“What the hell is the matter with you?” Tosh asked angrily. They were in his room after the meeting with the Guild Master. “Who says ok to a life or death trial without any questions?”
“All the trials I have been in have been life or death,” Asher said angrily.
“No, they haven’t. They are Trials, no one dies in a Trial. They are meant to test, not kill. You can drop to 1 HP, but then you will be spit out,” Tosh explained. “Granted if you’re bleeding a lot when you’re thrown out you can die, but most are smart enough to carry potions to make that not an issue.”
“Oh,” Asher said. “Well I didn’t know that.” His parents and Tiff were in the room. Tosh had made Asher call them back when the meeting was over, now they were staring daggers at him. “Did I have a choice?”
“No, probably not,” Tosh admitted with a sigh. “But still, you’re the Champion. You need to stop agreeing to these things until after the Initialization Trials. Maybe we could have pushed it back.”
“Ok,” Asher said sadly. His mother was giving him a death glare. “It is a Trial though right? I should get a title and stats from it,” he said. “I need all the help I can get.”
“You will, of course, a lot of stats too, but the Roktai Trial is special,” Tosh said. He paused while he gathered his thoughts. “I was recently informed of this. You know how every one of Lyola’s fiances has died? They died taking this Trial.” That was news to Asher. “She didn’t like any of them, and she could have married long ago. She demanded they pass the Roktai Trial. The Roktai believe in strength. I’m sure you’ll see that every major Guild out there has their own custom trial. The Roktai have their own, and it is one of the hardest in our sector, if not the hardest.”
“So that’s why I got the Burill Title after I killed Fetince?” Asher asked.
“Yes.”
“And the Elvarian?” Asher asked.
“You got the Elvarian Title!?” Tosh asked, suddenly more angry. Asher nodded. “What are you kid? I don’t know whether to envy or pity you.”
“What? Is it from another trial?”
“Yes and no. It's an Ancient Elf Trial, only true nobility can take it. It’s supposed to be hidden away somewhere, not many people know where it is. It only opens every few thousand years. But you shouldn’t be able to have it, you’re a human. You should have just got the stats, without the title. Keep that under your hat for now. Let's worry about one thing at a time.”
“Why exactly does he have to take this trial?” Tiff asked from beside Ash.
“My guess? Because you killed Burill, and every other fiance of Lyola’s has died. I’m sure Tyranis was hoping Fetince would take the Trial too. If he got killed, great, he still gets his trade deal. If not, his daughter can no longer deny the marriage, and he will finally have another heir in line.”
“I don’t get why that involves me,” Asher said.
“Let me put it this way,” Tosh offered. “If some strong Guild Master came to you and said he wanted your son to marry his daughter, and everything you ever wanted could be yours; all your son had to do was pass a trial. It sounds like a great deal right? Now let’s say it gets around that her last fiance was killed by a Hero. There are rumors of that Hero and the Guild Master’s daughter being a thing. But there is no Hero in sight because his planet is protected by the System.”
“For the next 5 years,” Asher finished. “I think I get it now. So if I take their Trial and die...”
“You aren’t in the picture anymore, and they can move down their list to the next planet they want an alliance with,” Tosh said. “Where if you pass, then maybe they lower their standards and let the daughter of a literal emperor marry some Hero from a backwater planet.”
“Wait. I’m the street rat?” Asher asked. He didn’t like to think of himself that way. Ash thought he had a pretty good life, and was well off. Then again he was in an opulent room where there were literally thousands much grander around him, and the last place he called home had a few hundred people sleeping in a communal area.
“Yes, very much so. I don’t know if you noticed but the Roktai have money, and connections. This planet doesn’t have a lot of people, because they want to keep the beauty of it,” Tosh said. “There are other planets under their control with literal trillions of people.”
Asher tried to picture it. He was starting to see why Nadir wanted him to marry Lyola. After some time Tosh asked, “So what are you going to do?”
“Take the Trial,” Asher said. “I thought that was obvious.”
“Do you have a death wish?” Tosh asked. “I just told you like 10 of her other fiances died in it. This is not an easy trial.”
“I know, but I thought that was the point of all my Trials. Will I be safe in the System Initialization ones?”
“No, you’d really die in those,” Tosh admitted.
“Then I don’t see the problem. Let’s take this Trial so I can get onto the next.”
—-
Asher walked with his companions down the hall. They had left the palace and were now at a much smaller building behind the palace. It was made of the same black metal walls as the other buildings, the only odd part was that it was 2 stories tall. Every other building Asher had seen was at least 20 stories.
