Yi Qiang waited around ten minutes for the anticipated window, but it was in vain. After the ten-minute mark, the marksman stood up, unwilling to waste time waiting for something that was clearly to be activated by a certain action.

He started to scour the area above the ocean, his sharp eyes searching for anything of significance among the grass. After he couldn't find anything standing up, the marksman got down on his knees.

His hands traveled across the lush grass, feeling the ground beneath it for any strange protrusions. This, once again, turned up no results, even as he painstakingly searched the entire area.

By this point, the archer was starting to get worried. Maybe there's a hint in my status screen.

Thinking to conjure it and check to see if anything had changed, Yi Qiang went to call it, as he always had before. A single, practiced mental beckon always brought the status screen before.

However, as he stood on the grassy plateau and willed his status window into existence, nothing heeded his call. The air remained unadorned with the system to which Yi Qiang had grown accustomed, the system he had long accepted to run this virtual world of his.

Desperation was beginning to leak into him, building up with each second that nothing responded to his mental beckoning.

Countless times, Yi Qiang called, and each time, another nail of fear was driven into his heart.

Why is there no system here?

The marksman, feeling hollow without the order of the windows that structured his life, got up dumbly. Ambling over to the edge of the plateau, he looked over the edge onto the vast expanse of ocean that spread out before him.

What am I supposed to do?

His mind quickly started turning to the worst-case scenario.

What if it doesn't kick me out when the time ends? If I'm stuck here? What if I can't get out?

What would happen to Shenyu?

Overcome by anxiety, worry, and the strange nervous energy Yi Qiang hadn't experienced in a long time, he stumbled back, afraid to jump into the ocean.

If there's no system here, what's to say I'll revive after I die here?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

He ended up sitting on the soft grass, the world before him swimming. Darkness began to creep into the edges of his vision as Yi Qiang did his best to keep from trembling.

In this fashion, weeks of accumulated exertion and fatigue caught up to him, and he collapsed, falling asleep in the soft grass.

----------------------------------------

He woke up refreshed, and with a clear head.

I remember one of my teachers always emphasized how important it was to sleep. "You never realize how tired you are until you wake up", he would always say.

His heart under a new calm, Yi Qiang looked at the situation with fresh eyes.

Let's assume I won't have access to the system for this trial.

Chances are, it was designed this way. The probability that I somehow broke the Cloud Court is... zero. This is a game, more than anything, so for a Chosen to enter this is what it was designed for.

So, there has to be an objective I'm missing. Something.

New strength in him, Yi Qiang stood up. Rolling his shoulders, he looked out into the sea with renewed vigor.

The objective is most likely not in this plateau - if it were, it would be larger. The emphasis here is clearly on the ocean.

Not giving it a second thought, the archer jumped.

In the forty-meter fall through the air, Yi Qiang maneuvered himself to point straight down, in place to pierce into the water. His back was as straight as he could make it. After all, the marksman still wasn't sure he would be able to revive after death here. Most likely, he would, but he didn't want to take chances.

The wind burned his face as he extended his arms to protect his head and neck, using intuition to find the best position to dive into the water. He had never actually practiced diving before, though he was a strong swimmer, so there wasn't much Yi Qiang had to draw from.

I probably should have climbed down first to see how deep the water was. It was too late, however, by the time Yi Qiang realized his mistake. He had to refrain from worrying as he saw the cliff face zoom past his eyes. His stomach turned as he dropped, a sensation Yi Qiang was quite new to. Constantly accelerating, the marksman started to get lost in the feeling of piercing through the air like a bullet.

Ah, I don't think the water will be too deep!

His fears were absolved when he sank into the water. The incredible momentum Yi Qiang had gathered falling in the air manifested itself as an irresistible force when he entered the water. Thankfully, his posture was straight enogh that none of his limbs or extremities got caught in the force.

For once, I'm the arrow, Yi Qiang thought to himself, noting the irony offhandedly.

The water was cold, as he expected it to be, but not cold enough to induce shock, which was a not-so-small blessing.

No window.

The marksman, driven by the incredible speed of his fall, kept his downward trajectory through the water for a little more than a second.

Eventually, he slowed down. He still had plenty of air, but the marksman wasn't anxious to drown, choosing to swim up quickly.

That was a harder task than he had originally considered, as the distance Yi Qiang traversed when he entered the water was no small one.

Reluctant to open his eyes and be greeted by salty, stinging seawater, Yi Qiang swam upwards in darkness while resisting shivers at the cold water.

Eventually, he broke through, taking deep breaths in, appreciating the air that the marksman was starting to worry he wouldn't get access to in time.

Rubbing the water from his eyes, Yi Qiang looked up.

How am I supposed to get back up?

An interesting tidbit the marksman had never realized before - the cliff was entirely smooth.

... can I climb that?