Despite the test not being too difficult, nor deadly, there was still one team which failed it. There could be any reason from cowardice, blood loss-although doubtful–or maybe too much precaution, but they never returned and no one will ever know why. It was a group of two men and one woman.

  Adrian doesn’t care about them, nor does anyone else in the train. There is a consensus that coming here, you are already prepared to either die or lose.

  The next few tests go in a somewhat similar fashion. They test him on many aspects, some that he doesn’t even know the reason for. It is only a chat with Ji-a later that he understands the intent behind them.

  Another special test also comes up during the 6th test, and this time Adrian manages to finish it before the 10 minute mark. This time he goes directly for the legs, although he need not bother because his opponent is too ‘honourable to run’.

  He chooses a Moe Jellyfish from one of his opponent’s Sacrifices to replace his Fire Bovine. A Moe Jellyfish is a dreamwater element magical creature, in short a very amorphous existence. Also the dream and water elements are very useful and match very well with his other Sacrifices.

  Least to say, Adrian is very happy.

  By now, few more people are down, reducing the train population to 13. Adrian notes that the afraid man with the blond hair is still here, not having participated in any special test. The second special test only reduces their population by 1.

  And now it is time for the 7th one. By now, 6 hours have gone by, and fatigue is setting in. People are tired, sleepy, a little bit hungry, and a lot hurt. Adrian himself has been injured a few more times during the past tests, using up more and more of his medical kit.

  “I really want it to end now,” Ji-a says from beside him as they wait for others to deboard first. She, strangely enough, does not seem to have many wounds and even the ones she has are absolutely minor. More like scratches.

  But even she can’t escape being tired.

  “I hate being tired. Why can’t I trade my stupid thoughts for more stamina,” She continues to grumble.

  “This one should be an easy one though. I’ve heard that around the middle of the Trial, the Tower gives a lowball to let the participants relax for a bit, and then catch them off-guard on the next one,” Adrian responds.

  “That is true. So don’t let your guard down,” Ji-a says before finally walking out of the train and disappearing into the mist. Adrian too walks through with a weary sigh. The mist around him changes and turns, and suddenly once again, it’s dark.

  But the darkness this time is interspersed by sudden flashes of light, and something would appear in front of him.

  Adrian is sitting on something, and it is metallic. He looks down, and there is a metallic sheet attached to some kind of wall with a weird texture. There are windows attached to it in regular intervals, and from it he could see a light filter in every once in a while before going dark again.

  Belatedly he realises that they are actually moving. The sound of wheels moving fast on the tracks ring through the compartment.

  In front of him is the same, a thin sheet of metal attached to the walls to sit with similar windows to look out, but there is no light coming from that side.

  In the middle on the low-hanging ceiling is a rod which stretches across the length of the compartment he is in, and rods would come down at regular intervals to perhaps hold them, Adrian guesses.

  It looks like a train, but… different. Why am I feeling so sleepy?

  The test details come next,

  Seventh test: Take some rest.

  To walk a thousand miles, you must learn to stop and rest. Give your body its rest, and let it drift into the dreamscape.

  Yet always be aware. Reward and punishment may come when you rest, so do not let it get away.

  Goal: Sleep.

  Time limit: 30 minutes.

  Waves of fatigue and drowsiness hit him simultaneously at that time, and Adrian struggles to read and understand what the Tower is trying to tell him through the message. The waves get stronger and stronger, the alternating light show creates a hypnotic effect, but Adrian focuses and for that moment, it feels like his mind suddenly clears and he is looking at the text from a separate dimension.

  The feeling passes away quickly, and then he finally falls asleep.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  #

  When Adrian wakes up the sound of mice still moving reverberates through his head. He had this wicked dream, about a bunch of mice tackling a dragon and winning. A sense of loss echoes through his heart as he wakes up, the dream still pounding inside of him.

  He tries to get the feeling away, and looks around. Only then does he realise that he is actually back on the train, his head still laying on someone’s shoulder and there is a little drool at the edge of his mouth.

  He gets up slowly, groaning as his back hurts a little after the sudden sleep he has been put into.

  “Feeling better?” A calm voice enters his ears, and after a moment of doubt, clarity comes back and he looks to his left at Ji-a sitting there looking at him. She looks normal.

  “Yeah, sorry for keeping your shoulder busy,” He apologizes and stretches.

  “Not a problem, just lemme have some more food later if you feel too sorry,” She says, and Adrian simply nods along, still not fully up to actually argue.

  “How long has it been?” Adrian asks.

  “I think we’re 20 or so minutes into the train ride before the 8th test. So you still have some time to stretch and get back in shape for the next one,” She says. Adrian nods and looks around himself. A lot of awake faces are standing around their seats, stretching, shadow boxing, or any way they can to bring themselves back to their prime.