“Why do we have to do this at midnight?” Abby asked in between a yawn.
“There’s a time and place for everything,” Tosh said. “That is basically all elves' creed. Like duels are done at dawn, Trials happen at midnight.”
“What happens at sundown and noon?” Keera asked. It was probably the first question he had heard her ask. She was typically in the background. Content to watch. He was guessing she was recording everything so she was trying to add more dialogue. Like some director in a documentary.
“Marriages happen at noon, executions at sundown,” he said. He opened a wide double door to reveal a large room. They were at the top of a set of stairs that led down into the space. At the center of the room was a dungeon portal, or trial portal, Asher couldn’t tell the difference. The portal was raised with stairs leading up to it.
“And he shows,” Tiberion the Guild Master said. He was standing next to the Trial portal. Tyranis, his wives and children stood to the side. 2 guards stood at the bottom of the stairs but didn’t react as Asher and his party descended.
“This Trial Dungeon was awarded to our Champion 32,344 years ago,” Tiberion said. Now that Asher was closer to him he could tell that the elf was much older than Tyranis. His hair was cut short to his head, and it was actually gray, not blonde. The old man had an energetic demeanor. Ash wanted to like him.
“This was once our Guild Hall,” he said looking around. “Our planet and city has changed, but this never will,” he said as he stepped down the stairs from the Portal.
He was light on his feet, muscles bulged under his immaculately designed armor. Leaves were etched into the leather of the top and bottom. He wore no jewelry or weapons. But as he walked closer Asher knew the man could kill him with little effort. Mana poured out of him, he couldn’t see it with Mana Sight but he felt it.
Asher stared him in the eyes as Tiberion walked closer. Though slightly shorter than him, Tiberion exuded strength. “Tell me Hero. Are you ready to face death?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Asher said without changing his expression.
Tiberion smiled. “Good. Strip naked,” he said. Asher hesitated as Tiberion turned around. “As we are born naked, so must we be tested.” He said. “No clothes, armor, or storage items are allowed. But you won’t need them.”
By the other elves' reactions he guessed Tiberion was telling the truth. Asher willed his accessories away, then his clothes. A white light enveloped him as they disappeared into his Timeless Band. He had practiced a little after Tosh mentioned it. Clothes were easy now, armor was still out of his grasp.
He looked at Tiff, she gave him a wink as she took the ring. His mother put her hand on his shoulder. She had seen him naked more than anyone, so she didn’t really care. The others in the group averted their eyes. Asher caught Keera peeking so he gave her a wink.
Confidently he walked to the stairs leading to the Portal. A green light swirled around the black portal. Tiberion seemed to read his mind as he said, “the color indicates the difficulty. Once you step in we will know how hard of a Trial you are going through. Depending on difficulty you will receive more rewards. Yellow gives +5 stats, Orange +10, Red +15.”
“Which should I expect?” He asked.
“Orange or red. The System decides,” Tiberion said.
“What color was it for your fiancés?” Asher turned to look at Lyola.
She was cut off by Tiberion. “Do not worry. They lacked conviction,” he said loudly. Asher looked to him and nodded.
He gave his family one more look. It helped to know Batman was there, watching over him. Atalanta flipped him off, but Asher smiled. Tiff mouthed ‘love you’, Asher did the same. His parents gave him a nod, he returned it. And with that he stepped through.
—-
“Always so dramatic,” Tiberion said as he stretched. With a big yawn he turned around to leave.
“How long should this take?” Asher’s mother asked.
“Could be 5 minutes, could be 4 hours,” Tiberion said walking up the stairs to leave. “If any of you want to take it, you are more than welcome to afterward. The possibility of death seems to scare most away for some reason.”
“I thought you said red was the worst?” One of the girls from Asher’s group asked. The words echoed in the chamber. Everyone turned to watch as the outline of the portal turned from red to black.
Tiberion stared at the portal waiting for the punchline, but it didn’t come. With a flick of his foot he jumped the 30 feet to the top of the portal platform. Casting Inspection on it he was amazed at what he read.
Roktai Trial
Hell Difficulty
Level ???
He turned around to head down the stairs. “What happened?” Tyranis asked. Others looked to him for an answer.
“He’s not dead right?” Another girl asked.
“No, it would turn green if he did die. The System increased the difficulty,” Tiberion announced.
“Has that ever happened before?” Lyola asked.
