Chương 4: The First Realm

[Estimated Time to Live: 3 Hours] Today's the last day of my life. If I make it to tomorrow, it'll be a new life. And if I don't… Ethan waited at the lip of an alley as people passed him by. Above the line of buildings, he could see the massive metal Arch lay inactive. At the base of that giant structure would be people crowding around. And not just around the Arch, but every street that led towards it. There were six stands on every street set up selling souvenirs for prominent Trial Goers past and present.

Kids were running around with action figures and six-pointed stars on their cheeks and begging their parents to let them see the Trial begin. Above the buildings, airships flew, carrying the wealthiest Trial Goers to their destination in luxury. And for those airships owned by the GPA, there was a squadron dedicated to each God. And yet, Ethan Collins waited in the dark beside a dumpster, hoping no one would notice him or his worries. Near his feet was a duffel bag with only one thing in it.

Raphael pulled out another cigar and lit it in front of him. He took a single puff, sighing at the same time.

"I should be going now. If I wait any longer, I won't be able to push past this crowd!" Ethan said aloud. The roads were thick with civilization, roughing up against each other to see the beginning of a new Realm Trial.

"Patience. The bigger the crowd, the harder it's going to be for them to pick you out as suspicious. Now, one more time. You have the entry token?" Raphael asked, and Ethan brought it out of the duffel bag.

"Good. What do you do when you run into a Starlaw?"

"Start moving in the opposite direction, but don't make it obvious. Take a natural route."

"How do you even recognize a Starlaw?"

"Golden white suits," Ethan fired back.

"And where are you headed?"

"The First Realm, Skiland. Start of the Realm Trial, domain of the Lord Over Elements, one of the six Gods of the GPA, Ather."

"What about monsters?"

"Don't be greedy, look for weak points, mostly behind the legs or on soft bellies. My Talent can help finding those weak points."

"And your goal is?"

"Make it to the sixth realm, convene with the Samsaran Order again, and wait for Alphome's next orders." Finally, Raphael stopped bombarding him with questions, and Ethan loosened his shoulders.

"Are your people going to be keeping an eye on me the entire time?" Ethan asked, curiously.

"No. We can't spare the manpower. Why? Planning on ditching this operation once you enter?" Raphael replied.

"I'm not," Ethan said a little too insistently. Raphael flashed an innocent smile and took another puff of the cigar. The smoke wafted into the air between the buildings, and through the bulk of civilization outside.

"It's time," Raphael suddenly announced after a while. He dropped the cigar and it disappeared into the alley shade.

"I'm not following you out there, so this is where we part, kid," Raphael said. There was the hint of expectation in his words, but Ethan couldn't figure out what it meant. Raphael held out his hand, and Ethan shook it stiffly.

"Just head straight to the Arch, flash the token, and they should let you in without a problem," Raphael said.

"Right," Ethan began to turn, but stopped himself.

"... Thanks for giving me this chance, Mr. Magnus." Raphael looked at him surprised, scowled, shook his head and broke out into a smile.

"Just like your mother. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Raphael?" Ethan grinned a little.

"Guess I'll never learn."

"Hah, good luck, Ethan. May Alphome guide your path." Ethan hoisted the duffel bag over his shoulder and walked right into the sunlight. Behind him, he glanced one last time at Raphael, as the man dissolved into darkness. Ethan breathed out a little sigh. He was on his own from now on. He merged into the thick crowd of people and started pushing past them. The life force they all collectively showed made the sight almost blinding.

Still, he reached the Trial entrance, and flashed his entry token before the guard threw him back into the crowd.

"Tsk, get in here! Didn't anyone ever teach you to be punctual?" the guard barked at Ethan, but let him through without another word or any kind of check. Inside the perimeter of the Arch, Ethan came upon a crowd of thousands. Most of those gathered there were wearing armour or had weapons strapped to their side. Some were even showing off their Talents and skills freely before the fight, with fires flying, horse-sized wolves growling and ice sparks lighting the sky.

Most all of them were grouped together and talking alliances or saying their goodbyes to their family, while Ethan was left all by himself. Compared to them, his forest green hoodie and blue jeans didn't make him look the part of some daring Trial Goer. At least Raphael said I'd get a weapon once I was inside. He stuffed that thought in the back of his mind when the announcement came on. The Arch lit up, a flat pane of light covering its inside.

When something came out of that light, the surface of the pane rippled like water. It was a floating pedestal, and on it was someone that looked like an alien. It had smooth blue skin with naturally formed grooves, black eyes that shimmered like stars in the night, and wore a white uniform. A Starlaw. At his entrance the rest of the crowd stiffened up and readied themselves.

