I woke into a black abyss that was covered in constellations.
Each star of the constellation shined brighter than the last and lit up the void in a mesmerizing image.
Though I've seen renditions of the appraisal void the spell puts you in when you complete a nightmare multiple times, I couldn't stop gaping at them.
Snapping out of my trance, I remember the previous state my body was in before I woke up here. I knew the spell returns you back to a normal state after a nightmare, but I didn't know it also removed my fatigue and mental strain.
It felt as though all that had happened in my first trial was only a dream- a nightmare.
I chuckled at my own joke and then felt embarrassed over it. I sigh, looking over at the spell which was loading its appraisal of my first trial.
While it was processing, I couldn't help but think of what the spell would give me.
Was I gonna get ascended? Transcendent? Hell, maybe a Supreme?
I didn't dare wish for a sacred or a divine ranked aspect; one, because no one had ever gotten either of those for their appraisal over a nightmare. Two, simply because I thought my performance in my first trial wasn't that great.
The complete extermination of the Ironclad Ants was what I deduced as the end goal of the spell. However, the way I did it might not have been the best.
I could kill only one ant when I first joined a nightmare, someone with proper training and perhaps a memory already given to them could have killed more than six or ten. Heck, if they were crazy enough, they could have just destroyed all the ants on the day they arrived in the spell.
I could have also tried to find an exit and then ask for help, maybe the group of war god followers that Klaus comes from. Perhaps maybe the saint I had encountered at the end of the trial, Noctis.
The mysterious transcendent who enjoyed tea was someone who had stayed in my mind despite all the horrors I faced, and he would probably linger in my mind for a long time.
I sighed, narrowing my eyes, there was no point in worrying about the what if's. All I knew was that my performance was higher than dormant and awakened, but much less than sacred or divine. All that left was Ascended, Transcendent, and a very slight chance of supreme.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
I flinched when I heard the voice of the spell. Before it was much more subtle in the trial, but here in the void, I felt the voice all around me and through my very being. I gulped, seeing the runes of the spell appear.
[A warrior of the Red Colosseum's first trial was to kill the monsters hidden underground. Alone, hungry, and weak, he fought his way through all the crimson abominations while covered in his own blood and organs.
In the end, he has completed the trial but with the interference of an enemy of the Red Colosseum.
In the end, he is decreed a disgraceful barbarian and an unfaithful heretic who will suffer for the rest of his days.]
I stared at the summary of the spell.
What the hell was this? The first half of the summary was on point with what happened in the trial. But the second half never happened, did the spell usually talk about the after effects of what awakened did in nightmares?
Also the last sentence sent shivers down my spine. Were those words said because they would affect my appraisal? Considering the wording of it, it didn't sound ideal for what my aspect might be.
[You have slain dormant terror: Ironclad Ant Queen.]
[You have slain dormant beast: Goliath Worm.]
[You have slain dormant beast: Ironclad Ant Larva.]
[You have slain twenty-eight dormant beasts: Ironclad Ant.]
[You have received Transcendent Noctis's reassurance!]
[You have achieved an excellent feat!]
[Final appraisal: Excellent. Your selfless rampage deems no enemy safe.]
Okay, this was looking really good. I didn't know the magnitude of the word 'Excellent' meant for my aspect but it was better than nothing.
I also couldn't help but notice that Saint Noctis had given me some sort of blessing. Would my evolved aspect be something like his? Goosebumps ran down the length of my arm imagining the beautiful destruction his transformation had done to the Ironclad Ants.
I would be satisfied if my aspect even had a fraction of what his transformation ability could do.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
"Yes…"
[Dormant Aspect Bloodfeed is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect rank: Supreme.]
I faced the ceiling of the celestial realm of the spell, and laughed maniacally. I couldn't care less about how stupid I probably looked.
[Aspect name: Slaughter King.]
***
I stopped laughing, catching my breath and then started chuckling and wheezing.
Amazing…simply amazing!
I got a Supreme rank Aspect! Who could believe it!? I had somehow gotten the highest rank that humans have ever gotten!! It might be the same rank that major leaders of the Three Great Clans had!
Lord Mongrel probably had received a Supreme rank aspect! I could be like him!
Stupid and childish daydreams entered my head of me and Lord Mongrel fighting side by side against a horse of nightmare creatures. We minced them into shreds and there we stood back to back, in the coolest poses ever!
I coughed when I realized what I was imagining. I was 15, how could I daydream such a stupid scenario!
