would have to seek death once more.
Night fell, and darkness pressed in. The gentle cold winds turned freezing and fierce, slamming into my pale skin. Two days had passed since the trial began, and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly fatigued. I hadn't slept, eaten, or drunk anything.
Quietly, I dropped from the tree branch. I was careful not to make any sudden noise as goblins had sensitive ears. After walking ten paces forward, I reached an indentation in the dirt.
Inhale. Exhale.
I calmed myself. Then, without warning, I screamed. Mana flowed into my ears, enhancing my hearing. Since my immortality ability did not inherently use mana, I could freely use the energy anyway I saw fit.
It didn't take long for small footsteps to gather. By my count, at least ten goblins had me surrounded. These monsters could see and hear exceptionally well in the dark.
I was going to use that to my advantage.
"AHHHHHHHH!" I let out another gut-wrenching cry, then sprinted forward. Goblins lunged at me, but I protected my vitals with my arms.
I ran along the pathway, constantly screaming like a man suffering from rigorous torture.
More and more goblins gathered until I had a small army chasing me. They were gaining on me. I focused on the river of energy flowing within me and directed 30% of it to my legs. My speed nearly doubled, and I broke away from the goblins. I kept them close enough to where they could still hear my screams.
Then, the path narrowed.
One. Two.
I counted my steps, and when I reached ten, I darted to the left. Another yell tore from my throat before I climbed one of the two trees nearby. I had cut down the rest.
There I sat in wait.
Boom!
A cannon fired.
The sounds of rumbling, screams, and cannon fire continued. The smell of blood filled the forest air. Goblins gathered beneath my tree; however, it wasn't me they were looking at.
"Shit... Shit."
Someone shouted over the goblins' laughter.
"AHHHHHH." He screamed, and the beautiful sound of his body being mangled by sharp teeth and claws made my heart happy. He had come to this spot looking for an easy core, but found a horde of goblins instead.
Desperation had set in. Many aspirants were looking for a way to end the trial, and screams meant bloodshed. It provided a pathway.
Another aspirant shouted in fear and somehow managed to get away from the goblins. He climbed up the only tree nearby. As the sound of his hands crunching leaves and gripping bark got closer, I made sure to hide myself.
He pulled himself onto the branch below me.
"Whew!" He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Whew!" I mimicked him and hung from the overhead branch by my legs. His body turned, and I could hear him shaking.
Steel slashed through his neck, killing him instantly. I grabbed hold of his body, making sure I harvested the core. Once I did, I pushed it to the ground below so that the goblins would focus on the corpse.
*Congratulations, Morthen! Human core found! 7/30 stored. Keep up the great work!*
I waited and counted. The deaths piled up, but by my calculations, it wouldn't be enough to end the trial by morning. Something had to change.
And something did.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Lights flashed, shouts tore, and cannons erupted. I focused more mana into my ears to follow the chaos.
And to my surprise, it wasn't the goblins. No, their growls had turned quiet. Something or someone was killing them. Humans too.
After countless clashes, I heard strained breaths and wheezing. Then a calm voice.
"Heal."
A dim green light emitted from the palm of a woman. Her black combat suit was torn and smeared with blood, some of hers and some not. Though the cuts on her pale skin slowly closed.
My eyes traveled to her barely visible face, and I smiled.
"Summer," I muttered under my breath.
She was the daughter of the priest of the Nyx clan. Widely known throughout Baldia for her skills and her beauty. Beneath her feet alone sat six bloody goblin corpses. In her current state, with her mana drained and exhaustion settling in, we were closer to an even match.
But that didn't matter.
I climbed down the tree quietly. When I reached a low branch, I loudly dropped down to the dirt to make my presence known.
The green light vanished.
She pushed her spear outward.
"Who goes there?"
I chuckled.
"Long time no see, Summer."
She paused for a moment, as if she were unsure whose voice she had heard. Then, a second later, she sighed.
"Morthen... I should have known this mess was your doing."
Suddenly, fire blazed in her palm. A gift from Apollo, one of the three gods who had blessed her.
Under its flaming glory, the surrounding area shone clearly. Over sixty corpses lay in pools of blood, at least ten of them human.
I shrugged.
"What can I say. I have a knack for theatrics." My gaze drifted from corpse to corpse, and I pointed to a nearby slain boy. "Can I ask you a question?"
Her eyebrow arched.
"Go ahead."
"You see, I put in a lot of effort for this harvest. These trees didn't cut themselves, and the goblins didn't gather under someone else's cries."
She nodded. "Do you want me to congratulate you on almost getting me killed?"
"No." I shook my head. "I've known you for a long time. I didn't think you would fall for such a trap."
She eased at my words, lowering her spear. Her expression remained unbothered.
"I got bored... But never mind that, get on with your question, Morthen."
"Right. I need the human cores. Will that be a problem?" I asked in a sharp tone.
She stared into my hollow eyes, unwavering.
"Well, they are mine."
I raised my blade.
"Yeah. I can't have that."