"Welcome, one and all! To the 756th Trial of Realms! I am so very fortunate to induct you into this marvelous opportunity, so I will not waste your time with any preamble. All rules will be explained once you enter, so please do pay attention! Now, let us begin in 3… 2…" Wait, already? What about th- He couldn't even finish the thought before an invisible force picked him up and shot him towards the Arch.

Time until next Elemental Storm: 6 Days and 23 Hours Ethan braced his hands in front of himself to lessen the impact, but none came. One second he was flying towards the portal, and the next, he found himself standing in a barely lit and dilapidated church. He was in the priest's office, specifically, with a desk and shelves behind him. The first thing that appeared to him was another screen. [The Gods of The Universal Design greet Humanity for the 756th Trial! For newcomers, The Trial of Realms is an honoured tradition that the Gods of The Design bestow upon the member planets of the Galactic Planetary Association. It consists of six different realms of increasing difficulty filled with dungeons, monsters and quests that each Trial Goer must clear to progress towards the next realm. You will find the quest for the First Realm - Skiland in your menu shortly. Across each realm are also Talent and Skill Stones that Trial Goers may use to unlock their latent potential! The Gods of The Design have graciously awarded Trial Goers with access to the Unimart shop as well, where they may use their earnings from the realms to buy new equipment for themselves or rest between trials. This feature will be unlocked shortly. The Trial of Realms is a great opportunity for anyone willing to prove themselves and earn renown, status and riches such as your world has never seen!] [OK] The menus were said to be a blessing from the Gods themselves.

Ethan only had access to his status after unlocking his Talent, but it seemed like he'd be receiving the rest of the benefits shortly. Until then, he'd survive. He scanned the terms and conditions over twice, clicked the OK button and the screen disappeared. [Summoning Trial Goer Starter Pack…] A flash of light materialized in front of Ethan.

Once it faded, it revealed a starter pack consisting of a single steel-tipped spear, a small hunting knife, a good pair of boots fitted perfectly for him, some gauze and disinfectant, and three sets of military rations along with a few bottles of water. Good, a weapon I can use. Now I just need a source of death essence. Ethan set all of those aside and had a better look at his surroundings. He could see out of the church from the top, since the roof had collapsed.

Outside was wood bark on all sides, so large that it made Ethan feel like he was in a land of giants. Not only that, but the bark was thick with death energy, although he could sense it was bound and unusable in its current form. A second later, another screen appeared to take his attention again. [To access your menu or dismiss it, simply issue a mental command! Go on, try it out by dismissing this box!] He already knew that, but he listened regardless. When he opened his menu though, he found a new tab.

[[Status] [Bestiary]] That'll come in handy, he thought, looking at the Bestiary. But the whole thing was empty, not a single entry upon it. Guess I'll have to unlock them, he thought as he swiped away the menu. He grabbed the items from his starter kit, putting the rations in his duffel bag, strapping on the boots, and using the spear as a cane to make sure he didn't fall into a hidden pit.

He would've spent more time searching the bestiary for hidden features, but there were branches cracking and falling on the church all the time, and he didn't want to be caught under one. The first place he went to was the prayer hall, where there was a broken statue lined up in front of pews. The statue itself was too worn for Ethan to recognize, but somehow he still did. It's a… church of Alphome, huh? Did my Talent influence where I ended up, or did Alphome change the trajectory himself?

He was banking on the former. Alphome hadn't shown any large display of power to him, after all. Ethan hiked out of the church and reached the wall of the massive hollow tree he was inside. There was no entrance for him to see, but he did find a few cracks that let in warm yellow light. He moved to the wall with the most cracks, and scraped the moss away from it with the spear. This is gonna blunt the edge a ton, but better that than being trapped here forever.

He thought about using DE Overlay to enhance it, but he was still missing that source of death essence, and he hadn't cracked conversion between it and life force just yet. Once he was done scraping off the moss, he stabbed at the wall and took out chunks of rotted wood from it. The work was grueling and annoying, but he managed to make a big enough dent to finally break through. That took a few hits as well before the wall finally collapsed, and a man sized hole was created that Ethan squeezed through.

His foot caught on something, but at least he managed to fall forward on grass. The warm light was also bathing him now, and he wiped sweat from his brow as he looked up. What awaited him was a sight no human on Earth could see. There were bright blue skies and grassy hills, yes, but the trees that dotted the distant skyline were the size of skyscrapers, and in the air there were islands of rock with their own waterfalls streaming down.

