SPIRIT SOUL

Waking up, the first thing Kyle noticed was that his entire body seemed to be on fire.

Slowly opening his eyes, he lifted his upper body later, only to see that he was still in the same room as before.

This caused him to subconsciously blurt out.

"I...passed the trial, didn't I?"

His mind was still muddled, and thus, he didn't realize that Knirg and Lahan were nearby.

Answering his question, one of them said,

"Yes, you passed the second trial, we were just waiting for you to wake up, before bringing you to the third trial!"

Hearing the voice from behind him, Kyle turned around drowsily.

His eyes fell on the two Undeads as Knirg remarked,

"You were much faster than we expected...not bad."

Ths made Kyle smile faintly because he felt that it had taken him way too long.

But recalling the wasted time, he remembered something and asked directly.

"Can we finally stop with this charade? I know that you two weren't even a part of the second trial!"

Even if his mind was not yet fully working, the pain that spread through his body distracted him a lot.

Nevertheless, he wanted to figure out what exactly the two Undeads wanted from him.

Adding the Banshee he had seen before, and the being that had glowing crimson-colored eyes, Kyle couldn't help but feel that he was being played around.

This feeling was one of the worst, and it made him recall his past life.

Not being able to cultivate, he had been playing around with just because he was too weak and an insignificant member of the Yadras' race.

Thus, he made no mistake of completely trusting the two Undeads, even if they seemed to be sincere in their desire to instruct him.

Kyle hadn't felt any malicious intention from them, but that didn't mean it was true. Hiding one's intention was not difficult for powerful beings.

It was even easier for beings that didn't even have facial expressions or anything that could give hints about lies.

As such, he had to listen carefully to what the two Undeads were about to say, and how exactly they would react.

"Well, you are right. In the end, the Army of the Undead was your trial, but we wanted to observe you. However, in the end, the result was a little bit different, and you know the rest.

But if you're curious, we just did what we've been told to do, nothing more, nothing less!"

Hearing this from the Death Knight, made Kyle come up with even more questions that flashed through his mind than before. Yet, only a few seemed to have been answered.

But, instead of commenting, he awaited what the Dullahan would say.

"I don't think it is a surprise for you, but your trials will be quite different from the normal participants of the Razkadan castle….To be precise, you are the first living participant to enter the castle since it was built. And, from our observation, you're not suitable for the inheritance of this place.

If you were to do that, it would mean that you would have to accept death and awaken as an undead being.

From the way we observed you in the training hall and the first two trials, there is no way that you would accept dying. Your spirit to continue living is way too distinct and fierce!

Because of that, we need to find a different way to get what we want. But I don't think you have to worry. You need to be alive and with your weird ability, or accept the Castle's inheritance to be of any use to us!"

Even if the information provided by the Dullahan was more shocking, and not exactly good, at least, it felt as if he was being honest.

Nevertheless, Kyle remained vigilant, without trusting every single word the two Undeads said.

A few moments in which he digested the pieces of information passed before Kyle added,

"And, I guess to be suitable for you guys, I need to be much stronger in order to meet some requirements. I don't know who sent you, but wouldn't it be easier to talk it out? It's not like I can run away from the castle, even if I want to.

Isn't it weird for you guys to observe me the whole time?

I already met half of your group, either way... can I not meet the others too? Why is there even a need to beat around the bush?"

The two Undeads didn't expect that Kyle would suddenly find the confidence to talk back to them and even share his opinions without any hesitation or fear.

His words made them realize that the young man in front of them wasn't just a pushover.

Though he looked weak and had a low cultivation base, he was strategic and immensely hard-working. He had thought more about the entire situation he was in than all of them had assumed.

"When did you find out how many we are?" Knirg asked straightforwardly.

A frown appeared on Kyle's face as he was not sure if that question was meant seriously or not.

"In the entrance hall, I chose Karnias' heritage as a reward and read it because I had hoped that it would help me advance through the following trials. Unfortunately, it is more like a diary.

Either way, after reading the book, and with the use of my ability, I was able to determine the Banshee's true identity. I had figured out that she was one of you.

So, I knew it was you two, the being with the glowing crimson eyes, and two more.

If I'm not wrong, one of the two Undeads left should be a Lich with an extremely dense death aura, and there was another being, but I don't know what exactly it is…I couldn't perceive it clearly when you guys looked at me from within the shadows!"

Kyle intentionally revealed the information he had, letting them know that he was aware of being observed for the entire time.

At least that was the only thing that would make sense to Kyle, considering that everything added up in such an odd and unique way.

Thus, he decided to simply tell everything that had been on his mind.

Despite knowing that holding something back could save him if the situation were to turn against him, he chose to be transparent.

And, the risk paid off.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened and the two Undeads were simply staring at him, their soul flames flickering wildly.

After some time, the Death Knight and Dullahan simply looked at each other, only to avert their attention back to Kyle as one of them asked him,

"As long as you survive the trials, you'll pass them, and as long as you pass the trials, nobody will kill or harm you. Shouldn't that be enough for you to know?

What's the point of meeting everyone. It's not like we know if you possess the requirements to cle-..."

