“Well, I’m out,” Bel said, walking away from the rest of the group. “Sorry, but it’s not worth it. Group trials are tough enough. It was fun, but from here on, you’re on your own.”

The girl disappeared moments later, leaving only Arthurows, Falkner, and Dallion behind.

The odds didn’t seem good. While Dallion knew he could rely on Falkner—who had also proven to be the strongest in the group—he had serious misgivings about Arthurows. To put it mildly, Arthurows was a slacker. Little wonder he had failed five times in a row. Personally, Dallion was amazed that he hadn’t left already.

“Falkner?” Dallion asked.

The boy hesitated. For several seconds he stood there, motionless, then slowly shook his head.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I’m not allowed to do this. I’ll have to end here as well.” Soon he was gone.

Might as well stop, Dallion thought. With two people, they had already entered impossible territory. Even if Arthurows somehow became reliable, there was no way they could fight off whatever was coming, while also protecting the echo, and do it all in darkness to boot.

Dallion clenched his fists. He very much wanted to get the dagger. Not so much because of its awakened form—there was a different reason entirely.

“That settles it,” Arthurows said with a smile to no one’s surprise. “Thanks for the ride, Dal. Good luck with whatever you decide.” The blink of the eye later and Dallion was alone with the echo.

Three levels… a group of five people equipped with better weapons than Dallion had thought possible, while in his village, and they had only managed to clear three levels. And those were the easy levels. The remaining two would be far more difficult and completely unknown.

“Is the headache gone?” Vend asked, ending Dallion’s chain of thought.

“Err.” Dallion snapped back to reality. “Err, yes, much better,” he lied. The pain was still there, wrapped like a band round his head. “So, this is it?” he asked. “There’s no way I could guard you and fight on.”

“Are you sure you want to? You saw what it was like fighting a copyette. The next two guardians are stronger. Without anyone guarding you, do you think you have a chance? Even with your music skills?”

“Maybe. As long as the guardians don’t counter me, why not?”

“You can’t rely on something not happening. For all you know maybe every guardian from here on has the ability to counter music attacks. You’ve already passed the trial, and on your first time. You should be proud.”

“The pride of mediocrity is nothing but a loss.” Dallion managed to muster a smile. That was something his father used to say back on Earth. There were times in which Dallion hated the phrase, but he had to admit his old man was right. Quitting how would be regarded as half a victory at best. “If I fail, can I reserve the dagger for next time?”

“Huh?” Vend tilted his head.

“If I continue and don’t make it to the end of level four, I’ll fail the trial, right?”

“Those are the rules.”

“After that, can you put the dagger away? I want to have another go at it next time.”

There was a long moment of silence, after which the echo erupted in laughter. For half a minute he continued. Unable to stop. Meanwhile, Dallion’s mood shifted from surprise to annoyance, to outright embarrassment.

Seriously, get a grip, Dallion thought, although was too polite to outright say it.

“I see why March liked you,” Vend managed to say once he caught his breath. “You want to try and continue on your own, despite everything I’ve said, knowing you’ll fail and you want me to keep the dagger from other pickers in the meantime?”

Said out loud the argument didn’t make much sense. Dallion, however, was already one step ahead.

“Even if the level doesn’t get cleared, I’ll at least know what to expect. Besides, who knows? Maybe I’ll manage to pull this off somehow?” The harpsisword had turned out to be an even more devastating weapon than the dartbow, and he had both. As long as he could withstand the headaches, there was a chance that he could make it to the next guardian, and who knows? Maybe luck would be on his side and he’ll manage to get further still?

“Alright,” the echo nodded. “When you finish the trial, just tell Estezol to check the echo and he’ll take care of it. Meanwhile, I’ll remain here. If you go on, you’ll go on your own with a lantern. That means if you fail you fail on your own—no excuses about an echo dragging you down.”

“That sounds fair. Other than failing this month’s selection, will there be any other consequences?”

“Other than your judgement being under question? No, no other consequences. You’ll still get guild jobs, and you’ll be allowed to take the trial again next time.”

Thinking back, the previous three levels were linked to reaction, perception, and mind. If his theory was correct, the next one would be linked to body… which would make things slightly on the difficult side. Then again, it also meant the creatures would be more vulnerable to music attacks.

“Last chance,” Vend said, placing a large yellow lantern on the floor. “Are you sure you don’t want to take the victory?”

“Half a victory is not a victory,” Dallion smiled and grabbed the lantern. Moments later, he was down the spiral ramp to the fourth level.

A few steps in, darkness engulfed him. The difference between levels quickly became apparent. All the light that Dallion had taken for granted so far was completely gone. Even the lantern barely gave him a sphere of visibility six feet wide. As things stood, it was more likely to help the monsters find him faster than the opposite.

