The Ancients World

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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: The Gleem Library, The Underground City Of Maero, Desert, The Continent Of Alforza)~~~

~~~(Time: 1:45 AM)~~~

Sally still hasn't come up from the floor with the Legendary Ice Magic book on it. It's been a couple of hours too. I'd get a notification if she died since she's on my Friend's List and is nearby. A number of possibilities are running through my head.

My attention lands on Taaro since she's the only one here that would have answers. She sees the way I'm looking at her, and she gives a solemn expression.

"You're wondering why it's taking so long..."

Duh. That's the main thing on my mind. I know how long it takes to complete anything of Legendary difficulty. Be it a quest, a Dungeon, or a Raid. Trials and Ruins as well. There is a time limit, whether people are aware of it or not.

I'm worried that Sally may be close to reaching her allotted time. It's impossible to say for sure that she does have a time limit, but I know that it's likely.

A Legendary Trial can range from a few hours to an entire day. And since a few hours have already passed, it's time to start paying attention to the clock. Figuratively, of course. Sally is strong, and I think, given enough time, she will complete the Trial the book is giving her.

"That's the main thing on my mind. I'd like a general time for the other people who have tried and failed at this. That way, I know what time to expect Sally to have."

I am worried about her. There are huge penalties that come with failing Legendary Grade Trials. Legendary Grade, anything really. The game makes sure that if you want something powerful, you'll have to suffer if you fail to get that power.

Taaro's silence isn't doing anything to help me. I can tell she's waiting for something, perhaps confirmation to give me that answer. She might be in telepathic communication with someone, or something. The Gleem Library is alive, after all.

Maybe she's talking to the library, but I'm not a mind reader. She takes a seat on one of the couches on this floor and releases a sigh. Taking off her shoes and letting her feet free.

This isn't a good sign. This behavior indicates a great deal of time will pass before Sally or I can move to any of the higher floors. It means... That Sally is going to be in her Trial for a long time. I'm starting to get frustrated at the lack of answers from her.

"The time people have with the Legendary Ice Magic book depends on the person. The book has a consciousness and will determine how much time someone gets. It's based on a number of factors, according to the reports. So nothing is certain."

Go figure, not a big help at all. I make my way over to a chair and sit down. Running my hands through my hair and look at the ceiling of the floor we're on.

She could be down there for far longer than a typical day for other Legendary Graded Activities. Which means I'm stuck waiting. If I'm here for more than 24 hours, I'll be heading up higher and taking on the Dungeon that's up there.

I care about Sally, don't get me wrong. And, of course, I want to be here when she gets out of her Trial. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to do things while I'm waiting.

"If you want, I can get you something to eat while we wait. It could be a long time before she gets out. Or it could be a minute from now. You never know."

At this point, some food actually sounds really good. I tell Taaro what I'd like, and she disappears. Off to get us a meal. Now that I'm alone, my mind drifts to other things. Mainly, the time of night it is. This is when Sally and I would be asleep.

This library has changed that, to be sure, and that's perfectly fine. Every now and then, it's okay to stay up really late. But I do think going for more than a day without sleeping is bad for you.

Even if you technically don't need sleep. As an Angel, I don't need to close my eyes to sleep. But I want to. I get mentally exhausted, and that's when I want to sleep. Not that I have to.

"I hope you finish up whatever you're doing soon, Sally. A lot of things can go wrong the longer you take to finish the Trial..."

I'm speaking from experience. Back before I turned back time and redid everything, I failed at some Epic Grade quests and Trials. The penalties for doing so were extraordinary. I can't imagine how bad they'd be on a Legacy Grade and higher.

That would be devastating to any Player. Regardless of how much supposed talent and skill they have.

"She wanted this..."

I'd never try to convince Sally not to do something she did want to do. That's not what you do with someone you love. Not even if it ends up hurting them in the end. But then again, that could be twisted into evil things.

I suppose it depends on the person, and Sally isn't the type to do evil and hurtful things with what she wants to do.

Some time passes, and Taaro eventually returns with some food. And it's hot and fresh. She places the plate in front of me, and I immediately dig in. Sally would be halfway done by now.

That's a joke, but she eats faster than anyone I've ever met. That's what happens when you grow up starving. Which is what happened to Sally.

"You know, there are rooms to sleep in on every floor of the library. They were around 300 years ago, for the scholars to spend a vast amount of time up here. You're welcome to use one of the old rooms. They're not used this high up because of the dangers."

This place has built-in bedrooms too? This library is a knowledge seeker's wet dream. Another name is Lore Junkie. Which I am. I'd spend a lot of time in this place, but that would be irresponsible in a way.

"Well, the Des'merta sure know what they're doing..."

I'm confident in saying if they weren't a desert-dwelling people, they'd be the strongest race on all of Gaia.

~~~(POV: Saliandra Orvello)~~~

~~~(Location: The Gleem Library, The Underground City Of Maero, Desert, The Continent Of Alforza)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:00 AM)~~~

I don't know how long I've been in here. It feels like a couple of days at this point. Traveling by foot across a frozen wasteland hasn't been fun. But I haven't gone hungry, and the cold still doesn't affect me. My current destination is a temple I was pointed to in the last town.

The Trial has proven to be interesting since I started. I'm guessing I'm in some period of time where Gaia was covered with mostly snow. Either that or I'm in a remote part of Gaia.

It doesn't help that my map doesn't work. But it makes sense, given this is a Trial.

My thoughts are halted as I see a large Ice Castle reaching into the sky in the distance. It's definitely not a temple, but I guess some people might call it that. It's a castle to me.

"Cera is probably really worried at this point... But I do remember him telling me time moves differently in Trials. I can only hope that's the case."

I'm not able to contact him while I'm in here, either. Whatever is happening, I'm to do it alone without any help whatsoever. That's fine.

I like a challenge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.237][Tier-4]

[Exp: 72/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 440] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra's Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heaven's light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Aspect of Transportation (Legendary)]