Sarah admired the magically tempered vambrace on her arm as she looked up at the giant World Tree Branch before her. With Rainer’s discovery, she had managed to get Zan Haste to level 7; the resulting speed effect - combined with her talents and bonuses - produced a 74% increase. It was far beyond what anyone else had and something that didn’t happen with any of the Tier 4 passives.

She used [Enchanted Body] on and around her ear as she listened in on Rainer and Frederick’s whispered argument. The skill was a combination of [Enchanted Flesh], [Enchanted Bones], [Enchanted Blood], and [Enchanted Nerves], two of which she got for leveling [Enchanted Flesh] and [Enchanted Blood] to level 10 and then finally for learning to combine them all. Something she felt would have been near impossible without [Sleep Learning] or several centuries of incredibly careful experimentation.

“She will be fine.”

“How can you say that so easily?”

“The only thing that could possibly cause her to fail is if you pass your worry on to her. Even before all her passives and Body Enchantments, she was stronger than a beginning Tier 2 warrior, was she not? Can you truly find a more prepared [Mage-Fist] in any universe under 500 years of age? She has more Mana than most Tier 2 Magi on this planet and Council members back on Earth.”

“I guess…”

Sarah barely kept from chuckling at her brother’s defeated grumble. It was nice to be worried over, even if she completely agreed with her grandfather. She’d demolish this trial. With nary a pointless goodbye or a word, she reached her hand forward and vanished.

Sarah gasped for breath as she entered a blue world. Yet it wasn’t water, but rather the sheer amount of Mana in the air that blocked her airways. Every part of her body felt sluggish and she wouldn’t be surprised if she could barely get off an attack or two in these conditions until she completely got used to it.

That is, if she wasn’t a [Manaborne].

It took only a few seconds longer for her to adjust and, once she did, she felt her Affinity Attuning operating at an extreme rate.

Glancing around the strange underground ruins, she moved forward without a care in the world. All she thought of was her brother’s God-eating serpent and wondered if she could get one as well. Though that took on a new meaning when she thought about his weird relationship with Talvara. She banished the disturbing thoughts before walking forward.

Everyone else in their future Dungeon Party had tried after hearing Rainer’s story and knowing what Jor could do, especially since he didn’t count as a ‘Familiar’ in terms of Trial difficulty.

But after several hours, and even a gained Affinity point from the Attuning, Sarah grew less and less excited. Where on Earth was she supposed to go? It was just a repeating scene of brick walls and long hallways.

Her questions were answered moments later as she stumbled forward. She spun and gained distance from the thing that attacked her. A humanoid of pure Mana stood in front of her for only moments before it rushed into the attack again.

Sarah weaved and bobbed as she studied the thing. The difference in skill was beyond clear; she was no match. Every fist thrown and step made seemed to be done by an utter master of combat. But she outsped the thing with her various skills and spells by such a large margin that it had no chance of actually hitting her. And the one time it did, she barely felt it.

But what interested her the most was the actual Mana that made up the thing. There was something different about it. A purity, or perhaps a spirituality that her Mana lacked. She had asked Rainer and Furtak in the past about them becoming Touched, and what confused her most was how Arcane Power became... not-Arcane Power after coming out of his Soul and entering his body.

Was the Mana of this Trial monster different in the same manner? But she had no more room. Prior to the Trial, she had filled up her Soul one last time, giving her 840 Mana, not counting her enchanted items. A trade then? She had only done it once in theory, at extreme pain to herself in [Sleep Learning], when she tried to remove 1 point of Mana.

She dashed around the humanoid before finally landing a clean palm on it’s back, extending a tendril of Mana deep within it and towards herself. Then it all went black.

“Five more minutes,” Sarah insisted but soon got quite angry. Who would wake her up by slapping her face?

She rapidly blinked her eyes as she watched fist after fist rain down on her, a slight ripple of damage going through the humanoid due to Zan Mirror. The thing simply wasn’t strong enough to hurt her, especially since [Enchanted Body] had stayed on while she was unconscious.