“Nope,” Tiberion said. “That kid is probably going through hell right now,” he commented. “I think I might stick around to watch.”
—-
Asher stepped into a white room. Much like the other Trials, the white room extended all around him. It wasn’t long for the pop up’s to appear
| Congratulations |
| You have been chosen to challenge the Trial of the Roktai. |
| Rewards chosen after completion of trial. |
| Time Dilation in Effect |
That’s never good, Asher thought.
| Congratulations |
| Dungeon Difficulty Increased from Hard to Hell Mode by the System |
| Increased rewards will be given upon completion of the Trial. |
That's definitely not good, he thought.
| Memories Altered |
—-
Asher turned around. He was in a white room. It reminded him of the Trial of Crusaders. No notifications from the System were hidden from view. The last thing he remembered was looking at Gliders with his team while they were out shopping.
That’s when he noticed he was completely naked. He wasn’t even wearing his new ring. Am I dreaming? He thought, but knew that wasn’t right. Annoyed, he turned around to see the dungeon portal.
“Some kind of System prank is going on,” he said as he stepped through it.
On the other side of the portal was a massacre. Blood was everywhere. Atalanta’s body laid in front of him, her orange haired head a few feet away from her body. He was only in shock for a second, but quickly he ran to the top stair in front of him. Just as he was able to peak over the edge he watched as an elf guard sliced his mother in half from head to navel.
He stared as Tiberion grabbed Tiff by her pink and blue hair. She screamed, “Ash!” Looking up at him, her eyes pleading for him to do something as her head was severed off.
Ash screamed, his vision began to darken as his heart jumped into overdrive. He had to get to her, maybe Healing Touch could do something.
“He’s out,” Tiberion warned, looking at him. 2 guards appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Asher’s naked arms and pushing him to the ground.
Tiberion was then in front of him in an instant. How do I know him? Asher thought. He didn’t remember meeting the older elf, but the name was apparent in his mind.
He grunted as he struggled against the guards. Tiberion leaned down close to him. “You fell for it Champion,” he gloated. “That wasn’t a Trial, it was an artifact that took all of your levels, Syscos, titles, and System.” He spat in Asher’s face. Ash brought up his status screen.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | N/A | Survival | LVL 12 | |
| System: | WARRIOR | Tracking | LVL 10 | |
| Level: | 1 | Brawling | LVL 10 | |
| Experience | 0/50 | Policing | LVL 9 | |
| Title: | N/A | Battleshout | LVL 11 | |
| Guild: | N/A | Intimidation | LVL 11 | |
| Syscos: | 0 | Powerstrike | LVL 9 | |
| Regal Presence | LVL 8 | |||
| HP: | 34 | /34 | Battle Instincts | LVL 14 |
| MP: | 23 | /23 | Weapon Throw | LVL 10 |
| Gun Fighting | LVL 9 | |||
| Stats: | 5 | Massage | LVL 8 | |
| Mana Sight | LVL 5 | |||
| Strength: | 12 | |||
| Dexterity: | 10 | |||
| Endurance: | 11 | |||
| Agility: | 8 | |||
| Wisdom: | 7 | |||
| Intelligence: | 8 | |||
| Luck: | 12 | |||
| Charm: | 9 | |||
| Custom Stats: | ||||
| N/A | N/A | |||
A fancy Null System Necklace appeared in Tiberion’s hand. He slid it over Asher’s head. His status screen disappeared.
“You caused us a lot of trouble Mr. Champion. We wanted to let you take your Trials, help your planet. Then we would take everything after you leveled more. The System doesn’t protect you when you aren’t a Hero. Our own little loophole as we take advantage of Uninitiated planets.”
Asher screamed trying to push himself up. The guards were too strong for him since he was level 1 once more.
“The Burills have agreed to our trade agreement if we give them you,” Tiberion said. “I’ll sleep better knowing you’ll never touch another Roktai.” Then a guard hit Asher over the head.
—
When Asher awoke he was hanging naked suspended in midair. His arms and legs were restrained by purple energy beams.
“Ah, you are awake,” a voice said from the dark area of the room.
The dark blood red skinned Plarious stepped out of the shadows. He carried in his hand a long black blade. Asher screamed in rage as he tried to fight the restraints. His body hardly budged.
