Kapitel 38: Reaper's Trial

Upon getting a closer look at this "reaper shrine" I noticed it was also made of skeletons.

"By the way, not all reaper shrines guarantee a guardian reaper. It's all luck when it comes to encountering one."

"And what if I do meet one from this?"

"Then you'll have to pass a trial. Since I was born with one, I didn't need one. Those that search for a reaper's power needs to pass a certain trial. Of course, I have no knowledge of this trial as it's randomized depending on the person's nature."

I see. A trial that sees if you are worthy of gaining the power to rule over the dead. There was no reaper shrine back in the cemetery where I met Ravyn so maybe it's not in every graveyard.

Now then, I going to test how good my luck is.

I walked up to the reaper shrine and placed my hand on it. When I made contact, a sudden wave of energy coursed around my body and I was suddenly in a dark place.

I took a step forward and realized that I was walking over a transparent ocean. I knew because at the very bottom which I couldn't grasp was some kind of light. The color was somehow ominous. It was a mixture of every color and swirling lights everywhere. To be honest, if someone used this as art for their art projects, they'd probably get a perfect grade or higher.

"…eman ruoy etats ,rebmuls ym detpurretni sah ohw uoY" A sinister, distorted voice spoke from behind.

I turned and there was no one behind me. Hmm, I could've sworn I heard something. Also, what did he even say? I didn't understand a single word.

"Who's there?" I asked the voice but there was no response. I'd ask the same question again and he spoke once again.

"...latrom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I"

For some reason, this reaper was speaking in some sort of dialect. Is this undead language? Or could it be some kind of language that's so ancient it's unable to be translated?

Then I suddenly realized, could this be the first trial? I recall that I have to complete a set of trials given by the reaper that inhabit this shrine. Maybe I have to figure out what he is saying and respond back.

"Can you please repeat that?"

"...latrom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I"

Hmm, maybe I should try reversing it. After all, I could tell that they were pronounced with English vowels.

"latrom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I."

Let's see…

I… said… state… your… name… mortal?

Is that what this reaper is saying to me? It wants my name huh?

"My name is- ahem! amukA oreN si eman yM." I responded.

A slight pause occurred before the reaper spoke again.

"…rebmuls ym gninekawa rof nosaer ruoy etats ,oreN"

Hmm… Nero… state… your… reason… for… awakening…? My… slumber…

"Ehh… recnamorcen a emoceb ot redro ni rewop ruoy worrob ot emoc ev'I."

Huh, who knew the language of the dead was just English reversed? It's a bit complicated but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

"?ydaer uoy erA .lairt eht liaf uoy ,demusnoc yletelpmoc si ytinas ruoy fI .emit taht gnirud dicul eb tsum uoy dna erutuf tnatsid eht fo noisiv a evah lliw uoY .daed eht fo lairt eht ssap ot uoy seriuqer rewop ym ssessop oT"

"seY."

"?siht rof ydaer era uoy erus uoy erA .noisivrepus ym seod os dna ,ecirp hgih a ta semoc recnamorcen eht fo rewop eht ssessop oT .kcab nrut ot gninraw rehtona uoy evig lliw I"

"seY."

"Then let it begin..." The voice then spoke in normally and the lights at the bottom of the sea darted towards me.

I was shown visions, visions of millions of people dying. The entire sky was polluted in dark energy and there were gigantic creatures roaming the sky. I couldn't tell what they were as they were above the dark clouds but I could see what looked like tentacles or arms plunging from the sky.

As I turned around, the place I was in was decimated and bodies were everywhere. And on top of a mountain of bodies was a man looking down at me.

So this is the distant future.

I don't know how many years this is into the future, but since I'm being shown this, I probably won't be present during this.

Though, that man staring at me is giving me some eerie vibes.

He was completely clad in black energy, but his eyes glowed vibrant colors. The man pointed at me and then everything went black.

A skeleton wrapped in dark energy appeared and walked towards me. I noticed that his jaw shape was unusual and jagged, like a beast. His aura was so deep and dark that I almost fell to the ground because of it. Is this... the reaper of this shrine?

"Remarkable, no mere mortal has ever been able to stare at such a scene unphased. It seems I have no other choice but to deem you worthy of my power." The reaper spoke as he began to chant.

"Under the name of the progenitor of the reapers, I shall grant you the power of necromancy."

My body felt a surge of energy and the reaper continued.

"King. Death. Clairvoyance. Shadow. Ravage. The title bestowed onto you by the progenitor and the god of the dead is the Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead."

