Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

Ike blinked. No matter whether his eyes were open or shut, the scene remained the same: pure, brutal black, not a scrap of light to be seen. "Anyone else here?"

"Yeah, right here," Wisp replied.

Sean sleepily patted his shoulder.

"Mag?"

"Here," the boy replied, after a pause.

Ike pivoted on the spot. He extended his aether, but sensed nothing more than what he saw: a flat floor, a big, empty area, and lots and lots of darkness. Not another living creature, not as far as his senses reached. Just him and his party, all alone in the dark.

Lifting his hand, he called lightning to his palm. A flickering purple light manifested, playing over the faces of everyone present. Wisp waved, totally unbothered. Mag's head had been nodding, his eyes half shut, but he jolted upright as the light shone. "Wha? I wasn't sleeping."

"Typical bird. This is why spiders like the night," Wisp said, nodding.

"Why…?" Ike asked, lost.

She pointed at Mag. "Birds fall asleep when it gets dark. You can even throw a cloth over their heads, and if you hold it there long enough, they'll fall asleep. They're kinda dumb."

"I do not. That's false. Just a myth," Mag protested.

Wisp raised her brows. She nodded at Ike. "Turn off the lights. We can all find out together if it's a myth."

Before Ike could react, the lightning went dark on its own. He startled and looked at his hand, pushing more aether into the spell. Lightning still crackled over his arm, popping and snapping, a tingle travelling up his forearm. It just no longer provided light.

"Uh… I guess the trial has decided to end the light for us," Ike said, chuckling.

No reply. He frowned, then reached out, groping into the darkness with his non-lightning-clad hand. "Hello? Wisp? Mag?" He touched his shoulder, but found nothing there either. Ike twisted his lips. If Shawn was gone, that clinched it. They'd been transported into the trial, whether they wanted it or not.

Ike looked up, expecting that voice to narrate the parameters of this trial the way it had the first, but nothing came. There was silence and darkness. Nothing else.

He canceled the spell and lowered his hand. No point wasting his aether if the trial wouldn't allow him to summon light, and he had no need for an attack against the darkness. Unlike Mag, darkness didn't bother him. He wouldn't fall asleep if he was left in the darkness long enough. Though even if the darkness did bother him, it seemed he had no choice but to face it.

"Is this a trial of darkness, or something?" Ike guessed aloud. He chuckled. Kneeling, he felt the floor, then closed his eyes and extended his aether. A large corridor spread before him, visible only in his aether-senses. The floor was flat, with no pits, and neither did he detect any traps in the walls. Ike walked forward slowly but steadily, proceeding blindly into the dark. He strode on until the rear wall faded away behind him, and all that remained was an identical corridor both before and behind.

Ike walked. In the eternal darkness, he couldn't tell how much time passed. He walked and walked. At last, he shrugged to himself. Is it an endurance challenge? If so, it's ideal for me. He sped up from a walk to a run. The corridor sped past, but more of it remained. It seemed to extend forever, with no beginning and no end.

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Ike put himself on autopilot and ran on. Compared to the desert, this was nothing. He hadn't even passed the twenty-four hour mark yet. It was only running, at the end of the day. The one skill he had the most confidence in, from the beginning to the end. Whether it was sprinting or endurance running, he could run until the end of the earth and not get tired. Running with his eyes close was a bit tiresome, so after a while, he opened them. It made no difference, since all that awaited was darkness whether his eyes were open or shut, but it was disconcerting to run without open eyes.

Time marched on. Ike continued to run. He yawned, a little bored. Was this trial testing his focus as well as his endurance? Compared to endurance, he'd probably suffer more from keeping his focus with nothing to look at and no one to talk to. Usually, he could look at the scenery or chat with Wisp, but now, he was all alone in the pure darkness. Nothing to look at, and no one to talk to. In other words, completely boring.

He pulled one of the random artifacts he'd acquired at Shopkeep's place from his storage ring and sent his senses into it, examining it more closely than he had before. It was a flute made of animal bone, and by Shopkeep's own admission, he had no idea what it did. He had acquired it when he'd stripped a man who owed him a debt of all his goods. It clearly had a powerful magical aura, but when Shopkeep had blown into it, nothing had happened. Not even a sound had emerged. Ike had given it a cursory investigation with his aether earlier, but just like Shopkeep, hadn't been able to determine its function or purpose. Mentally moving it to the useless pile, he'd made up his mind to sell it to the first patsy who deserved such a lemon. Now that he had nothing but time on his hands, he figured he might as well give it a closer look.

Sending his aether through it illuminated him no more than it had the first time. He lifted it to his lips and blew, but yet again, nothing happened. Ike twisted his lips, at an impasse. He could break it, and analyze the skill as it escaped, but he didn't want to destroy a precious artifact. Besides, that was a one-time chance to learn the skill, whereas keeping it around meant he could keep trying over and over. It was just that right now, he didn't know how to find the skill at all, whereas breaking it would cause the skill to emerge.

He twisted his lips, looking over the flute again. It had a third- or fourth-rank aura, and it felt truly powerful. If he could unlock it…

"There you are, boy," a familiar voice grunted.

Ike startled. Reflexively, he hid the flute behind him, sharpening his stance immediately. His uncle loomed over him. He stood in the same filthy abode he'd always lived in, the sprawling villa of his childhood.

A hand slammed down and clapped him on the cheek, firmly enough to send his mind reeling. "Quit your daydreaming. You're late! Get your ass down to the plant. We got a new shipment of dark hyenas today, and their fur needs shaving."

Ike touched his face. He frowned. Was it all just a dream…?

He rolled his eyes at himself. Of course it wasn't. Where would he come up with people like Wisp and Llewyn, Shopkeep, Mag, and Clarina, when he'd never left the slums in his life? Immediately, the scene grew blurry, but Ike reached out and held onto it with his aether. He charged his uncle, fist ready to strike.

The split second before his fist struck, the scene vanished. His fist swung into darkness.

Ike pursed his lips. "Damn." If only the scene had lasted a few more seconds, he could've landed a good one on his uncle. It wouldn't be the same as actually punching his uncle, but it would be at least a little satisfying.

The darkness swirled again. Llewyn stood before him, at the front of an army of puppets. They all charged Ike at once, emanating fierce, powerful auras.

"You're just showing me things I'm afraid of. It's not going to work," Ike told the trial. It was pretty obvious, now, what it was. A trial of courage. But it was going in the wrong direction, pulling people from Ike's past. He was stronger than them, now. He no longer had any reason to fear them. He drew his sword and slashed through the puppets and Llewyn alike. They had no mass, no form. Like smoke, they dissipated before his sword reached them.

"If you want to scare me, you're really going to have to try harder."

A silhouette formed in the darkness ahead of him. Ike held his sword at the ready, waiting. Come on. Show me something good.