Primer for the Apocalypse

We decided to wait a couple of months to challenge the Trial, mostly to allow Faith to gain a couple of levels and assign her points somewhere other than Intelligence. After being knocked out with a single blow, she’d realized the error of being a glass cannon in real life and was eager to shore up some of her more blatant weaknesses.

Adding to her physical stats was particularly important for this particular Trial since it reportedly blocked the use of magic. Six points weren’t a huge amount, but it was certainly better than nothing.

It would take time, but I suspected Faith would fix the worst of her attribute imbalance before reaching Tier Four.

I’d initially planned to limit our collaboration to a single month – just long enough to share a bit of guidance I’d received with my fellow Time Mage before continuing on my own. However, I found myself reluctant to return to my solitary climb once I was reminded of how much more pleasant adventuring with companions could be.

“Wow. The dungeon isn’t trying to be subtle with the Trial, is it?” I remarked when I saw the decorative building façade that housed the high-tier challenge. I had to raise my voice to be heard over the sound of Lightning striking the metal building. With how much my ears were ringing, I had little doubt the others were near deaf from the noise.

The structure appeared to serve as a lightning rod for the immediate area, drawing the bulk of the lightning from the never-ending storm and leaving the surroundings relatively unscathed. It was almost counter-intuitive to head towards the ornate metal building being constantly bombarded by forks of lightning, but I wasn’t overly concerned.

We were all wearing [Barrier] talismans that would keep us from getting struck. Even if a stray bolt did manage to hit one of us, the talismans were strong enough to keep us safe.

Probably.

Besides, plenty of others had already completed the Trial. None of them mentioned being struck by Lightning during their approach.

There had been mentions of bandits, though. But that was more applicable after the Trial, not before.

“No. The other trials were the same way. They tend to stick out, regardless of the environment,” Faith yelled as she followed closely behind.

Instead of doors, there was a darkened arch leading into the structure. I could sense the space inside had been manipulated, so I wasn’t really surprised when everything twisted, and I was shunted somewhere else.

Having talked to a few people who’d completed the challenge, we were not caught off guard by the sudden separation. Every challenger had described a solo trial, regardless of who they entered with. However, the details of said trials were highly variable.

I felt the null zone activate as soon as I arrived in the empty room. There were no doors or windows. I was simply surrounded by four walls that appeared to be made of something similar to concrete. The ringing in my ears seemed to bounce off the walls, creating a mild auditory illusion.

Now that I was away from the noise, I cast Restore and healed my ears. The high-pitched ringing immediately subsided, causing me to sigh in relief.

[Welcome, Challenger!

Complete the Trial and be rewarded.

You may practice this Trial unlimited times.

Would you like to:

Practice or Challenge the Trial?]

I picked ‘practice,’ and a hallway materialized in front of me. Though I knew magic wouldn’t work, I still tested a few spells and enchantments. I could still access both my inventory and my primary storage ring, but I could sense the magic struggling to manifest beyond the surface of my skin.

The null zone didn’t affect internal magic, which was nice since I might need the enhancement spells I had access to.

I withdrew an unenchanted practice staff from my inventory and slowly made my way forward, using the staff as a testing stick in case some traps escaped my perception. Spatial Sense didn’t register anything outside the hallway, but it could certainly identify gaps and facades easily enough.

The layout shouldn’t change between runs, so I wouldn’t have to worry too much about new traps appearing during later tries. I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of something changing, though. Just because nobody mentioned it happening didn’t mean it never did.

Not everyone survived the Trial, after all.

When the hallway forked into three different paths, I went straight. There was no particular reason for my decision. It was simply the path that felt the best.

The first section was a labyrinth, which was particularly annoying since the walls blocked my Spatial Sense from working properly. The skill still worked, even in the null zone, but my senses couldn’t extend past the walls, floor, or ceiling of the maze.

