Zane hit the ground like a meteor made of poor choices.
Face-first. No heroic landing. Just raw impact, muffled cursing, and a generous mouthful of dirt.
Somewhere in the distance, birds scattered from the shockwave of his dignity imploding.
"Graceful," came the voice in his head. "Like a sack of wet laundry thrown off a balcony."
Zane rolled onto his back, spitting grass and gravel and, yep, still naked. "I hate you," he muttered.
"Oh goodie!" Pora replied. "You're adapting already."
Before he could figure out how to punch a voice, the air shimmered with golden light. A tall, ethereal figure materialized above him like a ghost stepping out of a sunrise.
She looked human. Almost. Slender build, silver-white robes, eyes like polished glass. Her expression was calm, absent, robotic. It was as if she was reading a script she had recited a thousand times and cared about none of it.
"Greetings, candidate," she said, voice smooth and distant. "I am Guide 5544821. Assigned to facilitate your initiation trials into the Thronebound System."
Zane blinked.
Pora, still echoing inside his skull, chimed in, "oh great. We have been blessed with the cosmic intern."
The guide continued ignoring the clear confusion on Zane's face.
"You have been granted a temporary initiation zone to undergo five trials, we call them phases. Phase one: survive initial insertion. Two: engage in basic combat encounters. Three: determine your class. Four: Test your class. And finally, Five: ???"
The last phase was a robotic voice.
"Translation: One: Don't die, two: put up more of a fight than you did against Sarah's boyfriend, three: pick something that is not a cool melee class, Thr-…" Pora was interrupted.
"Will you shut the hell up already, I get it." Zane's anger getting the best of him.
"Okay… sheesh the hostility." Pora's voice retreated.
The guide tilted her head ever so slightly.
"As you wish. I will return for Phase Two."
She vanished.
Gone. No countdown. No cancellation options. Just gone.
Zane sat up; arms outstretched in disbelief. "No no no no… come back! How am I supposed to survive?"
He groaned as he got to his feet, he noticed a pair of pants and a shirt folded neatly on the ground. He threw them on quickly.
"Ahhh, finally some clothes."
He let out a slow exhale, then looked upward. "Now that you made her leave, what do I do?"
A ripple of light shimmered beside him. Pora manifested at last, visible for the first time.
It hovered just above the ground, glowing softly, a translucent creature shaped like a jellyfish had fused with a broken data server. This tendril of light flickered and twitched around a pulsing core that glowed with shifting colors, soft blues, deep purples, neon pinks, and the occasional static red.
"Wow," Pora said flatly, spinning in place. "This is how you see me? color me baffled… I gave you an awesome version of the system and you gave me seafood with abandonment issues."
Zane narrowed his eyes. "I…" He emphasized, letting it linger. "Didn't give you anything, I think you just have performance anxiety."
Pora gasped, "I told you that in confidence."
He looked around and scanned the open plains around him. "Now what?"
"Well, I don't think telling the guide to shut up was the play here."
Zane gave Pora a flat stare. "No shit."
"Seriously, what am I surviving? There's nothing here."
"Mm," Pora hummed spinning again. Then it stopped. One tendril rose slowly, pointing past Zane's shoulder. "Maybe we can ask that thing."
Zane turned around. Regretting it immediately.
A massive snake tore through the grass like a living fright train. Easily thirty feet long, covered in emerald scales that shimmered in the light, its body rippled with muscle. Fangs gleamed in its open mouth, each one longer than Zane's forearm. Its tongue flicked. Its eyes locked on him.
"Something tells me that's not a friendly snake." Zane said slowly.
"Agreed." A pop sounded and Pora disappeared back into Zanes head.
"You should run…" it whispered in his brain.
"Why are you whispering?" He thought as he turned around and ran.
Zane did not scream.
Okay, maybe he did. But internally. Loudly.
He turned and bolted, stumbling over a rock on the second step and barely catching himself before eating dirt a second time. The snake crashed into the spot where he had just been, tearing up grass and soil like a plow from hell.
