by H. C. Mills
In the end, I manage to raise my Lavi absorption to 10 Onkh per minute. Suddenly, I receive a notification.
Sweet! I glance at the Status Window that I’ve been keeping open the whole time. It’s a great motivator.
Looks like I’m already losing 9 Onkh of Lavi per minute to the Toxic Energy in my body. It’s slowly built up to this, yet my Lavi has only started dropping a couple of minutes ago, because I’m still somewhat in range of the Crystal of Lavi, which supplements my inflows.
I probably shouldn’t let it go down much further though. If I reach the point where even the Crystal of Lavi at full strength isn’t enough to compensate for the loss, I’d have to bet my life on being able to Purify fast enough to survive.
I weakly crawl back to the oasis, lie down in the sand, and lazily stretch out my limbs, satisfied with my progress.
“Time?”
[17 hours, 14 minutes, and 39 seconds.]
I laugh.
[What’s so funny?]
“Just the realisation that I’m excited to have hours of self-torture left.”
[You are an odd human.]
“I probably am.”
It would explain why I can’t stop smiling.
I check my Lavi, which is going up again now, albeit slowly.
Phew!
“All right, I’m going to Meditate for a while. Can you wake me when the Toxic Energy in my body drops below 4 Onkh?”
[Very well.]
I hum happily as I slip into a trance. My training is far from over.
Finally, after roughly another thirteen hours of self-torture and several oasis breaks, I reach my goal.
“Open Status Window!”
With this much progress, even I can be satisfied. With all the breathing I did, I not only got Respiration level 2, but my Lavi Pool also grew to 36. What’s more, because of the copious amounts of self-torture I applied, I even received the following notification.
Does that mean it’ll be easier to torture myself in the future? I might cry. No, I’m sure this is a good thing. It’ll help me survive.
The only thing I find disconcerting is the fact that my skin has gained a slight, purple glow...
I’m sure it will clear up after I spend some time in the oasis.
I go through the by-now-familiar routine of crawling back and flopping down, and Suri tells me the time without prompting.
[1 hour, 36 minutes, and 55 seconds remaining.]
That’s a little less than I thought. But it should be fine, right?
“Suri, how long is the walk from here to the end of the Trial exactly?”
[That’s classified.]
Shit. Let’s see, the notification of the oasis said it was in the centre of the Moonshade Garden, which means the exit should be about as far from here as the entrance. I had about 30 Lavi when I started walking, and with Suri helping me Meditate, my net Lavi flow should have dropped to 2 Onkh per minute after the first couple of minutes. So, conservative estimate, it shouldn’t be more than a fifteen-minute walk.
I should leave early, just to be safe. But I also need to detoxify.
“Suri, I’m going to Meditate. Please wake me in sixty minutes.”
[All right.]
That’ll give me at least thirty-five minutes to get there. That should be plenty.
CHAPTER 9
Sounds like a broken record
[WARNING, YOU HAVE 600 seconds remaining to clear the First Trial,] Suri chimes.
I curse under my breath as I sprint down the path. Centre of the Moonshade Garden my ass! If it had been, I would’ve long reached the exit by now.
And I’m not exactly detoxified either, especially with the extra Toxic Energy I’m picking up now. That means I’m not back to full Strength yet, and even my skin still has a faint purple glow...
Finally, with 400 seconds left on the clock, a closed door at the end of the garden comes into view. It features another carving of an ugly, abstract humanoid, this time with its arms raised, either celebrating or screaming for help.
The door rumbles open as I come up on it, and it’s like a weight is lifted off my chest. I break out of my run and slow down to a more comfortable walking pace. I start to take in a deep breath but stop myself as I catch sight of a Moonshade Flower right next to the path.
[300 seconds remaining,] Suri reminds me.
Problem is, I just had a thought. What if I want to continue grinding my Toxic Energy Tolerance in the future, but don’t have enough Toxic Energy to work with? Heart beating fast, I walk over to the side of the path. I have five minutes... Will that be enough?
I grab a firm hold of the stem of a Moonshade and pull as hard as I can with my reduced Strength.
I am either an idiot or a genius for trying this. Possibly both.
The verdict is still underway, because the plant won’t budge.
[240 seconds remaining.]
I let go, take a step back, and look around.
If only I had a tool of some kind, but the only thing I see is... knifegrass!
I kneel down and start digging around a nicely sized, maybe nine-inch blade that sticks out solitarily near the edge of the path. The earth is loose and soft—relatively speaking—so I only break two nails as I frantically dig it out.
[180 seconds remaining.]
It looks like I really named the knifegrass well, because its stem actually makes for a great hilt. Roots still dangle from it, but they aren’t in the way, so I place my grass-blade at the stem of the Moonshade and start cutting.
It slowly sinks in as I make a sawing motion. I’m careful not to touch the eerily purple-glowing sap that leaks from the cut in the stem.
[120 seconds remaining.]
I keep cutting, my face dangerously close to the open flower. My lungs burn, even though the sensation has lessened a lot as my Toxic Energy Tolerance increased.
