After Zilch had returned successfully from the trial, they all decided to spend time relaxing and playing. Splash and Lunch, the two monsters that Prometheus had recently adopted, huffed heavily in the corner of the field that they had created. Prometheus had engraved a large field on the ground to play on, to add some more rules and make the games interesting, but even then, it wasn't a competition. The water-spider and feathery lobster weren't built to run, or do anything at all other than sit still in a cage and slowly accumulate their respective resources.

In their latest game, tag, Zilch abused its intangibility power, and Buzzelina flew in circles around Prometheus, which they had all agreed should start the game. Lunch and Splash tried to run away, but got caught immediately.

Mm, we should play something else. Games usually aren't fun with such a disparity in physical characteristics. I already played hide and seek with Zilch, so I don't feel like doing that again. Maybe I could ask them what we could play?

He created a mental connection with his companions, which was extraordinarily difficult when he had to do it to five of them at the same time.

Soul +1

Oh? Training my Soul got me that? Interesting.

"What do you guys wanna play? Playing tag isn't that fun I think."

They all appeared to stop in their tracks and reflect. Just then, he received a message from Buzzelina. With words. "Hive defense."

What? Since when could she talk?

The wasp queen's mental voice was really soft and had a buzzing undertone. He asked her to elaborate, and this time she sent mental images with one group defending the 'king' and the other attacking. The objective was for the attackers to touch the king and for the defenders to prevent the attackers from winning. A timer would set off, and if the defenders could protect the king long enough, they would win.

"Okay let's gather around and use a stick to determine who is the king." The five monsters gathered around a spot on the ground, on which Prometheus placed a flat rock and a stick in a way that would spin easily. The shapeshifter, with its incredible processing capabilities, could easily predict where the stick would stop, but he didn't do so for a simple reason. Fun. Where would the fun be in knowing how everything would turn out?

Lunch walked up to the stick and used his small and nimble claw to spin it. It fell off the rock, but the lobster put it back on and tried again. This time, the twig started spinning correctly. It spun for some awfully slow seconds until it stopped at Prometheus.

Even the world knows I deserve the title of king!

Another succession of spins determined that the defenders would be Zilch and Lunch, while Splash and Buzzelina would be the attackers. The field they were playing on was roughly a basketball-sized one and was delimited by simple lines engraved on the ground. The rules were simple: The game would be carried out inside the field, and the king had to stay still and do nothing. If he was touched, his team would lose. If he managed to not get touched in five minutes, his team would win.

"Okay everyone, at my three." Zilch and Lunch moved at either side of him. All four monsters seemed charged for the game. "One, two, three!" The game started immediately with Buzzelina flying up high, trying to reach Prometheus by air.

Not gonna work.

Zilch coiled on the ground like a spring and jumped in the air, quickly coiling around the wasp queen like a snake, the ball of the two monsters falling on the ground immediately after. Zilch threw Buzzelina on the opposite side of Prometheus, making sure not to hurt her. She stabilized in the air and landed. Meanwhile, Splash used her agile constitution to try and outmanouver the bigger Lunch, which was blocked by the Lobster's massive claw. The crustacean knew that wasting energy trying to chase the spider would tire him immediately, so he kept his distance and pushed her away with his main claw. Buzzelina tried multiple times to get around the worm's defenses, but they were impenetrable. One time Splash managed to feint and move around Lunch, but was quickly stopped by Zilch spotting her, jumping toward her, and smacking the spider away. With that, the five minutes were up and the defenders had won.

The two defenders celebrated with each other, while the two attackers fumed. They clearly weren't happy with the result. Splash even accused them of cheating, without providing proof.

"Calm down, everyone. You all did great. Unfortunately, you had me as an opponent, so you lost from the beginning." This time, all four of his companions turned toward him and glared at him. He snickered and moved closer to pet all four of them, congratulating the creatures on their performances.

