Otherworldly Trials [LITRPG Adventure]

Zeke didn't necessarily make up the plan immediately after getting scolded by Cronus. He honestly took in his words, realized his mistake, and tried his hardest to make up for it by ensuring to keep his eyes and ears open for anything he might need to do before doing more experiments.

So when Cerulean offered to try out his simulation room first, his first response was actually 'hell no'. The simulation room was meant for the otherworlders to train for potential struggles when they themselves go after the towers. It was meant to be the end goal because, in the end, Zeke and Mikella can't go after every single tower themselves.

The mental toll, the stress of unknown monsters and situations, as well as dealing with any otherworlders trapped inside was too much. Even after all of their experiences, that didn't make tower-exploring any easier. If anything, he felt they were reaching a threshold where they could no longer view the towers and otherworlders the same way anymore.

So in his Tir-aided mind, he thought about the simulation room where he can train the otherworlders the dangers of monster fighting without actually fighting monsters. While they wouldn't gain any experience points or loot, they gain something far more valuable–combat training. Gaining more skill levels for every situation needed wasn't so bad either.

But then after remembering Cerulean's fight against the Trial knight, he decided to let her go. The plan was simple–bombard Cerulean with so many monsters and difficult situations where she would mess up and eventually go crazy, destroying everything in her path. He actually hoped that it would make a big enough boom in the surroundings that Zeke can use that as an excuse to Cronus that; No, it wasn't the crazy amount of mana used to make his simulation. It was actually Cerulean going crazy and getting a bit too excited in the simulation room, hence the crazy amount of mana.

It was a bit of a stretch, he realized that now after thinking a bit more. Even if that were to happen, that didn't mean Cronus could easily accept that. He was still the Lord of Arcelot. He's gonna need a bigger reason to avoid any favors he did for the otherworlders.

Then cue Cerulean almost destroying everything around them, including their housing and, well, the otherworlders themselves. Even Cronus had to protect them with his barrier, but the fact was that all of Zeke and Tir's hard work was broken into smithereens, all thanks to Cerulean which used her attunement to almost destroy everything in sight.

That was perfect. Not exactly great for Zeke and Tir, but good enough to get Cronus off his ass about any favors. Mikella was all for that, and even Lyle and Janet congratulated on the idea. There were some twists and turns, but eventually it all worked out.

Except for Tir. When he eventually woke up after the explosion occurred, he saw the mess that occurred and nearly cried out.

"No! My hard work! My masterpiece…!"

Zeke felt his heart break when he saw Tir cry out, then slumped into a seating position in the physical world with his ears drooping downwards. Mikella knelt to console the poor pupper but no matter how often she tried to cheer him up by saying what a good boy he is, Tir just wouldn't cheer up.

Zeke went down on his knees, brushing Tir's head with a sympathetic headpat. "Tir, don't worry. It was just the very first iteration of your masterpiece. Masterpieces don't come in on the very first day. They came out after hundreds, maybe thousands of evolutions of hard work and experimenting. You'll make it again, and it'll be better, faster, stronger… anything you can put in."

"...Really?" Tir asked, finally raising his head, his ears rising just slightly at Zeke's words.

"Of course," Mikella followed up perfectly. "What's great about something that's not perfect is that you can keep improving it. If you call it perfect now, it'll never grow. Right, Zeke?"

"Right," Zeke agreed easily, and before they knew it, Tir's ears were raised to their top point as he stood to his four legs, his tail swishing back and forth.

"You're right! I'll just make it bigger, better, and even more of a masterpiece! Zeke, you'll help me, right?"

"Of course!" Zeke answered. "But not today. I just found out that you have limits, and I want to make sure you're not overworked like before. Promise me that you'll keep your new limits in check with me, okay?"

"Okay. I planned on saying that to you when I woke up anyways! Except…" Tir looked depressingly at the former simulation room, his ears drooping down again. "I forgot when I saw what happened."

Mikella headpatted the downed pupper, and this time it didn't take long for him to enjoy Mikella's gentle touch and the way it just hit the right spot. Zeke can't help but agree to that himself as he turned to the Masters who approached the scene, staring at the puppy who's leg kept kicking the ground the more Mikella kept scratching at just the right angle under his left ear.