Rainbows formed over the falling water, behind which binary suns hung in the sky. And on the side opposite to the islands he could see a domed village on a circular platform raised on three separate gigantic metal supports. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Green life essence blanketed the entire landscape, every single living creature inside thrumming with life, even the rocks. The sight made Ethan's breath catch in his throat.

This is what the six realms look like? Even the air was crisp and clean, smelling of wildflowers and healthy dirt. Shake yourself out of it, Ethan. You're not here to sightsee, he told himself. He pushed off the floor and onto his feet once more. He only had a few hours of life left, and he was starting to feel it in the numbness of his fingers and the fog around his brain. He needed to find something to siphon life force out of. Instead of finding it, the monster found him first.

The tree that he'd been leaning against began to shake, forcing Ethan to back away, spear braced to stab. The branches coalesced together like muscle fibers, grabbing onto nearby trees. With that leverage, the tree pulled itself out of the ground, pulling its roots alongside it. Only roots weren't the only things below it. Two thick stumps in the shape of legs followed along, serving as the legs of the monster. Ethan backed away further, watching as the life force of the creature began thrumming louder and louder.

His spear shook in his hand, and his heart began to race at the sight of the monster. Damnit, Ethan, how did you miss that? He admonished himself. The monster rose up further, and a face appeared in the bark, like an old man risen from sleep. Tiny green glowing beads of light took the place of eyes, and locked right onto his position. It threw a branched arm at Ethan, and he almost froze. MOVE! His own words shocked him into action, and he barely escaped in time.

Its other arm tried to sweep him off his feet, but Ethan was active, ducked the blow. It hit the trees behind him instead, freeing up some life force from them. What the hell am I doing! I should be attacking! He reminded himself. But for some reason his body wasn't catching up with his mind. He found it hard to aim the spear, to gather together his life force like Raphael had taught him. Instead, Ethan backed away from the monster, towards the ruined trees and their life force.

A quick glance towards the essence made him realize it was slowly turning into death essence. He would've paused to examine it for longer, but he didn't have the luxury with a giant wooden monster behind him. Treant, that's what Raphael called these, right? Ethan realized. He'd only gotten a basic run down of the monsters in the first realm, so he didn't know how exactly he was supposed to take them on. Finally, when he'd made enough space between him and the lumbering monster, he devised a plan.

First, I need some reinforcement. The treant approached, and Ethan used his Life Control Skill. He ran around the treant and past the destroyed trees, balling their life force in his hands. But before he could use it, the treant attacked again. It swung its massive arms slowly across, forcing Ethan to jump backwards to avoid it. But his legs tripped and he fell onto his back. Shit! He rolled out of the way of the second blow, scrambling to gain distance between him and the giant monster.

A single hit of that and I'm finished! Ethan thought, cradling the ball of essence and jogging away. A few moments later, he stopped, and put his attention towards his technique. Life Reinforcement, he intoned, and the energy spread across his arms and legs, bolstering them. It wasn't much, but an inch of distance could make the difference between life and death. The treant was approaching again, trampling trees underneath its feet.

Ethan would've taken the life energy they released too, but it was too far away from him. He thought about abandoning the fight, but something inside of him refused. I'm not going to get pushed around by some walking piece of firewood! Spear held in both hands, Ethan rushed towards the treant wildly. The monster saw him approaching and hammered down with one arm. A side step took Ethan out of the path of destruction and let him come in under the monster's left side.

He stabbed in deep with the spear, but all he got for it were a few wood chips flying off. The second arm was coming for him, so Ethan backed away once more. Damnit I can't pierce its skin! It's too tough, I need something serrated, or…. Or something coated in destructive energy. The path the treant had carved through the forest towards Ethan left plenty of death essence in its wake. Alright, it's a plan!

Ethan travelled back down the path of destroyed trees and bushes, using his Life Control whenever he got near enough. He gathered together a blob of death essence anchored right above his left hand, while his right held the spear loosely. The treant let out a wrathful scream and crashed its massive branched arms onto the ground, ruining it. But he couldn't keep up with Ethan's moves. It's slow, at least… but the thought didn't do much for his racing heart.

After tracing the path back to where the fight had begun, Ethan had enough death energy for his next move. While the treant approached, he brought his hand towards the tip of his steel spear, and focused. DE Overlay. Death essence floated above the metal, anchored to it but careful not to touch it. He swung the weapon around to make sure it was properly applied, and then bared it towards the approaching monster. I only get one shot at this. So, let's see where you're hiding your weak point!