The group spent the rest of the day playing simple games like tag or hide and seek. Prometheus even proposed more active games like wrestling or sparring, but none of the others wanted to join him.

The day ended, and all the monsters started going to sleep, his companions included. He set an internal timer to wake him up at 10 from then, and he went to 'sleep'.

---

Prometheus woke up to Zilch shaking him lightly, while whispering his name continuously. The shapeshifter got up immediately, asking, "What's going on?"

The worm stepped back and answered, "The second trial has finished, so I thought we could maybe go and start the next one so we don't wait too much in line."

Mmm, yeah, I'll get bored waiting forever in line.

"Good idea. Tell the others that we are going to do the trial and come back when we are done." Before walking up the stairs to the platform, he went to the edge of the clearing to absorb some biomass, as he was still in his Eclipse form, the small and stealthy one. As the next trial was the Logistics one, he settled on a four-legged form resembling a massive brown mule, around the weight of an elephant, complete with armor platings made of bone all over his body, along with pockets and natural storage everywhere on his body. His bones and muscles were reinforced by many factors, such as his bio-engineering and the various bonuses from the Hacker and his Soul. Other than that, it looked like a much bigger-than-average, armored mule.

He approached Examiner Brown, who was waiting for the first candidates for the Logistics trial. There weren't any monsters in line. The capybara-looking examiner appeared to rest lazily on another, new, expensive bed, decorated with gemstones on its sides.

The usual mental connection spell snapped into place, letting the Examiner communicate with the shapeshifter.

"Hi, are you ready?"

"Yes, as always."

"Cool. You did very well on the other trials, so, you know, you should do well this time too. Good luck!" Wished him the Examiner. A whirring sound came from the monster's side, and a big portal, slightly taller than Prometheus' current form, opened. As always, he couldn't see on the other side. Stepping through, he prepared mentally to not get affected by the passage through the portal.

---

What awaited him on the other side surprised him. A completely smooth room greeted him, a perfect cube for a shape. It was at least thirty meters long on each side. On the right side, various boxes were lined next to each other, containing many items, such as rings, bracelets, collars, straps, and more. An intense amount of Influence radiated from each one of them.

Stolen novel; please report.

On the left side, A large number of textile materials were stacked neatly on top of each other. Are they clothes? They're all matte black, and they are stacked in various sizes, and the biggest ones are huge.

The most interesting part of the room was that it was completely open on the side in front of Prometheus, and he Could only see clouds on the other side.

What?

A tall figure stood near the edge of the opening, examining something under them. It turned around and walked toward Prometheus. It was a humanoid creature, with red skin, and two pairs of narrow eyes on top of each other. It was completely bald, its head covered instead by two massive curving horns. A spiked tail seemed to start at the creature's lower back.

While Prometheus was stuck analyzing the creature's appearance, it created a mental connection, starting to speak, "Am I that handsome to garner such a long glance?" It laughed heartily and slapped its belly. "Rhetorical question, I know I am. Getting back to us, why are you here?" It had a male voice, so Prometheus thought of it as a man. He waited patiently for an answer with a mischievous grin on his face.

Isn't he similar to demons from old stories on Earth? I am sure various cultures in Europe and Asia had stories regarding winged, red-skinned demo-

He couldn't finish the thought as a large amount of electrical charges appeared out of nowhere in the area around him, almost covering the room in its entirety. Small, black sparks started popping around him. The demon's smile disappeared immediately. It looked between the shapeshifter and the sky, asking alarmingly, "Hey buddy, uh, are you doing this? Because if you are, you better stop. Unless you want all of us to die." The demon laughed nervously.

Ah fuck, I forgot about this thing, I could have used it and destroyed the melee trial. Though, it might have killed them outright so maybe it's for the better.

The electrical charges continued to appear around him at an increased rate, which worried Prometheus.

Here we go again.

