Chapter 116: [Hollow essence knight]

Chapter 116: [Hollow essence knight]

I read the notification again and again, as if I was dreaming. Had I really done it? Was I free? Free from the endless torment... I remembered the years I had spent in the vast emptiness... The sacrifices and the... the... the what? What did I do again? I didnt remember... Rather, it felt like I had something at the tip of my tongue, but...

As my memories seemed to vanish from my mind, so too did the anguish, the guilt I felt... What did I feel guilty for again? Why was I forgetting the trial? Hadnt my efforts been successful? Hadnt I lived a life of torturous boredom for decades? Wait a minute... had I? I couldnt remember...

It seemed the system was merciful enough to spare me from the memory of my trial. Either that, or it had something else in mind. How strange. For some reason, I remembered my first trial perfectly, even though more than a decade passed in that illusion. Yet, my memories of this trial were as fleeting as a summer shower.

At the very least, I had succeeded. I wasnt too keen on confronting my actions within the trial anyway... Better for them to disappear altogether.

Using that thought to console myself, I retreated into my mental palace, where it looked like a typhoon had blown over. All of my trees had been uprooted, forget about my other plants. Only the little shack in the centre seemed to have held on. Thankfully, it looked like the winds had come and gone. Now was the time to heal. I closed my eyes.

About an hour later, and with my mental palace starting to recover, I decided to rejoin the real world. For a moment, I was scared that when I opened my eyes, I would find myself in the vast emptiness of my trial. Thankfully, I opened my eyes to the damp dungeon instead.

Again, I tried to remember the specifics of the trial, but when I tried to recall the event, only a white image appeared in my head. Nothing.

Secretly relieved, I decided to focus on my new class, which took precedent in this moment.

[Hollow essence knight]

You have become a conduit for mana. All mana that flows through you becomes chaotic, while the world around you twists in response to your essence. You are still in a juvenile state, but as a [Hollow essence knight], you will one day turn into an existence that none can deny.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Your signature skill is [Hollow essence return].

Gain 8 stat points in each physical stat, 4 stat points in each mental stat and 10 free stat points per level.

[Hollow essence return](0%)

Tier 4 skill.

The closer you are to death, the stronger your essence becomes.

In rare situations, your essence can gain skill-proficiency through this skill.

Increase skill proficiency through repeated use.

[Hollow manifestation](0%)

Tier 3 skill.

Hopefully, the skills effects would be as dramatic as its name. On second thought, its secondary effect might be the real value of the skill, though.

[Hollow essence return] could sometimes increase an essence skills proficiency, which was a monumentally rare occurrence otherwise. Apparently, only some random occurrences like epiphanies could help increase proficiency otherwise. With this skill, I could improve my essence much more reliably. Some tier 6 classers might kill to get a skill like this.

The second skill, [Hollow manifestation] seemed much more useful in the immediate future, though. Basically, it synergised with my essence and allowed me to set up some kind of domain to empower my aura and blind enemies. Simple, but remarkably effective, I was sure. Furthermore, as my essence and the skill itself grew, the manifestation would also evolve. Its future potential was limitless.

The final and most underwhelming skill was [Essence lifespan]. I suppose that the system gifted me the skill as a big middle finger after I used my last lifespan skill to form my essence. I suppose I shouldve seen something like this coming. Dont misunderstand, it wasnt a bad skill by any means. An extra three hundred years right of the bat was nice and solved any immediate issues of time that I couldve had. Unfortunately, that also meant that I lost the chance to get a better skill with my tier up. It didnt help that the skill only tiered up when my essence itself did.

There were tier 6 classers with tier 4 essence skills, for Helios sake! That was how hard essence skills were to tier up! Hopefully my next constitution milestone rewarded me with a better lifespan skill, or I might just die from old age before I reached my full potential...

Then again, the skill did have one thing going for it... Essence combined with lifespan? What if, at a high tier, the skill simply tied my mortality to my essence? That would mean... immortality! Wait a minute... wouldnt I be classified as a lich in that case? No, those guys stored their essence in a box or something... Bah! Who cared! I started off as a death knight, whats a little immortality compared to that? Its not like anybody had to know about this, anyway...

All that done, I decided to take a look at my finalised status screen. This would be my line-up of skills for a while, since I wasnt looking to make any new ones in the future anyway.

Name: Arthur Titles [Dark prodigy] Class: [Hollow essence knight] LVL 1 Strength 312 Constitution 308 Dexterity 308 Intelligence 104 Wisdom 267 Affinity 600 Free stat points 10

Skills:

Passive:

[Overloading combustion core](0%), [Dark flow sight](4%), [Cascading mana-intrusive Swordsmanship](16%),

[Mental palace](N/A),[Dark Form](52%), [Crawling road](0%), [Weak mana sense](N/A),[Blackened essence(formative)](0%), [Hollow essence return](0%), [Essence lifespan](0%)

Active:

[Ghost apparation](21%), [Corrosive mark](3%), [Relentless orbs](4%), [Sword laser](1%), [Onyx chain wind](2%), [Aura step](49%), [Hollow manifestation](0%)

I smiled. So much had changed in this past year. My status now had reached tier 3, and I had long since surpassed the strength of Garret's party, who had guided me to the guild back in the day. In fact, if Doran wasn't such a monster himself, I might have even stood a chance against him. Well, not a big chance, but still...

As I got up from my lotus position, I cracked my tired bones and left the dungeon. On my way out, I asked a nearby guard how long I had been inside.

"About thirteen hours, therearound." he had said.

After thanking him for his help, I attempted to pay Andross a visit. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night, so I was forced to abandon that course of action. Instead, I decided to sleep the night away.

As I laid on the bed in a guest room I had been assigned, I wondered how the system could make thirteen hours seem like thirteen decades. Were its illusions another world entirely? Did it control time? What was the system? A god? Why was the system? Did it at least take pleasure in the misery it cast upon those below, or were our struggles only meant to prove our worth?

These thoughts bounced around in my head, until I fell into a fitful sleep.