Chương 1: Chapter One

Adam yawned as he stood in line to the bakery. It was about 9 AM on a chilly autumn Saturday. While he'd normally still be huddled up in his bed and fast asleep, he was on a mission this morning. Sharon had brought a box of croissants to the office on Wednesday and ever since then he'd been unable to get the taste out of his mind. Although he'd tried to forget about them on Thursday, he'd eventually caved in and asked her where he could buy them.

She'd eagerly talked about the bakery, which he'd been standing in front of for the last twenty minutes, and it was clear that she wanted to spread the gospel about its delicious baked goods. However, she'd warned him that the fight for the croissants was fierce and that, no matter how many were made every morning, they were always gone by 10 AM. Adam had tried to buy them yesterday before his commute to work, but, at 7 in the morning, the line had been out the door and down the street.

Who even has time to stand in line for croissants? he'd thought to himself at the time. And yet, he understood them. After all, here he was, back with a vengeance and a hunger for those magical pastries. There was a quaint little golden bell attached to the inside of the door, and it chimed when he pulled it open and finally walked inside.

Although there was a great view of the various baked goods from outside through the large façade window, the interior was so much better as the smells of fresh bakery flooded his nose and made his mouth water with longing. The counter was arranged in an L-shape and there was a large display case with muffins, cookies, donuts, cakes, and a few of those croissants he'd been thinking about nonstop.

Ahead of him were three people standing in line and he quickly went to join it, just as someone else came through the door. I hope no one buys those last few croissants before it's my turn… Adam had a strange relationship with sweets and treats. After moving out at eighteen, he'd wound up in a cycle of junk food and snacks, weighing three-hundred pounds by the age of twenty-two. Then, when he reached twenty-five, he'd gotten his shit together and gone on a health kick.

He'd managed to drop down to about two-hundred pounds, with almost all the excess weight being muscle. But still, he sometimes got these intense cravings for treats, and Sharon was a damn enabler. The front of the line moved as someone finished their transaction. The number of croissants had gone down to six, and there were still two more people in front of him. If we each buy two, then we won't have to fight outside in the parking lot.

Adam's eyes were glued to the display case while the customer droned on about what she wanted. A spike of dread pierced through him when she mentioned the croissants, but there were still five left by the time she was done buying her breakfast. As he took a step forward, one person away from getting his hands on those delectable pastries, he felt a quake travel through his body and down his legs.

He thought it was perhaps his stomach growling in longing, but then he noticed how the guy in front of him and the female clerk were glancing around weirdly.

"Did anyone else feel that?" asked the guy who stood behind him in the line. Another quake followed, but this time it was from the floor. They were all tilted sideways, but none of the baskets of bread, cakes, cookies, or magical croissants seemed to move even an inch.

"An earthquake? Here??" exclaimed the clerk loudly in surprise. A strange floating metallic box appeared in front of Adam, identical copies popping up near the other three people in the bakery. It spun lazily while changing shapes, as though it were some fourth-dimensional entity. A tesseract? It had a glossy black surface and was about the size of his fist. Black smoke fell from its bottom and onto the floor, coiling up around Adam's legs. At the same time, his surroundings seemed to narrow into shadows.

The walls disappeared, followed by the display counter of pastries and sweets, and then the other people. Just like that, Adam was somewhere else, alone, with no croissants in sight.

"What the fuck just happened?" he wondered out loud. Is this the moment I realise I never woke up when my alarm went off? Am I still dreaming? He reached out and poked the tesseract. Another quake moved through his body. Then an eye opened in the middle of the spinning entity and its voice filled the darkness. It was an androgynous voice with a neutral tone. [Salutations, Player 'Adam Fischer'. You have been selected to take part in the Trials of Defiance to represent your planet.]"Selected?"

he asked, as it quickly dawned on him that this was too real to be a dream. [You have been deemed eligible due to your maturity and physique.]"I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I want to go back!" [It is not possible to decline your invitation to the Trials. As an incentive for your participation, we have located your ineligible relatives and placed them in temporary holding. Their fates are now tied to yours. Should you refuse to participate, they will perish and you will die alongside them. Should you end up dying in the Trials of Defiance, they will perish as well.] At the tesseract's words, transparent holograms of Adam's father, grandmother, and niece appeared around him. They clearly couldn't see him, but they were looking around in fear and confusion. His sister and brother-in-law were not present however, perhaps because they'd also been selected.

