Under the plains, Ash's P.O.V.

I fall and tumble for a few seconds before coming to a sudden stop as I hit a rock. Once my dizziness passes I slowly pull myself to my feet, I don't seem to be seriously injured, just a few dozen bruises. As I look around I realize I am in a small cave, other than the tunnel I fell out of there is only one other exit, a door.

Not just any door, a large double door that seems to be made of stone. There are carvings all over the door, but to me it just looks troublesome so I turn back to where I fell in. With my strength I should be able to just climb back out without a problem.

If I could reach it, as I am heading for the tunnel I run into an invisible wall. Feeling along the wall it completely blocks me from reaching the side of the cave where the tunnel is, yet I had to have passed through it when I fell in here. A one way wall, it must be magic, so I sit down and enter meditation to take a look.

The spell is very complex and looking at it through meditation I can see it extends far beyond the walls of the cave. I spend an hour trying to find a way to unravel the spell but there is a barrier that stops me from touching the mana. It is like looking at a puzzle through a glass window, I can stare all I want but I can't touch it.

All my attempts to contact Drog or Ruby have failed, I can still sense Drog but that is it. The barrier blocks communication completely, I am trapped all alone. I realize this is the first time I have been alone since I found Ruby, and I don't like it much.

Having no other options I get up and walk over to the door and start examining the carvings looking for clues. There are no words on the door, only pictures, pictures that tell the story of a powerful being. None of it makes much sense to me until I get to the end of the story, the being is killed by demons.

Could this story be about a god who died? I remember Krenocia saying that the rest of her pantheon died fighting the demons, now I wish I had asked her more about it when I had the chance. Does that mean this door leads to the crypt of a god?

Well, it's not like I have a choice thanks to the barrier, so I push the doors open. Behind the door is a short hallway and then another door, this door has writing on it. The writing on the door is in the language of the ancient empire so I can read it after a minute's study.

First Trial: Strength!

Okay so behind the door is a trial, I should be okay on strength, but what is the point of this place? I push open the doors and step into a large room, as I do I feel a surge of magic and suddenly I am naked. All my armor and weapons are gone!

The doors slam shut behind me, I quickly look around but the room is empty except for human bones scattered around the floor. Anything is better than nothing so I bend over and grab a human thigh bone. As soon as I touch it it crumbles into dust, guess these bones have been here a long time.

Just as I am wondering what to do, another figure appears in the room, it is large and green. It is at least nine feet tall and heavily muscled, but like me it is unarmed. Ah, so unarmed combat against a really strong monster, those poor humans never stood a chance.

The ogre suddenly strides towards me and swings a punch at my face, I grab its hand and stop its swing cold. This thing is about three times as strong as a human, but I am quite a bit stronger. A quick tug on his fist causes the ogre to stumble towards me, right into an uppercut to the gut.

The ogre stumbles and is stunned for a second, but why am I still fighting like a human? I open my hand and flex to extend my claws, then I swipe across the ogre's chest. The slashes bleed, the blood is blue, and for some reason it smells delicious.

When I kill this thing will it disappear or will I be able to eat it? Guess I will find out soon, time to get serious. The ogre straightens up and links his hands together above his head, he is going for a powerful smash.

It is a powerful move but slow, I swipe both hands across his stomach as he rears back to strike. He folds around the pain, he is all muscle no brains, since he is bent over anyway I grab his head and push down as I bring my knee up.

With a satisfying crunch the ogre is thrown onto his back and lands hard. Before he can recover I rush over and swipe my claws across his throat. Then I step back and simply wait for the ogre to bleed out.

First Trial Completed! Reward +50 Strength!

'Wow! Awesome reward!'

The door opposite the one I entered opens, and even better the body doesn't disappear. When the door opens fully there is a flash and all my items are back including Blitz. Through the door I can see another hallway and another door with writing on it.

I am curious about the next trial but first I want to try eating the ogre that smells so good. So I pull wood from my pouch and make a small fire, then I start frying up some ogre steaks. The smell of the meat cooking has me drooling, but I force myself to be patient and cook it properly.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Cooking has progressed to level 7!

Cooking

Level 7

Int +7

You can cook good food.

'Haven't seen that level up for ages!'

Maybe it leveled up because this is a rare ingredient? Anyway, let's see how it tastes! As I take my first big bite my eyes widen, the taste is better than I had hoped, my taste buds are in heaven!

'Now I wish there had been two or three ogres! I wonder where I can find them in the outside world?'

I eat three large steaks before my hunger is satisfied, then I butcher the ogre and put the rest of the meat into my pouch. I am about to head to the next door when I notice Drog hasn't moved, they must be waiting for me to return, they have no idea I am trapped yet. Well, I should hurry so they don't get found by the soldiers while waiting for me, so I get up and walk to the next door and read the writing on it.

Second Trial: Courage!