Chapter 310: Chapter 308 – Tier 3 Trial Intermission

“Shit, what was it again? I can’t remember… is this ascension-induced amnesia? So that’s how it feels like?”

Roland grasped his head while trying to remember some of the knowledge he gained related to his new class. There were holes in his memory whenever he tried to remember some of the specifics that transpired during the ascension trial into the Overlord class. This was something that he expected after failing in his transformation but it was still a strange feeling.

First of all, he only remembered some parts but mostly the beginning. It was kind of a blur after defeating the first commander unit and getting past the tutorial phase of the whole trial. After that he couldn’t really remember anything specific, the path that he took was defensive in nature but he couldn’t remember which specific upgrades he went with first. Everything specific that could be seen as an advantage was being forgotten but some partial events were still there.

This wasn’t anything new to him as he had read up on situations where people had failed their trials. In some situations, people would be left with nothing and could only recall activating a trial before appearing back in the real world with no recollection of anything. However, sometimes bits and pieces would be left behind and some theories floated around proclaiming that a high enough resistance to mind-related effects could help alleviate this disadvantage.

He could recall the monster that he was fighting and its huge mace going toward his head. It was like waking up from a nightmare as he was also covered in a cold sweat. If he didn’t have the crumbled pieces of the ascension crystal in his hands he could even believe that. Even though he had forgotten a lot there was some information that would allow him to probably go into the next one with more preparation.

‘I guess bunkering up in a fortress won’t work… How much time did I even spend there? It’s like a blur but it must have been multiple months… could it have been close to a year?’

Roland had lost his perception of time, it was like waking up from a fever dream. Luckily he knew what to do to keep some of his memories intact. When straining his brain on the dream-like experience he could recall some of the key events that led to his downfall as an overlord. Through this method he could collect bits and pieces of the puzzle which he could then try to assemble later. 

The main one was his decision to stick to his comfort zone. After managing to defend his own home through turrets, mines, and other traps he tried to do the same. While it took less to defend a reinforced position like a castle there was a limit. If the invading armies were too large in number or were equipped with state-of-the-art siege weaponry, there was no chance of him winning.

‘I think I put on a good defense, I remember lasting out for a while… but that won’t work if the victory conditions are different.’

Through his blunder, he recalled his worst mistake. There was no winning by only defending in this trial, it became clear that only by dominating everything would he gain the title of overlord. Considering that this title presented itself as a lord towering over all the other lords, it was obvious that he needed to take them all out to achieve victory.

‘Perhaps this is the difference between the two classes.’

While getting up from his chair he recalled the High-Lord variant of his class. It wouldn’t be strange to assume that that class version would have a similar trial. It happened often when the classes came from the same source and had a similar naming scheme. Considering that his High-Lord class was lower on the totem pole, it might have been more lenient with him and his approach of defending could have garnered him a passing grade. Now on the other hand he was left wondering how much time he would lose due to his blunder.

“It was twenty-four hours for a regular class change but considering that this was a special tier 3 ascension trial, this could take longer.”

This was something that Roland didn’t want to happen. Failing a trial wasn’t the end of the world and it could be retaken later, however, there was one problem. There was always a waiting period that continuously grew the more a person failed. The time he entered the ascension zone when he hit level hundred and fifty didn’t count as he left before activating the test but now he had actually gone through it all.

‘The period usually doubles after each failure but sometimes it could go over that, it will all depend on how much I have to wait now.’

There was no way for him to tell how long the cooldown for the crystal would take. There was no problem in getting new ones and he had one already stashed away for this location. Resources weren’t the problem, the only thing he was worried about was time. Usually, a person that failed a class-up would need to wait for a day for the next one to become unlocked to him. Then if they failed again it would take two days, then four, and so on.

He had heard of some cases where people were unable to get through their trials no matter how much they tried. Tier 3 class tests were a notch above the rest and usually had a longer cooldown period than just one day. Some people would remain without a new class even for years without an option to switch to something easier. Others would quickly change to something lesser after realizing that they did not have the skills required to progress in a more prestigious class.

“I just hope nothing happens before I change classes.”

Roland had to take into consideration that he was ill-prepared to take the Overlord test. Perhaps even if the trial unlocked tomorrow it would have been better to continue leveling the skills that weren’t maxed. There was also an option to gain some new skills through skill books before the second or third attempt. While this was the better way to approach things, in his mind, there was no time.

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With the emergence of the higher-ranked dungeon, the place would start to swarm with people that could make life difficult for him. The reason he chose to come here was that the dungeon was a mid-rank dungeon that lacked anything to attract tier 3 class holders. His only cover was his engagement with Arthur Valerian which made him somewhat untouchable inside the city, that is if no other nobles were involved. Now that this place had become an investment opportunity he wasn’t sure if some troublesome people would arrive.

“What should I do to prepare?”

After cleaning up the crystal dust from the workbench and looking over the other class change crystal he decided to return to his house. There he was greeted by Agni who didn’t really know why his master was in such a depressing mood.

“Maybe I didn’t go through those strategy books thoroughly enough?”

Considering that when he was going through all the books at the Arden estate when he was a small child, it was already a wonder that he remembered this much. His intelligence value that allowed his memory to be boosted only started to really help after he gained his mage class. It wasn’t strange that he wasn’t able to read into the crux of the strategy from books.

Gaining knowledge through books also had its limit and he certainly did not have any teachers explaining anything. The only thing he gained from back then was basic battle training and an idea of how to survive in the world. The next years were mostly used to study his craft as a runic blacksmith and then runesmith. There was no time to waste on learning obscure war techniques that he had no use of.

Even if he was sent off into war his role would probably consist of making runic weapons and not directing troops or taking part in the battle. There was just no point in time that he would have required that data and it was probably one of the reasons that he failed.

“Where could I get information on how to lead a fort or command troops… Wait, I think there were books about that in his office…”

Roland frowned a bit as he realized where his next destination was. Arthur Valerian was a noble and he had an excessive library in his own office and now new home. There were books on all sorts of things when it came to running a city. When he visited him from time to time he was left looking at bookshelves filled with books, some of them were related to combat out on the field. If he wanted to actually go out and conquer others, then he would need the basic tactics to go along with them.

“It wouldn’t hurt to refresh my knowledge, maybe I’ll find the things that I missed.”

There was no reason not to go there and go through the written information. The only uncomfortable part would be his explanation. Arthur could start asking questions and telling him the details of his tier 3 class-up test was off the table. They weren’t really friends either so perhaps a trade needed to be struck. There was also a library in the city that could have some historical records or tips.

“I guess I’ll go to the library first and then try to think of a way to get Arthur to lend me those books…”

After groaning a bit he decided to return to his workshop. Once there, after grabbing a hammer he started destroying the same golem that he used his new skill on. It was the middle of the night and he was not tired at all. Using this time to level up his skills was the best way to prepare. Once dawn came he was quick to pack up and head to the library where some new knowledge could be gained.

When he arrived at the building that he had never really visited before he was greeted by an old lady inside. This reminded him of some places he used to study back in college. Compared to the modern library in his old world, this one was rather small. After asking for books about warfare or old records of battles he was met with mostly silence. Considering that knowledge was power, nobles did their best at hiding things that could make the populace rowdy. Thus instead of getting some precise information, he was only left with some old historical records that he would need to interpret in his own way.

“Good that I learned this skill beforehand.”

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