"What the fuck…" [Do your best for the sake of your family and all of humanity. Should you or any other Player complete the Trials, humanity will be spared from extinction.]"Why are you doing this!?" The tesseract ignored him and released a pulse that flowed through his surroundings, brushing away the dark shadows and transporting him somewhere new. Text appeared in front of his face as the surroundings changed. Now Entering Stage One'The Magical Forest' Five Waves Adam looked around.

He was standing in the clearing of a vibrant and green forest, with a seemingly-impenetrable wall of trees ringed around him and a single large tree in the middle. Moss covered the understory, the sky was a nice shade of blue with fluffy clouds, and peaceful birdsong filled the air. The tesseract floated out in front of him, before unfolding in a strange way that seemed to drag additional mass out of a fourth dimension, constructing a metallic podium-like stand upon which hovered five objects.

Unlike the holograms of his family, these things were real, as far as he could tell. His options were: a pair of metallic gloves; a bow; a sword and a shield; a staff with a stone at the end; and a large sword. Three of the weapons had a faint white glow, while two let off green light. [Before we proceed, you must select a Class.]"But I don't know what is happening! You've got to give me more than that to go off of, if you want me to risk my life!"

[Failure to select a Class within 60 seconds will default you to the Class 'Fool'.]"Can you at least tell me what they do?" Classes Available Brawler (Uncommon) Archer (Common) Defender (Common) Spellcaster (Uncommon) Warrior (Common)"And what do they do??" [Would you like me to repeat the Classes?]"No, you dumb box!" he shouted in frustration, before trying to think through the choices. I guess Brawler would make the most sense, since I take boxing lessons once a week.

But, if I'm going to be fighting, then a shield would be the safest choice. A bow or spell-staff may both be okay, but I've got no idea how they work. The two-handed sword is probably too heavy for me to use effectively… He went through the list, figuring out what would suit him best. It seemed like a pretty important choice, and he didn't want to screw it up. [10 seconds remaining.]"Fuck you! Don't rush me!" [9… 8…] Adam ran over and immediately grabbed the floating sword and shield.

The blade was made from simple iron and had a leather grip that felt comfortable, with a simple rectangular bit of iron as the crossguard. The shield was bowl-shaped wood, with two horizontal iron braces on the front and another all around its edge. It could strap to his forearm using two clasps and looked like a repurposed beer barrel. As soon as he touched the weapons, they automatically appeared in his hand and on his arm. A scabbard also materialised on his left hip, attached to his belt.

Strangely, an innate understanding of how to wield the weapons flowed into his mind as soon as he touched them. Perhaps I should've selected the bow instead, he considered. Right on the heels of that newfound understanding came two text pop-ups. Class Selected Sword & Shield Common Player Status"Adam Fischer" Defender Level 0 Stats Health — 200 Stamina — 100 Mana — 0 Damage — 75% Defence — 150% Speed — 100% Ah fuck, it's like the stats from a game… That doesn't bode well.

"Am I going to be fighting something??" Instead of an answer, the tesseract folded itself back into a floating box, taking away the other options as a new announcement appeared. Wave One 60-Second Timer From the nearby wall of trees, a single transparent-blue blob squeezed itself through the tightly-packed trunks and started bouncing its way towards him.

It was about the height of a housecat, but as it hopped across the clearing, he noticed that the moss it touched was dissolved as though by acid, with the remaining bits charred black. Within its gelatinous body was a single spherical stone.

"Am I in a fucking videogame?" [This is not a simulation. Death is permanent and this enemy is trying its hardest to kill you. If it succeeds, it will dissolve your flesh and feast on your corpse.] [Failure to slay the enemy within 60 seconds will trigger Wave Two.] Adam gritted his teeth. He hated tight deadlines, but he predicted that the following wave would involve more than a single slime. Stacking waves together would no doubt lead to him being overrun.

With no other choice, he lifted the shield in front of himself and charged forward. He swung the iron sword in a downward chop, but despite his newfound understanding of how his chosen weapon worked, he lacked the fundamental skill and muscle memory to utilise it flawlessly. Instead of cutting through the centre of the blue slime, his blade veered off halfway through and just cut off about two-thirds of its mass. Where the clump fell to the ground, it dissolved into a puddle, decomposing the grass and soil beneath.

The slime bounded forward and he raised his shield to defend himself. On impact, his whole body was pushed back a full step and a numbness flowed through his arm. A chemical burning smell filled his nose and as he disengaged from the creature, he saw that the front of his shield was blackened where it'd struck. I can't let that touch me… Fortunately, the acid was incapable of affecting metal.