I could sense traps along my path, but I was careful to avoid them. Not having full access to my magic made me a lot more cautious than I would have likely been otherwise. However, I still felt confident that spells like Restore and Heal would work fine as long as I only cast them on myself.

Not that there was anyone else to cast them on. The thought made me think of Faith and Aiden, and I hoped they were handling the challenge well. I’d only just started and already had to avoid several traps in the labyrinth.

Because the dungeon was also impacted by the null effect, the traps and obstacles were all mechanical or environmental. There were no mana components that I could sense.

I quickly discovered the labyrinth was not limited to two dimensions. It was a detail that had not been mentioned by those I’d talked to about the Trial. However, in hindsight, it should have been obvious based on some of the descriptions I’d gotten.

I still wasn’t sure what the point of climbing dangling ropes and cracked walls or navigating obstacles was. Whoever designed the dungeon had to have had some kind of purpose in making it, though nothing was immediately obvious.

Maybe it was some kind of test to evaluate Tier Three competitors based on some unknown factors. I could see a purely academic interest in obtaining comparative assessments, especially if the dungeon could read things like attribute distribution.

I’d certainly be interested to see the differences in performance between people with different attribute allocations. Further, did affinity or affinity strength influence the performance of competitors who were otherwise equal?

There were tons of questions I could see an obstacle course answering – provided the dungeon and its keepers had access to the requisite information. Of course, that was pure theory-crafting since I had no idea what interested the person or people responsible for creating the dungeon, much less the individual Trials within.

Sir Eri’Non had called the dungeon a ‘study,’ which had obvious implications. He never really provided any details about what, specifically, was being studied. Then again, I hadn’t thought to ask.

It was something to bring up during my next correspondence with Master Kairos… if the dungeon didn’t censor the information. Knowing what information the people behind the study were looking for shouldn’t be restricted for participants in the study.

Then again, I was applying Earth logic to a very non-Earth setting.

“Boo. Underwater challenges,” I jeered once I exited the maze and entered a deep cavern filled with water. There were no surface exits apparent, so I could only assume the path ahead lay below the surface.

I idly wondered how those who couldn’t swim would handle such a challenge. Could they even quit?

Curious, I voiced my question. “Can a challenger quit without completing the trial?”

[Quitting the Trial prevents all future attempts.

Would you like to quit?

Yes / No]

“No, I was just curious,” I said aloud as I mentally selected ‘no’ and dismissed the screen.

After taking a deep breath, I dove into the lukewarm water. I was glad it wasn’t frigid, especially with the Trial’s null effect disrupting my standard enchantments. They weren’t completely negated, but the effects were noticeably muted.

My robes didn’t restrict my movement or weigh me down, which was nice. I couldn’t imagine completing some of the agility and balance-based obstacles while wearing armor, much less swimming in it. Even light leather armor would have gotten in the way a few times, though it would have protected them against the random projectiles.

I examined my surroundings and tried not to groan when I saw the semi-translucent pipes winding and twisting around one another in no distinguishable path. The entrance was obvious, but I had no idea where the exit was.

At Tier Three, I could probably hold my breath for ten minutes or more. Having no need to test it before now, I was unsure of my exact limitations.

Since there was no rush to start the next portion of the challenge, I sent a mental nudge toward Lisa to start a timer. I leisurely swam around the underground pond, examining the visible pathways while I gauged the limits of my lung capacity.

At seventeen minutes, I had to cast Restore. I wasn’t sure it would work, regardless of the dungeon’s limits, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the minor effects of asphyxiation were completely reversed by the spell. It didn’t reset my timer by any means, but it gave me a few extra minutes before my body suffered from the lack of oxygen.

After spending a few minutes treading water to recover, I took a few quick breaths before inhaling deeply and diving toward the entrance to the pipe system.

I hadn’t been able to map out a route during my earlier swim. Not only had the deceptively clear pipes obscured their routes, but Spatial Sense had been firmly rebuffed as well. When I tried to use the skill, I got the same impression of nothingness that I’d gotten in the labyrinth, much to my annoyance.

