Every city treated the Trials differently. Some, like Mornlac, treated it almost like taxes, something that had to happen or annoying people would come knocking. They both were and weren’t wrong. The Adventurers Guild would never try to force recruitment on to anyone, it was even in their bylaws, but they would start some, well, aggressive advertising. The Adventurers Guild was a force for good but no one ever said it was a force for nice.
Then there were the cities like Western Feulac, for whom the Trials were basically a festival. There were various food stalls, a smattering of games and even a Visiokinetic capable of broadcasting scenes from the arena to televisions all across the city.
Krolan hated it.
He wasn’t a clerk, or some low level assistant, yet here he was, the vice-president of the local chapter, taking in Trial applications all because that crazy loon decided it would be a ‘learning experience’. Why did the only man within a thousand miles that he had to take orders from have to be so eccentric?
Still, at least he had an idea who to bet on, having met literally every participant. The Magdelorian Scout would tear through the first two rounds with ease, though he’d likely struggle in the third without all that enchanted armor. Still, as long as he could tough it out for the week then the rest should be smooth sailing.
The Firbolg Healer on the other hand, would find the first two rounds a challenge, though with her size who knew, but she’d be absolutely golden in the fourth.
Then there was those three that signed up together. Two level 1 advanced and a Rakshasi Warrior would laugh their way through the fourth round but might struggle in the first three. A common failure of those in teams is an almost criminal lack of solo ability.
Of course, while all those were decent enough, Krolan’s money was definitely on the Dragonborn Lightning Mage. Krolan had only seen a handful of Dragonborn in his lifetime but each had been incredibly powerful. The prevailing rumor was that Dragonborn were hatched with three Traits, and possibly growing Traits at that. The only round that might slow the mage down would be the third, and Krolan highly doubted that.
Now if only the kid wasn’t so damn arrogant, he might be something truly amazing. Krolan sighed, he’d seen it a thousand times, some kid gets a little bit more power than others his age and he begins thinking he’s the hottest shit since the sun. Problem is, at some point the kid runs into a wall, something or someone with so much power the kid’s basically a puppy in comparison and suddenly he realizes just how much power ha actually has; diddly squat.
Every adventurer runs into the wall sooner or later, it’s as inevitable as taxes. Some use it as motivation, they turn the wall into a mountain that they climb until eventually they stand just as tall. Others simply break, the realization of their place int this universe crushing them. Sadly, the arrogant ones usually fall into the latter category.
Oh well, Krolan thought as he went through the sign in process with another kid, at least he’ll make me some money before he crumples.
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Johann, Torin and Gloria didn’t go home, for two reasons. First, it was almost a thirty minute run back, even using Stamina to enhance their movement, and since they signed in at ten it made much more sense to just wait nearby.
Which led to the second reason; Kern. As it turned out, the old man didn’t show up at the cafe with a book just to annoy them, he was saving a table so that they could wait in comfort. The annoyance was merely an added bonus.
So, for the two hours before the Trials began, the four of them sat, drank coffee and watched people as they went about their business. The plaza was actually somewhat quiet since only the sign-up and check-in occurred here. The actual events would be held in far away, secret locations so the main city arena was were most of the spectators had gone.
So, for the most part, the people they saw were their fellow participants. They watched as people of various races and ages applied. Since the requirement for the Trials was based on level, not age, it was possible to see grizzled old veterans sign up for the Trials, though it was exceedingly rare. After all, adventuring was a tough life and few would want to go from positions of respect all the way down to the bottom again.
“Whoa, look at that guy! Is that an Aven? I didn’t know there were any in the city! Watch out for them, natural fliers are tricky to fight. Oh, and look, there’s a Giff! Or is it Giff (soft g)? I never could get a straight answer from any of them. If any of you face him, be careful, they’re crazy strong. Ooooh, look, a -”
Johann tried his best to tune out his fathers running commentary. It was a fine distraction for Torin and Gloria but he had plenty to keep him occupied during the wait, namely his skills. Each of his attunement skills, once mastered, unlocked the next in the line and he really wanted to unlock the next skill in his weather skill line, Weather Manipulation.
