Maximilian sat on a large boulder. The sky was bright overhead, and he had just finished another round of testing. The results were mostly positive. He had completed two of his three skill quests. He wanted to do more, but there was little chance of his succeeding before the trial started. The token had started a countdown yesterday, which only further supported the claim. There were a few things he wanted to deal with before he set out. Mainly, he would need to dump his bag. Add more pills and recovery items. He considered adding a weapon or two, but he leaned toward not doing that. He didn't know how to fight with one. Not really, and he had already grown beyond them. He could create anything he needed, and the stuff on Earth was a far cry from elite weaponry.

  There were also his two newest skills. Skysworn and Storm Manipulation were done. The third one was a problem. He had discovered how to do it, but that was the issue. He needed to face tough odds in his battles to get the skill. Those odds could be in numbers or in level, but they had to be a challenge. He couldn't gather a thousand level 1s and unlock the skill. He hoped the trial would present a chance to gain the skill if not he would need to go and explore the planet. Either way, that was a problem for later. For now, he had two new skills to play with. He pulled up the quest menu and confirmed each one.

  As soon as the first one was done, he received a rush of spiritual energy. The energy flowed one right after the other to different areas of his body. One took a slot in the middle of his forehead while the other took a spot on his back. The process was faster than all those months ago. Once his energy settled down, he pulled up the first of his skills and stopped.

  Gone was the forest, and the boulder was replaced with a boundless open sky. One that stretched in every direction. He looked down at himself only to find that he was someone else. His body had transformed into a winged humanoid that reminded him of angels. The kind you would see on TV. Almost as if the world realized he was watching, everything began to move. The wind whipped by. The woman's wings beat. He could feel the heat of the sun on his skin. All of it was so real that it almost consumed him. When he got over the initial shock, he made several assumptions. Chief among them was that he was safe. The Network had to be responsible. His instincts were quiet as well. This assumption was strengthened when he realized he couldn't do anything. Or rather, he couldn't control his new body. The woman moved on her own.

  Just as he finished testing what level of influence, he had a bone-shattering squawk filled the air. The woman turned, and Maximilian's heart almost stopped. The largest beard he had ever seen was almost a mile behind them. It looked a bit like a bald eagle with six wings and was the size of a jet. The bird released another cry, and the woman rushed forward. The two began an aerial chase that made his head spin. Up and down. Left and right all became meaningless as the woman fought to escape. He quickly realized that both the woman and the beast were stronger than he by an order of magnitude. They moved at speeds that were impossible before the Network.

  The bird unleashed feathers like lasers that sought to kill the woman. She countered with walls of wind and lightning. Despite how hard she fought it was clear she was on the losing end. Just barely fast enough to stay out of reach of her pursuer. Just when he thought the woman was a goner, she turned. Her massive wings beat like bellows as she gathered spiritual energy into the palm of her hands. The world slowed to a crawl. He felt the energy as she gathered it. As she changed it. Wind, multicolored lightning, light, and several other things he didn't recognize came together.

  The sky shook as the angelic woman's body strained to contain it all. The bird either realized something was wrong or was tired of the chase. It shot forward like a cannon. Talons outstretched as if to rip the life and energy away from the woman. Maximilian's eyes widened as the talons approached. It wasn't until the bird was close enough that he could count its feathers that the woman unleashed her attack. A beam of utter destruction shot forward. The bird had no time to do anything before the beam hit it. A hole the size of a car door was punched through its chest. For a moment, the world stood still as if someone had pressed pause.

  A pause that ended when gravity returned. The terrifying bird fell from the sky like a stone. He felt the woman's exhaustion a second before she bobbed in the air. Her wings felt twice as heavy. He couldn't sense or see her cultivation, but he was willing to guess that she was low on spiritual energy. The woman began to fly away, and Maximilian tried to process what he saw. Only for the woman to reach a white wall. The scene was wrong, and his mind recoiled. It felt as if they charged into nothingness. Only the woman did nothing. She didn't slow down, nor did she try to avoid it. He braced himself for whatever would happen as they passed through, and then nothing.

