Welcome to the Trial of Strength!
Ascend the 1000 Steps of Might to prove your mettle!
The System has been temporarily deactivated.
Alex found himself facing a set of wide, stone steps that climbed up a steep rockface, a mixture of bare rock and vegetation visible on each side. As he took in a breath, he noticed the air was a little thinner than he was used to. He must be up a mountain somewhere, Alex concluded.
Turning his attention to the blue screen occupying the centre of his vision, he smirked. Test his mettle? As if a thousand steps would do much more than make him out of breath, even if he ran up them.
He turned to look at the stairs once again, only to have the screen move with him. Alex frowned, his status screen had faded away when he moved his focus from it, so why should this be different? Maybe to make sure he read it, he thought after a moment of consideration. So how should he get rid of it? Thinking of his phone, he attempted to reach out and swipe it away, only to find his hand passed right through it. Maybe it was like his status and required a keyword? So what words would you use to dismiss something? Of course - dismiss!
With that, the screen faded away leaving Alex to stare at the steps. Well, there's no time like the present! He started walking leisurely up the steps only to stop a moment later. This felt like he was wading through water, not to mention how each step felt heavier than the last, so what was going on? Well, it was supposed to be a trial of strength, not an afternoon walk. Especially since it wasn't afternoon yet.
And so he pushed on. He'd lost count of the steps a while ago, somewhere in the 500s? Hey, don't judge! It was hard to keep count when your muscles are burning! And burning they were - across his entire body, in fact! At some point the pressure had become so strong he'd been forced to use all 4 of his limbs to climb, and recently he'd had to begin resting on each step to catch his breath before proceeding to the next, but the oxygen debt was still building up - he knew if he rested for too long, he would never make it to the next step. Soon after - or was it a long time? He could barely tell - he found himself on his back unable to muster the strength to move further before sleep took him.
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"Was that really necessary?" Alex asked the cat in front of him. "Thankfully the pain was left behind in the trial, but since you've accurately replicated my body here in DR, surely you could have determined the score from that, rather than torture me like that?"
"Oh come on, we all know that wasn't real torture! Besides, just because we can recreate your muscles, it doesn't mean we can accurately determine their strength - after all, everybody is slightly different, it would be woefully inaccurate." Felicity replied cheerily.
"Oh, yeah?" Alex said suspiciously. He hadn't known her for long, but he had the impression that entertainment was quite high on her priority list, so he wouldn't put it past the cat to go to those lengths. "Well, if you say so. Anyway, how did I do?"
"Here you go! You actually did quite well, so maybe it was worth it?" Felicity answered before she was blocked out by blue.
You have completed the Trial of Strength!
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
For ascending 732 steps you have been awarded 12 STR
For displaying noteworthy persistence, you have been awarded a bonus of 1 WIL
Attribute points will be applied after all trials have been completed.
"So, onto the next?" Felicity asked.
"Onto the next," Alex agreed reluctantly. Hopefully, it wouldn't be quite so bad this time.
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Welcome to the Trial of Agility!
Complete the course and stay untainted to prove your worth!
The System has been temporarily deactivated.
Stay untainted? What does that mean? Alex dismissed the notice. Ah, that would be it. Alex looked at the black tar-like substance that blocked the way, shuddering. If the last trial was anything to go by, it probably did more than just feel unpleasant.
The only way forward seemed to be an obstacle course constructed from wooden poles of an unknown source. Not that it meant much, considering he only really recognised some of the more common woods from their appearance - whilst he had an interest in woodworking, he hadn't exactly devoted his life to it. Steering his attention back to the task on hand, Alex began walking up the large pole that rose out of the ground to the rest of the structure at an angle, arms outstretched to help his balance, only to reconsider and begin climbing on all fours to keep his centre of gravity low. It would be both embarrassing and unfortunate to fall so early on, after all.
Whilst the beginning of this agility trial was easy, consisting merely of keeping his balance on progressively thinner poles, unlike the strength trial, failure was still a very real possibility - all it would take was a moment of distraction and he would find himself in the unpleasant-looking substance below - forcing him to keep his mind clear of distractions. And then came the swinging: a mixture of ropes with precarious platforms in between and monkey bars at increasingly large distances. It was still easy enough, though the repeated swinging had his arms and shoulders burning, but the rapidly increasing difficulty had Alex worried for what would come next.
For once, Alex was disappointed to be proved right. It began with the poles becoming separated, forcing him to abandon his 4-limbed strategy in favour of running to give him the momentum to jump over the gaps, only to slip and barely catch himself before he fell into the black below. Examining the pole, he found it was covered in a wet, slippery green: algae. From then on, each jump became a leap of faith, his arms and legs spread out to catch the pole rather than attempting to land a jump and keep his footing on a slippery pole no thicker than his arm. Soon after that, the structures became less and less stable, now swaying with his every movement. And that was not the only trick, Alex found to his dismay. Whilst dancing across a series of lilypad sized platforms, an impact to his side nearly sent him off the edge. Regaining his balance, he caught the perpetrator in the edge of his vision: an arrow missing a tip, tumbling down into the black below. Rubbing his side in pain, he ducked to avoid the arrow that went sailing over his head. No doubt he would have to start running, otherwise, he would just be a sitting duck!
Unfortunately, more speed meant more mistakes, and as the arrows were joined by other projectiles of all shapes and sizes, with more and more challenging obstacles, that lead to one too many close shaves. Finding himself in the inky black substance that was not at all like the mud he had originally compared it to, Alex was unable to move, forced to watch as his skin turned numb, then grew darker and darker, first a grey, but soon the same black as the one that surrounded him.
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You have completed the Trial of Agility!
For an 82% completion rate, you have been awarded 13 AGI
Attribute points will be applied after all trials have been completed.
"That was fun until the last bit," Alex stated, looking through his rewards. "I suppose the next one is for constitution?"
"Indeed," Felicity replied. "Are you ready?"
"No," Alex said. If constitution did what he thought it did, then the next trial would not be pleasant. "But I'll do it anyway."