The First Trial

It hurts.

It pained him to death.

The pain of betrayal struck him hard. The pain was just too unreal, like a gnawing dread that seemed to swallow up his very being whole.

Jax wouldn't have been able to recover even if time itself persistently tried to heal him.

But for a moment, he forgot all about it when he saw something peculiar floating in front of him.

That thing was like an ancient scroll, glowing dimly in the shade of black. The scroll was beige in color, and it exuded a black aura similar to steam. Tiny beads of black light also hovered around it like fireflies around a tree.

Jax marveled at the sight of that otherworldly scroll. The scroll being suspended in midair was already surprising enough, but for it to also exude a discomforting aura, he couldn't help feeling amazed, but at the same time, uneasy. The fear of the unknown seemed to intrude into his heart.

Then, suddenly, the otherworldly scroll rolled open downward for him to see unfamiliar words written in pale gold. Those words also looked ancient. Jax tilted his head slightly sideways, the question marks over his head grew in number.

Strangely, Jax was able to read the otherworldly words, and he could understand them too. Although he himself didn't realize it yet at that moment.

[Congratulations! You've conquered your greatest fear completely and completed the First Trial: Master's Quest.]

[ You've become a Master. Ability conquered: Vengeful Soul (forbidden)]

Said the first two paragraph. Then what came next was what followed.

[Master are Challengers who managed to conquer their fear, the First Trial. At this state, their conquered ability will be strengthened and they will gain full control of this ability, avoiding the threat of falling into corruption. However, their ability is only limited within the territory of any Sacred Statue. Outside the Sacred Statue's territory, their ability will vanish and appear like a normal person.]

''What the hell is this now?'' Jax gasped, his eyes constricted. He blinked multiple times and rubbed his eyes, yet he still saw the same thing.

Strange scroll containing strange messages...

First Trial... Conquest of fear... Master's Quest... Master... Ability conquered... Sacred Statue... Territory... Lord...

Jax kept those key points in mind. Confusion naturally filled him. Those words it said... He couldn't understand what in the world it was trying to explain.

In the end, he sighed as a helpless smile surfaced on his lips, ''Damn, I think I'm still dead.''

Then the Scroll rolled close, and then rolled open again after a short second. The information that it showed, instantly changed just like that.

[As the first Challenger who completed the First Trial, that is to conquer your greatest fear, you have been rewarded by the Forbidden Sacred Statue that now dwells within you.]

[You received an enchantment material: Primal Element.]

[You can check the item on your Inventory.]

''Forbidden Sacred Statue? Primal Element? Inventory? What are those? Are they something I should be happy about?'' Jax muttered, the things that had been revealed to him seemed to tilt his head slightly sideways.

But wait.

Did that Scroll just say that the thing called the Forbidden Sacred Statue now dwelt within him? What did it mean by...

He was still trying to mull over things when the Scroll rolled close and open again, changing the information that it showed.

[Will you proceed to the next trial?]

[Second Trial: Lord's Quest?]

[Yes | No]

''Lord's Quest?'' Jax responded with a voice barely audible even to him. His thoughts from earlier swayed away when new information greeted him. After a short moment of pondering, he rubbed his chin, his thought shallow, as he ended up shrugging his shoulders. Then he answered with uncertainty, ''Yes?''

The Scroll didn't roll close and open this time, but the words written on it emitted a faint golden light, changing the words written on it so magically.

[Trial accepted!]

[Beginning the Lord's Quest... Preparing the dungeon... Preparing the monsters...]

[Preparation Complete!]

[You will be transported to one of the Forbidden Lands...]

_____________________

[Mission]

• Slay fishes and collect 100 souls or more within the time limit of 30 days.

(Souls collected: 0/100)

(Remaining time: 30D)

_____________________

Before he could have a good grasp of the situation, Jax suddenly disappeared out of thin air. He vanished without a trace, as if he didn't exist in the first place.

He never expected that the decision he chose without too much care and thought could be the greatest regret in his life.

***

Early in the morning, in the village hidden in the trees...

The small, rural village had long stood as a quiet haven, its residents content to live out their days in the comfort of familiar traditions and superstitions. But on this day, a sudden disturbance shattered the tranquility, drawing the curious and the fearful alike to the village's vicinity.

In the center of the bustling crowd, there stood a massive stone statue having the resemblance of a human wearing classic clothing. Its origins remained a mystery to the villagers. However, many people claimed that the statue depicted those higher beings living in the higher realms. That said, it must have come from the higher realms, the heavens.

The towering figure, carved from a peculiar gray stone, loomed over the onlookers, its features obscured by the passage of time. A hushed silence fell over the crowd as they gazed upon the enigmatic monolith, unsure of what to make of this unexpected discovery.

In the hands of the stone statue was a stone tablet. The statue carried the stone tablet on top of its hand, while its other hand rested on top of the stone tablet.

Otherworldly letters were engraved on the stone tablet.

ᜆᜃᜓᜆ᜔

Was written on it.

The stone statue that held the stone tablet gave off a sense of great apprehension to all the people who had seen it with their eyes.

After all, what kind of matter would remain unscathed after it fell from such a great height? Not only that, rumors also spread that it was originally a block of rock when it first landed. It only formed into a stone statue a few minutes after it fell on the ground.

On top of that, there was not only a single stone statue that fell from the sky. News spread on TV and other online social platforms that the same thing also fell in different parts of the world.

Although the cause and origin of those stone statues were still under investigation, there was actually a countless number of them to the point that almost every village, town, and city, had stone statues that fell on them.

In the village hidden in the trees, there were actually two stone statues that fell within its boundary. One was in the vicinity of the village, and the other one was in the deepest part of the hacienda owned by Kally's father.

Kally's father ordered his people to block entry to the hacienda. The sightseeing of the stone statue remained exclusive to his family and his people only. And they were also investigating the origin and purpose of that stone statue.

On the other hand, the other stone statue that fell in the vicinity of the village remained unrestricted. People could go and see it as it became too crowded.

For a long while, villagers only stood from a distance, watching the stone statue with heavy tension and palpable unease.

But then, all of a sudden, one courageous, more precisely, attention-seeker individual came to reach out his hand to the cold, unyielding surface of the stone statue, to be exact, the stone tablet.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened, and the crowd collectively held their breath. Then, without a warning, a faint glow began to emanate from the man's fingertips. His eyes widened, as he watched the unfolding situation with a mixture of fear and fascination.

Then, suddenly, the light emanating from the man's finger manifested into a small bead of light. The light parted from the man's fingertip, hovering in midair in front of the man.

Everyone watched the unfolding situation with bated breath. A sense of growing unease loomed upon the crowd.

Then a sudden movement from the small bead of light attracted everyone's attention. Slowly, it grew in size, shifting into something that only brought greater surprise.

A strange book with strange patterns on the cover manifested from the bead of light. An invisible force that seemed to display its might pushed the man a couple of steps back. He was stunned for a moment, a sense of surprise and great apprehension came knocking into his heart.

Then, without any warning, he saw the book flipped open before him.

Words that were alien to others became legible to him and him alone as he started reading them.

[The conquest of fear will now begin...]

[First Trial: Master's Quest]

[Conquer your greatest fear.]