It took the group less than an hour to reach the end of the bridge. When they did the trio of dwarves clapped their hands and arrows appeared on the ground. It took a few moments before everyone realized that the arrows were different for each person. That they led to one of the houses. Maximilian stared at his own golden arrow in confusion and curiosity. From what he could see there were no bulbs or holograms or anything that would explain where the symbols came from let alone why only he could see that specific one. He went back and forth with himself over whether or not he should trust it before he gave up. The metal bridge had dissolved as soon as the last person stepped off so he couldn't go back. Even if he could there was nothing back there. Even if there was the voice could just bring him back or the Network rather.

  He also wanted to take the time to cultivate. The instructors couldn't have been any clearer that if we wanted to get out of here we needed to get stronger. The only way to get stronger was to cultivate. Maximilian returned his attention to the streets as more and more people broke off into their homes. From what he could tell it was random. Every house looked the same which made the place seem uncanny. He half expected a monster to come out of the buildings or for the doors to fail to open. Only for the voice to explain that they were all just models or something. He also found it odd that the ancestries were mixed up. From what he could see there was no rhyme or reason to who got houses in what area. It appeared that to the Network they were all earthlings.

  Maximilian had to chuckle at the irony. It took the end of the world for... He froze at the thought. Had the world really ended? All that fighting, all the loss, all the work and it was wiped out in seconds by some computer? God? They had no idea what the Network was nor was there anything they could do about it. A blanket of melancholy landed on his shoulders as he arrived at his house. It had a blocky design that lacked windows or any adornments. The whole thing reminded him of a bad sci-fi movie. One where everything was chrome or stainless steel. The door slid to the side as he approached. The inside was much the same. There was furniture inside, though it was very spartan. The living room held a couch made out of the same metal as the rest of the building and a wooden table. The wood was an ashen grey that felt odd. For lack of a better word it felt strong.The wood gave off a palpable sense of strength that was beyond anything on Earth.

  When the door slid shut behind him a set of lights in the ceiling activated. Once again he searched for anything that could make the light but there was nothing. "I can't tell if this is meant to intimidate us or if its standard on other planets." He mused out loud. He gave the rest of the building a pass through and had to admit it was nice. Spartan but nice. There were four rooms in total. The living room, a bathroom, a bed room and an empty room. The empty room was the most interesting by far. It was the same size as the bedroom but lacked any furniture. Further there were more of the strange symbols carved into the wall. He tried to form a connection with those but it didn't work. He added it to the list of things he wanted to look into. He felt reasonably confident that the room was meant for his mat. The lack of stuff made him think it was designed for isolation. A place for meditation where he wouldn't be distracted. Which seemed like what he would want and need. He placed his mat in the middle of the room and left.

  As soon as he stepped outside another arrow appeared. He looked around and found that he wasn't the only one. He looked back at the door and considered whether he should bring the mat or not. They hadn't told him to but if this was another cultivation session than it might be helpful. He mulled it over for a few moments before he decided against it. He stepped down the path and joined in with the others. He did his best not to stare but it was harder than he expected. The treants drew most of his attention. They ranged in size from trees that could've been in an ancient forest to the kind you would see in a public park. They also were all kinds of trees. Some were closer to palm trees while others were the more traditional fantasy. They were all incredibly tall. The smallest among them was around ten feet from base to canopy. They could also move surprisingly well. Their roots acted feet which only made Maximilian more curious. Could they run? If so how fast? How did they feel about metal? His thoughts continued like that until they arrived at a new building. This one was more than three times as wide as any of the houses.

  When it was his turn to enter Maximilian was once again shocked. The building was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. It should've only been the size of gymnasium but the inside was closer to a professional football stadium. Thrawn and the other two dwarves stood in the middle of it all on a raised platform. The scene reminded him of a futuristic Athenian amphitheater. There was only room to stand which was inconvenient but he had no room to complain. He also noticed that there were more of the symbols in the walls and the ceiling. They slowly pulsed with white light as he watched. When the last person had entered the room the door slid shut behind them and Thrawn cleared his throat.

  "Greetings Fledglings. There are some last pieces of business before we let you rest for the evening. For the next thirty days you all will be held to a simple but rigorous schedule. Your time with us will be divided into ten groups of three. With one day devoted to each; Education, cultivation and trials. Tomorrow will be your first day of trials. You will be teleported into a specially made zone where you will be given a task. You and anyone you are teleported with will not be allowed to return until the task is completed."

  That declaration was met with a round of complaints but Maximilian wasn't with them. He couldn't be sure but if the rest of the universe worked like Earth he would've assumed knowledge would be hidden. The fact that the Network would just provide it to them for free felt strange. As for the other two days cultivation seemed like the best one. If he could get stronger through meditation then he would that seemed almost childishly easy. As for the trials it would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid but he doubted the voice or the instructors cared. He looked around at all the other people and wondered if anyone would work together. It was hard enough to get humans to work with humans let alone other ancestries. We had all been thrown into some survival quest story where we couldn't trust each other. What would happen if the trial made us fight? That thought put a damper on his mood but he couldn't just ignore the very real possibility. It reminded him of that story about the poisonous insects and the jar. If the Network wanted the strongest fighters to make it back then that would be efficient.

