He stood up and walked out. Thankfully, the door leading outside the mansion wasn't closed.
'Dark throne, test for qualification, tutorial, tower, rankers. There are far too many keywords I have yet to grasp, I can't afford to rest as I did on Earth.' He thought, taking the first step outside.
The air outside was cool, with a gentle wind blowing through the floating mountains. The sky was painted in deep purples and fiery oranges.
Even though it was nighttime, it wasn't entirely dark; he could see almost clearly, thanks to the illumination of the several moons in view.
Zane made his way to the training grounds of the mansion. He then swept his gaze across the space.
The place was spacious, with rough stone floors. He walked around, looking at things he didn't recognize.
He spotted a few belts hanging on a rack at one corner.
'These belts look strange.' He though as he removed one belt. He nearly stumbled at the unexpected weight of the belt.
"So these are weight belts, that explains the unusual thickness." He took the belt from the floor and wrapped it around left arm.
'It feels like my bones are going to shatter at any moment from now.'
That was when he noticed. He looked at his left arm and noticed that the belt had disappeared.
'I can still feel the weight but I can't see the belt. Is it supposed to be an invisible weight belt?'
Ignoring the pain and stress. He took another and wrapped it around his other arm, just like the first, the belt disappeared the moment he wrapped it arous his arm. It was the same with his legs and waist.
By the time he was done, he felt like a walking black hole.
Everywhere ached.
He gritted his teeth.
'It's pretty convenient that I'm the only one who can see it.' Zane thought as he swung his arms and legs to adjust to the new weights
'This may seem like a meaningless effort. But after overcoming the intense gravity and climbing the cursed mountain, I feel a change in my body.
It's a small change but still visible. With death meaningless, my body is forced to adapt to any changes I make. So I'll take advantage of that.'
"All right then, let's suffer a little." He whimpered.
Meanwhile, the Master had his gaze on him the entire time.
"Hm, interesting," Daikyn said. "Though you're not the only Nay to attempt my training, you're by far the weakest. A few weights aren't going to help in the grand scheme of things." He leaned back as he steadied the boy.
"…Not at all. But, by all means, try. The Dark Disciple did send you after all, there must be a reason for that. After all, when a person is strong, becoming even stronger is much more difficult than it would seem; however, the case is different for the weak. It's only when a person is weak that they have the highest chance of becoming strong, only when a person is at the bottom can they rise. So rise, show me how high you can climb."
Just then, Daikyn's gaze shifted to the far end of the hall, as if sensing the presence of someone.
A figure emerged from the shadows, each step he took, the ground responded with silence.
On seeing the Master, the figure bowed, planting one fist firmly to the ground.
"I received word that you called for me, Lord Zodiache."
"I did. I assume you've noticed the intake of the recent trainees we received two months ago. I won't waste your time with petty chatter." Daikyn folded his arms, adopting a serious tone. "Proceed with the pre-evaluation test."
"As you will, Lord Zodiache." The figure stood and was about to leave when the Master spoke.
"You're free to permanently eliminate any unworthy trainee, but don't touch the trainee called Zane Walker." Daikyn said with a firm tone.
"Forgive me for asking, Lord Zodiache. I am unable to contain my curiosity, since this is the first time you've made an exception. This trainee you speak of, Is he from one of the high-ranking worlds." The figure asked as he lowered his gaze.
'I can't tell him that, it's because the dark disciple sent him here. No one must know the true purpose he carries.'
"You'll see." The Master said and dismissed the figure with a wave of his hand.
...
At the same time, Zane walked out of the training hall.
'It's so difficult to move, but I have to bear with it. Onilia is all smiles and help, who knows when she'll turn against me. I need to be ready for such an outcome, but what can an unawakened player hope to do against an Apex Ranker?'
Zane walked down the hill, he looked around but there was no soul in sight.
'The lodging are really far apart. It's still baffling how spacious the summit really is.'
After walking for a while he reached the edge, stretching his head to look down.
"All I see are clouds. Makes sense, this is the tallest mountain I've ever seen.'
"I didn't expect to find you awake at this hour."
A voice spoke from behind him. He stumbled nearly falling over.
He turned and noticed Onilia standing behing him, her hair shimmering under the moon's illuminating glow.