[60 seconds remaining.]
Finally, with a triumphant cry, I manage to cut through the stem.
I rush through the door with my two prizes in hand, and it closes behind me with a resounding slam.
A notification pops up, but I ignore it and get on my knees. I put down my grass-blade and start rummaging in my backpack for an empty water bottle.
Having located one, I unscrew the cap, and—careful not to touch any sap—manoeuvre the dripping stem of the flower into the bottle. It’s a tight fit, which actually suits me just fine, as it decreases the chance of leakage. Finally, I take out an empty plastic bag I found in one of the pockets and wrap it around the entire plant before tightly binding it shut.
There. I take a deep breath. I glance around. I seem to be in another hexagonal preparation room, that looks eerily similar to the last one. At least the Aether here seems relatively clean and with the flower sealed like this, it’ll hopefully stay that way.
Then, I read the notification that popped up earlier.
Trial Points and Shopping Windows? Sounds good, but first...
“Open Status Window.”
Here’s my problem: despite resting in the oasis for an hour, I got rid of only 2.4 Onkh of Toxic Energy.
Did I overuse the oasis or something? Guess I’ll add that to my list of questions. But let’s start with asking about the new stuff.
I get up off the floor and flop down on the bed in the corner.
“Oof!” It’s like landing on solid concrete. When will I learn? “Hey, Suri—”
[Congratulations,] Suri chimes in my head.
Was she waiting until I was ready to talk? How attentive.
“Thank you. Ehm, you said I’d get another five minutes of questions after the First Trial, right?”
[Correct. Would you like to start?]
“Hmm... Depends, will you tell me what Trial Points are if I don’t?”
[No.]
Figures. “Then yes.”
[Trial Points, or TP, can be traded for various resources. For now, you have access to the Shopping Windows pertaining to Power-Ups and Skilldreams.
]
“Right, and what are Skilldreams?”
[The Skilldream system allows me to pull you into a Dreamscape of my own devising, in which I provide you with something akin to a virtual reality training experience to teach you a new Skill. The prices for Skilldreams are loosely based on how much time it takes to teach the Skill—at about 10 TP per hour—as generating a Dreamscape takes up a lot of processing power. Average pricing is 25 TP for the first level of a low-grade Skill and 50 for the first level in a medium-grade Skill. They are only available in preparation rooms, for safety reasons.]
“So, those are Skills like Respiration and Meditation?”
[Indeed. Those are both low-grade Skills available in the system.]
Only low-grade, huh? I guess that was to be expected. “All right, Power-Ups, what are those?”
[A Power-Up is a symbiont that’s capable of becoming One with you. You can have up to three: an Internal Power-Up that becomes One with your tissue and, for example, increases one or more of your stats, an External Power-Up that grows on top of your body, altering your shape and providing some kind of new functionality, and finally, an Energy Power-Up that takes root at the centre of your meridians, and does something with a type of energy.]
Oh wow. Power-Ups sound sweet. Though I’m not too keen on that whole ‘symbiont becoming One with me’ part. “Can I afford any right now?”
[There are a few low-grade Internal Power-Ups available which provide a +2 bonus for a single physical stat, priced at 50 TP.]
Oof, a low-grade Power-Up already costs nearly all of the points I currently I have. All right, let’s not get too distracted; I need to spend my five minutes wisely.
“Can I only view them during these five minutes?”
[The windows can be accessed at any time, but purchases can only be made inside a preparation room. Furthermore, you can only view the items you have the information privilege for.]
I’ll check them out later, then. Time for the questions I prepared.
“Suri, could you explain to me how ‘Purifying’ works and why the removal of Toxic Energy in my body slowed down towards the end of my stay in the oasis?”
[The Crystal of Purification helps your body reject foreign energies. However, energy that falls under your Tolerance Limit is considered a part of you. Only the energy that exceeds your body’s Tolerance Limit will therefore be Purified. Your body doesn’t actively reject the energy below the Tolerance Limit, so neither does the Crystal of Purification. The closer you get to your Tolerance Limit, the less efficient the process becomes as well.]
“Wait, are you saying that I have no way of cleaning up the Toxic Energy in my body that falls below my Tolerance Limit? Then, wouldn’t I always remain filled up with Toxic Energy to my Tolerance Limit? What is the point of even having one then?!”
[In the absence of high concentrations of atmospheric Toxic Energy, the energy stored in your body will continue to slowly diffuse out. If you wish to accelerate that process, you can either improve Respiration or find something that can help you ‘Detoxify.’]
It sounds like a high Tolerance Limit could still be quite useful. If I’m careful not to absorb too much Toxic Energy in high concentration areas, and maybe find some way to Detoxify, I should be able to remain beneath the limit and not suffer any adverse effects of the Toxic Energy anymore.
“Suri, why weren’t there Crystals of Purification in Hub One? Couldn’t those have saved a ton of lives?”
[Not as many as you think. Most of the humans in Hub One died because they couldn’t adapt to surviving off Lavi. Either way, those who need help to survive the mild conditions of Hub One would never make it outside.]
