As Soji steps out of the portal, he expects monsters waiting for him to kill and endure the perilous trial and win victoriously. However, he is met with a sound, the eerie hum of space. The air felt cold yet thin, and a strange pressure pulsed against his ears. As he looked everywhere and up, he saw... Stars. Glowing. Pulsing in distant light. Some moved slowly like drifting embers, while others remained still and ancient.
He found himself standing on a wide, circular platform of dark stone, suspended in open space. There were no walls, no ceiling, but only an endless cosmos stretching in every direction. Distant galaxies twinkled like scattered jewels, and stars pulsed in quiet rhythm, casting pale light across the platform. Suddenly the familiar sensation appears along with a chime.
[ TRIAL 3: COMBAT OR MIND ]
[ OBJECTIVES: CHOOSE ONLY ONE]
[ DEFEAT THE TRIAL WARDEN ]
[ CROSS THE BRIDGE OF PERIL ]
"There it is..." Soji muttered like it's a daily occurrence.
At the center where Soji lies, he sees a strange, huge, and tall humanoid statue with no face, and everything in the statue and its body is smooth like marble, while beside it is a long, narrow bridge leading to a portal at the end.
Soji braces himself, reaching out for all the weapons, his sword and bone dagger, preparing to attack and planning how to use his Null ability.
'If this fucking creepy statue moves... I will hit it with Null immediately and push it out of the platform,' he thought, his heart steady but alert.
'No mistakes. No hesitation.'
But before he could move further, the statue's head tilted ever so slightly. And started speaking.
"Yet thou walketh forth... burdened and blind..."
Soji was shocked for a moment, stopping his stance to listen.
"Behold. Two paths lie before thee, chosen flesh." the statue's voice echoed through the space, ancient-like.
"Face thy trial... Claim thy worth through combat against this vessel..." The white statue raises a finger and points to himself.
"Or walk the Echoing Path wherein lies the agony of thy truth... A bridge that echoes pain. Regret. Madness." The white statue raises a hand and gestures it to the narrow bridge.
Soji lowered his guard for a moment, resting both of his hands that held weapons at his side.
"Soo... I will fight you or cross the bridge of pain?" Soji replied to the white statue, his words very casual and mismatched against the grandeur of the large being before him.
"Thou art right," answered the white statue, its tone firm and unwavering.
"The choice is thine. Fight or cross. Fate shall be revealed through thy actions."
Soji could feel the eerie dark aura coming from the narrow bridge, and he thought to himself if it's worth it to cross a bridge that would maybe leave him crazy even if he made it through. Or fight a huge, tall statue that could pummel him easily. However, Soji has a hope... His ability... Null.
In Soji's mind, his Null ability could stop living beings, but he isn't sure if it works on nonliving things, and seeing what the white statue looks like. His hypothesis is that it isn't a living thing and there may be a chance for his ability to fail.
Soji asked the white statue a curious question: "Say... what are you? Are you living or nonliving? Tell me..."
Soji asked the life-saving question for him, but the white statue stood motionless for a long moment, its face featureless. The eerie hum of space around them filled the silence, but the statue didn't answer immediately. Soji could feel the tension growing, his heart pounding as he awaited its response.
Finally the statue spoke again, easing the tension for Soji.
"I am thee a vessel," the white statue replied, its tone cryptic.
"Thy form is a construct born of time's will and the void's shaping. Thou art neither living nor dead, neither bound by flesh nor soul," it continued, its voice deep and reverberating.
Soji panicked while thinking to his brain.
'FUCK! I knew it! This creepy statue isn't alive... But you know what... Here goes nothing...'
Soji walked forward into the white statue, his every step nervous, his heart pounding. As soon as he got close, he placed his hands into the statue.
The white statue replied, its voice unwavering for a moment before the fall.
"So thou choose the trial of comb—"
The statue froze while talking mid-sentence. Its voice cut short, its statue body not moving. Soji retracted his hand back quickly and stepped backward in utter disbelief.
Then, with a slow and almost tragic creak, the massive white statue began to tilt backwards. And—it fell.
The statue dropped soundlessly into the void. The void took the magnificent creation along with the stars as Soji looked above it with a smirking face and a heavy breath.
"Wait... No fucking way..." Soji whispered while smiling nervously, then followed with the system's appearance and the portal manifesting.
[ SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]
[ TRIAL 3 PERFORMANCE EVALUATED ]
[ OBJECTIVE 1 COMPLETE ]
[ STATS: ]
[ OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION: 100% ]
[ DAMAGE SUSTAINED: 0% ]
[ TACTICAL EFFICIENCY: HIGH ]
[ TIME COMPLETION: VERY FAST ]
[ COMPLETE BASE CONDITION: SUCCESS ]
[ ONE IN A KIND RECORD! ]
[ OVERALL RANK: S+ ]
[ SYSTEM REWARD ALLOCATION COMPLETE ]
[ REWARD GRANTED: ]
[ x5 SKILL UPGRADE CARD ]
[ RANDOM ACTIVE SKILL CARD ROLL ]
[ RANDOM PASSIVE SKILL CARD ROLL ]
[ x5 Vitality Elixir ]
[ x5 Random Stats Potion ]
[ x3 Stats Allocation Potion ]
[ Large Subspace Pouch ]
Soji stared at the glowing screen in utter shock, his heart racing with intense excitement as the rewards materialized before him. His jaw dropped at the sheer quantity and power of the items that had just been granted to him.
"Holy shit! A one in a kind record!?" He uttered in disbelief as his hand nervously reached out for the rewards and gently placed all of them on the ground.
"This is insane... My cheat Null skill carried me a lot this time~"
He stared at the five Skill Upgrade Cards and blinked. "Five?! I could upgrade many skills in one go... No, I can make a skill more powerful..."
His gaze then shifted to the Random Active Skill Card Roll and the Random Passive Skill Card Roll. He could feel his anticipation grow.
"Wait... a random active skill? And a random passive skill? Holy shit... this is insane!"
The five Vitality Elixirs were not a surprise, given his history of being barely alive after each trial. He smirked.
"Okay, they're gonna keep me topped off, no complaints there."
The five Random Stats Potions made him excited even more.
"Five random stat boosts? If I get more strength... or dexterity... maybe even some luck? I'd be strong as fuck."
And then the three Stats Allocation Potions made him smile.
"I'm getting more and more lucky even when my luck stat is at zero... Oh man..."
Finally, the Large Subspace Pouch made him smirk. He could already imagine himself carrying more than enough loot or weapons from the upcoming trials.
"Finally... Carrying items would be a hassle... This will be useful."
Soji exhaled. "Now lets get straight to the fun part."
Soji uncorked and used the Random Stats Potions and allocated it all to luck.
[ LUCK +3 ]
"Yes... I can already feel I'm lucky now... I just hope the luck stats works now." Soji then quickly picked up the Random Active and Passive Skill Card and used both of them while closing his eyes.
[ SKILLS ROLL COMPLETE ]
[ UNIQUE SKILL ACQUIRED: Alter Ego - Unique ( Active ) ]
- The player can switch into an alternate body with an alternate personality. This second personality can be chosen and pre-determined by the player. The player can assign how many stats and skills go to the second alternate body. Can switch to first and second alter ego anytime. Automatically activates to the strongest Ego when in sudden danger. No cooldown.
[ UNCOMMON SKILL ACQUIRED: Keen Senses - Uncommon ( Passive ) ]
- Enhances the five senses and perception.
As Soji heard the system's voice of the skill roll being completed, he finally opened his eyes and to his shock, he dropped his jaw.
"What the fuck is this... Both are fucking trash..." he muttered in pure disappointment.
Soji, running his hand down his hair because of the pure disappointment. "A fucking split personality... I wanted something to survive, not some shitty skill that's only good for roleplay!"
Suddenly he remembers that he has five Skill Upgrading Cards. "Hold on a second... I have those!"
As he glanced at the five Skill Upgrading Cards, he didn't waste any time and tried to upgrade Alter Ego immediately. However, since the tower is unforgiving, he is soon met with an even more disappointment.
[ UNABLE TO UPGRADE UNIQUE TYPE SKILLS ]
.....
"What..."
Soji took a huge breath and watched the stars for a moment.
.....
"After using all my potions on that luck stat, I can't believe I'm still unlucky..."
Soji then proceeded to upgrade Keen Senses by two levels. He holds the Skill Upgrading Cards as they dematerialize in the air, accompanied by the system's interface and its voice reminding him the upgrading was successful.
[ SKILL UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL ]
[ UPDATING SKILL INFORMATION... ]
[ Passive Skill: Keen Senses (Uncommon) → (Epic) ]
- Greatly enhances the five senses and perception into a new level. Good chance to detect hidden entities, traps, and illusions. Grants a slight clarity when observing falsehoods or deceptions.
Soji blinked... Then suddenly...
The stars around him seemed sharper. He can hear the distant hum of the void even more clearly; it vibrated with distinct layers of sound he hadn't noticed before. Even the faint energy of the portal ahead pulsed with subtle fluctuations, almost like a heartbeat.
His breath caught. "What's this feeling..."
The empty space wasn't empty anymore. It was alive with whispers, echoes, and subtle threads of something unseen. And he could feel it all.
Soji exhaled slowly, taking a huge deep breath, both awed and unnerved at the same time.
"Okay, that's actually kind of cool... This NEW PROFOUND SENSATION."