"So this is Tir," Cronus said, trying to ignore the reasoning behind his depression as he stared at the pup. "Even from here, I could feel the energy from the system circulating within him. He's definitely not a normal familiar."

"He's special, but he's one of us," Zeke said, smiling at his dog before facing the Masters. He stared at Cerulean who looked like she didn't just destroy everything they ever worked on. "So, did you have fun?"

"Sure did," Cerulean said easily, grinning at him. He wasn't sure whether she was purposely messing with him, or if she really did just forget what she just did. "When do you think you can make this again?"

Cronus shook his head. "Cerulean, don't you think you should at least apologize to the children? You did just destroy all of their hard work for your fun."

"Knowing them, I'm pretty sure they can make it better than ever. I just wanna know when," Cerulean shrugged her shoulders, her hands on her hips as she spoke. "On another topic, Zeke; You have a high-realm attunement, don't you?"

Zeke paused for a second, getting everyone to do the same behind him. The otherworlders didn't know about Zeke and Janet's specific attunement, but the Journeymen took notice and stood up.

"I do," Zeke said after a moment. "I'm sure Cronus told you, but I currently have no control over it. Tir was able to use my attunement with ease, but it still takes a lot out of us to use it."

"Figures," Cerulean answered. "Not anyone can control a high-realm attunement at the first go. Certainly took me a bit of a while to figure out before everything clicked for me."

Zeke widened his eyes. That also got the others to copy him as he spoke up.

"Wait, you mean you also have a high-realm attunement?" Zeke asked. "And you have complete control over it?"

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"Control is such a complicated word to use for an attunement like that," Cerulean rubbed her chin, her eyes wandering about as she talked. "Attunements like that aren't necessarily the same as the others. That much is obvious. In return for any lack of understanding, the power that came from the high realms are nothing to joke about. But that's the thing. It's the lack of understanding–not control. To truly use your attunement from the high-realms, you need to understand exactly what it is."

"Then what is it?" Janet spoke up, finally speaking to Cerulean herself. "What's a high-realm attunement? And what does it differ from the others?"

"Ooh?" She looked at the assassin, her eyes quickly judging her in that single second. "Ooh… you got one too? Will you look at that?"

Cronus looked pained as though the truth was out, and Zeke wondered whether Cronus purposely didn't mention their high-realm attunements to her. Somehow, he didn't like where this was going.

"Two kids from another world, and they have high-realm attunements. Considering not a single one here is Expert yet, is it possible more of you could have high-realm attunements?"

Zeke blanched at that. It was possible that the otherworlders here might also have a connection to the high-realms when they reach the Expert stage, and that was coming sooner rather than later. If the first time Zeke and Janet's experience with their newly-gained attunement is anything to go by, the area around here would be subjected to constant powerful explosions and massive amounts of mana flowing everywhere. Hell, the mana from the earlier explosion was still around, almost drowning the atmosphere in it.

Cronus just shook his head. "Now that would be a nightmare. No offense, Zeke."

Zeke didn't even bother answering Cronus' words as he switched back to Cerulean. "We don't know for certain, but…"

"Normally high-realm attunements are hard to come by, and for good reason. But before we explain anything else, I got a proposition for you. Rather, for you both."

Her attention was fixed to Zeke and Janet specifically, her smile only growing wider.

"Let's say in payment for me messing up your simulation room, I'll teach you two how to properly handle your attunements. Sound fair?"

The words sounded simple, and so casual it felt like offering advice to beat a tough boss in a video game.

But for Zeke, who had struggled and languished over his attunement for the past two years, his heart beat fast at the possibility.

If he had control over his attunement, The World, to the point where it would be the same as Ceruleans; would it be possible for him to beat the Trial knight?

Not only that, but can he reach Master-stage, eventually pushing both him and Mikella to handle everything thrown at them by the trials and the systems? More importantly, is it possible to handle against the gods and angels that apparently were messing around with their lives in their strange projects?

His mind raced, but Tir was awake this time, and in the corner of his vision, another Tir showed up, helping Zeke realize that he was there and speaking with him alone.

"Zeke, you also need to consider that you might hurt other people if you keep losing control over your attunement. I don't think you should refuse her request."

Tir was right. And there was no better way to learn about high-realm attunements than from someone who had reached the near-pinnacle of the system at Master stage.

