Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

Chapter 182 The Trials

Shout out to @CoffeePanda also known as @Xoma in discord for helping me organize and rewrite my synopsis!

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"I don't think so, buddy," Aldrich chuckled, the more Uldin was willing to pay the more he was assured of his decision.

"Fine, you just wasted a life time deal," Uldin shrugged, "you could have given me anything, crumbs even, but now that I think about it, if you could leave you would have already went to Castamerphia and the spatial nod would be opened."

Aldrich didn't say anything he guessed that this ''otherworldly' smell referred to his crest, it was the only thing that changed about him since the last time he met Uldin.

If he wasn't wrong then the other Lost Ones all used the essence orbs to upgrade their stats and Deadman's Remanent to get skills.

That was the core of their strength but he was different from them. Hopefully this gave him an edge over them, after all the other Lost Ones were still immortal and yet they died and failed to leave Voros.

Not to mention going to Thelanis or Castamerphia. Despite the ridiculous power of immortality they still failed, clearly it was no easy feat.

"So, about the information…" Aldrich had to return the subject to the important matters.

"Sure, three green orbs." Uldin answered indifferently.

"Eh?" He let out a surprised noise, this was… too cheap. Aldrich came here today having adjusted his mentality to accept that he was going to be broke again.

He was willing pay with all that he had and wouldn't be surprised if Uldin said it wasn't enough.

This information was too valuable, even if it was common knowledge back then Uldin would recognize it's value to him now. It was expected for him to jack up the price.

"Isn't that too cheap?" Aldrich asked in doubt since he couldn't figure it out.

"It's not cheap, the information I have is very limited. I don't know much."

"Fine, how to I pay?" Aldrich was curious about that since he already absorbed the orbs and never tried taking them out.

"Simple, just shake my hand and use your willpower to move the orbs to me."

"My willpower?" Aldrich wasn't sure about that until he got hold of Uldin's hand, it was the same when using orbs to upgrade his attributes. Willpower was just thought.

After getting the orbs Uldin took a deep breath and sighed, oddly enough this was the first time when Uldin truly smiled. Unlike his professional smile this one was real.

"That's the stuff." Uldin looked really creepy at this time.

"Okay, here we go. So the transformations of the Lost Ones are believed by some to be a trial of sorts."

"A trial?" Aldrich repeated feeling the word rolling oddly on his tongue.

"Yes, some Lost Ones thought so at the very least. The first transformation is most dangerous the first time, so long as you can preserve yourself and return to yourself you will be rewarded with many benefits."

"What benefits?" Aldrich didn't remember getting anything of the sort.

"Didn't you go through a metamorphosis? You experienced a leap in power didn't you?"

"True."

"Well, don't get too happy it's not over, overcoming the beast the first time means that only half the danger is over and much more is still in store."

"If you are not careful the beast will start emerging within you, this time slowly and less obvious. Your desires will get amplified at times, sometimes your emotions.

At critical times where you used to be coolheaded and calm you might find yourself rash and reckless. You might get quick to anger or prone to fits of paranoia. In the final stages you will develop another consciousness until eventually the real you is no more."

Aldrich shivered at these words, it was much worse than he thought, things were not just bad.

"How do I stop it? How do I get rid of it?" Aldrich had to know.

"You can't. At least as far as I know it's part of you, of who you are as a Lost One. You must learn to adapt, to control it before the next trial."

"Part of me?" Aldrich asked in disbelief.

"Yes, in fact even if you sit on your ass and do nothing as time passes on you will face another trial similar to this one, I'm not in the know about the details. This is pretty much all I know about this subject."

So, I'm basically fated to face an endless struggle with my own self? The timer behind the Condition status was hidden again so he couldn't know when the next time will happen.

He hoped that it was just a one time thing but, it would be too good to be true. If his words were true then the transformation was already underway.

He didn't know how long he had or if it was enough, at this rate he was in the dark.

One day he could just wake up and not be himself, he could be eating or talking to friends, he could be in the middle of a fight.

'No, this can't be allowed to happen, I must find a way to reign it in, the Lost Ones must have left something for me, clues, information…'

"Can you tell me how long you've been a Lost One?" Uldin asked waking him from his thoughts.

"Three months or so, no more than four." Aldrich answered because it wasn't a big deal besides Uldin must have a reason to ask this now of all times.

"That's too soon," Uldin shook his head, "it's too fast. The first transformation usually takes at least a year. You… what happened to you?"

"I wouldn't be here asking you all this if I knew." Aldrich rolled his eyes. But actually he caught on to something.

Mental state.

At that time his mental state was messed up because of the [psychic lash] of the Aberrant acolyte and because of the despair he was feeling at his imminent death.

It could be that such a mental state sped up the process, eventually leading to his transformation or as Uldin called it a trial happening earlier than it should have.