The brilliant cascade of light faded into a kaleidoscopic blur, and suddenly, Evolis found himself standing in a vast, otherworldly corridor. The oppressive heat of the portal had given way to an ethereal chill. Around him, walls of shimmering Etherion energy rose and fell like the tides, he had finally entered the first part of the trial. The Maze of Etherion.
As soon as he stepped forward, he heard a strange calling, "Go, and claim what's yours"
"Huh who's there?" Evolis said as warily looked at his surroundings, "Weird."
He kept looking around but couldn't hear the voice again.
Shaking his head to get rid of his distracting thoughts he steadied himself. 'So, this is it… the first stage of the trial.' He could feel the ambient energy prickling against his skin, and every step seemed to echo with ancient power. Despite the lingering cheers from the arena, here in the silence of the maze, only his own breath and the soft hum of shifting walls filled the air.
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his eyes, as he grasped his face in pain. "AARGHH," Evolis groaned in pain. Unbeknownst to him, a large reservoir of energy flooded to his eyes as two dark golden rings appeared in their depths.
Just as the pain was about to become too much to bear, he suddenly felt a rush of energy enveloping him, almost seeming as if it was scanning him. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a panel floating in front of him made out of pure Aetherion energy.
Name: [Evolis Aetherion]
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: ???
---
Attributes:
Strength: 16
Agility: 15
Endurance: 17
Vitality: 18
Intelligence: 13
Charm: 19
---
Etherion Core Level: 9
Talent: ???
Bloodline: Locked
Abilities:
Innate Skills:
The Seer's Gaze [Grade: Unknown] [Evolvable]
This mystical ability unveils hidden truths and dispels illusions. With a mere glance, your gaze can pierce through disguises, revealing an individual's true race, cultivation level, and even the intricacies of their skills. Your eyes allow you to break down the most complex intricacies of things down to their basic components, aiding you in understanding anything unknown.
Body of the !O# %F @$%pt$b$%#@y %$& G#$wt% [Grade: Unknown] [Evolvable]
Adaptive Assimilation:After being hit with an enemy's ability, your body can begin to learn it and incorporate aspects of that ability.
Chameleon's Veil:Your body adapts to environmental conditions, granting temporary camouflage or resistance to specific effects. As well as allowing you to show only what you want your enemies to see.
Advanced Regeneration: Your body's regeneration is doubled
(The average stats known for the peak of a mortal is 10)
Unknowingly Evolis had already broken past the limits of the mortal realm without ranking up, which he attributed to his strange body.
As the pain in his eyes slowly ebbed away, his eyes widened again.
Evolis felt like he'd been seeing everything in low resolution or that someone had covered his eyes with a semi-transparent film his whole life, but now when he looked around, he could notice the smallest details from as far as 100 meters away. He could even see the small bugs on the vines of the walls moving in slow motion.
'Isn't this… a little too overpowered?'
"Anyways what the hell is with all these symbols," Evolis muttered as he looked back at his status screen, "And what do you mean the Grade of my skills are unknown. Wait, didn't Master Gaius say that it's supposed to say 'human' by race? Why's mine just question marks then."
'Guess I'll figure this out after the trial.'
He adjusted his grip on his sword, its familiar weight grounding him in this surreal space. Memories of Master Gaius's last words still rang in his ears: "Keep your eyes open and your fists ready Brat. The trial will humble you in ways you can't imagine." A wry smile tugged at his lips as he recalled the old man's teasing tone.
The corridor stretched out before him, its walls alive with swirling unstable Etherion runes that pulsed with an insane amount of energy. He took a deep breath. Alright, Evolis, focus. He moved forward, each step measured and cautious, aware that even the floor beneath him seemed to shift as if it had a mind of its own.
