Looks complicated.
Lin thought as he skimmed through the rules, a slight frown forming as he looked up at the goddess, who, for some reason, was already watching him. Meeting his gaze, she addressed the group, still looking directly at Lin.
“I hope everyone works together in this trial. Let’s try to keep our psychotic tendencies in check,” she said simply.
Several people instinctively glanced toward Lin, realizing who she was addressing, though Lin remained calm. To him, such behavior wasn’t remotely “psychotic” compared to his own definition of the term.
If I really did something like that…
A faint chuckle escaped him, immediately sending shivers down everyone’s spine as they tried to imagine the thoughts going through his mind. What is he thinking? their expressions seemed to ask. However, for Lin, the action wasn’t as mindless as they may have imagined—rather, it was a small push in the direction he wanted the group to move.
Now then, let’s see what you’ve got, he thought, casting a sidelong glance at the boy standing beside him, who was beginning to break into a cold sweat, stealing nervous glances toward him—Ren.
“The first trial is quite simple,” the goddess’ voice echoed across the white space as she raised her hand. The ground in front of her began to morph like clay, quickly forming a small structure, just as she had done to show the tower they were in. This time, though, a large island-like plain took shape, its terrain segmented in a very strange manner.
“Please pay close attention to the scaled-down map of the first floor,” the goddess said, and everyone simply nodded, stepping closer to get a better look.
Lin stared intently at the structure, noting multiple distinct biomes and terrains dividing the island into four parts of roughly the same size, each marked with a different symbol floating above it. Some of the symbols looked oddly familiar.
Blindness? Lin thought, glancing at the rocky region where an eye symbol crossed by a line floated above it—a common symbol for indicating blindness. His gaze shifted to the other regions, each marked by a similar crossed-out symbol: a hand, an ear, and a nose.
“The area is divided into four equal regions, and each of them imposes a unique restriction for staying within it,” the goddess explained, providing more details about the strange symbols. She waved her hand, and the structure transformed, zooming into one of the regions and enlarging it for everyone to see.
It was the rocky region, which seemed to have a very uneven terrain. Different-sized boulders were scattered across the area, parts of which were grouped together for long distances, as if forming a ‘floor’ of their own. There also seemed to be multiple holes and patches on the ground, as if the ground had fallen in on itself.
Overall, the landscape was so irregular that you couldn’t move in a straight path without frequently climbing up and down.
It’s not too deep, Lin thought to himself, noting the holes across the region. Although navigation would require a lot of climbing, the boulders and even the holes on the ground weren’t too high up—someone with basic athletic skills, even if they were short, would probably be able to navigate the region.
Of course, this was simply one of the four regions…
“In the rocky region, the penalty is your sense of sight—that is, you will not be able to see anything until you leave that place,” the goddess explained. Everyone’s faces turned pale as they glanced back at the terrain. They had already been mentally preparing themselves to possibly navigate the area, but this sudden restriction darkened their expressions, completely dissolving their confidence.
That would be dangerous, Lin thought, shaking his head slightly. Navigating that terrain was one thing, but doing so without sight was simply too risky. There was no doubt that those without experience might end up with a few broken bones, and for someone particularly unlucky, a fall at the wrong angle could break their neck. As if to add fuel to the fire, the goddess continued.
“You should also remember that the Soul-vor beast will be actively hunting you the whole time,” she added, sending a chill down their spines as they tried to picture the situation. Not only would they be blind, but they would also have to evade some kind of predator, making any safe attempt at scaling the terrain nearly impossible.
As they processed this, the goddess continued, “You can take this as just a part of the ‘threats’ that may be coming in the future. For the first trial, this is the Soul-vor beast you’ll be facing.”
At the same time, a large holographic figure appeared beside her, and everyone’s eyes widened in shock as they took in the creature towering next to her.
“A… minotaur?” Adem muttered, a sharp glint reflecting off his glasses as he stared. He looked up and down, sizing it up with a mix of fear and excitement etched on his expression.
Standing at a staggering ten feet, its bulky, brownish body was partially covered in fur, while two horns jutted upward from its head. As described in famous mythology, a minotaur stood before them.
“It’s carrying a bat?” Sera murmured, surprisingly calm as she observed the weapon in the minotaur's hand. Perhaps because they all knew the beast before them wouldn’t suddenly attack, they were relatively calm for the moment.
“That’s right. It goes without saying, but it can also use Soulex,” the goddess added, her tone neutral as she waved her hand again, dispelling the hologram to refocus their attention back on the terrain.
“The next one is the snowy region, and as you can see, anyone in this area will lose their sense of touch,” she explained. By this time, everyone simply watched with little reaction. The initial conditions were already absurd, and with each new restriction, the boundary of the absurd seemed to stretch, making such things sound almost normal.
Frostbite.
That was the first thought to cross Lin’s mind as he eyed the snowy region. A few trees were scattered across it, covered in white snow, with the ground piled so high that it would likely sink them knee-deep with each step. The lack of touch would certainly make navigating it less painful, as they wouldn’t feel the sting of the cold, but it also meant they wouldn’t notice if a part of their body succumbed to frostbite.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
As the goddess continued explaining each region, it became clear that all of them had their disadvantages, though some posed far greater challenges than others. The final two regions were slightly less severe than the first two.
“The soundless region is a dense forest with a few small animals, and the scentless region is a toxic swamp with a few patches of trees and some muddy lakes,” she explained, moving through the remaining regions fairly quickly.
Even though these regions were less harsh, they were still challenging in a hunting scenario. In a place where you couldn’t hear anything, evading a beast with heightened senses would be extremely difficult.
image [https://i.imgur.com/Q1miP7J.jpeg]
“Now that you know the terrain, let’s go over how to actually clear the trial,” the goddess said. Simultaneously, a large blue screen materialized behind her, displaying the rules already visible on everyone’s status windows.