The slime jumped forward again, but this time he sidestepped its attack while swinging his blade horizontally through its body. Although his aim wasn't perfect, the edge of his sword managed to slice through the core in its centre. With a pop, the slime exploded and he quickly covered his face and torso with the shield, as its dissolving body rained down around him. A glob of its jelly flesh hit his right thigh, immediately eating through the fabric of his grey jeans and burning his skin before evaporating.

"Ow! Fuck!" Although I kind of thought acid would hurt worse than that, somehow. Wave One Complete Choose your Upgrade The tesseract floated out in front of Adam and unfolded itself into a podium, with three holograms appearing in the air above. Each was a white symbol, but they depicted different things: the first looked like a sword swinging; the second a shield growing; and the third a fist with a spiked aura. Text overlayed each of the three symbols, stating what they upgraded.

Upgrades Available Sword Speed (Common) — Increases sword attack speed by 10% Shield Growth (Common) — Increases shield diameter by 15% Damage (Common) — Increases all damage by 5% [You have 30 seconds to pick an Upgrade. Failure to decide will forfeit your choice and none will be selected.] [You currently have 0 Rerolls.]"It's really hard to make informed decisions when you hurry me along like this! And what's a 'reroll'?"

[Rerolls allow you to scramble the options available to you, potentially unlocking different Upgrades that may suit you better. You currently have 0 Rerolls.]"How do I get rerolls?" [The easiest way to acquire Rerolls is by purchasing them at the Interim Island.] [15 seconds remaining before Wave Two begins.] He groaned in annoyance at the constant rush.

"Fine!" Sword speed boost, shield growth, or a damage increase… The shield size probably makes the most sense since the enemies explode. He reached out and touched the middle option. Upgrade Selected Shield Growth (Common) Adam's wooden shield grew outward, increasing its diameter from 1 metre to 1. 15 metres. Okay, I think that was a terrible choice… Wave Two 60-Second Timer It was impossible for him to think a lot about his options when the Trials didn't wait for him.

He was someone who preferred sleeping on big decisions, since impulsive choices had always betrayed him in the past. Two transparent-blue slimes squeezed out of the forest wall of the clearing, on the opposite side from where the first had appeared. Adam didn't waste a moment and charged straight for them, with his sword lifted in the air and the shield in front of his torso.

The slimes were identical, so he just went for the right one first, side-stepping its simple attack and swinging his blade through its core and jelly flesh. As it exploded, he back-pedalled several steps and managed to catch all the droplets on his shield rather than his body. Maybe cutting through the core in that way is why the explosion is so violent, he considered.

With one slime left and most of his time yet remaining, he decided to experiment, since the death throes of the creatures were arguably more dangerous than their normal attacks. The slime jumped towards him, but instead of side-stepping he moved into the attack, using his shield to push it back. Though the slimes had no eyes or heads, it still seemed they had a 'top', as the slime tumbled back and landed upside-down, momentarily unable to move.

Adam stepped forward and carefully aimed a stab directly through the thinnest part of its body and into the core. He felt a weak resistance as the tip of his sword dug into the stone, but after hurriedly retracting his blade and backing up, he saw that his guess was correct. The explosion from the precise stab shot out in a single stream through the wound, rather than a large area. The pressure was higher though, so the stream of corrosive fluid flew further. At least it's easier to avoid this way.

If I can stick to bashing and stabbing tactics, this should be fine. He looked at the front of his shield. There was a bigger burn-mark on it now, though it was still structurally sound. Yeah, this might just be a winning strategy. Wave Two Complete Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Choose your Upgrade The tesseract flew over and turned into a podium again, although this time one of the choices had a green glow.

The green symbol depicted a sword getting longer. The other two were a spiked shield and a shoe with wings. Upgrades Available Sword Growth (Uncommon) — Increases sword length by 30% Thorny Shield (Common) — Reflects 5% of blocked damage Movement (Common) — Increases movement speed by 5% All of them are good this time. After a few seconds of deliberation, he made his choice, but before he picked it, he asked the reality-defying box a question.

"Tesseract, what are you? How do you have these powers?" [This vessel is but one of the All-Seeing System's many eyes. Through its benediction, I wield a fraction of its authority.]"There's one for each person like me?" [Yes.] [You have 15 seconds left to pick an upgrade.]"What should I call you?" [You may call me whatever you like.]"'Shitbox' it is, then." [Understood.] [10 seconds remaining.] Adam walked over and touched the green symbol for the uncommon upgrade.