Mostly though, he found himself simply enjoying the experience of attuning. The three attunement skills were not so much skills as they were links to beings, spirits, that were far more vast than he could imagine, yet so much simpler than could be believed. When practicing his Plant Attunement he felt his mind brushing up against the very concept of Plants, and through it the larger concept of Nature itself.
Plants were earnest and happy, constantly striving towards the sun and singing in the light. It was easy to to think of them as slow or sleeping, yet each plant was vibrant and full of joy at the mere experience of being alive.
Weather on the other hand, felt powerful. Every expression of Weather, from the slightest breeze to a mountain stripping hurricane, was brimming with power. Johann had never truly understood the scale on which the Weather worked. The mere act of attuning with this force felt at once both humbling and empowering.
Animals was a strange mix of both, one he struggled to connect to. Plants were easy, in no small part due to his elfin heritage, but also because they were just so positive. Weather took some time but Johann eventually realized the key wasn’t to try and connect to it, but to simply let it’s power flow into him.
But with animals he found an unending confusion. He had thought it would be easy, he’ had Malek by his side for years after all, but it was anything but. The concept of Animals felt at both savage and peaceful. There was power, yet vulnerability. Companionship, yet fierceness. The more he tried to connect with it, to understand it, the more confused Johann became.
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After some time spent wrestling with the contradictions he was saved from further confusion by a small feeling of danger. Opening his eyes he found everyone else standing, Torin at his side with a hand suspiciously raised in the air.
Seeing Johanns eyes open Torin moved his hand to the back of his head, trying (and failing) to feign innocence. “Oh good, you’re awake. The check in is about to start.”
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“GOOOOOD AFTERNOOOON Ladies Gents and all those who have chosen to attend this glorious event! My name is Everit Banduun and I will be your presenter for this, the 1783rd annual Adventurers Guild Trials!”
The sudden and exceedingly loud introduction shocked the audience, one man getting so distracted he missed his step, fell down the stairs, and spilled his beer all over a rather large Wolfkin. A fight might have broke out if the stairs weren’t both steep enough and narrow enough that the falling man … simply kept falling. By the time he’d reached the bottom, with barely any bruises thanks to a high Vitality, the Wolfkin was too busy laughing to be angry anymore.
“If any of you are returning fans then welcome back.” The commentator was blissfully unaware of the commotion, and the impending lawsuit, and continued in the same deafening roar as before. “and for those who have joined us for the first time, you really need to let me join you the next time you’re at the tracks, cause you are one lucky S.O.B. Why are you lucky you ask? Well that’s simple, you’re lucky because this year is looking to be one of the all time greatest Trials we’ve ever had!”
“For you see, this year is the year the Adventurers Guild pulled out all the stops to introduce not just one but TWO NEW ROUNDS!! That’s right folks, two brand spanking new rounds that have never been seen before!”
The crowds where shocked. For some this was beyond exciting, they were literally witnessing history in the making. Others were dismayed, especially the family members of those participating. The group that were the most outraged by the announcement were the bookies and their customers. A certain vice-guildmaster on the other hand, couldn’t help grinning.
“Now, as I’m sure you all know, the Adventurers Guild strives to ensure that each adventurer is capable of dealing with whatever they may face. That credo is present in every aspect of the Guild and is what determines the requirements for the Trials. For many centuries this meant that each Adventurer was required to be capable of killing, surviving and working together as a team in the pursuit of the goal.”
“However, in recent years there has been a considerable increase in two new types of dungeons; the survival and puzzle dungeons. The swell in these new dungeons has led the Adventurers Guild to bring in these two new rounds in order to test new recruits on their ability to survive these new dungeons.”
“Okay, for those of you who have been sitting there confused by all this talk about ‘rounds’, do not worry, for you’re salvation has come in the form of a handsome commentator, one who’s about to tell you all about it.”
“As I’ve just mentioned, there will be five rounds in this years Trials. The first is the simplest and quite possibly easiest round, at least for most of the participants. The foremost duty of Adventurers is the killing of Dungeon Monsters, a duty expressed in this round. Each Participant will be facing a single Monster of the same level. In other words, if the participant is level 3, they will be facing a level 3 monster. The type of monster is completely random, chosen in the Guild-master’s favorite fashion, names from a hat.”
