Mathew walked out into a rolling desert. A blast of sand whipped at his body, forcing him to cover his face. Scorching heat that beamed down from a bright sun was a drastic change in temperature compared to the cool tunnels.

“Okay, this is going to become too annoying too quickly.” Mathew complained.

“Annoying? This is prime weather!” Agnox said. He and Jeffery looked comfortable, maybe more than that. They seemed at home, a smile on both their faces.

Cherry knelt down and touched the ground. “There aren't any plants nearby. Not close enough for me to detect anyways. I also think the heat is a bit much.”

Mathew pulled out his notebook full of notes with his rituals and flipped through several pages. “I’m not dealing with this heat. Agnox, an eye for anything dangerous. I’m going to…”

He realized then that the sand wasn’t something he could make rituals on. “Oh come on! I can’t make rituals. We need to find a solid surface. I can reverse the Campfire ritual to remove heat possibly. Might take a few tries”

Cherry looked over Mathew's shoulder. “Didn’t you buy two new rituals while you were buying other things? Why didn’t you think of something for harsh weather?”

Mathew slapped his book closed. “Because, I didn’t think I would end up in such a place. If I had to guess, this floor was going to be a jungle or possibly an urban area. Something with lots of open air, but structures to force you to traverse carefully. Something assassins can benefit from.”

He gestured at the empty landscape. “This was not something I expected.”

Cherry sighed and looked around. “Any ideas on which direction to go?”

Mathew honestly didn’t. He shaded his eyes with a hand and looked up at Agnox flying in the air. “Agnox, do you see anything from your height?”

“I see a pack of some creature about a mile that way.” He pointed toward the direction the sun was currently hovering over. “I think I see a challenge or dungeon portal and a smaller pack of creatures. Nothing large, no buildings, not a single stone.”

Mathew licked his teeth in annoyance. “Okay, let’s go to the portal. We can use the solid ground of that one.”

“Mathew, what if we get into trouble?” Cherry asked. “Do you have your token ready?”

“Cherry, we will be fine. I have no expectation to fight an Apprentice ranked boss right now. Probably not ever. Not with us. We are strong, but that thing will be the peak of Apprentice rank, pushing into Student. That’s far beyond what we can fight. If we can gain some friends, maybe. We have a horde to worry about coming up soon before then.”

“Not to mention Jeffery here is ready to be upgraded to Apprentice rank. We will take care of that once we find somewhere to set up camp.”

Cherry seemed to accept such an answer. “Okay, I just wanted to be sure.”

The trudge through sand made mathew hate it all. It was coarse and got everywhere inside of his robes and armor.

Already he planned on using most of his mana cores on the Crystal Wash ritual. Which would clean him up of any dirt or grime. He was still covered in Naga blood. After spending time within Gaia’s domain, he was already missing the luxury.

It took nearly two hours before they reached the portal. There was no creature or monster that showed up. Mathew wasn’t going to complain. When he approached the portal, it was a Challenge.

He looked at the portal until a screen appeared detailing the challenge.

Challenge of Truth

Complete the challenge within and be rewarded

Possible Rewards:

Cultivation Manual related to Challenge

Beginner Ranked Item

Universal Currency

Mind Tempering Item

Mathew didn’t waste another moment and entered the challenge. The heat was gone inside, instead he walked into a small room. The walls were made of some sort of brown plant that wasn’t wood. Possible bamboo.

The floors were green planks. Sunlight came through the roof from a window. There was a single door on the other side of where Mathew appeared. It was a dark wood with a poster on it.

“Before anyone touches anything, I’m doing the ritual. Going to cost more since I’m adding the delayed modifier, but who cares. Cherry, how did you fare in the heat? Think you can handle it?”

“Ummm. Sure I’ll be fine.”

Mathew looked up at her, “Cherry. Lying gets us nowhere. You sound unsure. If you are unsure, say that. I can probably make it large enough for us both if we stand close together. On the other hand, having our own personal cooling device might be better…” Mathew trailed off, not really talking to her anymore, but in thought.

“I- uh…yes I would like one please.” Cherry said finally.

Mathew waved a hand. “You and Agnox go read that sign. I’ll make the rituals. Give me an hour.”

Agnox was already by the poster reading it.

Ignore the lies. Discover the Truth. Only when you know the Truth will you be able to escape. Once you leave this room. You can not return.

“That’s not ominous.” Agnox said. “Boss, not a combat challenge. Probably a mental or knowledge based one. Hopefully nothing to do with the soul since…ya know.”

Cherry looked at it. “The word ‘Truth’ is capitalized. It might involve an Axiom, or perhaps enlightenment.”

“It fucking better not be related to my soul or an Axiom. I’m still learning the upgrades to my current ones. The System sure loves giving out free Axiom’s to us.”

“Well that’s not the only reason. It’s because your planet is full of raw and untapped energy from the six prime Axiom’s.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Mathew stopped what he was doing and looked up at Cherry. “What do you mean by that?”

Cherry blinked and paused for just a moment. “It’s what all new integrated planets experience. The System blasts it with its own understanding of the six prime Axiom’s. There is always residual leftovers that changes everything. That’s why it has these Challenges and World Quests. To burn off some of that excess. It’s why you find natural treasures in the form of fruits, raw materials, and area quests to tame unhinged wildlife.”