Looking inwards, she immediately noticed something felt different about her Mana, but things were otherwise unchanged. That is, if she didn’t notice her Soul being slightly improved and affected.

Did this count as skipping more steps than even her brother? She managed to grin despite the searing pain.

Just a few dozen times more and she’d replace her entire pool of Mana…

Sarah sighed as she grabbed the thing’s arm and went again, collapsing and convulsing from the sheer pain in her Soul as she exchanged their Mana. Were it not for her ‘adventures’ in [Sleep Learning], she doubted she’d ever have the courage to experience this pain more than once. [Enchanted Body] was not a pleasant thing to learn.

Sarah felt a bit bad as she watched the Trial monster stumble around, it’s faculties seemingly ruined by having its Mana changed out. She had managed to replace all of hers, leaving the beast with a minor amount.

Putting it out of its misery, she headed to the second area, wondering why she had ever been worried about this Trial when she was stronger than many in their 2nd Tier. She quite agreed with her grandfather now, it was definitely Rainer’s fault. Rainer was also to ‘blame’ for all her Passive Spells and Body Enchantments and technically high level skills, so she’d keep that thought to herself.

A single winding stone road reached out over an empty void. Sarah glanced over the edge of it only to lurch back. Falling did not seem like a healthy option. Oh how she regretted her utter ineptitude at Runes that led to her inability to learn any flying spell offered by the all-powerful mages in her life. She could almost feel Tiamat laughing at her when the little Dragon flew circles around her.

Sarah was too afraid of falling to even remember she could technically ‘fly’ with the Void-step Body Enchantment.

After apologizing for her mental blaming of Rainer for her nervousness, she would ask him to make the most simple flying spell he could manage. As Passive Spells were more about manipulating Mana than learning the runes she barely passed by there.

She gently walked forward, more curious than anything else over what she might face. Her slightly altered Mana churned through her body, affecting her Soul as it grew stronger and stronger with no effort from her. Her Mana Pool seemed to be growing closer and closer to her Soul as well.

She may not have gained a Divine-consuming Familiar, but she’d settle for this.

A shadow seemed to grow from the ground in front of her, before leaping straight at her. She side-stepped it easily and it dissipated with a single blast of Mana from her palm. Giving another weary look to the edge of the road she nearly stepped off of, Sarah continued moving forward.

The roughly 6 foot-wide stone path seemed to grow narrower and narrower as she went forward. While still dissipating in a single hit, the shadows grew more and more skilled and came at her more and more frequently.

Sarah charged at yet another shadow only to stumble forward as she saw two shadowy hands wrap around her neck. Thinking through the panic, she fell backwards, slamming it on the ground, but the shadow didn’t disappear. Only now did she realize it was draining her Mana.

Void-stepping into the sky, she repeated that a few times before falling straight on her back, managining to end the shadow. Taking a few minutes to recover the Mana she lost, Sarah wearily looked onward, the once wide path now seemingly only half its original width.

How she wished she could fly.

Sarah ran forward again, now having to watch her back as she killed shadow after shadow. It was only after what seemed like a few hours of this monotonous killing that she noticed their skill growing and growing opposite of the path shrinking. Some even seemed to be able to step on the air with no discernable magic or Aura in use.

She progressed further and further, taking a break whenever needed. But as hours turned to days, Sarah quickly lost motivation. She even took the chance to take a nap.

Looking at the thinner path beneath her, she wondered if she was doing it right. Was the answer to destroy her current path to try and find the true one? She snorted aloud, utterly annoyed. Glancing down at the deep empty void beneath her, she jumped.

While careful to do so in a straight line, Sarah used Void-step after Void-step to head downwards as quickly as possible.

After ‘falling’ for what seemed like an eternity, just as her Mana was getting too low to safely make a journey back up, she saw something else. It was the labyrinth she dealt with in the first half of the Trial.

Taking a small break on the ground, and enjoying the thick Mana in the air, she soon headed back up to return to the small path. Good thing she didn’t try to actually destroy it.

