The trial started in a simple manner, it was just platforms that appeared in front of each of the floating islands and nothing more. Eric took a moment to look at the islands on each side, trying to catch a hint of what to do.

  “It’s obvious what I have to do, but is really that simple?”

  As he observed the island to the right, he noticed that the one on the island was also hesitant to make a move and right when they decided to jump forward, the platform that appeared in front of him suddenly disappeared. Thought they were lucky as they reacted quickly and managed to grab on to the following platform which was close.

  Eric quickly shifted his gaze back toward his own platform, noticing that his nearest one had also disappeared.

  “Shit!”

  With the hesitation that was clouding his movements now gone, he quickly jumped onto the following platform and began to advance at a steady pace.

  While advancing through the first floating platforms and still near his own island, he caught something interesting from the corner of his eye and along with it, a sudden chill rose to meet his leg. But he failed to notice it, attributing it to the cold of the elevation.

  From an island below, a figure leaped high into the air and landed in the air, not at the same elevation as the platforms but close. And they repeated this process until soon enough, they reached their central platform.

  Then a moment later, a huge surge of energy emanating from the central platform was released as a horizontal wave. It was so powerful that it caused some of the participants of that level to falter and fall. While those who stood firmly on their respective platform quickly found it missing, also falling.

  ----------

  Neris stood still near the edge of her island, slowly eating berry after berry. Her calm attitude was a fa?ade meant to mask the internal turmoil that was wreaking havoc within her.

  Who could have prepared something so obscure? So, unseen, and most importantly, so powerful. I didn’t even notice it affecting me until it was too late. She stopped eating. What would’ve happened if we hadn’t noticed? Would he have taken us back toward his creator? His master? She took a deep breath and when she exhaled, the trees began to freeze.

  Turning to look around, she noticed that everyone else had begun to leave their island and advance toward the central one. She scoffed. “You need all the advantages possible.”

  Eating the last of the berries she had picked, she cleaned her hands in the water pond. She prevented its freezing by controlling her own temperature, making it far more humanlike and she drank without worry.

  “Now that I think about it,” Neris said as she made her way back toward the island’s edge. “Did the System notify me of his death?” Pausing to consider what she had felt from her encounter with Eric, she quickly dismissed her worries. “He should’ve bled out. There was no surviving what we did to him. I’ll confirm it when I have access to the System once more. For that, I need to quickly get out of here.”

  With a powerful leap, she increased her own body temperature to the limit. As soon as she reached the level she wanted, she froze the air. Even if the air froze, that didn’t mean that she was suddenly on solid ground, the frozen air would just fall. That’s why she only tapped it and pushed herself forward, rapidly reaching her island.

  On the island she found a simple button made of stone. She pressed it with some force and a gate opened behind her. After crossing through the gate she felt energy beginning to surge as the gate closed behind her.

  ----------

  Eric had been making a leisurely advance, but he shifted somewhat and began to make an honest effort.

  At first, the platforms were appearing one after the other, almost stuck to each other, but slowly, they began to drift apart. This was still incredibly manageable, and it messed with the sudden sense of urgency that he had recently developed, dampening it a bit. He now felt a certain level of freedom as he advanced. With this newfound freedom, Eric shifted his attention toward the single island floating in the distance.

  “Is it me or is the island still just as far away as before?” he asked himself with a frown. Still feeling somewhat free, he turned to look at the island he had arrived at and noticed that it was quite a distance away from where he was. “I could probably reach it if I can jump like I did on the first floor,” he said, estimating the distance. “If that’s longer, than what’s going on?”

  His concentration was dragged back toward the trial itself when his foot didn’t land where it was supposed to. Quickly turning to face forward and to his foot, he saw that only half his foot was on the platform. With a rapid glance at the path he had just taken and was still visible, he noticed that the platforms were moving apart ever so slightly. A barely noticeable change that resulted in his current situation.

  “Better focus,” Eric said, dismissing his thoughts and bringing back forth the sense of urgency he had previously dismissed.

  This slow changing platform traversal continued on for what felt like hours. The changes, while slow, were consistent. The platforms that slowly drifted apart hit a sort of maximum and stopped doing so, but immediately something else changed. Their elevation began to vary. Once more this lasted for what seemed to be hours and it stopped and something else began.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  This time it was the rate at which the platforms in front appeared. It began to slow down, at times only leaving the immediately next platform available to him.

  But even this meant nothing to him. With his new senses and fine motor control, he could easily navigate these platforms with incredible ease. “I’m pretty sure it’s just boredom that makes this seem eternal,” he said as he took another step.

  ----------

  Wu Ling was near the bottom level of the islands; she looked around and with a couple of blinks she confirmed that Mercer wasn’t within her level.

  “Bastard should be fine on his own,” she said, her tone carrying a sense of relief. “Better take a moment to rest.”

  She made her way back toward the cave, drank a bit of water and gathered some berries. Once inside the cave she arrived at, she got into a meditative position with a handful of berries on top of a large leaf on the ground beside her.

