The pyramid’s interior was dark and musty, filled with cobwebs and dust. Leo felt the temperature drop with each step, and their every footfall echoed through the corridors. They soon reached a chamber. It was quite large, more than enough for them to rest, but there were three other exits, excluding the one they entered through.
“A central intersection with corridors leading into the various areas of the pyramid,” Ethan mumbled. “Not a good place to camp. Too many paths to monitor. Let’s keep going.”
“The further we go, the longer it’ll take to get back out,” Leo argued, wincing.
“Yeah, so?” Ethan frowned. “It’s the monsters outside we want to avoid, right?”
“What about the monsters in here?” Leo retorted. “How do we know there aren’t hordes of monsters hiding down these corridors? We go down one, and monsters could come swarming out of the other two.”
“Fuck,” Ethan grumbled. “So, what now?”
“I say we try to fortify this chamber,” Leo said. “I know it’s not ideal, but we could have someone up above, keeping an eye on the area. There’s a good distance between the pyramid and the jungle, so we might be able to see anything approaching. If something shows, they come down here and warn us, and we use the narrow corridor as a bottleneck.”
“Right,” Ethan said, looking between the corridors. “What about the other corridors down here?”
“We’d need to fortify or barricade them somehow,” Leo said. “Or, one of us would need to stay awake down here to watch.”
“Yeah,” Ethan grimaced. “That’s gonna be rough. Two awake so that one can sleep? How do you fix a rotation for that?”
“We don’t,” Leo sighed. “We need to barricade the other exits. Or, someone stays up and sleeps during the day. On that note, I think we should stick around here for a while. It’s the only semi-secure place we’ve found so far. Who knows how long it’ll take to find another good spot.”
“I agree,” Ethan nodded. “What do you think, Leandra?”
“Hm?” Leandra looked up at them. “Oh, yeah. Let’s stay. It’s better than a tree, anyway.”
“Alright then,” Ethan frowned and looked at Leandra worriedly. “How do we barricade the exits then?”
“Well,” Leo scratched his neck. “You’ve got swords. I’ve got a staff. I think I saw some loose blocks of stone on the pyramid. We could try to jimmy them free and move them down here. It’ll be heavy, hard work, but I think it’s doable. I hope you’ve put some points into Strength.”
“Points?” Ethan frowned. “Oh, shit! Stat points! I forgot!”
“You forgot?” Leandra frowned. “What do you mean, you forgot? How could you forget?! If you’d-”
“No,” Leo said as he grabbed Leandra’s shoulder. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. It’s none of our fault, Leandra. Please, come on. We’ve got to stick together here.”
“Haah,” Leandra took a deep breath, sighed and shook Leo's hand off her shoulder. “Right, yeah. Sure. Not our fault.”
“Well,” Leo said and clapped his hands. “Let’s get to it. Daylight’s burning, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
They set to work. They managed to free the loose stones but quickly learned they couldn’t move them, so Leo had to use his Mana Beam to cut them into smaller pieces. It took a while and a lot of mana, but with the smaller stones, they could move them into place, barricading the corridors.
By the time they finished, night had fallen, and it was far from perfect, but it would have to do. At the very least, it would give them a warning and a few seconds to react before something appeared. The trio sat at the top of the pyramid, looking out at the jungle under the starlit sky.
Ethan slumped against an old statue while Leandra gazed up at the stars with a distant look. Leo focused on the slowly spinning crystal, which still provided a dim light.
“So, it dims during the night,” Leo realised. “What kind of crystal is it, and why is it here? How did I see it through the dense jungle? It doesn’t make sense.”
A chill ran down his spine, and he shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter,” Leo thought as he glanced at his companions. “We’ve got a place we can secure—a place with walls and vision. We can survive here. That’s all that matters.”
He rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn as he stood and stretched.
“Alright,” he said. “I think we should figure out a watch rotation so some of us can get some rest.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Leandra sighed. Leo saw the uncertainty and fear in her eyes. “I’m the only one who got any sleep last night. You should rest.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together before he sighed.
“Fine,” he said and began walking toward the stairs.
“I won’t fall asleep this time,” Leandra said. “I fucked up. I know, we’ve said it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but still. It feels like a fuck-up, and I won’t repeat it.”
“Alright,” Leo said and smiled at Leandra. “Just come running if you see anything. Don’t try to hold anything off up here.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she shook her head. “I know. Go, sleep.”
Leo nodded and followed Ethan down the long, spiralling stairs and the short corridor until they reached the barricaded chamber.
Ethan found himself a corner, and Leo took another one.
“Good night,” Leo said as he closed his eyes. He barely heard Ethan’s mumble in return before he was asleep.
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***
Leo was back in the strange library. Like last time, the books were translucent and ethereal, but the pedestals were gone.
He looked around, frowning, but nothing new happened, so he began walking.
“Why am I back here?” he wondered. “Is this just a dream, or is something going on?”
He walked along the shelves, trying to discern the contents or read the titles on the spines, but everything was too blurry to make out.
The library spread endlessly in every direction, but Leo kept walking. He frowned as he felt drawn in a specific direction.
“What’s that?” he mumbled as he picked up his pace. “There’s something there, I know it. How do I know that?”
He didn’t know how long he’d been walking between the shelves, but he arrived before an elaborate desk. On that desk was a hefty tome.
It was thick, leather-bound, and had yellowed pages. It looked worn and well-read as Leo reached for it. The moment he opened it, a notification appeared before him.
[Accept the Patronage of Light? Y/N.]
“What?” Leo’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
No answer appeared, and Leo frowned.
“So,” he said as he rubbed his forehead. “I have to make a blind decision. Can I wait? Think about it and choose another day or night? Fuck. Can I risk it? What if it’s a power-up? Or something bad? But it’s Light. That’s gotta be good, right? Urgh. Why can’t we just get some fucking answers?”