Just as Knirg was about to reveal one of the secrets Kyle had been eagerly waiting to find out, the entire room began to shake.

This caused the Death Knight to quiet down as Lahan said in a disappointed voice.

"I knew that he would come!"

Yet, just a moment later, he went silent as he turned towards Kyle.

"That's enough Lahan!" A sudden, raspy voice spoke to him. It resounded through the entire room as a portal manifested in between Kyle and the two Undeads.

A moment later, the Lich, Kyle had been talking about earlier emerged from the portal, only to stare into the depth of his soul.

"You! Don't ask too many questions, brat!! You are to be tested, and if you're not suitable, you will die in the trials, don't you understand that?!"

A distinct death aura leaked from the Lich and enveloped Kyle.

The pressure released from the aura began numbing his senses, and he began to sweat profusely.

The Lich was even more confusing than the two Undeads that had been warriors when they were alive.

As such, they were more open with everything, while the Lich seemed to be talking in riddles.

Kyle already knew that he would die if he were to fail the trials, which was obvious.

If he failed, there was no doubt that the Skeletons would tear him apart if they were to get their bony hands on him.

He would die if someone killed him. That was the logic the Lich was implying, and Kyle never assumed that it would be different. After all, he was in the Castle of the Undead that was overflowing with the aura of death.

Thus, he felt as if a sudden pressure enveloped him, making his heart constrict.

The Lich's distinct aura overwhelmed him as well as turned his brain foggy, making it difficult for him to think straight.

It took the Lich some time to calm down, from whatever Kyle did to enrage it to such an extent.

Only after that did it release the young man from the death aura, allowing Kyle to breathe freely once again.

Before, he knew that he could speak more openly because he thought that the two Warriors were more open-minded and considerate.

But with the Lich's appearance, Kyle was unable to do so anymore.

As such, he remained quiet after catching his breath, only to look up at the Lich, who was by far the strongest being he had seen yet.

The mysterious woman was still a complex puzzle to him, but the Lich was certainly more dangerous.

It had a bad temper, and a single wrong move might kill Kyle.

While Kyle had been taking deep breaths, the Lich had turned towards Knirg and Lahan, both of whom had instinctively taken a step back.

"Who gave you the right to reveal something a living being is not supposed to know...without our unanimous agreement?!"

This seemingly simple question caused the two warriors to remain rigid, and unmoving.

They went silent and their eyes were fixed to the ground, knowing that one wrong word could turn their situation even worse.

Shaking his skeletal head, the Lich turned around before glancing at Kyle, who lifted his hand as a stream of mana enveloped him.

"I'll take you with me. Don't even try to fight back, you know that its useless!"

Kyle felt extremely furious on the inside.

But in his past life, his mind had been conditioned for decades to not react against any provocation or injustice.

He had been simply weak and even now, in front of the Lich, he was weak.

Thus, he retained his cool but asked in a firm voice,

"What...about my reward?"

Even if it was inappropriate right now, Kyle couldn't care less.

He could risk getting punished by the Lich for being annoying as Kyle had spent several weeks just to complete the second trial.

As such, he didn't want to leave it empty-handed. Going against the Lich was nothing in comparison!

Kyle's question caused the Lich to look at him with unmoving soul flames as if he was unsure how the young man was able to stay so calm.

Yet, instead of doing anything to Kyle, the Lich seemed amused..or so Kyle thought.

"If you pass all trials successfully, I will personally allow you to freely choose anything within the castle. One reward per excellently mastered Trial!"

Kyle's eyes gleamed upon hearing this. And, even though he knew that he shouldn't be too trusting, he decided that this might be the best deal he could achieve.

Fleeing from the Undead powerhouses, let alone out of the castle was no option to begin with. He had no way of running away nor a clue of where the exit was.

Furthermore, if they wanted to do something to him, they could have done it already.

As such, they were trying to gauge his abilities which made Kyle think that the deal he received was too good to be true.

There was a hidden meaning behind the trials, but he had yet to figure them out.

Nodding his head faintly, Kyle responded to him non-verbally.

The Lich took this as a sign that Kyle would give his best to pass the following trials, even if it was just for the rewards.

'I hope he is worth the hassle…' The Lich thought as he threw Kyle through the portal, only to follow suit.

"You two, return to the young Lady, she is waiting to hear your detailed evaluation of him!"

Saying so, the Lich disappeared and moved to one of the higher floors.

,m Kyle was already lying on the ground and the mana that had enveloped him had dispersed.

Yet, before he could even stand up, the Lich commented,

"Brat, we'll test your talent for the cultivation energies now. These fluctuations of yours are unique and I've never seen them in the thousands of years I've lived. As such you'll have to take a thorough test.

Your martial art proficiency was already tested and has improved considerably.

But we still have to test the proficiency at which you can control your energy, the wind affinity, and so on.

Furthermore, there will be a test to find out your age!

Through the detailed information, we will be able to figure out almost everything about your current state!

So far, Kyle had patiently heard the Lich, but the more he heard him the more worried he became.

A growing sense of unease began to trouble him as he thought nervously,

'My age?! Eh...that's bad...isn't it?!'