Chapter 848 Unexpected Visitor (3) - Trials
"Sadly, I have not been paying much attention to you until recently." Skepsi said, sighing as if to lament this fact.
"You are but one of the trillion souls in this world. Even among the players, you are one among a hundred million, and among the candidates, you are one among tens of thousands."
"Certainly you might stand out a bit more than the others, but even then you are perhaps only ranked as an interesting fellow in the top thousandth in the world."
"That is quite high praise." Eldrian said. Being top thousandth in any world was considered a massive achievement. And considering the scale of Gaia, it was far more so. A single empire had a population of over a billion (if the information Eldrian had was to be believed).
Including the kingdoms under them, one empire would already surpass the population of Earth (and he was keen to believe this, considering just how massive this world was). To reach the top thousandth, Eldrian doubted he could be that interesting. And apparently Skepsi agreed.
"If we were to only evaluate your achievements and potential, then you would not be assessed as highly—reaching the top millionth would be difficult. This is why most gods forgot about you shortly after you were classified as a candidate."
'She makes it sound like it isn't them assigning the title...'
"What makes you stand out is that you are a candidate and a player. For now, you are still the only one who satisfies both these conditions. This is why Ziraili was told to continue her observation... then GAIA themselves stepped in."
Deciding that this was enough explanatory detail, Skepsi returned to the question. "Because of this, I was not an observer when you fought the laws of nature. And that in itself isn't too strange an event to force my gaze."
"Necromancy is an entire branch of magic focused on this phenomenon of fighting against the laws of nature. To defeat death and obtain immortality."
Skepsi paused, observing Eldrian's reactions and trying to gauge her thoughts. She was much more interested in his thought process and the answers he came to from her breadcrumbs, than simply giving Eldrian the answers.
Sadly, he had protected himself against mind reading. Skepsi could, of course, force the matter. In fact, her skill was so high that Eldrian wouldn't even realize she was reading his thoughts. But, at this moment, she did not want to go that far.
After all, she came here to be entertained. Reading Eldrian's thoughts would remove the enjoyment of pondering what the other was thinking. It would also ruin the possibility of being surprised.
'She continues to test me... no, rather she wants me to think for myself instead of just listen to her. If she means fighting death, there are several times I can think of when I did so, but...'
Of all Eldrian's battles with death, or rather, where his actions could have led to his true death. He felt there were three that stood out the most.
Certainly, the first that came to his mind was the more recent time where he tapped into his bloodline. Destroyed a village, transformed on Earth, and got placed in a hidden laboratory. This memory was certainly the most vivid, as he was still living with the consequences.
'But I doubt it is that one. After all, I wasn't so much fighting death as I was wishing to prevent it.' Discarding this event, Eldrian next thought of when he absorbed the lich's soul. That action had certainly been dangerous.
The attack on his soul, the corruption, and actually dying and entering the realm of souls while all of this was going on. It felt like a likely candidate. This one was far more dangerous than when he killed and absorbed the soul of the devil Milgoroth.
'Then there is also the time I absorbed the revenant heart...' That fell into a similar vein as the former. Sadly, the results had been a failure. Though Eldrian gained a title out of his efforts, or rather, his struggle to not be consumed by the curse of undeath rewarded him the title of curse breaker.
The title gave him the ability to spot the weaknesses of the undead, allowing him to face most undead without much fear. He hadn't relied on it when facing Levana, since he hadn't wanted to actually kill her. But when fighting skeletons and the like, it was invaluable with how it allowed him to face them without using mana.
'But I doubt it is either of these events. Then—wait, there is a title of actually facing death...' Calling up his interface, Eldrian inspected this title. Its reward was increasing his aura sensitivity, which he hadn't really found much of a use for.
He knew it made sensing and controlling his auras easier, but it wasn't much. After all, even after having the title for over a year, he still lacked true control.
'When did I gain this title again?' Sinking into thought, Eldrian had to think for quite some time to remember. 'Right. It was when I saved Kydone from the ghoul's venom. I remember somehow entering her soul and chasing away the darkness. And there had been something that had spoken...'
Recalling this event, Eldrian wondered if this might be the one. But he felt it was unlikely. While the title was fancy, the struggle hadn't been its equal. Thinking of those times saddened Eldrian's heart, as it reminded him of just how many souls had been lost in the war.
A faint part of Eldrian prayed Kydone was somehow safe even now. She was a master of stealth after all, and she wasn't someone prideful who wouldn't run when the odds were against her. Sadly, he had heard nothing about the catkin in ages.
Even Evale, who had been close to her, had not mentioned her, and that was to be expected. Mentioning the lost would only have Evale remember her brother, Evules.
'Then it has to be linked to when she mentioned me fighting off a horde of orcs. And I doubt it is the time I accessed my bloodline and lost control. Then...' The next option was when he lost control of wrath and the end results was the entire city of Diades being turned to ruin.
That wasn't entirely Eldrian's fault, but rather the results of legends making it their fighting ground. Despite that, Eldrian was the one who Kilen targeted, so he could not think of that time without feeling guilty.
Her reason also wasn't wrong. Eldrian had only learned this after the fact, but he could understand a mother wishing to avenge her son's death. Though Eldrian felt indignant at that fact, her son came for his life first, after all.
'But that event wasn't caused by a horde. It started because of my hubris and attempting to fight an enemy whose strength I underestimated.' If not for this hint from Skepsi's earlier statement, Eldrian would truly believe this might be what she was hinting at.
'Right, this time too I hadn't fought death, but rather to prevent it. Much like with the time my bloodline ran wild, this one is similar. We were cornered and I couldn't let Ceph die. I lost control and things ended terribly...'
