The Third Trial.
After completing this challenge, the group would be over half way to the peak of the mountain. The thought of that was almost enough to make Kai forget about how perilous the trial would be in favour of just being happy they would be over half way done.
Almost.
Instead, Kai was racking his brain for anything he could possibly do before challenging the next trial.
He could try and power level the group a little more, but that progress was stagnating considering that nearly every beast he fought required him to go near all out. So far he hadn't had to make use of Ignition, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep that up.
It was now more than ever that he was upset that his class didn't have direct leveling routes. It was either fight or entertain his Master, but it was only the odd time that The Ever-changing actually gave him some bonus XP.
Umbra also only received XP from fighting, but she actually received more than Kai whenever she killed something, considering it was all she could gain XP from.
And Cecilia, for now she only got XP from killing, but he was sure that would change once she obtained her next Class.
And speaking of Classes, when the hell was Kai going to get offered his next one? It had been so long since he chose his current Class, he wanted a little bit of a change.
But the worst part about having killed all of those beasts in the last ten days was that Kai wasn't able to make use of Soul Memorial on anything he actually killed. For some reason, that skill and Party-Up did not work together. If he killed something with that skill active, he couldn't use Soul Memorial on the corpse, so that was a shame.
Meaning he had to sacrifice some extra stats in favour of leveling up Umbra and Cecilia, which would probably be worth it in the long run, considering that every skull Umbra gained he was also able to make use of whenever they fused.
So while resting his hand against the invisible barrier, Kai closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh.
If he had more time he would have definitely taken a break here to train, kill a few more creatures, maybe even upgrade a few of his skills, but they were cutting it short.
They were halfway through the time they had to reach the peak, and they were halfway to the peak itself. If they kept up this pace, they should be able to reach the peak on time, but there was also the problem of the fourth and fifth trial. Kai had no idea what would be in store for those, so he just couldn't afford to waste any more time.
So, unsure of himself, Kai turned around to the rest of the group and asked.
"Are you lot ready?"
Cecilia bit her lower lip, also unsure as her grip on Petunia's shoulders tightened. Honestly, Kai wasn't sure if her holding onto the young girl's shoulders was comforting Petunia or comforting herself.
"Whatever you believe... Sir."
Kai sighed again. Honestly, sometimes he wished Cecilia would give her own arguments rather than just agree with him. It never really ended up going well.
"One more thing though, do you mind putting on another outfit so I can have my bodysuit back?"
Shaking her head, Cecilia quickly summoned the same dress she had worn back when they escaped from the city and slipped it on. It looked a little off though, cleaner. Cecilia must have been tending to it whenever he was sleeping.
Once she had the dress on, she took Kai's hand and gave him back his bodysuit.
The next moment, he equipped it under his silver armour and felt thankful that he had chosen such a comfy item back in the Tutorial.
He also felt thankful for the extra stats it gave, especially the ones in Constitution.
After doing a quick round of asking whether everyone was ready, Kai once again placed his hand on the invisible barrier and watched as he selected the yes option.
Then, he watched a familair message pop up before his eyes.
Trial 3 beginning
Trial of Strength
Trial objective...
Defeat the Monarch of Ice's pet
And just like the last trial, Kai felt a wave of nausea wash over him as reality around him distorted. It only lasted a split second, but before he knew it he was standing in a completely different environment compared to the
mountain they were just on.
Except it was really similar to the way the Second Trial had looked.
The group had been transported to an arena, this one even larger than the one Frosty had set up in.
The only difference was rather than all of the seats surrounding them being empty, they were filled by human skulls.
Some of them looked ancient, millions of years old, while some of them looked relatively fresh, so to speak. Kai watched as Cecilia took a horrified step back when she first caught sight of them.
And when he glanced down at Petunia, he saw her grip even tighter onto the tattered teddy bear she was holding.
...
Wait? Where did she get a teddy bear from?
Just as Kai was about to ask, he felt his blood run cold as the ground began to shake. It was a slow, rhythmic thing that slowly began to increase in power.
Almost like footsteps.
Kai froze as his gaze caught sight of something on the opposite side of the arena, a gargantuan steel gate that was beginning to open, its body being pulled up by something unseen.
The tremors grew stronger and stronger with each passing second.
Until, finally, the gate was completely open, revealing pure darkness inside it.
And in that darkness, the footsteps were coming from.
Kai held his breath, wondering what so called pet this 'Monarch of Ice' had that could be causing these tremors with just its footsteps.
The tremors reached their apex, each one strong enough to knock Petunia off balance. The young girl probably would have fallen over if it weren't for Cecilia still tightly gripping onto her shoulders.
But just as Kai believed whatever beast was coming out of the darkness was about to emerge... the tremors stopped.
The arena grew silent.
Nervously, Kai cast a glance over at Cecilia and Petunia. Petunia tried to put on a calm and unfazed facade, but he could tell she was terrified. Meanwhile, Cecilia was pale as a ghost, absolutely mortified at the prospect of facing whatever was going to come out of the tunnel.
And Remy... had taken refuge inside one of the pockets of Petunia's tunic.
The only one who was actually unfazed was Umbra. Kai smiled weakly as he tenderly placed his hand on her head, bringing him some sense of comfort.
But the beast still did not emerge.
The group was still, cautiously watching the darkness inside the gate, waiting for any sign of movement.
But there was nothing, no-
"I... hunger..."
Fear.
Kai felt his legs give in as a terrifying and primal roar bellowed out from the darkness. It was almost like it was something never meant to be heard, never meant to be survived.
"I smell..."
The dreadful voice spoke again, making Kai's blood run cold. It was like he was a tiny ant, just waiting to be squished by a superior being.
And that horror only multiplied tenfold as the beast causing it began to emerge from the darkness.
"... Fear."
The creature was roughly twenty feet tall and its body was pure white, covered by a thick layer of fur. However, on some areas of its body the tips of the fur were an even lighter colour, almost as if it was glowing.
The creature had two legs and two arms, each of them completed with viscious and powerful sets of claws that looked like they'd be able to rip the entire group to shreds with no effort at all.
And their face was just appalling. It was a dark brown colour with a disfigured nose and two pitch black eyes, no pupil or nothing. Kai could see the inside of its mouth and could make out the two rows of terribly sharp teeth.
And on the top of the beasts head were two black horns, a slight curve on both of them.
Kai swallowed, gazing up at the towering monstrosity.
This was the beast they were meant to fight for the Third Trial?
If it wasn't clear enough, another notification popped up in Kai's mind, making him inwardly curse.
Defeat the Monarch of Ice's pet
Winter Titan
The beast was humongous, the beast was overpowering, the beast was abominable.
The beast was a Yeti. A horrifying, immensely strong Yeti.
And to pass the Third Trial...
The group would have to defeat it... somehow.