Disappearing from where he initially was, Valyr felt his body being transported to another place. Closing his eyes as he let the token take wherever it wanted him to go, the young man eventually felt his feet land on solid ground.
Opening his eyes, the young man expected that he would be able to meet Loreina and the others again, with the former probably a bit worse for wear. Unfortunately, not even a couple seconds into him taking a look at his current surroundings, he had obtained an answer far opposite from his expectations.
'I'm the only one in this place, huh.' The young man sighed, opening up the party chat to ask the others whether or not they had appeared in the same place. Sadly, their responses only confirmed the fact that he was not alone in his current fate, with the others being separated into their own spaces as well.
Taking a look at the place he had been teleported into, Valyr thought that Loreina's succinct description of the place barely gave it enough justice.
Though the tailor was correct in saying that the place was incredibly barren, it would be better to say that the current landscape before him was barren to the point that it was eerie. Neither pebbles nor specks of dust could be seen across the ground, even though it had the texture and appearance of solid earth.
Even putting in a bit of his strength into his kicks did not cause a cloud of dust to rise up, prompting the young man to feel that the current place was similar to the technologically advanced training grounds he had come across in the past. The only difference between those and the place he was currently in was the fact that the landscape and the skies extended far beyond his vision.
Ding!
Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind just as he had gotten a better idea of the place he was currently in, the young man went ahead and brought up a screen before him as he thought back to Loreina's string of messages once more. 'According to Loreina, after appearing in this place, we'd have to undergo through a trial in order to gain access to the Gates of Enlightenment's rewards.'
'And I'm assuming the number of trials one has to go through to obtain the rewards varies from person to person? After all, she did mention in one of her messages that she'd have to survive all of the trials that would be thrown her way.' Reading through the description written on the screen before him, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity.
[Gates of Enlightenment' Trial (2)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)
Difficulty: B
The Gates of Enlightenment... description has been omitted.
Of course, one must prove one's capability to enter the gates in the first place.
Addendum: By killing the remnants of a forsaken age, you have undoubtedly proved that your capabilities are more than enough to be considered worthy of entering the Gates of Enlightenment. However, strength alone would not take you very far on your journey to greater power. One must also possess an unyielding spirit that seeks to achieve the nigh impossible.
Only those with the necessary strength and willpower to push forward are eligible to obtain the truths the Gates of Enlightenment contain. And now, you have been given a chance to prove just that.
Quest Objectives:
> Survive the tribulation chosen by the Gates of Enlightenment (0/1)
Quest Rewards:
> Full eligibility to the Gates of Enlightenment
> Access to the first level of the Gates of Enlightenment's Blacksmith Knowledge Repository
> Access to Gates of Enlightenment' Trial (3)
Quest Penalties:
> Level - 1
> Teleportation to the inheritance's entrance
[Note: This quest can only be obtained and completed within the Four Pillars' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]
'Is this the information the Imperial Production Guild wants us to obtain?' Looking at the list of rewards he would get from completing the quest, Valyr briefly thought back to the conversations he had with the Ancestral Council, as well as with Julian regarding the goals they had in exploring the inheritance.
'I'm not sure whether a place like the Blacksmith Knowledge Repository would have access to the high-level technology they want us to get, but I'll still do it anyway.' Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he kept the negligible penalties of the quest in mind, the young man closed the screen he brought up, replacing it with the party chat not long after. 'After all, the technology here is the reason why I accepted in the first place.'
After reading through the description of the second quest in greater detail, it was no surprise that the young man had asked others about the quests they've received, wanting to find whether he was the only one among them to have been given a single trial to complete.
Thankfully, it did not take long for him to obtain a response from the others, with Hal telling him that he only needed to complete a single trial as well. As for Vera and Faulus, the two of them had been given three trials to complete according to their quests, which unsurprisingly prompted the latter among the two to curse to no end with how unfair it was.
Though Valyr let out a faint chuckle in response to Faulus' reaction, he eventually sent a message that weighed in on the minds of the other four. "Ever since we forgone sleep to farm the remaining Key Fragments to enter this place, we haven't gotten another message from Loreina whatsoever. Do you think she was able to complete all of the trials she was given?"
For a while, silence enveloped the entire party chat, with the four hoping that Loreina would reply to the question. However, before Valyr could even see the new message that had popped up in the chat screen, a familiar voice began to resound through the barren space he was in.
'The level of strength you wield in combat is enough to instill fear to most, if not all of your foes. The same could be said about your spirit, unyielding, never fearing any of the challenges that come your way.'
'Sadly, even talent beyond the greatest of geniuses are subjected to the rules of the Gates of Enlightenment.'
'Nevertheless, as you've already shown that you have what it takes to make the most out of the Gates of Enlightenment's knowledge, you shall only need to face the wrath of a single tribulation.'
'However, do not expect that such a tribulation would only be a trifling matter, for it shall assess whether you have created a solid foundation that would take you to the end, or a foundation that would crumble amidst adversity.'
'With that, your tribulation begins.'
'Welcome the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.'
