I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Eccar frowned in confusion as he stared at the people trapped inside the buried temple.

"Is this my Trial?" He had expected to encounter monsters beneath the ground.

He had prepared himself for a battle and expected that whatever awaited him would test his strength.

Instead, he had found a group of ordinary people trapped beneath the earth. Why were they here? What did the Trial expect him to do with them? Were these people part of his test? Was he supposed to save them? Or was there something else hidden within this strange situation that he had yet to understand?

Too many questions filled Eccar’s mind. For now he could only stand there and observe.

Eccar already suspected that these people were illusions created by the Trial. Askar had warned them that the Trials would be difficult even for them after all.

That made Eccar realize that he could not expect every Trial to be a simple battle.

But he had spent most of his life relying on his strength and his ability to fight. When faced with something that required him to think beyond combat he found himself with fewer answers.

That was what worried him.

Inside the buried temple, the people were becoming increasingly panicked. They looked around desperately, trying to understand what had happened to them.

Some of them pressed their hands against the stone walls, others desperately tried to push away the earth that had fallen across the entrance.

Their voices overlapped as fear spread through the group.

"Why did this happen?"

"We were praying. Why would our god bury us alive?"

"Someone has to help us!"

The people had apparently gathered inside the temple to pray to their god when the earth suddenly collapsed above them. Now they were trapped beneath the ground with little hope of escaping. Their fear felt genuine even though Eccar knew they were not real.

An elderly man eventually raised his voice above the others.

"Stop."

The people slowly turned toward him.

The old man looked toward the collapsed ceiling with a solemn expression. His face was filled with resignation rather than panic.

"This is a test from our god," said the old man.

The others fell silent.

No one immediately argued with him. They simply stared at the old man as though his words had forced them to consider something they had not wanted to believe.

Eccar narrowed his eyes. "A test from their god?"

The words caught his attention.

Were they simply part of the illusion? Or did they contain some kind of clue about the Trial? Eccar could not tell yet.

He remained where he was and continued observing the people while carefully examining the temple and its surroundings.

He searched for anything that looked out of place or anything that might reveal what the Trial wanted from him. Maybe the answer was hidden somewhere inside the temple. Maybe one of these people knew something. Or perhaps the situation itself was the test.

He simply did not know yet.

Then the ground shook again. The entire temple trembled violently.

Dust fell from the ceiling, several frightened people cried out and pressed themselves against the walls.

Eccar immediately turned his head toward the direction of the disturbance.

Something was approaching. He could sense them before he saw them.

Bloodlust spread through the underground passage like a heavy pressure. It was not the presence of one or two creatures. There were many of them.

Eccar’s expression became serious as he focused his senses.

Monsters were coming.

Their footsteps echoed through the darkness. More and more sounds followed as the creatures moved closer to the buried temple. Their bloodlust grew stronger with every passing moment.

The people noticed the sounds as well. Panic immediately returned.

"They’re coming!"

"What are those?"

"Please, our god, save us!"

Several of them began praying again while others desperately searched for somewhere to hide. The old man remained silent as he lowered his head.

Eccar stood between the approaching monsters and the trapped people.

His expression became conflicted. He knew these people were not real. They were creations of the Trial. But that did not make the situation any easier.

"Do I have to save them?"

Eccar tightened his fists.

If they were only illusions, perhaps there was no reason to protect them. Maybe the Trial wanted him to ignore them and continue searching for its true objective?

But if they were part of the test, then abandoning them might mean failing the Trial?

The sounds of the approaching monsters grew louder.

Eccar looked toward the darkness of another branch of the tunnel. Then he looked back at the frightened people.

The sounds coming from the darkness became louder. Heavy footsteps echoed in the underground walls, followed by the scraping of claws against stone.

More sounds joined them from deeper within the darkness until the entire underground chamber seemed to tremble beneath the approaching horde.

Then the first monster emerged. It stepped out from the darkness on four crooked limbs, its body covered in patches of gray and black flesh that looked as though they had been left to rot for years.

Its back was hunched unnaturally high, long arms hung almost to the ground, sharp claws extended from each finger and its head was little more than a distorted skull with a wide mouth filled with uneven teeth.

Dozens more creatures appeared behind it. They poured from the underground passage like a flood.

Some of them moved on two legs, others crawled across the ground on all fours.

Their bodies differed in shape but they shared the same horrifying appearance: their skin was pale or darkened by decay and their limbs were twisted into unnatural shapes.

Some had elongated arms that dragged across the stone while others possessed thick bodies covered in hardened plates. Their eyes glowed faintly in the darkness as their gazes immediately locked onto the people inside the temple.

Bloodlust filled the tunnel. The creatures did not hesitate.

They began advancing toward the buried temple with hungry growls and snarls.

The people immediately panicked. Screams erupted throughout the temple as everyone realized what was approaching them.

"They’re here!"

"Help us, god!"

"Run!"

"Where can we go?!"

The people desperately tried to hide behind the stone pillars, pressed themselves against the walls, or just dropped to their knees and began praying, or simply stood frozen in terror.

The old man did not run. He was on his knees with his hands clasped tightly together. His head was lowered as he continued praying beneath his breath.

"Our god... please hear us. Please protect your servants."

His voice trembled but he continued.

The monsters kept approaching.

Their growls became louder as they entered the chamber one after another.

Eccar watched them emerge. His expression hardened.

He still did not know what the Trial expected from him. These people and the temple were an illusion. Even the monsters were probably nothing more than creations designed specifically for this Trial.

But that did not change what he was seeing. The people were terrified seeing the monsters were coming for them.

His fists slowly tightened. "I need to do something."

He did not know whether protecting these people was the answer or whether the Trial would reward him for saving them or punish him for wasting his time.

But standing there and doing nothing suddenly felt like the wrong choice.

Eccar stepped forward.

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