(Cloak of Midnight)


    (Key Item)


    I exited the second trial with the second key item in my hand and the reward box in my storage. Thalia was the first one to notice me. Her eyes widened, flickering with a mixture of pride and relief. “You did it,” she said, a hint of satisfaction softening her usually worried features. Of course that quickly changed when she noticed my swollen forehead and broken pinky.


    “Ow.”


    She touched it, causing me to groan in pain.


    “I am sorry. I will be treating it right away.”


    A soft, warm sensation washed over my forehead, her mana humming through her fingertips as she knitted flesh and bone with practiced care.


    “It almost looks like a horn. What kind of being was in that trial to cause this much damage to you, Champion?”


    Artemeni remarked.


    “I did it to myself.”


    I answered, drawing in worried looks.


    “The trial had mind-altering effects. Had to snap it out somehow.”


    Thalia gave me a disapproving glare before sighing.


    “Champion, I understand that your ability to heal is beyond many of us but that doesn’t mean you should get used to taking damage. No matter what skill or title you have, a body’s ability to regenerate slows down when it takes damage back to back in a short amount of time. We can’t have you fall unconscious in the middle of an expedition, can we?”


    She pressed down on my wound as if to emphasize her point.


    “I understand.”


    She offered me a smile that was half-approval, half-relief. I held up the Cloak of Midnight, admiring the dark, almost liquid fabric as it shifted in my hands. Its texture was cool to the touch, yet it seemed to move like shadow-given form, slipping through my fingers like mist.


    “This looks like something you would wear, Champion.”


    Aurora came closer to inspect the item.


    “Yeah, it looks like that. Shame I can’t really equip any armor with my Spark. Plus, it can only be used after clearing the first floor.”


    I laid it on the altar before pulling the reward box.


    “I think they are a little bit too specific for our use.”


    Blanche, who was examining the items with me said. I nodded along. Nearly all the items had something to do with shadows and stealth which wasn’t really a good fit for others.


    “It is not like we can claim ownership over any of this. You were the one who did all the work.”


    She added.


    “You shouldn’t think like that. We are a team. There is no I or you here.”


    She raised her eyebrows slightly before turning away. But before she could turn, I saw a smile blossoming on her face.


    “If you guys don’t want it, I will be learning this.”


    I lifted the skill book containing “Enhanced Perception”. Everyone gave me their approval and I absorbed it.


    (You acquired passive skill Enhanced Perception.)


    (Enhanced Perception refines the user''s ability to process sensory information. This skill heightens the mind''s capacity to analyze and interpret surroundings.)


    Perhaps thanks to my newly acquired Soul Boundry Awareness, I was able to sense how the skill book worked. It “uploaded” the records that made up the book into my soul. Or at least that’s how I interpreted the process.


    As the effects of the skill book settled, I could feel a newfound sharpness creeping into my awareness, as if the world itself had become crisper, each detail clearer. I took a breath, letting the enhanced perception sharpen the edges of everything around me. It was subtle, but every movement, sound, and shadow felt more defined.


    “This is different than Enhanced Senses.”


    I made a fist, perceiving how the muscles and joints moved. It wasn’t like I was being blasted by more information like when I borrowed Enhanced Senses. It was simply that I was able to understand what I was sensing more clearly.


    “I wonder…”


    I borrowed Enhanced Senses to see how well both of them would go but…


    “Ugh.”


    The amplified perception crashed into me like a wave, flooding my mind with too much at once. Every sound, every flicker of light, even the faintest scent in the air became overwhelming, the layering of Enhanced Senses with Enhanced Perception pushing my mind to its limit. My head throbbed as I struggled to process it all, a sharp pain shooting through my temples.


    Despite the sensation of a dagger being thrust into my brain, I didn’t stop borrowing Enhanced Senses. Gritting my teeth, I tried to focus and somehow make sense of all the information flooding in my head. While I was semi-successful, the ache squeezing my head tightly grew too much to bear and I released Enhanced Senses.


    “That…was intense,” I muttered, feeling a cold bead of sweat trace down my temple. I shook my head and drank some water.


    “Alright, enough messing around. We are going into the next trial. Oh, by the way, how long I was in the trial?”


    I got up and stretched. My body made a lot of noise but it was something I was used to.


    “Around an hour.”


    Blanche answered.


    “Eh. Not bad, not good.”


    With a newfound clarity lingering in my mind, I looked at my companions. Thalia was carefully wrapping up my hand, her fingers gentle but firm, while Aurora was adjusting the straps of her gear, her expression focused. Blanche, having regained her composure, stood nearby.


    “Alright, let’s move out,” I said, shaking off the residual pain. “We have trials to conquer.”


    I put my hand to the altar of the Trial of the Arrow Storm. The world around me shifted, and the altars and darkness surrounding us were replaced by a windswept expanse of golden plains under a bright sun. The random change in light level caused my eyes to hurt.


    (Reach to the statue to complete the trial while avoiding projectiles.)


    I looked around. No archers or mechanisms that would fire arrows were anywhere to be found. The only things out of the ordinary were several straight lines drawn on the ground and a stone statue of what I assumed was something divine one to two kilometers away from us. It was probably our target.


    “I see. Those must be the “breakthroughs” info mentioned.”


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.I clapped my hands.


    “When we step past the first line, the arrows will start raining on us. But first I want to try Shadow Walking there. It is far away but it is worth a try.”


    I closed my eyes and melted into the shadows.


    “Of course, it wouldn’t be so easy.”


    Not a second later, I exited the same place I was at a second ago.


    “Some kind of static is stopping me. What about you guys, Aurora, Blanche?”


