My heart was pounding, my temple throbbing. My breath hitched, my hand was trembling. I involuntarily closed my eyes as I stepped into view of the two projections. I waited with bated breath for the pain.

That did not come.

I opened my eyes slowly. There was no one there. Where the projections should be, there was nothing but empty space.

“Huh, why haven’t you been attacked?” Blaze shouted. I heard a few footsteps coming towards me. The projections that had not been there suddenly flickered into existence.

I threw myself back behind the wall just in time to dodge two force missiles that flew towards me, exploding against the wall. Irritated, I looked at my friends who had gotten closer. “Go back to where you were before.”

They did as I ordered. I waited a minute before peeking around the corner. The projections were gone again.

“Stay where you are,” I said to the others. “The projections are gone. I think you triggered them when you came closer.”

“Sorry about that,” Ed said. “However, the fact that they weren’t there for you seems to validate the hypothesis.”

“Yeah, almost cost me my life though,” I grumbled a bit.

“Weren’t you the one that said it was just XP?” Marion teased.

“I guess,” I replied. “Here we go again.”

I made my way around the corner. Still no projections. With trepidation, I got closer to the hidden teleport formation. The nervousness I was feeling abated slightly with each step. Soon I was at the formation.

It took me only a few seconds to activate it, and I was teleported. As soon as I appeared on the other side, I started dry-heaving. I freaking hated teleportation. I found myself standing inside a very large cavern. The part of the cavern I was in was raised a bit compared to the rest of the cavern. The cavern was mostly filled by a swirling mist.

What little light there was, was provided by globules of light floating around inside the fog. The way they moved was erratic. No set patterns that I could discern.

Once in a while, the fog retracted enough for me to see that there was a labyrinth in the other part of the cavern. Unfortunately, it did not retract enough for me to spot a way through the labyrinth. I did not even know if the goal was the centre or getting out on the other side.

Sighing, I made my way down a path that led to the entrance of the labyrinth.

Up close the labyrinth was much larger than it had seemed. The walls were easily five metres tall. They were completely smooth, without a single blemish that I could see. They were also slanted slightly inward, meaning it would be impossible for me to climb them.

Down by the labyrinth, there was a difference in the air quality. The air had become damp and cloying, while it had been pretty crisp and clean earlier. It also became clear that the mist was only above the labyrinth, not within it. At least not as far as I could tell.

With a deep breath to steady my nerves, I stepped through the archway leading into the labyrinth. There were four paths for me to take. Left and right of course and two in front of me, which were angled away from each other.

Before I could even think about which one to take, one of the balls of light hanging above me flew down and stopped in front of me. I braced for an attack, but it did not attack. Instead, it started floating down the path in front of me that angled right.

It moved a few metres down the path before stopping. It waited there for ten seconds, then it vanished. I started frowning. This was nothing like the information I had gotten from Dawnguard’s player in the past. In my previous life, the lights had just stayed above the labyrinth providing illumination.

Before I could decide whether the ball of light was trying to show me the way or lead me into a trap, another ball of light descended and performed the same action as the other one.

Shrugging, I decided one way was as good as the others. If this dungeon was there to guard a reward reserved for me, then it was highly probable that it was showing me the way. Of course, it might also be leading me to my death.

Either way, I had decided to follow the ball, and so I did.

This time the light ball did not disappear. As soon as I stepped closer to it, it moved that distance further ahead. It would seem that if I stood still too long, it would disappear and a new one would take its place to encourage me to follow them.

After following for almost a minute, the ball of light stopped. It did not move further ahead, even as I got closer. When I was less than a metre from it all hell broke loose.

The corridor in front of me filled with arrows, shooting out from the right side of the wall. After a minute, the arrow storm stopped and the light started moving forward. I hesitated. When it reached the other side of the arrow trap it stopped, hovering in place, as if waiting for me to go across that space.

I stood indecisively. Was the trap pacified? Or was it a trick to lead me into a trap?

Around a minute of me discussing whether it was a ploy or not, the ball of light vanished. A new one floated down from the mist and stopped in front of me. As soon as it was in front of me, the arrow trap triggered again.

This repeated twice before I worked up the courage to follow the ball of light as it moved forward. As I stepped into the area of the trap, I closed my eyes and prepared for pain, but I did not stop walking.

No pain came, so I opened my eyes, and saw that the ball of light had moved forward. I continued to follow it for an hour as it led me through the labyrinth. Traps of all kinds were triggered and disabled before I fell into them. Monsters from slimes to horrible tentacle monsters stood stock still as I passed by them.

It was a nervewracking hour, several times I almost went “Nope” and just turned around when I saw the first tentacle monster. After the hour we finally got to the centre of the labyrinth, and the ball of light left me, as I was standing in front of another arch.

The mist seemed to be originating inside the centre of the labyrinth, billowing forth, making it impossible to see anything within. With another deep breath, I stepped through the arch.

