Marcos looked over the list of goods that was floating in front of him. After talking to the system he had found that the system could show him what was available for purchase and prices, and even give him a floating touchscreen, but couldn’t actually sell him anything outside of the reward grounds. This place seemed to have everything that he could want, with a search function that even took questions like “how can I increase my level to nascent soul the fastest?” This question, which he had typed in jokingly, had revealed that there was a text here for ten thousand points that contained a complete cultivation path for the first five levels.
The text’s description, however, talked about refining ones flesh over a matter of days or weeks through the use of nanotechnology and using devices that would rebuild your body faster that they could damage it. It sounded like a madman’s idea of how to push Rebirth to the limit. From what he understood from the description, you would go insane from the pain, even if the constant rebuilding of your brain didn’t erase your entire identity. As far as he could tell, this method wasn’t meant for a living person, but to push a lab-grown clone to the limit before it had a conscious mind so that the person whose mind was later transferred into it wouldn’t need to cultivate their new body to a point where they had full use of their abilities.
Even if he had ten thousand points, he would only buy such a technique as a curiosity to see how to break through to Nascent Soul, as that was still a state secret on Earth. This prompted him to look for Nascent Soul level cultivation techniques in general, and saw that the system listed twenty seven of them. Other than that mad-man’s technique, the rest seemed relatively normal. The strangest included merging one’s mind and soul with an inanimate object, essentially becoming the spirit of an object, or a ghost within a machine. Because the artificial body could be more easily upgraded, if the merge was done well enough, it was much faster to awaken the soul at that point. He wasn’t a fan of the cyberpunk genre, so wouldn’t be trying that one, but Gabriel might like it.
After that he had narrowed his search to things that cost under two hundred points. This still listed thousands of objects, but he could at least sort them into categories. The first thing he noticed upon doing this is that he could buy all-day satiation pills for one point each. Apparently whoever made this place wanted to make it easier on the people here by guaranteeing their food supply. There were also all manner of medicines, priced at one, ten, and one hundred points for level one, two, and three pills respectively. The prices were oddly uniform, making him suspect that the person who designed this set the prices this way so that he didn’t favor any one path, without worry for earning a profit or losing money. Of course, they were earning the ‘money’ by completing tests, not doing things that were of value to the realm’s creator, so he doubted that profit was really a concern anyway.
He briefly considered buying a level three regeneration pill, which could fully repair the body in less than a minute, and even regrow missing limbs, assuming the damage wasn’t too bad. This would be his trump card in case he almost died in one of the trials. As he thought about it, though, a man in his late teens ran into the gazebo and collapsed on the floor.
“Congratulations,” said a message in the air. “Total time: Three Hours Seven Minutes, one second. You are allowed to attempt to repeat the trial, however your reward for subsequent runs will be decreased. You have accumulated a score of one hundred points for completion. Do you wish to travel to the reward grounds, repeat the trial from the beginning, or be sent to another trial which was selected for you?”
The man panted heavily and only raised one hand to present his middle finger to the announcement. “Fuck you System. You almost got me killed.” he said.
Outside the barrier Marcos saw dozens of panthers and several hawks. They didn’t run into the barrier, as the gazebo was well lit, but they were close enough that they would be able to grab him if he tried to escape. The man had many wounds that were bleeding severely, so Marcos pulled out his first aid kit and went over to start bandaging the man’s wounds.
The man noticed this and looked at Marcos like he was confused before saying “Thanks, but I’m not giving you my points.”
“Can you even give people points?” Marcos asked, before telling the man to remove his shirt so that he could bandage the torso wounds. The screen Marcos was was previously looking at changed to show the answer to his question.
‘Not directly, but there is a dueling stage where two or more contestants can join and bet points on themselves, taking the loser’s points if they win. In order to use it for this purpose, however, one must complete at least three challenges first.’
Marcos read the response, then let the teenager read it before asking another question. “Why did you build the area if we aren’t allowed to use it?”
‘This platform is used for the Trial of Beasts, where one earns points by killing simulated beasts for a set reward based on the level and type of beast.’
“Whatever tried to eat me definitely wasn’t simulated.” said the teen as Marcos grabbed a needle. One of these wounds was pretty deep and would need stitches.
‘Correct. The beasts outside are authentic carbon based lifeforms. The ones in the Trial of Beasts, however, are facsimiles based on those beasts, as well as others which don’t exist on this small world.’
The teen nodded. “In that case, why are you being so helpful now, System? I talked to you at the starting location and you’ll answer me here, but wouldn’t respond while I was almost dying out there. Didn’t want to interfere in the trial even to save my life?”
‘This system is not programmed to save the lives of the test takers, only to provide them with the means to save their own lives in accordance with their performance. As a result, it only interacts with trail takers at designated locations and under specific conditions.’ A screen showing what was for sell popped up in front of him. ‘For example, the system is able to suggest that you purchase a skin, muscle, tendon, and blood pill for four points in order to completely repair the damage you took during this trial.’ The items were highlighted with a prompt asking if he wanted to add those four items to his cart. ‘The primitive medicine you are currently using will leave scars which will effect your long term performance and will take too long to heal.’