    Both of them could teleport but they shook their head simultaneously.


    I shrugged, trying to keep things light. “It was worth testing out.”


    I motioned for everyone to step back as I put the chain of my sacred sword around my waist and gave the other end to Artemeni. "I''ll try going past the first line alone. If something happens, it’ll be easier to react without all of us tangled in the mess."


    Taking a breath, I crossed the first line. And then, from the far horizon, arrows began to appear, flickers of dark steel against the bright sky. They were fast—inhumanly so—and their numbers multiplied until they filled the air in a continuous onslaught. I extended my hand out, grabbing them until I couldn’t hold them all. I chuckled myself.


    “You can make some money out of selling them.”


    As if to fuck with me, the arrows dissolved into mist the moment I said that. I sighed and dodged the next volley. They were fast, that much was true but I trained with elves.


    “You have to step up.”


    I started to run. As I sprinted forward, each step barely outpacing the barrage of arrows, I found the rhythm of arrows being fired even without Enhanced Senses. It was probably thanks to Enhanced Perception, Combat Sense, and borrowed Combat Instincts. I could trace each arrow’s arc, almost like seeing the future in fractured pieces.


    Once I got past the second line I realized something: the arrows were changing. They began to shift direction mid-flight, tracking my movements with unnerving accuracy. So much for seeing the future, I guess.


    “Champion!” Thalia’s voice called out. She was tense, watching, but stayed back as I had asked. I could feel her worry, even from this distance.


    “It is fine.”


    I spat out with gritted teeth as three arrows bounced off my gauntlet after I channeled extra mana into it. Despite my caution, I felt the impact in my bones. I could use Shadow Melt to cause them to pass through me harmlessly but G?kb?rü’s instincts told me that it would work one time only. My experience also told me the same. If only a skill could make this trial a cakewalk, it wouldn’t be seen as this difficult of a dungeon.


    I pushed forward, weaving between the torrents of arrows, each volley growing smarter, more insistent as if reacting to my movements. I wasn''t just dodging projectiles; it felt like I was playing a deadly game of chess against an unseen intelligence.


    Reaching the third line, I paused, catching my breath. My armor was dented in places where arrows had managed to graze me, and the gauntlet still throbbed from that earlier impact. The arrows had become even more complex here, spiraling and ricocheting in unpredictable ways.


    “I can’t believe they have guided missiles here.”


    I braced myself and sprinted forward again, this time incorporating feints and sudden directional changes to throw off their aim. The arrows reacted, faltering for split seconds, but only barely. Finally, at the fourth line, I noticed the pace slowing until it stopped completely. I narrowed my eyes. I halted for a moment, listening and scanning the terrain.


    “This is wrong.”


    I could hear something cutting through the air. But I couldn-


    “Grh!”


    I couldn’t even form a clear thought before getting in three places, my forearm, chest, and thigh. Artemeni was quick to pull me back.


    “Fucking shit. They are invisible now.”


    Thalia was at my side in an instant, her face tight with concern as she pressed her hands to my forearm, her healing mana working to close the wounds. “Champion, we need a different strategy. If the arrows are invisible now, just dodging won’t be enough.”


    Aurora knelt beside me, her eyes scanning the field with a quiet intensity. “It’s more than invisibility. The arrows shifted as you progressed, almost as if they were watching you and changing in response. I wonder if there’s a way to disrupt that awareness… Maybe if we divide its attention?”


    Blanche chimed in, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I think Aurora’s right. Each line you crossed intensified the trial, but it might also reset if we can break its rhythm. We could stagger our crossing, making it focus on multiple targets.”


    I nodded, testing my leg as Thalia finished with her healing. “Alright. Let’s go with that plan. But be cautious; once you hit the third line, the arrows start homing in. Stay alert for that shift.”


    With everyone ready, we moved into position. Artemeni took the first step, crossing the initial line and triggering the volley of arrows. As they began to rain down, I advanced as well, staying one line behind her. The moment I crossed, the arrows’ behavior shifted again, splitting between us, though they didn’t home in yet. Blanche followed suit, creating three staggered targets, and we moved as a team, each line slowing the trial’s adaptations.


    “Keep moving!” I called out, dodging a close shot that nicked my shoulder. “It’s working, but don’t slow down!”


    When we reached the third line, I felt the familiar shift as the arrows began to arc and spiral, tracking my movements again. The others were still ahead, the trial dividing its attention between us. My Enhanced Perception helped me catch the faint shimmer of an arrow as it veered in my direction, and I narrowly sidestepped, the increased awareness steadying my breath even in the chaos.


    I gritted my teeth, using the Ferocity of Wolf King to reach and pass others. I could regenerate better than them so I had to be one to be one to test out the new bullshit this trial was about to throw at us. I focused on the noise and the vibrations in the air to dodge invisible arrows or just tanked them by focusing my mana on my gauntlets.


    Despite the pain increasing as I moved further, I pressed on. I passed one more line and the noise and vibrations stopped. Alarm bells started to ring in my head but I couldn’t stop now. The statue was closer than ever, and I drew on every ounce of strength I had left, allowing Ferocity of Wolf King to stack higher. I could feel the frenzy building, my reflexes sharpening further. I dropped into a lower stance, weaving and ducking around the faintest disturbances in the air but something hit me, throwing me back.


    Two more pierced my stomach, none of my senses being able to detect them before they hit me.


    “What the fuck?”


    Their power must also be doubled since they were able to pierce deep inside my organs. I tasted iron as Blanche jumped in front of me and erected an ice shield. But it was futile. Both of us were hit by something and thrown away. Did it curve around the ice wall? No, I didn’t hear or sense it!