Chapter 37: Chapter 36: Tomb of Ambrosia (2)

“You two certainly look… fashionable.”

Claude inspected Sans and Elsie with a strange gaze.

“Believe me, this was not my idea.”

Sans shook his head and fixed his collar. Yesterday was somehow the most exhausting day he had ever experienced. After the first three stores, he discovered a new level of dread that he hoped to never revisit again.

At least I got new clothes out of it.

He lightly shook his new blazer and couldn’t resist the urge to brush dust off of his shoulder. Rosa let out a chuckle as she watched his actions.

“Stop stressing so much about your clothes. They’re going to get dirty eventually, and when that happens just use the cleanse spell.”

She chided the boy before turning to Elsie with a curious look.

“Elsie, darling. I love your new helmet… Very cool.”

Rosa gave the girl a wink, who responded by squaring her shoulders and holding her head high.

“Hey guys, sorry we’re late.”

Talru and Meysi came forward the next moment.

“Talru refused to leave without trying every breakfast item the inn had to offer… He kept saying it would be his last meal in forever.”

Meysi mumbled while Talru sheepishly scratched his head.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s begin heading toward the tomb’s entrance. Also, I’m happy that both Sans and Elsie have agreed to join us. We, as a group, have been looking forward to this day for years.”

Claude spoke out to everyone and clapped his hands together. Untamed excitement could be seen within each of their eyes as they shifted about restlessly.

“Onward to the tomb!”

Elsie called out and promptly walked away in an exaggerated fashion. Her knees rose to her waist with each step, while her arms swung back and forth at wide angles. The rest of the group followed suit and began the long trek.

“Ah, it feels like we just got back to town and we’re already heading into the wilderness once more.”

Talru let out a small sigh as they passed through Kenchi City’s western gate.

“That’s because we only spent two days here. Fortunately, the tomb’s entrance is only half a day’s walk away. At least, that’s what I heard.”

Rosa responded as her eyes scanned the horizon. In the far distance, a dirt pathway snaked through the forest. There were already multiple parties of people walking in the same direction, each of them with the same destination in mind.

“Rosa, why does everyone want to enter this tomb?”

Sans asked her by the side.

“The Tomb of Ambrosia is one of the many trial grounds within the tower. Although, some trial grounds are naturally formed by the tower itself, this tomb was manmade. Rumor has it that the tomb was created by Ambrosia’s lover when she died.”

“How did Ambrosia die?”

“No one knows for sure, but if she didn’t die then why would it be called a tomb?”

Rosa shrugged her shoulders while Sans subconsciously glanced at Elsie, whom of which maintained the same exaggerated walking cadence as before.

Maybe I’ll ask Elsie later… wait, why am I assuming Elsie would know?

“Is there anything I should know about the trials?”

Sans asked Rosa once more, but this time Meysi spoke up.

“The trials are standard for each person. There’s four trials starting with the Trial of Heaven.”

“Trial of Heaven? That sounds pretty impressive.”

Sans had a surprised look as he replied.

“It’s not as impressive as you’re imagining. It’s actually the easiest trial. All it does is serve as a check of your physical prowess. If you can’t pass the Trial of Heaven, then there is probably little point in continuing the remainder of the trials anyway.”

Meysi said lightly, and after a small pause, she procured a handful of notes from her bag.

“These are all the notes I’ve taken on the tomb’s trials. Let’s see… the first two trials are non-lethal. If you fail the Trial of Heaven or the Trial of Water, then you’ll be ejected from the tomb without any injury.”

Sans tried reading Meysi’s notes from over her shoulder, causing the girl to unconsciously shy away.

“So first is the Trial of Heaven, and then the Trial of Water? What exactly do you do in these trials?”

Meysi scanned her notes briefly before responding.

“For the Trial of Heaven, you must jump from column to column and reach the upper ledge. If you fall into the black below, then you’ll wake up outside the tomb and have gained nothing. Um… let’s see…”

She squinted her eyes to read a small set of scribbles along the side.

“Oh also, the tricky part is that the columns will sometimes shift up or down, causing you to lose your balance. However, as long as you land carefully then this won’t pose much trouble.”

“I see, how about the Trial of Water?”

Sans probed her for the next trial. At the same time, the group entered onto the main pathway that led into the forest. Many other travelers spoke excitedly around them.

“The Trial of Water is also easy, but it can be difficult if you’re not strong enough. All you have to do to succeed is walk through the shallow water and reach the exit. If you can’t reach the exit beyond the water, then you can leave through a different exit, and that exit will lead you out of the tomb.”

Meysi explained the next trial, while Sans laughed lightly.

“Did you just say the Trial of Water… is to walk through water?”

“That’s right. However, don’t be fooled as it’s actually quite difficult. Less than half of all people who enter to the tomb are able to make it beyond the Trial of Water.”

