At crossroads

"Do I need to take any vows before proceeding with this test?" Hugo was still insistent on getting to the bottom of what was required to become a 'knowledge keeper'. It was the first time he had heard about the existence of such a profession on Gaia.

"What do you think?" She retorted. Her tone was apathetic and she continued gazing at Hugo strangely.

[She must think me an idiot.] Hugo mused.

"What vows do I have to take?"

"That's simple; a vow to protect Gaia, your homeland. And a vow to act as Gaia's sword in the material world." The woman sounded steadfast and confident as if Hugo's service to Gaia was predestined and inevitable.

On hearing this, Hugo's brows became creased instantly. He felt anxiety begin to take root in him. Although the vows seemed fairly innocuous, they would still have far-reaching implications and could quite possibly enslave him for the rest of his life.

He could end up a mere puppet whose sole purpose in life would be pleasing the omniscient Gaia. That was completely unacceptable to him.

"And in exchange, you would get loads of knowledge about mystical training systems that vastly surpass the puny level of civilization on this small world of yours…" The enigmatic woman added.

"You might even gain access to some of the ancient texts kept in the ancient Library of Thoth." She continued, seemingly noticing the expression of displeasure that was beginning to form on Hugo's face.

Though Hugo felt greatly tempted, he managed to curb his thirst for knowledge. Certainly, the promise of access to knowledge was the perfect bait to hook him as a servant of Gaia.

The gears in his mind turned as he weighed the pros and cons of the offer.

At that moment, a common quote from his previous life ran through his mind; 'I am no bird, and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.' His will strengthened.

Yes, he needed knowledge, but not at the cost of his freedom.

Hugo had a niggling feeling that he was at crossroads and whatever decision he made would either raise him to the heavens or condemn him to hell. However, his bet on success was leaning heavily towards rejecting 'Gaia's' offer.

[What should I choose?] He wondered. He was so deep in thought that he even failed to notice the surprise that manifested for a split second on the woman's gorgeous oval face.

"Accept her proposition…" The familiar ancient voice of Bundi – the Owl resonated directly in Hugo's mind when he was still struggling with indecision.

Hugo was instantly filled with joy since he was sure that Bundi wouldn't hurt him. The decision was obvious.

"I am ready to take the knowledge keepers test." He replied as he resigned himself to whatever was to come.

A smile bloomed across the woman's face as soon as Hugo voiced his decision.

The way her lips curled upward. The way her dimples crinkled. The way her teeth were seamlessly aligned. The warm glow her happiness gave. Her smile was a ray of sunshine that lit up the entire island of snow.

"Welcome to the knowledge keeper's posterity test. You have two hours to prepare. The test will start thereafter." The woman's voice had reverted to its apathetic state. Her smile had withered faster than wisps of smoke dissipating after a candle flame was snuffed out.

She suddenly vanished in a glow of white light leaving Hugo alone on the island.

[Two hours! Maybe, I should try absorbing the contents of the other scroll. I need to have a means of offense, defense, and retreat.] Hugo deliberated as he settled into a cross-legged position and entered the state of deep meditation.

He instantly opened the ethereal door to his spiritual world and arrived in the formless reddish space. His delight was instantly squashed on finding that Bundi was nowhere to be seen.

[Seems like Bundi won't be returning until I meet the qualifications for entering the pyramid.] Hugo lamented.

But he quickly shook away the dejection and set his sights on what was truly important. He was only here to absorb the contents of the Apollo-Archery scroll still hovering in his spiritual world.

Hugo had a feeling that the contents were not just about archery, but included other techniques advantageous to ranged combatants as well.

In a few steps, Hugo arrived before the scroll with the huge bow and slender quiver of arrows imprinted on it.

Without even wasting a split second to analyze why the scroll was changing colors periodically, Hugo first practiced the Psykhe-Mental-Exercise and then stretched out his left hand to make contact with it.

"HONG.."

The now-familiar explosion of information resounded deep within the confines of Hugo's consciousness and he was instantly ejected from the formless reddish space and sent to the world of slumberland.

About an hour later, Hugo woke with a start before orienting himself to the surroundings. Nothing seemed to have changed on the island. The only changes had occurred within himself. Information about archery and other ranged mystic martial arts like sight enhancement spells had been directly imprinted in his mind.

Additionally, an advanced version of the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence and an agility-enhancing footwork technique had also been added to his cognizance of mystical knowledge.

Since Hugo was already pretty familiar with the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence, he only needed to practice the footwork technique to become a true master of the grand art of escapism.

He first ignored the archery techniques and concentrated on the agility enhancing footwork. He needed to gain the capability to escape tricky situations like the nest of snakes he had faced earlier.

But alas, Hugo felt disappointed after comprehensively sifting through the information added to his mind. The Apollo-Archery mystic art scroll only contained the Apollo-Divine-Arrow, the breathing-technique, and the Apollo-Spatial-Steps.

But these were all mystic techniques that couldn't be mastered in just an hour's practice. He needed something with a spell-model that could be practiced within a short time gap.

[I will have to do with the levitation and hypnosis spells…]

"Eehh!"

[What happened to the wolf and its pups after being absorbed into the Grimoire?] Hugo wondered. He once again summoned Infinitus and turned to its fifth page.

On the fifth page, was inscribed the familiar summoning circle, its edge adorned with mysterious runes. The set of mysterious runes were formed into several sets of mystic ciphers that glowed red under the dim starlight.

"Here goes nothing…" Hugo psyched himself up.

He first placed his left hand on the tiny but vivid image of a wolf inscribed at the center of the pentagram within the summoning circle.

After steadying his heart and calming his mind, he visualized the complete detailed spell-model before channeling his Kundalini mana into Infinitus…