Upgrade Selected Sword Growth (Uncommon) Adam's sword grew to be about the length of his arm, and its point of balance shifted towards the simple crossguard and the weight also increased. It seemed that each upgrade had unspoken demerits, as increased weight meant that his swings would be slower. The size increase to his shield hadn't noticeably altered the weight, but that was perhaps due to it being made of wood.

"When I'm done with these slimes, do I get to go home?" [No. If you complete this Stage, you will be transported to the Interim Island.]"What's that?" Shitbox did not reply. Wave Three 90-Second Timer [During Waves you may take damage. Although you can purchase consumable health regeneration after this Stage, there are also ways to acquire them from within the Stages themselves. Look towards the tree, where a Healing Apple is awaiting you.] Adam followed its directions and saw that a branch, which hadn't been there before, was reaching down towards the ground from the large central tree in the clearing. At the tip of the branch was a single red apple.

"That's not a trap, right?" [Healing Items take shapes according to the Stage you are in and are often difficult to acquire or hard to find. When you complete a Stage, collected Healing Items will not be transported with you.] As it finished its speech, the tree wall directly opposite where he stood began to shift as a larger purple slime squeezed through. Unlike the blue ones, it had two cores inside the top of its upside-down cone-shaped body, giving off the appearance of eyes, which was unsettling.

A second after it appeared, two smaller blue slimes squeezed out of the treeline as well.

"Three on one? Really?" The smaller slimes hopped forward, while the purple upside-down cone squeezed its body to grow taller. The top of its body became spear-like, and it aimed its tip toward Adam's head. Then it too began hopping forward, though it moved slower than the blue ones. Definitely have to get rid of that purple prick first.

Adam charged towards the blue slimes, but just as they came close enough to jump at him, he kicked off the mossy ground and went to their right, lifting his shield in front of his head and closing the distance to the tall slime. Schiiing! The spear-like head of the purple slime produced a terrifying sound as it jabbed towards him. When it struck his shield, it didn't feel like a slime's body, but rather like a metallic weapon with a lot of power behind it.

He was pushed back a step, while blindly swinging his elongated sword out in front of the shield blocking his vision. Adam felt his blade hitting the creature, but its body was a lot harder than the blue slimes. Schiiing! A new attack punched into his defences, this time going all the way through, with the tip of the purple spear-head emerging just above his arm that the shield was strapped to.

With a frantic swing, he managed to sever the top of the slime's head, and it slid out of his shield, leaving a circular hole behind. As soon as the pointy top hit the moss below, one of the blue slimes squirmed towards it. Adam noticed this peculiarity, but didn't let it drag his attention away. He shifted his shield slightly and swung his sword into the purple slime again, aiming for the cores.

The strike took a bite out of its strangely-dense body, but he needed more power to cleave through, since it had consolidated its mass and thickened up its body in order to defend itself. Adam let out a loud grunt of effort as he grabbed the sword with both hands and swung through the slime with a diagonal slash, leveraging all his strength. The blade travelled through the dense purple jelly, cleaving one of the cores and carving down and out its side.

The top half fell into two separate pieces, the part he'd cut off containing the remaining core. He split the piece in half with an overhead swing, cutting the core down the middle. After both cores were destroyed, he felt an immense sense of satisfaction. The feeling was immediately replaced with horror, as the carved-up remains began to bloat. Bang! The entire purple slime exploded, shooting out darts as long as his hand.

"Shit!" The darts hit Adam's right thigh, abdomen, shoulder and upper arm, while his shield protected his left side. Each purple dart dug in about three centimetres, before slowly releasing some kind of chemical that heightened the pain, and his white shirt was immediately damaged beyond repair. While quickly yanking out the darts and tossing them aside, Adam cursed up a storm. [Warning! Health below 50%. It is recommended that you make use of the Healing Apple.] Schiiing!

Suddenly a sharp pain filled his left calf, and he instinctively swung his sword down into a smaller purple slime that had appeared.

"Argh!" [Warning! Health below 25%. You are close to dying.] He cut the slime in two and pierced its core on the following up, before limping back a couple steps and raising his shield to protect against its explosion. A smaller bang came and two impacts thumped against his shield. Where did that second one come from!? No sooner had the question entered his mind than he saw that one of the blue slimes was slurping up parts of the purple's severed flesh, turning the same colour and growing a spike out of its body.

