Legendary Necromancer: My First Summon is the Undead Dragon-Chapter 34: Path of a Chosen

The carriage had made its way far from Lumerg and was now on a major street that led to a forest. They had been quiet the duration of the journey, but Seer finally spoke.

"Rion, show Jake the first mission that we have," she said.

"Oh yeah," Rion replied and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Jake. He started explaining while Jake read through it.

"There is a village near the edge of this forest, and they have bandit issues. The village focuses on farming, and they produce a good amount of potatoes.

They are Lumerg’s number one supplier after all. But for the past three weeks, their supplies have dunked, and that’s because a group of bandits decided to start attacking," Rion said.

"So are we going to head to the village first before we take out the bandits?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, that’s what we will do. Honestly, this is the easiest mission we have on our list. After that, it has to do with taking down Tainted, or different beasts," Rion said.

"I see," Jake replied and went quiet for a bit, but then he looked at Rion and asked a question that was bothering him.

"Rion, the Trials—how bad are they? What effects do they have in the world in general? I know I’ve heard of how they destroy places, but truly, how bad are they?" he asked.

Rion stared at Jake for a few seconds. He didn’t say anything, as if trying to find the right words.

"Go ahead, tell him," Seer said.

"Sigh... Honestly, I wish I had your ignorance to the issue—it would leave you in peace. But when you hear everything I’m about to say, you’ll finally understand the horror we are bound to," Rion said. He raised his hand up, showing the mark.

"This mark—it’s not just for show, it’s not just a mark to show you are chosen. When the Trials begin, the marks activate, and each person is given something called Paths—the Paths of a Chosen.

From what I know, there exist thirty known paths. Each path consists of nine levels, each one giving you powers different from the last. When you receive your path, your goal is to get it from level one all the way to nine, and only then can you really see the true power of your path.

The only way to level up your path is through knowledge of people that had that path before, and achievements during the Trials."

Jake became confused at this point, so he spoke up. "You mean that in the Trial, we use Paths and not our former strength?" he asked.

"Oh no, that’s not the case at all. Your normal strength might be the only thing you can rely on inside the Trials.

Paths are powers given by the Trial—they aren’t cost-free. Using your path requires immense soul force and mental force. Using it heavily could damage you forever, and using it even a little will exhaust you or cause a backlash.

But it’s worth it, because within the Trials, you have to do everything to survive. I’ve read about the paths before. They are hard to recall, but I believe I know one completely.

The Path of the HollowFlame—Destruction and flames. The person that has this path, regardless of their element before they became chosen, will have the power of flames—and not just any flames, but flames with power beyond any you know of.

This person starts off on the lowest level. He is a Kindled Wisp. I believe they possess a black flame that burns both body and Mana. This is only the first level, and it’s already something to watch out for.

And then you finally level up and become Soulbrand, and with it comes new abilities—and most times, you also gain a unique ability to add.

The list keeps going on until level nine, where he enters the level of Embarking Rebirth. Yes, that’s what it is called. And in that level, if he dies, he’ll return ten times stronger unless his flame heart is crushed—though the death can’t be self-caused," Rion said.

"That honestly sounds terrifying," Jake said.

"Indeed, it is. There is a lot for you to learn, Jake, about all of this. When you get to Olen, take out time to read more. From what I know, the paths come seven days before the Trials begin. It serves as some sort of alarm," Rion said.

Jake nodded. "I’ll try to gather as much information," he said.

"Good. And now to the Trials. A hundred trials might seem like a small amount to select the Guardian of the World, but I promise you it is not, because the records from people that have gone in tell you what it’s like.

Some Trials last over years, some last days. Some Trials terraform the planet massively to make room for it, and some take you to different dimensions.

Some deal with ancient mysteries, and some Trials can very well cause the world to plummet into destruction. Your normal life outside the Trial slowly becomes meaningless to you, and only what is inside the Trial matters to you.

And then there is the fact that every Chosen is an enemy—even the ones you’re in alliance with. At the end of the day, only one person can become Guardian, and no other person from that generation who was a Chosen is allowed to live after one is chosen.

So what it means is that this is one massive battle royale, and even as we speak as friends now, soon, we will plunge our blades into each other," Rion said.

"And is there no way to stop this? What if everyone decides to not become a Guardian?" Jake asked. He knew it was a stupid question, but still.

"Then the world will fall to the abyss," Rion replied.

"And what if the Chosens decide to fight against the abyss together?" he asked.

"Sadly, without the power of the Guardian, no one can stop the abyss," Rion replied.

"I see," Jake muttered.