"Onilia, did you follow me all the way down here?" Zane asked, forcing a smile.
"I was up on the roof when I noticed you sneaking around. I was curious as to what you where up to so I came to check for myself. Were you just taking a late night stroll?"
"Something like that." Zane said as he peeked down again. Onilia followed his line of sight,wondering what he was staring so intenselly at.
"Onilia, I need you to do me a favor." He said, still looking down.
"I'll hear you out first, then decide."
"I need you to help me climb back up the mountain." Zane said as he walked away from the cliff.
"What are you even talking about, we're already at the..." her voice trailed off at the sudden action of the boy.
Zane was already a few paces away from the edge. Taking a deep breath, he ran towards the edge and hurled himself off the cliff, falling head first down the mountain.
With the weights wrapped around his body and the inense gravity, he fell like a rocket shot downwards.
The wind whipped his black hair backwards as the atmosphere screamed past his ears.
There was one problem though, the mountain wasn't a smooth slope. There were sharp edges, protruding rocks, not to mention the uneven path down.
"So what is this about?" He turned and was surprised to see Onilia running down the uneven slope at the same speed he was falling. Her hair formed a V-shape umbrella in front of her face, blocking the wind's assault.
'Wow, she can do that with her hair? Looks convenient. Also, she's not moving at the same speed I'm falling. No, that's not it. From how casually she spoke while running down, I can say that, she is just matching my pace.'
As he stared at the alien girl with a stunned expression, she spoke again.
"What are you going to do about that?" Onilia pointed at the large protruding rock down ahead.
Zane didn't have the strength nor the ability to steer himself mid-air.
'Looks like I was right, I can't jump down in one go.' He thought as he braced himself for impact, locking his gaze on the rock.
His head collided with the rock at a monstrous speed. His vision shattered instantly into red mist as his body was sent tumbling into a chaotic, bone-breaking spin down the lower slopes.
[System Notice]
{Player Zane Walker is dead.}
He gasped back to life moments later.
He sat up and he watched his broken bones and flesh mend back together.
'Looks like the vital organs are healed first before any other parts of the body. That could be the only explanation since I'm alive yet my legs are broken.'
"You said you're from Earth, right?" Onilia asked curiously, looking at Zane lying on the floor.
"That's right. Is something the matter?" Zane asked, standing on healing legs.
"Is it a trait of your race to not feel pain?" Onilia looked at his flesh mending together. 'His legs are not fully healed, yet he's standing.'
"Not exactly. We do feel pain, perhaps more acutely than most." Zane replied as he looked at his own blood on the ground then up at the mountain.
"Does it not hurt to stand on legs that have yet to mend fully?" Onilia asked, wondering how he could be so nonchalant about pain.
"It does. However, pain is just a signal, an emotion no different from joy or boredom. It's not something to think much about, you could either ignore the feeling or accept the torment." Zane replied as he wiped traces of blood from his jaw.
"You're very weird. Anyway, why did you jump down? I didn't know what you were trying to achieve, so I didn't interfere."
"It takes way too long for me to climb up. I bet it'll take even longer for me to climb down." Zane replied.
"Yes, but that doesn't explain why you jumped."
"The test is only a few days away. Since the summit is where our lodgings are situated, it's safe to assume we'll not be taking the test there. I doubt the Master would be willing to wait for nearly two months just for a single trainee to climb down the same mountain other's did in a few minutes." Zane looked at Onilia and smiled.
'I see. He's wiling to trade his life to beat time. It's true death isn't the end in this world, but that does not change the fear and pain that comes with it. To be willing to die just to test out a theory, just how strong does a person's mental state needs to be to attempt something like that?'
"You mean you'll jump down everytime we're asked to assemble?" Onilia asked, taking closer steps.
"Precisely."
"You know, if you ask, I'm willing to help you down. There's no need to die every single time." Onilia spoke, turning to face the boy.
Zane didn't stare back, instead, he was lost in thought.
'I want to ask why she's doing this but with time, everything will be revealed. She invited me to share her lodging, with her around, it'll be difficult for the others to take advantage of my weakness. That said, why me?'
"No, helping me up will suffice just fine."