“Fetince was my favorite nephew,” Plarious spat at him. “He was to be the next Guild Master.” His long blade cut into Asher’s side. Blood poured out of him. “Sorry,” Plarious said, looking anything but. “I forget how weak lower levels are. I’d hate for you to die too quickly.” He didn’t make a move to stop the bleeding. Asher breathed in and out slowly, ignoring the pain and trickle of blood.
“No, you will have years of this. First we need to work on your mobility,” Plarious said. The cold blade rested on Asher’s leg. The thin edge sliced smoothly across his skin. The wound stung like a papercut. “Should we start with your legs?” He did another small cut on Asher’s arm. “Or arms?” Asher didn’t care. He didn’t have time to process the grief of his loved one’s deaths. Asher looked straight ahead, no longer caring.
“Or maybe this?” Plarious said cutting off Asher’s dick. His mind was slow as he realized what had happened. When his brain caught up Asher began to scream again.
—-
“How long has it been? 1 week?” Plarious asked. Asher did not answer. His body was covered in wounds. One of the worst was the stump of an arm. Plarious was sawing at it again. He had at first cut off Asher’s left hand. Then a few inches further up. Now he was working on cutting it off near the shoulder blade, he would soon be moving to a new limb.
“What’s wrong?” Plarious asked. “You don’t scream anymore.” A fetid stench wafted from the Blood Elves mouth. He had eaten every part that was cut off Asher. As Plarious cut through the rest of Asher’s arm like a steak he left just a thin layer of skin so it would hang. When he dropped down to the floor he ripped the chunk off, tearing the skin. Asher didn’t respond. His heart hurt a lot more than his body. At first he had cried and screamed. But then he began to realize that Tiffany was really gone. All that was left out there for him was Zora, and he doubted she would want anything to do with him now.
“Guess we work on your leg,” Plarious said. He raised the blade but was stopped as someone rushed into the room. The ship began to shake.
“Sir, a Mana Surge was detected,” the guard said. That sobered up Plarious from his wicked glee. They were soon running out of the room.
Asher turned off his mind, it hurt too much to think. He couldn’t remember the good times in his past, they caused the tears to come. He couldn’t think of the pain or the wounds would begin to throb. The ship shook violently this time. The movement caused his wounds to open. He passed out from the pain.
—
Asher woke up on the black metal floor. His whole body ached, but for once he wasn’t suspended in mid-air. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself up with his right arm.
When he was standing he noticed the Null System Necklace still on his chest. He ripped it off.
| Congratulations |
| You have awoken the WARRIOR SYSTEM |
He was given no choice this time for some reason.
| NOTICE |
| Due to already having the Taunt Skill |
| You will be awarded 10 Syscos |
Asher moved his stats to strength and endurance. His wounds felt a little better. With a groan he took his first step in a week. The next step was easier, and soon he was at the other side of the room. A large opening led into a hall. He heard nothing around him. A part of him wanted to run, but a bigger part wanted to kill Plarious. He headed in the direction Plarious had run away. His wounds felt better with each step.
The hall was empty. Nondescript doors were on each wall. He ignored them, the ship resembled Helion, and he guessed there would be a door with a symbol on it soon enough.
He eventually came to the right room. He could tell because he found Plarious dead inside. The roof of the bridge had a giant hole blasted into it. Light leaked in from it illuminating his tormentor. Plarious’ top half leaned against a wall, the bottom half was somewhere else.
His dark red skin was now gray from the loss of blood. Asher stared over him for a little bit. His brain was unable to comprehend that the man died so quickly, far too quickly.
Asher wanted to be the one that squeezed the life out of him. This death was too clean. He didn’t notice the tears falling down his face until he wiped his eyes. Ash kicked the tormentor in the head. Plarious fell to the ground lifeless. Asher screamed at him, no words, his guttural rage flowed out as more tears poured down.
At some point he passed out from lack of air in his lungs. He woke up to the sound of birds from the hole in the hull. His brain slowly put together what had happened to him. His parent’s death, Abby’s, Batman, Nadir, the government people, even Keera and Atalanta he had led to their deaths.
Worst of all was the loss of Tiffany. With her passing a hole in his heart had formed and grown. He didn’t think he could ever recover from her deprivation in his life. She loved him unconditionally. She made him laugh. She made him feel things he didn’t think possible.
Now that light was gone, never to be seen again. A part of him wanted to give up, a growing part. But everytime he thought about it, the view of Tiberion cutting off her head appeared. A deep rage began boiling up in him. The white hot rage only grew more as he pictured killing the elf. His revenge against Plarious had been taken from him, he would not let the same thing happen with Tiberion.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Tosh asked angrily. They were in his room after the meeting with the Guild Master. “Who says ok to a life or death trial without any questions?”
