I couldn’t even register what had just happened, my brain choosing to now vomit again instead. I sit up into a sitting position too fast to process, twisting my body in every way possible, making sure nothing is still broken. I await the next 15 minutes in silence, painfully aware of my current situation.

[Welcome to the second of three tasks. You will now be held in an empty room with nothing but yourself for 2 months. You won’t have to eat, sleep, or use bodily functions. The two months you spend here won’t amount to anytime in the real world. Do you accept?]

[YES/NO]

Surprisingly this does not bother me, my hypersomnia coming in clutch for the first time ever. I hit the yes button and immediately 5 gray, sleek walls surround me. A timer appeared in the top right corner of my vision.

[2 months]

I sit with my back against the wall, the isolation comforting.

The first couple days weren’t that bad. I was stuck just with me and my thoughts, reliving past moments with a painful nostalgia. Annoyed that my brain wouldn't stop running, I try to think of activities I can still do. From push-ups to monologuing, nothing really fit. Well except whistling.

See, I have tinnitus. A constant ringing has always played in the back of my head since before I can remember. My brain to counteract the annoying ringing, constantly runs/has ideas floating around so it never focuses on the noise itself. Most days I don’t even realise I have tinnitus but when your surrounded by silence, silence echoes. So I whistled. And whistled. And whistled.

I’ve long since mastered the art of whistling in and out. I don’t have to stop to breathe because on the “in” whistle, air fills my lungs. After I whistle in, I whistle out, exhaling the air inside me. Whistling then acts as a form of breathing, a way to never end a song. The tune becomes ever constant and never ending, the next month straight was one long song. I didn’t tire, I didn’t hunger, I just existed. Many people would ask, “How can any sane person do that?” I would answer, “No sane man could.”

Many times my hand hovered over the confirm screen to end the task yet I persevered. I couldn’t fathom these entire two tasks becoming a waste as I begrudgingly waited it out. On the last day of my willing captivity, I watched the digital clock tick every second. After sitting for two weeks, I stand up and stretch as the last hour was counting down.

[Congratulations!]

[Task completed.]

[Only .1% of the human population has made it this far.]

15 more minutes pass as my excitement grows to become the most powerful human on the planet.

Fading in this time were different shades of color, a 10x10 room made of wood formed around me. Next along the sides of the room, shelves of books lined the walls from top to bottom, side to side. The room immediately felt dense, not in the sense that it felt heavy but. . . more. A chair forms in the center, directly beneath me as I level myself down to it. I tense as I’m trapped in a room again, although this one felt intensely more comfortable.

[This is the third and final task. You have 72 hours to escape this room using any means possible.] [Time will start now]

Feeling apprehensive from the last task, I take my time to relax, easing the tension from my shoulders. 72 hours to escape? Sounds more like a puzzle then anything else. I stand up and walk towards the abundance of books on the shelf behind me. I pull out a plain red book that had no title nor author to speak of. Opening the first handful of pages, it strangely contained no table of contents as well. I start with the first chapter and skimmed my finger through the first 15 pages. This is basically an introduction to herbs and their uses. Herbology? It shows each numerous plants and how to nurture and grow them. Weirdly, there are some odd plants here that I’ve never seen or heard of before. Even further, on each of the plants, it tells you to insert a part of your energy into each plant in a separate, unique way. This red plant called ‘la sol’ needs sunlight a full 12 hours a day. During sunrise or sunset, inserting long bursts of energy through each petal increases growth and effectiveness. It doesn’t tell me how to perform this act or what it is, only that it needs to be done. Interesting.

I neatly set the book down and brought out the next couple of books. Skimming through them, I saw Earth’s history, construction, medicine, religion, random literature, etc… There’s an endless amount of topics here, almost all of them mentioning this invisible energy being manipulated in different ways. I can only assume it’s talking about mana and it’s different properties and uses. Amazingly, this is actually a wizard’s library, the amount of resources here overwhelmed my humble mind. Searching throughout the books for similar phrases or specific words brought no luck. Most of this stuff I couldn’t quite grasp though. I mean who the fuck knows how to peel an aqualvo fruit and what does it have to with grip strength when wielding a bow. This isn’t making sense and I can’t read all day and night, there's got to be a different answer. I set the books aside from me and move to the center of the room, not sitting on the chairs, but crossing my legs on the floorboard. I figure everyone's going to use magic, why not give a try myself. The hints in the novels gave me a vague sense of understanding.

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Again, I felt the denseness of the room. I then performed my anti-anxiety ritual to calm me. Relaxing my body, letting my limbs feel like noodles, sitting up straight, removing the tightness of my chest. I gently close my eyes, letting my body naturally rock itself. Breathe in… breathe out… My mind slowly emptied, my heart slowly beating, a small, rhythmic beat. I feel...I feel a new energy in my body. Exploring my body, I can feel this energy, as if I’ve been given a 6th sense. The source of this energy is comfortably deep in my chest spreading further but weaker throughout to my limbs and head. Time has been forgotten and I remove myself from this trance, comfortable with breathing again. I feel relaxed but I couldn’t think, my mind only focused on my emotions and this new energy. I open my eyes and glance at the time left.

