NOVEL WEB Chapter 1343: Talking About The Trial
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As I talked with my friends and explained them more about my trial, to satiate their curiosity and also let them learn more about what's to come for them in the near future, Cattalina, Erika's mother, appeared. Although it wasn't exactly her, as she had remained back at the Rosenheim Dukedom.
From what she said, it was actually one of her many Spirits, as a Rank 8 Spirit Grandmaster, Cattalina was in the possession of eight powerful Spirits, mostly all of them were of Illusion, Dream, or Nightmare type.
Among them was the "Illusory Doppelganger" holding similar capabilities to my own Spirit, the Rainbow Star, although perhaps much weaker. It allowed her to "possess" her spirit and take upon her form, creating an independent clone that could, apparently, move quite quickly across very long distances, or teleport.
Now that I remember, wasn't she a Seven Star Talent? And I'm Seven Star too… I suppose we've reached the same level in that department, and I could be catalogued in the same level of powerful veterans across the world now, although my Spirit Orb is Rank 5 for now, that will change soon as I'll raise to Rank 6, probably by tomorrow.
"I've come here to check how everyone is doing… And well, I'm quite lucky to find you talking about something quite important. Can I join your conversation, if you don't mind?"
"Sure mom! Come sit down at my side! Do you want to eat something?"
"There's no need. But thank you for the offer, dear."
Her mother sat by Erika's side, patting her head.
"Alright, we were talking about the trial…" I said. "And how the one I went through… well, you already heard."
"Yeah, I am honestly quite surprised," Cattalina admitted. "A trial that actually is real, or that happened in the past, a past you were made to change… It is indeed quite intriguing. The trials I have gone through were different. I don't want to go into too many details, but they were usually challenges I had to complete, but not things I had to stay a whole week for… my last trial, the hardest so far, was about completing a dungeon with fifty floors, every ten floors there was a strong boss monster."
"Oooh! So they can be like that, huh?" Erika wondered. "Still, fifty floor dungeon?! Sounds hard! And you have to complete it on your own too…"
"Indeed, Trials are made to be completed within a set amount of time as well," Cattalina nodded.
"Yeah, I was going to get to that, I suppose my trial was pretty long and extensive, so I was given seven days to complete it," I said. "The administrator then told me that each day I lived there was only one hour in this world… which left me quite surprised."
"That's amazing, usually there isn't any time dilation," Cattalina rubbed her chin. "Your trial was very unique, Blake. I think it was this way because YOU are very unique as well. Perhaps the level of strength you possess, being a Legendary Summoner Class holder, and more all added to the level of difficulty rapidly increasing."
"Yeah, the administrator told me that Trials are "filters" to measure the willpower, intelligence, and capability of people. So those that are incompetent and underserving of their power cannot continue growing, at least not without improving themselves not as just warriors, but as people," I explained.
"Filters…?" Chris wondered. "D-Does that means that not all of us will pass them?"
"I don't know, but you can keep trying after some time if you fail one," I said. "Although, you could also die in a trial… I was told that if I died in mine, I would also die in real life, but I don't know if this applies to others. The only way for me to fail and get kicked was letting the seven days pass and then being unable to save the ark of humanity. At that point I would have to wait some days, weeks, or months to do it again, perhaps even years."
"Aaah, that sounds more complicated than I imagined, dammit…" Chris muttered, feeling worried.
"Well, they're meant to be complicated, they're great challenges that are made so you must prove yourself worthy to continue growing stronger, that you're deserving of the strength you're obtaining," said Cattalina. "This is why… a lot of those that fail their trials are usually corrupt nobles and other terrible people in general. And they also happen to be the ones that join demonic cults, as they are offered powers that go beyond talents."
"…" Erdrich remained in silence as he heard Cattalina talking, he looked as if he were thinking about something, perhaps his mother. She was in a similar situation, I believe.
"That's a bit interesting…" Elizabeth remained calm; she wasn't worried. "I'm confident on my strength and my spirits, however. And I think everyone here is exceptionally talented as well. Don't doubt yourselves, friends."
"I agree," I nodded. "You're all very talented and have great traits, you're smart too, and we've gone through a lot together, so I cannot say you lack experience either. Just remember that when you finally go there, you have to always think outside the box."
"Outside the box, huh?" Elfriedden rubbed his chin, as he finished eating his salad, drinking some wine and sighing. "Oh well, that's that I suppose. I guess I got my question answered already."
"And about Erdrich's question, well, I am still trying to figure out my own new abilities, so I cannot really say much right now, but it might have to do with virtual reality and machines," I explained with a smile, as I opened the palm of my hands and dozens of tiny, white colored machines materialized out of mana and spiritual energy, flying around my hands and unifying into a larger, spherical-shaped machine with a big, blue artificial eye. "This is part of the new Skill I obtained. I'll work on understanding it better tomorrow. I'll probably take the day free tomorrow as well, to adjust to my strength, so we'll resume our fight past tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me, a day or two of rest is not bad, we've covered a very large amount of territory and fought millions of foes already…" Elizabeth nodded.
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