He had started making his cells electrically insulating, making his skin have a rubbery texture. The demon, noticing Prometheus' lack of concern, ran to the corner of the room. He grabbed every resource and supply present, using a ton of Influence to cover his skin and the resources, taking a defensive position. All the while yelling at him to stop whatever he was doing and take cover. Naturally, Theo did not need to hide.

A flash of light completely blinded his vision, followed by a sensation of burning all around his body. Milliseconds after the first one, nine other flashes of light blinded him more than anything his visual sensors could handle, completely burning them. The shockwaves resulting from the lighting strikes shook the whole room, completely destroying his auditory sensors. Chunks of the ceiling fell and hit him, managing to strike his Core. The lightning strikes were enough to completely melt off his external body and the surface of the Core.

Prometheus gathered his bearing, trying his best to perform a self diagnosis. This... is bad. Bad bad. Wow. I am in bad place.

Many parts of the Core were damaged as well, much more than what had happened some time ago outside the human city. This time, Theo could barely form coherent thoughts.

He he, it tingles and it's warm.

Chunks of his body lay around him in a bubbling and melting mess. Spots in the ground were melting off, dropping on the ground far below. Despite Prometheus' mental situation, his automatic protocols still functioned as usual. They activated, and made the Core roll around, gathering all the burnt and smoking biomass, using it to fuel the self-repair.

The demon was looking at him with his mouth wide open, stupefied by the turn of events. He slowly released the shield made of Influence and walked near Prometheus, putting a hand under his chin. His Soul is still intact, and he is clearly moving, but what the fuck just happened?

The red-skinned creature laughed. "I didn't expect I would meet someone dumber than me any time soon." He tried forming a mental connection, but he received only random noises and unrecognizable concepts from the creature.

Well, it looks like this dumbass is trying to recover, so I have no choice but to wait. He created a chair made of steel, and sat on it, leaning back on it and resting his legs on a stool. I love getting paid for waiting.

Prometheus spent the next three hours repairing his Core, which used all the biomass he had brought with him. When the damage was gone, and he could finally think, the Hacker interrupted him.

Congratulations! For surviving many Tribulations meant to completely erase you from Eventum, your Trait evolved!

Tribulation Resistance -> Tribulation Immunity!

He ignored the notification and rolled around, trying to check if any biomass was left for him to make a usable body. When he didn't find any, he created a Mental Communication spell directed at the sleeping demon. Theo's Influence slowly moved toward the monster, approaching his head. A big, red hand swatted the spell away, making the demon turn his head away. Loud snoring came from the creature's mouth.

Oh, he is sleeping. I know my scientist used to crave it, so maybe I shouldn't disturb him now? WAIT, is it Unsafe hours??

He checked his internal clock and sighed when he noticed that he still had many hours left until Unsafe hours. Not knowing what to do, the metallic ball rolled toward the stool on which the demon's legs were resting, gently tapping it. It did absolutely nothing. He intensified his action until the stool toppled over, making the red legs fall. Even that didn't seem to wake the demon up.

I can't afford to waste time here, I want those perfect score rewards!

He began pushing harder and harder on the chair, until the chair finally fell backwards, the horns on the demon hitting the ground with a metallic clank. A groan interrupted the monster's snoring, which Prometheus saw as a massive success. He immediately created a mental connection, which went through successfully.

"Can't even fucking sleep at work, the demon realm was much better, fuck." he then tiredly opened his eyes, which settled on Prometheus.

"Oh! You're finally awake. next time, don't make me hit my head on the fucking ground waking me up okay?"

"I want to start the trial."

"Hold your horses, buddy. I have a couple of questions for you. What in all hells was that?"

Prometheus sent confusion through the spell.

"You know what I mean," The demon made sharp and quick sounds with his mouth imitating thunder strikes, moving his to give a better image.

"I don't know. It had happened two times before, but not at this level. If I had to guess, I was too smart for the world, so it needed to take me out!" Prometheus puffed his chest, mentally at least. At the moment he was a metal ball with no body.