"They can do that!?" [Warning! You are close to dying.]"It's not that bad," he argued, although his entire body was inflamed with pain, even though the adrenaline in his system was working overtime to suppress it. He glanced away from the slime to the tree, then limped his way towards the awaiting apple. [30 seconds remaining of Wave Three.]"You just never shut up, do you, Shitbox!?"

As he limped to the apple branch, blood leaked freely from his entire right side and the wound in his left calf, leaving behind a red trail that the blue-turned-purple slime hopped along. Its top sharpened into a rapier blade as it moved. The weight of his shield and sword was starting to feel like it was too much, but he knew that discarding either was going to get him killed. He somehow made it to the apple, but it was just high enough that he could not reach it without jumping.

Jumping was unlikely to be a good idea though, so he instead swung his sword into the air clumsily, slapping the apple free from the branch with the flat of his blade and losing his balance at the same time. Adam belly-flopped against the soft ground, the apple landing right next to his head. He immediately bit into it. [Healing Apple consumed! Recovering Health back to 100%.] In an instant, Adam's wounds were sealed shut and he felt all his strength return to him. [15 seconds remaining of Wave Three.] Schiiing!

Adam instinctively rolled aside, just as the small purple slime jabbed its rapier blade at him. It struck the mossy ground instead of his groin, and, while it was struggling to pull it free, he got to his feet by using the shield. Then he swung his blade down into its body. The small slime had become dense like the original whose essence it'd devoured, but it was not as big, so his strike was still powerful enough to cleave it nearly perfectly down the middle.

He followed up with a stab to its core, before hiding behind his shield. Bang! Unlike with the blue slimes, the purple ones seemed to still explode like grenades, no matter how he cut up their cores. Wave Three Complete Choose your Upgrade Adam slid down onto his knees, breathing quickly.

"Fuck this shit," he muttered. Once I'm done with this stage, I'm finding a way out of this place. He couldn't help but recall the image of his dad and niece. They'd both looked so confused and scared. After his dad had lost his memories following a risky brain operation, he'd become almost infantile in some ways. If not for his caretaker, he wouldn't have been able to survive. And now he was all alone in whatever place Shitbox had sent him to. The thought infuriated him.

[You have 15 seconds left to pick an upgrade.] Adam got back to his feet and ran over to where Shitbox had unfolded to present his three options. I need something that lets me cut through those slimes more easily or something to protect me from their explosions. He looked at the options, his eyes immediately catching on the green symbol that represented an uncommon upgrade, and saw that it was the one from wave two. The first option was another familiar image, but the third choice was new.

Multiple outlines surrounded the icon of a person. Upgrades Available Sword Speed (Common) — Increases sword attack speed by 10% Thorny Shield (Uncommon) — Reflects 10% of blocked damage Dodge (Common) — Grants a 5% chance to dodge a direct attack'Reflect Damage' might help me kill them. He thought the small speed increase on his sword swing was unlikely to help him much.

Same with the low chance to dodge, which also only triggered on direct attacks, which probably didn't include the explosions as those were not aimed at him specifically. However, if he could reflect some of the damage he blocked, like the slimes' explosions, it was sure to be a boon. [Warning! You only have 5 seconds left to pick an Upgrade.]"I'm picking it!" he shouted in annoyance, as he touched his hand to the green symbol.

Upgrade Selected Thorny Shield (Uncommon) The front of his shield grew tiny spikes as the new upgrade kicked in.

"What shit are you gonna throw at me this time?" He still felt rather winded, so he hoped it would be an easier round, although that seemed unlikely given the trend until now. Wave Four 90-Second Timer Two separate groups of slimes broke from the treeline on the opposite side of the clearing from him. There were one blue and one green in each group, the green ones being like chubbier versions of the blues with two cores like the purples.

He had learned to be careful about letting the small ones eat the remains of the special slimes, but he still felt confident that taking out the special variants first was the safest choice here. Adam ran towards the nearest group to his left, while the blue slimes hopped in his direction. The two green ones remained where they were and seemed to be getting bigger, similar to how the blues would bloat when they died.

Then they simultaneously ejected globs of their own jelly bodies at him, each firing three baseball-sized projectiles. It sounded like they were blowing bubbles when they fired, plop-plop-plop.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, raising his shield while frantically hopping to the side to avoid them as they rained down on his position. None of the six projectiles hit his shield, but they instantly dissolved the moss and scalded the exposed dirt black where they landed. That's a much stronger acid, he noted. I wonder if my sword will be okay if it touches that? With a thud, Adam was pushed back, as one of the blue slimes caught up and slammed into his shield.

