“Wake up!”

A shout followed by a light tap on his side, jolted Cain awake. He sat up quickly, remembering where exactly he had fallen asleep. When he saw Maya standing with the front of her shoes jabbing his side, he relaxed. He pushed her shoe away, moving to sit. He sighed loudly.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

Cain spoke groggily, still shaking the sleep off. -

“How the fuck do you fall asleep here? Weren’t you, I don’t know, concerned about dying?”

Maya’s shouted response was enough to banish the last vestiges of sleep. Cain slowly rose to his feet, and looked around at the others, noticing that they weren’t exactly unhurt. Clo, despite missing an arm was the least urgent, since his injury seemed old and beyond what Cain could do anyways. Maya had a few cuts here and there, but nothing super serious. Sabrina was hurt and had a nasty-looking gash along her thigh. It had been wrapped in some makeshift bandages, but those were soaked through already.

“Can you heal me?”

Cain jumped. He had been too absorbed in just staring at the wound. Jumping forward he ran up to Sabrina apologizing.

“Right, sorry! I was, uh, distracted.”

He rushed over feeling only slightly embarrassed when he had to reach down and touch her thigh. Sabrina, like every person at the academy, was fit, and he felt her muscles twitch as he pressed against the wound. His gift didn’t demand he touched the injured location, but doing so made the process far more efficient. The fact that he was healing her didn’t stop a slight blush from reaching his cheeks. He had never touched a girl’s legs before, and especially not anyone as attractive as Sabrina.

His gift, which really did just feel like magic, pulsed from his hand. Her skin reknit, and the gash closed leaving slightly red skin in its place. She let out a sigh of relief as the healing went to many other bruises, aches, and cuts across her body.

“Thanks.”

Sabrina’s black hair fell forward as she dipped her head slightly. Cain was quick to wave his hand, and he shook it rapidly like he was swatting a fly.

“I really don’t deserve that, considering what I’ve been doing.”

“You mean sleeping on the job, right? Oh, and heal me too.”

Maya stepped up beside Sabrina offering Cain and hand to grab. Cain smiled awkwardly grabbing Maya’s hand and giving her a less focused heal. This was more or less him just boosting her natural recovery, rather than the concentrated regeneration he had used for Sabrina. It also took way less out of him. His healing had a cost and using it for serious injuries drained him significantly. Despite having just taken a nap, he already felt like he could use another. Maya smiled after he was done and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

“That was great, thanks. “

Cain nodded and turned to Clo who stood just off to the side. He was looking at one of the archways. Cain called out to him.

“Man, now I’m tired again. Clo, do you need healing?”

Clo shook his head and pointed back toward a different archway.

“I’m fine. We need to move and head back toward that boss I fought. Are you three good to run?”

As per usual, Clo’s voice sounded so confident, and Cain felt a pang of jealousy as he heard it. Not only was Clo better looking than everyone else, but he also had a much better voice than them too. Cain, Sabrina, and Maya all gave some form of confirmation. They were off without another wasted second.

Clo led them around, dodging between different rooms and occasionally turning in sharp directions. He apparently had a map of some kind and remembered the path he had taken. It had been a reward for the boss. They didn’t exactly talk about the items they got. Clo just told him about the relevant stuff. Cain still- couldn’t help but stare at the bird atop his head with envy.

So Lucky. That thought surprisingly bothered Cain because he knew that it wasn’t luck. Clo had probably cleared a ridiculous number of rooms, and the fact that that bird was his only real reward, meant that he was probably the opposite. Feeling bad for letting his envy get the better of him, Cain tried to distract himself by checking to see what the others had. Maya didn’t seem to have any fancy items, although Sabrina seemed to have gotten a rather weird pair of glasses. Somehow, she pulled off the comically large swirly lenses.

“What?”-

Sabrina’s tone made Cain feel like he was getting a glare, though he couldn’t tell through her glasses. They were jogging lightly now though, so he could talk to them a little. He smiled awkwardly, coming up with a quick question.

“What’re those?”

It was the wrong thing to say, and Sabrina’s lips turned down in a small frown. Cain was quick to cough and amend his statement.

“I mean what do the glasses do?”

“It gives me a game HUD. Like with a mini-map, and stuff.”

Sabrina responded through quick breaths. The pace Clo had set wasn’t exactly easy, and she had been stuck with him for the longest time. Cain himself wouldn’t be able to go for much longer and sweat ran down his back like a river.

Her description of the item filled him with longing. He loved games, and desperately wanted it. His watch now felt kind of pathetic compared to what the others had, even if he hadn’t really done anything to deserve it. What could he offer Sabrina for it? Nothing. The answer came to his head as soon as the question did. There was no way Sabrina would trade away such an awesome item. His thoughts must’ve been obvious.

“I’m not giving it to you, but I might trade it. What does the watch do?”

Cain was little a surprised to see that she had noticed it, but then again it was probably the only digital device that she had ever seen within a trial. It wasn’t an analog watch like the kind most people wore. This was digital, a plain number printed on the screen.

