“What lies beneath us is beyond hope. Beyond any chance of redemption, salvation, or vindication. To even begin to comprehend what you will encounter, you must truly find strength within your mind in equivalence to your body. To maintain even a semblance of control against what you will face, total concentration is required. You must hone every joint in your body, every muscle fiber connecting your limbs. Program your body to stand— stand no matter what it must withstand. Collapse is not an option— a moment of hesitation assures you a prolonged, painful death.”

  The Chief walks slowly to the five heaping rocks, hoisting his spear on his back. Effortlessly, he picks two of the five boulders up, holding one in each hand as he calmly walks up to Antarc and I, not a hint of struggle in his body as he carries a mass of stone the size of a Golem’s Shoulder. Dropping it at our feet, he repeats the same process until a boulder lies in front of Alexandria, Charlie, and Sevilla. I feel the hairs on my arm raise as I glance at him once more, noticing not a single droplet of sweat across his creased forehead.

  “Pick them up, at once. You will maintain this boulder above your shoulders for two minutes. Those who fail do not eat nor drink for the remainder of the day.”

  My eyes flash with lightning, as paranoia fills the atmosphere.

  Charlie screams out.

  “ALL, FIGHT!”

  He sacrifices a portion of his own energy to cast an incantation increasing our strength, as I feel the purple mist enveloping my body.

  “Thank you, Charlie!”

  I say, feeling a tinge of worry about the physical cost of that act of generosity.

  I tune out my surroundings, focusing solely on driving momentum from my legs as I reach down, lifting up with every ounce of strength in my body.

  “ARHGH!”

  I scream, as its weight rests against my upper back, gritting my teeth as I divulge my entire being into ensuring I don’t crush my skull.

  I take a deep exhale, finally adjusting it into a somewhat tolerable position, as I feel my knees twitch.

  I shift my gaze to my left, as Antarc lifts the boulder up above his head, not effortlessly, but not struggling nearly as much as I did— or perhaps he's just better at hiding it.

  Alexandria hoists hers up with ease, seemingly unfazed by the size of her boulder.

  I grunt, nearly losing my balance distracted by my guildmates. I need to focus on myself.

  As I teeter on collapse, I’m yet again bewildered by the raw strength this man possesses. I want nothing more than to wipe my face as it drips with oceans of sweat, but I can’t. How did he effortlessly lift my boulder with one hand? Above all else, can I attain such potent power?

  He stands observing us, pacing up and down our line.

  “STAND! ONE MORE MINUTE!”

  He screams at Sevilla and Charlie, as I hold my breath seeing them struggle to pick up their boulders.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “LIFT! CHARLIE, SEVILLA! YOU CAN DO IT!”

  I exclaim with as much energy as I can spare.

  “YOU MUST STAND!”

  Raeis screams down at them, slamming his spear into the ground as I shudder in fear for my friends.

  Antarc and Alexandria maintain their standing, but not their composure, as they watch Raeis scream at them.

  Just as we think she lost hope, Sevilla gracefully maneuvers her body under the boulder, hoisting it on her back with a grunt as she plants her feet on the floor.

  The Chief nods in approval.

  “YYEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

  I scream, as I hear Antarc and Alexandria sigh in relief, before we all quickly return to panic as Charlie continues to struggle. I’ve gained a slight adrenaline rush, allowing me to briefly tolerate the weight of the heavens on my shoulders.

  “COME ON CHARLIE!”

  I scream, as my vision blurs.

  “STAND, OR STARVE!”

  The Chief bellows, as a river of sweat covers Charlie’s panicked expression.

  “FIVE!”

  Charlie’s eyes widen, as he comprehends

  “FOUR!”

  His eyes begin glowing a bright, pale green. Pale gusts of sharp wind begin swirling in varying directions, encircling his body like a bee does its hive.

  “AAARRRAGHHHHHHHHHH!”

  “THREE!”

  The Chief screams, a cruel smile painted across his face.

  The boulder begins tilting, as Charlie’s white collared sleeves begin to rip.

  “TWO! STAND, CHARLIE!”

  The boat begins shaking, as he lifts the boulder to his waist. A tornado of wind is forming.

  “One.”

  Charlie collapses to the floor as the boat returns to stillness, and a sadness comes over the deck.

  The wind evaporates, as his face buries the floor, his arms tremble, and his eyes avert away in shame.

  “You may drop them. Be careful–”

  The four of us nearly simultaneously throw our boulders onto the floor over our heads, leaving a dent on their landings.

  I take a knee, panting viciously.

  “Savor your triumph. This is one of ideally many to come, and we are nowhere near finished. As for you Charlie, perhaps you will excel in other categories. For now, suffer a mere fraction of the cost of if you were to collapse like that in Celtor. Being Celtorian will not save you from mutilation. You’ll soon learn— failure weighs heavier than any boulder .

  I bite my tongue in anger as the Chief insults my friend. We won’t let him starve. We’ll find a way— no matter what. I clutch my necklace in my hand as I look away in sadness.

  “I grant you all a brief respite while I retrieve the vests for the next stage.”

  Chief Raies shoots down a look of disgust as we clear the way for him to walk to the upper deck.

  As soon as Raeis is gone, I immediately rush to help Charlie up.

  “It’s okay, Charlie. We’ll make sure you eat today.”

  Sevilla joins in.

  “We’ll find a way.”

  He coughs, as Alexandria speaks.”

  “If you don’t eat, we don’t.”

  Antarc nods his head.

  “I-I’m sorry every-“

  Raeis interrupts as he walks back down with a massive brown bag slung over his back.

  “You can reserve the sentiments for after training.”

  He throws the bag onto the floor.

  “Open it.”

  The five of us open the bag to be greeted by jet-black wooden training vests, helmets, shin guards, and a wooden replica of each of our unique weapons— a wooden cestus for Antarc, a wooden halberd for me, wooden bullets for Alexandria’s flintlocks, and no substitute for Charlie. His weapon is a bit difficult to replicate with wood. We quickly change into our training equipment, as we sprawl across the open space in preparation for the upcoming tribulation.

  “I’ve contracted a blacksmith vessel along our journey to create this equipment. Do not make me regret this purchase.”

  I nod, as I swing my halberd gaining a feel for its decreased weight. It reminds me of the sticks I played with outside of my Miner’s Landing cabin— except it’s a nearly perfect imitation of a jagged edged war-axe, with the length of a spear.

  “Return to position.”

  We immediately fall into shoulder-to-shoulder formation with our newly commissioned gear, still panting slightly from our previous trial.

  “Our second, and final trial of the day— sparring. The more hits you can endure in practice, the more your body will resist the razor-sharp talons of the Hive-Minded Deep Owls as they ferociously target your liver.”

  Deep Owls are real? Gods below, that makes me uncomfortable.

  “Each of you will face me for five minutes. You may collapse three times. You are permitted to use any Mantra, any technique, any method of survival, and I highly recommend that you face me with the intention of killing— unless you plan on using oxygen as your food source tonight.”

  He tosses his spear on the floor.

  Clank

  “I will not be utilizing any Frostdraw, nor weaponry. Step forward, Zadahn.”