The ninth stage of the Trial of Endurance began with the repetitive thuds of helicopter blades sounding above his head.

  Blinking repetitively, Aaron looked around. He’d seen a lot, but this wasn’t what he expected. Why was he aboard a military helicopter? Furthermore, why was everything a little off about it?

  Overly stylish gray camo, pointed ears, and surfaces that seemed just a little too slick. Then he noticed the weapons held by the other passengers. They looked like something out of a science fiction film, all slick and stylish, and everyone had perfectly straight, blonde hair.

  Wait… these are fucking elves!

  He looked down at his own hands and noticed they were more slender and delicate than he remembered. Turning, he spotted his reflection in the sleek metal of their chopper.

  Long, blonde hair. Well, fuck me and call me Legolas.

  But before he had any chance to acclimatize to his new surroundings, they all disappeared, and a status window appeared.

  Welcome to the Tutorial!

  Aaron blinked again. What the actual fuck? The Tutorial? What was going on? He thought about it and remembered that it was the Trial of Endurance. Still, was this the test? It wasn’t going to make him do the entire Tutorial, was it?

  That was surely a test of endurance, but it was also a little much, wasn’t it?

  It didn’t just call itself the Tutorial, though. The notifications came with countless pages and pages of explanations and hints. He got excited for a moment, but calmed shortly after.

  It would have been beyond helpful to get this help everything started, and there was likely still a bunch he could learn from the Tutorial, and he was somewhat tempted to spot and read it all. But after a couple of minutes of reading, he realized how much of a chore it would be. Aaron knew far, far more than the recently integrated, and as such, the Tutorial instructions were filled with information he already knew. To find the new stuff, he would have to read through pages and pages of information he already knew, and he just didn’t want to do that.

  Sighing, he looked around. It wasn’t just notifications. He was in the armory room that he remembered hearing about. The place you went before going to the actual Tutorial.

  But that wasn’t all. He wasn’t himself. He didn’t have his levels or Skills. He was just some guy called Elvanas Silverleaf with pointy ears.

  In fact, he didn’t even have a Class yet, but he had the option to pick one. It was kind of interesting. Sure, he wasn’t thrilled about the idea of actually doing the entire Tutorial, but seeing what it was like would be fun.

  He knew how to be a brawler, but if he was going to be forced by the trial to start again, he might as well reroll and try something else, he figured.

  Neither leader nor acolyte really appealed, and so he just stuck to being a fighter. Perhaps it was a slightly boring option, all things considered. But he still felt like getting up close and dirty was his style.

  With his class picked, he grabbed a shiny new sword, armor, and shield from the armory. There was actually a point system that dictated how much you could take, which was interesting, as Aaron hadn’t actually heard about that.

  With all his equipment on, he entered the Tutorial.

  He started out in a pleasant-looking forest, and it wasn’t long before he came across a few giant rats. They were between level 1 and level 5, and while he was as weak as he ever remembered being, he slaughtered them with ease. It was actually funny how easy it was, but then again, he still had his memories and skills, and he had gone through so much worse.

  Within a short time, he had cleared an entire patch of forest, leaving dozens of corpses behind and grabbing a couple of quick levels, and was feeling pretty good about himself. But his thoughts were quickly hijacked by screams echoing in the distance.

  He swung around. Everything felt very real, as trials normally did, like he was actually in the Tutorial.

  He couldn’t see the source of the screams and wasn’t sure if running out into the forest was wise, but he hadn’t yet felt any real danger from the Tutorial, and so he shrugged and went to investigate.

  It wasn’t long before he found a couple more elves facing off against some low-level beasts. Two of them were standing, and a third was face down, covered in blood.

  Perhaps this isn’t so easy for most.

  He lunged to their assistance, and they were beyond thankful as he cut the beasts down. Unfortunately, the one lying face down was too far gone.

  Short introductions were made, and he found himself venturing forth with the two that survived.

  It was quite the novel experience for Aaron. He had never gotten the chance to work in a party, besides the Trials of Companionship. But it was rather nice having an acolyte that could kite enemies away with a mana blast, and a ranger who could mark their enemies for everyone within their party, making them very easy to keep track of.

  Hours passed as they leaned upon one another to kill beasts and find loot. Soon, Aaron’s thoughts had drifted from the trials, and he was entirely invested in the Tutorial.

  But as the first night came and they set up camp, he pondered on his life. Hopefully, time wasn’t the same within this trial as it was within the rest of the trials. Surely the System designed it better than to let him waste all of his remaining time here. But he couldn’t know for certain.

  He wondered if he should just kill himself and go back. Even if it meant missing out on completing the trial, it was better than spending all of his remaining time to complete a single trial. But before he could settle on a decision, he fell asleep under the stars, beside his new companions.

  Awoken by his companions, Aaron didn’t even get a chance to return to his thoughts. Beasts had attacked in the foggy morning, and defending their makeshift camp came first.

  But this was still just the starter zone, and low-level beasts didn’t stand a chance, even when attacking in ambush. Aaron was simply too far above such things.