“All the trials I have been in have been life or death,” Asher said angrily.
“No, they haven’t. They are Trials, no one dies in a Trial. They are meant to test, not kill. You can drop to 1 HP, but then you will be spit out,” Tosh explained. “Granted if you’re bleeding a lot when you’re thrown out you can die, but most are smart enough to carry potions to make that not an issue.”
“Oh,” Asher said. “Well I didn’t know that.” His parents and Tiff were in the room. Tosh had made Asher call them back when the meeting was over, now they were staring daggers at him. “Did I have a choice?”
“No, probably not,” Tosh admitted with a sigh. “But still, you’re the Champion. You need to stop agreeing to these things until after the Initialization Trials. Maybe we could have pushed it back.”
“Ok,” Asher said sadly. His mother was giving him a death glare. “It is a Trial though right? I should get a title and stats from it,” he said. “I need all the help I can get.”
“You will, of course, a lot of stats too, but the Roktai Trial is special,” Tosh said. He paused while he gathered his thoughts. “I was recently informed of this. You know how every one of Lyola’s fiances has died? They died taking this Trial.” That was news to Asher. “She didn’t like any of them, and she could have married long ago. She demanded they pass the Roktai Trial. The Roktai believe in strength. I’m sure you’ll see that every major Guild out there has their own custom trial. The Roktai have their own, and it is one of the hardest in our sector, if not the hardest.”
“So that’s why I got the Burill Title after I killed Fetince?” Asher asked.
“Yes.”
“And the Elvarian?” Asher asked.
“You got the Elvarian Title!?” Tosh asked, suddenly more angry. Asher nodded. “What are you kid? I don’t know whether to envy or pity you.”
“What? Is it from another trial?”
“Yes and no. It's an Ancient Elf Trial, only true nobility can take it. It’s supposed to be hidden away somewhere, not many people know where it is. It only opens every few thousand years. But you shouldn’t be able to have it, you’re a human. You should have just got the stats, without the title. Keep that under your hat for now. Let's worry about one thing at a time.”
“Why exactly does he have to take this trial?” Tiff asked from beside Ash.
“My guess? Because you killed Burill, and every other fiance of Lyola’s has died. I’m sure Tyranis was hoping Fetince would take the Trial too. If he got killed, great, he still gets his trade deal. If not, his daughter can no longer deny the marriage, and he will finally have another heir in line.”
“I don’t get why that involves me,” Asher said.
“Let me put it this way,” Tosh offered. “If some strong Guild Master came to you and said he wanted your son to marry his daughter, and everything you ever wanted could be yours; all your son had to do was pass a trial. It sounds like a great deal right? Now let’s say it gets around that her last fiance was killed by a Hero. There are rumors of that Hero and the Guild Master’s daughter being a thing. But there is no Hero in sight because his planet is protected by the System.”
“For the next 5 years,” Asher finished. “I think I get it now. So if I take their Trial and die...”
“You aren’t in the picture anymore, and they can move down their list to the next planet they want an alliance with,” Tosh said. “Where if you pass, then maybe they lower their standards and let the daughter of a literal emperor marry some Hero from a backwater planet.”
“Wait. I’m the street rat?” Asher asked. He didn’t like to think of himself that way. Ash thought he had a pretty good life, and was well off. Then again he was in an opulent room where there were literally thousands much grander around him, and the last place he called home had a few hundred people sleeping in a communal area.
“Yes, very much so. I don’t know if you noticed but the Roktai have money, and connections. This planet doesn’t have a lot of people, because they want to keep the beauty of it,” Tosh said. “There are other planets under their control with literal trillions of people.”
Asher tried to picture it. He was starting to see why Nadir wanted him to marry Lyola. After some time Tosh asked, “So what are you going to do?”
“Take the Trial,” Asher said. “I thought that was obvious.”
“Do you have a death wish?” Tosh asked. “I just told you like 10 of her other fiances died in it. This is not an easy trial.”
“I know, but I thought that was the point of all my Trials. Will I be safe in the System Initialization ones?”
“No, you’d really die in those,” Tosh admitted.
“Then I don’t see the problem. Let’s take this Trial so I can get onto the next.”
—-
Asher walked with his companions down the hall. They had left the palace and were now at a much smaller building behind the palace. It was made of the same black metal walls as the other buildings, the only odd part was that it was 2 stories tall. Every other building Asher had seen was at least 20 stories.