He scanned the approaching treant with his Talent, and it unveiled how its body functioned. At the centre of the monster's 'stomach' was a mass of life force acting like a heart. It beat outwards rhythmically, spreading life essence across its limbs. Ethan was sure his spear could pierce through to that heart and destroy the creature in its entirety. But getting to that point was going to be near impossible. Nevertheless, he had to do it. Ethan came in, ducking and moving away from swings that the monster made.

It wasn't nearly as fast as Raphael had been during his training sessions. But what it lacked in speed, it made up for in power and range. Each swipe of its branches took a massive dodge to avoid. And when they hit rocks or trees, they exploded with barely an effort. Ethan tried to move in, but the monster would snap its hands towards him, trying to enclose him between the branches. It was getting annoying, and sweat rolled down Ethan's face.

His panting got quicker, and the reinforcement in his arms didn't do enough to stop the aching that was spreading through them. He had to back away from a couple more swings and swipes, feeling splinters embed themselves in his skin even on a dodge. It was getting too much to bear, he had to end it soon. When one of the treant's swings went wide on a miss, Ethan swallowed his fear. Screw it, now or never! He rushed in between the monster's massive arms, held the spear in both hands, and pushed. And missed.

The treant turned its body slightly to the left, and Ethan's blow only grazed it. The sides of its body turned to flaky wood and fell away, revealing something orange and glowing on the inside. Shit… Ethan dropped the spear and rolled under the monster's thick legs. He narrowly avoided the swipes from its arms, but now he was without a weapon. You missed? You had the perfect chance and you choked? And you lost your weapon? How useless are you?

The voice in his head repeated the mistakes a hundred times over while Ethan ran. The monster was thankfully uninterested in the weapon. Instead, it was turning to him, the orange core in the centre of its trunk beating every so often to let out energy. The treant did move slower, looking pained from the blow, but not enough to disable it. Its swings grew wilder and wilder, and Ethan had a hard time circling around the beast. Great job, Ethan.

You really showed the universe that you're just as incompetent as they thought you were. It was dragging Ethan further and further away from his spear, making it impossible for him to fight back. Maybe they were right to pity you. Talent or no Talent, it won't change what you are in your heart. Someone utterly helpl—"Shut up already!" Ethan shouted, hitting himself in the side of the head. He disengaged and ran into the forest, letting the treant give chase. Okay, new plan.

If I can't use the spear, I'll need to find something else… He thought, mid run. That voice threatened to crawl back to the forefront of his mind, but he shoved it deep down. Ethan looked around for the sharpest rock he could find and stole a piece of granite before the treant was on him again. He then ran even further away, before ducking under a thick trunk and slowing his breathing. This rock won't do a damn thing unless it's covered in death essence. And I don't have any on me right now.

Which left him only a single, small chance. He forced himself to remember everything he'd experienced up to this point. How malleable death energy was, what it could accomplish, how he'd seen it at work with life force. It wasn't easy with all the sounds hounding him from outside and in, but he tried. Death energy… comes out when things are dying. Or when they're hurt. It's the sign of a natural body's decay, created from life essence.

He heard the rumbling footsteps of the treant and peeked a look at it from behind his cover. Ethan focused not on what his eyes saw, but what his Talent did. The monster was hurt, and it was leaking death energy from the place where Ethan had wounded it. It wasn't just the residuals from his earlier attack either. Ethan could see the monster's life force turning into death energy right in front of his eyes. It had a much simpler life force than humans did, but that worked in Ethan's favour.

He could see the process clear as day, even from his position. The life force was… turning inside out, or at least that was the best way Ethan could describe it. It would implode and turn into its opposite, green to black like it was the natural state of things to flow that way. Natural. It's supposed to feel natural… Ethan took a deep breath, and brought out a few strands of his own wavering life force. He held it in front of himself, and focused.

The green life force wobbled in his arms, shaking slightly with every thump the treant made. Ethan didn't push it, didn't pull it, he simply moved it from one invisible dimension to another, turning it over like you would a coin. And then…. Black death bloomed within the life essence, as a slight smile caught on his lips. Yes! It wasn't converting everything, but it was good enough. Ethan brought out more strands of life force, as the treant's footsteps grew louder around him.

When enough was gathered, he repeated the process, flipping the essence to death until he had enough. And then the top of the tree exploded. Ethan covered his eyes, making sure the death energy didn't disperse in the meantime. Once the rain of shrapnel was over, he looked up and saw the face of the treant looking down at him. Hatred bloomed in the orbs that it passed off as eyes, and it slammed both fists down at him. Ethan was out of there before the blow landed.

