Trial Tower
As Frank relaxed in the soothing warmth of his bath, he called out to the system, eager to explore what new insights and opportunities awaited him.
"System," he said, his voice echoing softly in the tranquil confines of the bathing chamber.
Instantly, the familiar interface of the system materialized before him, its virtual display shimmering into existence like a beacon of knowledge and guidance.
[USER WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO A TRIAL TOWER]
[TIME REMAINING 5 MINUTES]
"OH SHIT, NOT AGAIN" screamed Frank seeing the force teleportation message he could do nothing about.
Coming out of the bath he put on his clothes and the dimensional ring preparing for the trial.
[TIME'S UP]
As Frank blinked, disoriented by his sudden displacement, he found himself standing in a bright room adorned with racks of weapons lining the walls. The unexpected change in scenery left him momentarily stunned, his senses reeling as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.
His gaze drifted towards the lone door in the room, its surface adorned with a parchment bearing inscriptions that caught his attention. Stepping closer, Frank's eyes scanned the writing, his curiosity piqued by the mysterious message before him.
[RULES AND DIRECTIONS]
[USER WILL RESPAWN HERE IN CASE OF DEATH]
[USER CULTIVATION HAS BEEN STRIPPED AWAY FOR THE TRIAL]
[OBJECTIVE IS TO SURVIVE, CAN NOT LEAVE WITHOUT SURVIVING 1000 HOURS IN THE TRIAL TOWER]
[MUST LEAVE THE SAFE ZONE IMMEDIATELY, WAITING HERE FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR WILL LEAD TO PERMANENT DEATH]
[NO REWARD AT THE END OF THE TRIAL]
[GOOD LUCK]
These were the rules and objectives put forward for Frank to understand.
'So no dying, that's cool but the pains gonna be a bitch' thought frank picking up his preferred weapon of choice the spear. There was nothing else in the room he left immediately.
The outside of the room was a long corridor leading to a huge hall, the walls of the tower were cut stones laid on top of each other, while a weird stone in the ceiling provided light, and there were no windows to the outside. A prompt was floating in front of him counting down from 1000.
As Frank stood in the bright room, his senses heightened by the unfamiliar surroundings, he became aware of a distant sound reverberating through the corridor beyond. With each thudding footstep, the floor trembled beneath his feet, sending ripples of anticipation through his body.
His heart quickened as the vibrations drew nearer, the rhythmic cadence growing louder with each passing moment. Frank's mind raced with possibilities, his instincts urging him to prepare for whatever might emerge from the depths of the corridor.
"Thank God my objective is to survive, not to kill that thing," Frank muttered to himself, his voice tinged with a mixture of apprehension and determination. Though uncertainty loomed before him, he remained resolute in his resolve to persevere against whatever challenges lay ahead.
As the footsteps drew closer, Frank braced himself for the encounter, ready to face whatever awaited him with courage and cunning. With each passing second, the tension in the air grew thicker, heralding the imminent arrival of the unknown entity that approached with relentless determination.
The monster coming into view was a chimera the size of a large truck, the back half of its body was a horse while the front half was a gorilla dragging his metallic fists on the ground dragging himself forward by slamming his hands forward and dragging himself forward. The impact of his fist against the ground produced the thumbing sound that he had heard.
"Yeah no way, here comes the first death, this is gonna be a long day," said Frank dropping his head and looking at the ground.
As Frank faced the approaching chimera, a surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins, lending strength to his resolve. The mortality of his body was nothing new to him; he hailed from Earth, where he had lived as a mortal among mortals. But in this unfamiliar realm, where the rules of existence seemed to bend and warp, he found himself drawing upon reserves of courage he never knew he possessed.
With a deep breath, Frank summoned his inner strength and sprinted towards the chimera, his heart pounding in his chest. As he closed the distance between them, he noted with grim satisfaction that the creature's back legs were not functioning, dragging behind it with each halting step.
