Chapter 105 – The Darkhole Trial

AG. This is tomorrow's chapter brought forward. Ch 104 and 105 should really be a single chapter but it was getting way to long for that so I split it.

Chapter 105 – The Darkhole Trial

Tom sighed. He knew why she asked and why she would think that way. “It’s not that simple Bri. It’s not that we don’t trust you. It’s just that the enemy can read your mind.”

“They can read my mind? Wait… No… But, but I know what you are for certain. I was told and if they pluck that knowledge from my brain. Oh no. I screwed up.” Her small hands clutched at her head. “Does that mean I’ve killed you?”

Tom froze at the question. It was a valid point, and he was aware that DEUS had already taken steps to actively protect him. “I don’t think so, but.” He looked up at the ceiling. The GODs themselves had gotten into trouble for crossing the rules. He didn’t see why a trial spirit would be exempt. “Trial, do you know that humans are currently in a competition?”

“But if they can read minds and now I know for certain. Then they’ll know about you.”

Tom ignored her momentarily while he waited for the trial to respond. Very loudly he thought about his title and how it could theoretically provide protection if Briana was eligible. He didn’t think it would help, but just in case he did it, anyway. 

There was a pause and then invisible text that burned itself into his vision appeared.

If you win, your title will be upgraded so that her new knowledge can’t betray your status.

The words seemed to carry annoyance. All the previous communications had not upset the trial administrator, Tom realised, but this one, for some unknown reason had.

“Sorry, I had to find out.”

“Find out what?” Briana demanded.

She had not been looking up, so had not seen the words. And the magic text was just like a loot portal until you laid eyes on it. Before that, the words might as well not have existed, but once you saw them, there was no ignoring them.

“The trial answered my question, and it has confirmed that you being here means you can no longer expose my secret.”

“Good,” she whispered and her sobbing transformed thankfully into mere sniffles.

“I’m not trying to cause trouble. Having secrets out in the open is for the best isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

Tom hadn’t been talking to her and the administrator he was sure understood. If its actions had revealed Tom’s existence to the assassins, inadvertently or not, he was sure that it would have suffered consequences.

“So me asking the question was okay?”

“If we survive.” He answered before he could bite his tongue. That would have been a really nice time for Social Silence to do something, he thought bitterly. But just like it had never reacted when he said stupid things in front of friends it was the same with family.

She burst into a fresh wave of sobs.

Tom winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Briana was past listening. She curled up into a tighter ball and was inconsolable. Tom kept patting her on her back and said nothing, just giving her his silent companionship. “I know I wasn’t supposed to say yes. But… is said, it would tell me, and it swore on the GODs so it couldn’t lie. I had to know. I’m… I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

There was nothing Tom could say to help her. She had screwed up.

“I knew it was bad. But I had to know, even if it killed me. But I didn’t know it would kill you. I didn’t want that. I never wanted that.” She hit him in frustration. “You shouldn’t have come.”

A free cast of Touch Heal spread over both of them soothed her muscles and removed his bruises. “We’re not going to die. Plus, it’s my fault. It came for me.”

“Because you’re a reincarnator?”

Tom sighed. “Maybe, or possibly it was random. It could have just been bad luck, or a GOD might have found it funny.” He said the last bit so softly he doubted she heard.

“Are you sure we won’t die?”

“I promise you we’re going to beat it.” It didn’t matter whether it was true or not. If it was a lie, they would both be past caring.

“But Dimitri said it was impossible.”

“Dimitri was wrong.”

“He said everyone dies.”

“I made the trial confirm with a GOD’s oath that we could beat it.”

She looked up at him thoughtfully. “But no one comes back. Does it take us elsewhere?”

Tom was surprised by that insight. It was easy to forget how clever she was. “No, it’ll return us to the orphanage.”

“But everyone dies. He said that.”

“We won’t. I can beat it. Remember, I’m a reincarnator.”

“What does it feel like to die?”

