The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1985 Inverse Imbalance

Sitting in the trial pond, Karl absorbed the energy constantly, until he felt something shift within his body.

It was hard to say just what had changed, but it was definitely something, and he was certain that with a little investigation, he would find that it was something far more important than the small change that it felt like.

And once the change was made, the progress that he was making with meditation to improve his power level began to increase as well.

From a trickle of power, to an influx of energy. But somehow, it felt like he wasnʼt actually getting closer to the peak of Immortality, only getting more powerful. It was an odd sensation, given that he also felt that he understood what it was to be supreme far better than he ever had.

Fighting against one had given him insight, though not nearly as much as this trial had.

But still, the peak of Immortality felt further from him than the entrance of Supremacy, and he couldnʼt quite explain why. It wasnʼt actually possible, he knew. You had to maximize the energy level in your body to break the bottleneck, along with a dozen other conditions.

But perhaps that was it?

Did he have more understanding of Supremacy than he had power?

If that was the case, then the imbalance was opposite to what most people suffered, and he needed to improve his own development and power level so that he could reach the bottleneck, which he would move through with relative ease.

Briefly, he wished that he could communicate with the other Guild members.

If he could, then the dragons who had reached supremacy could answer the question for him. They were one of the species most likely to experience this sort of inversion. They would also have more insights on the best ways to overcome it, and whether he should refocus more on his own power than on reaching Supremacy.

Or if it was an illusion, and everyone felt that way at some point, and he just had to stay the course until he could successfully advance.

That was definitely some time away, Karl knew.

Even with the progress that he was making, he wasnʼt going to be anywhere near peak Immortality by the time that this trial was over, unless the later steps had some sort of secret advancement potential.

And then he was back on the stairs again.

”Well, I guess that was what I was supposed to learn,” he muttered, as Cara appeared on the bottom step of the trial.

”Youʼre still down there? What are you even doing?” Karl called, unsure if she could hear him.

”Learning new torture methods. This trial is pure evil. Gotta go, Iʼm not giving up while Iʼm behind.”

Karl laughed as she stepped onto the second stair, and finally noticed that he was nearly thirty steps up the staircase, despite only having been in a few trials.

It must be rewarding progress, not forcing you to go through every step on your way to the top.

The next trial for Karl was very similar to the last one, only the energy was slightly different and there was no pool. It also didnʼt wait for him to adjust, it immediately cranked up the power level until his body was flooded, and he had to sit down before his knees buckled.

”Got it, I need to work on my mental strength, itʼs still not high enough.

Thatʼs fine, we can do this. Focus through the trial, build up my resistance and itʼs all good.”

The trial seemed personally offended by his running commentary, as if he shouldnʼt have been able to speak at all, and it increased the flow of power into his body. But that increased flow helped Karl understand that what it was doing was not increasing his power level.

It was remodelling his body, while keeping his power level at the same percentage of the total.

The reason that it was so intense was a combination of how powerful he already was, and the rate of change as his body adapted to become one that would smoothly become Supreme Ranked.

His thoughts were misguided, and the trial hadnʼt changed the goal at all, it was simply working in stages to complete the one task that it had set itself upon after he had made his choice.

With that knowledge, this whole trial seemed much less mysterious.

After a few minutes, Karl found himself outside again, and immediately moved up a step while waving to Skadi, who was only a few steps lower than him on this side of the pyramid.

The little Forest Lord waved back, but didnʼt stop to chat as she also entered the next step of her trial with a level of eagerness that said she had received something pleasant.

They were not the only ones who were greatly enjoying this trial.

Thor had moved up three more trials, and had mastered a new skill called [Tribulation Lightning Domain.] He could use it as an area effect, a defensive barrier, and even a directed attack if he put it on his horns and rammed into things.

This step had him working to use the skill to duel titans, as they were about the only species that could realistically fight him at full size.

Even most species of dragons were dwarfed by the Behemoth.

And what was a fifty-metre tall four-armed titan but a mobile smashing post?

It was beautiful.

Horns, tail, stomp them when they were down. Thor got to use all of his favourite techniques, while ignoring the pain of the wounds they inflicted when he misjudged how strong his barriers were, or missed an attack.

The trial would only let him use his new skill here, so he couldnʼt just shrug them off with [Eternal Lightning], he had to get creative about how he used his new ability.

Even Opal was having a grand time in the trial now. She had finally managed to create a second design for the Dreamweave Clothing challenge, and she had memorized nearly two hundred thousand clothing patterns, thanks to her clones and her infallible memory.

Surely, the third one would be no challenge at all.

Then, she stepped inside and found that it wanted her to make better Dreamweave cloth.

”Oh? So thatʼs how youʼre going to play? Fine. Gimme the books, weʼre doing this. Donʼt you underestimate a bored butterfly.”