Swamp

Jake saw six lizards rushing in his direction. His mind started churning at a crazy pace. He looked around for whatever could help, but there was nothing. Biting his lip, he started running in one direction while the lizards chased after him.

He glanced over his shoulder repeatedly as he ran. Two lizards were up front; if he wanted to take down one, he needed to separate them.

With this in mind, he suddenly bent down and scooped a handful of sand, throwing it at one of the lizards. The burning sand got into its eyes and immediately caused it to shriek and toss around.

With the opportunity created, Jake charged at the second lizard. He slashed with all his strength, cutting off the head in one clean motion.

Immediately, he thought about killing the second one with sand in its eyes, but the remaining were already dangerously close, so he turned and ran away again.

What he didn't expect was for the lizards to all start running on their four legs and chasing after him. Their speed almost doubled and they caught up in no time, encircling him.

Jake looked around, trying to find a way out. He could ask Crypt for help, but was that the route he really wanted to keep going? He wanted to at least have some strength in his own body, his own ability to survive.

But the closer they approached, the less time he had and nothing was coming to mind. Gritting his teeth, he decided to just do it. He charged at one of the lizards. Now that they were on all fours, they scurried around faster.

The others chased after him while the one he ran toward stayed put. It opened its mouth, ready to use a flame breath.

But just when Jake got close and it was about to attack, he jumped, crossing over the lizard. The lizard used its flame breath, but it missed Jake and hit the other lizards.

Jake landed roughly behind the lizard, and he could swear he pulled something as his leg screamed in pain. Yet he knew he couldn't stop. Standing on one leg, he twisted his body and stabbed the lizard from behind, then he lifted its body off the ground.

"Arghhhhhh!" He threw the body at the other lizards, using all his strength. He had created just enough distraction to try and finish this off. He locked his sight on the closest lizard, forced his leg back on the ground, and literally limped while running toward it.

The lizard noticed and attacked with its tail to keep range. Jake blocked the attack; his hands immediately went numb from the force, but the attack didn't get through. He finally closed the gap and stabbed the lizard through the eyes.

Now all that was left were three, but his body felt like shit. He could barely move again.

"You've done well enough, Master." He heard Crypt's voice. A wild gust of wind flew past him.

Boom.

An explosion happened where the lizards stood, and their bodies were no more—obliterated entirely.

Immediately after Jake saw the last of them killed, he fell down backward, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I seriously don't want to do anything like that again," he said.

"You did well, Master. With no training in the sword, you managed to take down a good number of them," Crypt said, standing over Jake's head.

"Says the person that obliterated them all," Jake replied.

"I am your weapon, Master, so it means you had the strength to obliterate them all," Crypt said. He walked to Jake's leg, looked at the one that had been dislocated, and grabbed it. Without so much as a warning, he popped it into place.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhh!" Jake screamed from the top of his lungs, but when the pain died down, he was totally fine. He could move the leg like normal again.

"Please give me a heads-up next time. I almost passed out," Jake said. He got up on his feet and looked around. He saw all the damage that Crypt had done, and he felt even more pathetic for what he had done.

"No need to worry, I'll level up and catch up," he thought to himself.

The environment started changing again. Mana surged like an untamed wave. The first test had finished, and now it was on to the next.

It changed back into the dome of the test. The runes stopped glowing for a few seconds and began glowing again, changing the room once more.

[Level up 2 free stats] while that was happening, Jake got his level up, but he didn't have time for it now.

The dome changed and the foul stench was the first to reach their noses, a smell so foul it made Jake gag on reflex—the rotting of flesh, the musky smell of old forgotten trees and vines.

The hard, cold floor of the dome changed into a wet, muddy black still water, reaching above their ankles.

Looking down at it, Jake couldn't even see his own two feet. Looking up, all he saw were trees covered in overgrown vines and stains from things he didn't want to know.

He could see the carcasses of dead animals floating, bloated and releasing gases. The black water popped with bubbles every few seconds.

[....]

Back inside the room with Seer and Rion, their eyes widened when they saw the new location. They turned to the receptionist.

"This is an Orc swamp. It doesn't just have normal low-level orcs, but also has some high-level orcs. Why is the trial sending him there already?" Seer asked.

The girl was frightened out of her mind, her hands trembled, and she bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Lady Seer. I have no idea what's going on. I'll get the guild master here right away," she said and tried to move, but the door of the room swung open.

An average-looking man walked in. He was wearing a simple shirt and trousers. He didn't seem to have any muscles to brag of. His face was bland, his messy black hair did nothing to help as well.

He yawned the moment he walked in. "No need, I'm already here," he said casually.