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Floor One: The Art of Tracking
Clear Condition (Choose one):
1. 90% survive until their timers reach zero.
2. Kill the Soul-vor beast.
Permitted Abilities: [Echo], [Veil], and [Form].
Time Limit: N/A
Individual Timer: 75 minutes
[Rules]
...
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“For starters, each person will have a timer above their head that will count down from 75 minutes,” she said, pointing upward. They all immediately glanced up, noticing the number floating above each of them. Similar to their Hero Potential scores, all of them displayed the same thing:
75:00.
“If 90% of you—or, specifically, 18 out of the 20 here—are able to survive until your individual timers reach zero, then you will all clear the trial,” the goddess explained, referring back to the first clear condition.
Everyone nodded, though they appeared a bit confused by the concept of an ‘individual timer’ rather than a single time to monitor for all of them. As if reading their thoughts, the goddess continued,
“These individual timers will be influenced by various factors, meaning one person’s timer might progress faster or slower than another’s. Check rule number one to see a few of those factors,” she said, prompting everyone to look back at their status windows.
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[Rules]
1. Clear Condition 1: Each person's individual timer may be affected by different conditions. This clear condition will only be valid once 90% of everyone’s counters reach zero – 00:00.
1. [Veil Rule] — Using [Veil] will slow down your individual timer by one second for every five seconds that passes.
2. [Unconscious Rule] — The individual timer will pause completely if a person is rendered unconscious.
3. [Proximity Rule] — Individuals within a 40-meter radius of the Soul-vor beast will have their individual timer reduced by 2 minutes for every second that passes.
…
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Is that risk worth it?
Lin pondered as he reviewed the conditions, particularly the ‘Proximity Rule,’ which seemed almost too good to be true.
37.5 seconds.
If someone could survive within the Minotaur’s 40-meter range for just 37.5 seconds, their timer would no doubt reach zero. It was an appealing shortcut, but it raised serious questions about the beast’s strength and abilities.
Lin doubted whether many of the individuals here could stalk a predator that closely for even a few seconds without being noticed. Achieving this feat would be difficult even for the most skilled hunter, and the fact that at least 18 individuals needed to succeed made it certain that the approach wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded.
Can it really take down anyone in just 37 seconds?
Lin wondered, recalling the towering beast that had stood next to the goddess—a creature he’d previously known only from Greek mythology. His current knowledge of them was limited to the curious reads he’d done as a kid.
“The second clear condition is straightforward, so I need not explain further. If the beast stops breathing, then you simply clear the trial,” the goddess’s words interrupted their thoughts as she moved on from the first rule.
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[Rules]
…
2. Clear Condition 2: The Soul-vor beast will be considered dead when its heart has stopped completely. If Clear Condition 1 fails, this will be the only other option.
2. [KILL ONLY] — If three individuals die before Clear Condition 1 (survival) can be accomplished, you will be forced to clear the floor through Condition 2. In this case, the trial will only end if everyone is dead or the Soul-vor beast dies first.
…
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“The floor will begin with each of you selecting a region. You’ll also have the chance to choose which region the Soul-vor beast will spawn in,” the goddess explained.
Everyone appeared to be thinking the same thing: If we place the beast in one region, we could hide in the opposite one. But as if reading their minds, the goddess continued,
“However, there are limits on the number of people who can occupy any one region.”
She directed their attention to their status screens, where the third rule was displayed.
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[Rules]
…
3. Each person will choose one of the four regions to start in and will be spawned in a random location within that region (no two people will spawn in the same spot). The regions will also have restrictions on the number of participants:
1. [Majority rule] — If a single region has more than 60% of the participants for more than 5 minutes, the beast will automatically spawn in the middle of that region (if it isn’t already within that region).
2. [Overload rule] — If all participants (100%) are in a single region for more than 2 minutes, they will all be randomly teleported to different regions.
…
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They all looked on with frustration. Although this rule limited how many people could be in one region, its impact was much larger than that.
It complicates using the Proximity Rule.
Lin thought as he reviewed the other rules.
The [Overload rule] restricted their ability to gather in a single region, teleporting them to random locations on activation. In a situation where they chose to win through the [Proximity Rule], they would need to gather in one region to fight the beast together.
However, with the [Majority rule] in place, they would only have 5 minutes to not only find the beast but also get within its 40-meter radius and avoid being killed while doing so.
On the other hand, the [Overload] rule presented an additional challenge. To avoid triggering it, they would need to work with only 19 participants at most. Otherwise, they would have just 2 minutes to execute everything—find the beast, gather within its radius, and survive—before being randomly teleported. In a scenario where their foe seemed overwhelmingly strong, even missing one person could upset the balance.
In contrast, if they chose to avoid the Minotaur entirely and focus on survival, the [Majority rule] would be equally punishing. The only viable strategy would be to spread themselves across different regions(less than 60% in each), a risky move that would force them into smaller groups. Such isolation could easily result in disaster if any group encountered the Soul-vor beast.
Hunt or be hunted.
This seemed to be the trial’s primary theme, and whatever choice they made would heavily influence the outcome. The restriction on [Veil], which slowed down the individual timer, added yet another layer of difficulty. It meant they would need to expose themselves to the beast’s Echo scans while trying to evade it.
On the other hand, hiding for the next two to three days was theoretically possible if they were cautious enough. Alternating between activating and deactivating [Veil] could provide some relief in quickening their timer’s progression, but overall, this was a slow and risky strategy.
What’s the best approach?
Lin wondered as he analyzed the rules, running multiple simulations through his mind. Each scenario seemed to be littered with multiple risks, particularly given their group’s lack of combat-oriented members.