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’Something’s really off here.’
Cedric stared somberly at the floating system window in front of him. He initially thought that his fellow challengers of the same lobby were just busy with their trials, but it seems that the issue was deeper than that.
He said this because none of them have responded to his chat. They haven’t even seen it, either. Now, this isn’t him feeling disappointed that he’s not getting the attention he wants. He knew that this was weird because usually, even if they didn’t feel like chatting, at the very least they would see the chat, and the system would indicate that they indeed had seen it.
Even the grumpiest one here, which is Hermit, would at least look at the chat because, despite his apparent dislike of noises, he could be very nosy at times. Cedric has discovered that even though Hermit doesn’t use the chat very often, he’s still updated on everyone’s topic.
Yet this time, even the nosy dwarf hasn’t opened the chat. And for some reason, that is rather concerning for Cedric, making him think that something bad happened to them.
’This is useless though.’
’So what if I knew that something was up? It’s not like I could help them. I’m stuck here until I clear the 6th stage of the trials.’
Yes, this was one of the stipulations of his trial this time. That is, he can’t leave unless he clears it. He still hasn’t gone through the doors yet, so he has yet to know what challenges he’s up against, but from his experiences so far? It’d be shocking if it turns out to be easy.
Shaking the unnecessary thoughts out of his head, Cedric decided to stop procrastinating. He went out of his room, feeling sufficiently ready to face the 6th stage of the trials.
He marched through the hallway and stood in front of the doors that looked the same as he knew them.
These doors led to the trials of the body, the mind, and the Spirit. He needs to clear all three to pass the current stage and move on to the next.
Cedric twisted the door open, and he was sucked inside. The force was too strong to resist, so he didn’t bother.
He felt the world spinning around him and his senses dulling. Even if he wanted to prevent this from happening, he couldn’t because he’s still too weak to do so.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a large hall. Towering pillars surrounded him, but strangely enough, the ceiling was open, revealing murky and empty skies. The pillars were huge; they stood taller than anything he had seen, piercing the sky itself even. Each pillar looked ancient. It’s as if they’ve been around for longer than the oldest race known to the alliance.
The surface was cracked, but it still had the aura of certain stability, like it’s warning everyone who looked at it not to get any funny ideas.
The pillars were connected by enormous chains, forming some kind of closure where Cedric stood. He felt so small here, and both the pillars and the chains looked like they’re used or made by an ancient Titan.
**
After all, he has never tried breaking one before, especially since this was his first time seeing one face-to-face.
Void Stones are materials fetched from outside the Divine Council’s territory. Many spoke of the horrors of that place, and even somebody from the six leading races would find it difficult to survive out there. Thus, gathering this material proves its value and rarity.
The Primal Chaos Ore could be found within the Divine Council’s territory, though it’s not as accessible as it looks. Getting even a few pieces of it will be far more difficult than reaching the cosmic level of life evolution since these resources were strictly controlled by ’The Six’.
Ascended Heavenly Iron, Void Stones, and Primal Chaos Ores were used to create an alloy that formed these chains. Even the dumbest person on the planet can tell that severing these chains would be a nightmare.
Cedric took a deep breath to protect himself from being caught up with the seemingly overwhelming difficulty of this trial.
Sure, breaking free from the prison made out of the toughest materials recorded in the alliance’s history sounds far more difficult than facing the killing intent of the whole-ass world. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to do so.
’But this is the mind trial.’ Cedric chanted within himself.
This isn’t the trial of spirit or body. This was a challenge directed towards his intellect and wisdom. While the difficulty of his trial was set to dynamic, the tower wouldn’t give him an impossible task since that’s unfair.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Cedric expanded his senses, making sure to observe every nook and cranny of this Titanic cage he’s in. Instead of striking first, he had to think here.
’There has to be a way or two to pass this trial. I just have to find it.’ He mused inwardly.
And since Cedric’s senses were sharper than most, he noticed more things that others usually ignored. It’s because of this that he managed to come this far to the trials after all.
Cedric ignored both the pillars and the chains for how. These humongous could easily distract him and remind him of the seemingly impossible task before him, which is of no help at all.
Instead, he focused on what’s between.
It’s called a cage, but its appearance was a bit misleading. Sure, he’s surrounded with things larger than he was, and yes, he’s also stuck inside. But for the most part, there were large gaps that Cedric could easily take advantage of due to his small size.
But of course, that would be too easy. If he could just get out that way, then this wouldn’t have been the 6th stage of the trial. Cedric already tried, and there’s an invisible barrier that’s preventing him from slipping away. That barrier was unusually dense, making him certain that no amount of brute force he could exert would be enough to break it.
Cedric didn’t lose hope though. He roamed within the cage, inspecting every square inch of the place, hoping to find out some answers.
After thinking for a bit, a strange idea came to him.
’Hmm, can I try underground?’