“Why do we have to do this at midnight?” Abby asked in between a yawn.
“There’s a time and place for everything,” Tosh said. “That is basically all elves' creed. Like duels are done at dawn, Trials happen at midnight.”
“What happens at sundown and noon?” Keera asked. It was probably the first question he had heard her ask. She was typically in the background. Content to watch. He was guessing she was recording everything so she was trying to add more dialogue. Like some director in a documentary.
“Marriages happen at noon, executions at sundown,” he said. He opened a wide double door to reveal a large room. They were at the top of a set of stairs that led down into the space. At the center of the room was a dungeon portal, or trial portal, Asher couldn’t tell the difference. The portal was raised with stairs leading up to it.
“And he shows,” Tiberion the Guild Master said. He was standing next to the Trial portal. Tyranis, his wives and children stood to the side. 2 guards stood at the bottom of the stairs but didn’t react as Asher and his party descended.
“This Trial Dungeon was awarded to our Champion 32,344 years ago,” Tiberion said. Now that Asher was closer to him he could tell that the elf was much older than Tyranis. His hair was cut short to his head, and it was actually gray, not blonde. The old man had an energetic demeanor. Ash wanted to like him.
“This was once our Guild Hall,” he said looking around. “Our planet and city has changed, but this never will,” he said as he stepped down the stairs from the Portal.
He was light on his feet, muscles bulged under his immaculately designed armor. Leaves were etched into the leather of the top and bottom. He wore no jewelry or weapons. But as he walked closer Asher knew the man could kill him with little effort. Mana poured out of him, he couldn’t see it with Mana Sight but he felt it.
Asher stared him in the eyes as Tiberion walked closer. Though slightly shorter than him, Tiberion exuded strength. “Tell me Hero. Are you ready to face death?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Asher said without changing his expression.
Tiberion smiled. “Good. Strip naked,” he said. Asher hesitated as Tiberion turned around. “As we are born naked, so must we be tested.” He said. “No clothes, armor, or storage items are allowed. But you won’t need them.”
By the other elves' reactions he guessed Tiberion was telling the truth. Asher willed his accessories away, then his clothes. A white light enveloped him as they disappeared into his Timeless Band. He had practiced a little after Tosh mentioned it. Clothes were easy now, armor was still out of his grasp.
He looked at Tiff, she gave him a wink as she took the ring. His mother put her hand on his shoulder. She had seen him naked more than anyone, so she didn’t really care. The others in the group averted their eyes. Asher caught Keera peeking so he gave her a wink.
Confidently he walked to the stairs leading to the Portal. A green light swirled around the black portal. Tiberion seemed to read his mind as he said, “the color indicates the difficulty. Once you step in we will know how hard of a Trial you are going through. Depending on difficulty you will receive more rewards. Yellow gives +5 stats, Orange +10, Red +15.”
“Which should I expect?” He asked.
“Orange or red. The System decides,” Tiberion said.
“What color was it for your fiancés?” Asher turned to look at Lyola.
She was cut off by Tiberion. “Do not worry. They lacked conviction,” he said loudly. Asher looked to him and nodded.
He gave his family one more look. It helped to know Batman was there, watching over him. Atalanta flipped him off, but Asher smiled. Tiff mouthed ‘love you’, Asher did the same. His parents gave him a nod, he returned it. And with that he stepped through.
—-
“Always so dramatic,” Tiberion said as he stretched. With a big yawn he turned around to leave.
“How long should this take?” Asher’s mother asked.
“Could be 5 minutes, could be 4 hours,” Tiberion said walking up the stairs to leave. “If any of you want to take it, you are more than welcome to afterward. The possibility of death seems to scare most away for some reason.”
“I thought you said red was the worst?” One of the girls from Asher’s group asked. The words echoed in the chamber. Everyone turned to watch as the outline of the portal turned from red to black.
Tiberion stared at the portal waiting for the punchline, but it didn’t come. With a flick of his foot he jumped the 30 feet to the top of the portal platform. Casting Inspection on it he was amazed at what he read.
Roktai Trial
Hell Difficulty
Level ???
He turned around to head down the stairs. “What happened?” Tyranis asked. Others looked to him for an answer.
“He’s not dead right?” Another girl asked.
“No, it would turn green if he did die. The System increased the difficulty,” Tiberion announced.
“Has that ever happened before?” Lyola asked.
