Chapter 9: Trials Meant to Be Broken

[You have entered the Tomb of the Great Hero Gatros.]

“Wow, this place is no joke?”

I thought a tomb would be a typical underground dungeon structure.

But when the white light faded, what appeared before my eyes was a massive cavern.

It was almost as if the entire interior of that towering cliff was the tomb.

Just then, a voice came from somewhere in the cavern, where no presence had been felt.

You who possess the qualifications.

“Ah, hello?”

As time passed, its form gradually took shape, and it was a spirit.

A translucent body, a voice that resonated through the air.

A chilling cold that I could feel the closer I got.

‘If this were an enemy, I’d never make it through.’

Physical attacks are fundamentally ineffective against this type of spirit enemy.

Even though I had a spirit, to my knowledge, spirit-type monsters were at least level 50.

I could only hope that spirit wouldn’t initiate a fight.

Fortunately, my guess seemed correct, as the spirit maintained a suitable distance and continued speaking.

To inherit that one’s will, you must pass trials befitting that purpose.

Rumble—!

As soon as the spirit finished speaking, a tremor shook the stone walls of the cavern.

And after a moment, several doors appeared on the surface of the flat stone wall.

Stone doors that looked so solid I wondered if I could even open them.

As if reading my thoughts, the door on the far left began to open on its own.

The first trial is the Path of Fire. Pierce through the blazing flames and bring back the key to the second door.

From the wide-open stone door, intense heat radiated.

Inside, as the spirit had said, flames that seemed scorching hot emitted a bright light, illuminating the cavern.

As I approached the stone door, I couldn’t see any particular strategy.

It seemed I would genuinely have to pierce through the flames.

Seeing that, my solution was singular.

“Summon Salamander.”

Whoosh!

– Kkyu!

“Can you boost my fire resistance? And if you have energy to spare, hold back the flames along my path.”

– Kkyuu!

– …?

The spirit, which had been giving instructions impassively, momentarily wore a blank expression.

***

‘A fire spirit. So he was a spirit mage?’

With a fire spirit, it would certainly be possible.

From the moment you summon one, your fire resistance itself becomes different from ordinary people.

Moreover, if the spirit held back the flames even a little, it would be enough to reach the end.

As if proving his thoughts, Lee Chang, covering his face, ran swiftly forward through the flames.

In less than a few minutes, Lee Chang was able to pierce through the flames and reach the end.

“Is this the key?”

– Y-yes. With that, you may open the next door.

“Understood.”

Returning was also no problem.

With Salamander’s help, Lee Chang narrowly made it through the flames before its mana ran out, safely passing the Path of Fire.

‘But surely he doesn’t have a water spirit too.’

Even for a spirit mage, most only contract with a single spirit.

Besides, this was that one’s tomb.

A place that admitted those with qualifications, not those who already possessed power.

According to what that one had said about qualifications.

Clunk!

At that moment, the next stone door opened.

This time, unlike before, a blue light shimmered from within the door.

And inside, there was water filling the space up to the ceiling.

Water that defied gravity and formed a wall-like shape.

The second trial is the Path of Water. Pierce through the raging currents and reach the end.

“Understood.”

Lee Chang hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and then dove into the water.

Seeing this, the spirit thought.

‘The reason the Path of Water is difficult is not just the currents. As a human, you inevitably need to breathe.’

Unlike the Path of Fire, the Path of Water was famously lengthy.

The time a human can hold their breath underwater is about sixty seconds.

Since the Path of Water was a length that required five minutes of swimming for an ordinary person, reaching the end was not easy.

As if proving his thoughts, in less than a minute, Lee Chang emerged from the water.

Do you give up? Having passed the Path of Fire, you have ample pride…

“That’s a relief.”

Huh?

In Lee Chang’s hands were sand, seaweed, and other items.

Things that were hard to understand why he had brought them back.

Lee Chang gathered them together, cut them with his sword, and began to crush them.

What are you doing now?

“Ah, I need to make something.”

The spirit could not understand Lee Chang’s actions at all.

The finely chopped pieces of seaweed.

The blue-green moss.

Even the sand, still moist.

Lee Chang, having mixed these with other unknown ingredients, placed his hand over the materials and called out.

“Blue Alchemy – Gills of the Sea Fish.”

Alchemy?

The materials laid on the floor emitted a blue light.

Soon after, the materials blended together, forming a liquid shape.

Lee Chang drank it without hesitation.

Crunch!

Three layers of gills began to form just below Lee Chang’s ears.

What in the…

***

“Phew, ha!”