Without warning, a section of the wall shimmered and began to shift—revealing a narrow passageway lined with flickering elemental runes. Hot bursts of flame and sudden gusts of wind rumbled as the passage reconfigured itself. It would've hit anyone else in the mortal stage if they were caught off guard but to Evolis it almost seemed to move in slow motion. He ducked low, easily avoiding a jet of scalding fire that burst forth from a seam in the wall. His muscles tensing instinctively, as he side-stepped the wind blades which emerged from other parts of the wall.
'isn't this a little too easy?' Evolis mused internally as he easily stepped past the traps, 'Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.'
The sound of his own footsteps mingled with the rhythmic pulsing of the Etherion, as if the very walls were alive, testing him with every step.
As he advanced deeper into the maze, strange, ethereal shapes began to manifest in the corners of his vision. Shifting silhouettes that looked more like echoes than tangible obstacles, then suddenly, 5, solid, hulking forms emerged. Massive, primitive beasts, which looked like wolves, their bodies composed of sinewy muscle and raw Etherion, lumbered toward him. Their eyes glowed with instinct, pulsing with unrefined power.
'Shit, Luparyns,' Instinctively, Evolis readied himself. So, they're the guardians of this maze, he thought. With a practiced flourish, he raised his sword. The Luparyns charged with thunderous howls, and the clash was immediate. His blade sliced through the air as he parried a swipe from one massive, brutish claw. Sparks flew as metal met the claws of the beasts, and the ground trembled under the force of the collision.
He danced between attacks, every movement a testament to the countless hours of training with Master Gaius. But here, in the heart of the maze, his training was truly put to the test. His arms trembled, as he collided with the beasts. The skin on his arms cracked and split as he struggled to keep up with the insane power of their claws. His golden eyes swirled as he tested out his new ability for the first time.
Name: [Lupyran]
Race: Lupinari
Power Level: Awakened Beast
---
The spectators outside watching through the screens, cheered as they saw clash between Evolis and the beasts.
"Looks like our best student Evolis has already begun to encounter some beasts in the maze people!" The announcer shouted to the crowd.
"Woah, he's taking 5 beasts on by himself? Are his balls made of steel or something." A spectator in the crowd murmured
"You might not know but for some reason Evolis has always been stronger than a normal unawakened."
"Damn, kinda wish I could have that type of talent."
---
As Evolis clashed with the luparyns, his body almost instantaneously healed his arms. Each time they healed Evolis felt like he could exert more and more power. His body was absorbing the energy from the beasts and using it to rebuild his torn muscles, making them stronger.
Suddenly two beasts sprinted out of the group as one of the beasts leapt toward him and the other circled around him towards his back and launched a wind blade cutting off his retreat.
Evolis calmy observed this as he quickly began to think of ways to escape the encirclement.
Suddenly he leapt upwards tilting his body sideways to dodge the horizontal wind blade and unleashed a slash simultaneously at the neck of the beast leaping at him.
*Whoosh*, *Schlick*, he heard the sound of the wind blade passing underneath him as his blade smoothly cut through the neck of the wolf.
The head of the luparyn landed on the ground with a sickening splat as the wolves took a step back in fear.
Evolis felt something coming up from his throat, nearly vomiting, as this was the first time he'd killed a beast. Ignoring it he sprinted to the 3 wolves in front of him.
Sparks flew from the ground as Evolis' blade was dragged across it. He quickly shifted his sword into a reverse grip, and targeted the wolf on his right as he slid and slashed through the luparyns forelegs, causing the wolf-like beast to fall onto the ground with a thud.
He then leapt upwards to dodge the strike of the luparyn trying to protect its kin and used its claw as a steppingstone jumping higher and plunging his blade into its neck.
'Two down, and the other won't be able to get back up,' Evolis thought as his brain ran through countless scenarios, his eyes scanning through the remaining luparyns which seemed to move slowly in his vision.
'Wait where's the other one?' Evolis thought. Then his eyes widened as he quickly turned around.
One of the remaining luparyns managed to land a sneaky blow behind Evolis, as he barely managed to block it, launching him towards one of the walls of the maze.
