The trial began to fade around them, and Karl wondered how the others might have fared. Not all of them would have easily entered the city from halfway up the mountain. There might have been an entrance at the bottom, or perhaps there were other spots in the area that they could have landed and searched.
When Karl’s vision cleared, he was back on top of the temple, where all three clerics plus Thor were waiting for them.
“Oh, welcome back. We were wondering how long you would take.” Tessa greeted them with a smile.
“I hope we didn’t make you wait long.”
The Archbishop chuckled and Lotus giggled as she lay curled up against Thor’s side.
“You could say that. We’ve been back for nearly two days already.”
Karl and Nacht turned to each other in confusion, wondering if this was actually part of the trial, and they weren’t really out yet.
“Two days? We’ve only been in the trial for an hour and a bit.” Karl asked carefully.
Lotus looked up from her nap spot. “That was our thought as well. We appeared in a forest village full of Elves, had lunch with a human cleric lady, and then we were back here.” “Did you get a reward?” Karl asked, wondering what sort of trial they had undergone.
“We did. We just don’t know what yet. When we check the system interface, it still says rewards calculating.” Tessa explained.
That made both Karl and Nacht believe even more strongly that they were still in the trial, but then Nacht received a message, which shouldn’t be possible in the separate space. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“Before we go any further, what happened to Prince Karl?” The Archbishop demanded, waving a hand in his direction.
Karl nodded in agreement. “I suppose a run-down is in order. We landed on a ledge outside an ancient Dwarven city. Then we followed a powerful soul aura to an opal mounted on a tomb deep in the city, and it gave us a test and a reward. I was given a gift of Evolution, and a skill called [Iron Within] that appears to have reforged my body and granted a special constitution.” “A special constitution? It sounds more like is partially changed your species. Or perhaps entirely changed it with minimal change to your outer appearance.” The Archbishop retorted.
Then he got a curious look on his face and opened a portal.
“Jeeves, come here and bring your assistant.” The elderly Archbishop demanded.
A blue robed dragonkin poked his head through, then nodded and vanished back to wherever he had been.
Only a minute later, he came back out with a young blue robed girl that immediately made Lotus stand up and smile.
Karl discretely sniffed at the air, then chuckled. The young one was a juvenile blue dragon, not a dragonkin. Lotus must have noticed faster than he had.
“Jill, it’s so good to see you again. You will never guess what we have been up to since I saw you last. Ask the big meanie if you can stay a while after he finishes working, and we will catch up.” Lotus insisted, speaking so fast that her words were jumbled together.
Jill winked at her and continued following the cleric known as Jeeves.
According to the System interface, his name was Geraldo, but the Archbishop might either know him by a nickname, or simply forgot his name long ago and hadn’t realized it.
“Your Eminence, I have brought all my tools. What sort of new species have you found for me?” He asked.
“That one. I suspect that a System gift made him no longer human. I would like to know what he is. Demihuman? Some form of monster? An unknown species?” The Archbishop replied.
Geraldo smiled at Karl. “My Class is Scholar. I have a skill to allow me to compare a sample against any information I have ever read. So, if you are changed into another species, I should be able to tell.” Karl nodded, and the cleric took out a needle.
*Ting*
Everyone turned to see what the metal on metal noise was, while Karl and Geraldo stared at the needle.
“Well, that was unexpected. I’m sure I found a vein. Do you have a skill active?”
Karl shook his head. “I have all my invulnerability and regeneration skills deactivated at the moment. The new one isn’t something I can turn off, though. When it interacted with another skill I have, it became that new Constitution.”
“Were there any other oddities?” Geraldo asked. “My Rank is listed as [Pending] at the moment.”
The cleric looked impressed. “You’re going to make it to Monarch Rank once your advancement finishes? That is incredible. I’m sure that everyone will be delighted to find out that there will be a new Monarch.
However, that does explain the issue. Archbishop, I may need your assistance. Can you coat the needle in holy energy so that I can draw a blood sample? I’m not powerful enough to puncture his veins.”
The Archbishop took the needle from him and carefully drew a sample from the underside of Karl’s forearm.
The blood came out deep black and faintly shimmering, which intrigued everyone present. Karl included.
They had never seen blood like that before, and when Geraldo tried to test it, he just shook his head. “There is nothing about this in any of the research materials that I have seen. I could study some of the more obscure entries that I haven’t prioritized, but that’s mostly for extinct species and mythical creatures.” The blue dragon cleric explained.
Nacht stared at the blood sample for a moment, then took the needle and let a drop fall on his hand.
“I think that it has been permanently altered by his skill. If I apply small amounts of death energy to it, the blood regenerates. If I’m right, you’re not getting a reading because the skill that has modified his body is stabilizing the sample. You’re going to have to send it to one of your scientists if you want answers, and they’ll have to do a whole research project.” The Dragon explained.
Tessa smirked at the dragon. “So, you’re saying that even if his blood is spilled, the blood itself won’t degrade?”
The dragon nodded, but the Archbishop realized the implication right away.
“And if he happens to impart that ability to his beasts?” The elderly cleric began.
“An immortal Bloodbath Spider.” Rae announced as the remainder of the team exited the trial at the same time.