Once he said that I felt all the dark energy inside me mix in with an even darker source. It was this heavyweight of foreign power invading my body.

"I expect great things from you Nero."

And then I was back in the real world.

I fell back and my body was completely frozen.

"Nero!"

"Master!"

Ravyn and Kiyomi appeared next to me and caught me before I hit the ground. My vision was super blurry and my hearing was dulled.

"Are you alright!? Nero?"

Their voices eventually faded away and I passed out.

...

[Title Obtained: Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead]

[Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead: You are the tyrant of the dead. Break, bend, and enslave the dead to do your bidding. No living dead will be able to oppose your supremacy and you are the pinnacle of all necromancers. Your domain over darkness matches that of the endless void itself| Effects: You will be able to learn the skills of the necromancy from these 5 branches (King) (Death) (Clairvoyance) (Shadow) (Ravage)]

[Class Unlocked: Necromancer]

[!]

[Necromancer --> Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead(Class)]

[Notice: The Necromancer class paths are completely different from most classes. They will not have the same evolutions as those classes]

...

[Passive Skills Obtained: Shadow Manipulation, Reaper's Life Energy(Unique Skill), Undead Domination, Skeleton Manipulation, Premonition, Curse Resistance, Indefinite Aura]

[Reaper's Life Energy: All your dark energy has combined with the reaper's| Effects: +10,000,000 Mana; +10,000,000 Mana every 100 levels hit; +1000 on all stats; +1000 stats every 1000 levels hit]

[Notice: Charisma has been changed to Aura]

[Notice: The more points placed into Aura, the more refined your attacks are]

[Active Skills Obtained: Shadow King Domain]

[Shadow King Domain: Swallow your enemies in complete darkness| Effects: Create a 50-meter radius dome that can negate, absorb, or reverse any form of mana performed by your opponent trapped in this domain; Overwrites any current domain laid out; Enemies trapped in this domain will have their senses messed up| Conditions: 10,000,000 mana for 1 minute and 100,000 every second that passes and activates when the incantation is said| Cooldown: 1 hour after use]

[Notice: The Incantation has been etched into your mind]

[Skills Obtained: Boneyard(Lvl.1), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.1), Necrosis(Lvl.1), Dark Armor(Lvl.1), Shadow Shift(Lvl.1), Shadow Blade Assail(Lvl.1), Doppelganger(Lvl.1), Shadow Enslavement(Lvl.1)]

...

[The Progenitor and the God of the dead have taken a liking of you...]

[They expect great things from you...]

***

I opened my eyes and I was staring at a ceiling. I was a bit absent-minded so it took me a while to realize I was inside of a tent.

When I got up, I noticed Kiyomi and Ravyn were sleeping next to me with their arms across my chest.

Kiyomi was the first one to wake up and when she noticed I was up, she tackled me with a hug.

"You're awake! I was so worried..."

She hugged me tightly and I got a sniff of her hair. Ahh, the fragrance of sweet citrus...

"Ahem!"

I could sense another glare on me, so I quickly told Kiyomi to stop, though I didn't want it to.

"What happened to me?" I asked them.

Turns out, I had a minor coma which lasts for three days. But when I told Ravyn what had happened, it turns out that it was normal for every necromancer. They have to rest for three days while they are bestowed the power of necromancy.

"So I've gotten all this power. I should check what new skills I've obtained."

I haven't opened up my stats in a while so let's check it out.

{Status}

Name: Nero Akuma

Title: Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead

Class: Jack of All Trades

Status: Normal

Level: 506

Mana: [110,000,000/110,000,000]

Strength: 1721

Agility: 1726

Technique: 1686

Perception: 1681

Aura: 1666

Stat Points: 642

{Abilities}

Passive Skills: Haste, Bloodlust, Allocation, Exceed, Dagger Arts, Deadshot, Excess, Grave Robber, Fire Manipulation, Derivation, Sword Arts, Darkness Manipulation, Water Manipulation, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Sage Arts, Extreme Might, Invincibility, Ethos Arsenal, Allotment, Great Sword Proficiency, Berserker Arts, Wind Manipulation, Lightning Manipulation, Necromancy, Mana Control, Shadow Manipulation, Reaper's Life Energy, Undead Domination, Skeleton Manipulation, Premonition, Curse Resistance, Indefinite Aura