AN: Remember to leave a comment and vote to show your support!
:)
"You are but one of the trillion souls in this world. Even among the players, you are one among a hundred million, and among the candidates, you are one among tens of thousands."
"Certainly you might stand out a bit more than the others, but even then you are perhaps only ranked as an interesting fellow in the top thousandth in the world."
"That is quite high praise." Eldrian said. Being top thousandth in any world was considered a massive achievement. And considering the scale of Gaia, it was far more so. A single empire had a population of over a billion (if the information Eldrian had was to be believed).
Including the kingdoms under them, one empire would already surpass the population of Earth (and he was keen to believe this, considering just how massive this world was). To reach the top thousandth, Eldrian doubted he could be that interesting. And apparently Skepsi agreed.
"If we were to only evaluate your achievements and potential, then you would not be assessed as highly—reaching the top millionth would be difficult. This is why most gods forgot about you shortly after you were classified as a candidate."
'She makes it sound like it isn't them assigning the title...'
"What makes you stand out is that you are a candidate and a player. For now, you are still the only one who satisfies both these conditions. This is why Ziraili was told to continue her observation... then GAIA themselves stepped in."
Deciding that this was enough explanatory detail, Skepsi returned to the question. "Because of this, I was not an observer when you fought the laws of nature. And that in itself isn't too strange an event to force my gaze."
"Necromancy is an entire branch of magic focused on this phenomenon of fighting against the laws of nature. To defeat death and obtain immortality."
Skepsi paused, observing Eldrian's reactions and trying to gauge her thoughts. She was much more interested in his thought process and the answers he came to from her breadcrumbs, than simply giving Eldrian the answers.
Sadly, he had protected himself against mind reading. Skepsi could, of course, force the matter. In fact, her skill was so high that Eldrian wouldn't even realize she was reading his thoughts. But, at this moment, she did not want to go that far.
After all, she came here to be entertained. Reading Eldrian's thoughts would remove the enjoyment of pondering what the other was thinking. It would also ruin the possibility of being surprised.
'She continues to test me... no, rather she wants me to think for myself instead of just listen to her. If she means fighting death, there are several times I can think of when I did so, but...'
Of all Eldrian's battles with death, or rather, where his actions could have led to his true death. He felt there were three that stood out the most.
Certainly, the first that came to his mind was the more recent time where he tapped into his bloodline. Destroyed a village, transformed on Earth, and got placed in a hidden laboratory. This memory was certainly the most vivid, as he was still living with the consequences.
'But I doubt it is that one. After all, I wasn't so much fighting death as I was wishing to prevent it.' Discarding this event, Eldrian next thought of when he absorbed the lich's soul. That action had certainly been dangerous.
The attack on his soul, the corruption, and actually dying and entering the realm of souls while all of this was going on. It felt like a likely candidate. This one was far more dangerous than when he killed and absorbed the soul of the devil Milgoroth.
'Then there is also the time I absorbed the revenant heart...' That fell into a similar vein as the former. Sadly, the results had been a failure. Though Eldrian gained a title out of his efforts, or rather, his struggle to not be consumed by the curse of undeath rewarded him the title of curse breaker.
The title gave him the ability to spot the weaknesses of the undead, allowing him to face most undead without much fear. He hadn't relied on it when facing Levana, since he hadn't wanted to actually kill her. But when fighting skeletons and the like, it was invaluable with how it allowed him to face them without using mana.
'But I doubt it is either of these events. Then—wait, there is a title of actually facing death...' Calling up his interface, Eldrian inspected this title. Its reward was increasing his aura sensitivity, which he hadn't really found much of a use for.
He knew it made sensing and controlling his auras easier, but it wasn't much. After all, even after having the title for over a year, he still lacked true control.
'When did I gain this title again?' Sinking into thought, Eldrian had to think for quite some time to remember. 'Right. It was when I saved Kydone from the ghoul's venom. I remember somehow entering her soul and chasing away the darkness. And there had been something that had spoken...'
Recalling this event, Eldrian wondered if this might be the one. But he felt it was unlikely. While the title was fancy, the struggle hadn't been its equal. Thinking of those times saddened Eldrian's heart, as it reminded him of just how many souls had been lost in the war.
A faint part of Eldrian prayed Kydone was somehow safe even now. She was a master of stealth after all, and she wasn't someone prideful who wouldn't run when the odds were against her. Sadly, he had heard nothing about the catkin in ages.
Even Evale, who had been close to her, had not mentioned her, and that was to be expected. Mentioning the lost would only have Evale remember her brother, Evules.
'Then it has to be linked to when she mentioned me fighting off a horde of orcs. And I doubt it is the time I accessed my bloodline and lost control. Then...' The next option was when he lost control of wrath and the end results was the entire city of Diades being turned to ruin.
That wasn't entirely Eldrian's fault, but rather the results of legends making it their fighting ground. Despite that, Eldrian was the one who Kilen targeted, so he could not think of that time without feeling guilty.
Her reason also wasn't wrong. Eldrian had only learned this after the fact, but he could understand a mother wishing to avenge her son's death. Though Eldrian felt indignant at that fact, her son came for his life first, after all.
'But that event wasn't caused by a horde. It started because of my hubris and attempting to fight an enemy whose strength I underestimated.' If not for this hint from Skepsi's earlier statement, Eldrian would truly believe this might be what she was hinting at.
'Right, this time too I hadn't fought death, but rather to prevent it. Much like with the time my bloodline ran wild, this one is similar. We were cornered and I couldn't let Ceph die. I lost control and things ended terribly...'
AN: Remember to leave a comment and vote to show your support!
:)
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