Around thirty minutes later, his brain stopped feeling like it was being burned by dragonfire.
At least, Nickel's pretty sure it took thirty minutes. It might've been longer, it might've been shorter. He wasn't really in any condition to tell.
Groaning, he sat up from where he dropped to the ground. Why did this keep happening today? Massaging his temples, which also seemed to continuously be necessary, he called out,
"I don't suppose you could have warned me about that?"
[NOTE: In my defense, I tried to. It's not like there's ever been anyone I could interact with so directly that wasn't also an admin. They have just as much authority as I do within the system.
And I AM the system.]
"Whatever happened to not being able to tell me about the admins?"
[NOTE: It's not like I can't say anything about them. I just can't give any specific information about them. As far as the restriction binding me considers it, that kind of thing should be obvious. Telling you how powerful they are is like telling a mundane person not piss off a feral dragon.]
"Alright." Nickel decided once again to shelve the discussion on the admins. "Let's see what skills you picked." He found that he couldn't pull up his status when he attempted to. "Uh, Sherash? Where's my status?"
[WHILE THE USER UNDERGOES THE UNSEALING PROCESS, THE STATUS SCREEN IS UNAVAILABLE]
"What the fuck?" He didn't know it was possible for the status to be unavailable. "Seriously…"
[NOTE: what's wrong?]
"Shouldn't you be able to tell?" Nickel grumbles. "My status screen is unavailable."
[NOTE: WHAT?! That shouldn't be possible. Let me see what I can do… that's weird, it shows zero problems for me… let me check the logs on that seal… what?!]
"What is it?"
[NOTE: …I've been locked out of any and all information on the seal… based on what I can see from everything in its periphery… there won't be any problems arising from it, which is good, it's just… there's very few things inside the system that even I don't have the clearance to access. If the seal is one such thing… it's significantly more important than I thought.]
Nickel frowned, deep in thought. "Like, significant enough to give some random weakling direct access to the true voice of the system?"
[NOTE: …While I disagree with your assessment of yourself, yes, only something this important would warrant you being connected to me directly, even if it's just within the internal world.]
Nickel considered this, then remembered something important about the seal. "Can you do me a favor, Sherash?"
[NOTE: If it's within my power.]
"Search for anything related to 'Vice and Virtue.'"
[NOTE: Vice and Virtue… Oh! I've got something. That's weird… the only hit in the system interface is a single line from an old religious text… and by old I mean older than me. The information I've got is a fragment, it seems like the original text was decayed... it looks like it was a reference to… hmm, a group of deities, worshiped in the old world.]
"Anything else?" Based on what she'd said so far, he wasn't hopeful, just desperate for any information on who placed the seal on him.
[NOTE: …Hmm… doesn't seem like it. The image of the book the text is from is pretty rotten. Honestly, it's a miracle we were able to get this much. Sorry, Nicholas.]
"It's alright," he sighed. "I'll just have to keep looking. Are you able to tell me how much longer the unsealing process will take?"
[NOTE: Yes. Although I can't access the seal directly, the unsealing process is being routed through your status, so I can view it. It looks like you are halfway through step three. There's only two steps left after that.]
"Haaaaah… alright, let's continue"
[AFFIRMATIVE. TO COMPLETE STEP THREE, A COPY OF THE USER'S SKILLS WILL BE CREATED AND STORED IN THE SYSTEM, AFTER WHICH THE USER WILL BE PURGED OF ALL SKILLS. THE COPY WILL THEN BE APPLIED TO THE USER]
"Are you fucking kidding me? I JUST HAD A BUNCH OF NEW SKILLS APPLIED!"
—
After another thirty minutes of his brain being bathed in figurative dragon fire, step three was finally over. Nickel was sure it was thirty minutes this time. He timed it.
At this point, he just decided to remain on the ground. He kept finding himself back on it, after all.
From the sandy stone, he asked, "Are we ready for step four now?"
[AFFIRMATIVE. FOURTH: THE USER MUST COMPLETE THE TRIAL OF THE FIRST GATE]
"The First Gate?" Nickel asked. "I thought I was being unsealed so I could Awaken? How can I complete the trial while sealed?"
[NOTE: Wait, do you not know?]
"Know what?"
[NOTE: No, it makes sense you wouldn't know… If the seal contained the energy…]
"Sherash?" Nickel's voice contained a hint of irritation. "Do you mind sharing with the class?"
[NOTE: OH! Right, sorry Nicholas. Uh… before I explain, could you tell me how much you know about the ascension process? Step-by-step?}
He was growing suspicious, but complying seemed like the quickest way to get answers.
"First is Awakening," Nickel began. "Once a person has awakened, they become able to use a Kalna technique to convert monster cores into Kalna within the Internal World. Each race has their own form of the Kalna technique.
Over time, the Kalna fills the Awakened's First Circle, and once the Circle is filled, the Awakened is able to challenge the Trial of the Second Gate. This is repeated an additional six times."
"But Awakening is supposed to be the Trial of the First gate. If the unsealing is gonna allow me to awaken, how can I complete it while still sealed?"
[NOTE: …So here's the thing… You're actually awakened already…]
Nickel blinked.
Already Awakened? How could he already be awakened? His Mana Well was pitiful, his stats, while impressive for his lack of awakening, were absolutely awful for his age, and he couldn't even access his Aspect.
"When did that happen?" Nickel asked with barely contained anger.
[NOTE: According to your status…Your seventh birthday.]
"THEN WHY DIDN'T I GET ANYTHING FOR IT?!" He roared out, the force of it blowing the sand back.
Awakened at seven? What kind of BULLSHIT was this?!
"Let me guess…" Nickel's voice was low, little more than a growl. "It's the damned seal?"
The youngest person to awaken, ever, was Sophiette Drakon. She was the eldest Hex, the most powerful of them. And apparently, if Nickel was reading all of this right, he should have been a Hex? Possibly the strongest, or at least the second. And that gods damned seal had taken that from him.
Nickel took deep breaths. Slowly inhale, hold it, slowly exhale. After a few minutes, he regained his calm.
Whatever. It didn't fucking matter. Once the unsealing process was finished, he'd have access to the potential he should have had the past nine years.
[NOTE: Are you okay?]
"I'm fine. How am I supposed to complete the Trial of the First Gate?"
[NOTE: …Typically, the system uses the energy released by a person first Awakening to force open the gate, circumventing the trial. We don't have that option. So you'll have to do it the old fashioned way.]
"The old fashioned way?"
[NOTE: Yep! It's not much different from the other trials, as far as I know.]
Nickel thought of what he knew of the trials. He sat up and turned to look toward the towering structure behind him.
"Doesn't that mean I have to locate the gate within the Imaginary Tower?"
Just because a person was ready to undergo one of the Trials didn't mean they could just do so whenever they pleased. Each gate was located randomly within the tower, and was placed differently for everyone. Finding the gate was considered a large part of the trial.
[NOTE: Usually, yes. However, by the time other Awakened are ready to challenge the Second Gate, they've already gained a certain level of power. They tend to avoid wandering the tower until then.]
Well. That sucked. How was he supposed to find the gate in a place Pathfinders didn't enter until they were much stronger than him?
[NOTE: Fortunately for you, Nicholas, I can transport you straight to the first gate.]
"Go ahead then."