Active Skills: Shadow King Domain

Skills: Analysis, Mark of Fidelity, Wolf's Blood(Lvl.8), Flash Step(Lvl.6), Charged Arrow(Lvl.8), Energy Shield(Lvl.5), Aura Barrier(Lvl.4), Quick Regeneration(Lvl.5), Stealth(Lvl.7), Shadow Fist(Lvl.2), Fallen Descent(Lvl.2), Volatile Orbs(Lvl.6), Inferno(Lvl.2), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.2), Swift Slash(Lvl.4), Spacial Storage(Lvl.1), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.2), Flame Pillars(Lvl.2), Grim Dragon Cage(Lvl.1), Grim Dragon Maw(Lvl.1), Inertia Fist(Lvl.1), Lightning Field(Lvl.1), Reanimation(Lvl.1), Ice Armor(Lvl.1), Frost Bolt(Lvl.1), Aura Domain(Lvl.1), Boneyard(Lvl.1), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.1), Necrosis(Lvl.1), Dark Armor(Lvl.1), Shadow Shift(Lvl.1), Shadow Blade Assail(Lvl.1), Doppelganger(Lvl.1), Shadow Enslavement(Lvl.1)

------------------

W-what the...? My stats were... they were boosted? That's also the same with my mana.

Christ, I also got new skills. I think I'm gonna have to start training if I'm gonna get used to these skills.

"Master, we should get going soon. We are almost there."

Kiyomi handed me my clothes and I put them on. Before we left to go to Maroon City, I was testing out my new skills while they were packing stuff up.

"Now then, let's see what my new skills allow me to do."

So after testing them all out, this was what they could do.

Shadow Manipulation allowed me to control shadows, literally. I could even have someone's shadow beat them up.

Skeleton Manipulation allowed me to bend, break, and create skeletons with organic material at will. It was kind of like Ravyn's Reaper's Evil Eyes. That reminds me, I think I can get that skill from her. Maybe I'll get it tonight if I'm lucky.

Premonition... according to its description, I'm able to peer 2 seconds into the future but only when I'm in a tight situation or it just happens randomly. So I'll just leave it at that.

Indefinite Aura was an interesting skill. It was similar to Aura Barrier, but I could activate it without consuming mana. The best part about this skill was that I was able to absorb any stray mana loitering in the air and make it part of mine. Basically, it's kind of like an infinite mana source and basically a visible version of my aura.

Now I had gone over most of the new passive skills I've got, it's time for my new skills.

Shadow Shift was like Flash Step and I think Ravyn had demonstrated it to me, well technically she used it against me but it's not really an offensive move and more of an evasive skill. It consumes 10,000 mana every use.

Shadow Blade Assail. The name was cool but what it did was even better. With the newfound dark energy inside me, I could bend my aura and use it as projectiles. Raining thousands of dark energy blades onto my enemies is going to be entertaining to watch. It consumes mana from 1-1,000 per blade fired.

Doppelganger. Well judging by the name it's pretty obvious by now. I could create a shadow image of myself and use it to fight. It's also a little immortal as it can't be destroyed by anything unless there is anti-mana or if I want it to disappear. A million mana to summon an indestructible clone. Pretty worth it, if you ask me.

And last but not least, Shadow Enslavement. From the description, it says I can absorb the spirit of those that I've killed. These, however, only limit to most monsters. They also must be dead too. Also, the name of the skill kind of goes against my morals... but I'll let this one slide.

After that, we were back on the road again. During that time, I deposited my stat points since I realized I was stacking a lot. And also, I can now deposit points into Charisma, or Aura. It now serves a better purpose than looks and persuasion. It now refines my attacks.

[Strength 1721 --> Strength 1849]

[Agility 1726 --> Agility 1854]

[Technique 1686 --> Technique 1814]

[Perception 1681 --> Perception 1809]

[Aura 1666 --> Aura 1794]

The ride lasted a peaceful 3 hours.

Until we were almost struck by a flaming meteor.

We all exited the wagon to see what had happened and it turns out we had stumbled in the middle of a demon attack.

After we hid the wagon and the pegasi, we headed towards where the battle was. I noticed there was a huge colosseum where they were fighting and from the looks of it; it was heavily fortified... or polluted.

It was covered in crimson vines and plants and mixed with large blue ice spikes. I also noticed a few skulls hanging from the vines.

If I'm gonna guess, that's where the boss is gonna be hiding.

There is no doubt the heroes are already here and they are probably busy with the demon army right now.

But I'm not here for the army, I'm here for the leader.

"Let's go, we aren't going to stand here all day," I'd say to the girls, and they agreed with no objections. Instead, they had battle-hungry looks in their eyes. Kinda scary not gonna lie.

"Alright, let's get going."