Sometime later, every participant who passed the first trial got their rewards with bright smiles, yet not all were very fortunate to come out whole.
Some lost their limbs while others were barely holding up with the injuries they sustained.
But hey, a win's a win.
The monolith glowed for the last before and a door portal opened to the participants, revealing the long bridge they had traversed into this realm.
Without delay, everyone walked through and appeared on the other side.
...…..
Alex exhaled shortly after stepping on the bridge again. The dark space was still dark and while they were nothing else around, Alex knew it was only a matter of time before more celestial constructs made their appearance.
"The difficulty is only going to go up from here on."
He stared at his opened palm, wondering how he was going to move forward with no mana left. The only thing he could do was use his superior strength and speed.
The celestial constructs he could handle without mana, but what was to come was the issue. And with no way of knowing what to expect, it was anyone's guess.
A sigh escaped his lips as his facial expression took a serious turn.
With his spear in hand, he slowly walked forward. It was pointless to run when you'd still have to fight through the celestial constructs and while gathering momentum helped, he didn't need that.
After covering twenty out of the one hundred steps, the constructs arrived with heavy thuds, their imposing figure doing nothing to scare him.
"Alright, let's get this over with."
Right after, the constructs dashed his way, activating their abilities with extreme prejudice. Yet, he simply scoffed at their actions.
Suddenly, he disappeared from his spot as the rain of abilities reached him. The constructs were momentarily confused as they lost their target when they heard a loud boom from behind.
Alex had already taken out the construct in the back, his back to the others and spear held behind him.
"You guys aren't even a challenge. And that's coming from a guy who has no mana left."
His words would have left the constructs confused if they weren't… well, constructs. However, before they could even move to assault Alex, he instantly appeared in their midst as he brandished and waved his spear around, cutting, thrusting and whacking until nothing was left a few seconds later.
"Haa…"
With that done, he returned to walking towards his next trial and a moment later, arrived at the mark that would take him to a new realm for his next trial.
After a moment taken to gather his thoughts, he stepped forward.
....
Alex opened his eyes and found himself in a city, specifically, his city.
"What…?"
He looked around confused watching the passerby go about their business. He looked at himself and found no armour on his body.
But before he could do anything, everything froze. The vehicles, the people and even the flickering ads on the high-rise buildings.
"What's going on?"
[Alexander Gray. Your next trial begins.]
[Behold, the city that holds what you cherish the most. Within its walls, those you love await. Now, face your trial: will you rise to protect it from impending ruin, or watch it fall into oblivion?]
Alex had clear confusion in his eyes, he knew this was just an imitation of what he knew was real, after all, he was in the Celestial Tower.
After waiting a few seconds longer for more instructions that never came, he understood that was all he was getting.
"Now what?"
The city came back alive as people continued moving about their business. He observed for some time admiring how realistic everything was.
Suddenly, the earth rumbled as a powerful quake shook the entire city, bringing down a few buildings and road accidents.
The suddenness of it all took people by surprise and many injured themselves trying to regain their themselves.
"AHHHH…!"
"What the hell just happened?!"
"My son! Somebody save my son!"
Alex listened to the rising commotion with wide eyes as he took it every little thing. The way everything felt so real was shocking.
'What the hell?'
People rushed around trying to save themselves, pushing and hurting each other. But it didn't come from where Alex stood.
The rushing stampede was coming from ahead as people screamed their heads off. They jumped off vehicles, trashing anything and anyone that stood in their way.
'Save the city.'
He recalled the words of the voice he heard moments ago, watching the people push and hurt each other.
"But why are they running?"
His answer, however, came in the form of a rushing tsunami that was swallowing the city whole. It reached several hundred meters overshadowing all the tall buildings around, bringing them down and s
"Oh… fuck. How am I supposed to stop that?!"
He didn't wait around either and zoomed in the opposite direction, and as he moved, he noticed something odd.
'I'm the only one with enhanced abilities. That could be because I will need it to save the city. But it's already doomed!'
He failed to understand how he was supposed to save a city when the destruction had already begun. There was no way of stopping that level of water current.
Even if he had his mana, there was little he could do. Another thing he didn't want to think about was his family.
From what the voice said, his family lived here as well and while it was only a trial and not real, he wouldn't be able to watch them die; he couldn't.
'Tsk!'
Sometime later, Alex arrived at the end of the city and there was no way to go. It wasn't that he couldn't abandon the city, but because there was a barrier around the entire city.
He was trapped.
'Fuck..'
But it was already too late. The tsunami was already on him and with nothing to do, he turned and faced the disaster.
'This is it, huh? I'm failing this trial.'
There was nothing he could do at that moment. The mission was doomed from the start.
'Only if I had more time.'
It wasn't his fault that moments after he got here, the disaster struck. But he couldn't stop himself from wishing he had been present earlier. Maybe he could have done something or even determined what brought this on.
Then the tsunami reached him and Alex could only close his eyes waiting for it to swallow him too.
...
"Hey…can you hear me?"
"Are you alright?"
Alex's eyes fluttered open as he heard the faint call of someone looking at him with concern.
"W-what…?"
He muttered in a daze and then sat, taking in his surroundings. His eyes widened when he noticed where he was.
'I'm back?'
He was not entirely sure, but if that was the case, then it only meant one thing.
He had a do-over.