MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"Agh… my head…" Rubbing the temples of her head in a circular motion, Vera took in a few deep breaths before taking out a pill from her spatial bracelet. Eating the pill in one go, the young woman soon felt the headache she was experiencing gradually disappear.

Feeling like her mind had become incredibly clear all of a sudden, she took in a few deep breaths as she looked at the large structure before her gradually recede into the ground. Being made out of four stone pillars that were equidistant from one another, the structure had a plethora of lines and grooves running along the surface, prompting one to wonder whether these grooves acted as pathways for energy.

Surprisingly, they would be correct.

"Teacher told me that I'd have to complete a trial that would test my control over energy." Seeing as the Gates of Enlightenment was giving her time to rest before her next trial, Vera made the most out of it as she sat down, pondering over the things her mentor had told her before entering the inheritance. "After this, she said that the trial would test my mastery over Mystic Energy itself. According to her, this was a great chance to improve the purity of my Mystic Energy by leaps and bounds."

"But… how does Teacher know of this?" Scratching the back of her head as she thought about it, the young woman felt like her experience before entering and while in the inheritance had been peculiar thus far. During the days before the inheritance where everyone else was preparing for any possible situation within the inheritance, Vera had been instructed by Mystia to learn more about Mystic Energy, as well as skills only accessible through Mystic Energy.

After that, she was made to do a few things that would only make sense if one did so in moderation as preparation for the inheritance, one of those things being energy control. For a couple of days, Mystia had forced Vera to focus all her attention on improving her energy control, with the former telling her that she would greatly need it during the trials the inheritance would throw at her.

Though she was glad that she had been prepared for what looked to be the important aspects of the inheritance she would face, the whole thing still left a bitter taste in her mouth. After all, it made her feel like her entire journey in the inheritance thus far was predicted by Mystia beforehand.

If not for the fact that their group had run into a few mishaps and how she had suddenly joined the group without even getting to know them better, she would have probably believed that her teacher was an omniscient being in the shape of a human. 'Then again, she is the Saintess of the Mystic Plane, so I guess she's more than human at this point?'

"Anyways… I should probably focus on the two other trials the Gates of Enlightenment want to throw at me," muttered Vera to herself, standing up as the structure before her had fully receded, making it seem like it wasn't there in the first place. "If not for the sake of getting stronger, then for the sake of finding out what Teacher aims me to do or obtain while in this inheritance."

"Would I perhaps find out my answers in the Alchemist Knowledge Repository?" asked Vera to herself soon after, only to shake her head and let out a faint sigh after that. "Well, whatever the case may be, I'll at least finish these trials for the sake of helping the others out."

'Your time for recuperation is now over. Moving onto the second trial.' Hearing the disembodied voice resound throughout the barren space once more, Vera intently listened to what the voice had to say. Though, not even before the voice could finish the couple statements it spoke out, a wry smile crept up onto the young woman's face, thinking back to the thoughts she had earlier.

'Beginning the Trial of the Mystic Scriptures.'

…

"[Blade of Six Paths]…" Dashing around the barren space, Hal briefly looked back behind him, only to see that he was still being madly chased by a small group of greatly empowered aberrations. Feeling like he had tired out the aberrations for long enough, he swiftly stopped in his tracks before transferring the momentum he had accrued towards the strike he would land against them.

"[Great Asura Cleave]!" Slashing down diagonally, the man had infused a bit of his Intent Seed into the attack, causing the sharpness of his blade to go up by a level. Unsurprisingly, with his high stats, skills, and the power of the Intent Seed, his strike held true, bisecting all of the aberrations at the waist as they eventually fell lifeless to the ground.

'You have completed the 24th combination. 57 combinations remain before the trial ends.' Continuing to tightly grip on his blade in the case of an ambush, Hal eventually let out a faint sigh of relief as the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area once more, informing him of his progress.

Ever since he had been told by the disembodied voice that he would only need to face a single trial before being able to access the Gates of Enlightenment's repository of knowledge, the young man had become greatly ecstatic, especially after he had found out from their party chat that only he and Valyr had been given such an opportunity.

Though he would not hesitate to help the others out during the inheritance, Hal's original intention in entering the inheritance was to bolster his strength. Of course, he knew that the others also entered the inheritance with the same intentions in mind, though he felt like only he was glad at the fact that he had been separated from the others.

'Once again, strength transcends everything,' thought the young man to himself, only to realize that the break the voice had given him was now over. Taking in a deep breath, he firmly gripped onto his blade as he listened to the disembodied voice for instructions.

Although he had been forced to fight against a group of aberrations in the previous round, the trial did not entirely focus on combat. Instead, it threw Hal into a plethora of situations that forced his mind to adapt as quickly as possible to the situation that was given to him.

Hence the trial's name, the Trial of Myriad Combinations.

Expecting to fight against another group of enemies for his 25th combination, the young man instead held conflicted expressions after hearing what the disembodied voice wanted him to do.

'For this round, you have been given the opportunity to comprehend a series of scriptures aimed at improving your mind's ability to comprehend the universe and its secrets. Being made up of 81 volumes, the Origin Peering Sutra is one of the Gates of Enlightenment's most well-renowned scriptures, sought after by many even from those beyond Veldanyr.'

'You have been given 30 days to comprehend the entire set of scriptures. During this time, time shall flow at a rate far slower than it normally flows, giving you the peace of mind to comprehend the entire scripture at your own pace.'

'With that, the Gates of Enlightenment wish you the best of luck.'