Chapter 14

"Trial"

"???: level ???

HP:???"

Raven felt anger burn inside him, and had to fight to keep his cool. He barely had time to ask himself what kind of monster sat before him.

"Hey!" growled the man. His eyes became black, depthless pits, and the aura that emanated from him brought Will to his knees. The dog, calm and serene a moment before, now snarled in Will's face, green smoke oozing from its snout.

"You don't want to abuse my hospitality, kid!" The man's aura and his aggravated voice held his guest in a steel grip.

Will became gravely serious. Everything felt so real, he forgot that he was in a game. Kneeling? Never! He struggled against weight that held him down with all his might. Drops of blood trickled from his nose and splattered on the floor. Then he started bleeding from his eyes.

"Goddamn! It hurts!"

The last thing he saw before everything went dark was a name flash before his eyes. Then the system notification popped up.

"Warning! You lost sight under pressure. The effect will last for 12 hours. Further resistance will increase damage. Death is imminent."

"Aaargh!"

Will felt his eyes burst. Little by little, he kept pushing, too stubborn to quit. Never had he knelt before anyone. His pride would not allow him to do it, even in the game. Mopping floors, taking out trash, serving the wealthy — he was not beneath such menial work, but the principles his father instilled in him were set so deep, that even if he had been unconscious, his body would have resisted on its own.

"It's an illusion! It's not real!" He kept repeating this, like a mantra, suffering tremendous mental pressure.

-300

"You're in mental shock."

-300

"You're in mental shock."

-300

"You're in mental shock."

"Aargh!!!"

The pain was agonizing. It felt like someone was sticking burning hot needles into his brain. In a semi-delirious state, he knew he should have died and been respawned in the village a long time ago. Negative numbers that flashed before his eyes exceeded his health limit ten times over, for some reason, though, the torture continued. He continued to struggle and read the notifications, each one worse than the last.

"Warning! You went completely deaf under pressure. The effect will last for 16 hours. Further resistance will increase damage. Death is imminent."

"Holy mother of…"

He didn't know why he was doing it — why he kept fighting, instead of just giving in. The pain was unbearable, as if his mind was tearing itself apart. It was all in the game; no living person saw him on his knees, but, deep inside, Will was irate that a bunch of ones and zeroes might succeed in pulling off what others couldn't.

"It's all in my head, I'm going to be OK. I'm not in any paaaa–"

Will lost all sense of time. How long had he been enduring this torture? A minute? A day? Time collapsed and surged, flowing forwards and backwards. He thought about surrendering. Why couldn't he just drop?

Will heard a smooth, lulling voice. It was fading in. A voice he wanted to follow. It sounded familiar, like… his father?

"Stop fighting, son. Just let go," it said. "Why keep punishing yourself? Just let go, and it will be all over. Think about your sister. Do you really want to die and leave her alone? Just kneel, and all will be the way it was before."

"What the hell kind of game is this?!"

No! He would have believed his dream of being able to provide for his family not to coming true. What he couldn't believe was his own father telling him to give up. Hell would freeze over first.

Finally, he stood up straight, which should have been impossible. His legs were broken his tendons lacerated. The game kept him posted about every mutilation he had suffered Raven's body lay shattered in a pool of blood, broken bones poking through broken skin.

It was difficult to remember that all this was happening in his head. The capsule was retrieving only information, which Will believed to be true. Once he managed to stand, this entire delusion would be gone. Just like that.

Raven found himself lying on the floor. Health bar at 5%; his eyes were hurting, he couldn't hear, and he could barely move.

"Unique quest complete! You've done the impossible!

You are the only person who has completed it on max sensitivity settings. For showing exceptional persistence, you have earned the following rewards:

+500 Influence points

+100 Will points

+30 to all stats

+20% Physical resistance

+20% Magic resistance."

"Awarded the title: Adamantine.

Your Spirit is strong and undefeatable.

+60% Mental resistance

+10 Main attack against ethereal type targets.

"Soul Cry. Unique skill. Active (Apprentice).

Produces a wave that damages the enemies in your vicinity. Causes piercing damage and ignores all armor.

Damage: 350-400

Attack range: 33 feet

Inflicts Dismay. Affected target can't move.

Duration: 30 seconds

Energy required: 250

Cooldown: 2 days."