The room was dark, the only light coming from a window on the opposite side of the room. He wondered why this room wasn’t using the strange lights as the rest of the house. At the center of the room was a grey glass sphere that was easily as big as his arm. It radiated power like nothing he had ever seen before. The mana it was producing felt like it was brushing against his own. The feeling wasn’t bad, or even harmful. Instead, he felt a pull toward it as if it had hooked him somehow. Taking a few slow steps forward, he stopped before the object. It floated above a raised silver pedestal, but he didn’t try and grab for it. An item just sitting around like this didn’t seem very likely. Considering how strong it felt, he felt even more unsure about the nature of the item.

He spent the next several minutes looking around the room, but other than some dust he found nothing. The room was meant to contain the object and nothing more. The colorless grey walls made the floating orb even more imposing, and Luke debated whether he should interact with it or not. On one hand, it was probably related to the Trial, but it could be another distraction. He had passed upon hundreds of rooms in his attempt to get here.

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to check some of the other rooms first. Although, the door behind him had closed silently enough that he hadn’t heard. Pressing his hand against the door he tried to push it open. This door didn’t have any handles or locks, but it didn’t budge. The door remained shut, regardless of how much force he put behind the push. His buffs didn’t seem to make any difference either. He took a few steps away from the door, before kicking out with his leg. Activating his skills, a spectral foot grew around his real one and strengthened his strike significantly.

Soul Manifestationwas better against living opponents, since it got around most defenses and struck their souls directly. However, it did strengthen his attacks a little too. The sound of his got slamming against the door was satisfying but pointless. It didn’t even shake. Honestly, he expected the wall to give out considering the strength behind his strike. The building was far sturdier than it looked. While nice, it seemed old, and he honestly expected to be able to break out if he ran into trouble. This was the backup plan he had made when he decided to enter the building.

He stared at the door trying to think of another solution, and he noticed the light again. There had been a window in the room, and he turned around to look at it. The orb had changed, darkening in color slightly. Now it was completely black, but he focused more on the window behind it. There was a glass pane in the way. It would probably be like the rest of the building, but he still wanted to check. He walked around the orb, noticing the color shift to a more neutral grey as he got close to it. When he approached the window, the orb darkened again.

Luke just pushed on the window once, not surprised to feel the same firmness as the door. It seemed like he wouldn’t be breaking out of the room without at least interacting with the strange orb. Resigned to his fate, he turned on the orb. Its color shifted back to grey as if it were alive. It wasn’t impossible. He approached it, gingerly placing his hand against the top of the sphere. His hand didn’t cover much of it, but the orb reacted. Its color shifted, the glowing buffs around his arm seeming to mix with the orb. Soon the orb was covered in the same buffs. Luke moved his arm away in a panic, but the orb was stuck to it now. He wanted to curse his poor decisions. He should never have entered the house, and just tried for another trial.

The orb was shrinking, and he could feel it mixing with his soul. It seemed to bend oddly as it flowed beneath his skin, reaching the deepest parts of his body. He felt his consciousness strain against something as if the orb was attempting to put him to sleep. He struggled against it, but his magic was failing rapidly. His mana was just acting weirdly, and he couldn’t use any of his skills. The skills he had active were slowly disappearing too. His eyes darted around, fear overwhelming his reason. He stepped towards the door, even though he knew that he couldn’t open it. He stumbled, black dots appearing at the edges of his vision.

His knees crashed to the wooden floor, and he was surprised to feel a stinging pain from them. His stats should’ve been more than high enough to stop that. His eyes watered from the shock rather than the pain. It had been a while since he last felt a soft stinging pain like this. It distracted him and helped him push back against the lull of the item. In the moment of clarity, he remembered the key. Willing his storage space open, he reached inside and tried to grab the key. It wasn’t meant to be, and he fell unconscious a few inches short of the key.

Luke opened his eyes, feeling strange. He couldn’t understand what had happened, but he felt like he knew what he needed to do. The trial had begun, the absorption of the orb was just one part of it. He felt connected to the house as a whole like it was a part of his soul. He felt like he was able to see wherever he wanted to within the house, though it wasn’t automatic like Mash. It felt like when he gained a new skill. Considering that, he checked his status.

Name: Lukas Class: Holy Warsoul Cleric

Level: 100

Health: 2100 / 2100

Stamina: 1500 / 1500

Mana: 1830/ 1830

Fortitude: 210

Endurance: 150

Strength: 190

Agility: 175

Intelligence: 183

Wisdom: 264

Charisma: 99

Free Stats: 0

Skills: Soul Judgment, Holy Soul Manifestation, Soul Enhancement, Restore Body and Soul, Divine Soul Marks, Corrupt Distortion, Holy Soul Fire, True Holy Soul, One in Mind and Body, Untouchable Spirit, War Cleric’s Bond, Hero’s Mentality

Soul Judgment: Observe and judge the souls around you. In judging the soul of those you vanquish; you take even greater power from those who are deserving of your judgment. You decide the fates of the souls around you.

