Chapter 211: Test II
Kaiser planted one foot firmly against the ground.
His entire body trembled as he tried to push himself upward. The pressure pressing down on him felt almost unbearable, and every movement caused fresh pain to spread through his injured body.
’Come on! Just stand up!’
He gritted his teeth and slowly straightened his leg.
For a moment, he thought he was making progress. However, as soon as he lifted his other knee from the ground, the pressure suddenly increased.
BANG!
Kaiser’s foot sank several inches into the ground, creating a small crater beneath him.
"Fuck!"
He nearly fell forward, but he managed to steady himself by planting his hand against the ground.
His breathing became ragged, and sweat covered his forehead.
’What the hell is this? Does this place have some kind of grudge against me?’
He wanted to complain, but he knew that doing so wouldn’t change anything.
Instead, Kaiser took several deep breaths and carefully examined his situation.
The pressure was clearly beyond what his current body could endure through brute force alone. Even with his physical strength, he couldn’t maintain his balance, let alone stand upright.
He needed to find another way.
’The woman said this trial is meant to test my will. But if it’s only about enduring pressure, then what’s the point of making it this difficult?’
Kaiser recalled what she had said before he entered the formation.
The Gods had reached their heights by studying the laws of existence and forging their own paths. If he wanted to break free from the Cosmic System, he couldn’t continue relying on the same methods he had always used.
Perhaps the trial wasn’t simply testing how much pressure he could endure.
Perhaps it was testing whether he could understand it.
Kaiser closed his eyes again.
This time, he stopped trying to force his body upward. Instead, he focused entirely on the pressure surrounding him.
At first, he could barely distinguish anything beyond the pain. The force pressed against every part of his body, making it difficult to breathe or even think clearly.
However, as he continued concentrating, he gradually noticed something unusual.
The pressure wasn’t completely uniform.
There seemed to be countless invisible forces pressing down on him from different directions. They overlapped and reinforced one another, creating the sensation of an enormous weight resting on his body.
’So this isn’t just ordinary pressure.’
Kaiser tried to understand how those forces interacted.
Whenever he moved against them, the pressure seemed to become heavier. But when he adjusted his posture and stopped resisting certain directions, the burden became slightly easier to bear.
It was as though the pressure was punishing every attempt to fight against it directly.
’Does that mean I need to move with the pressure instead of fighting it?’
He wasn’t certain, but he decided to test his theory.
Kaiser slowly shifted his weight, paying close attention to the forces pressing against his shoulders and back. Rather than attempting to push everything away, he adjusted his posture to distribute the burden more evenly.
The result was immediate.
Although the pressure remained immense, his body stopped trembling quite as violently.
His eyes opened.
’It worked!’
A small smile appeared on his bloodied face.
He still couldn’t stand, but at least he had found a way to reduce the strain on his body.
Kaiser continued adjusting his posture, gradually learning how to move without provoking the full force of the pressure.
After several attempts, he managed to straighten his back.
Then, slowly and carefully, he pushed himself upward.
His legs shook as he rose from the ground, and the pressure immediately intensified. However, this time, he didn’t fight it blindly. He adjusted his balance and allowed his body to follow the direction of the force rather than resisting it directly.
One second passed.
Then another.
Finally, Kaiser managed to stand on both feet.
His knees remained slightly bent, and his entire body was covered in sweat. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth, while his injured arm hung awkwardly at his side.
Nevertheless, he was standing.
’I did it!’
Before he could celebrate, the woman’s voice rang out.
[Thou hast passed the first trial.]
Kaiser let out a long breath.
"Finally..."
He had no idea how much time he had spent struggling to stand, but it had felt far longer than it should have.
Then he remembered something important.
"Wait. You said I needed to stand without bending my knees. Does standing like this count?"
[Thou standest upon thine own feet without the aid of another. That is sufficient.]
Kaiser nodded.
At least he hadn’t misunderstood the objective.
However, before he could ask anything else, the pressure surrounding him suddenly vanished.
His body lurched forward as the enormous weight disappeared without warning.
"Whoa!"
He quickly regained his balance and looked around.
The golden symbols floating above the grassland began to move. They gathered toward the center of the formation before slowly forming a large golden doorway.
Beyond it, Kaiser could see a long flight of stone steps leading toward a distant platform.
Unlike the grassland surrounding him, the steps appeared to have been carved from some kind of golden stone. Faint symbols covered their surfaces, and each step seemed to emit a barely perceptible glow.
Kaiser stared at them for a moment.
’Don’t tell me there’s another trial waiting for me.’
As if answering his unspoken question, the woman spoke again.
[The first trial tested thy ability to endure the pressure of the sanctuary. The next shall test thy understanding.]
Kaiser sighed.
"Of course there won’t be just single tets"
[Thou hast endured the pressure, but endurance alone is insufficient. If thou seekest to inherit the knowledge of the Forgotten Gods, thou must first learn to comprehend what they left behind.]
Kaiser looked toward the golden steps.
"What’s waiting for me up there?"
[That is for thee to discover.]
"You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?"
[Hehe. It hath been a very long time since anyone entered this sanctuary. Allow an old will a little amusement.]
Kaiser shook his head.
’An old will with a terrible sense of humor.’
Still, he couldn’t deny that the first trial had taught him something valuable.
Without his Cosmic System, he had initially tried to overcome the pressure through brute force. That approach had only left him injured.
It was only after he stopped relying on his usual methods and carefully observed the forces acting upon him that he found a solution.
The lesson was simple, but important.
Sometimes, the answer wasn’t to become stronger. It was to understand the problem.
Kaiser glanced at his injured arm.
Unfortunately, understanding the pressure hadn’t healed the damage it had caused.
He tried activating Reconstruction out of habit, only to remember that his talent remained inaccessible.
His expression darkened.
’Right. No healing either.’
He would have to endure the injuries until he found a way to recover.
After taking a moment to rest, Kaiser approached the golden doorway.
As he stepped through it, the surrounding grassland disappeared behind him.
He found himself standing before the first of the golden steps.
The moment he placed his foot upon it, a strange sensation passed through his mind.
For a brief instant, he felt as though countless unfamiliar thoughts were pressing against the edges of his consciousness.
He immediately withdrew his foot.
’What was that?’
Unlike the pressure from the previous trial, this sensation didn’t affect his body. Instead, it seemed to be reaching directly into his mind.
Kaiser stared at the step beneath him.
A faint golden symbol appeared on its surface, followed by several lines of unfamiliar characters.
He couldn’t read them, yet somehow, he felt that they carried a meaning he was supposed to understand.
The woman’s voice sounded once more.
[The path before thee was walked by those who sought to comprehend the laws of existence. Each step containeth a fragment of their understanding.]
[Do not attempt to force thy way forward, mortal. Observe, comprehend, and take only what thou canst truly understand.]
Kaiser narrowed his eyes.
"So I need to understand the symbols before I can climb the stairs?"
[Thou shalt discover the answer through thine own efforts.]
Kaiser sighed.
’She’s definitely doing this on purpose.’
Nevertheless, he turned his attention back to the golden symbol.
He had no idea what it represented, but he wasn’t going to waste time complaining.
Kaiser crouched beside the first step and carefully examined the symbol.
For the first time since entering the Divine Sanctuary, he wasn’t trying to acquire power or overcome an enemy.
He was trying to understand something that existed beyond the knowledge he already possessed.
And that might prove to be the most difficult challenge he had faced yet.