It was only a few hours later, traveling down the path, that she finally reached the end. A large, open, temple-like building stood there. A tall pillar in the center churned out shadow after shadow that soon charged at her. It took only seconds for dozens to form, each stronger than the last. She covered herself with the strongest [Enchanted Body] she could manage and then Void-stepped past them all. Her Might of the Giants body enchantment alit on her body.

With a Mana-laden fist, combined with the natural enhancement of Zan Fist, the pillar fell after only a single blow, ending the trial.

[15:00]

Sarah had already planned what she would buy in advance, making the choosing of her reward a quick thing. She took a moment to put on the earrings she bought and tuck away her one-use ring safely before looking excitedly at her class choices.

[Available 2nd Class Advancements]

[Prerequisites Met: None]

[Grand Mage-Fist: A powerful Mage who has mastered the art of Mana-based close-combat. Their body sings with enchantments and their core is strengthened with spells of great measure. Their Mana is endless, and their fist indomitable. They have evolved beyond their station. 125% General Bonus to all Passive Spells and Body Enchantments. 100% General Bonus to All Mana related Skills and Spells. 75% General Bonus to all Fist-related combat. Allows one passive spell to be free of cost. +6 Affinity, +6 Intelligence per leve.]

An obvious pass, and a bit of heartfelt sadness for anyone that had to end up with a ‘Grand’ class.

[Prerequisites Met: Has any Body Enchantment Skill at level 10]

Wasn’t that a requirement for the class?

[Fist of Outer Magic: A powerful Mage who has mastered the art of Mana-based close-combat. Their body sings with enchantments unbound, influencing their every action. Every fist is empowered by the Outer Magic that covers their body. They walk through the battlefield, invincible by their magic. 175% General Bonus to all Body Enchantments. 100% General Bonus to all Passive Spells. 100% General Bonus to All Mana related Skills and Spells. 75% General Bonus to all Fist-related combat. Allows one Body Enchantment Skill to be used at 10% Cost, once per day. +6 Affinity, +10 Intelligence per level.]

[Prerequisites Met: Has any Passive Spell at level 10]

[Fist of Inner Magic: A powerful Mage who has mastered the art of Mana-based close-combat. Their core is strengthened with spells of great measure, made stronger for their endless fights. Their pool extends beyond normalcy, allowing for stronger and stronger spells to strengthen it. 175% General Bonus to all Passive Spells. 100% General Bonus to all Body Enchantments 100% General Bonus to All Mana related Skills and Spells. 75% General Bonus to all Fist-related combat. Allows two passive spells to be free of cost. +10 Affinity, +6 Intelligence per level.]

[Prerequisites Met: All Class Skills have reached level 8. Has both four Passive Spells and four Body Enchantment Skills at level 10.]

[Sage-Fist: A mighty Sage of the Mana-Arts, one who has combined the inner might and outer power of two different sets of Magic. Their body is their staff, and their fists their spells. They are a Sage unlike any other user of Magic. 200% General Bonus to all Passive Spells and Body Enchantments. 150% General Bonus to All Mana related Skills and Spells. 100% General Bonus to all Fist-related combat. Allows two passive spells to be free of cost. Allows one Body Enchantment Skill to be used at 10% cost, once per day. +12 Affinity, +12 Intelligence, +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity per level.]

Sarah blinked owlishly. Where was her class for leveling all her class skills to 10? Did that not matter? It took all she had to not grind her teeth. She likely didn’t need [Enchantment Manipulation] to reach level 10, and yet she would never know it because she would lose all memories of how she unlocked her class. Though… she supposed the risk of not having it was too great.

Picking the obvious choice, she left the Trial soon after.

She appeared outside the World Tree, but before she could even breathe, she had her mother hugging her. Her mother, like anyone, should know how easy the Trial was when you were overprepared. She nearly fell over when Rainer joined in. And was that a Fairy on her head?

Was there a need for this?