“Nope,” Tiberion said. “That kid is probably going through hell right now,” he commented. “I think I might stick around to watch.”
—-
Asher stepped into a white room. Much like the other Trials, the white room extended all around him. It wasn’t long for the pop up’s to appear
| Congratulations |
| You have been chosen to challenge the Trial of the Roktai. |
| Rewards chosen after completion of trial. |
| Time Dilation in Effect |
That’s never good, Asher thought.
| Congratulations |
| Dungeon Difficulty Increased from Hard to Hell Mode by the System |
| Increased rewards will be given upon completion of the Trial. |
That's definitely not good, he thought.
| Memories Altered |
—-
Asher turned around. He was in a white room. It reminded him of the Trial of Crusaders. No notifications from the System were hidden from view. The last thing he remembered was looking at Gliders with his team while they were out shopping.
That’s when he noticed he was completely naked. He wasn’t even wearing his new ring. Am I dreaming? He thought, but knew that wasn’t right. Annoyed, he turned around to see the dungeon portal.
“Some kind of System prank is going on,” he said as he stepped through it.
On the other side of the portal was a massacre. Blood was everywhere. Atalanta’s body laid in front of him, her orange haired head a few feet away from her body. He was only in shock for a second, but quickly he ran to the top stair in front of him. Just as he was able to peak over the edge he watched as an elf guard sliced his mother in half from head to navel.
He stared as Tiberion grabbed Tiff by her pink and blue hair. She screamed, “Ash!” Looking up at him, her eyes pleading for him to do something as her head was severed off.
Ash screamed, his vision began to darken as his heart jumped into overdrive. He had to get to her, maybe Healing Touch could do something.
“He’s out,” Tiberion warned, looking at him. 2 guards appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Asher’s naked arms and pushing him to the ground.
Tiberion was then in front of him in an instant. How do I know him? Asher thought. He didn’t remember meeting the older elf, but the name was apparent in his mind.
He grunted as he struggled against the guards. Tiberion leaned down close to him. “You fell for it Champion,” he gloated. “That wasn’t a Trial, it was an artifact that took all of your levels, Syscos, titles, and System.” He spat in Asher’s face. Ash brought up his status screen.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | N/A | Survival | LVL 12 | |
| System: | WARRIOR | Tracking | LVL 10 | |
| Level: | 1 | Brawling | LVL 10 | |
| Experience | 0/50 | Policing | LVL 9 | |
| Title: | N/A | Battleshout | LVL 11 | |
| Guild: | N/A | Intimidation | LVL 11 | |
| Syscos: | 0 | Powerstrike | LVL 9 | |
| Regal Presence | LVL 8 | |||
| HP: | 34 | /34 | Battle Instincts | LVL 14 |
| MP: | 23 | /23 | Weapon Throw | LVL 10 |
| Gun Fighting | LVL 9 | |||
| Stats: | 5 | Massage | LVL 8 | |
| Mana Sight | LVL 5 | |||
| Strength: | 12 | |||
| Dexterity: | 10 | |||
| Endurance: | 11 | |||
| Agility: | 8 | |||
| Wisdom: | 7 | |||
| Intelligence: | 8 | |||
| Luck: | 12 | |||
| Charm: | 9 | |||
| Custom Stats: | ||||
| N/A | N/A | |||
A fancy Null System Necklace appeared in Tiberion’s hand. He slid it over Asher’s head. His status screen disappeared.
“You caused us a lot of trouble Mr. Champion. We wanted to let you take your Trials, help your planet. Then we would take everything after you leveled more. The System doesn’t protect you when you aren’t a Hero. Our own little loophole as we take advantage of Uninitiated planets.”
Asher screamed trying to push himself up. The guards were too strong for him since he was level 1 once more.
“The Burills have agreed to our trade agreement if we give them you,” Tiberion said. “I’ll sleep better knowing you’ll never touch another Roktai.” Then a guard hit Asher over the head.
—
When Asher awoke he was hanging naked suspended in midair. His arms and legs were restrained by purple energy beams.
“Ah, you are awake,” a voice said from the dark area of the room.
The dark blood red skinned Plarious stepped out of the shadows. He carried in his hand a long black blade. Asher screamed in rage as he tried to fight the restraints. His body hardly budged.
“Fetince was my favorite nephew,” Plarious spat at him. “He was to be the next Guild Master.” His long blade cut into Asher’s side. Blood poured out of him. “Sorry,” Plarious said, looking anything but. “I forget how weak lower levels are. I’d hate for you to die too quickly.” He didn’t make a move to stop the bleeding. Asher breathed in and out slowly, ignoring the pain and trickle of blood.