He shook his head and pondered for a while.
Suddenly, the library shook as a deep rumble sounded throughout the space. Leo jumped and looked around frantically but sighed as he began hearing a voice. Leandra’s voice. She was waking him up.
He glanced at the book and the notification. He sighed deeply, gritted his teeth, and accepted the Patronage.
There was a flash of light and several dings, and he woke up.
***
Instead of Leandra’s face when he awoke, he saw a string of notifications hovering in front of him.
[You have accepted the Patronage of Lumen, The Allbright, The Everlight, He Who Banishes the Darkness, God of Light.]
[You have received a new skill: Dawn’s Grace.]
[You have received a Quest: Embrace the Light.]
Embrace the Light: Reach level ten and draw from the Luminous Crystal atop the pyramid. Level 5/10. Drawn from crystal 0/1.
[Message from your Patron: You have done well to survive so far, Candidate. Now, it is time to reach for more than mere survival. Strive to Thrive, Leo Raynor. Embrace the Light and banish the darkness from your world.]
Leo groaned and sat up.
“What’s up?” he asked and looked around. Ethan stood by the exit corridor, and Leandra stood before Leo. “Something happen to you?”
“Well, yeah,” Leandra smiled. “We were offered Patronage.”
“You too?” Leo perked up and got to his feet.
“Yeah,” Leandra nodded. “Lunara, Goddess of the Cosmos for me, and Nox, God of Shadows for Ethan. Did you get anything? It looked like something happened to you just before you woke up.”
“Yeah,” Leo nodded. “God of Light. What does this mean, though? We all got help from some Gods?”
“I don’t know,” Ethan shook his head but smiled. “But, I’ll take any help I can get. Maybe we can avoid any more deaths now.”
“Yeah,” Leandra’s expression fell, and she sighed before shaking her head. “Anyway, we both got an initial skill. I got Lethal Arrow, which turns my next arrow radioactive. Even a glancing hit will deal a lot more damage over time. Ethan got Stalk, which veils him in shadows, making it easier to sneak around. What did you get?”
“Huh, one second,” Leo frowned and focused on his new skill. “Oh, nice.”
He activated the skill, and a wave of subtle light surged from his body. It cost a lot of mana, dropping his mana bar by a third, but the effect was immediate. His tiredness evaporated, as did his hunger and thirst. Leo was filled with energy, and it looked like Leandra and Ethan felt the same.
“Dawn’s Grace,” Leo explained. “Prepares us for the day ahead. It wipes away tiredness and aches while dulling our thirst and hunger. It’s no replacement, but we’ll be able to act as if we’re well-fed for a few hours at least.”
“Wow,” Ethan raised his brows. “That’s gonna be a life-saver.”
“Yeah,” Leandra nodded and smiled. “Speaking of, we need to get some food and water. I think we should take some time to hunt.”
“I agree,” Leo nodded. “How did it go last night? You didn’t wake me for my shift.”
“Oh,” Leandra snickered. “It was fine. We tried to wake you, but you were out.”
“Oh,” Leo scratched his neck. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” she waved him off. “We handled it. Nothing happened, anyway.”
“Alright, good,” Leo sighed and stretched. “Anyway, let’s go. The sooner we get the food situation sorted, the better.”
The others nodded, and they headed off.
***
“Nox!” Lunara shouted, springing to her feet. “What the hell?!”
“Haha,” a voice sounded from the shadows in the corner of the room. “Sorry about that. And, sorry for being late.”
“How long have you been there?” she pouted.
“Oh, you know,” said the humanoid figure that stepped out of the shadow as if wading through a shallow pool. “I arrived as they were barricading their spot.”
“Right,” Lunara frowned. “Why didn’t you come out?”
“And spoil the surprise?” Nox grinned, his teeth a white contrast against the pitch-black darkness of the rest of his form. “Why would I ever do that?”
“Alright,” Light interjected. “Stop teasing, Nox, and sit down. They’re starting their day.”
“Fine,” Nox sighed and slumped into a chair. “How’s it going for them so far?”
“Pretty rough,” Light explained. “The front-line guy left immediately, wanting to go his own way. Brimstone implies he’s picked him up, so I'd wager we’ll see him again. They lost another last night to a Megaconda—a large constrictor. They’re dealing with that now and moving on.”
“So,” Nox rubbed his chin. “Resilient folk? Promising Candidates?”
“Wait,” Lunara narrowed her eyes. “You picked Ethan without knowing anything?”
“Well, yeah,” Nox shrugged. “He was a rogue, which suits my Gifts very well. Anyway, Darkness prevails. I’d win, no matter who I picked.”
“Right,” Brimstone snickered. “Makes sense since you’ve never won any of these games before. All your Candidates lose themselves to the Shadow Realm.”
“You know,” Nox sneered. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”
“We’ll see,” Brimstone snickered.
“What about your guy, Brim,” Lunara raised an eyebrow, causing the fire-wreathed figure to grumble.
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” he grunted.
“What?” Nox leaned forward. “Not going as well as planned?”
“Urgh, fine,” Brimstone sighed. “You’re never gonna let it slide, anyway. Rourke is a dumbass. He’s a knucklehead who thinks he’s fucking invincible just because he’s been able to fight off some small critters. The moron is going to get himself killed before he leaves the Tutorial. I want a Mulligan!”
“Hell no,” Lunara shook her head and made a cross with her arms. “You denied us our Mulligans last time. It’s only fair you don’t get one this time. Suck it up, and deal with it!”
“They’re in the jungle,” Light interrupted their banter. “Focus. Let’s see what they’re made of.”