Chapter 68 - 68 – Looking Back at the Trial
Kyle awkwardly jumped out of the lake, four Crunchers stuck inside his body.
He gritted his teeth and pulled one of them off before taking a bite out of it.
"Are you suicidal?!" Theodor asked yet again.
Kyle just ate the four Crunchers on his body, and Theodor went on a racist rant about dwarfs again.
'I've gotten used to constantly listening to a crazy psycho in my mind way too quickly. I swear, some people would find that concerning,' Kyle thought.
'But then, who is the crazy one? The one who listens to psycho-schizo voices or the ones concerned for that person?'
...
'That wasn't as smart of a comeback as I thought.'
Kyle threw the bones of the Crunchers back into the pond before walking out of the lake area.
When he saw a couple of the black stones, he got interested in them.
"What kind of ore is that?" he asked.
"Powder Stone," Theodor answered. "It's a Rank E Material, and it is very volatile. Refining it requires an advanced refiner. The best way to mine them is to pick them whole and transport them to an advanced refiner."
"Powder Stones are mostly used for cannons and big mining operations, but there are also some other uses for it after it is refined."
Kyle nodded. "Powder Stone also absorbs Ether from its surroundings, right?"
"Smart inheritor," Theodor said with pride. "Yes, Powder Stone is a cannibalistic ore. It siphons the Ether out of any adjacent materials."
Kyle continued walking back and came across the solidified magma lake.
"Why is there no magma?" Theodor asked. "There should be natural Magma Stone lining the bottom. It shouldn't just vanish."
Kyle was reminded of the magma hand that grabbed him.
He had rammed his hammer into the magma hand, and everything cooled down after.
Kyle had a suspicion.
"How was the inheritor supposed to get past this trial?" Kyle asked.
"Power of body or mind combined with courage," Theodor answered. "If you have a powerful body, you can just jump over it. If you have a powerful mind and know Spells, you can use them to get past the lake."
Kyle remembered how he had hesitated when thinking about jumping over the lake.
He hadn't been sure if he could jump far enough, but now, he knew that he could definitely have made it.
Next, Kyle told Theodor about the hand of magma.
"Ah, a Magma Fiend," Theodor said. "Sometimes, natural Magma Stone can also turn into an Ore Fiend, but since natural Magma Stone has the fire element, it doesn't produce a normal Ore Fiend. A Magma Fiend is an Ore Fiend with an affinity for the fire element."
Kyle furrowed his brows. "I thought Ore Fiends are all Ferocious Beasts. This one was a bit weak."
"It had to be a Ferocious Beast since it was an Ore Fiend," Theodor explained. "However, due to the fickle nature of fire, Magma Fiends are very unstable. If you just siphon a bit of their Ether out, they will lose hold over their Ether and disperse."
'Huh, now we got elements,' Kyle thought. 'This really is fantasy land.'
Kyle took a running start and jumped over the solid lava lake.
He just wanted to see if he could do it.
And sure enough, he easily landed on the other side.
By now, he had gotten used to the power of his body.
Kyle continued onward and reached the place with all of the small golems.
Well, there used to be golems here, but then Kyle appeared.
"I guess this was supposed to be combat training," Kyle commented.
"Correct," Theodor answered. "If you are smart, you can easily outsmart the golems. If you have a powerful body, they won't be a threat anyway."
By now, Kyle could see a pattern.
The individual trials inside the fifth trial were easily overcome as long as someone's Aspects of Power fit the trial.
The golems just needed anything to be strong since there were countless ways to triumph in battle.
The magma lake required a powerful body or spell-casting abilities.
The Powder Stone required a strong Soul and smarts.
The fish required the inheritor to know the basics of Spell Casting.
'Actually, the trial was not that hard. At least, how the trial was supposed to be.'
'Theodor basically only asked for the bare minimum.'
'If there were no Ore Fiends, he would have probably found an inheritor many years ago.'
'So, I guess I was lucky that the Ore Fiends were there.'
But then, he was reminded of the crazy psycho inside his head.
'Or not. Not sure. Gotta see how things play out.'
Kyle reached the first big hole and easily jumped out of it.
Then, for the first time in what felt like forever, Kyle saw a golem that didn't immediately attack him.
It was the golem standing beside the entrance of the fifth trial.
"Hey, I'm back," Kyle said.
"Entrant number 69," the golem said. "Why are you back?"
"I got the Inheritance Crystal," Kyle answered.
"Enter password," the golem said.
"I absolutely loathe Hieronymus," Theodor said.
"Hey, I know you really hate the guy, but I need the password," Kyle asked.
"That is the password, foolish mortal," Theodor answered.
"I absolutely loathe Hieronymus," Kyle said.
"Password accepted," the golem said.
The next moment, the golem fell to its knees. "Number 45 greets Lord Inheritor," the golem said.
Kyle smiled with pride when he saw the kneeling golem.
His instincts were telling him that this golem was still far more powerful than him.
In fact, it felt about as powerful as the Ore Fiend leader.
But now, Kyle could command such a powerful golem!
"Don't get too complacent," Theodor said, noticing Kyle's self-congratulatory smile.
"You are not allowed to take them out of the Inheritance Crypt."
"Why not?" Kyle asked in shocked disappointment.
"Weak men make hard times. Hard times make strong men. Strong men make easy times. Easy times make weak men," Theodor said.
"If I make things too easy, you will become weak."
"I made you into an Aristocrat, and I will teach you everything I know, but that is the extent of my help."
"Resources, training, techniques, wealth, power."
"You have to get all of that yourself."
"The only thing I will provide is counsel and knowledge."
Kyle just frowned before sighing.
"Sure thing, Boss."