Immediately the mist withdrew, forming a corridor going to the middle of the room, where a small circle was clear of mist as well. In the small circle, there was an altar made from black stone, with little adornments. On top of it, there was a horned rabbit, white, as well as a dagger which had a wavy appearance, I think it was called a kris.

Even when I tried to use Observe on the three things, I got nothing. No information at all. I had never heard of a situation like that. Even if you used Observe on the ground or the grass, you would get a snarky comment or two.

It was clear that I was meant to go to the altar. I would even venture a guess that the game wanted me to kill the rabbit, but I would not do that.

I sighed. There was a clear path forth, and so far it had not steered me wrong.

With hesitant steps, I approached the altar.

I was just outside the small circle clear of mist, when a voice whispered, “A Champion has come.”

The voice drifted in from everywhere, I could not pinpoint it. Another voice answered the first, “They appear often, but is this worthy? Or just another useless wastrel?”

“Hello,” I said with a dry throat, heart hammering, and temples pounding. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I think I was meant to come here.”

“Indeed you were, Damian Pryce,” the first voice whispered. A shiver went through me. The AI was not supposed to know my real name. Much less use it in the game, not even when no one else was around.

“How—how do you know my name?” I demanded, my voice a little shrilly.

“You already know the answer to that,” First whispered again.

“Maybe this one is broken, unable to perform simple deduction?” Second, asked.

“Maybe,” First replied. “Damian Pryce, are you broken?”

“No, I just want to know what is going on,” I stated clearly.

“You’re being tested. That much should be clear by now,” First answered.

Second added, “Even for an empty-headed hairless monkey like you.”

“I reckoned it was a test,” I said irritatedly. “But a test for what? What’s the purpose of testing me like this?”

“The Master has forbidden us to answer this question,” First said.

“But if you’re smarter than a tin can, you’ll figure it out,” Second whispered with a chuckle.

I took a deep breath. “Fine, what do you want me to do here?”

“Prove your worth to the Master. Prove that you’re worthy to lead your people,” First answered.

“Or fail miserably as almost everyone else,” was Second’s contribution to that answer.

“Why me though?”

It was Second who answered first this time around, “The Master saw potential in you. The Master must have been scraping the bottom of the recruitment pool though.”

First supplied, “Because it was your turn. But my brother is right, we have tested hundreds of thousands, yet only eight has passed all of the Master’s tests so far. Will you be number nine?”

“Only eight has passed this test?” I asked.

“No,” First said. “Many have passed our test, but only eight have won against the Antagonist.”

“Marcus,” I said.

“He might not be as stupid as he looks.” Second chuckled drily.

I ignored the insults. “How do I pass the test?”

“Which one?” Second questioned with derision in his voice.

“Either,” I answered, hoping for some extra information.

“We cannot tell you how to pass the Master’s test, though winning the Challenge for this game would help,” First said.

Second provided a derogatory answer, “Even a hairless monkey like you should be able to figure that one out. If not, the Master chose wrong. Like he has mostly done so far.”

“Fine, I think I can guess what it takes, it would be nice to have it confirmed though,” I said. “How do I pass your test? And what do I get for passing it?”

The mist started swivelling faster just behind the altar and two figures stepped out. It was the two elven brothers I had expected to see. They took position to either side of the altar.

“For passing it, you get many benefits,” First said and waved his hand. The mist withdrew in several places revealing an item.

First directed my attention to a chest. It was open, and I could clearly see the glittering gold and platinum in it. It was a small chest, one I was able to carry in one hand, but it was still a lot of coins. “First, you get this chest of coins.”

Next, he pointed to something that got me even more excited than the coins. “These five items are Mist Anchors, there’s also a recipe for making it. It requires Carpentry, Smithing, Alchemy, and Runecrafting to make.”

Then he pointed to the item I was most excited about. The Auction Core. “This is an auction core, it’s already level fifty. The highest level in the world right now is one hundred and forty-five.”

‘Fifty? Last time it was only twenty-five,’ I thought, completely flabbergasted.

“The fourth reward is an unaffiliated Settlement Token.”

‘That was definitely not here the last time, Dawnguard was here,’ I thought.

Second let out a chuckle. “Of course there was not. That was the reward for Marcus to take if the Champion fails. Normally, Marcus doesn’t know who the Champion is until they fail or succeed in this test. You should have taken better care to hide your identity.”

“I didn’t know there were other time travellers, why would I suspect it, it’s not like you or this Master you talk about, have given me any help or information,” I countered a little hot under the collar. Second's derisive comments and attitude were getting to me. “Anyway, what’s done is done. Let’s get on with the test.”

“You’re right,” First said with a frown. “You’ve not gotten much help or any information, but you’ll get some help now if you can pass the test. It’ll be the last time you get any help from the Master.”

“So, what should I do?” I asked though I suspected something already with the setup.

