A pillar of brilliant pink light cleaved the sky, slamming into the forest floor with the force of a falling star. As the glow faded, a jagged crater remained, veiled in a thin, swirling layer of silver smoke.
Emerging from the haze was Arthur. He coughed slightly, brushing the soot from his monster-hide armor as he stepped onto the scorched earth. He looked at his hands, then at the smoking pit behind him, his expression unreadable.
"So, is this that 'other world' Dad was talking about?"
Arthur surveyed his surroundings, noticing the lush, green forest—until he looked upward. He froze, awestruck by the sight above. Two massive moons hung in a bruised violet sky, side-by-side like unblinking eyes. There was no sun to be found.
"This is really bizarre," he muttered.
His gaze was still fixed on the celestial twins when a sound pierced the silence—a long, mournful howl that vibrated through the crisp air. High above, perched on the jagged spire of a distant mountain peak, a silhouette broke the horizon. Bathed in the dual light of the marble and rose moons, a wolf stood as a dark, imposing blot against the sky. Its golden eyes locked onto the boy in the smoking crater far below. Arthur felt the weight of that stare; it wasn't just an animal looking at prey, but a guardian acknowledging an intruder.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the wolf turned and vanished into the crags, leaving Arthur alone in a forest that suddenly felt much more dangerous. He didn't wait for a second howl. Arthur turned on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction, his boots skidding over shale and moss until he slowed to a halt behind the massive, twisted roots of a large tree.
As he rested his head against the bark to catch his breath, he suddenly felt something cold and viscous drip onto his face, followed by a faint, heavy sliding sound from above. Upon opening his eyes and looking upward, he saw a snake, its girth roughly comparable to the tree itself, sliding down toward him. Its scales were plates of shimmering chrome that reflected the twin moons in distorted flashes.
From the years of experience with his father, he didn't dare move. He stood like a statue, his body pressing into the roots, one hand tightly gripping his sword. He watched as the massive predator's head lowered into the moonlight just inches from his face. A ribbon of glowing neon-blue tongue flicked out, tasting the air right in front of his eyes.
The snake slowly glided across him, its heavy weight pressing against his armor as it reached the ground and slid away into the undergrowth. As it left, Arthur finally breathed freely, his heart calming down as he slowly released the grip on his sword.
"This world is so dangerous," he whispered. "I have to keep my guard up at all times."
Realizing the ground was no longer safe, Arthur climbed one of the trees beside him to its peak. From his high vantage point, he observed the new terrain, but all he could see was a never-ending, lush green forest.
"I should probably just stay here until tomorrow morning," he muttered. "High ground is the best place to stay right now."
Arthur remained vigilant for a few more minutes before his eyes finally gave up, succumbing to sleep. As the night went on, the two bright moons continued getting brighter and brighter until their light was powerful enough to illuminate the whole world. Slowly, Arthur started waking up, the bright rays of the moon awakening him from his slumber.
As he fully woke up, he shielded his eyes. "So there's really no sun here," he spoke as he stretched and yawned. Suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of him, scaring him.
"What the hell is this?"
[DEAR PLAYER, WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF TRIALS]
[THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE HERE]
[SURVIVE AND AWAKEN]
Awestruck, he tried touching the screen, but his hand just went through it. "So this place is called the World of Trials," he thought. He remembered the food his father had packed and unwrapped the cloth from his shoulder.
As he began to eat, another system message popped up:
[IF YOU MENTION STATUS WINDOW, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CHECK YOUR SKILLS.]
Intrigued, Arthur spoke, "Status window." A new popup appeared.
[NAME: ARTHUR]
[RACE: HUMAN]
[SKILLS: NONE]
[CONDITION: EXCELLENT]
HP: 100/100
MP: 10/10
[STRENGTH: 8]
[DEXTERITY: 7]
[ENDURANCE: 8]
[INTELLIGENCE: 12]
[WILL: 9]
POWERS: NONE
Arthur was intrigued by the attributes, but the "Skills: None" and "Powers: None" sections were a blunt reminder of his standing. He looked down at the sword resting against his leg and the armor protecting his chest.
"Looks like all the skills learned back at home don't count here," Arthur told himself. After eating a portion of the meal, he tied it to his chest and started slowly climbing down. "Sitting around is of no use, I have to kill a monster to awaken."
Moments later, Arthur crouched on the floor with a stick in his hand, writing on the ground. "From what I can remember, if I kill a monster and absorb its core I'll get its corresponding element, but the question now is, which monster should I go for?"
"A monster with the fire element would be too common, same for water and ice elements; that leaves lightning and light element." Arthur smirked. "I guess I'll leave that to the world; the first of the two that I'll encounter would be my element."
Arthur stood up, dropping the stick. "Time to see what this world has in store for me."
Arthur stood still for a moment to collect his thoughts. He looked at the crooked branch in his hand, then dropped it onto the damp earth. He began to push through the dense thicket, where the trees grew close together and their branches tangled overhead. Every few paces, he stopped and lifted his sword. He pressed the edge of the blade into the dark bark of the trunks, carving deep, visible notches to mark his progress.
