I took a deep breath and forced myself into my body. I forced memories to the surface and 'perceived the familiar scenery with what I could. The scene only seemed to exist as I experienced it, fading to nothingness, rather than background noise.

I had grown into a routine of grounding myself, both to experience the Trial as deeply as possible and to

Through my eyes, I saw the grass that faded to blue, swirling in an inconsistent breeze. The ethereal grass reflected the soft light of glowing moss laid across the stones strewn about the clearing. The moss, in turn, was charged by the moonlight, shining directly down like a spotlight through the open canopy I had entered under.

I took a breath through my mouth and nose and tasted the acrid tinge to the air. My well-honed 'nope detector' went off, telling me something wasn't quite right. I did what I could to quell the unease. I had a plan.

I felt the ethereal breeze wreathe my body, never quite coming from the same direction.

I heard the signs of life coming from the forest in response to the shifting winds.

Finally, I opened myself to Gradient. The scene I had carefully made myself aware of grew into a world I saw through the eyes of a god. No leaves fell this time, and all I felt deeper than the sensation of it all was how calculated it all was. The senses I so struggled to make sense of had their algorithms illuminated, and contrary to the world rife with conflicting meaning I was so used to, this world was so clear and hollow.

I felt everything that the virtual world had to offer in one moment.

And then I shut it all off as best I could.

I ignored all of these senses. The noise disappeared. As did the feeling of the wind on my skin and the vertigo-inducing venomous tang in the air. It all fell away. All that remained at the center of my attention was my sight and the underlying sense of hollowness to the Trial's realm.

I focused in on the transparent blue screen laid out in front of me, careful not to pay attention to anything but what I was seeing. I read the words on it, reciting what I knew it would say alongside what my perception relayed back.

[Objective - Hunt down the Moonblight Woods' Warden]

And I dismissed it. Almost mechanically, I turned about 80 degrees clockwise and began to sprint.

I kept my eyes forward and always superficial. If I interpreted what I saw, I would see more. I told myself it was all stimulus, a condition to react to. I had my algorithm, I didn't need anything further.

Was I going overboard? Probably, but I had a powerful perception skill and limited time. The poison would get to me soon, and I had a stop to make first.

-

I arrived at my destination in good time. Mild pain was building up in the bridge of my nose, heralding an upcoming headache, but I had a good pace.

Because of the foliage, running was difficult, but the testing space was relatively small. I had explored the edges of it on my first few trials before dying of the poison in the air. The entire space was at most half a kilometer around.

Additionally, the forest was less dense than the Island's. A whole lot more dangerous, though.

I had been pricked by a few plants on the way, but it didn't seem to be anything too poisonous. Even if they were, it wouldn't matter- I didn't know about any of the antidotes. I would be going the same way regardless.

So I grabbed a cluster of some reddish-purple berry that looked completely identical to a ripened grape, and I set off again.

The Warden tended around the mid parts of the forest. I would be running blind, but I had a rough idea of where it would be. Rougher than I would like, but it would have to do.

-

Despite my exertion being moderate exercise at best I was beginning to wheeze. My head felt faint and I had nearly tripped on tree roots a few times.

The poison was more intense in the far reaches of the woods. You could tell that this Trial was intended for alchemists or survivalists who were well-versed in herbology. As far as I had heard, these trials were meant to be passed in one go. I had tried at least 200 times at this point, amidst my commitments and my boredom.

And I still found it hard to track down this damn monster. I orbited around the movement trends I had observed on prior attempts, but I was worried I had already done something to change its route.

Dying from the poison always took a toll on my mental state. I had a few more tries in me, but I already felt like I wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

I was in my head more than ever and I had to be to pass the Vitality trial. I had practiced so much for this. And for what? So my thoughts could start causing me physical pain? So my awareness would comprise solely of a looming virtual death and fear of not making it?

As I trudged across the forest my vision was filled with a starscape of black spots and my skin dyed an unhealthily yellowed hue. My steps grew heavier. All of these discomforts, pains, and uncertainties orbited around a single question.

'Is there really anything I can do?'

I probably would have failed right there. Looking back on it, I probably would have fallen out of the tree I had begun the trial in and died right there, sobbing and useless, if I didn't get a certain wake-up call.

Through a bush I stumbled, half-resolved to just die right there.

And that was when I saw it. The thing that saved me.

Due to my state, saying I 'saw' it was a bit of an exaggeration. The only thing I was in the state to absorb were its eyes, but that was enough.

To both know that something had changed, and to know what it had changed into.

The all-too-familiar slit yellow eyes of a predator.

All things considered, my lack of mental faculties saved me, as did the beast showing up. It was an odd twist of fate, but should I have had the mental faculties to consider that my Instincts wouldn't have been able to take over.

Because I felt rage, I felt uselessness, I felt hopelessness, and most of all, I felt fear. An existential terror that went beyond my compromised situation, the sort of fear that made you

It was the opposite of the fear of the unknown. It was a violently detailed awareness of your status as something completely insignificant. It mirrored feelings of being a cog in the machine or following a life's path that you didn't choose for yourself.

Horror made your body freeze up, but this sort of fear made you just stop. It was hesitation followed by a spiral toward a complete dedication to giving up. I was scared. Not of nothing, not of myself, and not of what could be. I was scared of everything and I was nothing.

There was solace in the knowledge that because I couldn't make things much better, I couldn't make them much worse either.

If this was going to be the last thing I ever did anyway, I owed it to everyone I loved to give it my all.

The beast lashed out, crossing the difference with what would have normally been a stunning speed. It was far below what I was preparing for.

Its mouth was wide open, biting for my right arm in a flash. The instincts borne of practice with Gradient kicked in and my muscle memory of responses to this move made themselves known.