Sans held his tongue once he heard the number disparity.

Less than half of the people? Just what kind of water is this?!

“Ahem, so after the Trial of Water…?”

Meysi glanced at her notes and gave a reassuring nod.

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“After that is the Trial of Man. This is the first dangerous trial. Although it’s supposedly not life threatening, there have been rumors that the trial can leave you crippled.”

“What exactly is the Trial of Man?”

Before Meysi could respond, Talru interjected with bright and glowing eyes.

“You have to fight your clone!”

Sans glanced at the mountain sized man, who kneaded his fist into the palm of his other hand.

“Fight my clone?”

“That’s right, you have to beat up your clone! I can’t wait to beat my clone up. I’m going to win for sure!”

Talru confidently stretched his arms to either side as if he were already prepared to face himself in a deathmatch. Meysi clicked her tongue and glanced at her notes.

“He’s right. In the Trial of Man you must fight your clone, but again… this trial is more difficult than the previous. Supposedly, the difficulty of the trial is dependent on your accomplishments during the Trial of Water.

“How does that work? Is the tomb tracking your progress for each trial?”

“Correct. Often times, promising individuals will test themselves in the Trial of Water before entering the Trial of Man. This will increase the grade of the clone they fight, which will also result in greater rewards. If they fail to defeat their clone, then they fail the trial.”

Sans listened patiently before twisting his mouth in thought.

“What if someone doesn’t test themselves in the Trial of Water, and they get by with the bare minimum. Wouldn’t they be able to crush their clone in the Trial of Man, allowing them to move on to the fourth trial?”

“Some people had thought of that. Unfortunately, in order to pass the Trial of Man you must defeat a C grade clone or higher. If you fail to unlock a C grade clone, then even if you defeat the clone… you won’t be able to proceed to the final trial.”

“And what is the final trial?”

Meysi folded her notes, tucking them away into her bag.

“It’s the Trial of Fire. The most dangerous trial in the tomb. Both injury and death are possible, so if you make it there… please be careful.”

“Trial of Fire… it does sound dangerous, but what do you do in there?”

In response to Sans’ question, Meysi shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m not sure. The only thing I could find on the Trial of Fire was one word. Volcano. Apparently, no one has ever passed or figured out the Trial of Fire.”

Sans glanced at Elsie’s gallant figure with a light smirk. He thought about the multicolored pendant that Elsie had retrieved in that phantom town.

I bet she would know…

Just as he was considering asking her, a snide voice cut through the air.

“About time, we been waitin’ for you folk.”

The group came to a halt as a collection of familiar men surrounded them. Each of them wore a slanted cap on their head, while the leader was like a walking warthog.

“Berel… what do you want?”

Claude stood at the front of the group, refusing to back down.

“Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to give you fair warnings and all the good stuffings.”

Berel slapped his belly in laughter, which was echoed by his entourage of men.

“There’s many people that are passing through here. It will be impossible for you to get away clean if you make trouble.”

Claude gestured to their surroundings, and indeed it was just as he described. The altercation was gaining public interest as people slowed down to watch.

“I ain’t here to cause you trouble… yet. You’re going to the tomb, yes?”

Berel wiped the drool from his mouth as his eyes roamed over Rosa’s body. The woman quickly hid behind Claude with a disgusted look.

“So what if we’re going to the tomb?”

“Well then you know that the water and fire trials are a shared space, right?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Claude narrowed his brow while Berel bellowed out in laughter once more.

“Oh nothing, nothing. Just be watching your back in there, aye?”

Without another word, Berel and his man jaunted off into the distance. Sans turned to Claude curiously.

“What did that guy mean by shared space?”

The group stood in place as they watched Berel disappear out of sight. Finally, Claude let out a despondent sigh and replied.

“Meysi told you about the different trials, right? Well the Trial of Heaven and Trial of Man are isolated trials.”

“Isolated trials… you mean that I’ll take the trial alone?”

Claude confirmed with a nod.

“That’s right. Once you enter the Trial of Heaven or the Trial of Man, you won’t see another soul until you reach the reward room or fail. However, the Trial of Water and the Trial of Fire are different. It’s a shared space, and everyone who enters those trials will be in the same area.”

“So the fat man is suggesting that he might attack us in the Trial of Water?”

Sans speculated with an odd look.

“That’s precisely what he’s saying.”

Rosa responded, her eyes downcast. The next moment, a sonorous voice cut through their thoughts.

“I think you guys are forgetting something…”

Elsie faced the group with her hands on her hips.

“There’s no way that pigman is making it past the Trial of Heaven. Definitely overestimating his dexterous capabilities. Instead of landing on a column, he’d probably roll right off of it!”

Upon listening to her words, the group’s eyes each lit up. The next second, they burst out with uncontrollable laughter, each imagining that bulbous man falling off a column with a scream.

