[-you will be erased.]
The first time through, he had chosen a sword, mostly because he had panicked and picked the first weapon he thought he could actually use as the time was winding down, which he had ended up regretting. Ari wasn't built for the sword, and couldn't ever manage to develop that combination of fluid grace and wild recklessness that lent itself to using one. Sure, he could do a decent enough impression, but he had always thought that if he could do it over again, he would have picked the spear, for the reach.
But no.
Staff and Dagger.
He felt smooth wood grain against his annoyingly uncalloused palm as a staff materialized in his right hand, and a sheathed dagger attached itself to his belt on the left.
He was not a brilliant fighter, able to carry the entirety of humanity with his skill at arms. While it had taken him the better part of two decades to realize that in the last go round, he now knew exactly who he was. The staff and dagger, affectionately dubbed the Splint and Scalpel by his comrades, were his tools. He was a healer to his bones, and he had one more chance to save them all, or barring that, save as many damn people as he could.
And nothing is going to get in my way.
He walked forward until he was standing right before the dog, and knelt down, offering it a hand to sniff. He edged forward, wrapping his arms around it in a hug and letting the dog press itself to his shoulder. He took a deep breath, acknowledging the countdown ticking in the back of his brain. 47 seconds…
Then snapped its neck.
He slowly lowered the dog to the ground and stood up.
“I’m sorry, boy” he said, shouldering the staff. “I’ll see you when I finally go down.”
[Objective complete]
[Please wait for the rest of your species to complete the first objective]
He took a moment to breathe and feel for his mana. It was there, just diffuse, and… polluted, somehow?
In… Out. In… Out. Condense the flow and send it round.
[Time elapsed. Reinstancing]
He opened his eyes once again to see his surroundings blur, and suddenly he was no longer alone. The corpse of the dog was gone, and on every square of the chessboard, spread out by a distance of a few meters, were other people. People of every size, nationality, and race were there, all separated by a few feet, all with varying amounts of anguish on their faces and blood on their clothes.
[Welcome to the Trials, Humanity]
Around Ari reigned partitioned chaos, as most of the people appeared to be screaming without sound, or trying to leave their square to reach another human only to not move an inch, or attempting to make themselves understood to fellows who could not hear their voices.
[62% have passed the Preliminary round. Congratulations]
[3,372,351,259 humans have failed the Preliminary round and are now in storage.]
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[As you move forward in the Trials, you will become powerful beyond your wildest imaginings.]
[If 20 humans succeed in completing all rounds, your planet and those erased in the trials will be returned to you. Good luck.]
[Beware, as there are many paths to power. Some will leave you recognizably human. Most will not.]
[The system will answer any queries you make to it]
[Prologue Round One will begin in 30 seconds]
As the timer ticked down, most of the motion in Ari’s eyeline slowed as the people around him processed the voice in their heads blandly telling them of the deaths of billions and promising power overwhelming.
There was so much pain on their faces. Had it hurt that much for him the first time around?
Yes, it probably had, he decided.
He could read the lips of some of those closest to him (a skill he had picked up sometime in the last few decades of blood and war), and the reactions around ranged from pleading for help to praying to screaming bloody murder.
Steady, you can't help anyone yet. Soon.
The world blurred, and once again he was alone on the chessboard.
[Before any round commences, you have the opportunity to assign attributes and spend system credits]
[For completing the introductory round, you have earned one attribute boost and 5 system credits. To spend attribute boosts, invoke-]
“Status”, he interrupted.
Status
Ari Carlson - Baseline Human
Health - 72% / Stamina - 93% / Focus - 97%
Attributes:
Body - 0
Mind - 0
Nerve - 0
Spirit - 0
Skills:
None
Titles:
None
Ari winced. About as he had expected, but he hadn’t thought his health would be that low. What had he been eating before the end of the world? Attributes always started at zero, and he wouldn’t be getting any titles or skills for a while yet, so that was normal. Cultivation shouldn't be showing up yet, right? No bloodline either?
He shook his head to clear the cobwebs.
“Assign attribute boost to mind, please. Open Shop.”
The attribute point clicked into place and he felt its subtle touch with the benefit of long years of experience. You couldn't feel your mind speed up, but you could feel your body, your breathing, your heart, slow down very slightly. His emotions also felt calmer, more balanced, which was a bigger boon than it seemed in this apocalypse.
The shop opened up before him, and the main page of the infinite marketplace that was the system shop was the Featured Deal, supposedly what the system thought he should buy based on his performance so far.
Basic Leather Breastplate - 50% off - 5 (10) Credits
It was a decent looking chestguard made of sleek, thin, leather, and Ari felt a spike of annoyance upon seeing it. 10 credits worth of armor was basically worthless, barely any more protective than the clothes people would already be wearing, and buying it would mean they couldn’t get anything that would actually help them survive. It was a small thing, but it would cost lives.
Ari double checked some prices, then spoke.
“Purchase Basic Backpack, Basic Bandages, and Canteen, all in brown, please.”
[Basic Backpack (Brown) - 3 credits]
[Basic Bandages (1 Roll, 30 Feet) (Brown) - 1 credit]
[Basic Canteen (.5L) (Brown) - 1 credit]
An unimpressive haul, but a useful one materialized on the ground before him. He put the bandages and the empty canteen into the rough canvas pack and strapped it on, wincing under the light weight.
I need to get in shape fast, I can't count on getting the same lucky breaks as last time. The better I perform, the more people I can help, and the further humanity can push through the trials. We need to make it this time.
Resolve firmed, he closed his eyes as the world blurred, and the first round of the prologue was created around him.