14:34

“Other than tell the time? It, uh, detects lies.”

Cain’s words seemed to genuinely surprise Sabrina, and he noticed Maya glance toward him too. Sabrina’s eyes widened, and he saw genuine interest in them. For a moment, he hoped that she might actually take a trade.

“Still, not going to trade, but how does it work? It can’t be completely omnipotent, right.”

Cain blushed, wondering just obvious his thoughts were. Was he really that easy to read?

“Oh, no it’s not anything that good. It’s just with blatant lies.”

“I wonder why it tells time?”

Maya’s words made Cain stop jogging. He froze, lifting the watch to his face. Why did it tell time? And what time was it? The analog watches people took with them were designed to be set after entering the trial, yet this watch had already had time on it when he picked it up. And now that he was looking at it, he realized that almost 5 hours had gone by. After a second of trying to figure out what the time might be for, he looked up to see the others waiting for him.

He smiled a little, unable to compare them to the others. Billy, Joey, and Ashley had been more than happy to just leave him behind. Those three probably wouldn’t even have checked to see if he was behind them, despite being their only source of healing. The earlier envy from earlier was gone now, and Cain quickly jogged to catch up to them. He looked toward Clo, figuring that he might know what the point of the clock was.

“Why do you think the watch shows time?”

Clo started moving as soon as Cain had caught up. Cain expected as much. If Clo was anything he was determined. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t answer. Clo was just the kind of person who seemed openly abrasive, and while that was kind of true, he was not mean or cruel. Nor had he ever blatantly ignored a serious question from any of them as far as Cain was aware.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“There are a few reasons I read online, of why people take analog watches with them. The most obvious being skills or items with cooldowns. Mostly items, since you have a sort of feeling for when skills are usable. Then there is the other aspect of trials themselves, sometimes they have a time limit or something akin to a day-night cycle. Although, I can’t say what the time itself means on the watch.”

Clo somehow sounded completely normal, despite having done more physical activity than the rest of them. Cain nodded. He already knew some of that from before, but he still didn’t get why it would already have a time in place. Again, it was Maya who had a possible answer.

“It might be the time outside of the trial. You know, if there is some benefit in knowing the time of the real world?”

Maya spoke more in response to Clo than Cain, and Cain could see how focused she was on Clo’s back. Cain wondered if there was something between the two. They had spent a lot of time training together, and he wasn’t exactly the most perceptive person when it came to relationships.

“Maybe it’s just convenient for some people to know how much time is being altered in a trial. Since every trial takes about the same amount of real-time, regardless of how much time actually passes within it. There are also specific items and abilities that change based on time too. So, if the watch is always accurate, then that could be really useful in a cave or tunnel.”

Sabrina, who now looked a little nerdy with those glasses, added to Maya’s comment. That got Cain thinking about something else though.

“How long were your guys’ trials? Mine was a few months, I think. It was, uh, hard to tell at times.”

Cain asked the question without thinking, only adding his own answer after realizing how inappropriate it was. Most people never spoke of their first trial, regardless of how it went. It was almost a universal thing, that the first trial was a very personal thing. Way to put your foot in your mouth. He thought as he shook his head slightly. To his, and everyone’s surprise, it was Clo who answered.

“A year and a day.”

Clo’s voice was cold as he said it, and, for an instant, Cain felt afraid. It was like someone had pressed a knife to his throat, and Cain stumbled a little. A quick glance at Maya and Sabrina showed that they had noticed it too. The effect or whatever vanished as quickly as it had come. Cain swallowed, wondering just what Clo had done.

“That’s pretty long. Mine was only like a few hours.”

Maya sounded completely unbothered. Cain was more than a little impressed. He still couldn’t find any words after getting hit by whatever Clo had just done.

“My trial was a little over a day. I have studied the subject a little, and a year for the first trial is pretty rare.”

Sabrina had managed to catch her breath, and her voice was steady now. Cain hadn’t really ever considered that the time a trial took was something that people could even study. It was random, or at least he thought it was random.

“Does it matter?” Realizing that what he said might come off as a little rude, Cain quickly explained what he meant. “I mean, does the time it takes change stuff?”

Sabrina spent the next few minutes giving him a lecture on the theories behind the trial, and how some people believed a longer trial meant better rewards. She had apparently studied it more than just a little bit, and she started telling him about item and gift variance. Also, many trials taught more practical skills that a person could utilize even without the system. That was one of the many reasons why everyone valued the tokens. Her lecture ended when Clo interrupted her, and Cain gave a subtle nod in thanks. That felt far too much like more school, and he hated it.

__________________________________________________________________________

Clo P.O.V

Clo had been listening to Sabrina’s explanation from the corner of his ear and had found it interesting. She had filled in some of the questions he still had about the first trial, and how exactly people qualified for a token. He would need to ask her about what she knew about the future trials. That seemed like a better use of his time than trying to figure it out himself. That would have to wait, as he checked his map and noticed where they were.

“Ok, we're here.”

