Darius was largely unimpressed by the display here and decided to move on. He went through stall after stall looking for something unique and rare, but ended up drawing a blank each time.
In truth, there were some special items that would have been treated as trading trump cards by him in the past. However, their value to the current him was not that great.
There wasn't anything there that couldn't be created through a small investment of CP and at a higher quality to boot.
Still, Darius ended up doubling back and buying them anyway. Why? Because he had the money, he had the space and he had the time.
Even if they were useless now, they could prove to have some use later. What made him change his mind was him noticing his growing complacency.
It was not too hard to notice. Darius was a calm person, yes, but he was also very cautious and very patient. He hadn't lost much of his patience or calm, but his caution had diminished greatly.
He could trace it back to when Vena had let him know through Caesar that his Quests going forward would not be fatal or soul-destroying like he had been told in the beginning.
In fact, the entire situation had changed for him. Caesar had let slip certain facts that led Darius to the conclusion that Vena had bigger plans for him than simple 'entertainment'.
She had recruited his soul because he was special, calm, intelligent, and patient, even having created Faust for him to organically accumulate power before - possibly? - joining her side as a soldier, general, or some sort of special forces lieutenant under her.
That was if the power of a Supreme was enough to fulfill such roles for a Goddess.
Before, Darius had been living on a bed of nails, taking every step while considering whether it would please or amuse Vena. Since Vena had never made herself known nor penalized him for anything, Darius truly believed that Caesar had twisted her words in order to create that atmosphere.
Another cause for his growing adaptation to Faust was the presence of Deia. Now that his deceased wife had been reincarnated here, Darius was no longer in much of a rush to complete Vena's goal and rather build up power in Faust so that he could reclaim his wife and live with her once more.
If we were to use the Insect Invasion Quest as a guideline, Darius could technically challenge the next Quest right now after raising his level and using some Events to top up his stats.
However, he had no plans to, even having the time and will to come here to Ludo in order to partake in a strange test.
It should be known though, that he wasn't going to change any of his current plans. He would stick to his plan for he still felt it was most appropriate, but he would also concentrate on creating more failsafes and backups as he did before in case any situation went awry.
Like now, he chided himself for his mentality that items were not worth his time. As long as they had useful effects, he bought them. He still had hundreds of thousands of Bags of Holding in his large Inventory, so he could easily store them without a problem.
When he was done, he took his Branded Servant duo looking around the city. They only shopped in the Central District as a favor to Shamael, but they partook in the food and culture of the entire city at their leisure.
Eventually, they returned back to the Palace of Shamael where the fellow was eagerly waiting for them with about half an hour left until the Test's opening.
"Great, great! I have already handled all the processes for your participation! Please follow me!" Shamael offered as Darius nodded, the group following the short fellow to the back of the Palace where a portal was set up.
They walked through it and found that they were out of the city, in the middle of a - surprisingly - rocky outcrop. The ground was a dirt red color, with many jagged rocks around, a huge mountain range extending in the background.
Darius noticed that they were in a large circular clearing, wherein the center lay a tower that was quite short. Around the tower were hundred so people of various ethnicities and races gazing at the construct with a mixture of anxiety and desire.
Around these people were those like Shamael, dressed in much the same fashion, all wearing different expressions as they gazed at each other, ignoring the candidates they brought.
Shamael though, did not abandon Darius' group, which made his other fellows surprised, their eyes landing on Darius as a strange light flickered.
"Lord Stone, this is where the Test is held. Within this building is a special spirit that was created by the first Desert King in conjunction with the Laws of Faust, the Trial Spirit. It's the being in charge of holding the test and will also judge whether any who challenge have passed the criteria necessary." Shamael explained slowly with a wide grin.
Darius gazed at the tower and calmly Analyzed it.
[Tower of Spirits - Unique
Durability: MAX
Description: This is a tower that was created by the First Desert King of Ludo, chosen by the Goddess Vena, and the Laws of Faust in order to carefully select the successors to the Desert King title. It is designed to test Mettle, Will, Fortitude, Justice, and Vision. Only those who pass the five tests will be granted the right to become the acting Desert King.]
Darius' eyes narrowed. He turned to Shamael. "Are there any other tests apart from the one that tests your Mettle?"
Shamael blinked with surprise. "Not that I know of. As far as we know, there is only the impassable Mettle test, which is why it is called the Test of Mettle."
Darius smiled softly towards Shamael. "Thank you for sharing this with me."
He then turned to face the tower with a strange glint in his eye.
'Now this… is going to be interesting.'