"If I get lost, at least I will know how to find my way back," Arthur said to himself. His voice sounded thin against the heavy silence of the woods.
He continued walking for several minutes until the wall of trees finally opened up. Before him lay a wide dirt road that cut a straight line between the two sections of the forest. Arthur stepped out of the shadows and stood in the middle of the path. He tilted his head back, feeling the heat of the moons on his face and shoulders. For a moment, he remained there in the silence, breathing in the dry air of the roadway.
The light suddenly vanished. A massive shape moved across the sky, casting a dark footprint over the road and the surrounding trees. The temperature of the air dropped, and a low hum began to vibrate through the ground. Arthur gripped the hilt of his sword and looked upward.
"Bloody hell, where did this bird come from?" Arthur shouted.
High above him, a bird with a wingspan wider than the road itself circled downward. Its feathers were the color of bruised clouds, and yellow sparks of electricity jumped between its wingtips.
[THUNDERBIRD]
[TIER: 1]
[HP: 300/300]
[MP: 200/200]
Arthur's muscles surged into motion. He spun on his heel and sprinted back toward the dense tree line. His boots kicked up dry dirt from the road as he dove into the first layer of undergrowth. Behind him, the Thunderbird beat its wings once, a heavy, rhythmic thud that pushed a wall of air down onto the forest floor.
The creature opened its wings to their full span and released a bolt of white lightning. The bolt struck the ground exactly where Arthur had been standing a split second before. The electricity hit the soil with a sharp crack, instantly charring the grass and igniting the dry leaves. Arthur felt the heat on the back of his neck as he lunged forward. The following shockwave expanded outward from the impact site, ripping through the bushes and snapping the lower branches of the nearby trees. The force of the blast caught Arthur in the middle of his stride, lifting him off his feet and throwing him through the air. He crashed into a thick trunk several yards away, his shoulder taking the brunt of the hit before he tumbled into the dirt.
Blood came out from Arthur's mouth as he forcefully pushed himself up. He gripped a nearby trunk and pulled his weight upward, his muscles straining against the dull ache in his chest.
"I don't have any long-range skills, so fighting this bird is a death wish. I should just seek shelter."
He turned and broke into a heavy run, weaving between the thicker trees. Behind him, the bird followed above him as it flapped its wings, continuously sending lightning attacks. The lightning struck the upper branches, snapping thick limbs and sending showers of burning wood onto the forest floor. None of the attacks reached him directly, but as he ran deeper into the forest, the ground beneath his lead foot vanished. He had reached a wide opening in the earth, hidden by a layer of thin vines and loose dead leaves. Arthur plunged into the darkness.
He fell several feet through the air before his body slammed into a floor of hard-packed dirt and jagged stones. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and he rolled across the floor of the pit until he hit a damp stone wall. The large bird landed near the edge, but it could not fit through the pit as it was too big. It continued lingering around for some time before it gave up and flew away.
Arthur, who had fainted from the fall, suddenly woke up. His eyes moved quickly, observing the new area.
"Where am I?"
He slowly stood up and stared upwards at the pit entrance. "The entrance is too high. I can't jump that far. Looks like I have to press forward."
He held on to his left arm as he walked forward through the subterranean passage. As he continued pressing forward, he reached the deepest part of the cave. It was nearly filled with darkness, but lamps placed on a weird-looking temple made it bright enough to see.
"Huh, what's a temple doing here? This world is only occupied by monsters, so there's no chance of them building something like this," Arthur muttered to himself.
"But since there's no other place to go, I guess I'll check out what it is," he muttered to himself as he walked towards the temple.
After some agonizing minutes, he finally stood in front of the temple. He leaned his weight against the entrance, and as he opened the heavy stone doors, a system prompt appeared.
[WELCOME TO THE TEMPLE OF DESPAIR]
[PROVE YOUR WORTHINESS, CONQUER THE TRIALS AND AWAKEN]
As Arthur stepped into the temple, a wave of heat surged through his body. The sharp pain in his shoulder vanished, the swelling in his arm went down, and his skin knit back together.
Arthur HP: 50 → 100
[FOR THE CHALLENGER TO FULFILL THE TRIALS, HE NEEDS TO BE IN HIS BEST CONDITION.]
"All my wounds are healed," Arthur said as he closed and opened his hand. "And the trial it mentioned—I wonder what that is about."
As he kept on thinking, the ground beneath him vibrated. The inner walls of the temple shifted and transformed into an arena-like structure, with massive granite walls rising to cover the corners and seal the exits.
[THE FIRST TRIAL COMMENCING]
[THE TRIAL OF STRENGTH]
[KILL THE MONSTER IN 5 MINUTES]
[FAILURE LEADS TO DEATH]
A heavy iron gate at the far end of the arena began to lift, and the clock began its countdown in the air.