Chapter 177 Round Two Of Second Trial

A silver-haired boy could be seen looking blankly at the object glowing in a golden glow. There was a look of curiosity and joy in his eyes as he looked at the shard before him. He was still not sure which skill to upgrade; he wanted to upgrade a multi-purpose skill that would give him an advantage in multiple scenarios.

After careful consideration, he decided on the skill he would upgrade. At first, he had multiple choices, but at last, he decided to bet on 'Chains of Reaper,' as they were the ones he really liked but somehow lacked punch.

He touched the shard, and a window appeared before him: [Choose a skill to upgrade.]

[a.) Shadow Walk]

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[d.] Chains of Reaper]

He took a deep breath again before selecting the fourth option. The area around him disappeared and changed. He looked around to see multiple runes, mana channels, and graphs, all describing his skill.

On some screens, the videos of users using it in different ways also became visible to him; some of them even encouraged him to try them. He wanted to look for more when he heard a 'ding' sound, and a window appeared before him.

Choose an element to merge with this skill.

It was very easy for Rishi; he chose the only element he had 'Shadow' after selecting it. The screens around him started to change, showing different runes, mana channels, and graphs. There was strange code running on some screens that were calculating the possibilities related to such a skill.

He was again busy trying to understand something when the screen again appeared before him.

[Type down four attributes you want your skill to have.] A keyboard hologram also appeared before him.

Rishi thought for a while before deciding. He chose elasticity, aura freedom, stun,"  and 'speed.' The screens around Rishi again started to calculate the practicality of such a skill.

The window appeared again. [Imagine the skill that you have in mind, so we can carefully study it and create a suitable skill.]

Rishi activated 'Extreme Focus' and started imagining an ideal skill. He saw himself using the blackish-purple chains as a slingshot to move very fast. He imagined summoning it and it appearing very fast and holding his opponents. Everyone bound by it got hit by a 'Stun' effect.

He imagined only using a little aura to cover the whole chain, and after that, he fought against multiple opponents, keeping the chains constantly covered in 'Sword Aura.' He also imagined this skill to be very fast, making it almost impossible to dodge if caught off guard.

The screens around him started generating codes to create a skill like he wanted. He thought that he would soon receive his skill, but his eyes opened when the screen again appeared before him and said

[User, we are creating a suitable skill for you, but it will take some time. Please wait patiently.]

Rishi looked around and found out he was again at his original place. Only a golden shard was before him that was shining mysteriously.

He sighed and decided to attempt the second round. He started walking toward the strange doors, which had mysterious.

Magic runes were all very distinct from each other.

He heard the voice of Gai inside his head. Challenger choose a door; each door represents a distinct element. Sense it and choose the secondary element you want to awaken.

He closed his eyes, activated his 'Extreme Focus' skill, and started sensing the doors before him. If it was someone other than Rishi, it could have taken him a very long time to focus and sense the element related to doors.

He first tried to sense the left-most door, which was yellow with a red-colored flame-shaped rune at the center that was constantly glowing and dimming. He tried to sense it and started feeling something.

At first, it was a warm feeling, but the temperature shot up with time. It was so hot that even he was unsure if he could save himself by using 'regeneration' or if he would even get a chance to use it before turning to ash.

He guessed that it might be a fire element, and the temperature dropped with his realization. He suddenly felt that it was not trying to burn him but was trying to make him comfortable by emitting a gentle, warm presence.

After he had sensed the first element, he started to sense the second one. It took him a while, but he felt that something was swirling all over his body; he could hear the whistling sound of the fast-moving wind. It was as if the wind wanted to blow him away, giving him time to dodge, but he was not worried as he had already guessed that it was a wind element.

He sensed some more elements like plants, water, earth, darkness, and metal. He finally started to sense the last door; it took him most of the time to sense this one, but he started feeling a little cold after some time. The temperature continued to drop, and he also felt that there was a cold layer above his skin, making it very difficult to move.

He was about to get completely 'frozen' when he guessed that it was ice melt. It was not very hard to guess, but the way it started to freeze him in seconds sent a chill all over his body.

He stood up and looked at the seven doors in front of him that were shining even more brightly now. He now had to decide which one to choose. Like always, he decided to think critically about what was best for him instead of deciding quickly or making a biased decision.

It took him a while to contemplate everything, but the result was more than satisfactory. He thought of everything he lacked and needed for his second element to have. He wanted his second element to be something that could be used in multiple situations.

He wanted it to give a debuff that slowed down his opponents, and he also wanted it to have some defensive capabilities while not lacking in offense at all. The criteria he had set were tough to fulfill, but fortunately, one of the seven elements satisfied all his conditions.

It was the ice element that gave opponents the 'freeze' debuff. The people who had it also proved its unquestionable ability for offense and defense. Even after filling out all these criteria, the ice element was also a multi-purpose element; it could be used in many innovative ways.

After he had decided which element he would awaken, it was now time to reach the door and open it. From what he had seen until now, he was sure that it would not be easy, but he was prepared.

He looked at the last door from his right side and started walking towards it. He could feel a little cold from the first step he took. After the second step, the temperature drop was even more significant.

It was getting harder and harder, but he didn't lose hope. He knew this was the test to determine if he was worthy. The difficulty is also increased by the order in which you sense that element; normally, the challenger will try to sense two or three elements he has a great affinity with before deciding which one to choose.

In his case, he had sensed them from right to left, which made the Ice element the hardest to awaken. "Why do these things happen to me only? I make things harder for myself most of the time."

He put his right foot on the fifth step and could feel a bone-chilling cold; he just closed his eyes and put his left foot on the sixth step. The temperature drop this time was very high; he could feel ice burn all over his body.

He rubbed his hands and used all his strength to take the last step and open the door. He appeared inside a snow mountain with his rock-hard clothes and flowing nose.

"This is no fun." He looked around. The temperature was not very cold right now, but it was also scary and more challenging to resist, even for Rishi.

He suddenly got an idea and started to run around like an idiot. His idea didn't suit his intellect, but at the end of the day, it worked. He suddenly felt warm. "Sometimes the most basic thing or principle can do the work."

He was still confused, not knowing what to do. All he remembered was that he had entered the strange door and had been thrown there.

When he was looking around, he heard the enormous footsteps of someone. The entire area around him was shaking, and he could feel the avalanche approaching him. He used his 'Chains of Reaper' skill, using two to form something to leap up while using the last one to remain in the air.