Chapter 3: Goodbye Steve.

Well at least I know Steve died for a good cause, my survival and future stats. Now what exactly happened here? As I start to go through the rubble that once was Steve the Metal Golem I noticed that besides my broken compass and my machete there is a small white box with a red medical cross on it. Where did that come from. I know, it must be loot! My very first drop in the game is in front of me. I am so excited what could it be? As I open the box I see three red pills and a note. The note was just a description telling me that these are light healing pills. Well no time like the present to try these out, my arm still hurts.

I pop a pill and wash it down with some water. A warm feeling rushes through my body. My arm doesn’t hurt anymore. That’s great! These pills are quick and efficient. I need to keep these easily accessible. After placing them in my front pocket I reach down to retrieve my machete. As I pick it up I try and wipe it clean. Huh, pieces of Steve are sticking to my machete almost as if they were magnetic. That’s it, I know what happened.

I remember the box at the beginning of the challenge. It read, “Like calls to like and anything else is useless.” Steve wasn’t a metal golem; he was a magnetic golem. When my compass broke the magnetic needle must have impacted him. This wasn’t a battle challenge, it was a riddle and preparedness challenge. Are all the challenges like this? I only beat Steve through sheer dumb luck. However, armed with my new knowledge I might actually have a chance.

Fully healed and feeling good about myself I looked around the now empty underground chamber. Some obvious changes had occurred. There are now four new passages leading out, each with an inscription above it. Passage #1 says trial 2 in red letters, passage #2 also says trial 2 in blue letters, passage #3 says trial 2 in white letters, and the final passage #4 has a glowing exit sign above it.

Alright calm down, this seems a little too easy. I just happen to beat a deadly golem through sheer luck and now I can go home. I need to think about this first. I quickly set up a little camp/rest area as best I can. I have 72 hours to finish the beta test and I have only used less than 5 hours. Why would they give me three days unless they felt it was necessary? Maybe in the past some participants just refused to move and the time limit is so the person or being in charge does not have to wait for them to starve to death or die of thirst. Somehow a feeling comes to me that this is the correct reason.

Since I have used very little of my time here and already passed the first challenge I decide to take a nap. I want to make sure I am fully rested and that the healing pill has worked completely before I make a decision on which path to take next.

I blink my eyes awake and check my watch. It has been just over an hour since I laid down for my impromptu nap. Other than a slight pain in my back from sleeping on the ground I feel pretty good. I open my non-magical med kit and wash down a couple of generic pain pills for my back. How cool is it that I can say this? I have a magical and non-magical medical kit. Focus, a decision needs to be made. I am pretty sure that since I have calmed down and rested I can make a good one. In the beginning the blue box said I had to clear the dungeon or reach an exit.

I am fairly confident that an exit will appear after each challenge is complete. Steve the golem told me that if I defeated him I would receive the blessing of the earth. From all of the fantasy novels I have read this most likely means I will have access to earth magic or its equivalent in the new world. I wonder if that means I can earn access to other types of magic if I continue the challenges. That seems logical.

Each of the new passages have the same message but are different colors, red, blue, and white. That may be a hint to which type of magic element that they correspond too. Since I have already earned the blessing of the earth the simplest explanation would be red=fire, blue=water, and white=air. I need to remember though that the earth challenge was part riddle and used an obscure part of earth, namely magnets and magnetic force for the challenge. Is it even worth risking my life for more magic or should I just get out of here while I can?

If this beta test is just a minor example of the new world, then I need to be as strong as possible in order to help out my friends and family. Alright my decision is made, I am going to try for another element, but which one? Air is always portrayed as the opposite of Earth and Fire and Water are often linked as being opponents. I think I will skip Air for now. It seems best that I try for one of the other elements.

Which one would be the most beneficial to me. Earth is often listed as a great protector, usually strong in defense. I need something for offense. As much as I would like to just hide in a bunker and hope this all goes away there are two major problems with that strategy. First and foremost is that I do not own a bunker to hide in and secondly no matter how good at hiding I am eventually I would have to come out for food or water. Better to be prepared form the beginning than be completely clueless after a year or two of hiding.

Fire destroys. Fire is always portrayed as an element of destruction. If I can get fire magic to complement my earth magic I should have my basics covered. The red tunnel it is. I need to pack everything up and prepare as best I can for my nest challenge. The longer I wait the more I may question my decision. Let’s do this.