“The task of this Trial…” Nem spoke grandly, then settled to a casual slyness. “Is to reach the Oasis. Just like the labor work in the last Trial, the difficulty has nothing to do with your Attributes or Abilities.”

  Nem’s smile deepened. “Only the weight of your worth.”

  [ Fifth Trial - Desert ]

  ‘Reach the Oasis.’

  Gilgamesh glanced around. Nem had disappeared and the Trial had given no other hint aside from the desert land that stretched to the horizon in every direction without so much as a single tree or building in sight. He willed for a golem core from his Spatial bag but it would not respond to his call, and he realized the Tower meant for him to challenge this Trial with nothing more than himself.

  Gilgamesh stepped forward without further delay and walked towards the edge of the world. He felt the unforgiving heat on his skin, the growing fatigue in his limbs, and the dryness in his throat, but none of it mattered. He was resolved to endure all this world placed in his path.

  ---

  A long time had passed since Gilgamesh began walking, and he had gotten no closer to the distant horizon. Fatigue weighed down on him such that his head slumped forward. His legs were like lead and his skin blistered beneath his bandages under the cruel sun. But still, he walked.

  He walked and walked and walked. There was no landmark to guide him. No sign that his labor led to reward. Only the desolate blue sky above and the barren land beneath.

  Finally, something appeared in the distance. As Gilgamesh drew close, the hazy image revealed itself to be a treasured oasis of palm trees and clear water. Gilgamesh’s legs moved just a bit faster and his stride became firmer. But just as he took a step into the oasis, it vanished.

  “...a mirage.” Gilgamesh realized. He took another step forward in the barren desert and walked towards the horizon once again.

  ---

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  Gilgamesh stepped into yet another oasis, and it vanished like all the others. But his stride did not even flinch as he continued to pursue the horizon.

  There was no end to his aimless path. Every oasis was nothing more than a mirage. A beacon of false hope built to carve away at his resolve and draw amusement from how many times he would reach out his hands for the next.

  “Is there even an oasis? Maybe it is a trick. Maybe I am meant to find the true nature of this Trial. What is the secret I am to find...?”

  Gilgamesh’s thoughts strayed but his stride remained unwavering and ceaseless. Exhaustion blurred his vision and shrouded his mind. His body pleaded for rest but his soul ignored all plights of the flesh. Fatigue had pushed him to his limits, but his Will endured. All that he desired was the horizon.

  Gilgamesh stepped into an oasis, and it remained. Faint traces of a cool breeze offered sweet promises to wash away the heat, and such rest tempted his weary body. But Gilgamesh hesitated.

  The journey here was arduous, but he had suffered and endured to this extent before, time and again. Gilgamesh could accept many things readily, but he refused to believe that the Tower was an easier path than the Zoraster clan.

  Gilgamesh lingered a moment more, then walked away from the Oasis and continued his journey towards the horizon.

  ---

  The heat cracked his lips and dried his throat until it bled, as if the world had been depleted of its air and all he breathed now was fire and sand. His limbs had become nothing more than deadweight that moved only by his fiercest resolve, and his mind had long been consumed by a fog that smothered all but a silhouette of his single desire.

  This world granted no refuge from the tyrannical heat that pressed down on him, bestowed no water for the thirst that robbed him of keen senses and clear thoughts, and offered no balm for his ailing body that threatened to give out at any moment.

  Every oasis was a mirage. Every step forward a step towards an illusion without reward. Doubt crept its festering fingers into his mind.

  Had he been too greedy? Had he underestimated the Tower? Perhaps an oasis would never appear again, and he would die in this barren land. Should he turn back? Would the oasis he rejected even be there if he did?

  Was his path the right one?

  Subconscious thoughts plagued his mind like desert spirits, but still, he did not stop. He walked through false oasis after false oasis, again and again, ever more to the horizon.

  Gilgamesh stepped forward, and the soothing oasis greeted him.

  [ You have passed the Fifth Trial. ]

  [ Exceptional achievement recognized. ]

  ‘Rewarded 30 Attribute Points.’

  Nem appeared in the air, keeled over with joyous laughter, unable to hold himself back. His arms tightened around himself as he looked to the sky with pious joy.

  “Listen… Gone is the breath of the least deserving. Ahhh…” Nem’s voice softened to a song. “If only this world could be silent…”

  Gilgamesh suddenly found himself transported inside a massive ancient colosseum to the roar of countless spectators.