ISMUND
Arriving inside the vast room I look at another giant hill. The difference was that this one didn’t have a staircase up and was steeper and longer. Before I can observe anything else I’m teleported again.
I don’t think I’m in a fighting area. I would’ve gotten a notification and I was told that we cleared i…
> [You have entered a Trial Room! You must race Daisy down the hill! If you succeed then you will be granted-]
Instead of the text continuing like usual, I’m greeted by an eerie red warning.
> {ERROR. System doesn’t have enough energy reserves to send further information. Kill more monsters and overcome dungeons to gain access to information in the future!}
Going pale, my mind races.
That’s a problem. What would happen if the System stopped working altogether? Would we still have our abilities-
No. I’m not going to worry about that now. It’s not the time. I’ll just have to make sure I kill every last monster I come across so the System doesn’t shut down or something…
Turning away from Drifa, I take a look at a giant nine-foot-tall disgusting monster. It had a cheery yellow collar that was straining against the neck folds that seemed to be growing around it.
I guess that’s ‘Daisy’.
A pair of skis and poles appear on everyone perfectly fitted.
Creepy how it does that.
Turning my eyes forward I wait for the barrier in front of my ski to be removed.
> [3!]
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> [2!]
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> [1!]
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> [GO!]
Without moving a muscle, ‘Daisy’, sits on her skis and allows gravity to do the work. Mind you, she didn’t need to do anything since she was a ball of lard. She dropped like a stone, blazing towards the finish line.
How am I supposed to compete against that?
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I wasn’t staring and doing nothing like Drifa, however. I skated forward to create momentum, keeping my body bent low with my poles held behind me to be as aerodynamic as possible. It was the fastest I had ever gone but that didn’t seem to matter.
Daisy was going fast enough that the slightest rise or dip in the ground gave her air. She looked like a giant skipping stone.
Just stay focused on what you’re doing, Ismund. We don’t exactly know the consequences of losing. Maybe she’ll lose balance or land wrong.
I was getting fast enough that any little debris in the air was going to hurt my eyes. While I’m readjusting my poles I decide I don’t need them.
I’m not making any turns, and I’d prefer it if my hands were free.
Pulling a hand forward to shield my eyes I can see that I’ve lost already. At the bottom of the hill, the giant monster was being celebrated by many more small mangy rodents that kept mounting in numbers.
> [You have failed the Trial Room.]
The end of the hill was approaching fast and I didn’t think it was necessary to move onto the consequence without Drifa. Even if it didn’t look like the consequence was getting worse.
It probably has something to do with those rabbits that are surrounding Daisy. I imagine it’s getting worse with time, but I don’t want Drifa to get to be alone.
I was only a few moments away from the finish line. Pushing down on my outside ski I make a massive ark upwards with all the momentum I’d been building.
Coming to a stop I look up to where Drifa is.
That’s… pretty pathetic.
She was hardly making any ground. She had taken off all of her ski gear and was currently trying to slide down the compressed snow Daisy had made. It wasn’t compressed enough to actually slide down, just not sink very deep. It wasn’t working and it probably would’ve been faster if she had run down or something. Heck, even rolling down the hill would’ve been better.
A few minutes of struggling later she decides to jog down the hill towards me.
Finally
“We’ve got to run now.”
Looking up at me she frowns but complies.
The moment we’re past the finish line the monsters stop their celebration. Separating to make room for us to walk down the middle they silently stare at us hungrily with their beady black eyes.
> [You will now be chased by Daisy and her friends in all hallways because you interrupted their celebration. Good luck!]
I don’t think that there was a way to avoid that…
Charging into the next hallway I grab Drifa’s wrist and pull her along. Both of our feet were gliding across the snow but the beasts behind us made up for their lack of elegance with ferocity.
Glancing back, all I could see was a mass of charging fur. They didn’t seem to care all that much about the other monsters around them and would jump on and rip them up with their claws. But since there were so many, it hardly made a dent in their numbers.
Drifa was flagging after a few minutes but the rabbits were just as energetic, which was slowly letting them catch up to us.
Launching itself into the air one of the monsters grapples Drifa’s arm trying to bite down.
Before it can do anything I stab it and throw the corpse into the swarm.
Drifa was pale and shaking in my hand.
Get a grip on yourself.
Shaking my head, I keep on running lightly, occasionally attacking a rabbit that gets a bit too close.
“I don’t think I can keep this up.”
Turning sharply in her direction I give her a quick once over. She was pale, sweating and looked like she was hitting her limits.
“You will. Just keep doing one more step and you’ll get there.”
Grimacing, unconvinced, she lets her feet patter onward.
We’re past the door that was locked now…
After taking another swing with my sword I look back to Drifa who looked a bit like a spectre.
Puzzling for a moment, I tried to find something I could do to help.
We’re going right into I fighting room after this and I can’t have her waning too much.
Pulling out a hunk of jerky I toss it in her direction… and she biffs it.
We don’t have that much in reserves considering our timeline.
“Reach out with your free hand!”
This time the food finds its place.
“Thanks…”
I was dragging her at this point.
She needs to work on her endurance. Hopefully, she gets some points in her body after this. I need her to keep up during dungeon dives, even if she’s going to play a support role.
Reaching out with my arm to whack another monster from Drifa’s side that’s further from me. I do it, but overextend myself, re-opening one of my stitched wounds that’s running across my chest.
“Mph!”
Wincing, hope Drifa didn’t notice.
“I think you should start getting a bit more practice in… I want you to defend your left side using the knife I gave you.”
Looking towards me sharply, despite her fatigue she asks earnestly, “You sure right now is a good time? How should I do it? What if one gets on me?”
Sweating nervously I tell her, “Just hit them. If one gets on you just bite back or something.”
Looking aghast at my response she starts rambling, but I only lend a deaf ear.
Here we are.
“Stick behind me, don’t sit down, we can’t take a break yet.”
Her normally bright eyes, look back at me dully.