Chapter 65
The Expedition Centre
I imagined we were quite the sight as we wandered through the city. Thanks to the obscene amount of loot we’d taken from Lokta’Inif and her lackeys, we were carrying near enough ten inventory pouches each. My belt was so full it would’ve put any handyman to shame. The main difference was – rather than nails, screws and other random shit you need for DIY – I was carrying around several million gold’s worth of items.
Like Oakreach, Stonehaven had a Trialist Accommodation Centre, which meant we didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to stay. As soon as we’d finished sorting through the loot and saying goodbye to Pete’s Peasant Patrol, we headed over to get settled in.
After our busy day, it probably would’ve made sense to take it easy. Maybe have something to eat, talk over the day’s events, perhaps visit the auction house and start listing the items we intended to sell.
Nope.
I was far too eager to visit the Expedition Centre.
After a quick stop in our rooms for a wash and to dump the inventory pouches, we rejoined the crowded streets of Stonehaven.
I’d been a little hesitant to leave all the pouches in the room. When I mentioned this to the guy working at the front desk, he looked at me like I’d just spat in his cereal, then called his mom a dumb bitch. He went on to explain, in great detail, how each room was attuned to a Trialist’s unique energy signature, so only they, and anyone they gave permission to, would be able to enter. The defences in place were apparently far beyond the ability of any Trialist to overcome, and GEC personally guaranteed the security of any possessions left in the rooms.
The Expedition Centre was located in one of the wealthier parts of the city. It wasn’t quite on the level of the Lord’s estate, but it was still an impressive building – it was huge, easily the length and width of a football pitch, and three storeys high. I was a little surprised, but also relieved, that the architecture was entirely… functional. It was a simple structure, with no fancy bullshit like intricately carved stonework or towering spires.
Upon entering, we were told by the receptionist that we were looking for the ‘Expedition Centre Qualification Office’ and were directed to one of the adjacent rooms.
I knocked, then opened the door, my eyes widening slightly when I saw the woman sat behind the desk.
Her appearance… how do I put this in an eloquent and sophisticated way?
She was a furry’s wet dream.
A real-life, honest-to-god cat lady.
She glanced up when I entered, her large violet eyes holding no small amount of disinterest. I’d seen that same look many times before on the faces of my colleagues at work. It was the look of someone who spent most of their day locked away in a little office somewhere, worn down by a life of tedious monotony and repetition.
Her pale face was framed by wavy, dark brown hair. However, it was hard to pay attention to anything other than the two furry, pointy ears poking out from it on either side of her head.
While I’d been inspecting her, she’d apparently returned the favour. Based on the frustrated little sigh that followed, I guessed she wasn’t impressed by what she saw.
“This office is for Trialists only and is strictly off-limits to civilians,” she said, her voice high-pitched but not unpleasant. “Please return to the foyer – the receptionist will be able to assist you with any enquiries–”
Her words trailed off as Kaelis, Voklum, Allaria, and, finally, Rel followed me into the room. Apparently their armour and weapons were enough to convince her that I belonged there after all.
“Apologies,” she said to me. “I did not realise you were an attendant to these Trialists.”
“What? No, I’m–” I began, but she’d apparently already forgotten I existed, her attention now firmly fixed on Kaelis, who stood at the front of the group.
“Good evening, Trialists,” she said, nodding respectfully. “My name is Auroria. I am responsible for assessing Trialists to determine which Questing Tier they belong in. Until you have been assessed, you will not be eligible for Expedition Centre quests. Are you here to be tested?”
Kaelis nodded slowly, staring at her through narrowed eyes. “You are mistaken, Auroria. This man is no mere attendant,” he said, gesturing to me. “This is Master Pete – Avatar of Peasants, Champion of Oakreach, and the rank one Trialist for both total stat gains and acquired wealth.”
I was a little touched by how outraged Kaelis was on my behalf. I dreaded to think how he’d react if she insulted Rel. He’d probably leap over the desk and throttle her. I wondered how GEC would respond to a Trialist strangling one of their employees.
I couldn’t imagine they’d be pleased.
Auroria seemed entirely unfazed by Kaelis’ reaction, instead studying me with renewed interest. “Is that right? Maybe it’ll end up being an interesting day, after all.”
She rose to her feet and stepped around the desk, a small metallic sphere appearing in her hand. She was just shy of six feet tall, wearing pale blue robes that fell all the way to her feet. I found myself hoping she’d turn around so I could get the answer to a question that’d been on my mind since I’d first noticed the ears.
Did she have a tail too?
She lifted her hand, palm up. The metallic sphere rose into the air, then hovered above us. It began to emit a soft whirring sound before projecting a net of blue light over the group.
A screen appeared in the air in front of Auroria. She hummed softly as she read through the information the net was presumably feeding back to her.
“Allaria,” said Auroria, glancing up, “you already have Tier Two clearance for quests. However, I can see that your stats have increased significantly since your initial assessment. I’m assuming you’ll want to try for a promotion to Tier Three?”
Allaria nodded.
“Peter, Kaelis, Voklum, and Rel,” Auroria continued. “As you’ll be undergoing the initial assessment, I’ll provide a brief explanation of how the process works.”
She raised a hand and the blue net vanished, the sphere floating back to rest on her palm. It disappeared, then she gestured for us to follow.