Mild conditions. Yeesh. I shudder to think what harsh conditions might then be like.
“Moving on. Does the Moonshade Flower I plucked have any special qualities?”
[Yes.]
Score!
[It is highly Toxic.]
She did that on purpose, didn’t she?
[You are aware you can still request more information by asking me to ‘appraise’ something, correct?]
Shoot! I forgot about that.
“I’ll do that later. Suri, do others ever raise their Toxic Energy Tolerance like I did?”
[Some try, even using methods similar to yours, but nobody has ever raised it as far during the First Trial, and none who came close have lived to tell the tale.]
That sounds ominous.
“What do you mean?”
[Your compatibility with Toxic Energy is remarkable. I can’t say I’ve heard of any similar case among present or previous participants. If other participants tried what you did—and somehow survived—they could expect to attain roughly half the Toxic Energy Tolerance you did.]
“Really? If my compatibility with Toxic Energy is so high, then why was I deemed to have a low viability of survival in the First Trial?”
[The viability ranking is mostly based on the size of your Lavi Pool. Yours is quite pitiful, I’m afraid.]
Damnit, no wonder I’m constantly on the verge of death! I ignore the little voice in my head saying it might also be because I make greedy, reckless decisions. Anyway, guess that’s no longer classified now that I cleared the Trial.
[For most participants,] Suri continues unprompted, [the easiest way to tackle the First Trial is to learn how to handle breathing in a high Toxic Energy environment. That mostly means holding their breath for as long as their Lavi permits, and only breathing where the Toxic Energy concentration is relatively low, so they can make it to the oasis without taking in too much Toxic Energy. Once there, they can recover and safely explore other methods of survival.]
I frown. “Holding their breath for as long as possible? How much Lavi do these people have?”
[The average starting Lavi Pool among new participants is about 50 Onkh. I truly did not expect you to survive.]
50 Onkh?! Lucky bastards! All right, I have to stay focused and ask more questions.
“What do I need to learn to reach the next level of Respiration?”
[Ooh, good question,] Suri praises me. [The next step should be learning to direct your exhales farther away from yourself, in a natural manner.]
Aha. Sounds like I need to further reduce the amount of rebreathed Aether. “And Meditation?”
[To gain the next level of Meditation, you will need to learn to remain lucid while you are in the meditative state. It is no easy feat. I could lay out a training method for you, but it would take some time to explain. Do you want me to?]
“No, perhaps next time.”
Another question drifts to the front of my mind. I sit up and hug my legs to my chest.
“Suri, at what point is the next person on Trial Track 11 placed in the preparation room?”
[A participant is awoken the moment the one before them clears the First Trial. Alternatively, they are awoken when the one before them perishes.]
I frown. “Hold on, didn’t it take me nearly 48 hours from when I woke up in the preparation room to when I cleared the Trial?”
[You certainly didn’t set any speed records, no.]
“And you said I was number twelve in my track,” I continue, ignoring Suri’s dry answer. “How long was I asleep for?!”
[Like I said, most participants don’t stay in the preparation room that long. Moreover, the First Trial can be cleared in a little under an hour if you’re really in a hurry, so, all in all, I believe you were kept in an induced state of unconsciousness for only a little over a week.]
A week... that means I’ve already been in this Realm for nine days.
I shake off the distracting thoughts of my family back home and focus on my main concern regarding this line of questioning.
“What if the next participant leaves their preparation room early and tries to clear the First Trial at high speed like that, but I haven’t left this room yet? Will they be allowed to join me in here, or would they be trapped at the end of the First Trial?”
I shiver as I’m assaulted by the thought of someone banging on the door, begging me to start the next Trial before I’m ready, as they die a slow, toxic death.
I’m honestly not sure what I’d do...
[They can’t start the Trial before you leave this room. In fact, that is the only circumstance under which exceeding the preparation room’s time-limit is permitted.]
I let out a long breath. Like, really long. Still getting used to that.
I suppose this means I have to wait on the participant in front of me as well... if he or she is still alive.
Well, there’s an easy way to check if this is the case, I suppose. “Can I currently start the next Trial?”
[Yes.]
Mmm. Actually, that was pretty much a given, considering how slow I’ve gone, so this doesn’t really tell me much.
There’s one more thing still bugging me about the First Trial, and what Suri said about how fast you can clear it.
“Suri, how long did my walk to the oasis actually take? Because from my calculations, even with Meditation, I shouldn’t have lasted for more than like ten minutes—”
[It took as long as it took, and you made it by the skin of your teeth. Let’s leave it at that.]
I frown. “But—”
[I strongly suggest you leave it at that, Emma.]
I blink. Why would she... wait, did Suri cheat, somehow? Did she perhaps do something to make my Meditation more effective, or force me to run while I was entranced? If the oasis is truly in the centre of the Trial, then she almost must have, or I’d never have made it there. If that’s the case, and my progress is being monitored remotely like Suri said, it probably would be best to stop asking questions about it.
I clear my throat. “I think I’d like to take a look at that Skilldream Shopping Window.”
[Good choice. Here you go.]
