[Avatar of the Force] 10 – Shadows

[Force Specter - Level: ???]

This...glowing red ghost bore an armored robe and a strange mask that swiveled to my person. Its baleful red eyes scanned over my being, and before I could react, the specter collapsed into dust and appeared behind me, its hand sliding up my shoulder where I felt its fingers grasp my throat.

"So... pure," it spoke, disgust clear in its tone.

"Tell me...why did you come here, Jedi?" It spoke, hatred emanating from its voice.

"I'm...not...a...Jedi," I managed to get out as its hand began to close down on my throat.

That's when it gave me a second glance.

"You wear the old robes of the Academy," It observed, a hint of confusion in its tone as its body floated around me, its hand remaining on my throat, threatening to crush my throat at any moment.

Suddenly, it let go of me, causing me to fall to my knees, gasping for breath once again.

"Who are you?" It asked, crossing its arms while floating in the air above me.

Climbing to my feet, my eyes glazed past the legless floating torso that was the Specter before answering when my gaze reached its baleful red eyes, "I'm an Acolyte...what happened here?"

With a wave of its hand, I felt my leg give out from under me while pain coursed through my body from seemingly no source.

"Do not give partial lies, Acolyte. I will sense them," It commanded, before it began floating around me, its eyes finally leaving my person to look at the tomb around it.

"...Who are you?" I gritted out, feeling like my nerves were on fire.

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 6 --> 8]

Ignoring the notification, I focused on the Specter again.

"You truly do not know whose Tomb you stepped foot in, Acolyte?" The ghost's head turned back to me, angry.

"You stand within the Tomb of Darth Bane," it digined to inform me, making me freeze.

"Oh, you've heard of me? Tell me, does my legend still exist, Acolyte?" The Specter of Darth Bane asked me, its voice full of malice.

"Not from when I come from...but many do know of you," I answered, knowing I would likely face more pain if I did not answer his inquiry.

"When?" It asked, humming, its beautiful eyes feeling like they are piercing through my very soul.

"Oh," It spoke, sounding fascinated, "You come from before my reign, don't you, Acolyte?" It spoke my title like it was nothing but filth.

"Yes...Darth Bane," I answered, knowing his views on the Sith from before his time.

"How...interesting," It gave a small chuckle.

"What brought you here, little Sith?" It demanded, wanting an answer.

"I assume the Force..." I hesitantly answered, not knowing what sort of answer he was fishing for.

It merely hummed, its eyes looking me over as it orbited around me.

"The Force...you say?" The specter of a Darth spoke, sounding intrigued yet speculative.

"Yes...I see. Little Sith, tell me, for how long have you been an Acolyte?" The Darth asked, getting right up to my face.

"Less than a month," I answered truthfully, suspecting where he was going with this, and part of me both hoped he was going to go for it, while another was worried about what would happen to me if he did.

"Perfect," he growled before physically grabbing my chin and forcing me to look him in the eye.

"Congratulations are in order, little Sith. I've decided to take you on as an apprentice. Your first task? Survive!" It cackled as lightning launched from his fingertips directly into my body, causing me to scream out in pain.

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 8 --> 9]

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 9 --> 10]

In what felt like hours, it was only a few minutes, and when I managed to refocus on my surroundings, I found myself on the ground, the Specter floating above me with its arms crossed.

"Weak," it hissed, though its voice sounded faint in my ears, a notification "ding" echoing in my mind.

/==========\

-[Instance: Legacy]-

Level: 6/10

Description: The Academy, abandoned for countless years, is no longer empty. You are not alone.

Main Objective: ???

Secondary Objective: Survive for one week within the ruins of the Academy

Tertiary Objective: ???

Optional Objective 1: Undergo training under the Ghost of Darth Bane

Optional Objective 2: ???

Optional Objective 3: ???

\==========/

Barely noting the revelation of the first optional objective of three, I relaxed my body on the floor, only for more pain to flood my system, causing me to scream out.

"Don't test my patience, Little Sith. Get up. Obey, or suffer and die," he warned, pain still flooding my mind and body, causing me to spasm on the floor.

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 10 --> 13]

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 13 --> 19]

My mind, in the haze of pain, didn't even hear the constant 'dings' of my skill leveling up, but by the time I managed to focus through the pain and climb to my knees, then to my feet.

"Good," his voice echoed around the chamber, as he floated around me.

[Skill: Pain Tolerance 19 --> 27]

[Skill: Pain Tolerance, Perk Available]

/===========\

-[Pain Tolerance]-

Type: Passive/Resistance

Level: 6/100

Description: Pain, a biological process that alerts an organism that something is wrong, whether it be foreign bodies, damage, illness, and more. Depending on the Individual organism, this pain can prove dangerous as it may cause the organism to freeze, flinch, or involuntarily make noise. 

With each level, you become more tolerant of pain, but this does not provide immunity to the source of the pain.

---

[Available Perks]

Adaptable - Your body adapts to certain types of pain, becoming more tolerant of them over time.

Enhanced Tolerance - Most minds are only able to handle a certain amount of  pain before forcibly shutting down, you have evolved past that, your body and mind being able to endure a lot more pain before unconsciousness claims you

\===============/

With only two options, I chose Enhanced Tolerance. My reasoning was simple: the skill would already help me adapt to pain, but it wouldn't save me if something struck me with so much pain that a normal mind would pass out. If I were to step into a war, I wanted an advantage that few would be prepared for if I were targeted. After all, you don't expect a man incapacitated by a stun bolt to somehow climb to his feet afterwards, especially when nearly all others hit wth a stun bolt would immediately go down, their nervous system in so much shock they lose consciousness.