“Let’s continue on our way.”

Once more, Elsie continued her exaggerated march toward the trial grounds.

It didn’t take long, but eventually the soft din of voices could be heard from further down the road. After passing through another bend of trees, the group was presented with a wide clearing that was filled to the brim with bodies.

At the far end of the clearing were two towering pillars that reached for the skies. There wasn’t a single tree in sight that could challenge their height, while the surface of the pillars were engraved with a series of complex engravings.

“This is it! This is the entrance to the Tomb of Ambrosia!”

Claude shouted in excitement as their destination was finally in sight. Different groups of travelers all clustered together. Some even had tents and small campfires lit as they waited patiently for the tomb to appear.

“With all of this talk about the tomb, I’m still confused as to why it was made. If someone I loved died, I think the last thing I would do is make a public trial ground.”

Sans rambled out loud as he gazed at the pillars.

“Now that you mention it, I kind of agree with you.”

Claude followed his gaze and frowned in confusion.

“Well maybe you two just aren’t romantic enough to come up with the idea.”

Rosa tousled Claude’s hair before finding a place to sit.

“She has a point…”

Talru, the least romantic person alive, drove the nail in the coffin as he followed after Rosa and took a seat.

“Elsie, what do you think?”

Sans called out to her with a peculiar gaze.

“Hmm? Think about what?”

“Why is it called a tomb? Do you think that Ambrosia’s lover was romantic enough to create it?”

Elsie fixed her gaze on Sans for a brief moment before nodding her head.

“I think that Ambrosia’s lover is the most romantic man to have ever existed. A special kind of romantic. An eternal romantic.”

After saying her bit, Elsie plopped onto the ground beside the rest of them. The group laughed at her small antics, that is… everyone besides Sans.

Elsie used the word is… not was… What did she mean by that?

Sans shook his head, removing the useless thoughts.

----

The day moved forward as more and more people arrived. Sans secretly felt relieved that their group had shown up when it did, otherwise they would have been waiting in the far back buried within a sea of adventurers.

Disregarding the people swarming behind them, an enormous crowd was still pooled around the two towering pillars in hectic anticipation.

“It’s said that the gateway to the tomb opens when the sun sets directly between the two pillars. That’s when the trial officially begins.”

Claude pointed in the distance at the space between the pillars. The sun was slowly but surely sinking at a steady rate, and it wouldn’t be long before the gateway was to appear.

As the group waited, Sans was able to overhear the ongoing conversation of a passing group.

“Did you hear about the prince?”

“No? What happened?”

“I heard that he fell gravely ill and is no longer able to come to the tomb trials.”

Sans glanced at the talking man strangely.

Prince? The same one that passed out?

The travelers guffawed with sarcastic smiles.

“Good riddance! That man was nothing but a trouble-doer. Ah, it’s a shame that he’s the one to inherit the throne. If only he had a portion of his sister’s talent.”

“I agree, but you have to give him credit. That’s the whole reason why he came here.”

“To unleash his hidden talent?”

“Well… yes?”

The men’s voices faded in the distance as they drew further away. Sans twisted his mouth in thought.

I’m confused. Should I feel sorry for the prince, or not? From the sound of it, he doesn’t seem like a good person. Also… I didn’t like the way he looked at Elsie.

With his mind made up, he quickly erased the useless prince from his memory and prayed they never crossed paths again.

“Ohh! It’s happening!”

Someone cried out, causing a wave of murmurs and hushed tones to reverberate amongst the spectators.

“Gather around people.”

Claude quickly ushered his group together, his eyes transfixed on the gap between the two pillars.

“Elsie…”

Sans stood beside his master defensively.

This place is going to turn into a stampede…

With the way the crowd was posturing, he suddenly had a desire to also wear a helmet.

“The sun is setting!”

As the person cried out, the sun drooped just low enough, nestling it’s smoldering body directly between the pillars.

A powerful shockwave burst forth, and with a loud bang, a translucent film suddenly stretched across the gap.

“That’s the entrance! Everyone go! May you have the best of luck in the trials!

Claude shouted as the surrounding people quickly formed a rampaging mob.

“Owwahhh!!!!”

Elsie shouted at the top of her lungs, and without any warning—she charged headfirst toward the portal!

“Follow Elsie!”

The group cried out and ran after her.

Sans smiled as he watched the small girl become the incarnation of a powerful battering ram. Body after body flew to either side as she knocked into anyone in her path. At the same time, her eye-catching cape fluttered in the wind behind her, making her seem like a red flag of victory.

I have to admit… she does look pretty cool.

He didn’t dare take his eyes off of Elsie as he followed her into the portal. He grinned as he safely stepped through the film along with the rest of his group.

I’ve made it… to The Tomb of Ambrosia.