The interior of the Lockheart estate is even more ostentatious than I imagined. The flooring material is white marble, but it is soft to the touch and seems to swirl. The walls themselves are gray panels of polished granite. Magnificent paintings of alien landscapes break the monotony of the spotless walls. The people inside, and there are a lot, all look like they could punch a hole through a steel plate. I can’t help but shiver. Would these people beat me to death if they knew my inner thoughts?

Because oh boy, I got a new disease! The symptoms of ‘Seeing-A-Treasure-And-Not-Walking-Away’ disease are here to stay! The sheer willpower it takes to not slip into the Twilight World!

Luckily for me, I have something far greater than simple willpower. The fear of a horrible death! That Maria Lockheart will turn me into an ice statue if I disappear and all the fancy magic stuff in her gigantic house stops working. So robbing the place is out of the question for now. Instead, I take in the unbelievable scenery. Those sprawling, maze-like corridors are something I thought I would never see in my entire life. If I were paranoid, I would believe that the manor was bigger on the inside.

But that is impossible, right? I glance at the Bracer on my right forearm and shrug. I should have learned by now that what I would consider common sense can be neatly packaged and thrown out of the nearest window.

“Take a seat,” Maria says as we enter a large office hidden behind a massive door covered in intricate engravings of mythical beasts. Her large desk is a chunk of dark wood with gold inlays at the corners, a testament to excessiveness. Even the chairs look expensive beyond belief. They are more like luxury seats than chairs, and sitting in the leather furniture feels like sitting on a cloud. This much comfort is welcome after that grueling experience with the Tethering Bracer. That thing is evil incarnate! “You must have a lot of questions. Sadly, I don’t have a lot of time to answer them.” Maria sits down and pulls out an old laptop from a drawer. “Yes,” she murmurs after the machine comes to life. She then checks a few documents. “This will do. Johnathan, your friend will go through a Test Of Might before he can join our ranks.”

My friend jumps from his chair, “Seriously? That’s way too—” a stern look from his mother is enough to make his voice lower in volume as he sits back down with a grim expression. “It's too dangerous.”

“It isn’t.” Maria narrows her eyes. “Everyone, myself included, went through this Test. If he fails then he does not have the qualifications needed to join our organization.”

“But he will get himself killed!” Johnathan protests. On my end, this conversation made me regret coming here. Johnathan seems way more used to the kind of battles like the one that unfolded at the bar, and he almost died. I have never fought someone in my entire life. How am I supposed to become a magical super-soldier? The Twilight World does not mean anything when my enemies can chuck a star at my face.

Maria scoffs, “Of course he will not. Your brother will supervise the Test since his schedule has been empty in the past few days.”

“I will?” Nathaniel grumbles with a raised eyebrow but accepts the assignment with a shrug. “Oh well, it’s been a while since I managed a tutorial for the newbies. Do we have a new batch coming?”

“Not for a while, but his power intrigues me.” Maria glances at me for a brief instant. Her determined gaze makes me shrink in my chair. I fucked up by coming here. “I admit it will be unorthodox, but a single candidate will make the Test progress at a faster pace.”

“A Test Of Might?” I break the awkward silence. Maybe these people are bad at naming things, and I will end up passing a written exam.

“The Test Of Might is the first ‘real’ test we put our aspirants through,” Johnathan explains with gritted teeth. “You are supposed to defeat several creatures in one of our Pocket Dimensions.”

I blink a few times. Pocket Dimensions? Do these people have miniature universes lying around in their basement? What did I get myself into? My mother always warned me to never follow strangers. I should have listened!

“But our aspirants are always trained by their families beforehand. Even if they go through a period of Normalization, they are still receiving a martial education.” Johnathan continues. “He hasn’t. He’ll get himself hurt, or worse.”

“Understanding the workings of the Normal society has no bearing on this. You went undercover in the local college, but it has not impacted your duties. He will be fine.” His mother closes her laptop. From her cold expression, the conversation is already over. “Explain the rules to him, and make sure that he arrives tomorrow morning. You’re dismissed.” She waves her hand in the air, signaling us to leave her office.

A crushing pressure washes over me, and I struggle to breathe. This Test Of Might sounds dangerous, and I signed up for it like an idiot. We leave the lavish office in silence. Should I even bother with a deadly test that I know I will fail? Or should I cut my losses and rob the Lockheart before washing my hands of this mess? They won’t have any evidence that their magical trinkets stopped working because of me, even if I doubt that any of the Lockheart soldiers would bother with something like ‘evidence’ or 'due process'.

Can I escape the estate with the twenty-something minutes I still have available on my countdown? That sounds unlikely. This place is in the middle of nowhere, and the mansion itself is gigantic. I shake my head, it’s not going to happen. At best, I will be forced out of the Twilight World in the middle of the massive courtyard.

“I’ll leave you to do the explaining, I have some preparations to make for tomorrow,” Nathaniel says before vanishing into the maze of corridors and busy hallways.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Fucking hell,” My friend mutters. “You know, we won’t do anything if you decide to give up on the Test. I can guarantee that.” He finally speaks after staring at the ground for a second. “That would be way safer for you.”

Something named ‘Test Of Might’ does sound unpleasant, very unpleasant. How am I supposed to pass it? I doubt I would go far with my remaining Spell-In-A-Tube.

“How does a Test Of Might work?” I still ask the tall man.

He lets out a sigh, “It is what it sounds like. We drop you into a Pocket Dimension, and you have to defeat some specific magical creatures under a certain amount of time.”