  Maximilian stared in mute incomprehension as the vision rewound. The woman was chased. The sensation of the wind, the breeze, the freedom of the sky, all of it returned. The vision ended with the devastating attack. Only to repeat. He was forced to observe the loop ten times before it changed. The world was hazy as if it were out of focus. At the end of the tenth loop, he was pulled away from the endless sky and the woman. He opened his eyes and was back on Earth. The sudden lack of wings and sky was disorientating. Like he had lost a limb. He wasn't sure if there was a term for being out of balance on the ground after flying, but that was how he felt. He took a moment to calm himself down before he took stock of his body.

  He felt fine. He couldn't tell how long he had been gone or if he had even moved. The forest was exactly as he remembered, which made him think it was a vision. Some sort of dream sequence bestowed by the Network. The only question was why? He closed his eyes and focused on each of the new skill symbols. They were more complicated than the ones he got during the tutorial. They were also related. The best way he could articulate it was that they were in the same font. He wanted to spend more time analyzing them, but he decided against it. Instead, he pulled up the notifications that waited for him. He stared at the oldest.

  [Foundation] Storm Manipulation - Proficiency: Early. Learn the ways of the Sky.

  [Foundation] Skysworn - Proficiency: Early. Empowered beneath the boundless sky.

  The first two were expected and were obvious. He had unlocked the skills and their messages. He had to admit part of him was irritated at going backwards. He had maxed out his other skills a while ago. He knew it was ridiculous and that getting new skills made him that much stronger, but he couldn't help himself. Extra work was extra work after all. He wanted to test out both skills right away, but he held himself back. There were two more notifications. As soon as he read it he grinned. The skill was nice, but this. This was on a whole new level. His Dao had advanced.

  Lesser Dao of Squall - Comprehension: High. Attributes: Agility +65, Strength +15

  He was thankful to get the boost, though he wasn't sure why the attributes had changed. It was slight of course, but it was something to keep an eye on. He definitely focused on the speed aspect of wind and not the power. If that was all, then it wasn't an issue. He had wanted to do it anyway, but he had to consider the influence of the vision. The last thing he wanted was to get pulled off course by the Network. He trusted that it wouldn't screw him over, but he wouldn't give up that level of control. He appreciated guidance and assistance, but he wanted his own answers. His cultivation was his. Either way, there was little he could do about it.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He had advanced already. He wondered if he would get more of those. They were a bit like a shortcut to advancement. He assumed this was when other people were supposed to gain the Dao. Of course, he also had to consider the impact of class rarity. If he assumed things worked like a video game, then there should be a low-rarity option. Like common or inferior. He wondered if he could help someone get his classes. He knew they would need to get the same or similar daos as him. At least two are related to the weather. They would have to use them, obviously. He would offer that to Farrell. Assuming the kid was interested.

  It did bring to mind what other dao he wanted to go after. He had planned on going ice, but now that he had the class, he had to wait. If he got another vision, he wanted to be flexible. He still remembered the warning from the tutorial workers. That he needed all of them to fit together in some whole. Naturally, the dao gained from his class would match, so that shouldn't be a problem. The problem would come from his acting on his own. Which meant he needed to focus on improving what he had. Not on gaining something else. He felt like the attack the woman used was something he could do. It wasn't his dao, but they were related. At least they felt that way. He definitely felt the lightning and the wind. It could also help him develop his own skills.

  The more he thought about the more valuable that vision was. He knew all of that was for later. For now, he needed to focus. Now that he was done with his notifications, he turned his attention to the new skills. He figured the manipulation skill was the bigger of the two, so he started with Skysworn. He attempted to activate it, but nothing happened. He tried infusing it with spiritual energy and Dao, but the symbol refused both. He pulled up the description and then the symbol. He wasn't sure what it was, but he gleaned something from the symbol. The skill was passive, and it would provide benefits as long as I was beneath the sky.

  As much as he wanted to say he got all of that from the symbol. That wasn't the case. He got the basic function from there, but the rest was gleaned from the description and the name. Skysworn was pretty clear that he was connected to the sky. He was just thankful it didn't require him to fly. Though part of him wished he could get wings. Not only would they be amazing, but they would beat his current method of moving about. He wanted to test the changes, but he needed something to compare himself to. His attributes were altered by his recent gains, which meant he needed to go into the mountain. He looked around one last time before he got up. The closest cave entrance was less than five minutes away. Which meant he should have enough time to explore his skills and head back up the mountain. Assuming nothing happened. The sprint to the cave was brief. As soon as he stepped inside, he felt it. A wave of lethargy washed over him. It wasn't painful or debilitating. If he had to draw a comparison, it was like he had drunk coffee a few hours ago and just crashed.