"That does sound fair," Zeke answered, knowing full well that the Masters expected him to agree. "But, we're talking about controlling a high-realm attunement. Are you really okay with teaching us that?"

"Again with that control thing," Cerulean swung her head left and right, then shook it. "There's no such thing as control. Technically, you can never really control anything. The only thing you can do is to open your mind and stop thinking life like it's within the guard rails. If you ever plan on reaching Master, you're gonna have to start learning on leaving the guided path and straight onto something you've never been on before."

Zeke felt a little embarrassed to be treated like a kid again, but considering who he was speaking to, he stomped on his ego and nodded.

"And the only reason why I'm offering is because this is a proposal. I'm not only going to pay you back after messing up your project. I'm planning on staying here with you guys."

"Hold the very fuck up right there, miss."

Mikella instantly stepped in, just when everyone was ready to nearly drop to their knees after the bombshell of Cerulean's next plan of action. She looked at Mikella, genuinely confused at her reaction.

"What is it?"

"You're joking, right?" Mikella asked, turning to Cronus of all things for some support. However, his own eyes were wide in alarm, as though this was the first time he heard this himself. "You're going to… stay here with us? Why?"

It was no wonder Mikella was ready to lose it. Having a Master like Cerulean stay here where the barely Apprentice otherworlders were at sounded like a recipe for disaster. Not to mention that they have no clue on who Cerulean was, or what kind of person she is other than that everywhere she goes, a warpath was left behind.

"Because why shouldn't I?" Cerulean laughed, spreading her arms wide. "You're seriously telling me that I can't stay with people from literally another world? Another world where everyone thought was impossible to even exist, let alone live and prosper? I want to know everything there is to know about this world, and how it differs from our own. No matter where I go, there was not a single hint of another world living beyond our own. Every time people believe in leaving this world for another, the layers beyond our atmosphere forces us to drop back down. Not even Grandmasters can go beyond the veil of our world without suffering some severe consequences."

"S-So you never built magical rockets or something?" Mark, the otherworlder who kept silent this whole time, suddenly spoke up and surprised Zeke. "And you can't even leave this world?"

"Rockets?" Cerulean's eyes gleamed at the man, who instantly wilted from her powerful presence, even if it had no malice or hostility whatsoever. "You have to tell me whatever the hell that is."

"Cerulean," Cronus stepped forward, facing his daughter while raising his hands. "I understand your curiosity is strong, but you need to remember that your presence can be damaging to those under Expert stage. If you stay here, then you'll only–"

"Dad, I already know how to keep my aura down enough to avoid damaging others. Hell, I lived a decent amount of time in a village filled with Beginners for a while just for shits and giggles. Living with a bunch of otherworlders who had knowledge far beyond anything we know? Now that's interesting."

Cronus, for his credit, gave up after listening to Cerulean's story about living with Beginners of all people, those who hadn't even gotten a Class by level 10. If she can live there without hurting anyone, living with them won't really do much either way.

Except the fact that the otherworlders listening in aren't so keen on having her around.

However…

"Zeke," Mikella whispered. She didn't know whether the Masters were listening or not, but at this point, it didn't matter. "I'm not sure about this. Teaching you is one thing, but having her here live with the otherworlders? What if… what if anything happened here?"

"I don't know," Zeke answered truthfully. "But, can we even deny her? And technically, having a Master around would be good for the otherworlders… right?"

This time he directed the question not just to Mikella, but to Lyle and Janet who listened in on them. The two looked back at one another, unable to even get an answer before Cronus let out a big breath.

"Just… just please don't do anything stupid, alright?" He looked ready to crumble into dust after listening to his daughter's adamance of staying here. Zeke actually felt a little sorry for the guy. "And remember to talk to your mother before you stay here. You know how she gets."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Maybe I'll get her to stay here too," Cerulean said, snapping her fingers. "She might like the idea of knowing about another world too."

"Unfortunately, I need your mother by my side. You know me; I can't live without her."

"True, true, good point," Cerulean easily answered. "You'll blow up worse than I did if you don't have her by your side. Alright, then it's settled!"

"Mate, did she seriously just agree to live here without our consent?" Lyle asked in horror, and Zeke can't do anything but nod.

In the end, there was no other way for it. It was decided that Cerulean would stay here with the otherworlders, to know more about their world. The very same woman who almost destroyed everyone around her after having a little bit too much fun in the simulation room.