  After a couple of hours, she opened her eyes feeling refreshed and most of the fatigue she had accumulated from the previous floor had disappeared. Making her way outside, she stared at the sun for a while.

  “It hasn’t moved. Is it artificial?” she asked herself, narrowing her eyes at it, trying to glimpse something. “Eh,” she said with a shrug. “Not my problem.”

  She approached the edge of her island, sure that no one was aware of her, and she suddenly appeared on the central island.

  “Wow! That was way further than I thought,” she said with surprise. “What is going on with this space? The sun doesn’t move, and space is fucked.” She glanced upward and then downward. “You better make it out alive Mercer.”

  Only taking a brief moment to catch her breath, she quickly pressed the stone button and crossed the portal gate. As the gate closed, energy began to surge.

  ----------

  Another surge of energy was felt by everyone, regardless of how close they were to the source. Eric felt a slight sense of panic but continued as he was. “I’m sure they’re doing something I can’t, like a concept or flying. No need to let it get to my head,” he said, calming himself if only a bit.

  More time had passed and the only way Eric had of knowing that time had passed was due to the increasing distance between him and the island he arrived at. The sun refused to move from its starting location, and it really messed with his perception of time.

  At some point the platforms not only became mobile, but their size and form also began to shift. During the initial moments of change it was more an inconvenience than it was difficult, but it quickly became more intense.

  Platforms in which he could easily stand on with both feet became scarce, with the largest only being able to hold half a foot. And their shapes and sizes started to become wilder. The distance between each platform also became more unpredictable.

  When the trial first started the changes were small and gradual, now they were sudden and instant. Even the time that each platform remained active was changed, now only allowing him to touch them before quickly disappearing.

  Eric’s entire body became tense as he became aware of his surroundings and of his entire body. His legs were no longer enough for him to make his way through the entire way, he needed to employ his entire body, at the very least for balance.

  “Master fine motor control and balance, indeed,” Eric said under his breath.

  With every step he became more aware of how his body’s movements affected each other. When at first each step was a risk, now he was aware of how to balance each one out, allowing him to advance with greater ease and faster movement.

  Before he knew it, his advance no longer required as much mental concentration but his body was still as tense as ever. Becoming aware of how certain things were, did not mean that it suddenly made certain actions easier, it merely gave you an opportunity to improve. An opportunity that Eric was taking advantage of, even though he felt he was being slow to do so.

  “I feel like Anna and Alex would have gotten this already,” he said as he leaped forward. “My body is mine, but why do feel I sense of discomfort. Is it all in my mind? Is it an excuse just because I’m not as talented as the people from the novels I read?”

  He stopped his internal thoughts as it suddenly became even more difficult. The platforms became entirely vertical, without leaving a single spot for him to push himself upwards. One could mistake them as walls but that wasn’t the case. It was like the platforms were stretched thin, reaching their current appearance. But This change didn’t disturb Eric as much as it should have, he already knew what to do.

  With a final and powerful leap forward, he used the traction that his hands provided to pushed himself forward as he reached each of the vertical platforms. When he felt that his momentum had completely vanished, he instead used his legs to kick from platform to platform.

  Kicking also didn’t last him much as each time he did so, he lost altitude. “Ok! That’s it! Either the platforms have to change, or I have to grow wings!” Eric exclaimed with a sense of urgency. “Come on!”

  ----------

  “Fuuuuck thiiis,” Mercer said as he made his way through the endlessly changing platforms. “This is like before I got my sea legs!” he shouted.

  Contrary to his complaining, he was actually making a decent advance with little to no trouble. Unlike Eric who took his time to reach the rapidly changing platforms, Mercer got them almost immediately.

  If they could compare notes, they would have noticed that their advance was determined by their proficiency and not an actual physical measurement. For example, the island that Mercer arrived at was still relatively close to him, while Eric’s was miles away from him at this point.

  The best analogy would be that they were running on a magical roll of paper, their goal was the same, but where they began would only get further and further away. Add some magic and you get this trial.

  Soon, Mercer was navigating through completely vertical platforms. But unlike Eric who had to depend on momentum and force, Mercer had other advantages.

  As he took what he knew was his final leap, he let the poison within him begin to course through his body. Still in the air, he quickly redirected most of the poison toward his fingertips. They started to drip and exude a vile presence.

  When he reached the first vertical platform, he simply melted the surface, digging his fingers in and took his time to clear this section.

  Before long, he took a final leap and landed on the central island. When he raised his gaze, he saw something unexpected.

  ----------

  Eric landed on both feet, his muscles almost cramping due to the unnatural exhaustion. He took his time to catch his breath, until he suddenly heard a thump from in front of him. Quickly raising his head to see what had happened, he saw a familiar tattoo.

  “Hey—”

  “Fuck no,” Eric said, quickly pushing the button and while the portal was still opening, he leaped into it.

  Mercer smiled involuntarily. “Fun guy,” he said amidst a light laugh. “Fun guy.”

  Quest complete!