"Why is it so fast?" Zane gasped.
"Efficient locomotion," Pora replied, still hiding in his head. "Snakes don't skip leg day. Because they don't have legs."
"Not helping…" he gritted.
The ground sloped downward. Zane took the hill at full speed, feet barely keeping up with the rest of him. Behind him, he could hear the rhythmic slither and crunch of the snake following close behind, closing in again.
[INITIATION OBJECTIVE DETECTED]
[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENABLE SURVIVAL AID?]
[Y/N]
"Yes!" Zane shouted.
Nothing happened.
His eyes darted around as he ran. "Why isn't it working?!"
"Think the answer, idiot," Pora said. "You shouted it, that's not how this works."
"I'm new!"
"Yeah, clearly…"
Zane mentally screamed YES, and finally a flicker of light burned across his vision.
[SURVIVAL AID: ACTIVATED]
[ADRENAL BOOST: 15 SECONDS]
[PAIN DAMPENING: ENGAGED]
[CLASS SYNC: INITIALIZING]
His muscles surged.
The burn in his legs dulled. His breathing slowed. Everything felt sharper. Brighter. The pounding in his ears faded just enough for clarity to kick in.
He reached the base of the slope and spun behind a thick rock outcrop just as the snake struck again, slamming into the boulder with enough force to shake the ground.
Zane crashed to the ground, panting. "Okay. That… bought me time."
Pora manifested once more, one tentacle stroking what could only be interpreted as a beard made of nothing. "Hmm. Not bad. You didn't die. That's a good start."
The snake hissed again, sliding along the edge of the rock, searching.
Zane crouched lower. "I need a weapon."
"Ask and you shall receive," Pora said with one tentacle in the air.
Zane waited in anticipation. Nothing.
"Well?"
"Oh, I can't actually help you, I just wanted to feel useful."
"How am I supposed to fight that thing without a weapon?"
"No one said you had to fight it, just survive."
"Thanks, that really makes the situation better."
A low rumble echoed through the ground. The snake was circling now, tail whipping through the tall grass like a scythe.
[CLASS SYNC: 82%...]
[CRYSTAL STATUS: DORMANT]
[AWAKENING POTENTIAL: LEGENDARY]
Pora tilted slightly. "Huh, that's weird."
"What?"
"Nothing. You might… want to brace yourself."
"For wha…"
The snake reared again, this time from the other side of the rock. Its head lunged around the corner, jaws wide.
Zane rolled instinctively, narrowly avoiding the bite. Fangs slammed into the stone where he had been crouching, shattering the edge.
He landed hard, heart pounding, mind racing.
Then… something clicked.
Not a sound. Not a voice. Just... clarity.
A heat pulsed in his chest.
And a whisper, not from Pora, but from somewhere deeper.
"Fight back."
[CLASS SYC: 100%]
[CLASS ASSIGNED: DREADBORNE SAINT]
[ACCEPT: Y/N]
"We should think about this before you accept-." Pora did not get to finish its sentence.
YES. YES. YES. He thought multiple times.
[CLASS ACCEPTED]
[CLASS BONUS APPLIED]
SOUL EMBERS 1 -> 3
ABILITY UNLOCKED: DEATHLIGHT AURA
"YOU RADIATE A SPECTRAL FIELD THAT WEAKENS NEARBY FOES, SIPHONING VITALITY AND FEEDING YOUR OWN RESOLVE. LIGHT AND SHADOW TWIST IN YOUR PRESENCE. CONSUMES .01 SOUL EMBER PER MINUTE."
[SYSTEM NOTE: THIS CLASS IS ONE-OF-ONE]
[SYSTEM NOTE: YOUR AWEKENING HAS BEEN OBSERVED]
"I don't think that was supposed to happen…" Pora said.
"I don't care, let me try this." He noticed in the corner of his vision three orange shards. He thought about his new ability and a faint glow surrounded him. One of the orange shards seemed to drain slowly.
The snake recoiled when it touched the spectral field surrounding Zane.
"Ha!" he yelled out, "It's working!"