“No, you will have years of this. First we need to work on your mobility,” Plarious said. The cold blade rested on Asher’s leg. The thin edge sliced smoothly across his skin. The wound stung like a papercut. “Should we start with your legs?” He did another small cut on Asher’s arm. “Or arms?” Asher didn’t care. He didn’t have time to process the grief of his loved one’s deaths. Asher looked straight ahead, no longer caring.
“Or maybe this?” Plarious said cutting off Asher’s dick. His mind was slow as he realized what had happened. When his brain caught up Asher began to scream again.
—-
“How long has it been? 1 week?” Plarious asked. Asher did not answer. His body was covered in wounds. One of the worst was the stump of an arm. Plarious was sawing at it again. He had at first cut off Asher’s left hand. Then a few inches further up. Now he was working on cutting it off near the shoulder blade, he would soon be moving to a new limb.
“What’s wrong?” Plarious asked. “You don’t scream anymore.” A fetid stench wafted from the Blood Elves mouth. He had eaten every part that was cut off Asher. As Plarious cut through the rest of Asher’s arm like a steak he left just a thin layer of skin so it would hang. When he dropped down to the floor he ripped the chunk off, tearing the skin. Asher didn’t respond. His heart hurt a lot more than his body. At first he had cried and screamed. But then he began to realize that Tiffany was really gone. All that was left out there for him was Zora, and he doubted she would want anything to do with him now.
“Guess we work on your leg,” Plarious said. He raised the blade but was stopped as someone rushed into the room. The ship began to shake.
“Sir, a Mana Surge was detected,” the guard said. That sobered up Plarious from his wicked glee. They were soon running out of the room.
Asher turned off his mind, it hurt too much to think. He couldn’t remember the good times in his past, they caused the tears to come. He couldn’t think of the pain or the wounds would begin to throb. The ship shook violently this time. The movement caused his wounds to open. He passed out from the pain.
—
Asher woke up on the black metal floor. His whole body ached, but for once he wasn’t suspended in mid-air. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself up with his right arm.
When he was standing he noticed the Null System Necklace still on his chest. He ripped it off.
| Congratulations |
| You have awoken the WARRIOR SYSTEM |
He was given no choice this time for some reason.
| NOTICE |
| Due to already having the Taunt Skill |
| You will be awarded 10 Syscos |
Asher moved his stats to strength and endurance. His wounds felt a little better. With a groan he took his first step in a week. The next step was easier, and soon he was at the other side of the room. A large opening led into a hall. He heard nothing around him. A part of him wanted to run, but a bigger part wanted to kill Plarious. He headed in the direction Plarious had run away. His wounds felt better with each step.
The hall was empty. Nondescript doors were on each wall. He ignored them, the ship resembled Helion, and he guessed there would be a door with a symbol on it soon enough.
He eventually came to the right room. He could tell because he found Plarious dead inside. The roof of the bridge had a giant hole blasted into it. Light leaked in from it illuminating his tormentor. Plarious’ top half leaned against a wall, the bottom half was somewhere else.
His dark red skin was now gray from the loss of blood. Asher stared over him for a little bit. His brain was unable to comprehend that the man died so quickly, far too quickly.
Asher wanted to be the one that squeezed the life out of him. This death was too clean. He didn’t notice the tears falling down his face until he wiped his eyes. Ash kicked the tormentor in the head. Plarious fell to the ground lifeless. Asher screamed at him, no words, his guttural rage flowed out as more tears poured down.
At some point he passed out from lack of air in his lungs. He woke up to the sound of birds from the hole in the hull. His brain slowly put together what had happened to him. His parent’s death, Abby’s, Batman, Nadir, the government people, even Keera and Atalanta he had led to their deaths.
Worst of all was the loss of Tiffany. With her passing a hole in his heart had formed and grown. He didn’t think he could ever recover from her deprivation in his life. She loved him unconditionally. She made him laugh. She made him feel things he didn’t think possible.
Now that light was gone, never to be seen again. A part of him wanted to give up, a growing part. But everytime he thought about it, the view of Tiberion cutting off her head appeared. A deep rage began boiling up in him. The white hot rage only grew more as he pictured killing the elf. His revenge against Plarious had been taken from him, he would not let the same thing happen with Tiberion.