One of the shield's spikes shot back at the attacker, dealing a minor bit of damage while he regained his balance. Then he shoved his shield forward to flip the slime on its top, chopping it in half and covering himself as it popped. The sound of blowing bubbles caught Adam's attention and he immediately ran forward, keeping his shield raised. Two of the six projectiles hit his shield weakly, but then the smell of a chemical burn flooded his nose, and he saw two dark patches bleed through to the backside.

At the same time, a small piece of each projectile split off and bounced back to the sender: the green slime right in front of him. It was struck right as it was starting to bloat, interrupting its charge-up attack. Adam closed the distance and swung his sword through its body, aiming to strike both cores simultaneously. Unlike the purple slime, the green one wasn't dense at all. In fact, it was easier to cut through than the blues and he split both cores without trouble.

As it started to bloat, he hurried away from it, keeping his shield between them. Pop! The green slime exploded much like how the blue ones did, but with it came a barrage of the baseball-sized projectiles, which rained down around the area, destroying the mossy understory of the clearing within a fifteen-metre area. Plop-plop-plop! Three globs of acid were shot at him by the remaining green slime, while the blue one was skipping towards the steaming remains of the one he'd just killed.

"Oh, no you don't," he muttered, raising his shield and catching two of the projectiles, before reaching the blue slime. He chopped it in half and then stabbed its core. Adam surged towards the remaining enemy as a pop came from behind him. The green bastard was trying to charge up for another attack, but he slashed his blade through its body, getting both cores. Then he retreated and watched it explode in a shower of acid. [Well done! You cleared the Wave with more than half the time remaining.]"That one did feel better," he remarked.

"Do I get a reward for going fast?" [Yes.] Wave Four Complete Choose your Upgrade Shitbox unfolded between him and the large tree. Adam noticed that there was a new branch with a healing apple growing from it, but this one was four metres off the ground, so it would be difficult to reach.

"What kind of reward?" he asked, looking at the three new symbols. There were two unfamiliar ones, and both were uncommon. The first symbol was a sword with a spiky aura; the middle a shield with the same effect; and the last, the fist he'd seen after the first wave. The aura clearly meant 'damage'. [You will find out after the next Wave.] Upgrades Available Sword Damage (Uncommon) — Increases sword damage by 10% Bash Damage (Uncommon) — Increases shield bash damage by 10% Damage (Common) — Increases all damage by 5% It's all damage this time. I wonder if that's a bad sign… The last option seems to be for all types of damage, while the other two are specifically tied to the weapons. Still, I'm doing most of the damage with my sword, so upgrading that makes the most sense.

Upgrade Selected Sword Damage (Uncommon) There was no obvious transformation from his choice, but he got the sense that the edge was a bit sharper than before. Wave Five 180-Second Timer 180 seconds this time. It's gotta be a boss. He then narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Wait, what happens if the time runs out?" [If the time runs out the Boss will become enraged, tripling its damage and speed.]"Aha! So it is a boss wave!" [It may be useful to check on your Player Status during a Stage. You can bring it up by uttering the word 'Status'.]"Seriously, Shitbox, how is this not a videogame??" A distant thump came from beyond the dense forest wall of the clearing, in the direction directly opposite him, which was how every wave seemed to start.

It was a weird consideration that the ones in charge of the 'Trials of Defiance' had decided that dropping a new wave on top of the player was a bad move. It seemed at odds with the mandatory participation and hurry-up-and-die design. Another thump made Adam do a small hop.

"Status," he said, gripping his sword firmly. Player Status"Adam Fischer" Defender Level 4 Stats Health — 200 Stamina — 100 Mana — 0 Damage — 75% Defence — 150% Speed — 100% [You may also bring up your Weapon Status by uttering the word 'Armament'.] Another thump came and Adam nearly fell over. The trees around the clearing, as well as the one in the middle, started shaking and rustling their leaves.

"Armament." Weapon Status Sword & Shield Common Quality Level 4 Stat Upgrades Shield Growth +15% Sword Growth +30% Thorny Shield +10% Sword Damage +10% The number of upgrades directly matches my total level. I wonder if the same would happen if I picked an upgrade not specifically tied to my weapons. Perhaps those upgrades don't count towards the level of my weapon.

"Does something happen if I keep levelling up my weapon?" he asked. [Yes.]"And you're not going to tell me, right?" Shitbox did not reply and he instinctively knew that it was because the boss had arrived. A large shadow appeared on the other side of the great tree and, a second later, a giant deep-blue slime landed with a thunderous boom. The quake that rolled through the clearing was powerful enough to knock Adam down onto his ass.

