Chapter 587 Trial Time
The trial began to fade around them, and Karl wondered how the others might have fared. Not all of them would have easily entered the city from halfway up the mountain. There might have been an entrance at the bottom, or perhaps there were other spots in the area that they could have landed and searched.
When Karl's vision cleared, he was back on top of the temple, where all three clerics plus Thor were waiting for them.
"Oh, welcome back. We were wondering how long you would take." Tessa greeted them with a smile.
"I hope we didn't make you wait long."
The Archbishop chuckled and Lotus giggled as she lay curled up against Thor's side.
"You could say that. We've been back for nearly two days already."
Karl and Nacht turned to each other in confusion, wondering if this was actually part of the trial, and they weren't really out yet.
"Two days? We've only been in the trial for an hour and a bit." Karl asked carefully.
Lotus looked up from her nap spot. "That was our thought as well. We appeared in a forest village full of Elves, had lunch with a human cleric lady, and then we were back here." "Did you get a reward?" Karl asked, wondering what sort of trial they had undergone.
"We did. We just don't know what yet. When we check the system interface, it still says rewards calculating." Tessa explained.
That made both Karl and Nacht believe even more strongly that they were still in the trial, but then Nacht received a message, which shouldn't be possible in the separate space.
"Before we go any further, what happened to Prince Karl?" The Archbishop demanded, waving a hand in his direction.
"Well, that was unexpected. I'm sure I found a vein. Do you have a skill active?"
Karl shook his head. "I have all my invulnerability and regeneration skills deactivated at the moment. The new one isn't something I can turn off, though. When it interacted with another skill I have, it became that new Constitution."
"Were there any other oddities?" Geraldo asked. "My Rank is listed as [Pending] at the moment."
The cleric looked impressed. "You're going to make it to Monarch Rank once your advancement finishes? That is incredible. I'm sure that everyone will be delighted to find out that there will be a new Monarch.
However, that does explain the issue. Archbishop, I may need your assistance. Can you coat the needle in holy energy so that I can draw a blood sample? I'm not powerful enough to puncture his veins."
The Archbishop took the needle from him and carefully drew a sample from the underside of Karl's forearm.
The blood came out deep black and faintly shimmering, which intrigued everyone present. Karl included.
They had never seen blood like that before, and when Geraldo tried to test it, he just shook his head. "There is nothing about this in any of the research materials that I have seen. I could study some of the more obscure entries that I haven't prioritized, but that's mostly for extinct species and mythical creatures." The blue dragon cleric explained.
Nacht stared at the blood sample for a moment, then took the needle and let a drop fall on his hand.
"I think that it has been permanently altered by his skill. If I apply small amounts of death energy to it, the blood regenerates. If I'm right, you're not getting a reading because the skill that has modified his body is stabilizing the sample. You're going to have to send it to one of your scientists if you want answers, and they'll have to do a whole research project." The Dragon explained.
Tessa smirked at the dragon. "So, you're saying that even if his blood is spilled, the blood itself won't degrade?"
The dragon nodded, but the Archbishop realized the implication right away.
"And if he happens to impart that ability to his beasts?" The elderly cleric began.
"An immortal Bloodbath Spider." Rae announced as the remainder of the team exited the trial at the same time.