As Frank's initial attempts to pierce the chimera's tough hide proved futile, frustration gnawed at the edges of his determination. He stepped back, reassessing his strategy as he increased the distance between himself and the formidable beast.
Summoning his resolve, Frank lunged forward once more, this time aiming his spear at the chimera's face in a desperate bid to find a weak point. But despite his efforts, the result remained the same—the creature's skin proved impervious to his attacks.
With a surge of adrenaline, Frank braced himself as the chimera raised its fist, preparing to strike. With lightning reflexes, he dodged the incoming blow, his movements fluid and precise. Though the beast possessed formidable strength, its speed was lacking—a weakness that Frank was determined to exploit.
Seizing the opportunity, Frank darted away from the narrow hallway, escaping into the larger hall beyond. As he emerged into the open space, he was greeted by the sight of an empty room dominated by a large fire burning in the center, its heat radiating throughout the chamber.
Despite the discomfort caused by the intense heat, Frank knew that he had to stay focused. With the chimera hot on his heels, he scanned his surroundings for any possible advantage, his mind racing as he formulated a new plan of attack.
As the large spiders descended from the ceiling, their fangs bared and poised for attack, Frank wasted no time in dispatching them with swift and precise strikes. Though they were easily dealt with, their sudden appearance proved to be a bothersome distraction, delaying Frank's efforts to confront the looming threat of the chimera.
With a quick glance at the approaching beast, Frank's mind raced with potential strategies for taking down the formidable creature. He regretted not bringing a dagger, realizing that targeting the chimera's eyes would likely be the most effective method of hunting it.
As he evaded the chimera's slamming fists, Frank knew that time was of the essence. With each passing moment, the likelihood of encountering more monsters increased, further complicating his already perilous situation. He needed to deal with the chimera quickly before he became overwhelmed by the combined onslaught of multiple foes.
Drawing upon every ounce of agility and cunning, Frank seized the opportunity presented by the chimera's lowered fist. With a burst of speed, he darted towards the fallen limb, leaping onto his hands and propelling himself upwards towards the creature's head.
As he ascended towards the chimera's face, Frank's heart pounded in his chest.
As the chimera attempted to shake him off, Frank clung to its fur with a tenacity born of desperation. With each violent motion, he gritted his teeth against the strain, refusing to relinquish his grip even as the beast thrashed and roared in a futile attempt to dislodge him.
Summoning all his strength and determination, Frank maneuvered himself into position, his heart pounding in his chest as he eyed his target with unwavering focus. With a decisive leap, he dropped down in front of the chimera's face, his hand darting forward with lightning speed to grasp hold of the creature's eyelid.
In one swift and fluid motion, Frank plunged his weapon into the chimera's eye, the blade sinking deep into its flesh with a sickening squelch. As the beast recoiled in agony, a primal roar echoing through the chamber, Frank felt a surge of triumph course through him.
As the chimera retaliated with a brutal counterattack, Frank found himself powerless to evade the full force of its onslaught. With a thunderous impact, the beast's massive fist slammed into his own face with bone-crushing force, sending him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.
In that agonizing moment, Frank's world was consumed by blinding pain, his consciousness fading into darkness as he was battered and broken by the ferocity of the chimera's assault. The last thing he remembered was the sensation of his body being crushed under the mass of the giant chimera.
Then, as if emerging from a nightmare, Frank's eyes fluttered open to find himself back in the safety of the bright room where his journey had begun. The memories of his harrowing encounter with the chimera lingered like a haunting specter in his mind, serving as a grim reminder of the dangers that lurked beyond the confines of his sanctuary.
"Quick death, nice," said Frank picking up another spar and two other daggers hanging them on his waist, he left the safe room and went back to the trial tower. This time the chimera beast wasn't anywhere to be seen only the spiders were coming towards him, which he killed effortlessly using the long range of the spear.