  He pulled up his status screen and did some quick math. His Intelligence and Agility were the only attributes affected. They had been reduced by about 5%. Which wasn't as much of a problem as it seemed. Both those attributes had gone through a transformation in a short while. Which made him feel weird. He felt both stronger and weaker. It also meant he would need to avoid subterranean areas. He was more afraid of compact places anyway, so he considered it a win-win. Now that he knew the secret of one skill, it was time to turn his focus to the second. Only it was much stronger than the first. The world turned monochrome as soon as he sent energy into it. Everything was black and white except for himself and two spots on the ground. At first, he thought the spots were dangerous. Like he had gained a trap detection skill, but that was wrong. He stopped the flow of energy and then launched a bolt of electricity at the spots. Nothing happened, which wasn't exactly surprising. Especially if he considered where he was. A fact that only deepened the mystery.

  He conducted several more experiments before he gained a complete picture. The skill wasn't a skill. At least not in the same way the others were. This was closer to a tutorial. It showed him how to move a bit like playing one of those old dance games. Only it included fighting techniques, or to be more accurate, Dao manipulation. He could split the instructions into two broad categories. Half the lessons taught him how to control his dao. How to shape it, combine their energy, and even how to thread them into skills. He could combine two of them into one skill. Which was interesting. The second category was body control.

  It showed him how to move along with his dao. How to jump, dodge, and roll. It was hard to be sure, but he figured it used his positioning to other objects as "enemies". It was much more fun than the other skills. It gave the same feeling as working on a Rubik's Cube or other puzzle. He knew he could get lost down here for hours if he devoted his time to it. That didn't even take into account what would happen if he advanced his understanding. Altogether, he received a boon from his class. He was an order of magnitude stronger than he used to be, and that was only going to continue. As reluctant as he was to leave, he knew he had no choice. He needed to be back in Nubia before he left. He had no idea if there was any work for him, and he wanted to make arrangements before he departed.

  It wasn't until he took off that he realized the second boost his attributes gave him. He was faster. He would put himself beyond all cars from Earth. Maybe even most planes, though distance and all that made flight feel different. Regardless, he was faster than what should be possible, than what should be reasonable. Yet he felt fine with it. He had full control over his body. He entered Nubia less than two hours later. An improvement of over twenty percent than before. Even that was a bit misleading since he ran here instead of walking through the sky. Either way, he was happy. His entrance hadn't caused too much of a stir, so he set out to find his mother. He wasn't forced to look very hard. She was in front of a group of ten people.

  Of which only nine were dressed like Nubian warriors. The tenth was strange. He wore armor. Though it was something you'd see in a Chinese historical drama rather than anything you would get in a store. He had thought the man was cosplaying, but that wasn't true. The armor was covered in symbols. He was pretty sure he could break it if he needed to, but it wouldn't be easy. The final thing he noticed was the layout. The mystery man was segregated from the others. That and the guards were angled so he was on their outside. As if they were protecting people from him and not protecting him.

  He decided not to immediately join the group. Instead, he turned around and leaped on top of several buildings. He then jumped straight up. Once he was high enough in the air, he used his improved Dao of squall to form condensed stairs of wind beneath him. He assumed a show of strength would be ideal for the newcomer. That and a part of him wanted to show off how strong he was. When he heard the first gasps and saw various fingers pointed toward him. He grinned. He made sure to pass over the stranger as he descended. Unexpectedly, the man looked just as excited as everyone else. Which made him more confused.

  Maximilian was sure he didn't know the man. He decided not to dwell on it. He would ask his mother soon enough. He waited until he was a few feet in front of her before he dropped. He landed with the grace of a swan and then strode forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As soon as he was sure no one but his mother could see him. He grinned. It was good to be him. He moved until he stood just in front of his mother. He was just about to ask what was going on when the token shot out of his bag. A glance told him that the same thing had happened to the others. The token flew into the palm of his hand, and then he got a message.

  Trial Begins in 00:00:00:60. Any Spatial storage items on your person upon commencement of teleportation will be lost. An alternative will be provided at the commencement of the trial.