Chapter 285: First Test

The aura that was released by the dark brown creature was like a thunderous storm, it raged, rampaged in the moderately sized room. The sea of blood that they both were stepping in was pushed back around them, creating a small piece of circular-shaped dry land.

Splinters, bits, and gore were picked up by this energy-fueled hurricane, forming a visible barrier around them. 

His showcase of powers was incredible, yet Aiden wasn't scared, the smile on his face only curved slightly higher. 

Such a challenge! His blood was already boiling, his heart was beating faster, he was visibly excited about the prospect of finally meeting someone that could match him!

Responding in kind, Aiden followed along, activating his Draconic Heritage innate, the Dragon's Wrath, not hesitating to let out his full-powered aura. His eyes suddenly lit up, glimmering in their golden brilliance, a heavy pressure slowly descended on the room pushing back against the creature's all-engulfing domain. The warrior looked with surprise at his young opponent, not expecting that he could actually contend with him in terms of spiritual power. 

The aura's collided between the two combatants, pushing against each other. An invisible battle erupted, two different types of energy clashed against each other. Sparks, bolts of energy could be seen as the auras continued to fight for their master's victory and dominance over the other.

Yet, neither of them seemed to be able to gain any ground, getting to a standstill at around midway between the two focused combatants.

"Quite decent, kid. Let's see if you can take more!" The warrior suddenly spoke up, his rough, guttural tone reverberated in the battlefield-turned-room. 

Following up his words, suddenly even more energy began to surge from his body, increasing the pressure of his aura. The previously equal strength was now seemed to turn in favor of him. The frontline was pushed back, closer to Aiden.

Aiden wasn't worried about this though. Even though his innate was fully utilized right from the start, he still had more he could activate. Although he still couldn't understand all of his mysteries, since he decided to go all out in this fight and try to get not just the answers to the questions he still has, but the essence of this treasure trove of a creature, he wouldn't hide any of his cards.

Looking at the boy, the creature was ready to pull back his energy, thinking that he clearly won this first round, however, before he could do so, suddenly he felt a change in the air. The air around them suddenly became colder, heavier. The power that radiated from the boy increased, seemingly doubled. The ground he gained over the boy, was once again changed, the frontline slowly moved forward, back to the center where it was just a moment ago.

However, this time, it didn't seem to stop there, the boy's tumultuous energies were too strong for his own to contend with. The line moved once again, slowly but steadily, only halting a couple of inches from him.

"Good, very good! Just as Master hoped, you indeed have some promise!" The creature spoke, his mouth curving into a small, barely perceptible smile, showing a tinge of emotion for the first time.

As he spoke, he receded his aura, easing off the pressure. Sensing this, Aiden silently followed along, looking at the creature with the same calm appearance. He didn't bother asking, he knew that this was merely a first, preliminary check. Now that he passed, he probably earned the right to fight him for real.

"You have piqued my interest kid. The Master has very high hopes for you, and I promised to fight you with your top state. So, before we fight take this, and take a few minutes to digest it." As he spoke, a small, white, circular-shaped pill appeared in his palm. He threw it towards Aiden.

Taking it, Aiden first looked at it with curiosity. It looked completely average, just like the medicine you could get from the various apothecaries in any city. Raising his eyes, he looked at the creature with a questioning gaze.

"Don't worry. It's a restoration pill. It will help you restore your spent stamina and health and get you back to an acceptable state." He spoke indifferently, as he stood still with his arms folded. He didn't emit any hostility, both his posture and his demeanor were neutral. It seemed that he truly wanted Aiden to get his spent energy back.

"Hmm." Aiden silently nodded, only giving a curt hum. Taking one last glance at the creature and not feeling any hostility from it, he threw the pill inside his mouth and swallowed it. As soon as it entered into his system, he sat down on the ground in a meditative pose and closed his eyes, focusing on his Inner Self.

Almost instantly, as the pill traveled down it rapidly began to dissolve, its restorative energies exploded. Aiden could feel a familiar warmth rapidly spreading inside his body, easing the pain on his tense muscles and calming the weariness of his mind.

At the same time, a notification appeared in front of him, blocking his vision momentarily.

[Note: Greater Restoration Pill has been found! Absorbing… Done!

Merging changes with source…

Soul Power and Condition has been fully restored.

Alchemy (Basic) progress has been updated: Current Progress: 62%]

The note surprised Aiden, he had to force himself to not show it on the outside. The benefits he gained were more than what he and probably what the creature expected! Not to mention that the pill somehow managed to completely refill his rapidly depleting tank of Soul Power reserves and restore his condition, it also gave him a 10% boost in his stagnating Alchemy skill analysis. 

'Hmm… Could absorbing pill and elixirs give similar benefits?' He raised a thought inwardly, shelving it for later. 

Swallowing the pill, absorbing and merging it with the help of the system, didn't take more than a couple of seconds for Aiden. Not sure how much time would be 'normal' in such a case, he decided to play it down at least for a bit and waited several minutes before he opened his eyes and stood back up while he focused on his opponent's reaction.

The creature didn't seem to be fazed about his speed, he nodded with a grunt, as he sized the boy up one more time.

"Before we continue… For passing the first test, you have earned the right to ask two more questions, and I will answer to you if I can." The creature spoke with a neutral, emotionless tone, gazing at the boy with cold, strict eyes.

Although there were several questions he wanted answers to, he didn't hesitate for long with the first one. After all, not just his system assigned optional quest, but also the task that Sarah and himself received from the Mistress was hanging on its answer.

"What was the plan with this horde?" 

The creature's emotionless face once again showed a small curve, his lips revealed a small smile.

"To take revenge on the humans, of course. They are arrogant creatures that think of themselves as superior to everything else in the world. They think that the whole world belongs to them, and the other races should bow down to their might, not realizing they are far from being at the top of the food chain. " He scoffed, before adding a shocking revelation. "Besides, this land is not theirs, to begin with. They merely stole it."

The response shocked Aiden to the core. This land was stolen? How could that be? Isn't this place owned by the 5 big families from the past? Wasn't that the story the Mistress, Sarah's mother had told him? What was the truth then?!

"What do you mean?" He asked the creature with confusion.

"You are not yet worthy to hear more about it, boy. If you want to hear more, you have to pass the second test." The creature grunted a cold response. "Do you have anything else you would like to know?"

Before Aiden, could respond, suddenly yet another notification rang inside his mind.

[Optional Quest Thwart the Invasion - Part 1 has been updated! 

Objective: Find proof about a possible invasion of the hordes (1/1) - Completed!

Confront the Guardian (1/1) – Completed!

New Objective: Report back to the Mistress of Higrove about what you learned!]

[New Optional Quest: Thwart the Invasion - Part 2!

Difficulty: B-C

Objective: -Learn more about the history of the land (0/1)

Optional: ???

Rewards: ???]

'Huh?' Looking at the text, Aiden was shocked. The quest objective was completed by this short answer and the system separated the second part into another one? What was so important about this history that would warrant such an action? Even though the quest itself was optional, a strange scenario started to unfold before Aiden.

"So, do you have a second question?" The rough voice of the creature dispelled the daze Aiden was under. Although there were still many questions, there was one that he really wanted to know for a while now. Being kept in the dark was a very uncomfortable feeling after all…

"Yes, I have. What is your and your master's name?" He asked with squinted eyes, focused on the minuscule changes in the creature's expression.