The fourth level chamber was almost entirely made of amber jade. If Dallion had to guess, the levels represented the path from the tip of the dagger towards the hilt, where the gem was. No doubt the final level would have halls and tunnels made entirely of flawless red jade. The light of the lanterns bounced off the smooth floor and walls surfaces, letting Dallion see just enough of the overall shape. No doubt that was the first challenge—if he continued with the lantern, the light would travel forward, making the entire level aware of his presence faster than with fiber optics.

No wonder the first group stopped here. Although, it was possible that they just didn’t see it being worth the bother. If the copyette was to be believed, the dagger wasn’t worth much. It was entirely possible he had told the previous parties the same as well.

But what if it had lied? Dallion thought.

After another few minutes of thought, Dallion left the lantern on the floor near the entrance. Light wasn’t the only way he could see in darkness. As the harpsisword had shown, Dallion’s music skills were capable of showing him anything that had emotions, and that’s what he focused on.

Five steps in the tunnel beyond the chamber, a wave of dread passed through him. Even with awakened skills, walking through such darkness made him feel as if he was lost in the abyss. Only the sound of his steps and the sensation of his clothes kept him from losing it altogether.

In the darkness, time flowed differently. Seconds stretched to minutes, even more. By the time the light from the entry chamber was gone, Dallion felt as if he’d been walking for hours. This wasn’t only because he was careful not to crash into any invisible columns of other obstacles. His mind was definitely starting to play tricks on him. And precisely at that moment, when Dallion wasn’t even fully certain where he was, he heard a faint noise coming from further ahead.

It was a growl; not the small dog type of growl that poodles made when their favorite toy was under threat of being taken away… No, this sounded more like a massive tiger, displaying a sign of annoyance at something entering its domain.

Music, Dallion focused in the darkness before him.

At first nothing happens, then slowly the faint blue outline of a blob appeared in the distance. It was barely larger than a grain of rice, filled with a bouquet of emotions that displayed annoyance and hostility.

Dallion swallowed. Not only was the creature in a foul mood, but it also required a four-string chord to influence. And that wasn’t all. If there was one creature, it was guaranteed that more were nearby. Still, this was a good chance. Given that Dallion could see the target, he could also influence it… or at least try to.

Here goes nothing, he played the chord.

As the strings vibrated, four blue markers emerged, moving towards the tip of the harpsisword in unison. This was a very welcome surprise for Dallion, who got the timing right without issue. The experience he’d received during this trial, not to mention the levels of music improvement, was already a huge bonus even if he ended up failing the selection trial.

The third time he played the chord, Dallion started noticing certain changes in the target. While the creature remained in its original place, one of its emotions had vanished, requiring only three strings to be played.

Nice, Dallion thought, slowly stepping forward. Maybe he had a chance at this after all.

Step by step, he moved closer, until his music skills allowed him to see the entire creature.

Species: Jackalope

Class: Earth

Statistics: 100% HP

Skills: Antler rush

Weak spots: none

This wasn’t the first time Dallion had heard of the mythological creature. Back on Earth, he had even composed memes with it. Seeing it in person was outright terrifying. If the creature was supposed to be half rabbit, half antelope, this world definitely hadn’t received the memo. The size of a bear, the creature indeed had a lot of rabbit features—ears and nose mostly—although it was also equipped with hooves and the largest set of antlers Dallion thought possible. The thing alone could slice him up, acting simultaneously as a shield and a collection of swords.

You must have some weakness, Dallion played another chord. His ears were ringing from the pressure. His head felt as if it had been a standing of a rugby championship. And yet, he persisted. One kill, that was all he needed. If he could keep the creature frozen for long enough for him to get into attack range, he could slash its head off with one strike… or so he hoped.

Upon playing a fifth cord, the unexpected happened. Without warning, the giant jackalope collapsed to the ground. The silhouette remained visible, as did the blue hues within the creature itself. The vibrations, though, had stopped.

“Got you!” Dallion swung the harpsisword at the creature. He could feel it slice through bone before stopping in the tunnel floor. Moments later, the white rectangle disappeared.

It had worked! Despite the splitting headache, Dallion had managed to kill his first level four creature, and had done so on his own. All he needed now was a bit of rest and—

FATAL WOUND

Your health was reduced by 75%

There was a sharp shot of pain. Dallion knew that he was done for. With all the health he had lost in the levels before, a seventy-five percent reduction was enough to deplete what was left, or at the very least leave him on a sliver.

“How?” Dallion turned to the side. There was only darkness there, yet in the darkness a white rectangle appeared. Then another, and another, and another. A whole wave of jackalope rectangles emerged. Dallion was certain he hadn’t felt their presence a moment ago, so how—

An antler sliced through him, causing everything to disappear.

“Crap!” Dallion jumped back, only to slam into the wall of the very small testing room.

The rest of the party looked in his direction. From everyone’s perspective, only a moment had passed since the start of the trial. In the real world, everything had ended the moment they had touched the dagger. Unlike the others, though, Dallion was the only one who had failed the selection trial.