Sasha
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Before I know it, the white-tiled room changes again. It is as though space distorts as the stolid white walls take on the shape and color of a cave. The table, and the all-too-large pebble all but vanishes as it melds into the gravel covering the floor.
The bright lighting of the white room changes into an eerie glow emanating from crystals in the walls.
[Agility aptitude test initiating]
A glowing crystal — larger than the others — emerges from the ground all of 10 meters from me.
[Quest initiated]
[Quest (Easy) - walk ten meters: walk ten meters to the glowing beacon]
[Rewards for completion - agility aptitude increased by 1]
Alright, starting out absurdly easy again, are we? Well, I can work with this.
All of 14 steps take me to the glowing beacon. I wait a moment, nothing happening, before touching the beacon. In response to my touch, the beacon glows before receding into the ground.
[Quest (Easy) - walk ten meters completed]
[Agility aptitude increased by 1]
Looks like this test is going to be all about moving. I stretch my legs in anticipation for the next difficulty.
As the wall in front of me melds into the ground, I see a 20 meter long river extend to the wall on the opposite side. As I puzzle on what is about to happen, several platforms rise from the water providing a path across, albeit with sizable gaps in between.
[Quest (Medium) - cross the river: cross the 20 meter river without touching the water using any means necessary]
[Rewards for completion - agility aptitude increased by 2]
So, I just have to jump. Simple.
I take three steps back for a running start, and race forward. My movement creates the feeling of wind across my face as I push against the air’s resistance, taking a great leap over the water. Well, great is a bit of a stretch. Half a meter goes by before my feet hit the floating rock. I don’t stop, though, as I keep the momentum pushing myself forward.
A step takes me to the end of the platform and I leap. This time, an entire meter is covered through the air before I land on the second platform, skidding across the wet surface. My arms flail about to keep me from slipping off.
As soon as I realize my flailing arms aren’t helping, I lean forward and take a great leap as I skid to the edge of the platform. With nearly two meters to cover, I pull my legs close to my chest, barely making it over the gap.
Sliding to a stop, I take a seat to catch my breath for a moment before standing back up and stepping back as far as I can. I race across the platform with renewed vigor, and, just as I reach the edge, push off and spread my body forward reaching for the next platform. As I close the gap, I lean towards the ground, and roll. My shoulder takes the brunt of the impact as I exit the roll into a kneel, prepared to launch myself forward at any moment.
A heart beat later, I lunge forward. I leap across the gap, repeating my previous roll at the edge before moving to the final jump.
Five steps take me across the longest of the platforms. As I reach the edge, I note the almost 3 meters of space between the other side and I. At the last step, I stumble. My stumble nearly costs me my balance as I take a panicking leap across the gap. Too early! I find myself closing the gap in slow motion. Only, I’m not going to make it. As I flail in the air, I close my eyes for no more than a millisecond, taking a breath in.
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As I release that breath, I reach my arms forward and kick my legs back. I slam into the edge. The wind is knocked out of me as I clench my hands as tightly as I can around the edge. One slips off, and I find myself holding on for dear life. Well, not dear life as I doubt falling into some water would kill me. Although, who knows. For all I know it could be acid water. That would be just my luck.
A second later, I come back to my senses and clamp my other hand around the edge. I kick a leg up to the ledge, and pull myself up. After climbing back up, I spread my legs and arms out as I lie down in exhaustion, both mental and physical.
[Quest (Medium) - cross the river completed]
[Agility increased by 2]
I smile in satisfaction as I sit back up. “Alright, system, what have you got for me next?”
The wall before me merges with the ground like before, and before me lies a cubed room. As I step into it the quest triggers.
[Quest (Difficult) - don’t get hit: avoid getting hit by pebbles.]
[Rewards for completion: Agility increased by 3]
[Count down initiated]
Count down?
[3]
[2]
[1]
Wait!
[Good luck!]
Huh?
As much as I would like to, I don’t have time to even think as a small object flies from one of the walls. I shift to the side as another comes flying from above.
In the corner of my vision, I notice a countdown as I fling myself from one end of the room to another.
[92 sec left]
[91…]
I duck and weave. The pebbles launch out at 2 second intervals, with no pattern to which walls they come from. I can’t seem to just sit in a corner to avoid the pellets as they are shot at where I am standing.
I keep moving, one eye on the clock, the other on the walls.
[73 sec left]
With a jump, I hop over a pebble shot low, before pushing off a wall to avoid a pebble shot at me from the side.
[51 sec left]
[50 sec left]
At halfway, the speed seems to increase, with 1 second intervals as opposed to the previous 2.
I shift back and forth, the movement becoming muscle memory. Taking note of a pellet coming from the wall, a step back before hopping to avoid a pebble from below. I spin to the side as a pebble is shot from above, and duck to avoid one shot from high up.
[26 sec left]
[25…]
As the timer passes the halfway point of the halfway point, two pebbles come at me from above and to the right at the same time, forcing me to jump backwards. No more than a second later, two come from high and from low, forcing me to sidestep.
[15 sec left]
As the timer reaches the 15 second mark, the speed and number count ups to 3 pebbles every half a second.
I enter a dancing state, weaving back and forth, in and out, up and down, duck and weave.
[5 sec left]
As the quest nears completion, the difficulty increases manifold. I am forced to jump and pull myself into a ball midair to avoid a stream of pellets from all directions. As soon as my legs hit the ground, I have to jump to the side, and slide as I land to avoid the veritable storm of bullets.
[1 sec left]
[0 sec left]
As quickly as it started, the shower ends. I lean on one of the walls, panting. As I lean on it, I feel small holes peppered throughout. That must be how they shot in seemingly all directions. I return to my feet and focus on the message before me.
[Quest (Difficult) - don’t get hit completed]
[Rewards for completion - agility aptitude increased by 3]
The room shifts as the walls extend outwards, and inwards to form a long passage. A massive gap between the two ends of the passage opens up as the floor turns into a chasm deeper than the eye can see.
[Quest (Very difficult) - cross the passage: cross the passageway using any means necessary]
[Rewards for completion - agility aptitude increased by 4]
Seriously? You expect me to cross that?
No way. I can’t do that.
Just before I reject the quest, something about the quest catches my eyes.
[…using any means necessary]
Huh.
Maybe.
I reach into my travel pack, and pull out a rope. 20 meters. I walk back to the previous room, the one with the pellets, and thread the rope through one of the holes. As I hoped, it loops through and I pull it out another hole, tying it tight. Tugging it, I figure it’ll hold for my purposes.
I walk back to the ledge and toss it down. I then grab onto it and jump. With the rope in hand and my feet against the wall, I slowly repel down. A minute passes before I reach the end of the rope, and realize it doesn’t reach the end.
I curse silently before reaching a hand up to make my way back up.
Halfway up, the rope lurches downward, and I nearly lose my balance. I continue up for a few seconds before yelping as a crack rings from above and the rope, with me on it, falls.
I flail in empty air for handholds. I find none.
[Quest (Very difficult) - cross the passage failed]
[Consequences - none]