  However, his companions were not quite the same. The female elf with flowing blond hair, Elena Duskwood, had taken a wound in the battle. Their eyes caught as he ran to her, and her thick lashes fluttered as he brought a vial to her lips.

  “Take this,” he said as he pushed the potion to her mouth.

  Of course, she had her own potion, but took the one offered.

  “Thank you,” she murmured and drank the potion, and recovered before his eyes.

  But there was little time to rest in the Tutorial. Every inch of the place was teeming with beasts, and before long, they were hunting once more.

  In the following battles, he caught Elena’s eye several times. And found himself glancing across at her whenever they were resting.

  Aaron shook his head. Why was he thinking about a shadow in the trials? None of this was real, and soon he would be gone, he reminded himself.

  But when he lay his head to rest the following night, he did not think about the trials. No, he thought of Elena until he drifted away for the night, much to his internal protest.

  Days of hunting and looting followed, and their levels were racking up quickly as they battled monsters day and night, resting only once exhaustion got too much.

  Kelan Moonshire, the acolyte of their group, became a real friend on the fifth day, and Aaron found himself looking forward to their conversations.

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  A week later, when they were gathered around their camp, Aaron told a story about growing up in Nefwood and the trips he would take with his brothers to the world tree before joining the Marines.

  Wait, what?

  He shook his head as blurry visions of Earth and the trials drifted in and out of his thoughts.

  “Is something wrong, Elvanas?” Elena rested her hand on his arm.

  “No, it’s nothing,” Aaron murmured as he raised his eyes up to meet hers.

  He knew it was a terrible idea, but that night was the first they spent together. He held her until morning, and even then it was hard to let go. He almost killed himself then and there. This dream was getting too real, but something held his hand.

  Several days later, they came across another Tutorial taker and added a leader to their growing squad. On that same day, they received a System quest to take out a powerful, local monster.

  It was a hard-fought battle, and Elvanas did most of the heavy lifting, but they managed to overcome the challenge, and that monster pushed all of them over the edge, and they leveled up into E-grade for their Class.

  Elvanas Silverleaf evolved into a Moon Blade and gained a Skill that could negate armor.

  He was much stronger, and the gap between himself and the others only grew larger as he leveled.

  A week later, as he was lying on a bedroll with Elena nestled against his arm, he looked up at the stars and felt something strange poke at him like it was trying to tell him something that he had forgotten.

  He narrowed his gaze and tried to understand what it was, but could make no sense of it.

  “Something wrong? You always look so troubled when you look up at the stars,” she asked.

  “No. It’s nothing. Just an errant thought.”

  “Not about me?” She smiled and pulled him closer.

  “No. It wouldn’t be nothing if it were,” he whispered as he embraced her.

  A few days later, they came across a small settlement of others from the Tutorial. It became painfully obvious that many hadn’t fared as well as they had. People were desperate, and many didn’t even dare leave the little settlement for fear of beasts and monsters.

  Kelan was quick to remind Elvanas that if it were not for him, both he and Elena would likely be in a similar situation as those poor folk.

  Nodding to his friends, he declared that they would help the settlement. And from that day on, they assisted by killing the most dangerous monsters around, and collecting materials for those unable or unwilling to hunt.

  Professions were becoming available, and there was no need to risk the lives of those who couldn’t fight. But by killing the strongest monsters himself, the gap between Elvanas and the others continued to widen.

  Soon, there were hunts that not even Kelan and Elena were able to keep up with, and he was once again alone. Although not as he had once been, for he constantly returned to the settlement, and constantly took time to remind Elena of their growing bond.

  He had seen much death and killed untold numbers of monsters over the following weeks. But somehow he was feeling more and more at home than he ever had before.

  He had always been a warrior. He remembered his squad. 105th Airborne. Even before the integration, he had been thrown into the most dangerous places on the planet, and he had come out stronger every time. So it was of little surprise to him that he found the Tutorial so much easier than everyone else.

  And it was also that same warrior’s pledge he had taken back then that drove him to want to protect everyone. There had been enough death, and if he could help it, he would ensure there was no more.

  But there was still the Tutorial boss ahead of them, and whilst he was strong, he was running out of time to finish it.

  The following weeks were spent grinding and getting new weapons crafted as they prepared for the final assault.

  It had been months since the Tutorial began, and Elvanas had pushed himself to level 80. However, he had fought beasts around the edges of the boss’ lair, and they were strong. No doubt, the boss was considerably stronger still, and so he took his time grinding out a few more levels.

  Once their preparations were finally nearing completion, he held Elena once more and said his goodbyes, sealing them with a kiss. Neither she nor Kelan was near his level and would only make the boss fight more difficult. But they joined him alongside the other elites for the ascent up the mountain, and to wave him off.

  But that was okay, that they couldn’t join him for this fight. They had a plan. A way forward. Elvanas would kill the boss, and claim all the Tutorial points available, then he could purchase a Waypoint, and they could move their settlement to their new world together. And there, they could lean upon each other once more, and build something bigger.