[65 hours left]

“What the fuck”, I internally scream. “What the fuck!”, I externally screamed. It’s been 7 hours already? It felt like 5 minutes, what the hell is wrong? I must’ve lost track of time, I just felt so calm and at peace, for the very first time in my life. How could I comprehend escaping that? What if I lose track of time and go over the time limit? I could feel the strain on my mind, moving to my chest and hands. I can’t focus on losing, that isn’t an option. I’ve made it too far to fail now. I settle my shaking hands, determined to pass this test.

Again, I go over my meditation steps. I calmly sit in silence, close my eyes, and exhale my worries away. I again felt this energy in my chest, focusing on it more, I feel it’s constantly moving inside me, shifting in random directions. Can I control this energy? I slowly lose my sense of self as I explore deeper inside my body, lost but sure. I sense the energy, this time however I want to manipulate it. I force my will on the energy, to control it. My chest burns tight, I grip it with my hand. Losing concentration I break into a cold sweat, forgetting who and where I am for a brief moment. Fuck that hurt, what did I do wrong? Don’t give up, I have to try again. I briefly look up at the time.

[53 hours left]

Fuck. I have to get back to work. I re-meditate, losing my sense of self once more. I need to try something different, imposing my will did absolutely nothing. An idea came to mind. How about I guide it, instead of willing it? I can feel this is my source of energy, yet it feels out of my control. I feel the energy built in my chest. This time however, I guide the energy to my palm instead. Trying to not guide a huge amount at once, I change the flow as to guide it to my hand. Slowly but surely I feel energy working my way up to my arm. My chest now feeling a bit empty, my arm however, dense. I can’t quite describe it, it’s the same kind of denseness that I feel in the room. A light bulb went off in my head. What if I can also control the energy in my surroundings instead of just my body? Stop getting ahead of yourself, you can’t even control the energy inside of you.

Pain. Intense pain shoots up my arm and I scream, “FUCK”. I realised my mind wandered and I lost control of my energy, it now shooting in various directions in my arm. My arm turning numb, the pain unbearable. I spasm across the floor, my jaw grating my teeth. I can’t lose focus. I need to focus only on the mana, nothing else. Focus. I go back into my trance ignoring the subsiding pain. I search throughout my arm and try to grasp ahold of the wildly flailing energy. It takes me longer than I was hoping but I guide it into a smooth pattern moving in a circular direction in my arm. The pain dwindles away, my worries soothe and I feel the gentle energy moving to and fro. I yet again gather a small ball of energy from the base of my chest and flow it casually to the palm of my hand. It worked! I get excited and slowly open my eyes to see if anything has happened. I look to my left palm and… nothing. Damn. I was hoping to see something cool at least. I immediately go back to my mana, some escapes but I press it back into form. A small plan formed in my sharp state of mind.

I now try to exert the energy out of my palm and into the flow of space. As soon as it leaves however, it dissipates. Damnit. I have to somehow control the energy once it leaves my body. I again moved my mana to my hand, swirling it in circular motions. Instead I move the energy towards my index finger to the very tip. I condense the energy into the smallest pressurised form it will create. My finger now under intense pressure, I gently, not forcefully, move the energy barely breaking my skin. I now feel the it escape my body, yet it hasn’t completely left, still having a semblance of control. I peak my eyes from under my eyelids, hoping most of all not to lose control. A faint glowing hue surrounded a small marble of energy poking out from under my skin. I knew the moment it left my body I would lose control but I had to try. Suddenly, relief washed over me and my body became unstrained. I even realize the toll I had put on my body these past few minutes, fatigue taking over. I could still feel the energy yet I had no control. I rapidly opened my eyes and looked at my fingertip. There was a mist of energy, it already being dissipated. I DID IT! I PERFORMED MAGIC!! My head dizzied, my arms and legs spasmed out of control, and I passed out.

I had a long fulfilling dream of wizards and dragons. Kingdoms fell and rose and fell again. I was dominant and overbearing, ruling the world, killing on a whim. I was...more. I was intoxicated and ecstatic by this new feeling. Then, of course, my ex boyfriend appeared as a ghost and I jolted awake. The brick-like wooden floor was cold to the touch. I didn’t immediately realise where I was, the past few days… wait. I immediately felt a tang in my stomach, almost not looking at the timer in fear.

[1 hour 23 minutes left]

I stared at the timer not quite comprehending it. How? Just how was I in this meditative state for so long? Why was I so absorbed in it? Why did I just assume casting magic is the way out? Why am I so stupid? Why am I so stupid? Why am I so stupid? I was angry. Only angry at myself, nothing else. I unhesitatingly launched these dumbass books across the room. I broke into a frenzy and destroyed every little bit of this room to pieces. With shelves strewn about, chair pieces jabbed into books, and nothing more to destroy, I curled into a ball and wept. I cried, not even caring about the timer and the messages that popped up along with it.

[Skill learned: Meditate]

[0.00]

[Task failed]

[Unable to use the system for 365 days]

[Now teleporting you back to Earth. . .]