As the time countdown reset to 1000, Frank's heart sank with the realization that he was facing a daunting challenge indeed. The prospect of having to survive the entire trial in one continuous stretch seemed almost insurmountable, testing his endurance and resilience to their limits.
He made his way toward the hall where he had previously died, he wanted to figure out whether the monsters he killed would respawn or would remain dead. He was pleasantly surprised to see the chimera beast lying in the middle of the room dead with the spear jammed deeper into its eye reaching its brain.
The force from the fist impacting his face while the spear was stuck in the eye had killed the beast. Making his way forward he walked further into the tower seeing if any other beasts were waiting for him.
As Frank navigated through the treacherous halls of the trial, he found himself beset on all sides by a relentless onslaught of beasts, each one eager to thwart his progress and claim him as their prey. With every encounter, he fought valiantly, but the odds seemed insurmountable as he fell time and time again to the ferocity of his adversaries.
Despite his best efforts, Frank found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number and ferocity of the beasts that assailed him at every turn. Whether facing a single fearsome creature or a horde of relentless foes, he struggled to hold his ground against the relentless onslaught, his every victory hard-won and short-lived.
With each defeat, the safe room dutifully recorded the time remaining and the monster responsible for Frank's demise, adding his name to the growing leaderboard of fallen challengers. Though the leaderboard served as a grim reminder of his failures, Frank refused to lose hope, knowing that with each setback came the opportunity to learn and grow stronger.
[960 HOURS REMAINING: SALAMANDER]
[904 HOURS REMAINING: CHIMERA ANT]
[700 HOURS REMAINING: SPIDER QUEEN]
[400 HOURS REMAINING: WOLF PACK]
[30 HOURS REMAINING: ALIGATOR]
As Frank faced the relentless onslaught of beasts in the trial, he made survival his utmost priority. While some challengers may have sought to engage in combat and defeat their adversaries head-on, Frank recognized that his best chance of success lay in outlasting his foes rather than confronting them directly.
With each encounter, Frank focused on honing his spear techniques and mastering the art of evasion, using every opportunity to refine his skills and adapt to the ever-changing threats around him. He learned to anticipate the movements and behaviors of the beasts, studying their weaknesses and exploiting them to his advantage whenever possible.
Despite the countless setbacks and the numbing repetition of death and danger, Frank remained resolute in his determination to overcome the trial. He refused to let fear or frustration dictate his actions, instead channeling his experiences into a relentless pursuit of improvement and mastery.
Frank finally relaxed as he heard the system notification come in.
[TRIAL COMPLEATED]
[USERS 81/1000 ALIVE]
[TELEPORTING USERS BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL LOCATION IN THIRTY MINUTES]
He saw all the monster corpses transform into a light and disappear leaving no trace behind, the other oddity he had come to realize was that no matter how much he abused the weapons none of them broke. Wanting to take some weapons back with him he picked up as many as he possibly could with his mortal body and sat down waiting to be teleported.
Thinking about all the time he spent here he realized he had mastered the spear to had reached far above than his fellow disciples, nobody else had the option to train in real-life experience without dying he was confident enough to beat any other disciple in a spar. And one other thing, the last message the system had left behind.
[USERS 81/1000 ALIVE]
As Frank reflected on his arduous journey through the trial, a sense of solemn realization washed over him. He understood that he was not alone in his reincarnation and the possession of a system. The presence of the leaderboard, documenting the deaths of his fellow challengers, served as a stark reminder that many others had embarked on this perilous journey alongside him, each one facing their own trials and tribulations.
With a heavy heart, Frank contemplated the fate of the 81 remaining challengers. He couldn't help but wonder about the stories behind each name on the leaderboard, the struggles they had faced, and the sacrifices they had made in pursuit of survival. Were they, too, reincarnated souls like himself, or were they simply adventurers drawn into the trial from the world beyond?
As he awaited his teleportation, Frank found himself pondering the fragility of life and the transient nature of existence.