The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1981 Trial Options

{Welcome to the start of today's trial.

The objective is simple, reach the top of the pyramid by walking up the steps. Your reward will increase with every step that you take.}

Karl smiled as the trial scene shifted, and a familiar looking pyramid appeared in front of them.

"If anyone doesn't know, the four sides of these pyramids are usually all different trials, and there is usually a sign telling you which is which. The reward will be based on what side you choose," he explained.

A few of the members looked confused, so Karl elaborated.

"We've been to a number of these sorts of trials before, and they're usually set by the World Dragon, who likes to use the same basic template with different rewards and difficulties for different trials.

So, it's not too hard to guess the basic mechanics, even if you don't know what you're going to face."

Oak smiled and nodded. "Oh, that makes sense. If you recognize something from another trial, it will usually work the same way in the new one. That sort of thing? Now, I suppose that we just need to find out what sort of trial we stumbled into.

Or, Lala stumbled into while looking for flowers."

What startled Karl more was not that the bunny had managed to find a hidden secret trial ground while she was out looking for flowers. It was the fact that the entire situation was not a scheme by Cara. She had simply planned to take some of the kids out for a wilderness outing while making sure that nobody tried to steal their bunny.

The fact that they had managed to find the Trial was just a happy accident.

The group moved together toward the pyramid, and found that the sides really were conveniently labelled.

In a less than convenient method.

{Trial Option 1}

{Trial Option 2}

{Trial Option 3}

{Random Trial Option}

Cara knew what one she was going to pick as soon as she finished reading the label, and Karl knew that he was likely going with her. But first he wanted to see what the other trial staircases were going to test.

"Someone who wants to pick trial 1, please step forward. You go up, and let us know what it's testing. We will do that for all three, and that will let the rest of the group know what one to pick," he instructed.

Veda thought that was a great plan. She was a blue dragon Seeker, after all. They definitely needed information about all four trial options.

Leon stepped forward, striding confidently to the trial.

"The first option is rarely the wrong one. Go in, get it done. That's my way," the Seraphim Holy Crusader explained.

Then, he took the first step on the pyramid and vanished.

[Leon? Can you see System messages?]

No response.

"Well, it seems that the System is on to our tricks. We can't contact Leon, so we don't know what any of the options are going to do until we finish. Everyone, pick whatever side seems the best to you, and get started."

Hawk considered the options. The sun in this space was moving from behind them to in front of them, but off to his left. That meant if he picked option 2 he would have the sun on his back as long as possible.

That was the best option.

Many others thought that three was the way to go, while most of the group decided that Leon had a point, and option 1 was as good as any other option if you didn't know what any of them were.

Karl went to the randomized trial side, and then realized that he could likely just have asked the beasts to go and then found out what the trials were.

Cara's thoughts were amused. [Nope, I can't sense the others who have entered. It's just us and Skadi still outside the stairs.]

Karl turned to see that Skadi was silently following behind them. He picked the white haired girl up in his arms and spun her in a circle, making the little Forest Lord laugh.

"What made you decide the random trial was the one?"

"I couldn't pick a number, so I'll let the trial pick a number for me. Random is just random, but it's probably fair, right? So, we can just let the trial pick."

"Indecisiveness in the most decisive way possible. I like your style. Alright, let's head to the stairs."

Karl stepped onto the stairs with the Forest Lord still in his arms, but when his foot touched the step, he found that she was standing next to him, and that he could sense everyone again.

It was only those not on the pyramid that were isolated.

Everyone who had entered was pulled into some sort of individual trial with each step, some shorter, and some longer than others. But within a few seconds they reappeared on the step and were ready to step up again.

Curious, Karl took his first step and found himself in a manicured garden behind a white stone building that appeared to be cut out of a mountainside.

There was a book on the table in front of him with a simple note.

{Read Me}

Now, while a sane and reasonable person might have surmised that this was obviously a trap, the first thing that Karl did was to take a seat and open the cover to find out what the book was about.

{The First Step on the path to Supremacy is to understand your own spiritual power reserve. Any Ascended Immortal can shape their Immortal Spirit into something new, and improve the strength of it.

But only those who are destined to become Supreme can take it further, and begin forming their connection to the realm beyond.}

Very mysterious, eloquent while saying absolutely nothing. But maybe that was because Karl had already been informed that Supremacy wasn't about mastering something new, but about changing yourself to become more powerful than any Immortal could be.

Nobody had ever gotten around to fully explaining the process, but he suspected that this trial might be designed to help with that.