  There are also people who are still asleep, snoring away in their mindless slumber.

  “Shouldn’t we wake them up?” Adrian asks, and the earring guy responds. The dude with the beanies is also asleep, snoring far too loudly.

  “Yes. We thought we would wake them up five minutes before the test. It should be enough time for them to relax, and also wouldn’t overcrowd the area,” He says with a wry smile.

  “Hmm,” Adrian takes one last look around, and finds that John has his eyes closed and his sword on his lap.

  “Hey, is John asleep or awake?” Klein asks.

  “We have no idea, and we don’t wanna disturb him if he’s meditating,” Michael replies, and Adrian decides that he’ll give his luck a try if no-one tries in the next few mi- oh he just opened his eyes. He seems awake. Adrian gives a simple nod and sits back down.

  Soon, the eighth test and then the ninth test too pass, and the population reduces to 12. One more person is last in the 8th test. Honestly, the last two have been quite a bitch. Adrian had expected it, and even then he had been surprised.

  Perhaps the Tower found it funny or something, but crossing a whirlpool filled lake was really the worst thing after the nap. He still completed it, but he can still feel salty about it all. At least the Tower had the decency to dry him up after the test.

  And now they are heading into the 10th test, most likely another special one.

  “Are you gonna do this one too?” Ritsu asks. He is the boy with the spiky hair. The boy twin.

  “Yeah. I wanna finish it with a perfect score,” Adrian says with a weary smile. The nap had been good, but it was still nowhere near enough to fill all the gaps. It has refreshed him, but his body is coming closer and closer to shutting down from all the strain.

  A part of him finds it very dangerous to even take part in the last one, but he knows that he’ll never forgive himself for not giving it his all and wasting such good Sacrifices.

  “Tough man. I think I’m gonna stay out of this one. I’m so tired and sleepy,” Michael says between a yawn. Michael is the one with the earrings, and he is standing beside their seat, talking. Talking, as they found out, is a very good way to stave off sleepiness.

  Adrian is talking to Ritsu, Michael, and Finneas the beanie guy. Ji-a is away talking with Mark, and Himari. There is one more clique of 3 women who whisper among themselves, and then finally John who prefers to sit alone and focus on his meditation.

  “All the best, man. Don’t die on us now! Once we get our class, we should all gather on the 2nd floor, and have a small celebration for our win. What do you think?” Finneas says excitedly. Adrian has to applaud his stamina for still being so animated.

  “We’ll get booze, food, girls, and have an awesome time!” Finneas exclaims.

  Or maybe he’s just excited about one of those three. Maybe the third.

  Everyone nod anyway. Through their time in the Trial, although not much, a sense of camaraderie has been built within them. The sense of kindred spirits who have been through the same shit as you.

  “Bless the Towers, everyone back home would be so excited when I get back. It’s kinda embarrassing, but my mother has probably been praying to the Tower for the past hours. It’s a thing every mother does in my city, where they gather together and pray for us to come back home. There’s gonna be celebration after that too. I’m already getting excited!” Ritus exclaims, vibrating with excitement.

  “Oh you guys do it too!?” Finneas said, and then nodded his head as if it is obvious, “Of course a celebration is only natural in the name of the Tower and us! Bless the Towers.”

  “Bless the Towers.” Michael says it too, and reluctantly, Adrian follows.

  Suddenly though, the world once again comes into focus for him. Their faces are replaced by the ones of his cult, and it feels like a repeat of it all again. A reminder of the nature of this world and his own separation and isolation from it all.

  It is a little different this time though. They did not kill Martin. They are not his enemies.

  The following chat sees him involved less and less until all he does is simply nod his head at times and smile where necessary. Thankfully, the next test appears soon enough and he is rescued from the conversation he no longer wants to be a part of.

  Adrian wishes Ji-a, Mark and John for the test and then rapidly gets off.

  Similar to the last two times, the mist slowly thins away, and leaves a man lazily holding a spear in his hand, looking at him with indifference that bores straight into his soul.

  Tenth Test: Fight for your Class.

  Men have fought through the years for many things. Should it be land, wealth, justice, or plain ego; war is a crucial part of us. Today you’ll fight for your Class.

  Handicap: Every 10 minutes, one of your Sacrifices will be destroyed, in the ascending order of their rarity.

  Goal: Kill your opponent before the timer runs out.

  Time limit: 30 minutes.

  Adios!

  Adrian slips into deeper and deeper focus, his own feelings about the Tower irrelevant in front of the fight. His mind feels separate, yet more in control of himself. He looks at his opponent, and analyses all he needs in the few seconds before the fight begins.

  #