When the village chief appeared from his mansion, the entire crowd fell into a subdued silence. While not imposing in figure, an invisible strength emanated from the old man crushing the spirits of everyone around. Almost immediately everyone’s glances fell to the ground. Even the Luor guards trailed a few steps back, trying to distance themselves from their leader.

The procession made its way to the side of the mansion, then continued towards the so-called village square. The place was a short distance away from Dallion’s house, providing water for most of the people’s washing and livestock needs. There were several smaller wells scattered throughout the village, though most of them were only full after a night of heavy rain. As most poorer families, Dallion’ got their water from the main well and the river outside the village, storing it in large water barrels near their home.

How do you improve a well? The boy wondered.

Back on earth he’d never even seen a well outside of pictures. All he knew about water supply and plumbing was what number to call if something went wrong.

“Looking forward to it?” the village chief asked with sadistic glee. “Everyone’s come out to follow your exploits, so better not disappoint them.”

“That’s a given.” Dallion laughed. In his heart, though, he knew he was in deep crap.

Upon reaching the square, everyone but the chief stopped so suddenly that Dallion bumped into the person in front of him. Fortunately, the person in front of him was Gloria. Unfortunately, she didn’t appreciate it one bit, giving him a discreet elbow in the stomach.

“Everything alright?” The chief casually glanced over his shoulder.

“Fine.” Dallion managed to say, fighting to keep a smile on his face. It wasn’t that Gloria’s elbow had caused a lot of pain. In fact, the shove felt more like a poke, but had caught him off guard hitting the precise spot to knock out his breath.

Good thing I improved my body, he thought. Even so, it was somewhat embarrassing that his improved mind, reaction, and perception had failed to keep him from bumping into Gloria in the first place.

“Come along,” Aspion ordered in a loud voice. The old man placed his left hand on the well, then extended his right behind him. “Let’s start this.”

That’s how you invite friends, Dallion thought. Gloria had done the same at the shrine. The only difference was that this wasn’t a shrine, and her grandfather wasn’t a friend.

Given the circumstances, the normal thing for a person to do was run far away. Dallion could forget about the challenge, the chief, the entire village and just head off into the wilderness. With his level of awakenedness he would definitely be accepted in a town or city, maybe hired as a guard of a travelling merchant. Instead, made his way to the well and grabbed Aspion’s hand.

Area Awakening

The village square disappeared along with the well, the houses, and the crowd of people. Only Aspion remained in what was undoubtedly a very inhospitable place. The only things that remained were mountains, rocks, and rivers stretching for as far as the eye could see. Grey clouds blocked all but a few rays of light, making it feel like a winter afternoon.

You are in the land of WELL.

Defeat the guardian to change the land’s destiny.

“Surprised?” Aspion sat on a nearby stone. “Area awakening is different from normal awakening. Items have the challenge all set up for you. Here you have to build it yourself.”

“I have to build a labyrinth?” Dallion arched a brow.

The question must have been delectably stupid, for the village chief rubbed his hands together with such an expression of joy that one would have thought he’d won the national lottery.

“Yes, in a way,” he said, struggling to keep a straight face. “Actually, it was your grandfather who did that ages ago when we were both young. Since then all awakened have only maintained the well. But of course, nothing is stopping you to improve it to the next level.”

The same old trap. In the future, maybe it would be a good idea if Dallion figured that out before stepping in.

“What do I need to do?” he looked in the distance. It didn’t take long for him to notice that the large mountains formed a wall in the distance—an unbreachable ring that surrounded everything with a smaller mountain as its center.

“To mend the well, kill all the creatures that have infested it. To improve it, defeat the guardian on top of the mountain.”

It sounded simple enough, which meant it probably wasn’t. There had to be more. Of course, asking directly would either result in an outright lie or a hint so vague that it might as well be false.

“What about you, respected chief?” Dallion added as much sarcasm in his words as he could muster. The reaction on the old man’s face, however, suggested it had come out as flattery.

“Me?” Aspion scratched his nose. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.” He stood up. “Oh, and don’t worry. Take your time. After all, time only flows on the outside.”

With a snap of his finger, the village chief disappeared. The moment he did, a green rectangle appeared in his place.

ASPIRON LUOR has granted you the power to change the land’s destiny.

Defeat the guardian to leave the land of WELL.

The boy stared blankly. The chief’s action was utterly despicable… and so predictable that Dallion was amazed he expected anything less. Of course the old man would leave him alone in this prison to fend for himself. The really scary part was that no one was going to notice unless Dallion completed the trial or was defeated and lost his awakening. He could stay here for months, even years, and not a second would pass for the village. As far as the crowd was concerned, he had just grabbed hold of the chief’s hand.

“The land of Well,” Dallion crossed his arms. “I hope you’re ready.” Not only was he going to defeat all creatures and vanquish the guardian, but if it was in his power he was also going to add a “the” in front of Well.