As soon as the gills formed, it felt like my breath was catching in my throat.

Having experienced this before my regression, I dove into the water before me without hesitation.

Bubble, bubble!

“Wow, this experience is mystical no matter how many times I do it.”

Blue Alchemy.

It was one of the easier branches of alchemy, and the Sea Fish Gills I used were among the fundamentals.

That was why, even without the skill, I could succeed in alchemy with just the right materials and mana.

And thanks to that,

[Skill ‘Color Alchemy’ has been created.]

I even gained a new skill.

To the point where I wondered if I was becoming a jack-of-all-trades.

‘Well, I was practically a jack-of-all-trades anyway.’

Looking around, I saw fish, seaweed, clams, and more.

Incredibly unreal, as if it were unbelievable that this was inside a cliff, an ecosystem existed here too.

‘Should I catch a few?’

Maybe it was because I had recently become so absorbed in cooking?

Seeing the fish, my first thought was that they looked delicious.

But this was underwater.

Naturally, borrowing Salamander’s power was impossible, and using a sword was difficult due to the water’s buoyancy.

Of course, all of that applied only to ordinary people.

Snap!

I gripped my one-handed sword, which I now used more for cooking these days.

Then I observed the fish swimming around me.

‘It’s not that different underwater.’

A school of fish that looked like mackerel passed in front of me.

The fish seemed to swim irregularly without any pattern.

But the more I observed, the more I could feel it.

The path they liked to take.

The moment they changed direction.

Even the subtle currents flowing around them.

‘Predict their movements.’

I thrust my sword.

Stab!

As my arm fully extended, the school of fish quickly scattered and fled.

And impaled on the tip of my sword was, as expected, one fish.

‘I should stock up a few.’

Experiences with seafood weren’t common, whether at the training ground or after leaving it.

That was why I thought this way.

I wanted to offer some to Jackson and Mr. Dustin as well.

Given the inland nature, fish were expensive ingredients that were hard to eat because they were difficult to keep fresh.

Surely, they would all be delighted.

Stab, stab!

[Mackerel Meat acquired.]

With simple butchering, the fish bodies, excluding the heads, entered my inventory.

I wanted to hunt until my inventory was full, but after catching a few, the fish no longer approached me.

They had fully recognized me as a threat.

I looked at the bottom, but unfortunately, I didn’t see any crustaceans like crabs or clams nearby.

Since the gills’ effective time was about to run out, I hurriedly exited the water.

“The key. This is it, right?”

***

‘Truly remarkable.’

The spirit turned its head to look at Lee Chang, who was already passing the fifth trial.

‘Swordsmanship, hunting, spirits, alchemy… and above all, his cooking skills.’

What an unbelievable guy.

He found himself thinking that.

Even now, Lee Chang was easily passing the trials with incredibly diverse and strong abilities.

‘It’s like watching that one in his youth.’

The spirit recalled its master, the Great Hero Gatros.

How he had mastered a wide variety of abilities and used them to bring happiness to people.

‘But I cannot be certain yet.’

The trials to verify qualifications had ended with the fifth.

However, one most important thing remained.

That was his own recognition.

Since this was about inheriting the will of the Great Hero Gatros, he could not give away the manual based solely on strength.

‘A will, goodness, that can bring hope and happiness to the people of the world, just as that one did. That is needed.’

But a person’s goodness was not something that could be easily judged in such a short time.

That was why he could only ponder.

And just then,

“Phew, with this, all the trials are finished, right?”

– Admirable.

Lee Chang was calmly walking out of the solid stone door after completing the fifth trial.

***

Crash!

As I exited the door, the massive stone door closed with a heavy sound.

I looked back at that door and thought.

‘No wonder no one uncovered this in ten years.’

Although I had somehow made it here, these were trials that for an ordinary person would have been impossible, not just a matter of talent.

From the start, the first trial, the Path of Fire.

Unless you had considerable abilities, that alone was too much.

Moreover, all the users here were trainees.

The Path of Water, the Path of Forest, the Path of Blades that followed—all of them were at a difficulty level absurd for trainees.

– Admirable.

“Haha, it was nothing.”

– Haha, to be this composed after completing five trials.

Perhaps because we had exchanged a few words each time I passed a trial?

I felt like I had grown quite close to the spirit compared to the beginning.

That stiff spirit was now even smiling like this.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t even know its name yet.’

“We haven’t introduced ourselves, have we?”

– Indeed.

“Let me greet you properly. My name is Lee Chang.”

– My name is Jeil. I was once the right hand of the Great Hero Gatros.

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