Second smiled widely. “If you kill this rabbit, you’ll get a new class. Hero. It’s unique and counts retroactively.”

A pop-up appeared.

Hero

This class is unique.

When it is acquired, it resets your character to zero, removing all but the five chosen start skills. These are also reset to zero.

All Skill XP is refunded (including the XP used to level up skills) as Free XP.

All Skill slots and Upgrade Points not earned through levelling up your character are kept.

The Hero earns 10 Attribute Points per character Level.

The Hero gains a flat 25% XP gain to all Skills.

The Hero can choose all Skills as Class Skills.

I just stared at it. It had amazing benefits.

“Quite the class, isn’t it?” Second whispered in my ear, making me jump. He had moved over to stand next to me.

“Yes,” I whispered back.

“All you have to do is take that knife and kill the rabbit, and the class will be yours” Second whispered, almost seductively. I stepped closer to the altar, my hand stretching out, but I hesitated, there was something off about the whole set up.

“Aren’t you tired of being a nobody? Sure you’re the guild leader, but it’s Ed, Kira, Robin, Hei, and Blaze stealing all the glory. Hell, even Antwon is more popular than you. How can you be the hero saving people when all you do is make food?”

First added, “If you’re just enchanting weapons, how are you going to beat the Challenge? With this class, you could easily kill anyone and anything standing in your way. Think about it, double the attribute points, all skills can become Class Skills, you’ll be the ultimate boss killer.”

It was tempting. I admit I was tired of missing out on the adventures the others were having. I just stood back and let others run the quests. I was just the support, nothing else. My hand snatched up the knife.

“Yes,” Second hissed, almost in pleasure. “Show us your determination, show us your willingness to become a hero.”

“Just a little thrust and the class will be yours,” First said with a smile.

There it was again. Something that had nagged me, when Second had told me to kill the rabbit the first time. Killing the rabbit meant getting the class, not necessarily the other rewards. They were rewards for passing the test, meaning that if I killed the rabbit and only got the class, I had failed the test.

They could be lying about the class. I had never heard of it. It was definitely not the class Agamemnon had. He was a Tattooed Berserker, a hidden class that was only available to someone who befriended a tribe of orcs who was residing on the new continent.

I dropped the knife. “You’re trying to trick me.”

Second let out a long sigh. First frowned. “How will you defeat the bosses without a large guild or powerhouses? You can never teach them the tactics that you learned during your last lifetime. You know there are too many things to remember for one person. With this class, you can be there and influence the battles. You’ll be unbeatable.”

Second sneered at me. “How are you going to win the Challenge as a Pacifist? Worthless scum, who can’t even fight.”

I narrowed my eyes. “As a Hero, I would be one powerhouse, as a Runesmith, amongst other things, I can equip hundreds if not thousands of people with equipment, creating even more powerhouses. I reject your obvious trick.”

I turned around starting to leave when I heard clapping behind me. I looked back at them to see it was Second who was clapping, and he had something scary on his face. It was a friendly smile, one that First copied. He was holding out a bag.

“Congratulations, you passed the test. All the rewards are in this bag. The bag will last twenty-four hours, then it and anything inside it will vanish forever,” First said, as I reached out to take the bag, a little dumbfounded.

Second laughed at my expression. “I’m glad you did not fail our little test, nineteen out of twenty does.”

“This is the last time the Master will help you,” First said once more. “The block that held people back for your indecisiveness will vanish. If you want to be the first High Human, you should not dawdle.”

“You mean like with the starter quests?”

First nodded. “Yes.”

“How can your Master influence the thought process of that many people?” I asked.

“Think about it,” First said.

Second grinned at me. “Hold onto your dinner.”

“Wha—” I started to say when I was teleported out. As I dry-heaved on the other side, another pop-up appeared.

Your steadfastness in keeping your class Pacifist when tempted with another more powerful class has impressed the Gods.

You have been awarded a one time bonus of 100.000 class XP and 5 Firbolg Essence Crystals.

“Damian, is that you?” I heard Ed call.

“Yeah, I’m back,” I called back. A quick look around confirmed that the teleportation formation was gone. “The projections will not spawn any longer.”

Footsteps sounded as they rushed around the corner. Robin asked, “Did you find out anything?”

At the same time, Blaze asked, “Did you get any good loot?”

And One-Eye asked, “Did you kill them?”

“Yes, yes, and no,” I answered their question in turn and pointed to each of them. “We can talk about that at dinner, right now I need to speak with the priest.”

“Why?” Blaze, Marion, Ed, and Robin asked at the same time.

“Because I can’t be passive anymore and hope everything turns out for the best, it’s time to become proactive,” I said and started running back to the lift.

The rewards were great, but only if I used them correctly. What First and Second had said had struck a sense of urgency within me. It was time for me and Blue Lotus to take the fight to the enemy and not stand idly by.