“The second round will be another classic, the defensive round. Beyond killing Monsters, every Adventurer has a duty to keep themselves alive. In this round each adventurer will face a Monster five levels higher for a full minute. The challenge this time is not to kill, but to survive the full minute. How the challengers do it is completely up to them.”
The third round is one of the new ones, and boy is it a doozy. Each of the participants are put inside a special instanced dungeon, one created by the Adventurers Guild, and forced to survive inside the Dungeon for a full week. That’s right folks, a full week spent inside a practice dungeon with nothing but the items they brought in with them.”
“Now, before you lovely folks get horrified at having to wait a full week for the results, the Adventurers Guild, using brand new techniques never before seen on public Tele-Vision, have introduced time dilation effects within the dungeon. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, that means that, despite the contestants spending a full week inside the dungeon only an hour will have passed outside.”
The crowd broke into a low murmur, everyone amazed and excited by the news but not really wanting to miss what came next. Not that they really had a choice with the near deafening loudness of the commentator. If the man had a volume control it was set at maximum and was covered in dust from never being changed.
“The Fourth Round continues the fun with another new challenge, this time of the puzzling variety. For those of you who might think watching a bunch of people solving puzzles is boring then trust me, this will be anything but. These aren’t your average puzzles, these puzzles can require anything from feats of athleticism to logic so twisted it makes a corkscrew look like a ruler.”
“The last round is an old Favorite, the Tournament! Each year see’s thousands of talented men and woman strive to enter the Adventurers Guild, yet only a few will enter. Those that reach the fifth round of the Trials will be sorted into one of five tournaments based on their chosen Role. The top three in each category will then be accepted into the Adventurers Guild.”
“Now, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road!!”
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Johann, Torin and Gloria all stood in the crowd of participants, though each of them stood separate. Despite their friendship from this moment on the three of them were competitors vying for the same prize.
The crowd had just started to get restless when the clerk that had been doing the registration popped into being in front of them.
“All right, all right, clam down people.” he said in a disinterested tone, his voice somehow reaching everyone's ears without the need to shout. “I’m giving ten minutes for any idiots to arrive and then I’ll be opening a portal to the first Trial area. Everyone line up and get ready.”
After a mildly amusing few seconds during which a bunch of semi-powerful people suddenly started scrambling like school children, everyone was successfully lined up. When the ten minutes had finished the clerk opened a portal through which they had all been ushered. Johann immediately went to the back of the line in order to maximize the amount of time he could study the rare piece of Magic.
Staring at the swirling, glowing Mana Johann had a moment of doubt that Druid was the way to go. Sure, thanks to his elfin heritage he was naturally closer to nature and therefore would be that much more powerful with his current Class, but there wasn’t a Druid on the planet that could summon portals with a twirl of their hand.
Then again, there wasn’t a mage alive who could turn into an eagle, and flying was sooo much better than taking a quick trip through a circle. Still though …
The other side of the portal found Johann standing all on his lonesome in the middle of a room, a revelation that nearly floored the poor lad as he realized that the mage who had cast the portal had not only made one strong enough to transport nearly three hundred people, but he had also altered the destination for every person that went through it. For two seconds the only thing in Johanns mind was one question; Who in the name of Hel’s blue balls was that clerk?
The question would, unfortunately, remain unanswered as a voice rang out from the air above him.
“Greetings Participant, and prepare. In one minute a randomly selected Monster will be teleported onto the circle on the other side of the room. Your objective is to eliminate this Monster in whatever manner you can.”
Johanns mind focused immediately. He scanned the room, finding himself in a cubic room that, at a rough guesstimate, looked to be fifteen foot in length, width and height. There were exactly zero features in the room other than a small chalk circle drawn about eight feet away from him.
Since there was no way to gain any sort of advantage from the room, and he already had all his equipment ready, Johann summoned his Mana and waited, ready to face his first Trial.