The large door ‌screeched to life, shifting ‌and then ‌descending into the ground, revealing an enormous staircase leading down.

“Shall we?”

The man asked. They all nodded and walked towards the enormous staircase with everyone else in the trials. The staircase led to a large circular room containing a door ‌on the other side of the room. Ray stared, dumbfounded, at the impossible illumination of the subterranean chamber. It looked to have several glowing motes above. He examined the room further, seeing a large outcropping that ran along the entire wall. It held rows with every weapon Ray could think of.

“Before we continue, I need you all to put one of these amulets on.”

The thin man said.

“They will mark you to weaken the impact of the weapons in this room. They will bring you back here if you become incapacitated. Our goal is for minimal casualties. "

“If we are returned here, do we lose the chance to get a spark?”

Ray asked.

"No, upon completion of the trial, we will take you to the last room, but you will receive no rewards and will most likely receive one of the weakest sparks the heavens offer."

Ray nodded before taking his amulet and putting it on

“You said that you try to keep casualties to a minimum. Could death still occur?”

Erith asked.

“Indeed, while the amulet will help you against your fellow test takers, there is always the chance that something unexpected will kill you before the amulet does its job. "

Ray steeled his nerves. If he failed a simple trial; facing the screeching hordes seemed hopeless. He moved toward the weapon wall; Ren was already pushing past others to reach the table. Seeing a few of those he had knocked down, Ray made a mental note to always monitor their backs, as many contestants might aim for their group because of Ren's actions. Ray walked up to the table after waiting for a space to clear, scanning the many weapons for one that caught his eye. The finest crafted short swords and daggers Ray had ever seen filled the outcropping.

He looked around for a minute before ‌deciding on two daggers. One was a longer blade. Making it. Almost a short sword. The other was regular sized, with a large circular guard. Ray thought back to when his father first taught him to wield a knife. He was around ten and his dad had finally let him help with hunting. They had gone out and gotten a small doe in the woods. When they had gotten back, his father made sure that he learned the proper way to butcher an animal. That lesson had probably saved his life after his parents died. The clan refused to give him even table scraps, claiming it was wasted on the son of two weaklings. If he hadn't picked up hunting by then, he doubted his chances of survival. A loud bang roused him from his thoughts as he saw Ren wrestling on the ground with another giant boy for a large battle axe. Ray gaped open mouth at the scene.

“So much for keeping a low profile.”

Erith said, walking up from behind him. She was carrying a large staff with runes carved down the side.

“We couldn't have, with him on our team.”

Ray responded.

“Ain't that true. Were you able to find a weapon that suited you?”

“Yes, and you?”

“I was.”

She said, holding out the staff

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“Are the daggers you have engraved?”

“No. Should I have been looking for that?”

“Not exactly, but these staff runes appear to enable me to create a smoke screen. I was just verifying that I knew about all the cards we will have in the trials.”

Ren walked over proudly, holding the axe that he had won in the fight.

“You both better not hold me back with those tiny weapons you grabbed. Next time, bring something heavier.”

“Hmph, skill over brute strength.”

Erith said. Ren just shook his head, looking at Shin and Chio walking over.

"At least you are sensible."

Ren said, looking at the claymore that Chio was struggling to hold. Ray couldn't believe the brute thought he'd be the one hindering them with his daggers, instead of Chio.

With a weapon he couldn't even handle. At least Shin had a bit more sense carrying a long sword and shield. Ray. Jumped as a loud screeching noise rang out and turned to see that the next doorway had opened. A strange voice boomed out, filling the room.

“Attention all participants. We-e wil-ill now begin the init-i trials. First, we will have you ta-a-ake a cognitive test the-e-en run through a tour of our facil-il-. If you are select-t- to move on th-e-en you will receive the tri-ial run of wh-a-at we are calling a spark please proce-e-ed through the do-o-or when you are re-e-ady.”

Ray had heard nothing like the stuttering voice before. It sounded feminine, but he could barely hear some words. After a tug on his arm, he turned to see Erith pulling him towards the door, where the rest of their group had already started running.

“Come on, we can't let them leave us behind.”

She said, running towards the door. Although many people had entered before him, Ray surprisingly found only his teammates in the room. He surveyed the mostly empty room; only a chest-high cube occupied the center. It had lines carved into it and seemed to be cut into four sections, with straight carved limes branching throughout each section. A small metal ball sat inlaid in the line in the upper left section. The voice boomed out again.

“Section one. Get the ball from the sta-a-rt to the end in the-e lower right se-e-ction. Good luck. "

Ray decided he'd ask the thin man about the voice upon seeing him again. But for now, he focused on the task in front of him. Puzzled by the cube's design, he sought Erith's help.

“Do you have any ideas?”

Ray asked reluctantly.

“A path may only become apparent through action, not passive observation. "

She said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She and Rey were both startled as a loud clang rang out from Ren swinging his axe into the cube.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing?”

Rey shouted at him

“If I just hit the cube hard enough and get the ball out, then I can just shove it where it needs to go. Problem solved.”

Ren said with a shrug.

"And if the heavens deem that action to violate the test, we may receive the weakest sparks seen in generations."

Erith said. Ren shrugged again.

“Well, if you think you're so smart, then you figure it out. "

“We were already working on it before you tried to ruin the test for us all.”

Ray growled at him. Ren just grunted and walked to the other side of the room, where he started practicing swinging his axe in different ways. Ray considered the puzzle, then shifted the ball. After a few minutes of no progress and exhausting all paths, he thought of pushing the top of the cube. He yelled out in triumph when the top layer rotated to the left.

“Good job solving that! If you concentrate on navigating the maze, I'll locate paths that align on the opposite sides, and we can swiftly solve this.”

Erith said.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Ray agreed. They spent the better part of the next hour working their way through the cube before they reached the end.

“Yes!”

They both roared with glee.

“Finally.”

Ren said with a snort.

“We should have just gone with Ren’s plan, to begin with. I’m sure the heavens would have rewarded us for being clever and solving the puzzle quickly.”

Chio said. Shin and Ren both nodded in agreement while Erith shook her head. The room started rumbling; the cube emitting a high-pitched whirring noise, pulling everyone’s attention. It sunk into the floor, melding with a stairway leading further down. Ray shared a glance with Erith before nodding at her and walking towards the steps.