I’m fucked if I accept that! A ‘kill ten boars’ starter quest but in real life. Except the boars are bigger than a truck, and they can shoot lasers out of their eyes.

“I see. Then I will not bother with the Test. You can warn your brother, so he doesn’t waste his time.” I say. “But can I still get a few pointers on where to purchase information about Awakened people and gadgets like the Spell-In-A-Tube?”

“You can't do that.” The Lockheart heir replies with a wry smile. “Awakened people all belong to groups or special families. Some of them are independent, but they have connections in that sphere. They will not accept an outsider, especially someone in your situation. If I were you, I would ignore all of that and live a peaceful life. It would—”

“What?” I exclaim. So I’m pretty much fucked. If I want to gather Twilight Points then I have to pass this damn Test Of Might. Who would turn their back on a world of magic, on a world that could bring me answers about the power I acquired from a dream? “Then forget I said anything. Explain the rules to me.”

Johnathan raises an eyebrow, “Are you sure about this? You will be under supervision, and we have good healers. But an accident can always happen, and I would never forgive myself if I let you die because of our shitty tests.”

I turn my head towards him, “How can I refuse? Your family is my only ticket into this world.”

“Is this a world you want to be a part of?” my friend replies with a grim expression. “The world of Awakened is violent, despite the thin veneer of civilization we pretend to maintain. Business competition can end up in all-out war if the deal goes bad. You saw it yourself. And don’t get me started on the dangers of gathering materials in other dimensions. A lot of good men died because of our operations.” He says with a forlorn look. “A lot of good men that left behind grieving families.”

I gulp. Do I want to join a world like that? The Twilight World grants me near invincibility if I react fast enough, but that is a big ‘if’. If someone or something sneaks up on me before I notice, then no amount of teleportation will stop a spell launched at point-blank range from vaporizing me. I have no combat experience, no familiarity with the magical world. A single mistake is all it would take for my life to end.

But what do I have to look forward to? The Twilight World has freed me from the rat race of modern wage slavery, but is it all I want from life? Do I want a life devoid of goals? A life that is only about indulging my basest desires over and over again until I die? As safe as it would be, I— I don’t want that. It might sound stupid, but I want to know how the Twilight World will evolve if I keep gathering Twilight Points. I want answers about my power.

So what if I end up fighting dragons? An overgrown lizard can’t do shit to me if I run away through an alternate dimension. I clench my fists and look straight into Johnathan’s worried eyes. “I do,” I say with as much resolve as I can muster.

Johnathan sighs, but nods. “I know that look. Nothing is going to change your mind.” He groans, “Promise me one thing.” I raise an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. “Don’t die. Please. I have buried too many friends already.” A single look is enough to understand the pain he went through. It’s a far cry from the jovial comrade I am used to, but I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to see what he has seen.

“I— I promise,” I say with a solemn tone. I might not be as reliable as I want to be, but I will keep my word.

“Okay then,” my friend explains. “Now I understand why my brother keeps smoking like a chimney.” He grumbles. “Now, for the rules of the Test Of Might. There aren’t many, and most of them won’t apply to you since you’re going to take the test alone. But you can’t ask for our help before the test. We can’t give you equipment or techniques until you’re an official member of our family. Furthermore, we can’t give you any information about the beasts that will appear during the Test. You have to figure it all on your own.”

Oh. Shit! How am I supposed to— Scratch that, I guess I’m going to rob a gun store tonight. Let’s hope that regular guns are going to be enough against — well hopefully it will be something like Goblins. Goblins are trash-tier mobs, right?

“A bit harsh, but I hope I’ll manage,” I reply with a wry smile. “So is it going to happen?”

“Well, I’ll bring you home, unless you have another place you want to go to. Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.” My friend explains. I nod, giving him details about the parking lot where I left my car.

“Okay, this is going to take a bit longer than before.” Johnathan apologizes as he pulls out a small blue wand from a pocket and waves it around. It takes ten minutes before a familiar blue beam appears. “Ready?” he asks, and I answer with a nod. His figure disappears, and mine follow suits. This time, I follow my friend’s wise advice and close my eyes during the brief but intense process of traveling by Tethering Bracer.

I stop holding my breath as soon as my feet touch solid ground again and open my eyes to reveal a dark and deserted parking lot.

“I’ll be taking that,” he points at my Bracer. I’m more than happy to get rid of the horrifying device. Whoever invented this transportation method was a psychopath! “Then same place, tomorrow morning?” I nod, and Johnathan gives me one last complicated look before he disappears. I look up at the sky and can’t see the beam.

But now is not the time for stargazing. I have a busy schedule ahead of me so I head for my trusty vehicle. It feels weird sitting on the used seat again after experiencing the Bracers, but the familiar rumbling of the engine soothes my taut nerves. “Well, time for a robbery!” I mutter to psych myself up as I use my phone to find the nearest gun shop. It’s only twenty minutes away from my current location, so it will allow my countdown to refill a bit.

I have always found driving at night relaxing. I don’t know why, but being alone on the dark road has always soothed my worries. I can’t help but think about my decision. Did I make the right choice? Am I throwing my life away because of a misplaced yearning for adventure? I shrug, the worst-case scenario is my failure of the Test. If that happens, then at least I won’t have any regrets.

The gun shop is coming into view. It’s closed, which is not surprising considering how late it is. But I’m lucky since there are big fragile windows at the entrance. A good hit with one of the wrenches I keep in my trunk will be plenty enough to break-in. I grab the biggest wrench I have and close my eyes.

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:31:07***

It’s time to commit a crime!