“Mmnn? Oooh! A visitor!” The girl, still half awake, hurriedly opened her eyes and stood straight up and proper.

“Welcome, brave soul guided by the winds of destiny, to the AAHH—! Why are you naked!?” She let out a scream of pure embarrassment, covering both of her eyes with her hands.

“…Oh, hi there. Nice of you to realize my predicament. Do you have some pants?” Viers already covered his crotch with his hands before the girl fully awoke from her slumber. It’s not ideal but it’s the only thing he could do given the circumstances.

“I don’t have pants! Lamias don’t wear pants! Just cover it up with a cloth or something. You’re in front of a lady, show some decency for goodness sake!” She’s still panicking, her pure reaction didn’t seem to be a fake in Viers’ eyes.

Lamia don’t wear pants, huh? Well duhh… This girl, she only looks young or really a teenager? She doesn’t seem to be a thousand-year-old grandma with eternal youth based on her body movement and manner of speaking.

“Apologies, my Lady. I mean no disrespect. I have to swim to get here and my clothes are all on the surface.” Even though Viers sincerely said that, his naked visage made it harder to believe.

“You don’t have anything?” The lamia cringed.

“None, sorry.” I don’t want to be butt naked either! But a fish can’t bring clothes with it!

“Ohhh, I can’t believe I’m wasting energy like this. Ei-!” She swiped her hand and Viers’s body was covered with cloth made of fire.

“Ah! Fire? Fireeee!! Eh? It’s not… hot,” Viers panicked but calmed himself after realizing the peculiarity of his new clothes. His hands were touching all over his body to check the mysterious clothes.

“Just a simple trick, nothing to fuss about,” The transparent lamia became less see-through, her transparency reduced from fifty percent to twenty percent. Like a ghost, she flew around Viers in a circle and observed him.

“So you’re the challenger this time? A level 1…”

Oh right, without my bracelet, I can’t hide my level. Is it just me or I see disappointment in her eyes. The fire attire was interesting but the lamia was more important so Viers allocated more attention to her.

“Greetings, apologies for disturbing your slumber. My name is Viers, may I know who you are?” Viers gave a polite bow.

“Well met Viers, I’m Kala’risyah. Well, just the soul part of her. My body has long turned to dust.” The lamia nodded in recognition.

“A soul? I see… May I ask what this place is?”

“One moment,” Kala’risyah closed her eyes and concentrating. “2144 years since the last visitor, the soul energy almost depleted… The Rift… has closed, Mana saturation was halted since 168 years ago. There’s… a lake on the outside?”

Viers took all the mysterious info and commit them to his memory. He patiently waited until she finished whatever she was doing.

“…Four or five years more at best. Most likely, this is the very last trial.” She opened her eyes and looked at Viers. From her green eyes, Viers picked up a glint of loneliness before she hid it deep inside her.

“Again, welcome to the trial grounds of my people,” Kala’risyah kindly smiled. “You, who have the fortune of reaching this place, are given the chance to prove yourself worthy and inherit the legacy of my race.”

Trial grounds? Inherit? Legacy? YESSS!! This is the part of delicious power-up moment! The MC takes the trial, pass with flying colors, get super duper OP ability, kill a bunch of assholes, then find another legacy or inheritance, rinse and repeat as many times as necessary until the MC is the strongest in the universe (book end)!! This the tried and true formula of xianxia power climb stories, as cliché as they come, but by all that is holy, it WORKS!

Viers had all those thoughts in 990 nanoseconds. “O beautiful one, what must this humble warrior do?” Viers couldn’t help to be overjoyed, even his speech become comical.

“Ah, how nice to see someone who understands. The other three needed lots of explaining to reach this step of the conversation. I like you already,” the lamia seemed pleased, she even shaking her tail playfully. Viers took a glance at the tip. No rattlesnake thingy that made the maracas shaking sound.

“Thank you for the praise, O great old one,” Viers replied. Three? Then that means I’m the fourth challenger. Did the other three fail or succeed?

“No-no, don’t call me old, I‘m not old. I’m just 16 years old before I took this long vigil. Hmn, you’re human right? Then your appearance shouldn’t be too far from your age. How old are you?”

As expected, she’s not a ‘lolibaba’ or the like. Nice, I’m not dealing with millennia-old monsters. Well, she’s not a loli, but you know what I mean.

“I’m 15 years old, a mere sapling compared to the long-lived races such as yourself, Lady Kala’risyah.” Viers amiably answered.

“Lamias do live a few centuries longer than humans. Hey, can you tell me what’s it like in your era? Is it still full of wars? Have you met other lamias? Are angels still flying around in the sky? Does everyone still want to mate with dragons? Do the orcs still eat everything that moves including each other? Who is the strongest race in this era? Anyone reached level 10?” Full of curiosity, Kala’risyah machine-gunned Viers with questions. Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity and youthfulness.

