Emperor Sylvester's Trial

"Have I really changed this much?"

The reflection that stared back at him seemed like a stranger, a person he had never seen before, yet knew all about.

This appearance was a stark reminder of the suicidal journey he had embarked on.

"My face is somewhat more mature, well who cares…."

"Though I think my height has grown quite a bit!" Licht exclaimed.

The effects of the increase in stats as well as the process of integration of spiritual energy with his whole being were starting to show.

It accommodated the flow of spiritual energy to make it better, thus increasing his stats.

'But what's with my hair? I am only sixteen. Why are they white all of a sudden?'

'And by their growth, this has been happening for more than two weeks….'

But suddenly, a realization hit Licht.

"Ah, stress…that is probably the reason behind this."

All the pain he had experienced in these weeks had made him like this.

Licht sighed, looking at his reflection in the pond for one last time, but just as he tried to stand up, his legs refused to move.

The fight with Hollow Sentinel had taken quite a toll on him, yet he had kept going without any rest.

Now, he was too tired to move.

Lying down beside the pond, his droopy eyes blinked for some seconds. 'Time to wander off in my dreams…'

Licht's eyes closed as his mind finally got the sleep it deserved.

.....

--Ding!

"Can't this system let me sleep for some more time?!" Licht woke up to the sudden 'dings' that the system kept giving for no reason.

It kept ringing the same noise again and again, till he finally had enough of it.

››

[Trial: Twin sword of Dusk and Dawn]

[Legacy trial for the Emperor Sylvestia.]

[You will be automatically transported in 10 seconds.]

››

Licht's eyes widened before he finally understood what was happening.

"Ah, nice. Another great day in this sad life of mine, they gave me a trial that just gives six words as an explanation!" Just as Licht spoke, a tremor erupted all around him as his world turned black.

'This feeling never gets better,' he thought after being transported to an unknown place.

It was a dark cavern where he could only look some meters away.

The lighting around him was dim as the ground, the walls, and even the roof were made from uneven dirt that seemed mushy and gooey.

It made moving difficult as he had to push harder every time he wanted to step forward.

While adapting to this new environment for some moments, Licht heard a rustling sound from behind him.

Startled by the sudden noise. Licht took out his katana and warily looked in all directions.

He waited and waited, but nothing came up. There was nothing in front of him.

It was like the voice he heard was just an illusion, but all of a sudden the flow of the wind changed.

Getting a bad feeling, Licht turned around to see a horrifying creature.

A giant maw appeared just a few feet away from him. The teeth inside it looked like an endless pit of a never-ending hell.

The lower head of this creature had pincers on both sides of its mouth, while the upper had several eyes, staring deep into Licht.

Even before his brain could register what was happening, his hand swung forward.

The muscles in his arm felt extreme tension from the sudden movement.

CLANG!

The sword and the mandibles clashed, sending both of them a step back.

His hand was aching from a movement it was not used to.

Groaning for a second, Licht could now finally see the creature now. "Is that an ant? Wait, isn't that too big to be called one...."

The ant had six legs, a hard exoskeleton, and powerful mandibles that had just tried to clamp down on Licht, but the damn thing was a meter in length!

Licht didn't underestimate the calamity as he looked at its every action, ready to react to any kind of change.

'It has got some hard power behind that attack,' he thought as he looked at his sword, which was still vibrating from the impact.

'I am so done with these weird things that happen to me every time.'

"What even is this self-imposed trial!" Licht roared.

Without even taking another second to himself, he kicked the ground going for another round with the ant.

His katana in his hand moved, slashing down at the ant's body, but only sparks came out of the clash.

'Ah, shit.'

Licht's katana clashed with the ant again and again, but the result that came out wasn't what he liked.

The exoskeleton of the ant was too hard for his sword to cut through.

'Maybe I can pierce it..' Licht thought while avoiding continuous clamps thrown at his body.

'No, that won't work. This is too fast to pierce that way...'

With time small injuries started accumulating on his body, yet not even a dent could be seen on the ant's exoskeleton.

But suddenly, Licht got extremely close to the ant's body and kicked it underneath with his foot.

He put everything he had into that one strike as he tried to send the damn ant up in the air. Yet all he could do was stagger it.

"Why are you so damn heavy!"

In the course of the battle, Licht did the same thing again and again, aiming for that one moment, but it never came.

"I guess it is time to do things the rough way," murmuring deep in his breath, Licht manifested the pair of trusty gauntlets.

****

Author Notes: Half of the chapter was mistakenly deleted by me (maybe the app?) but fret not, as it is completed now! Though, sorry for the delay in it.