“More information I should have known.” Mathew shook his head disappointedly, not wanting to push the issue he continued the conversation. “I have five Axioms. Any chance they are each related to a different one and I can get a sixth for a BINGO?”

Cherry thought for a moment. “Maybe? The six prime Axioms are Life, Death, Order, Chaos, Creation, and Destruction. I think Pattern, Enhance, and Bolster could be Creation. Since they are all about improvement. Resistance could be Life or Creation again. Piercing is leaning toward Destruction and Death in my opinion.”

“What about the Axiom of Ember?” Agnox asked.

“For sure Destruction, but I can see it becoming Life if you want to go more that route.” Cherry said with a smile.

Mathew finished the first version of the cooling ritual. “Okay, I took the campfire ritual, inverted the heat symbol, slapped a delay activation and crystal wash to hopefully keep some of the sand off of us.”

Once the ritual was completed, Mathew activated it to test it out. It mostly worked. The dirt and grime didn’t leave his body very fast. It was slow, but it was at a visible pace, which worked for Mathew.

He made four more, dipping into his Mana Core supplies. He still had over thirty cores, but he wanted to save as many as possible. As for the cooling part, it lowered the temperature around him slowly. Whether it was absorbing the heat, or releasing its own cold, he wasn’t sure of. Nor did he care.

He tossed two rocks toward Cherry and a bag. “That’s your bag, I have most of our food supplies and camping gear in there, so please don't lose it. You can use those stones once we leave here.”

Mathew looked at the door. “I agree with Cherry, the capitalization of ‘Truth’ is important. Let’s stay on our toes.”

After a moment of thinking, Mathew unsummoned his wisps and Jeffery. “I don't think we will be in a fight. I want to minimize our presence. Cherry shouldn’t count as an extra person since she is bound to me in service, but I want to play it safe as possible.”

“Then why not Unsummon her?” Agnox commented. “Just the two of us!”

“It’s the fact I can do that is what makes me mostly sure it will work. Plus I don’t know how long it takes to summon her again. Something I don’t want to test and realize it takes an hour.”

He opened the door to see a long hallway. It was bare and matched the same colors as the room they were just in. They walked into the hallway to have the door disappear behind them.

They continued to walk, taking two turns before they found a new door. Agnox opened it slowly and carefully, with a [Mana Shield] ready to defend him if needed from Mathew.

It seemed to be an office of some sort. A desk with drawers and a bookshelf filled the room. None of the books were legible to Mathew. He left them there for now, not wanting to touch anything.

There were office style posters of landscapes. On the desk was a personal frame with a human looking child on it. Light came from a lamp on the desk.

“Huh, modern technology exists here.” Mathew commented. He pulled the light string and turned the lamp on and off.

They left the office to find more rooms. It was in the fourth room that there was something different. It still had the bland furniture that was in the previous rooms, but it was damaged. Pieces of it thrown around, as if a very angry accountant had enough of his days toiling and doing nothing. There was some blood splatter as well that was dried.

“I don’t think we are alone here.” Mathew pointedly said. “Stay alert if you weren't already.”

“Think it’s other humans?” Agnox asked. “You said some people rolled up into your Challenge when I was in that trace. Could be the same here, but we are the ones who showed up afterwards.”

“I was thinking the same, but it could be part of the Challenge. Maybe we have to find out what happened here.”

Cherry didn’t have anything to say. So they continued to traverse the area. They found a bland breakroom next. Nothing was inside except open and empty cabinets. Mathew did note a lack of plates, cups, or any ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ mugs. No silverware nor a fridge either.

More offices dotted the seemingly endless hallways. Twice they backtracked once they came to a deadend. The offices at the deadends were larger and had added items inside like folders with paperwork. Most of it was nonsense, the other was probably important, but nothing that seemed related to the Challenge.

When they came to a large area filled with cubicles, Mathew put his hands on his hips, stumped. “I have no clue what we are doing here. This makes no sense. It’s a series of offices you would see in a TV show, or movie. Nothing personal minus a few photos of people. No awards, no stains or lights that are not working.”

“Why does that matter? Shouldn’t an office be like this?” Cherry asked.

“No. No real world office would look this perfect. I don’t like what is going on. There is also the fact that only a single room was different. I say we go back to that one, check it over again. Could be a clue in there we missed.” Mathew said as he led them back toward the room.

His high Intelligence stat did more than make his magic stronger, it allowed him to easily remember the way he came. There were a dozen turns at different intersections, but he remembered them all.

Their footsteps were the only sounds echoing through the halls. Mathew made the final turn and saw a figure dash into one of the rooms.

He held up a hand to stop Agnox and Cherry. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled out his spear. He motioned for Agnox to check it out.

The imp walked slowly toward the doorway. He looked inside, peering further and further in. Agnox stuck his head back out. “I don’t see anyone inside.”

Mathew took a deep breath. “Could be someone who can turn invisible.” In a louder voice he shouted down the hall. “Whoever is there, show yourself. I don’t care who you are, but if you try to harm any of us, I’ll make your death slow. Show yourself now, and we can work together. Or, you can just stay out of my way. Do that much, and we have no problems.”

There was no reply.

Standing there for a whole minute, Mathew then moved forward. “Guess they are smart enough to not mess with us.”