Zuku, Sid, and Maka were all standing inside a large room, that was brightly lit and surrounded by screens. In the middle of the room was a small floating mechanical headset. At the back of the room was a see-through mirror and in that room were several different computers, all in preparation to monitor Maka’s digital trials.

“This headset is called the Realm warper. Go interact with it and it will attach itself to your head. You’ll enter different digital worlds that will have objectives in them. Many of these digital worlds were modelled after real planets in the galaxy. There are four different trials in total and you’ll learn more from an assistant digital fairy when you enter.” Sid states.

“Sounds like a challenge, I can’t wait to beat this thing and become a Reaper,” Maka says.

“I like your energy, little guy. Any other questions before you enter the digital world?” Sid asks.

“Nope, I’m ready,” Maka says and then approaches the headset.

“Good luck, Maka,” Zuku says.

“Try to beat the challenges as fast as you can. I have faith in you.” Sid suggests.

“Thanks, friends,” Maka says. Maka touches the headset with one of his tails and then it lights up. The headset flies over his head and then secures itself to Maka.

Maka re-appears inside of the first trial. The location appears to look like the outskirts of the city of Boe. Right in the middle of the wasteland, the environment is a harsh desert filled with sand and different metal debris scattered across the terrain. The wind was fierce at the time and a sandstorm was starting to develop in the air. The winds start to whip sand at Maka in light bursts, and Maka transforms his tails into a cape to shield himself. Maka looks around to notice a large piece of destroyed metal scrap that could be used for cover in the sand. Maka watches as the winds start to get stronger, he hears a large sound that sounds like a large whistle that informs him of danger.

“Welcome to the first trial. Get used to your new environment. The sandstorm has different levels of strength which will be alerted to you by your new partner.” Sid states. A small purple digital fairy appears with a flash of bright light near Maka and hovers above his head.

“Hi, Maka. I’m Val. Your digital fairy assistant. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask. I am attached to you by an energy tether. Now starting Trial One, The Wasteland. Sandstorm approaching, level four.” Val suggests.

The winds start to increase in strength. Maka stops staring at his new surrounding and starts to dash toward the large metal debris. The winds lift the sand off the ground and send the sand flying toward Maka. Maka shields himself with his tails that are transformed into a cape. Maka dashes towards the north of the wasteland.

“Level six Sandstorm approaching,” Val says.

Maka slows down as the winds send an onslaught of his sand his way. Maka stands in the middle of the wasteland putting all his strength into his cape so he won’t fly away with the wind and sand. Maka powers up and lights himself up to the color green. Maka infuses his energy into the cape and it starts to glow. Maka bursts through the air fighting off waves of sand and wind. Eventually, Maka makes it to the large metal debris which appears to be the remains of a fallen spaceship. It provides him with plenty of cover. Maka powers down and pulls the cape off of himself.

“So what do I do in this trial?” Maka asks.

“Trial one objective: destroy the giant sandworm and colossal metal snake,” Val states.

“Are they in the same location?” Maka asks.

“Location of both creatures is currently undiscovered. It is your objective to find and locate both creatures. Then you must eliminate both targets.” Val explains.

“You sure are a lot of help.” Maka sighs.

“I try my best.” Val does a little twirl.

“Can you scan the current location for lifeforms?” Maka asks. Val charges up her energy and then fires a ball of light into the air. The ball explodes and scans the area around the spaceship debris.

“No current lifeforms detected around the surrounding area,” Val explains.

“Where should I go to find these creatures?” Maka asks.

“ Cannot disclose this information,” Val says.

“I guess, I’ll explore my surrounding. Let me know if you detect any life forms.” Maka says.

“Sure, thing,” Val replies.

Maka starts to look around the abandoned and destroyed spaceship that he was using for cover. Maka was located at the tail end of the space cruiser near the engines. The engines were destroyed and the ruble was scattered everywhere. There was nothing Maka could use. Maka starts to run alongside the ship while heading north. Maka uses the ship for cover to escape the strong desert winds. Val floats along aside Maka while hovering in the air. Maka spots a door along the right side of the spaceship in the middle of the ship. It is locked tight and bolted down. Maka doesn’t see any purpose in getting inside the ship, he is just happy to use it as a cover. Maka rushes forward alongside it, then Maka nears the cockpit of the ship and notices that it is destroyed as well. There is a large hole that leads to the entrance of the spaceship. Maka looks forward noticing scattered debris from the different buildings towards the north. Maka plots his next move, it looks like he can continue north if he dashes correctly using each metal building as cover. The winds are low so Maka turns his tails into springs then charges up, then bounces into the air. It seems that Val is digitally attached to him as well by an unknown tether so she flies through the air as well. Maka ricochets off a metal building and then lands on the ground in the sand.

“Sandstorm level 5 approaching.” Val alerts him.