Tom almost choked at that question. What did it feel like to die? It was such a pertinent question, and he wasn’t about to tell her the truth. “You are caught up in a loving embrace.”

“That sounds nice.”

“But you never get to see your friends anymore.”

“Oh, that’s not good. I don’t think I want to die.”

“Nor do I Bri. Nor do I. Now don’t get upset. I’m going to ask the administrator a question. Trial, what do we have to do to win?”

Once more words formed to answer. Briana was curled up, and they were positioned over her back so she couldn’t see them.

There are decisions you need to make first. This time alone with Briana was a gift I was able to give you, but it’s all I can do.

Tom had never been more conscious of a title before, and he tried desperately not to think about it. Something told him that an all powerful trial administrator would not look kindly on the thought that it was being manipulated by a title. Usually, trying to hide his thoughts would have been pointless in this situation, but the title had a hidden tag, so it was possible that would blind it. “Thank you.” He whispered to the administrator and meant it a hundred percent. Having spent the last few minutes with her he felt a lot better.

I have limited autonomy, and it’s nice to use it when I can.

“Are you talking to the administrator?” Briana asked, sitting up and looking around.

“Yes, and it has some decisions for us to make.”

Right in their eyeline where they had no choice but to see words appeared. Briana shifted warily away from them but she didn’t jump, flee or startle. She was composed, and Tom guessed it was because it wasn’t new. It was likely the same method had been used by the administrator on the way in.

Would you accept Kang joining you?

 “Yes.” She said immediately apparently having no issue reading the words, but that wasn’t surprising. The magic would make it work like that.

Nothing happened.

Both parties must agree.  

Briana looked at him expectantly, but he wasn’t about to say yes. He was sure Kang had done what he had asked, but there were too many avenues for manipulation or incompetence. For example, his entire conversation with the other reincarnator might have been some high tiered illusion. It had not been carried out under a GOD’s oath. “Will he improve the chances of both myself and Briana leaving here alive?”

Marginally.

“Of course he will,” Briana exclaimed at the same time, sounding affronted. “He’s a reincarnator too. Didn’t you know?”

“I knew,” Tom answered distractedly. “But things aren’t that simple.”

Absently, he patted her on the head.

She flinched away and glowered at him. “I’m not a pet.”

“Let Kang in.” He decided after a moment more thought to see if there were any other loop holes he should be conscious of. A marginal improvement was not great, but it was better than nothing.

There was a sparkle of energy to announce the coming addition to their group. Tom knew for a fact it was not necessary but it was the trial doing it for their benefit. Then steam and bright lights so they couldn’t quite see, and a moment later, when it cleared, Kang stood there. Taller and bulkier than either of them, but still a six-year-old and the three of them had to take on a trial that powerhouses had died in.

He assessed their positioning in a glance. The comfortable way they were sitting and probably the wet patch on his uniform from Briana’s tears. “How long have you been here?”

“About ten minutes. Briana was upset, and she knows we’re reincarnators and the trial has assured us that she’ll be added to our titles when we leave here.”

Kang nodded grimly. “That is at least one bit of good news. Did you ask about our chances?”

“A significant chance of winning.”

The larger boy grimaced slightly to show he understood exactly how large a range that represented, and then he caught sight of Briana, and his face softened. “Hear that, Bri. We have a significant chance.”

“Tom said we were going to win because he is a reincarnator. And now we have two.”

“Tom’s right.” Kang agreed without hesitation and then caught his eyes. “Have you established the nature of the trial?”

He shook his head. “No, the administrator said we had to wait until you got here.”

No. I said you had decisions plural to make. You must also decide if you want the girl you know as Eloise to join you?

“Why?” Tom demanded before he could help himself. Her presence didn’t make any sense. As far as he could remember, she hadn’t even been in the corridor with them and she definitely hadn’t been visible when they had been in the bubble of slowed time. “You already had me. Why is she involved.”

It was a condition placed on me to get help to amend your title.

Tom froze.

Kang looked as sick as he felt.

