He would prevail.
The mountain dropped. And everything went dark.
You Have Survived.
The Challenge Is Incomplete.
Be Wary, Young Nym.
When he woke, it was to utter darkness.
A brief moment of panic set in as Felix scrambled up to his feet. He smashed his head against a rock as he stood up, and bright colors flashed before his eyes.
"FUCK!"
His voice was deadened, as if the darkness around him absorbed it.
Blindly, Felix cautiously stepped forward. He traced his hand along the wall behind him, his left arm out and swinging from side to side. Eventually he hit another wall. And another, and another. The cave was maybe 10 feet square, and was completely sealed. And he was alone.
Where is Pit? His mind conjured images of him being crushed and swallowed by the hungry earth. Of him being trapped somewhere like Felix, but hurt.
No no no no. A voice inside Felix started wailing, only moments from taking him over entirely. Felix slapped himself across the jaw, focusing on the pain. No. I can do this. I just...let's take it one step at a time.
He inspected his body, checking his Health and Stamina. Everything was full, and the dangerous status conditions had healed while he'd been unconscious. What was his regeneration at, now? How long did it all take?
A blinking icon distracted him, flashing in the corner of his vision. With a breath of relief, he toggled it.
Pain Resistance is level 17!
...
Pain Resistance is level 23!
Meditation is level 21!
...
Meditation is level 26!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Meditation!
You Gain The Following:
+10 to all Mental Stats (INT, WIL, PER)
+10% to all Regeneration
You Have Unlocked A Harmonic Stat!
Resonance - Affects mental recovery. Confluence of Intelligence and Willpower.
Current Value: RES - 12
You Have Unlocked A Harmonic Stat!
Resilience - Affects physical recovery. Confluence of Endurance and Vitality.
Current Value: REI - 8
You Have Learned A New Skill!
Deep Mind (Epic), Level 1!
You have delved deeper into the mind than most, traveling upon a dark confluence of truth and perception. Increases Resonance per Skill Level, increases potency of mental Skills by a moderate amount per Skill Level.
Deep Mind is level 2!
...
Deep Mind is level 23!
You Have Learned A New Skill!
Mental Resistance (Rare), Level 1!
Gain resistance to mental assault, control, and other attacks of the mind. Increases mental defense significantly per Skill Level, increases mental flexibility moderately per Skill Level.
Mental Resistance is level 2!
...
Mental Resistance is level 21!
"Holy hell," he whispered, memories of his journey on the dark sea rushing back to him. "It was all real." Or real enough to affect the physical world, at least.
Apprentice Tier, huh? Felix smiled, finally able to cross that question off his list. Apprentice Tier happened at a certain level; he assumed level 25 based on his notifications. It could be 26, but that felt...wrong, somehow. Now he just had to get his spells up to level 25 to complete one of his quests.
If I can even get out of here.
He slapped his cheeks again, focusing. That wouldn't help him.
What else did he learn? Felix went over the notifications again. He attained Apprentice Tier in Meditation, and that netted him some benefits, for some reason. Did this happen with all Skills when they hit level 25? That would be both amazing and insane. He had just gained 30 stat points in an instant. He had also gained a flat 10% bonus to his regeneration, which was huge.
Speaking of regeneration, he had also unlocked something called Harmonic Stats. Reading the prompt over again, Felix clenched his fists in excitement. He had been right! There was a hidden stat for regeneration, two of them in fact. Resonance and Resilience, for mental and physical recovery. The notification said they were a confluence of two of his main stats, but how did that affect anything? Felix's hands reached for his journal, even in the dark, but a thrill of terror ran through him as he patted his empty waist.
His satchel and sword were gone.
"God damn it," he swore softly. All his food and water was in that bag, not to mention his various herbs and last health potion. Everything he owned in this world was in there, and now it was probably crushed under a bunch of rock. Felix felt himself spiraling again, and wrenched himself back on task.