Jake stared at the grass beneath his hands. He and everyone else had just been transported into the abyss.
It was the zone after death. It was neither heaven nor hell and it was where men became gods and ascended.
Somehow Jake knew it was true the knowledge flowing into his head. Suddenly he was standing up with a sword in his hand. More knowledge. The most basic knowledge on everything. Swordplay, history, legends, myths, the knowledge flew into his head but he didn't cry out from pain. It was a strange sensation like a fog lifting from his head but only barely.
A voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
" You have all been chosen for the ascension. You are too many. You have been given knowledge. You must learn resolve. You number 5,000 currently. You must number 4,000. How you decide is your choice."
A screen appeared above them all glowing with an ethereal blue light. It had strange runic texts on it that Jake somehow knew equated to numbers and words. His brain auto-translated it.
Number of ascenders 5,000/4,000
Time limit: 71.59.49
Almost instantly chaos fell as people began to swing their swords at others.
Number of ascenders 4,995/4,000
Time limit: 71.50.21
In barely ten minutes 5 people had been killed…. Killed? They were already dead so how did they die again?
Jake tried to speak but could think of nothing to say. If he said to stop how could he convince 5,000 people if he tried to fight he might not survive. Jake screamed internally at himself how do I solve this.
wait... the voice hadn't said people needed to die just that people needed to leave. but... if you left then you had no idea what would happen you could die or cease to exist in addition to that, at the very least, meant giving up a chance to become a god. Jake knew the depths of human greed and knew that no human on earth would be able to give up on such a chance.
Jake sighed deeply. There could be no arguing with people in the face of such an opportunity.
He gripped his Long-sword tightly and glanced around the battlefield. He saw that most of the people in front of him were looking at each other nervously and swinging their swords halfheartedly, something he could tell even with his novice eyes. 'that makes sense' he thought. Regular people aren't used to this even with the knowledge bestowed on them they were still mostly farmers and peasants; most had never even touched something as expensive as a sword even if they now knew the basic principals. knowledge can never supplement experience.
Even with most of them being commoners not all were. To Jake's right there was a group of lightly armored rough men that were moving through others like a hot knife through butter.
They hacked slashed and stabbed all in their way. Nobody was spared not a woman or child or man.
The sight was chilling to Jake. It reminded him once again how truly despicable human people were.
Suddenly the crunching of grass filled his ears as someone ran towards him. Jake turned his neck and looked behind him.
A young man with red hair and blue eyes ran towards him, his long-sword held straight so as to impale him on it.
Jake felt strangely calm as if he was simply strolling along the road under a bright blue sky with a nice cool breeze whipping through his hair.
The red haired man was close now and at the last second Jake side-stepped away from the dangerous blade and drew his own up under the man's neck and swiped it across.
Blood sprayed in the air and the man fell with a thunk.
Jake stared at the brutal scene in front of him for a moment. He had ended that person in but a moment.
Then a thunderous ring resounded from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Jake looked up at the ethereal blue screen.
Number of ascenders: 4,000/4,000
Time limit: 71:01:02
Jake's eyes widened. Just a moment ago he had killed… no erased that red haired man and now an hour had passed. Then he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
An orange haired girl with soft features and kind pink eyes stood in before him. She seemed nervous and quickly retracted her hand.
"Ah uhm… a-are you okay… you er… you were staring at that dead body for a while now." she said looking smaller by the second.
Jake stared for a moment before realizing he should respond. He cleared his throat " hrm uh y-yeah i'm fine" he sputtered out quickly. He went to say something more but then the Abyss spoke again.
" You were too many." it said " you decided that those weaker than yourselves should die." " You are now enough."
"Your actions will be judged. You will be rewarded. You have proved your resolve."
A blue screen similar to the one above them flashed in front of Jake's face
System notice
First trial-Status- passed
ranking=23rd
Reward- proof of resolve, 10 knowledge fragments, the soul of Johnathan James
Jake stared in disbelief. He had been rewarded with the soul of, who he assumed was, the man he had killed. There was also the knowledge fragments and the proof of resolve.
Another notice sounded and Jake looked towards the sky once more.
"The first trial has ended. congratulations to those who have been rewarded"
" The second trial will begin when then timer ends"
The time limit timer which had been paused since the completion of the first trial began to count down again.
Time limit: 71:01:01
"Use this time to form allies and train yourself." the voice boomed. Then silence.
Jake looked around at the people around him. A few people glanced at him but also looked away. No one seemed too keen on making friends, at least not with him.
He decided the best thing to do would be to simply walk to a secluded area instead of making friends.