  He shook his head and pushed those worries to the back of his mind. There was nothing he could do about it. The only choice he had was to try and survive. The dwarves went over a few more details while he listened. They would be awakened each day and led back to this point with the arrows. That empty room was for cultivation. The most interesting part was the activities we would get access to. We could use our credits to make purchases that could make our lives easier. Things like healing pills and a better environment in our cultivation rooms would cost. They explained the detriment of the system before anyone could get too excited. The best way to earn money was to fight. Which meant we had to put our lives on the line. Further if you spent it all on medicine you wouldn't be able to develop yourself. Maximilian hated it but he had to admit it was pretty efficient. It would encourage a person to take risks, risks that would either work out or cause you to fall behind. Either way the Network only had to provide for the strong.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Alright, before we let you leave there is one more thing you need to do." As soon as Thrawn finished a new window appeared in front of Maximilian. The window depicted a scroll able menu that was divided into two categories. When he saw what the categories were a fresh wave of excitement surged into him. "You all have the opportunity to select the method of your defense. You may choose between weapons or magic." Maximilian decided to check the weapons side first just in case. It only took him a few moments to realize something was off. There were no guns. All the classic fantasy weapons were present except for crossbows which only made the lack of guns more obvious.

  "Where are the guns!" A male voice called out from somewhere Maximilian couldn't see.

  "The Network does not reward those kinds of weapons." The smaller dwarf replied.

  "If we take bows do we get arrows automatically or would we have to earn them?" Someone else asked. Several nods and calls for clarification followed.

  "You would receive all you needed to operate your weapon. There are no promises of additional arrows afterwards." The dwarf replied.

  Several more questions were asked but none were important to Maximilian. He wasn't too curious about how weapons would work. That was changed slightly when a massive war hammer appeared in front of a man twenty people to his right. The hammer looked like something out of a video game. It was meant for two hands and Maximilian wasn't confident he could've swung it with any accuracy. Which raised another question. What if you had no idea how to use a weapon? From what he could see the hammer didn't come with a slip so there was nothing that taught you how to use it. That along with a multitude of other question led to his choice to focus on the magic. He was disappointed in the selection. All the spells had the same description. They were basic spells of something. Firebolt, Static Bolt, Frost bolt amongst others were present. There was even Stone Spike which he had half a mind to pick to gain favor with the dwarf.

  He ignored that thought. If what they said was true then they've gone through this tutorial process many times. They would forget what he looked like before the event was over. Which currying favor wasn't a priority. So the question was what he wanted to do. Maximilian narrowed his choice down to two. The first was the spell "Static Bolt" and was a lightning or electricity attack. The other was "Metal Bolt". From what he could tell there was no benefit or detriment to the choices which left it up to him. Based on the sounds around him several other people had made their choices which made him more anxious. He went back and forth several more times before he grabbed "Static Bolt". As soon as he made his selection a warm sensation radiated from his right hand. Before he could check on it a new window appeared. One with some interesting information.

  Static Bolt – Proficiency: Early. A basic lightning attack

  He read the message twice before he dismissed it. He returned his attention to his hand but there was nothing wrong. It wasn't until he closed his eyes and mentally viewed the spot that he found something. There was a symbol. It was similar to the ones on the walls, the mat and most of the the other things he had seen. Only this one was simpler.

  "Alright," Thrawn began. "For those of you who haven't figured it out. You will pass your spiritual energy through the sigil for your skills. That will let you activate the skill and unleash your attacks."

  Maximilian returned his focus to the people around him and a few people succeeded. A thumbnail sized ball of fire floated next to one woman while a ball of emerald liquid floated next to a lizard person. Maximilian watched several more people manifest their skill before he closed his eyes to do the same. It took him nearly ten attempts to get the energy to go where he wanted. The energy wasn't tangible not really. It was akin to trying to grab hold of a cloud. He had better success when he relaxed and willed it to happen. He opened his eyes with a childish glee when he felt the spell activate. A bluish-white spark of electricity floated just above the palm of his hand. The bluish-white spark of electricity was small but that didn't matter. Not to him. He had done magic! He could also control it. He had a mental connection with the electrical spark. He couldn't do anything complicated but he could shoot something or someone.

  He was pulled out of his revelry when a pillar of light engulfed all three dwarves. When the light faded the dwarves were gone and then the doors opened. For a moment no one moved. As if no one wanted to be the first test if they could leave or not. Maximilian wasn't sure how long it took before the first person moved. It was one of the lizard people, that looked a bit like a bipedal alligator. When it took its first steps you could hear a pen drop in the room. When nothing happened other people started to move. The sheer number of people in the room should've made it a nightmare to leave but that wasn't the case. Everyone moved toward the exit in orderly lines. Even with that it took Maximilian an hour before he reached his house. He didn't relax until the door slid shut behind him.

  "Alright," He started. "I guess if I was going to wake up I would've by now. Which means this is real. Very real." He formed another spark of electricity above his palm. He watched the spark for a moment before he launched it into the wall. The bolt shot toward it and dissipated harmlessly against the metal. He tried the same thing with the table and got the same result. He wasn't sure if that was a testament to how strong the materials here were or how strong the skill was. He hoped it was the former. He paced around the room and considered his options. It boiled down to rest or cultivation. He didn't have to think too hard. He wasn't sure if it was something the Network had done or if was adrenaline but he felt great. Regardless of the reason he had to take full advantage of the situation. He needed to cultivate.

  He entered his cultivation room and sat down on his mat. It took him several minutes to get into the right mindset to practice his cultivation technique. When he was ready his body absorbed the energy. He fell into a trance as the energy flowed in. He opened his eyes sometime later as his exhaustion made it too difficult to continue. It was more than the exhaustion that had made him stop. The main reason was a change in his dantian. He had almost filled it which if his hunch was correct should mean he would level. He decided not to do that today just in case there was something he needed to know. He would feel like an idiot if he leveled today and got in trouble or lost an opportunity get in trouble. There was also the chance that he would get a bonus if he leveled up during the trial. Some games restored your health when you reached a new level. Which could be the difference between life and death. It was with those thoughts and several others in mind that he left the room and got into the bed. Unlike the rest of the furniture the bed was made out fabric and foam like material. One that made you feel like you laid on a cloud.