Thankfully, the virtual map Lisa maintained allowed me to easily retrace my path when I hit dead-ends. I was nearing the point of needing to turn back when I abruptly found myself at the end of the underwater pipe maze.

I’d completely missed the transition between the cavern and what appeared to be a small swimming pool. When I looked back, all signs of the previous cavern were gone, as were the pipes that led me there.

The small pool appeared to be located within a modern building, which was a bit jarring on its own. However, I quickly chalked it up to dungeon shenanigans and pulled myself out of the water and onto the polished floor.

As soon as I stepped forward, there was a rumble, and the surface of the pool rippled as water surged from below. As if following me, the water rose, spilling over the edges of the pool and chasing me toward the only visible exit.

The door opened as I approached and I quickly dashed through. The metal door slid closed behind me, though a stream of water seeped through the invisible crack between the door and the floor. I could tell by the steady increase that the pressure was building on the other side.

Not wanting to be anywhere near the door if the pressure from the surging water became too much, I headed away from the door in the only direction that was possible. There were no twists or turns along the enclosed path. It was just a long metal hallway that seemed to echo every groan and creak made by the door as the water pressure gradually built up.

Spatial Sense worked fine within the enclosed space, and I easily dodged the handful of traps I identified as I made my way down the corridor.

Hitting most of them wouldn’t have been catastrophic, but they would have certainly slowed me down. I had no clue how someone without my advantages would handle such a challenge. They’d probably have to rush through, hoping to avoid most of the traps via speed instead of care.

The sound of the metal door buckling resounded behind me, and I quickly cast Physical Enhancement and Haste as I sprinted forward. I resisted the urge to look back as I raced against the water that I could hear crashing and surging behind me.

I didn’t need to see the oncoming wave to know I needed to move.

I could see where the hall ended abruptly ahead. I might have panicked if I hadn’t already sensed the ninety-degree shift that turned the hallway into a vertical shaft. There were small recesses that would easily work as hand and footholds, and I didn’t hesitate to leap onto the wall as soon as I got within range.

The boost I got from the buffing spells was extremely helpful, but Physical Enhancement drained my mana more quickly than I was comfortable with. It definitely wasn’t something I could maintain for very long, which was why I rarely used it.

Spray from the pressurized water coated my skin as I shimmied up the wall, climbing as fast as I could manage to avoid being swept away by the flood as my mana pool steadily dropped. After crashing into the unyielding wall, the tepid water attempted to follow the wall, spraying upward in pursuit as I made my escape.

I threw myself over the top of the tall passage without looking back, heaving from the exertion as I simultaneously canceled both of my buffs and collapsed in a heap. I’d wanted to take things slow and carefully, at least for the first run.

Clearly, the dungeon didn’t like my approach.

Thankfully, the water had run out of energy at some point, and the deluge ceased before it spilled over the lip of the vertical shaft I’d scaled as I fled.

“What in the hell?” I muttered as I tiredly shook my head before propping myself into a sitting position.

I was wet and uncomfortable. But at least the water hadn’t been cold. That would have made things so much worse. Being cold and wet were two of the worst things when paired together.

After catching my breath and giving my resource pools a chance to regenerate a bit, I changed into a new set of robes and shoes. I kept them in my inventory since clothing had little need for [Stasis]. It was a good thing since accessing my ring was more difficult with the null effect.

It wasn’t impossible, just a lot more challenging.

Freshly clothed and mostly dry, I continued forward.

The next room reminded me of some of the Ninja Warrior shows I’d watched on television. The obstacles weren’t exactly the same, but there were enough similarities that I wasn’t totally lost when I looked at the seemingly random constructions.

I fell once as I made my way through the course. Luckily, my body was tough enough to handle the damage with little consequence. It helped that I’d landed on solid ground instead of one of the handful of lava pits. Had that not been the case, I certainly would not have been as hale by the time I reached the end of the challenge.