Holy Soul Manifestation: Let your soul manifest around you, shaping it and transforming your body to unbelievable power. Define your own limits.

Soul Enhancement: Improve their constitution and strengthen them. The bonus is improved based on your belief in them.

+50-100%

Restore Body and Soul: Heal people in their entirety. First, restore their soul, and then heal their body to match. A perfect healing of both their soul and body.

Divine Soul Marks: Bless the souls you deem worthy. Improve their abilities while gaining them as well. Get a small portion of the benefit you provide. Grows with the person’s belief in you.

­+50-100% increase, you gain 1-5% of the power

Corrupt Distortion: Stolen from a being of pure evil, you take its ability to crush and twist the soul, and as to be expected, the body will always follow the soul. Only affects creatures with a soul.

Holy Soul Fire: Stolen from a demonic being, your power redeems it turning the demonic fire into a holy one. Burn the very souls of your enemies.

True Holy Soul: A chosen soul of divine nature. It emanates with holy power, strengthening the good and condemning the evil. Resist even the evilest attempts to manipulate your soul.

One in Mind and Body: Your soul has guided your mind and body to equilibrium. Raising your mental stats will partly increase your physical ones as well.

1/10 of gain

Untouchable Spirit: Your dedication is firm, and your path undaunted.

War Cleric’s Bond: Those you deem allies will be bonded to you. Cast your magic directly upon them from anywhere. So long as the connection is maintained, they are conduits for your magic.

Hero’s Mentality: The chosen path of the hero allows you to resist the temptation of evil. Gain resistance to any effects that would manipulate the mind.

Trial of Advancement:

Sphere of Control: Having claimed a territory it is your duty to expand it.

Luke wasn’t really expecting a change in his status, but one did appear. It seemed like claiming the orb was a part of the trial. He wondered if everyone was able to keep track of their progress through the system, or if the orb had made it possible. He had never heard of anything like this, but most people kept their experience with the trial to themselves. It was a personal event, and one rarely shared despite the advantages it could offer. That mentality had made the information incredibly valuable, and most people would sell it for a lot. Mash’s brother hadn’t gone through a trial, so he hadn’t had anything to add. The only information they got was from the guild as it had acquired at least some things. It wasn’t particularly valuable though.

He was eager to hear of the other’s trials, or rather, he was looking forward to seeing them again. Initially, he had planned on going on missions alone, but after spending so much time in a group, he realized just how frightening it was to be alone. If he made a mistake, there would be no teleporting fairy to get him out of danger. Nor any pseudo-dragons to handle anything too powerful. Sighing, he resigned himself to the trial at hand. It didn’t look like there would be an easy way out, and the trial didn’t seem all that bad now.

Gaining the orb, he understood a little about what he needed to do now. The trial was a base defense and development mission. He would need to expand his control. He didn’t quite understand how that would work but felt like it involved using some of his skills on the ground outside. It was strange having so much knowledge thrust into his head. With classes and skills, a lot of what he gained was instinctual. He got a feeling of how things worked, but the orb had given him many more details as to the exact nature of the trial. Getting something so straightforward was relieving. He wouldn’t be stuck trying to figure out what he needed to do.

The biggest concern was the time limit. He didn’t know exactly how long he had, but he could get a general idea by thinking about it. Right now, he knew that the trial had only just begun and that he had plenty of time still. Potentially weeks even. Some people would see the timer and rush, and he might have done the same if the others were around. However, he was alone and could only rely on himself. That was not a mistake he would make.

He hoisted himself up on the pedestal, sitting comfortably where the orb had once been. While sitting down, he could easily look out of the window at the land he needed to conquer. The image of the grassy plains only lasted for a second. Then it was replaced with a dining room. One that was large enough to seat twenty people. A large wooden table at the center of the table with seats spiraling around the rectangular surface. In an instant, he was staring at the entranceway. He was looking down on it as if he were flying in the center of the room. He was about to check the next room, but something caught his attention.

He saw what looked like a man standing by the entrance. His clothing was comprised of a white robe with gold lines on them. They looked a lot like his buffs did. A second later the figure turned to face him, a wide smile spread across his face. That smile might have been friendly, but it would definitely be something that haunted him in the future. The face had nothing other than a mouth; the eyes, nose, and ears just seemed like they had melded with the skin on his face. It was like staring at a layer of skin that had a mouth attached to it.