Chapter 523: Entering the Trial

Julius was already heading for the glowing portal. He didn’t see a reason to wait for the ten minutes to expire. His choice was obvious. He wasn’t nervous about the warning.

His friends apparently didn’t seem as sure. They pulled him by the arm. “Hold on there,” Derek said with a light laugh.

“What? Are you guys really worried about what he said?” He asked with a tilt of his head.

“I think it would be irresponsible if we didn’t at least talk about it,” Derek noted.

“Is there really an option of us not attempting the trial?” Julius pointed out.

The silence he got in response was an answer in itself.

“See? There is no need to discuss things,” he said, and before they could stop him again, he was already walking toward the portal.

This time around, they all followed him. Even Riven and Eva were right behind him. They all entered the portal together, and Julius felt his surroundings shift. However, instead of an open plain or some cave, he found himself trapped in darkness.

He was greeted with another notification.

You have entered a Trial.

Notice: You will not be able to leave until the Trial has completed.

Julius read the notification and felt the space warp for a brief second. He didn’t bother to turn around, but spoke to Kaelther.

“Are you normally supposed to appear in this space?” He asked curiously.

“How did you know it was me?”

“I have my ways,” he said vaguely.

“If you tell me, I’ll give you a hint about this trial,” Kaelther offered.

Julius finally turned around to look at the tall man with surprise. “You can do that? From what you made it sound, there are some rules in this realm that you have to follow.”

“I have certain privileges that others don’t,” Kaelther explained.

“What kind of hint?” Julius questioned.

“Something that will help you make your next decision.”

Julius frowned. So there was a decision he had to make in the near future. That was good to know. He also didn’t mind telling Kaelther. It wasn’t like it was some grand secret that would hurt him if the strangely tall man knew. If he could get something for that, then from his point of view, it was well worth it.

“I have a perception skill that detected your appearance and used some of my other abilities to piece together enough information that allowed me to make an educated guess,” he explained simply.

“That’s it?”

Julius shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Kaelther narrowed his eyes. “You have a spatial sense skill, don’t you?”

Julius kept a straight face. “What makes you think that?”

Kaelther stared deeply into his eyes, and Julius felt his soul being inspected again. “Because there is no other way for you to detect me otherwise. To be honest, you shouldn’t have been able to detect me even if you had that kind of skill.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you messed up?” Julius offered.

Kaelther just sighed at him, showing more signs of humanity the more he interacted with Julius.

“So what is this hint?” Julius finally asked with a grin.

“You want a hint? You barely gave me any information,” Kaelther said flatly.

“But I did give you some information. You basically figured it out anyway,” Julius said with a shrug.

Kaelther was silent for a few brief moments, but Julius remained patient and stared at the tall man expectantly.

Finally, Kaelther acquiesced and nodded. “This trial is a little different from other trials you might have taken in the past.”

“I have never taken a trial before,” Julius interjected.

Kaelther waved his hand at Julius. “Okay, then it doesn’t matter. But in a little bit, you will be given a choice.”

“What kind of choice?”

“One that could impact the direction your path will take for the rest of your life,” Kaelther said dramatically.

“That seems pretty absolute, don’t you think?”

Kaelther glared at Julius. “Take this seriously. Many of the people your age will think the same thing. Most of them will not even tap into a small fraction of this trial’s potential. They will likely choose something that speaks to them or fits their strengths. This is the wrong mindset.”

Julius felt the powerful pulse of Kaelther’s presence and took it more seriously. “Okay, then what should I do?”

“That is for you to decide.”

“That’s not a very helpful hint.”

“Well, you didn’t give me a very helpful answer,” Kaelther argued.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Julius couldn’t defend that point and nodded reluctantly.

“I would like to say one thing that you should think about,” Kaelther added.

Julius looked up. “What’s that?”

“Think about what kind of person you want to be.”’

What do you mean by that?” Julius asked with scrunched eyes.

“I assume you want to reach higher tiers of advancement? Beyond Tier 4 and 5?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“Then you need to start thinking about what kind of person you want to be when you reach that stage. At your current state, you will undoubtedly reach Tier 5 as long as you survive and put in a little effort.”

Julius frowned. “How do you know that?” He had no idea how Kaelther had come to that assumption. While he had heard something similar from Cain and Freya, this man didn’t know him very well. They had literally just met several hours ago, and it had been a brief meeting.

“You soul.”

“My soul?”

“Yes, your soul told me everything I need to know about your preparedness to advance. You should, in reality, be in Tier 4 already. I am guessing this tournament is the only reason you haven’t actually tried to advance.”