“Why didn’t you suggest that to me?” asked Marcos.
‘You are a body cultivator, with a higher than normal pain tolerance and your wounds are mostly superficial, therefore you can benefit from them far more.’
“Yeah, but won’t they still leave a scar and impede my future performance?”
‘They will not prevent you from advancing to Foundation, which will allow you to remove them once you undergo Rebirth, so they aren’t deemed necessary to avoid.’
“That...actually makes a twisted kind of sense.” said Marcos, and the teenager looked at him with a puzzled look. “I’m tough enough to handle it, and it won’t be a serious impediment to advancing, so the system doesn’t see it as a big enough deal to address the issue. You, on the other hand, were wounded far worse and are a mind cultivator, so your pain tolerance for physical pain is worse. You needed the medicine more than I did.” The teenager nodded in understanding. “I’m Marcos, by the way.”
“Franky.” said the teen, and pulled out his cell phone. “We don’t have a signal, so we can’t call each other, but we can still share numbers.”
Marcos nodded, then pulled out his phone and swapped numbers. “Actually, there is a phone mode where we can communicate directly over short distances as long as we have exchanged security keys before hand, or to broadcast openly if we haven’t. It’s usually not used in the USA, except in emergencies, but all modern phones have that feature.” He showed Franky how to turn the ‘Emergency Broadcast Call’ function on in the settings.
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“Interesting. I didn’t know they could do that. Does that mean that we can call each other once we leave here?”
Marcos shrugged. “As flat as the land is, we can probably get a signal one hundred kilometers or so, but we’ll likely be further apart than that. It doesn’t work on Earth very well, as it can’t go over the horizon, but I’ve seen videos of people standing on mountains one hundred and twenty kilometers apart and using it to talk. Might kill the battery, though. They aren’t designed to be used like that and it uses a lot of power.”
Franky nodded. “So, want to try and take the next trial together?” Franky asked.
“System, is that possible?” Marcos asked.
‘The trials are meant to test you on an individual basis, so two people cannot aid each other in the trial. However, I can send you to the same trial at the same time, and you can meet up again once you reach the finish.’
“In that case, will the test be random or can we select the next trial?’
‘Ability to select trial is locked behind three successfully completed trials. Furthermore, tester Marcos and tester Franky do not have the qualification to take the same tests, so only the tests which both of you qualify for are available.’
“Why don’t I qualify for the same tests?” asked Franky.
‘Tester Franky barely passed his first level one test, and is therefore unqualified for the level two and greater tests. Tester Marcos, however, performed fairly well, and therefore qualifies for level two tests. Furthermore, there are tests which both of you lack the skill to attempt, like the Beast Taming test, and tests which only one of you lack the skills to attempt, like Marcos’s lack of skill in Alchemy and Franky’s lack of skill in Survival. The first level is mostly tests which anyone can attempt, however, as they test more general skills and personality traits, like ingenuity or the willingness to flee from danger and persist even when the situation gets difficult.’
“Wait, are you saying that me running like a madman while almost wetting myself was actually something you wanted to happen?”
‘A strong survival instinct is an admirable trait, however you lacked the wisdom to avoid further increasing the threat, so you couldn’t be rewarded bonus points for your performance and decisiveness. If you had managed to avoid the beasts and sneak here, for example, you would have received far more points, and your highly developed stealth skill would have been tested as well.’
Marcos looked at him and he shrugged. “I may have done some pick-pocketing before, but I don’t do that anymore.”
Marcos sighed and nodded. “Just don’t steal from me and don’t get caught stealing from the others. The police chief seemed pretty serious about making sure that no crimes occurred in here.”
Franky nodded. “So, System, if I go buy some pills first, am I still eligible to be sent to the same place as Marcos?”
‘Yes.’ The system answered.
“Fine then, buy those four pills for me and let me take them, then send me wherever you sent him.”
‘Affirmative.’ said the screen, and Franky disappeared. ‘Are you ready to proceed as well?’ it asked.
Marcos thought for a second before nodding. “Sure. I want to buy a new technique, but I don’t seem to have enough points for something nice.” He stood up and disappeared, then reappeared beside a one hundred meter long concrete path.
Two other people were also there, a middle aged man and a woman that looked to be in her thirties. The woman was panting heavily, as if she had just completed exercising. A sign floated in front of her, saying that she had received twenty one points.
“High, I’m Marcos.” he said to them.
“Carol.” said the woman.
“Jim.” said the man.
“So, can’t complete the challenge?” Marcos asked as Franky appeared beside him.
“Oh, no, we can, we’re just farming it for points.” said Jim.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty easy way to earn points,” said Carol, “but with the diminishing returns it’s starting to not be worth it.”
Franky introduced himself. “So, what’s the challenge here?” he asked.
