What the fu-”

Dashed blue lines vertically surrounded me, my vision slowly fading to white. A message now appearing in the air in front of me. “Hello and welcome beings of Earth from Galaxy [#836293731337]. You are now in our temporary holding room while we upgrade your world. As a reward for my passing our test, you have been given the chance to take on a challenge. The more difficult the challenge the greater the reward, the greater the risk, however."

Here are your options:

Novice Intermediate Advanced Expert Legendary 85% Pass Rate 50% Pass Rate 15% Pass Rate 3% Pass Rate .002% Pass Rate No Penalty Can't use the system for a week. Can't use the system for a month. Can't use the system for 3 months. Can't use the system for a year. Reward: A generic skill Reward: A combat specific skill. Reward: 2 advanced combat specific skills Reward: An expert and advanced combat specific skill Reward: ?????

I sat and stared at the screen for a moment, comprehending what was happening before me. Beyond the absurdity of the system, should I go an easy route and guarantee myself a skill? Or should I challenge myself, and get more skills? Before my heart could skip another beat, I clicked legendary and confirm. My competitive senses were tingling, my hands now becoming too shaky to sit still. It only took but a second longer to notice my hands were not shaking with excitement, but anxiety.

Where am I and what am I doing here? Has the world ended or is this all just a dream? Whack! My face tingles with a sting, confirming that I can at least feel pain.

A new message popped before me.

“Choosing the legendary challenge has given you three personalised tasks. The first one will begin in 15 minutes.”

At the edge of of my peripheral vision a box appeared, counting down from 15 minutes. It was kind of annoying how I couldn’t stare completely at it in front of me. I turned my head left to right and no matter what it did, it stayed in the bottom right corner of my vision, although I could only make out the first 2 numbers. Moving on up to a mild annoyance, I started twisting my head in a variety of different ways trying to read the last 2 digits. Before I start getting agitated, I realise I’m an absolute idiot. I move my eye instead of my head and the number is now clear to me, [14:23]. I was moving my head instead of my eye. I stand a bit more dejectedly before I decide to sit down, my energy now broken. With about a million thoughts to think and a small determination to succeed, I sit in silence for the next 14 minutes.

Expanding my lungs, I take in as much air as I can and resolve my will. I realise I’m not yet ready to take on the hardest difficulty given to mankind.

[The first challenge is one of endurance. The longer you last, the better chance you pass the task.]

As I lie waiting for something to appear, I felt a small prickle of pain in my toes. Curiously, I interlock my fingers with my toes, feeling no difference on my skin. It was as if someone just got a thousand microscopic splinters and poked me from the inside. It didn’t quite hurt, only feeling like a constant itch I couldn’t get rid of. The prickliness steadily, slowly moved up my toes to my ankle. My entire foot became numb as if it fell asleep, smacking it on the floor felt like nothing.

The numbness moved slowly up from my ankle to my shins but as soon as it reached my knees, I felt a new sensation. The ends of my toes suddenly felt a even pressing pressure instead, not quite yet a crushing of pain. Am I gonna have to just endure different waves of pain? A panic slowly develops from inside my heart, furthering it’s beating at a rapid pace.

As the numbing sensation went up further, the pressure followed it steadily behind. Poking and massaging my leg did not help one bit. This is out of my realm of control. I was in a uncomfortably awkward position, knowing that the pain would soon be worse.

The numbing sensation made it to my waist as the force of pressure moved to my knees. Feeling a bit nauseated, my muscles tensed and knees buckled in preparation for the next wave. This time, I could feel my toes bending to the pressure of this oppressive force. They didn’t break, but bent intensely at odd angles. Because I’m an immature teen, I started yelling obscenities that were beholden of my character. “FUCK ME. GOD DAMN. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS HORSESHIT. PLEASE. STOP. PLEASE.”

Not wanting to put weight my broken toes, I sit on my butt. My upper body now numb and my feet now crushed, the cold chills of pain shoot throughout my body. Grinding my teeth to the point of pain, I tell myself this will be worth it. My arm and leg hair stick up immediately, a sense of dread washed over my body. The pain now numbed me from the waist down and as soon as the prickling sensation reached my head I cringe-tensed in preparation.

I intensely moaned, my toes felt like they were breaking, my hands clutching my skull. To be matter of fact, they were breaking, felling me down to the floor on my back. My mind decided it couldn’t process the pain so I immediately threw up on myself. Nice response, body. As time inevitably kept going forward, my bodily systems slowly started to shut down. Muscles spasmed uncontrollably, my body convulsed painfully. Lastly, feeling my conscious fade from me, my mind calmed, a sense of final clarity washing over me. I slowly closed my eyes as I lay in pain, my nervous systems fucked.

The person living in the back of my head decided to speak up in my last moments. “Give up already, there’s no use. When have you ever succeeded before? You’re useless. You’re useless. You’re useless.” I listened to him endlessly whisper in my ear as I lay dying. I was alone in my last moments I realised, a tear already falling from my small chin.

I laid there for a few more moments, giving in to his ideas, making excuses for myself. Alone my whole life, sheltered by my parents with no people to call friends, I’ve always been at the bottom of the barrel. This is my final chance to get back at the world that pulled me under. I flicked my eyes open with a sense of awareness, the pain now overriding all my previous thoughts. A guttural scream voiced from my veining neck, my eyes now filled with a sea of blood instead. I became enraged, my sense of self disappearing. Pure, unadulterated adrenaline now fueled my being.

Intermittently, between my thoughts, my screaming pitch wavered. I look for some part of my being that isn’t broken, feeling around till I notice my spine. It was still intact, cracked and bent in odd places, yet movable. A new higher pitched scream pierced my already constant wailing of screams as I attempt to move my body into a sitting position. I struggle by continuously pulling on my nonexistent muscles. Seemingly unimportant veins began bursting, my head strained to the point of popping. My screams don’t make noise, or rather my ear drums have burst as well.

Before my head barely moved an inch off the ground, an absolute darkness encompassed me. I was not in control, again. With nothing left to do, I let the darkness take me in, consuming and smothering me.

I stay in this state for who knows how long, not particularly wanting to leave.

Lying face up, the back of my eyelids turning a mixture of red and white, a colour foreboding light. I anxiously-slow open my eyes, a sense of self returning to me.

[Task completed. Second task will start in 15 minutes..]