As soon as he got back to his feet, the five-metre-tall slime began hopping towards him, clearing two metres at a time and producing a loud thump each time, shaking the ground.

"There's no way…" he muttered, but then he remembered the images of his family and what was at stake if he died. Within the boss' body were three large cores the size of oranges which freely moved around, providing a tricky target for him. Strangely, atop of its dark-blue mound of jelly flesh was a rusted crown. The 'Slime King' hopped again and Adam seized the opportunity to rush forward with a two-handed upward slash, hoping to use its downward momentum against it.

Sure enough, as it landed his sword was dragged up through its body and he cut off about a fifth of its mass. As the piece fell to the ground, he backed off several metres to see how it'd react, but nothing much changed about it. Adam noted that its body didn't have a very powerful corrosive effect, since the moss and dirt wasn't dissolving immediately or charring black.

Realising that this foe was just a big target trying to crush him, he charged as it jumped again, repeating the same trick and nicking one of the cores as he sliced off more of its body. Slashing attacks don't seem like they'll work, he concluded. The cores kept shifting out of the way of his blade. Adam decided to try stabbing instead. Taking his left hand off his blade handle, he ran forward with the shield in front of him, right when the boss landed from another hop.

He slammed his shield into its side, pulling his right hand back and holding the blade horizontally. Then, just before it jumped again, one of the cores shifted close to the surface of its body and he hammered his sword directly into it, breaking it in half. The Slime King instantly ballooned in size as though it would explode and Adam was sent flying. He skipped across the ground once and slammed his back into the tree wall of the clearing.

All the air was knocked out of his lungs, and he immediately started coughing, trying to breathe in.

"What's my health?" he croaked between coughs. [You have 160 Health or 80% remaining.] Adam pushed himself off the ground and ran towards the big slime, but it was doing something strange. The two remaining cores stopped moving inside its large body, equidistant from each other. Then it split down the middle and changed colours, the cores within likewise splitting into two smaller ones. The left side turned green and the right became purple.

"Ah, shit," he muttered, before immediately switching to the green one, while the purple twin moulded itself into a flexible spike. They were both larger than their previous counterparts, no doubt owing to the enormous size of the Slime King. Adam swung his blade through the green twin, immediately severing a core, before disengaging and positioning himself such that it was between him and the purple one. Schiiing! To his surprise, the purple slime's spike pierced through its twin to try and hit him.

He was just far enough away that the tip only poked the front of his shield, which didn't seem to trigger his damage reflect. When it retracted its spike, Adam moved forward and started slashing into the green one, tearing away its jelly flesh to reach the core, before immediately hurrying back several steps. Schiiing! Once again, the purple slime lanced through its twin, but this time it struck the remaining core and destroyed it.

The green slime sizzled, fragments of its two cores collecting themselves into four tiny pebbles, which positioned themselves in a way that divided its body into quarters. Then it split into four small blue slimes. Adam charged forward with his shield, bashing them aside and jabbing his sword into the purple slime's body, exploiting the pause between its attacks. Despite its denser body, the way it was stretching itself thinner let him break another core. Schiiing!

The purple slime retaliated and Adam sidestepped, letting it pierce one of the blue slimes and killing it. This one popped like normal, meaning it was done dividing once it reached that stage. Adam gasped for air, having overexerted himself to keep up with the monster thus far. Not being allowed proper breaks between waves also wasn't helping, and the exhaustion was piling up. A sizzling pain suddenly blossomed along his left leg as one of the blue slimes jumped into him.

The fabric of his grey jeans immediately dissolved, and his skin felt like it was set on fire. He chopped it in half with his sword, before dodging around the purple slime's body to avoid the splash of its explosion.

"Shitbox, how much health did I lose!?" [The attack dealt 45 points of damage, which was reduced to 30 thanks to your Defence rating. That means you now have 130 Health or 65% remaining.] Good to know that a Defender's defence rating is actually worth something. The purple slime prepared to strike him again. It didn't need to turn to hit him, since it could just bend its spiked top around. Adam baited out its strike, but he was a bit too slow and it pierced through his shield and into his left upper arm.

The 'Thorny' upgrade triggered and fired off several of its spikes back at the boss, breaking apart some of its body. [Warning! Health below 50%.] With a roar, he chopped his blade down through its spiked head and severed it, then he shifted his grip upside-down and hammered it into its body repeatedly until he struck the core. Like the green twin, the purple slime sizzled, and started to divide into four. Adam let it do its thing, running around its body to get the remaining blue ones before four more joined in.