“Pretty simple.” said Jim. “The gravity increases by ten percent for every meter you walk. You get five points for every meter your first time, though. Ten meter minimum to get rewards.”
Franky nodded. “System, how far do I need to go to unlock level two challenges?”
A sign appeared in front of him. ‘Ten meters to complete the challenge, fifteen to qualify for level two.’
“Hey, I didn’t know it could answer questions.” said Jim.
“Yeah, it can also show you the shop if you want to see what you can get with your points, though you have to go to the shop area to pick them up.” replied Frank. “Basically looks like a convenience store, but with small teleporters to give you your stuff.”
Jim nodded. “Might have to try that.”
Franky walked to the starting line. “So, I just need to stay on my feet under two and a half Gs of gravity to qualify. Piece of cake.”
He stepped onto the concrete and immediately stumbled a few meters before steadying himself. “Yeah, I definitely feel heavier. It’s a little weird, but not too hard.”
“I went thirty six meters my first time.” said Carol. “If you reach that point you won’t think it is that easy.”
Frank nodded and took another step. With each one he got a little slower, but kept going. At eleven meters he was having trouble maintaining his balance on only one leg, so he barely lifted them. At seventeen he started sliding his feet rather than walking. He managed to reach twenty three meters before collapsing, at which point he was teleported back to the start. A sign appeared in front of him. ‘Reward: One Hundred fifteen points.’
Carol laughed at him. “Even Jim managed to make it further his first try and he’s an old man.”
“I’m only seventy three.” he said. “That’s not really that old for a cultivator.”
“Whatever, old man.”
“You just wait until we get home. See if I leave you a tip next time.”
Marcos looked at them confused. “Oh, she’s a waitress at the steakhouse on Rose street. I go there all the time.” said Jim.
Marcos nodded. “Then I guess that means it’s my turn.” He walked up to the starting line and took a deep breath before stepping onto the concrete. The first step felt weird, like he was a bit off balance, but he easily caught himself. For the first five meters he walked in circles to get used to the changing gravity, then started walking normally. At seventeen meters he had to start pushing himself a bit, like a heavy workout. At twenty three, he started to feel like he was hitting his limit. It wasn’t just the weight of his body. He massed around one hundred and ten kilos with as much muscle as he had, so he felt like he was carrying an additional two hundred and sixty or so kilos. He had squatted more than that before, even done a few reps at that level. But it also put pressure on his internal organs. Even his heart had to pump harder just to move the blood up to his head. He could probably push himself to reach the thirty meter mark, but even then it would take everything he had.
But hadn’t Carol said she had reached past there? She didn’t look like a body builder, so how had she managed. Or had she just lied about that? She seemed sincere enough when she was bragging, so there must be a trick to this. Marcos only had to think for a few seconds. Right, they were cultivators. You could use qi to enhance your body. That meant that he could use it to go even further. He usually didn’t do that outside of quick attacks, but he knew how.
He quickly pushed qi into his muscles and immediately felt like the weight on him was no more than carrying a person. The stress on his internal organs hadn’t lessened, though, so he sent qi into them as well, reinforcing them. He immediately felt the effects of the pressure lessen. While the pressure was still there, his heart no longer had to strain to push blood up to his brain.
He kept walking, easily making it to the thirty seven meter mark, where he had to push even more qi into his body to counteract the effect. Fighter pilots might routinely deal with this level of gravity when doing turns, but they had seats to lessen the effect and only had to experience it for seconds. He had been at it for minutes, and the force was still increasing.
He kept walking, concentrating only on putting more and more qi into his body any time the pressure started to get too high. Eventually, however, his qi reserves ran out before his body did. With the loss of qi every cell in his body suddenly experienced the immense pressure of the high gravity and he crumpled to the ground. The teleportation activated and he appeared back at the beginning.
A sign appeared in front of him. ‘New Record for Earth: 61.4 meters. Congratulations, you received three hundred and five points.’
Marcos smiled, then went to sleep. When he awoke a few minutes later, he noticed two things. First, his bracelet had nearly refilled his qi already, but his limit had increased, likely from pushing his qi so hard during the trial. Second, several of his internal organs were injured. “System, can I buy an internal organ pill, then return here?”
‘Selection of trials is locked behind the completion of three trials. You would need to complete one more trial before that option is available.’
“Fine.” he said. “Hey, guys, I’m going to go do another trial and then come back.” He pulled out his cell phone so that they could exchange numbers. “If you want to compete in other trials, we can meet up again afterwards. Otherwise, it was nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll meet again at the end of the hidden realm.”
Jim shrugged and pulled out his cell phone, and Carol did the same. “Sure, we can meet up later. Say, six hours? That will give Jim and I time to complete a few more trials. We’ve gotten about all we can from this one.” The four of them agreed to meet up here at Sixteen Hundred, a little less than six hours from now, and after making sure everyone had each other’s contact info, Marcos teleported away.