“Uhhh, apologies, Lady Kala’risyah. This humble one doesn’t know much about the state of the world. All of your questions, I don’t know any of it.” Viers apologized.

“Oh, right. That’s a shame. You can call me Kala if you want. Your pronunciation of my name is weird, ehehehe. Don’t feel bad, I shouldn’t wasting time sating my curiosity. So, do you want to take the trials?” The lamia steered the topic back. She didn’t seem disappointed or angry.

“Yes, but can I ask for more clarification first?”

“Okay, there are three trials. You’ll be rewarded depending on how well you complete those trials. I can’t tell you what the trials are but I can tell you that there will be combat involved. But rest assured, this place is very special. During the trials, no matter what wounds you suffer, you’ll be healed after the trials’ end.”

“I see, I see... are you the judge of the trials?” Viers asked.

“No, but I will bear witness. The will of the Lamia Queen shall pass the judgment.” Kala clarified.

“Lamia Queen? Who’s she? Seems to be a great figure from the past,” Viers was piqued.

“…She’s my mother,” Kala spoke softly.

“Ah... is she like you? In soul form inside the trial grounds?”

“Mmm, not really. My condition is special. But enough about that, any more questions?”

He could sense Kala was disinclined to elaborate about that topic so Viers put out a different query. “What will I get if I do well in the trials?”

“There are lots of good stuff inside the treasury. Hehe, treasures from our golden age, from the era you humans called the Age of the Gods,” Kala seemed full of pride. “The higher your approval is, the more valuable goodies you can receive.”

“Wooow, magical relics from the Age of the Gods? Incredible! How extraordinary… Lady Kala’risyah, please give this humble one some wisdom about the most valuable thing a challenger such as myself could acquire.” Viers bowed while wearing a revered expression.

“Hm-hm,” Kala nodded satisfyingly while smiling. “Very well, since you’re so polite. This princess shall grant your wish and bestow upon you a nugget of wisdom.”

She looks happy to be praised, nice move, me! And princess, hmn? She’s a daughter of a queen so she's bona fide lamian royalty. The plot thickens about this trial thingy. I should be able to dig up quite a sum of valuable info from conversation alone.

“What do you know about level 6?” Kala asked.

Viers strongly shook his head left and right a few times.

“Let’s start from the basic then. If no other world-shattering event happened since 10,000 years ago, the Path of Power has 10 levels. The higher the number, the stronger you are. Level 5 is the limit a mortal can achieve, stepping into level 6 means you have become more than a mortal. During the transformation from 5 to 6, you’ll have once in a lifetime opportunity to make an amazing thing — Aspect.”

“Each Aspect is unique from person to person even though there might be people with similar or identical Aspect. The great thing about Aspect is, you can make any ability for your own. Yes, ANY ability you wish for. The Aspect factor will still be important even if you’re a level 9 or 10. But here’s the catch, the Aspect you make must be in line with your very nature. If you make an ability but it isn’t something connected with your disposition or essence, it will fail.”

“Let me give you an example; someone is a protector, a shield for others, that person’s Aspect must be related to protection. There’s someone who love’s wealth more than anything, his Aspect must be about riches. A fire enthusiast has to make an Aspect of fire or heat.”

“The most common thing is a warrior’s Aspect. They commonly wish for more attack power or defense power or speed. They can manifest Aspect such as Cut, Pierce, Destroy for attacking; Guard, Shelter, Immoveable for defending; Swift, Haste, Escape for speed.”

“Arte is different from Aspect. Aspect must be about who you are, the core of your being manifest into an ability. There are so many Aspects out there, it’s impossible to know them all. Not all Aspects are about battle, a king can make a Rule Aspect so he can govern his lands better, a songstress can make Sing or Melodious Aspect. But there are limitations, if you want Invincible Aspect, you must first become invincible or it won’t work.”

“I have said a few Aspects but there are differences depending on who created that Aspect. Supposed there are two people with the same Aspect, Travel. One person’s Travel makes her can visit the places she has visited before while the other person’s Travel might be about cruising through a sea of fire or poisonous environment without care. Do note that the first person can have the second person’s ability, they have the same Aspect after all. Using Aspect conjoined with suitable Arte gave birth to another wondrous ability — Authority.”

“If you received full approval from the Lamia Queen, you shall receive the privilege to make an Aspect even though you’re still level 1. Should you become a level 6, you’ll have two Aspects!”

“What do you think? Do you want it?” The lamia ghost proudly asked the fat boy with a dumbfounded face and agape mouth.