"Mmmm," Pora did not sound convinced.
The snake shook its head, its massive jaws opened, and a green light rose from its mouth, then it spit.
"Well, that's rude." Pora pointed out.
Zane rolled, moving out of the way before the green saliva landed where he was standing. It sizzled and after a moment, it exploded. The shockwave sent Zane flying across the field, landing against a boulder.
[Health 082/100]
He groaned as he peeled himself off the boulder. His aura skill flickered, as he lost control of it.
The snake did not hesitate. Its body was shrouded by green luminescent light and its movements were faster.
"Ah shit." He muttered as he tried to figure out what to do.
The snake shot like an arrow. Heading straight for him. He looked around, death settling in once again.
"Hey idiot. Roll when I say." Pora spoke in a serious tone.
The snake grew closer, the green light the only thing he could make out from the form coming at him.
"NOW!" Pora yelled.
He rolled, and the snake passed by moments later, he could feel the power coming from the green energy. The snake smashed into the boulder, obliterating it. Shrapnel sprayed across the field. The snake whirled, its head bobbing, confused.
He activated his aura again, the snake well within the spectral dome. He could feel his health regenerating as he stole the life of the snake.
"This is exhilarating!" he yelled. He moved toward the snake; his confidence gave him the strength to attack. He kicked the snake as hard as he could.
Pain. "Holy fuck." He grabbed his leg. Trying to hold in a scream.
The snake smashed down, Zane barely dodging the massive form. He let his aura go once again.
"Why is it so hard to keep this ability going?" he panted.
"Less talking, more tying to not die." Pora was pushing him.
It smashed down again; he was not able to move this time. The massive body caught him, and he fell with the impact.
He felt his health dip again.
The snake rose and slammed again. And again. And again. He was able to dodge the first two, but the third hit him full on.
[Health 003/100]
His entire body hurt. His mind felt like it would shatter. He reactivated his aura ability, the orange shards were now all empty except the last one, it started dimming.
He felt his health rise a tiny bit, as the snake was still within his dome.
Then… the snake disappeared.
He dropped back into the grass, staring at the sky. "Phase one is done. I'm alive. I'm… actually alive."
"Oh boy, you're in for a treat." Pora giggled.
Golden light shimmered again, and a goblin popped into existence.
He lifted his head and groaned. "Fuck me."
The goblin yelled and pointed its spear at Zane, still lying on the ground.
"Well, at least it's not a giant snake, you have a chance! A slim one, but a chance."
Zane rolled over and pushed himself up. He put his fists up, readying for a fight. The Goblin was no taller than his waist, and it reminded him of a small child. Its massive nose, and bushy brows, gave away its older age. It had sharp teeth, and its smile unnerved Zane.
The goblin charged. Zane had his aura still activated, and he felt the moment the goblin entered his spectral dome.
It hesitated for a moment, but pushed forward, not a single thought could be seen behind its beady black eyes.
The spear reached him first, he moved to the right and grabbed the shaft with his left hand, trying to put the goblin off balance.
Kill it.
A menacing voice echoed in his brain.
"Is that you?"
Pora did not answer right away, "…. was what me?"
He could feel the confusion in Poras words.
Weird.
He punched with his right fist. Connecting cleanly with the jaw of the goblin. He felt a pop and it let go of the spear, stumbling. He grabbed the spear awkwardly with both hands and pointed it at the goblin, now trying to get back to its feet.
It hissed at him and spoke.
"This shouldn't be possible. No. no. not possible."
The goblin looked… scare?
KILL IT.
The voice again. He launched himself forward and stabbed the goblin in the chest. It screamed. He pulled the spear out with a pluck and stabbed again. And again. The Goblin fell.
[CONGRATULATIONS: YOU COMPLETED THE FIRST PHASE]
His body went limp, and pain shot through his mind. He collapsed.
"Uh, Pora, what is happening?" He could faintly hear it trying to answer. He looked around and he noticed a blinking caution sign in the bottom corner of his vision.
The three shards were empty.