Maka quickly turns his tails into a cape and powers up which turns his energy green once more. Maka puts all of his strength into his tail cape. Then travels across the sand at a rapid pace. The sandstorm starts to whip through the area and hits Maka who shields it with his cape. Maka fights the storm head-on and dashes to the next building for cover. This new location was a group of abandoned buildings and a large tower in the center. Maka hides behind a building for cover. The Sand in front of him starts to shift into an oddly shaped appearance of a ghost.

“New enemy detected: Sand ghosts.”

Maka dashes and combines his tails into a giant scythe. They slash the ghost into pieces of sand that scatter across the ground. A metal core drops onto the ground and the metal core gathers sand to become a sand ghost again. The ghost attacks Maka once more and this time Maka fires multiple laser beams of energy from his tails at the ghost. Maka spots the core this time and slashes it onto multiple pieces. Val hovers over the metal pieces and scans them.

“Anything I need to know about these things that I face?” Maka asks.

“You’ll learn as you go. My data is different depending on each person performing the trials. I have stored data for any individual that enters these digital trials.” Val explains.

They seem to stop functioning when I destroy the core.” Maka states.

“ Yep, looks like the core is the weak point. I will continue to monitor your progress and inform you if I learn anything. I would continue traveling forward until we find out more.” Val states and drifts in the air.

“Thanks.” Maka nods his head.

“Be careful. I bet they will get stronger.” Val looks worried.

Maka moves forward and shoots through the air with a burst of speed. Maka swiftly uses each building for cover. Several sand ghosts group up and attack Maka when he gets to the next broken building. Maka turns his tails into spinning metal disks and cuts through the sand ghosts cores with extreme efficiency. The sand and metal pieces scatter to the ground, then quickly get covered in sand. Maka rushes to the next building and then hides behind it. Maka stares up into the sky and notices the looming tower in front of him. The tower has the same height as a skyscraper and curves in length. The top of the tower looks like a perfect position to survey the landscape because of its height so Maka aims to scale it. Maka peeks behind the cover and looks ahead at his location. There are three broken buildings before the entrance to the tower. In front of the tower is a large open square. Maka powers up and then shoots through the sky and hits the nearest building. Maka uses his tails to twirl around a pillar and then gains momentum. Maka lets go and then flies through the air toward the open square. Maka lands in the sand in the middle of the square. The entire floor around him starts to glow and light up. Maka gets teleported to a bonus game room.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Bonus game found. Energy sacrifice challenge.” Val’s eyes light up as she talks.

“What’s a bonus game?” Maka asks.

“They are extra objectives in this digital world, some offer rewards that can make you stronger or it can offer information about the current objective,” Val explains.

“Are they tough to complete?” Maka asks.

“You are still in the first world so this shouldn’t be too hard. I would attempt the challenge.” Val states. A square sand cube comes out of the middle of the ground near Maka. It lights up and starts to hover near him.

“Put your tails on the cube and give it some of your energy. After you donate energy it will then spawn opponents that you have to destroy.” Val explains.

“Alright wish me luck,” Maka says and starts to put his four tails on the sides of the cube. Then he powers up and the cube starts to receive his energy.

“Good luck.” Val’s eyes light up and she twirls.

Four robotic sand troopers spawn. Maka quickly turns his tails into four revolvers, he locks onto all the robot creations and charges his energy. Then fires and destroys all four robots at the same time. Maka touches the cube once more and gives some of his energy. This time forty sand troopers spawn. Maka turns two of his tails into giant hands and compresses all of the robots together into a ball. Then his two other tails turn into a massive cannon. Maka fires the tail cannon and destroys all of the robotic creations that have been compressed together. Their metal remains are scattered on the floor. Maka touches the cube once more. This time four hundred sand troopers spawn. Maka turns his four tails into a massive boomerang with spikes, then he charges his energy into the boomerang and throws it at the robots. It cuts through every single robot and then returns to Maka. Then Maka starts to pant after losing so much energy. Maka touches the cube one last time. The cube lights up once more and then this time spawns four thousand sand troops. Maka charges up all of his remaining energy and converts his four tails into one massive scythe the size of a building. Maka channels all of his strength and slices the air in a horizontal slash releasing an energy shockwave that cuts through every single robot. After defeating all of the bonus objectives, the cube hovers toward Maka, who touches it once more. This time Maka absorbs all of the cubes' gained energy and the cube’s energy enters Maka. Maka runs around the defeated robots and absorbs all the defeated robot’s parts.

“Bonus objectives and the bonus game are now complete. You can now absorb defeated opponents, thanks to the power of the cube that you have gained.” Val says and throws her fist in the air. They get teleported back to the desert after the bonus game is complete.

“So I guess bonus games are worth it, can I absorb anything?” Maka asks.

