[Prepare for appraisal…]
Hermes found himself in a space between dream and reality, an endless black void illuminated by countless stars, each one linked to the next by threads of silver that wove together into a vast and inconceivable net, forming nexuses and constellations. It was indeed the most beautiful thing he had seen throughout his meagre life.
He took it in for a long moment.
Then he organised his mind.
That was rather abrupt.
He had assumed the trial would end with something more definitive, successfully escaping, perhaps, or at worst being required to kill the leader of the monsters himself. Instead it had simply stopped, the way a dream stops, without asking permission.
The relief that followed was almost physical. Three days of it, held carefully in check, released all at once. He hadn't realised how tightly he'd been holding it until it was gone.
He let himself have the feeling for a moment. Then he set it aside and thought practically.
The appraisal he wasn't particularly concerned about. He hadn't done anything that could be generously described as impressive by Shadow Slave's standards, no kills, no heroics, no dramatic last stand. He had talked, schemed, nearly ran away several times, and ultimately escaped through a hole in the floor.
Sunny would be envious of him. Matter of fact, any dreamer would be. His trial was rather easy going. Stressful but manageable. He had brought shame to the transmigrators club. But hey at least he was alive, as long as he was alive, everything was alright.
Heh.
But there was another problem. Since he didn't kill anything, he wouldn't receive any memory much less an echo. That was concerning. What exactly would he be doing in his second nightmare after being awakened. Hopefully he could ask for a soul core by revealing his aspect ability or some information about his attributes? Maybe the nightmare trial itself? He didn't want to but he'd have to if he wanted to live.
Wonderful.
His thoughts were interrupted by the Spell.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A false prophet delivered a false revelation. He was mocked, dismissed and called a fraud. He wanted to run, knowing the truth, but felt guilty in doing so and stayed — trying his best to convince everyone of a vision he did not truly have. Fortunately for him, some people decided not to take chances and despite not believing him, prepared for the Armageddon anyway. Their preparation proved insufficient. But it allowed some to escape. The false messiah was believed by no one and yet he changed the destinies of over two hundred lives.]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: Marvellous. Your wits truly know no bounds. Not a single blow landed. Not a single offensive spell cast. Not a single contribution that could be generously described as combat. And yet here we are.]
"Oi, Spell… you got a problem or something?" asked Hermes, only half joking. Mostly he was trying to do something about the nerves.
He didn't expect an answer.
[Dreamer Hermes, receive your boon!]
Hermes tensed without meaning to.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Demon of Arcana.]
The fuck?
He stared at it.
A True Name. In his first nightmare trial. He had read enough of Shadow Slave to know how extraordinarily rare that was, the kind of thing that happened to people who were destined for something that bent the rules of the world around it. And every True Name holder he knew of had one thing in common.
Divine Aspects.
Don't tell me—
The hope arrived before he could stop it, embarrassingly large and immediate. Was this the perk of the transmigrator club? He was already excited. He could feel it. Some cosmic compensation for being dropped into a nightmare world with no warning and no consent?
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
"Yes," he said, before the second word had finished appearing.
[Dormant Aspect: Novice Alchemist is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Supreme.]
[Aspect Name: Grand Alchemist.]
The hope extinguished itself quietly.
He sat with the feeling for a moment, not disappointment exactly, more the particular deflation of someone whose imagination had briefly run away with them and had now been firmly retrieved. Supreme. Not Divine. The transmigrator club, it turned out, did not come with special privileges.
Then the gratitude arrived, slower and more honest than the hope had been.
Supreme.
He had genuinely expected Ascended. Transcendent if he was lucky. Supreme had not been on the table he had mentally constructed and yet here it was, sitting in the runes in front of him, real and solid and his.
Grand Alchemist. He turned the name over. That does sound rather grand.
His Aspect description would have changed as well. He summoned his status.
—
Aspect: [Grand Alchemist]
Aspect Rank: Supreme
Aspect Description: [A Grand Alchemist believes he can improve upon creation itself. He is wrong. He has always been wrong. Every Grand Alchemist before him was wrong. This one will be no different.]
Innate Ability: [Azoth]
Ability Description: [You perceive the hidden unity beneath all forms. What others see as flesh, stone, or steel, you recognize as a mutable substance awaiting refinement.]
—
"Dear Spell, could you at least try? A little creativity wouldn't kill you."
The Aspect description had changed nothing but the name. He filed that grievance away and moved on to the innate ability.
Azoth.
Transmutation, essentially. The ability to perceive and reshape the fundamental nature of matter itself. Which meant materials were no longer a constraint. Which meant he could, theoretically, produce whatever he needed from whatever was available.
Which meant—
Gold.
He could print gold like it was nothing. An unlimited supply. Infinite resources. He would never be broke again in his life.
Muehehehehe.
Somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice noted that this was exactly the kind of shallow thinking he had dismissed as the dream of lesser men not three days ago. The endless gold, the material wealth, the missing of the point entirely.
He ignored the small voice completely.
He was happy. He was allowed to be happy.
The Spell stirred again before he could fully commit to his financial planning.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]