You are Level 4

The rectangle illuminated the room. Never had Dallion been so glad to be in this small dark room. Finally, he could catch his breath without worrying that a ten-foot hand would slap him on the head… along with the rest of the mountain.

No wonder the soldiers treated all the volunteers differently. Compared to the “fully awakened” they probably were like kittens in a tiger’s den. Thinking back, maybe Dallion could have been a tad overconfident in his abilities. The limiting echo created by the village chief had made him think he was incapable of anything; destroying it had created the notion that Dallion could do no wrong. The current challenge had quickly rectified his opinion of himself, displaying the adequate level of his abilities.

“I can’t believe I charged at a chainling,” Dallion said, lying on the floor.

Dame Vesuvia was right—he had been incredibly lucky. If the chainling hadn’t been wounded, if the cleric hadn’t been there to protect him, or if there hadn’t been a group of double digit awakened, he might very well have ended up dead and charred to a crisp.

Remaining idle for several seconds, Dallion glanced about the room. A number of changes had occurred. For one thing, it was slightly larger than before; smooth walls replaced the previous medieval look, not to mention that his “ornaments” had increased. In addition to the sword and buckler, there now was a dartbow placed on one section of the wall, right beneath a plaque reading ATTACK SKILLS.

That was an interesting twist—it showed that Dallion had a choice of what weapon to use in his awakened state. Granted, there was no point in giving up the dartbow. However…

Dallion went to the attack area and took the short sword from the wall. Then he took the dartbow as well. The sword disappeared from his hand, appearing back on the wall. So much for dual wielding, although maybe when he became fully awakened he might be able to do that.

Two doorways had emerged in the room, one led to where the echo had previously resided, and the other linked the room to the mountain realm of the fifth trial. Dallion could see the colossus glaring at him from the distance.

“I bet you feel stupid, don’t you?” Dallion crossed his arms. A mischievous voice in his brain dared him to move a few steps closer. The more reasonable part of him decided to delay that option for a bit. A short rest after all that running and jumping wasn’t such a bad idea. Besides, if this room had changed so much since him reaching level four, maybe other rooms had as well?

Tacking the buckler from the wall, just in case, Dallion left the entry room. The corridor outside, almost identical to the “corridor of judgement” he’d seen upon first arriving here had grown longer. The library room, now lacking a door, was in front of him. However, Dallion passed by it with as little as a peep inside. He was more interested in what was to be found at the far end of the corridor. Dartbow and buckler at the ready, he continues forward.

After fifty feet of columns and torches on the wall that lit up the moment he neared them, Dallion reached a bolted wooden double door. When presented with something unknown and potentially dangerous, Dallion did what virtually anyone else would: put his ear to the door’s surface and started to listen.

For seconds, nothing happened. Even with a perception of five, there was nothing to be heard on the other side. Normally, when a door was barred, there was a reason for it—either keeping something in, or keeping it out. Dallion knew that he wasn’t the one being kept in, but he also knew that this was a shrine trial.

If nothing here could harm me, why not take the chance? Dallion removed the wooden bar and opened the door with a single swing, aiming the dartbow forward. The new room was round large and round, sharing characteristics of the gym that Kalis had trained Dallion in.

“So, this comes with level four?” Dallion walked to the center. It was a nice place, but not that nice, not yet anyway. There were no targets or practice dummies, just a wide open space surrounded by stone walls.

COMBAT INITIATED!

Three sets of green footprints appeared on the floor. Dallion didn’t hesitate, rushing backwards. The moment he did a figure emerged in the center of the arena.

That, in itself, was unexpected. What was more unexpected was that the figure was a guardian… a colossus guardian that looked remarkably like the one who was smashing mountains a moment ago. The only difference was that this one was only seven meters high.

What the heck? Dallion shot three bolts at the guardian’s head. Two of them were caught by the colossus' spare pair of hands, and the third bounced off its head without leaving a mark.

The creature glared at the boy, then threw the bolts back at him. They were slow enough to deflect, but proved that the colossus had both high speed and intelligence.

“What are you doing here?” Dallion kept his guard up. Maybe this was what Kalis had warned him about? Linking one awakened room to another allowed things to move between both. No, not things, creatures. “Did you follow me?”

The guardian frowned. Out in the mountain realm, it had shown nothing but smug smiles. Here, cold fury emanated from its expression.

“Or maybe I brought you here?”

Cool! If he could bring guardians here to fight, his chances for victory improved considerably. Of course, it also meant that he had to be careful what he brought here. In any event, he had to learn much more about what it was to be an awakened before he did this again. Before that, though, he had a guardian to defeat.

“How does it feel to be a fraction of your former self?” Now it was Dallion’s turn to smile.