The righteous anger in him vanished at those words. “A condition?”

Yes.

If there was any doubt before, it was gone now and he wondered whether this would level his title up but considering he already had six ranks of it he doubted he would be that lucky. He looked straight at where the words were appearing. “Do you know why, or which GOD forced this.”

I don’t. The wording was that I had to entice her to join.

“And if I say no will you…”

No, I can’t do that.

The words flashed up before he could finish the sentence.

If you don’t accept her into your party, she will die.

There were no weasel words in that statement. No maybes, probably, or qualifications. It was presented as a straight up fact by someone who was incapable of deceiving him. If Eloise was to be forced to run this by herself, she would not make it.

Tom wanted to scream in frustration. But this might not be a ploy of an evil GOD to hurt him, though it sure felt like it. This could be a method to make Eloise stronger. Hopefully she had been sent in to piggy back off his and Kang’s strength and effectively gain a reward for free. 

“We accept,” Kang said immediately.

“So do I,” Briana said quickly.

It was a struggle not to openly roll his eyes. He had expected better than that from the other man. “It doesn’t work like that Kang, the decision needs to be unanimous.”

“Tom,” the larger boy snapped warningly. “We’re not going to sacrifice her.”

In frustration, his eyes flickered to where Briana sat with her knees being drawn tighter to her chest. She did not like this conversation and a debate on the intricacies of greater good and probabilistic models would not help her already fragile mental state. “I’m not going to sacrifice her,” he declared. “But I need to know a bit more. Administrator, if she joins us, does it make us more likely to win?”

No.

Tom covered his eyes with both hands in despair. That was the answer he feared. His heart was thundering in anticipation of the decision he was likely going to have to make. “Can we beat you if we include her in the group?” Instinctively, he flinched away from where the response was going to come from. The text since it started had consistently appeared in the same spot like they were talking to a person. He did and didn’t want to see the answer with all of his heart.

Yes, you’ll still be able to beat me.He exhaled audibly. “Thank god. Is the chances of beating you still significant.”

Yes.

It became easier to breathe. “Are the chances of all of us beating you significant?”

No.

This time it was Kang who inhaled sharply in shock. Tom didn’t. He had been waiting for that shoe to drop. “How much do the chances of at least three of us surviving decrease by?”

There is a minor chance which means less than 4 percent. Due to rules I can’t specify a lower number than that.

Tom looked up at Kang. “We save her and we’re four percent more likely to die.” It wasn’t quite true because the chances were between zero and four.

The other boy didn’t answer and instead glanced at Briana. The implications were clear. They had to consider more than just survival. 

“Will she be covered by our titles if we beat you?”

Yes.

Tom sighed. If the aim was to maximise humanity’s chances as a whole then taking her on wasn’t worth the cost. If Eloise died, especially if they abandoned her, he was not sure the younger girl would be able to forgive herself. Logically, Tom knew it was not the right choice, but after their actions had driven Briana to this situation, he couldn’t hurt her anymore and the costs of accepting Eloise while not great were not that dire. “Fine, she can join us.”

Eloise appeared.

She looked infuriatingly pleased with herself. “I’m here to save Briana.”

Tom felt like screaming at that motivation. Next to him Bri shuddered once more and shut her eyes.

“I’m sorry for doing this.” Briana whispered.

“No. It’ll be fun. We’ll triumph. We’ll be the first to be successful.” Elosie grinned around at all of them.

“Before we get ahead of ourselves,” Tom said, suppressing his anger. She was a child. Her thoughtlessness had to be forgiven. “Maybe we should discover what we have to do. Unless there are other decisions we have to make?”

There are no more required decisions.

“Good, please tell us what we’re facing?”

To beat the Explosive Growth trial, you will need to clear three floors of enemies of increasing threat.

·        Floor 1. Will be populated with monsters that are 2 times the rank of your strongest member and rounded up.

·        Floor 2. Will be populated with monsters that are 3 times the rank of your strongest member and rounded up.