“We will have to find out, it seems to absorb the metal cores and metal scraps. I’ve seen this bonus effect once before, your lucky to have got it.” Val explains.

“Who used this cube before?” Maka asks.

“Cin got this cube when he was doing the trials for the first time. He wasn’t in the wasteland though, but I have been to this location several times before. Everyone's trials into the Reaper clan are different, they are meant to test your skill.” Val replies.

“Sweet, I’ll get even stronger in this digital world.” Maka grins. Maka looks up at the looming tower in front of him.

“Guess, I’ll climb to the top,” Maka states. Maka charges his energy and then shoots through the air toward the tower. He lands on a window and then launches himself up the tower. When looking from a distance it would appear like a flaming bolt is hovering at a fast speed up the tower. Maka keeps using the bricks in the tower to launch himself up further. Eventually after scaling the entire height of the tower, Maka makes it to the very top of the tower and starts to look forward scouting the entire digital desert map. Maka sees several sinking sand circles in the distance and then notices a giant sandworm jumping into them.

“Target found 600 meters to the north, destroy the sandworm,” Val suggests.

Maka leaps upwards to the very top of the tower and then grabs a spike at the top of the tower with his tail. Maka spins around in circles at the top of the tower gaining a fast momentum. Maka charges his energy and prepares to enter hyper-speed mode. Maka launches himself off the spike and soars through the air to the sand circles in the distance. Maka turns his tails into swords as he approaches the sandworm from the air. Maka slashes downwards with his tails and strikes the sandworm. Maka turns his tails into massive claws and hooks into the sandworm’s flesh. Maka starts to ride the sandworm while it jumps up into the air and then lands in the sand circles. The sandworm tunnels through the sand with Maka holding onto it. Then it comes out of the sand and leaps high into the sky in an attempt to shake off Maka but Maka is riding it with all his strength.

“Ride 'em, cowboy,” Val screams.

The sandworm once again dives into the sand but Maka holds on tight. The sandworm jumps out of the sand circles as high as it can go, this time Maka throws himself forward at full speed up to the mouth of the sandworm. You notice several spiked rotating teeth at the mouth of the sandworm. Maka turns his tails into one gigantic chainsaw and cuts the worm to pieces with the chainsaw. Maka lands on the sand with grace and then does a spin in victory. Maka runs over the remains of the sandworm and absorbs all the energy from it.

“What next?” Maka asks.

“Destroy the giant metal snake to complete the first trial,” Val suggests.

“Where is that thing?.” Maka asks.

“I don’t know but a sandstorm level six is approaching.” Val alerts him.

Maka starts to charge up but this time the sandstorm comes from south of him. Maka decides to turn his tails into kites and flies with the sandstorm as it carries him for miles. Maka turns his tails into a surfboard and then starts to ride the sandstorm. Eventually, the sandstorm stops blowing and Maka lands in the middle of an oasis. There are palm trees with coconuts and a small pool of water.

“Looks like we found a recharge spot, drink some of the water to recharge your energy,” Val suggests.

“Sweet, so lucky.” Maka starts to drink the water from the oasis and feels more powerful. Maka turns his tail into an axe and cuts a palm tree. The palm tree tips over and coconuts fall into the sand. Maka grabs them with his tails and breaks them open to see coconut milk in the middle. Maka drinks it and feels re-energized.

“How are you feeling?” Val asks.

“Much stronger. I’m starting to like this digital world.” Maka flexes his tails.

Maka leaves the oasis and continues north through the sand. Eventually, Maka gets lost in the desert wasteland and then Val starts to beep randomly.

“Alert, sand tornado approaching. It’s level nine.” Val starts to get scared.

A massive sand tornado starts to appear in the distance. Maka looks to the very top of the sand tornado and sees a giant metal snake spinning in circles.

“Objective found. Destroy the giant metal snake.” Val alerts Maka.

Maka turns his tails into a cape to shield himself and a kite to fly with the sand tornado. Maka charges up his energy and then runs into the sand tornado. Maka starts to fly in circles and eventually approaches the tail of the metal snake. The snake has over a thousand pieces of interconnected metal attached together. Maka jumps on the tail of the metal snake and then starts to climb each piece. Eventually, Maka makes it to the head of the snake. The head of the snake is surrounded by a metal barrier, the snake sticks out its tongue and attempts to hit Maka with it. Maka turns his tails into spinning cutting disks and cuts off the metal tongue which flies away with the tornado. Then Maka notices a weak spot on the neck of the metal snake. Maka dives downwards with his tails and cuts through the neck. The entire snake falls into pieces and the sand tornado stops. Maka falls downwards through the sky.

“Objective complete, let’s advance to the next trial,” Val says while flying through the sky. A black portal opens up near the sand floor of the current trial and Maka falls into the portal with Val.