And while he ran, he focused all the death energy he could spare onto the piece of granite in his hands. DE Overlay! The rock was covered along half of its face with the energy. Ethan thickened it till he was confident it could pierce through, and then he turned. This time, he didn't wait for the perfect opportunity. If he missed this, he was out of life force anyway. You put yourself in this situation. Get yourself out of it. Or do you want someone else to do it for you?

He clutched the rock tightly and ran in, avoiding the treant's branches and reaching its wounded side. And then Ethan slammed his rock into the wound. The granite exploded with energy. Several layers of the treant's skin fell away, revealing the rest of its glowing orange heart for a fraction of a second. But then the death essence consumed it, blackening the heart and forcing the treant to let out a massive scream. The arms came in to crush Ethan, and he tried to muster up whatever life force he could in defence.

But halfway to grabbing him, they dropped to the ground, along with the rest of the monster. The treant fell onto its back, and all manner of forest creatures went skittering away from the sound of the crash. Once it was finished, Ethan breathed a heavy sigh, watching the treant's green eyes fade away, as its life force became unbound. [Bestiary Updated!] [+30 Credits] He laughed like a mad man, then, amazed his little gamble had even worked out.

Before he keeled over from the laughter, Ethan realized the life force dancing around the treant's body was slowly turning to death energy. He grabbed hold of it, stopping the process, and shoved it into his own body. Not using it to heal himself, but to add to his almost exhausted supply. Haha! I figured it out! I finally figured it out conversion! He exclaimed inwardly as he finished consuming the life essence. And then, he dropped to his knees in awe.

His adrenaline faded, and the stabbing pain of a dozen splinters assaulted him all at once, no matter how little he moved. The pain made him hiss, but he powered through it. Because there was one last thing he needed to do. Need to feed the Talent. He grabbed the rotting death energy off the treant's corpse and brought it close to his body, just like with the life force. But instead of joining with it and causing untold internal damage, he focused on bringing his Talent forth instead.

And the death energy went spiralling into his chest, flowing into wherever Talents resided. It was a meager amount, but he had to feed it nonetheless. After the work was done, Ethan stood up, found his spear, and opened his menu. Status Name: Ethan Collins Race: Human Age: 18 Credits: 30 ————————— Health: 86.

3% Status Effects: None Estimated Time to Live: 13 Hours ————————— Talent: [Regenerating Berserker (Hidden: Life-Death Manipulation) - Rank F] Skills: Aura: [Locked] Internal: [Life & Death Control - Rank F] External: [Locked] Spirit: [Locked] Despite the pain, Ethan found himself smiling. Not only because he'd just taken on a monster several times his size, but because he'd bought himself more time and power. That's 10 or 12 hours, huh?

A couple thousand more treants and I'll have the lifespan of a normal person, he thought, switching over to his talent's progress. [Progress to E-Rank: 0. 00%] Great. Not even a dent. If Alphome and Raphael weren't feeling so testy, I could've started off on a better foot. He tried to move again, but the pain was getting a little too much. He had to make a choice. Ugh, I'm gonna have to use the life force already. Can't… can't keep moving like this.

The splinters popped out of his skin when he applied layers of life essence to them. Thankfully, he didn't have any internal injuries to heal, because he still didn't know how to treat those with his skill. Should come pretty easy for an internal skill, though, shouldn't it? He supposed he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Now, he was simply content with moving through the forest and checking what else had changed. Right, Bestiary. Let's see if it has any other info for me, Ethan decided as he walked.

He gave a mental command, and the new entry popped up right in front of him. [Monster: Treant Credits Dropped: 30 Description: A tree monster evolved to blend in with forested environments. Possesses massive strength for its level in exchange for slow and careless movements.] Nothing he hadn't already figured out on his own. And the Credits, those must be for the shop system that gets activated later. He stopped once he was done reading, rested against a tree and thought about his next moves.

I can keep my Time to Live up as long as I keep fighting things in the forest… and surviving. But that's not going to help me with the Realm Quest. Which means… getting to that domed village I saw should be my first priority. They oughta know something. Just as he was about to take off, a rumbling shook Ethan and the surroundings. He scowled, because the tree he'd just been resting against started to rise. Adrenaline flowed through his body once more at the prospect of death.

His heart threatened to beat out of his chest, his legs close to giving up, and Ethan readied his spear for another fight.