The red-skinned monster looked at Prometheus blank-faced.

Why is he looking at me like that? Did I break the spell somehow?

A booming laughter echoed across the ruined room they found themselves in. "You're truly something else, little ball. Random question, why does your Soul look so fucked up?"

"HEY! It's not fucked up. It's just special, okay?"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Oh, right, the trial, almost forgot. You have a simple mission. Well, simple if you consider dropping deep into enemy territory with dangerous cargo as easy as a walk in the park. Take one of those boxes," He pointed toward the simple cardboard boxes with many items in them, "And one of the gliding suits. For your size, before you got obliterated, a size 4 should do fine. You should have received a mental packet with the details. After that, just glide toward the massive green blob on the ground. That's Captain Marta, but don't tell her I called her huge, she'll eat me alive,"

"you don't look very appetizing," Added Prometheus.

"Oh, trust me, she would eat shit that's been left out in the air for days mixed with rotten guts. She will have no trouble eating a snack like me," He then flexed his muscles.

"Okay. I'll go now."

"WAIT,"

Prometheus stopped.

"How do you intend on going like that? Shouldn't you at least return to your weird-ass horse form?"

Oh, he's right. But I don't like the fact that he's right.

"N-no, I can go like this with no problem." Said Prometheus knowing damn well this form had no combat potential at all.

The demon smiled mischievously. "I can smell your hesitation from all the way out here. Listen here, if you get down there like that, you'll die. It won't be a massive issue since this is a trial, and you'll get transported back, but might as well strive for success, right?"

He does make sense.

"Mm, okay. I need organic mass to grow back to my original form."

"Organic mass? Any type is fine?" At Theo's affirmative response, the demon put his hand inside his chest, appearing to look for something. He took out a simple golden pendant and put it around his neck.

He smiled and pointed at the piece of jewelry with his thumb, "Check this shit out," Then, Prometheus felt a small tendril of Influence get inside the pendant from the demon, which cause a large amount of material to spew out of it, falling in front of them with a wet splash. Most of it looked to be various organs, such as livers, kidneys, and more. Occasionally bones could be seen mixed in.

He nodded and started absorbing the organs, recovering weight very quickly. Just then, the usual mental packet arrived, larger than the other ones: Deliver the supplies to the Unit below led by Ground Captain Marta. The Unit is currently fighting a group of soldiers from the Civilized Races Alliance. They have many long-range troops in them so try to avoid them. A map has been sent to show you where you have to send the supplies. Transporting the supplies safely, efficiently, and quickly will result in bonus points. A mental map was attached to the message, the reason why it was so heavy. The image showed a topographic map of a mountain range with various symbols over strategic points. He somehow intrinsically understood what each one meant.

The demon interrupted him, "Uh, are you not gonna ask me where I got all that?"

"Not my business." He then began to change into another form, choosing the pterodactyl. Normally, it wouldn't have feathers, but he added them anyway. Lunch would probably like these.

He grabbed as many boxes as he could with small arms all around his body, which amounted to around half a ton of cargo.

"Okay, then smarta- What the fuck are you turning into?" Asked the monster. He walked over and tried plucking some feathers out, which resulted in Theo slapping the demon's face.

"That was unnecessary. You're such a meanie."

"How do I use the gliding suit."

"Just touch it and it will do the rest."

Prometheus walked over to the black suits stacked on top of each other and touched the one he thought would cover him completely. As soon as he did so, it rapidly expanded, covering his body completely in the rubbery material. Despite its strength, it was completely weightless.

Not wasting any more time, Prometheus walked over the edge of the damaged building, confirming that it was truly floating high up in the air without any propulsion system.

I need to learn how to do this as well.

Looking toward the ground, he could notice only the peak of a mountain surpassing the clouds hundreds of meters below it. Other than that, nothing could be seen from that position.

With that, the shapeshifter jumped off.