He slowed to a walk but didn’t stop completely. After running for so long, stopping abruptly would be a bad idea. The others, Cain in particular might take that as a sign to take a break, but Clo didn’t want to stop just yet. He led the others into the room. All the damage he had done to the room had vanished, it seemed to have reset like a game. Thankfully, the boss didn’t reappear. The others took in the empty room, and Clo directed them to the far wall. Them was a stone door in the center of the hedge. Not a foggy archway, but a stone door with an odd symbol engraved into it.

“That’s the way forward.”

Clo had approached the door after dealing with the boss and had received a nice little prompt. As they walked across the empty space, that same prompt appeared at the edge of his vision.

Warning! Opening the door will prevent you from returning to the rest of the maze. Proceed?

Yes

No

He watched the others and noticed the changes in their expression as they received the same message. Maya was obviously excited by the prompt, and her eyes blazed with a violent eagerness. Cain had expected as much. She was the only one the even tried to keep up with him in training, and she seemed to genuinely enjoy violence. It was to the point that he doubted she could’ve lived a normal life without the trials. On the other hand, Sabrina seemed unbothered by the notification while Cain was visibly concerned.

“Is this why you came back for us?”

Sabrina was the first to speak, and her question held a little accusation. It was a fair question though. Clo answered her honestly.

“That and the objective of the trial itself.”

Sabrina nodded, while Maya didn’t seem concerned. Only Cain seemed to be unaware of what he meant.

“Uh, what do you mean?”

Cain stumbled through the words as he realized that everyone else already knew. Rather than answer him, Clo sent him a copy of the trial’s objective. He had left every important message visible, just pushed them to the edges of his thoughts.

Welcome to the Hedge Maze Trial #87, Your objective is to make it to the end of the trial with all remaining team members…

“Oh, right. Yeah, I get it now.”

Cain rubbed the back of his head, and he smiled awkwardly at the others. It was obvious that he was trying to look good in their eyes.

“Ok, accept the prompt, let’s keep going.”

Clo accepted the blue message and heard a smacking noise as Maya smacked her fist into her palm. She grinned at him.

“Finally! Just please let this not be as lame as the other monsters.”

Clo returned her smile, feeling a fire burning in his chest. He wanted a good fight just as much as she did. Other than the boss and Aida, he hadn’t had the opportunity to fight something powerful.

“That’s an interesting symbol. A black teardrop within a blue circle, I wonder what it means?”

Sabrina got close to the door, examining the strange symbol closely. Cain awkwardly raised a hand before saying something.

“I’m pretty sure it means that uh the thing in the next room is gonna be a water type.”

“Water type?”

Clo was a little amazed that Cain had any idea what the symbol might mean, seeing that Sabrina was clueless about it.

“It’s from this old game. Basically, the monsters in it have a type and those types are strong and weak to things. Like water beats fire, and stuff.”

With Cain’s explanation, Clo could guess why he was the only one that knew about it. Cain studied video games with the same passion that Sabrina did everything else.

“So, you gonna tell us? What’s water weak to?”

Maya’s foot tapped against the ground as she reigned in her excitement. Being battle hungry didn’t make her an idiot, although it did make her impatient. Cain coughed and responded quickly.

“Right. Um, from what I can remember it was lighting, and grass or plants. There might’ve been something else but, I can’t remember it.”

Clo considered what those types might mean. Lightning probably was literal, and he wondered what exactly would be good against lighting. But he could understand why that would be good, and idly remembered Abigail. She would’ve been useful here.

The other type was more of a mystery. Plants? How exactly would that be any good? Did it have something to do with poison? Clo noticed Cain fidget and raised an eyebrow.

“You have something else?”

Cain glanced up at Juniper atop Clo’s head before responding.

“Maybe. I think the bird is a grass type. I mean, it kind of looks like it.”

Clo moved grabbing Juniper from his head and looking at the bird. It rested comfortably against his palm, nuzzling him with its surprisingly soft leaves. The creature had leaves rather than feathers, and it was closer to a chick than a proper bird. It might have been wiser to hesitate, but he trusted Cain on his knowledge of games.

His vault opened and he grabbed the seed from earlier, glossing over the text before offering it to the bird. He had planned to try and save the fruit but decided that it would be better to try and get some immediate improvements out of it. Especially, if it was going to help him with the next room.

Fruit of Evolution (Rare): A fruit of magical properties. Provides a minor boost to the improvement of physical attributes. Meant to be given to a familiar.

When used on a person, the effects are temporary. Duration: One Year

Sabrina stared wide-eyed at the fruit, but she didn’t try to stop him. Cain gave it a questioning glance.

“What is that?”

His voice was soft, as he tried to whisper the question to Sabrina. Maya was more open, and walked over, looking at the bird in fascination.

Cain held the fruit out to Juniper, ignoring the looks the others gave him. He watched as the bird approached it. He expected it to open its wooden beak. It didn’t do that, instead it just walked over to the seed, sucking into its bush-like body. It swallowed the fruit whole, and then it grew. Juniper’s body first puffed out more, then its shape slowly began to change.