The other luparyn's claw swiped at Evolis as it tried to follow up on the ambush, yet Evolis merely jumped up, then using the wall as a springboard, jumped over the luparyn and decapitated it.
'One more left' Evolis could feel that his body was stronger compared to the beginning of the fight, and was looking forward to seeing his status to see the improvements.
But before he could engage the last luparyn, it quickly turned around and bolted away from him, leaving Evolis flabbergasted, "Oi! My XP!", Evolis shouted causing the luparyn to stagger and nearly cough out blood.
Evolis shook his head and finished off the last incapacitated luparyn, and checked his status.
Name: [Evolis Aetherion]
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: ???
---
Attributes:
Strength: 19 (+3) [energy gained from beasts]
Agility: 16 (+1)
Endurance: 17
Vitality: 19 (+1)
Intelligence: 13
Charm: 19
---
Etherion Core Level: 9
Talent: ???
Bloodline: Locked
Abilities:
Innate Skills:
The Seer's Gaze [Grade: Unknown] [Evolvable]
Body of the !O# %F @$%pt$b$%#@y %$& G#$wt% [Grade: Unknown] [Evolvable]
'Still no level up huh,' Evolis thought as he was surprised by his stats once again. "Looks like when I awaken my stats will nearly be double of a normal awakener's.'
---
In a corner of the arena, two figures clad in black robes sat as they watched a particular golden-eyed boy's screen.
"Is he the one?" One of them asked in a distorted voice.
"He matches the description. But it's weird, why's he in the lowest dimension?" The other replied.
"Beats me. We just have to do what we were told and observe him."
Both the figures continued to watch his screen with rapt attention.
---
As dangerous undercurrents were brewing outside the maze, Evolis was making his way through the rest of the maze to the exit.
As he wiped sweat and grime from his brow, a sudden tremor rippled through the corridor. The walls shifted violently, reconfiguring the maze in a dizzying display of fluid motion. The ground beneath his feet quivered, and the roar of elemental energy filled the space. Evolis braced himself as a new wave of traps was unleashed: sharp, glowing spikes burst forth from the floor, and torrents of water surged from hidden channels in the walls.
Adrenaline surged through his veins as he ducked and dodged the onslaught, each instinct honed by training now coming to the forefront. A burst of wind caught him off-guard, but he quickly adjusted, sliding low and rolling as a barrage of wind and water collided against the shifting wall behind him. Slowly his body was getting accustomed to the elements which continued to bombard him.
Between the chaos of shifting walls and the brutal onslaught of elemental traps, the corridor suddenly calmed. In the quiet that followed, Evolis could hear his own breathing and the distant, muffled roars of the beasts still battling in other parts of the maze. With cautious steps, he navigated the newly formed passage, his eyes scanning for the next sign of danger.
Arriving in a secluded alcove, where the Etherion pulsed in a gentle, almost hypnotic rhythm, Evolis paused. Here, the air was still, and the vibrant chaos of the maze gave way to an eerie calm. He had finally reached the portal that had runes shimmering into and out of existence around it, which would lead him to the next stage of the Trial.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to catch his breath. 'Almost there.', He thought as he stared at the glowing portal. 'I wonder how Lyris is doing. Knowing her, she's probably reached her portal by now as well.'
As Evolis looked around the room he noticed Etherion walls shimmering and whispering ancient secrets and hints of glory. In this surreal labyrinth, every moment was both a battle and a revelation—a mosaic of pain, triumph, and the promise of transformation.
Evolis took a deep breath and resumed walking towards the portal. The path ahead was uncertain, the dangers myriad, yet every step carried him closer to the trial's ultimate challenge.
Stopping just before the portal, Evolis's heart swelled with a fierce determination. 'I need to figure out what this strange calling towards the end of the maze I'm feeling is,' he vowed silently, as his eyes started subtly glowing.
And then he stepped through the portal.