Robotically, I stepped right and swung my left arm into its mouth as if I were handling a sledgehammer.

My hand was in its mouth.

I squeezed the berries that I had grabbed.

It bit down.

The feeling of the teeth betrayed its appearance, and only now did I consciously realize that it wasn't real. The creature's visage ebbed, as if a mirage, but locked back into place quickly.

Along with the rest of its body. I was frozen of fear, and it was frozen of poison. I ripped my arm out, having long been far too numb to recognize this sort of pain. I flexed my hand. It was shredded, bone was poking out, but I could grip with 60% of the fingers.

The Warden fell to its side, frothing at the mouth. I stumbled over to what I hoped was a rock. My vision swam, I could feel my heartbeat slow. My breath caught. The sickly-sweet acrid smell in the air became overwhelming.

My body grew cold. I was scared of everything. There was no way the poison would kill it before I died a slow and painful death. If only I had brought more berries, if only I had been a bit faster, if only I had tried a few more times. If only, if only, if only.

Blood pooled, all of it my own. Every movement caused me to feel like I was fainting, only to be pulled back from the edge of unconsciousness at the last possible instant.

I touched the cold stone. I bent down. I couldn't lift back up. I dragged the rock through the dirt for a few meters. Using the very last pieces of strength I absolutely did not have, I, balancing the rock predominantly on my right, hoisted the rock back above my head and dropped it.

I thought that I heard a crunch, but I couldn't register that at this point.

I laid down and resolved myself to fate, tears welling in my eyes as everything that I was left me. I felt less and less until my awareness finally faded, leaving me to a blissful nothing.

-

Oneness.

For a moment, I could feel oneness. Everything that could be known I knew, everything that had ever been I was. Everything that could ever be I sought. And I understood.

This was the Akashic, and I had passed my Class Trial.

Coupled with this realization was the downscaling of my sudden omniscience down to a vague recollection of the feeling. All that remained was [Entity/Leaf/Ranger/2472]. Or, as I was beginning to wrap my head around, 'me'.

Even without sight, I could feel the messages my Manifestation sought to relay.

[Class Acquired - Ranger]

[With a class comes a connection to the Akashic, mana, the ability to level, and the ability to consult the Akashic for basic information on registered entities. You acquire 2 SP per level, which you can spend to upgrade your Tree or Skill. If a Skill or Tree evolves, all SP will be refunded. You can choose to either upgrade your mana capacity or mana regeneration. Your base stats are 100 mana and a regeneration rate of 10 mana per minute.]

I crossed my metaphorical fingers as I read the next message.

[Tree Unlocked - Vitality]

I metaphorically cheered. The term 'metaphorically' was pulling a lot of weight in my attempts to describe my state of existence.

Followed by the message there was an actual description of the tree.

[Vitality governs the body's ability to recover and maintain itself along with the efficiency of certain basic functions. Mana can be infused into the Tree to drastically improve its effects, at a cost. The following upgrade options are available;

-

Input Efficiency - 0/10

Output Capacity - 0/10

-

Cardiovascular Efficiency - 0/5

Preternatural Regeneration - 0/5

Extended Self-Sustenance (Respiratory/Digestive/Nervous) - 0/5

Composition - 0/5

-

Internal Control (Ranger Exclusive) - 0/3

]

Rilu's probably would have listed the four 'core' Vitality trees as 'Stamina, Regeneration, Endurance, Body' or something like that. Considering their understanding of microbiology, or lack thereof, it wouldn't make sense for everyone to see this.

I didn't have any other messages, but I could feel some changes in my Status that I could go over later.

The only other thing that I could feel was my Mana. It felt like it had a mind of its own, resonating with some part of my 'self'. I felt that I had two 'valves' in the core, as it were. Trying to wrap my mind back around Gradient, I found it slowly bending to my will as I actively managed it.

I played around with it a bit and sent my awareness down the 'valves'. Contrary to how I had seen it described, one valve seemed to go inside of me, and one seemed to go outside of me. It was an odd feeling considering I knew that yet didn't have a body at that moment.

I unscrewed the outward valve, but I encountered resistance. My mana couldn't escape, and I got the same result from the other valve. Strangely, I did get a new notification.

[Unknown Skill Gradient has been registered.]

'Eh?'

It seemed that nobody had possessed the Skill before. Curious about what the Akashic had to say on it, I mentally navigated to its tab.

[Gradient - Level X]

[A Skill approaching the realm of the divine. You are capable of perceiving and perceiving with your Imprint, expanding your awareness of the world and its myriad facets. Charging mana into this skill allows for external mana manipulation and marks the mana with your Imprint, expanding your range. Denser mana expands the Imprint and makes information received through it clearer.]

[*It is possible to receive too much information. Your ability to handle the information provided through this Skill expands with your mana capacity and regeneration rate. It is recommended by the Archmage's Circle that you avoid significant sensory enhancements.]

[**This Skill cannot be upgraded. Passive range is improved by mana capacity, while passive clarity is improved by mana regeneration rate.]

That was... A lot. I would be talking to Rilu about this lat-

That thought reminded me of my situation.

I chose my level upgrade option to be mana regeneration before adding a Skill Point to Preternatural Regeneration. After a moment of thought, I added my other one to Composition.

'Uh, logout?'

-

I awoke where I was before, but not as I was before. My mind felt clear, and I knew even more about my surroundings, even being able to peer very slightly deeper into the Imprints of everything around me naturally. I corrected my posture on instinct, and could immediately tell that I was stronger, more flexible, and more aware.

In essence, I felt a lot healthier. I finally seemed to have a little bit of muscle. Who needed shady exercise supplements when you had magic?

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to spend checking myself out.

With wild abandon, I leaped out of the tree.