She left the room and led us through several corridors. Like the outside of the building, the interior of the Expedition Centre was incredibly austere. There were no statues or paintings on the walls – just simple torches set into the stone. They were ‘lit’, but there was no flame. Instead, orange crystals radiated a soft, steady light.
I’m afraid to report that I was still none the wiser as to whether or not she had a tail. The robes she wore were quite loose and gave nothing away.
“This is the Assessment Chamber,” said Auroria, pushing the door open and gesturing for us to enter.
I stepped inside, a little surprised to find the room was even smaller than her office had been. Set into the wall directly opposite the door was an archway made from a dark, polished wood. So many runes had been carved into its surface that the frame was like one continuous pattern. I had no idea where one rune ended and the next began. It looked like a portal, but if it was, it was currently dormant, the stone wall visible behind it.
The entire wall to the right was covered in a rectangle of blue energy. Auroria strode towards it, waving her hand through the air as she approached.
It turned out to be a very fancy computer monitor. The wave of her hand was apparently the ‘on’ button.
The display was covered in strange symbols that were entirely meaningless to me. I guessed the magic that allowed Trialists to communicate with each other didn’t extend to GEC technology.
Auroria studied it for a few moments, making small gestures with her hand that caused the symbols to shift and change. Nodding approvingly, she turned to face us and indicated the dormant archway.
“Once we’re ready to begin, I will activate the Arcane Projection Chamber. We only have the capacity to carry out one assessment at a time, so you will have to take it in turns. Although timings can vary based on combat styles and items, it generally takes no longer than thirty minutes to complete an assessment. The longest one we’ve had this year was a little over two hours, although that involved a very unique set of circumstances.”
She shook her head ruefully as she recalled the memory. It was clearly one of those events that had probably been an absolute pain in the ass at the time – but once it was over, it made for one hell of a story.
“It was a Trialist who’d learned to cast an incredibly effective defensive spell, but who was entirely useless when it came to dealing damage. It ended up being a very bizarre situation where he was unable to harm the construct, while his spell reduced the construct’s attacks to the equivalent of a nasty papercut. It turns out you can die from receiving enough ‘papercuts’ – it just takes nearly two hours of relentless effort.”
“The Trialist died?” I asked.
“Only in the Arcane Projection,” said Auroria. “I can assure you that the process is entirely safe… well, at least in terms of your physical health. We take no responsibility for any mental or emotional damage that occurs during the assessment. The Arcane Projection Chamber is an incredible magical device that will create a fully functional arcane projection of your physical form. When you pass through the archway, your body will be held in stasis within a secure dimensional storage space, while your consciousness is transferred into the arcane projection. It will be a perfect replica – not only in terms of appearance, but also in your stats, equipment and abilities.”
Hang on… if I stepped through the archway, they’d dump my comatose body into what was essentially a large inventory pouch, then take my consciousness and transfer it into a magical clone?
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that… impressed? Horrified? Strangely excited?
The explanation had clearly piqued Rel’s interest, and he walked, paws clasped behind his back, to inspect the archway. He activated his flight ability, rising into the air to study the rune formation, his eyes crackling with lightning.
“Impressive…” he muttered, then turned to Auroria. “I have to admit that this is exceptional work. Who created it?”
“The Arcane Projection Chamber was one of the earliest projects Archmagus Zalandar worked on for GEC,” she said. “It has become an integral part of the Trial for Galaxy Showdown, being used in many different ways over the years. This year, it’s being used for the Expedition Centre assessment process, but it has served many different purposes over time.”
Rel nodded thoughtfully. “This Archmagus Zalandar sounds like a competent practitioner of the arcane arts. I would quite like to meet him one day.” He turned back to study the rune formation. “Perhaps I could give him a few tips. This is undeniably an impressive creation, but I’ve already spotted several ways in which it could be improved.”
The statement was met with stunned silence, Auroria staring at Rel with equal parts disbelief and outrage.
I didn’t even blink.
If you’d asked me a few months ago, I’d have just said that Rel was being his usual, arrogantly deluded self. Now? After everything I’d seen recently, part of me wouldn’t have been surprised if he actually could offer some tips to improve the archway.
Auroria looked as if she was going to protest, but instead just shook her head and turned back to make a few more adjustments to the symbols on the screen.
I suppose it takes a lot of nerve to argue with a flying squirrel that has lightning dancing in his eyes and across his fur.
The archway flared to life, the runes lighting up simultaneously with a gentle blue glow. They grew in intensity, and a white mist began to form within the frame. It was faint at first, the stone still visible behind it, but as more and more power was fed into the rune formation, it thickened until it became a swirling, opaque mass of shimmering white energy.
“So,” said Auroria, grinning at our slack-jawed expressions, “who would like to go first?”
I stepped forward, reaching up to give my sunglasses and entirely unnecessary adjustment.
“Me,” I said.
“Very well,” she said, nodding. She turned back to the screen and made one final adjustment. “When you enter, you’ll find yourself in a large chamber. You will have a few minutes to familiarise yourself with your new surroundings, then the first wave of constructs will appear. The assessment is simple: defeat the first wave, and you prove you are capable of handling Tier One quests. Defeat the second wave, and the same is true for Tier Two. This will continue until you ‘die’, at which point your consciousness will be returned to your body, and you’ll find yourself back in this room. You may proceed when you’re ready.”
I withdrew my swords from my inventory, attached them to my belt, turned to give the gang a big, encouraging thumbs-up, then stepped through the archway.