Collected

Being calm and dispassionate often helps in difficult situations, although there’s such a thing as overthinking.

The rectangle brought a smile to Dallion’s face. For one thing he knew every “achievement” rectangle to be associated with a stat boost—mind in this case, judging by the wording of the text. Also, described as both reckless and collected, created an interesting existential paradox. Would the two qualities cancel each other out? Or would they complement each other in some strange and peculiar way? Hopefully, time would tell.

Dallion didn’t have to wait for long. The moment he tapped away the rectangle, the standard leveling choice emerged before him.

You are Level 4

Choose the focus you value the most.

Four options emerged before him. The numbers had significantly grown since the first time he had appeared in this world. Dallion’s mind had grown to an astonishing nine. If he ever managed to get back home, he wouldn’t have a problem with exams. Reaction—which was his prize stat—remained at eight, while body and perception were equal at four each. As tempting as it was to increase it to nine as well, Dallion hit the white rectangle symbolizing perception. He had seen the advantage it could have in combat, especially paired with a ranged weapon.

Once the choice was made, the sea of dunes vanished, replaced by the columns of the shrine’s awakening area. Becoming a level four was a cause for celebration in itself. Dallion had achieved in a few weeks what others in the village had spent years on. At this point he could call himself equal to Gloria and Veil, but that wasn’t enough. The village chief remained stronger. If Dallion was to successfully challenge him, he had to up his game as well.

Dallion took a step to the right. A new archway formed—archway number five. Dallion had no idea what he would find there. Before joining the hunting party, he had tried entering, out of sheer curiosity, only to find an empty sky. Maybe the awakening shrine didn’t consider him ready to present him with its next trial? If so, would it now?

“Let’s see what you have for me,” Dallion stepped through.

Shrine trial 5 chosen!

Prepare for combat!

Dallion’s heart skipped a beat. This was it—the final level of the shrine, if his grandfather was to be believed. Given the jump in difficulty between the third and fourth test, Dallion expected something terrifying.

Taking a defensive pose, bracing himself for what was to come. Unlike the previous locations, this one was hidden by a thick white mist.

What could the trial be? Dallion wondered.

The third one was related to water, the fourth—to fire, which meant that this one had to be…

“Oh, crap.”

As the mist cleared up a bit, Dallion found himself standing on top of a large cliff. Also, the mist wasn’t mist… it was a cloud.

A strong breeze swept through the area, revealing more of the surroundings. The cliff turned out to be a chain of sharp mountain peaks connected to each other through a series of thin windy paths. The ground wasn’t visible, in fact Dallion wasn’t sure there was a ground, just an endlessness of sky and clouds above, below, and all around.

Good thing I have a ranged weapon, Dallion went to the nearest edge and looked down. Fighting anything here with a sword and buckler would have been next to impossible. Or maybe it was impossible. If “attack” was a group of skills, maybe the shrine was built to ensure that a person had experience in all kinds of attack skills, ranged included.

A series of hawkish cries filled the air.

Birds, Dallion thought. It has to be birds.

Logically, that was the only thing that made sense. Every trial guardian so far was linked to the surrounding environment. In a wide open space the obvious choice to have something that could fly—eagles, harpies, maybe even some type of winged dragon. Whatever it was, Dallion was ready for it.

Taking a quick look around, Dallion went back, looking for a path up the mountain peak he was on. Given how high he was, he had no intention of attempting to climb, although if there was a safe route, getting access to the high ground was preferable.

COMBAT INITIATED!

A red rectangle emerged, marking the start of the trial. With no time to climb, Dallion directed his attention towards the vast space around him. Scattered clouds were still covering most of the sky making it difficult to spot any enemies. Or rather, they might have made it difficult if he hadn’t improved his perception.

It took less than a second for him to spot several black outlines beneath a cloud surface. This was the first time in Dallion’s life that he saw an actual flock of eagles emerge in the distance. Each eagle was the size of a man with a wing span at least eight feet long. Without hesitation, Dallion drew his weapon and took a shot.

With a screech, one of the eagles dissolved in a puff of feathers, disappearing from view. Several more soon followed, shot out of the sky with extreme precision. At this distance most people would be hard pressed to see the target at all, but thanks to Dallion’s attack markers and improved senses, hitting them felt as easy as playing a computer game. In some aspects, maybe that’s what awakening was? In a very magico-fictional fashion, of course.

Less than a minute later, the flock had been reduced in half. Initially there was a moment of silent rejoicing on Dallion’s part, but soon it was replaced by concern. There had been over a dozen hits so far, and yet not a single rectangle to show for it.

Dallion lowered his dartbow. The flock of eagles continued rising up, then flew away, completely disinterested in his presence. That was mildly surprising, though definitely not as surprising as what followed.

A giant hand of stone appeared from beneath the clouds a short distance away, and grabbed one of the mountain peaks. Another hand followed, and another, and another. A giant statue emerged, dispersing the clouds with its mere movement.

What is this? Dallion blinked, unable to look away at the monstrosity that was emerging. It was as if he were facing the statue of liberty, or rather her slightly bigger sister.

TRIAL GUARDIAN

Species: GRAND COLOSSUS

Class: GRANITE

Statistics: UNKNOWN

Skills:

- Quad arm attack

- Earth shaker

- Stone cutter

Weak Spots: Ears

Now it became clear why so few people in the village had completed the fifth trial.