Chapter 14: Chapter 14
Now that Ash had summoned a shadow clone for the first time, new information appeared in his mind. At his current level which was zero, he could only summon one. The only way for the shadow clone to disappear was to un-summon it or for it to die. Unless Ash un-summoned the clone, he could not summon another one for a week.
The shadow clone kept pace with Ash as they continued to the mountain. He was getting a lot more attention now thanks to the shadow clone but fortunately the ones looking at him seemed to also be more wary. Quite a few groups, both beside and behind him, had noticed his fight with the blue draconian. By this point, Ash had calmed down from the fight and had once again reached his full speed. As they ran for another seven hours, they finally came upon the foot of the mountain.
Ash paused along with the clone and looked up breathlessly at the mountain. He wasn't tired by any means but the mountain have off a formless and awe inspiring pressure that he could feel deep into his very soul. Ash had never once seen something both so grand and amazing in his entire lives. After looking around, Ash could see that many other beings were like him, looking up at the mountain and feeling the pressure.
The mountain was red, almost the color of blood, just like the earth around it. There were no trees or anything else growing on the mountain. The only thing that stood out was an enormous staircase leading directly to the peak. Ash couldn't see the peak of the mountain from the foot of it. While Ash was paying attention to the staircase, the first person took a step into the mountain. The moment that the draconian's second foot hit the first step you could see him nearly buckle under the pressure! After taking the second step the pressure increased even more while the draconian took a moment to steady himself.
After watching the draconian, many others started to make their way up the stairs. After watching about 30 people start to make their way up, Ash decided to follow. Ash took a deep breath before he took the first step. Immediately he felt a formless pressure come out of nowhere that was many times more intense than from the outside. It felt like someone had placed a weighted blanket over him that weighed 100 pounds. Strangely enough though, Ash didn't feel like it was much of a burden.
Ash continued to the second step. Upon reaching the next step, it felt like another 10 pounds had been added to the blanket. The shadow clone beside him was also doing just fine. In fact, it appeared as though it was even more at ease than Ash himself. As Ash continued up the steps, each one he took added another 10 pounds to the formless pressure. This continued until he reached the 100th step. One he reached the 100th step, Ash almost immediately buckled over. The weight that he had felt before was like nothing compared to now. It was almost as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Ash had no idea how his body was able to handle the weight. His body actually didn't feel tired at all. The only thing Ash felt was an overwhelming exhaustion, similar to when he created the shadow clone. Instead of affecting the body, Ash started to think that it might be a test for something else. 'My soul perhaps...?' Ash thought.
Ash had heard in his past life on the Mook continent about a few rare trials that could test the soul. From what he knew though, none were as terrifying as this one. After gathering his bearings for half a minute, Ash was slightly more acclimated to the pressure and decided to continue upwards. Looking up, Ash could see about 100 more stairs that he had to climb. After that, fog covered up the rest of the mountain. Step by step, Ash made his way up the mountain. Looking around, around half of the different beings had been stopped at the 100th step. One unlucky fellow appeared to have been turned flat! Once again, the people having the easiest time up the mountain were the mysterious beings.
The scenery on the mountain was absolutely amazing. Everything took on a spiritual glow so even the most normal of things was brought to life. Unfortunately for Ash, no matter how amazing the scenery was, he could not afford to look at it. Ash had finally reached the 97th step after about one and a half hours. Veins bulged out all over his body and sweat poured down from him like a raging waterfall. His chest moving was indecipherable due to his struggling breathing and the shaking of his entire body. He moved his foot. Trying to take the next step, for Ash, was like tying a one ton brick to his foot and trying to bring his knee up. As he slowly moved his foot up to the 98th step, Ash could feel his head pounding. Like someone was beating a drum in his head, the only thing he could hear was the deafening sound of his own heart beating and head pounding. Ash moved his other foot to complete the next step. When his foot steadily landed, Ash experienced a sharp pain fill his entire mind. No longer could he feel his head pounding, or his heart beating, or the overwhelming pressure covering his body. The excruciating and piercing pain in his body went away just as quick as it came while leaving behind the sound of shattering glass!
All of the sudden, Ash could feel the pressure literally melt off of him! By the time it stopped, he felt as if he had only just passed the first ten steps! Ash was no longer breathing shakily and was able to keep his body from shaking. The raging sound of his beating heart and the pounding of his head had finally stopped. He took a deep breath and took the finals two steps to reach the top of the trial. He was still drenched in sweat from the stairs and as the slightly cold mountain breeze blew by he shivered. "If that was just the first trial on the mountain... what did I get myself in to?" Ash appeared solemn and had a serious look in his eyes.
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