With a chop and a stab, he killed them in quick succession, backing away as they exploded. Four blue slimes appeared where the purple one had been, and though his lungs were on fire and his body screamed in pain, he charged forward without giving them a chance to move. Adam chopped two of them in half, backing away as they exploded, only to charge again and bash his shield into a third, following up with a jab to kill it. [60 seconds remaining before the boss enrages.] Exhausted, he killed the last slime with two quick slashes. As it bloated, he stumbled back a couple steps, before slipping and landing on his ass. Pop! Wave Five Complete Stage Complete Tallying Score"Fuck this," he groaned, lying down on his back in the moss and staring up at the azure sky above the forest. His body slowly healed itself back to full, now that the stage was completed. Even his energy returned, as his stamina was replenished.

Score 300 Seconds Completion Time 220 Damage Received 315 Points Awarded"How do you calculate the score?" he asked. Shitbox floated over to where he lay, hovering above his head and looking down at him with its creepy eye. [A Player's score is based on several elements: enemies defeated; the speed at which a Wave is completed; how much damage was received; and other bonus elements that will be revealed once attained.]"So, what now?"

[You will receive another Upgrade choice, as well as a Relic Chest that will allow you to pick between three Relics. Once you have selected both, you will be transported to the Interim Island.]"Relics?" [Relics are items that can benefit a Player in a myriad of ways: offensively, defensively, supportively, and so forth. Conquering the Trials of Defiance is impossible without making good use of them.]"Well then, let's get on with it."

Shitbox floated over to where the tree stood and Adam got up from the ground to follow. He noticed how the moss had returned to its original pristine nature and that all the remnants of the slimes were erased, as though he hadn't just had the most insane fight of his life in this idyllic place. As usual, the tesseract unfolded in that bizarre way to create a podium with three options hovering above. Unlike the other times, however, there was a wooden chest next to it.

The image of the Slime King was engraved into its top half, and it looked like it belonged in a retro videogame. Despite it all, the sight actually made him excited. As soon as he realised this, he quickly shoved the feeling down. Don't get side-tracked! he scolded himself. The only thing that matters is getting out of this place and freeing my family. On the podium were two familiar symbols and one new, which looked like a blade with a serrated edge. All of them were uncommon.

Upgrades Available Sword Growth (Uncommon) — Increases sword length by 30% Shield Growth (Uncommon) — Increases shield diameter by 30% Bleed (Uncommon) — Attacks inflict bleed dealing 10% weapon damage over the course of 10 seconds Adam thought about picking the bleed option, but he couldn't tell if it'd actually work against enemies like slimes, given that they had no veins in their body and thus no blood to spill.

"Shitbox, does bleed affect all enemies?" [No.] Figures. Still, I have no idea what comes next, so I'll try it out. I'm not a big fan of growing the size of my weapons. Upgrade Selected Bleed (Uncommon)"Alright, let me see the relics so I can go to that island you were talking about," Adam told the tesseract. There was no visible change from the upgrade, but he figured it was because it didn't apply directly to his sword. Shitbox folded back into its tesseract shape and flew over to the treasure chest.

Golden light spilled out from the seam of its lid, before popping open and casting that light into the air. Three items floated out from within and hovered above it, not too unlike how the upgrade podium displayed things. There was an apple identical to the one still hanging from a branch on the tree, a glass jar with blue slime inside it, and a white glove with red stars woven into its fabric. The first two options glowed white, but the third had a blue glow, which was new.

Relics Available Healing Apple (Common) — If the Player's Health falls below 25%, this apple is consumed, healing them back to full. Once consumed, the Relic disappears Slime Coating (Common) — The Player's weapons are coated with the essence of a Blue Slime, imbuing them with 10% additional Corrosive Damage. The Relic lasts for 3 Stages Duellist's Glove (Rare) — Charge an attack for 2 seconds to enable it to pierce armour. 60-second cooldown Well, that's a no-brainer, he thought, choosing the glove.

Just like when he'd picked the sword and shield initially, the relic equipped itself to his right hand. Relic Selected Duellist's Glove (Rare) Before he could test out its power, the tesseract, hovering nearby, let out a pulse of its strange magic and the surroundings fell away into inky darkness. Another pulse pushed away that darkness, revealing a cobblestone road under his feet. The pulse expanded outwards, revealing buildings and trees. Now Entering'Interim Island'