·        Floor 3. Will be populated with monsters that are 4 times the rank of your strongest member and rounded up.

The number of opponents will be scaled based on the number of members in the challenging group. 

No external equipment may be used in the darkhole trial. For challengers below rank 20, only untiered weapons and armour are supplied. These will be customised to the user’s preferences.

You have three months to clear the floors at which point safe room access will be removed, and all opponents will have their rank doubled. 

“That’s bad.” Kang said immediately.

Tom did the calculations. “Yes. But survivable.”

“We’re going to win,” Eloise interjected brightly.

“If we do, it’s only because our ranks are so low.” Kang muttered quietly. “Can you imagine anyone else challenging this.”

Tom snorted and glanced sideways at the other man. “That’s the reason no one beats it. Imagine it a rank five fighting a rank twenty. I guess at that level they’ve got a chance, but it’s worse than winning the lotto. But a rank twenty going up against a rank eighty, without artefacts I don’t think there is anything you could do to cross that gap. At higher levels, it’s hard enough to beat monsters the same rank as you let alone ones four times your own rank.”

“Impossible,” Kang agreed. “And no civilisation is sending their most talented junior into a trial that kills powerhouses.”

“Except when they know in advance.” Tom kicked the ground. “But that’s impossible because it specifically never targets children. Unless they’re lucky reincarnators like me.”

Eloise he noticed startled a little and she went to interject but couldn’t as Kang continued his analysis.

“The bad news is that I’m the strongest member. Me being here increases the rank of what we’re fighting,” Kang told them. “Which means the scaling is occurring off me and I’m halfway through the first rank.”

“So we’ll have to beat monster that are, what? rank 6?”

“Seven.” Kang whispered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”

Eloise had mimed ‘Tom’s a reincarnator? Really?’ to Briana who had responded with a single word. ‘Both.’

“Not true. Your presence is a positive.” He deliberately did not look at Eloise, as he mentally put her in a different basket, but his mind was racing and his eyes went back to that last line on the description. It said they had three months. “Administrator, do you supply food?”

Yes. The third door on the right is a dining room. There is prepared food along with raw ingredients. All stores are refreshed daily.

“And are the floor themes preset, or do they generate when we enter?”

It is the second. But once a theme has been selected it won’t change.

“We can leave the girls.” Kang said thoughtfully.

“I don’t want to be left.” Eloise protested. “I’m fast and strong. Tom’s a shitty reincarnator and I beat him easily on obstacle courses and in the dodge pits. I’m useful.”

The trial doesn’t allow that. Everyone must be on the floor.

“Is there a secure location we can place them in?”

It is designed explicitly to prevent that. If people are not participating monsters will spawn to engage them.

Tom grimaced at that. “Is not participating based on actions or proximity?”

Proximity, but the floors are not linear space. When you find an enemy, you will be attacked from behind at the same time.

“Those rules suck,” Kang protested.

Tom didn’t express the same sentiments. Of course, the place would be constructed to prevent free loaders from benefiting from the likely powerful final rewards. His attention instead went to the prior conversation, and he made a decision. Kang’s statement had not been a question, and the trial had volunteered a useful answer. If it hadn’t, if they had gone in blind and place the girls behind them in a cleared area, it would have almost certainly resulted in both of their deaths. Actions, as far as he was concerned were what defined a person. “Administrator, do you have a name?”

You can call me Adam.

“Adam, thank you for the warning.” His mind was whirling as he did the mathematics. The fight right now was impossible, but having that three months to prepare was magic. It made it all doable. Against the right match up, he could defeat rank seven monsters, and they had time to engineer a favourable outcome. “We can definitely do this.” He told the others. “We’ll train for two months and then clear it. It’s an opportunity.”

“Rank seven. That’s a death sentence.” Kang whispered, but thankfully soft enough that the girls didn’t hear him.

Tom was tempted to respond, but the questions he had asked had proven Kang being here was an asset. “You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What?”

“We have three months to wield fate like a sledgehammer.”