  However, as things usually do, nothing was so easy. There had always been two major camps in their Tutorial, and whilst their competition had remained somewhat friendly, it wasn’t to remain so.

  An ambush was set for Elvanas as he approached the boss; apparently, the other camp had been given a quest to complete the boss first, and this was their method to complete it.

  Unfortunately, for his attackers, Elvanas had already risen to such a level that he was by far and away the strongest in the Tutorial. Even four against one, he barely had light wounds by the time his moon blade had bisected his enemies.

  But Kelan was not so lucky. Tears traced his cheeks as he held his friend in his dying moments. Over almost three months, they had fought side by side almost every day, save when Elvanas had gone off on his own.

  Such an experience had bonded them like few others, and he saw him as more than a friend. They were like brothers. He couldn’t believe it after all the dangers they had gone through together, just to have his life stolen when they were so close to the finish.

  The retribution was harsh, but Elvanas thought it fair. He killed all of the warriors from the other camp and forced the crafters to take a knee and join his camp. They did so under threat of violence, but it wasn’t like there was anything much else left for them now.

  He hadn’t wanted to do it this way, but in the end, he had united the entire Tutorial under him. And a crowd saw him off as he left once more for the boss fight.

  It had by far been the most difficult fight he had ever experienced, harder still than even the ambush against the other camp’s strongest fighters. But through sheer stubbornness and grit, he had found a way to prevail, and he was the only one to complete his Tutorial.

  At level 85, he had come so very far and managed to beat the boss just moments before the Tutorial timer expired. He had bested every challenge placed before him, and now he had the opportunity to give his people a new life. To give them security and hope. For what other reason had he pushed himself so far and hard for?

  And it worked. As promised, the Waypoint transported him and everyone in his camp to the same location.

  It seemed a dream had come true, and he was overjoyed when Elena informed him that she carried his child.

  How could such a dream be born from such misery? He did not know. But this was his home now, and he would do everything within his power to defend it.

  But things weren’t all they were promised to be. It wasn’t long before the beast attacks began, and soon losses began to mount.

  It wasn’t just that their floundering settlement was under near constant attack from seemingly everything, but Elvanas quickly realized that there was no time to rest.

  The beasts attacking them were constantly growing stronger, and if his growth plateaued, it was only a matter of time until they were overrun. His warriors were getting stronger, too. But ultimately, the hardest challenges were for him to overcome.

  And so he continued as he had in the Tutorials, going out and finding bigger and stronger prey to slay, and growing stronger in the process.

  He grew stronger still, and further did the gap grow between himself and most of his followers.

  But little did he know that the beasts, too, had rulers. And his slaughter of their kind hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  The king of the region was infuriated and led an army against his little settlement.

  But the horde of weak beast warriors wasn’t the real threat. They soaked up attacks from him and his own followers, but it was the D-grade dire wolf leading them that was to be feared.

  Elvanas himself was close to D-grade, at level 92, but he knew there was a considerable leap in power, and could not risk underestimating the dire wolf.

  A great battle took place, and he killed many beasts as they endlessly funneled into their settlement. But the dire wolf was different.

  Wounds bubbled with red ichor whenever he landed a strike with his moon blade and quickly healed. Within seconds, it was obvious he stood no chance and was knocked away with a grievous wound.

  He was left there, wounded and unable to move, as the settlement was overrun, and his people were slaughtered.

  Harpies in cahoots with the direwolf swooped down, picking off their ranged defenders, and he gasped with horror as he watched them sail away with Elena and his unborn child.

  His hand trembled as he reached out for them hopelessly. It was so pointless. All of his effort, and yet, everything he worked for was destroyed.

  Elvanas gritted his teeth in rage. There was no way he would just give up. He didn’t care if the situation was hopeless. He would drag the dire wolf down to hell with him if he had to.

  Launching himself at the massive, D-grade beast, he downed his last potion and threw everything he had left at it.

  And still he came up short.

  Limbs were torn from his body, and he landed on the ground a bloodied pulp of gory, mutated flesh.

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” he spat, blood as the last of his life drained away to the laughter of the dire wolf.

  But he didn’t die. No, he floated up as a spirit above his corpse, and in an instant, a lifetime of memories came flooding back.

  “What the actual fuck,” Aaron said.

  He couldn’t believe it. Those three months… it felt like an entire life, and yet it was nothing but a fantasy created by the trials. His friends, his lover, his child… All fake.

  Stage nine of [ Trial of Endurance ] COMPLETED!

  You have tested yourself against the memories of a broken warrior and emerged whole.

  Quest Rewards: Waypoint [ Epic ], Crafting Station upgraded to level 9!

  Experience rewarded for completing a quest stage!

  “What the fuck just happened? How did I clear the trial? What even was that trial? What was it testing?”

  Usually, he was quite happy when he cleared the trial, but this time, there was no smile. The things he had experienced felt far too real to just get over like that.

  “For fuck’s sake. I’m gonna need therapy for this shit.”

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