[The First seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
A weird electric sensation coursed through my entire body. It wasn't painful but it wasn't pleasant either.
It felt as though I was being injected by some sort of drug that made me feel more awake. My senses become sharper and I could feel the muscles and organs gain a new sense of vigor to them.
Then my vision turned black and returned in the same instant.
I didn't feel stunned because I had read about what happens when you awaken for the first time in an online forum. Right now, I was transported into my Soul Sea.
There was an immensely large pool of black murky water underneath his feet. Above the red pool was the familiar night sky of the numerous constellations.
But in between those two gargantuan things was a single red sun with blue veins. Instead of the sphere being covered in glass that usually let me see the inside, the soul core was instead made of flesh.
Though it was a slight movement, something a mundane human would not notice, I saw the red fleshy soul core expand and then compress.
It was almost like a…heart beating?
Even though I have heard of unique soul cores before, I've never seen a soul core that was made of flesh and moving. Though my curiosity was at its peak, I felt fear as well.
Then I sighed, I didn't know what to make of it.
Considering that my…Heart Core(?)…was made of flesh, it would probably be less durable compared to other more solid soul cores. But every time I saw the Heart Core compress and decompress, I felt a pulse through my body.
The pulse moved similarly to blood, but it wasn't blood. Was it essence? Did my Heart Core have to do something with my essence?
Though the pulse felt odd, I also felt a bit more healthier.
I smiled, the Heart Core was probably something good. After all, it was of the Supreme rank.
I shook my head and silently summoned the runes of the spell.
Name: Vincent
True Name: —-
Rank: Dreamer
Soul Core: Supreme.
Memories: [Moribund Sword], [Essence of Dirt]
Echoes: —-
Attributes: [Higher Healing Factor], [Mark of divinity], [Wishing Moon]
Though I wanted to look really badly at my new aspect—I wanted to spend some time reading parts of my status that I didn't have time to read before.
First was [Higher Healing Factor]. Previously it was [Healing Factor], but apparently it evolved alongside me.
Attribute: [Higher Healing Factor]
Attribute description: [Your body has astonishing recovery ability compared to others.]
Come to think of it, I had survived so many encounters against the nightmares creatures even with fatal injuries. So I suppose it was [Healing Factor] that was saving me.
The Nightmare Spell essentially decided on your attributes based on your abilities before awakening. I was always able to heal and recover faster from injury and sickness than others. The Nightmare spell must have expanded the magnitude of my [Healing Factor] to the point that I could survive having my intestines hang outside my body while fighting.
So what could it do now?
Next was [Wishing Moon.]
Attribute Description: [ You carry the wish of the one who personifies the moon. Others will feel tempted to assist you when you want to achieve the moon's wish. Actions that go against the moon's wish will bring tragedy.]
I had a clear idea of who influenced the spell to give me this attribute. Helping Noctis wasn't exactly bad for me, and it also gave me a good benefit when I worked in tandem with his wish. Though the consequence of not helping Noctis seemed really bad, I wasn't displeased.
Then finally…my aspect.
Aspect: [Slaughter King]
Aspect rank: [Supreme]
Aspect description: [Enemies spilled your blood hoping to weaken and kill you, not knowing that they were bringing themselves closer to death. Hail to the Emperor of Red and Tragedy.]
In line with the summary of my first frial, I had gained some sort of barbarian aspect. It sounded like a berserk ability, probably making me stronger the more weakened I got. The aspect was probably chosen for me when I went on a rampage killing dozens of Ironclad ants at the end of the nightmare. The emperor part of the description could have been me killing the queen of the ants.
Though I wouldn't mind a simple berserk ability that made me stronger, I felt that a supreme rank aspect would be something more special than that.
Aspect abilities: [Blood purge]
Aspect ability description: [Your blood is lethal to enemies.]
Okay…that implied a lot of things. Either I had poisonous blood or…
I scratched my head thinking of other possibilities. I suppose I would find out once I got back to the waking world. I didn't think having poisoned blood was bad, it had plenty of potential uses. It could be used both in a direct and indirect fight.
Right now I didn't think too hard on the implications of my first aspect ability when I knew how important the next part was.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: Four Humors.]
Flaw: [Four Humors]
Flaw Description: [Your body is made up of four parts: Blood, Mind, Energy, and Essence. You must choose one to consistently dissipate. The humor you choose will start to recover naturally once you choose another to deplete.]
"Huh?"