"Where are my-"
Rhys returned to the room with his hand outstretched at the now dim orb of the [Infiltrator]. His hands shook as he felt the stark contrast between himself and the [Infiltrator]. He was slow, uncoordinated and weak. He tried to take a breath to steady himself.
The Arbiter sat closer, more intent than before.
"That, as you know, is the might of the average [Infiltrator] that has passed the fourth Trial. Please, feel free to try another orb."
He almost instinctively did so. It was a desperate motion as his hands shook. Mortals had talked about how bad this was. It had led plenty of mortals accusing the Arbiter of using mind control. That wasn't it at all.
Nothing could prepare you for becoming a superhuman, then having it brutally stripped away.
His hand paused as he was about to touch the next orb. The [Vanguard]. He'd be powerful and mighty. But that wasn't why Rhys paused. It was the surroundings in the orb. The [Vanguard] was also alone, facing down a bunch of gigantic skeletons.
So was the [Arcanist] orb. they were in a barrier themselves, about to fight another horde of enemies.
His hands clenched as he pulled back.
"Why am I alone in these?"
It used to be considered unlucky to pick classes where you were alone. Most mortals would never try to solo a Trial. Anyone who attempted to do so was either mad or a prodigy. He was being given no choice in any of these orbs.
The Trial Arbiter in his starry suit gave him a smile. The expression of boredom was long gone, replaced with an almost predatory look.
"I'm sure you've read all the analysis of what these orbs may show and even my many responses to that particular question online."
Maybe it was the [Infiltrator]'s mentality still influencing him. Instead of moving on like he should, he decided to push the Arbiter.
"Can I get an answer to the question?"
The Arbiter gave him an incomprehensible look, almost like he was proud of him? The entity spread its arms.
"What would you have me say that you don't already know? That you shouldn't take the orbs to heart? That it's completely random or that it predicts one possible future out of millions. You know I've said these things to others. Nothing changes for them, and nothing is different for you."
In the end, it was still the same answer everyone else got. He wasn't sure why he expected anything else. Still, it wasn't the worst result. Plenty of mortals had reported taking solo class orbs and did fine. Not to mention the [Infiltrator] class had him beating an entire squad. That had to mean something good.
Rhys took a breath and glanced at the [Vanguard] orb one last time, then shook his head and grabbed the [Infiltrator] class orb. It shone brighter for a second as it melted into his hand, seeping into his skin. The low light traveled through his veins and into the rest of his body.
An alert hit him.
Welcome Chosen, to the Trial System.
Warning! Your Terra Prime body is in critical condition.
The newly minted [Infiltrator] stared at his screen-for apparently a second too long.
WARNING:
Your Terra Prime body is now dead. As a Chosen you may still use [Return to Terra Prime] with all your enhancements intact. The process for a new body will activate now and will cost your safety life. Warning! You have one life left! No matter if you die on Terra Prime or The Dominion that will be the end.
The Arbiter tilted his head in confusion, as if reading Rhys's screens for himself.
"Ah, my apologies. It seems you have lost your safety life."
"Wait, hold on, how did that happen? I've never heard of someone dying in your void before."
"Ah, a mistake I thought I'd stopped making over the iterations. Apologies."
"What?!" Rhys shouted, completely forgetting about the Arbiter's status. "A mistake? Aren't you supposed to be omniscient?"
The Arbiter sighed once more. "A misconception, I'm afraid. It is a tedious process to truly utilize my, for lack of a better word—omniscience. It, well, only works if I had been paying attention."
Rhys just blinked at the Arbiter who looked only a little apologetic at the catastrophic error. The Arbiter cleared its throat
"I'll tell you what, if you pass your first Trial and become a real adventurer, I will assign you a quest. That should help you with your first Dominion achievement."
The normally enigmatic entity that was potentially omnipotent and almost certainly omniscient was acting like a petty supervisor that was trying to make a problem go away. Rhys would have found the whole thing hilarious. If he wasn't the problem being swept under the rug.
His career as an adventurer had ended before it had begun. The plan was always to climb the Dominions until you lost your safety. Then you'd make a nice living killing monsters on the lower sectors. Rhys sat back in the chair, his bloody shirt a stark reminder of his mortality. His laugh was hollow.
"Is it possible to talk to your boss?"
The Arbiter just laughed in return. "I'm afraid not. Now, you know what comes next."
Four orbs rose in front of him. All reflecting different species that had been assimilated in The Dominion. Elf, orc, dwarf and drake.
"I'll choose to stay mortal."
If he had another life, he might have chosen to become an elf. They had good [Infiltrator] upgrades, and you got to customize a lot of your starting features. It pretty much meant that more than half the adventurers were incredibly unrealistic elves. Unfortunately for him, elves were more fragile and took time to get used to. They all did.
That was the downside of picking any of the different species, you needed time to adjust. The statistics said it all. It was better to stick with your original species if you were worried about dying in the lower Trials.
You have chosen to remain mortal.
No appearance selection will be given.
The Arbiter clapped his hands in satisfaction, pretending that he hadn't just completely messed everything up.
"Well, I guess we are done here."
The entity stood up and walked around the table and towards him. It reached its hand out while gesturing with the other hand for him to get up. Everything had happened so suddenly that Rhys didn't even remember to give a good handshake.
A firm hand gripped his shoulder as he was half-led and half-pushed around the table and facing the wall. A creaky wooden door appeared in the inky black wall as the Arbiter opened it. It led to a perfectly white room with a long table in the middle.
The Arbiter looked expectantly at him, clearly wanting him to get out of his room but still trying to be polite. There was a slight push that he fought against.
There was one last question that everyone needed to ask. It was almost like the Arbiter was trying to avoid him asking it.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
The Arbiter's face twitched as it tilted its head a little. It seemed reluctant to tell him anything. Where had their conversation gone wrong?
"Oh fine. Since you didn't choose to change your race, you might want to hold off on using the [Return to Terra Prime] skill." The Trial Arbiter paused to let its words sink in. "Due to your death here, your soul is no longer properly tethered to your original body. The higher your control over a primary form of energy, the greater the chance of your survival should you return to Terra Prime. I don't recommend using a portal."
"What?"
The words made no sense to him. His situation was completely unheard of.
The Arbiter sighed once more and spoke a little slower, like his words were supposed to make sense.
"Your body is still alive and will pull on your soul upon your reentry to Terra Prime. In cases where your body is determined dead, the [Return to Terra Prime] skill will try to create a body for you. In rare cases where there are two bodies competing for your soul, a greater control of energy will give you a higher chance of survival."
Rhys took a moment, then finally snapped.
"You could have fuc-"
The hand on his shoulder shoved him forward.
And that was how he started his journey as an adventurer.