[ By Your Lord I Present: Greg's PoV]
As I felt the grains slip through my fingers, irritation grew. "I'm ready for the trials! Come on! Let me out!" My voice echoed in the cavernous space, amplifying the isolation of this sandy abyss with very little light.
But then the walls around me shook, and squatting down and grabbing the handle of my blade, I used demonic sense to feel for any monsters coming.
And then a bright light started coming in sight, and as the wall shifted and the room was packed with light, I glanced around to see nothing other than sand.
Looks like Aster and me really did get seperated. And seeing that, I walked over to the light. Walking into it since I don't believe that the Pharaohs would trick us.
After all, they're honest and they'll reward us after we clear these trials and then work with them, I'm sure of it, and then Aster will see that I didn't make a foolish choice and the girls will recognize me more. YEAH.
Navigating around the torch lit hallway, I got a sense of incoming danger, and swiftly I armed myself with Darwin and kept going, anticipating what was at the ends of this hallway. But whatever, I'll make it quick.
Getting to the end of the hall I walked into the light an was inside of a large room. But looking around I saw a stone cyclops and a Pharaoh standing in front of it.
"Welcome to the first trial mortal!"
Looking at him, getting excited.
"Thank you, will I be fighting this?"
"Yes, and after you finish you'll be gifted 3 vitality pills from me along with stamina pills for your next trials"
"Really! Thank you!" I knew I was right about them.
"Don't be so thankful, we'll start when you're ready"
Smiling like crazy I readied myself to fight.
"I'm ready"
"Very well then, begin!"
Vanishing in a cyclone of sand.
The Cyclops's eyes spots glew red and seeing that I felt hostility being shot at me with the intent of killing me, hah, this looks like fun to me, but it's not a match.
For me that is.
Kicking the ground, I dashed at it, and moving, it came at me with incredible speed for a vessel of stone such as itself, and with it coming at me from yards away.
Kicking the ground and propelling myself forward, it closed in on me at an incredible speed from yards away, impressive for a vessel of stone, but I had no need to intcipate it at that speed. So I closed the distance between us in a swift manner.
And towing at almost two stories tall, the collosal cyc, closed in within a few yards, and it hurled a punch at me, aiming straight for my body with its large fist.
But dodging, it hit the ground and I jumped onto its arm, running up it and [ Blink ] teleporting to it's head where I swung Dawin going straight for the kill shot.
*Bang!*
My blade Darwin exploded it's head; Using the back of my blade not to dull the sharpness, and seeing it's head explode like that, I leaped high into the air.
Grabbing the grip, I came down slamming the back of Darwin into it's rock spine, smashing the stones back foundation into cobble, making unable to reconstruct.
And landing back on the ground and "Blinking" away.
I said, "How was that, it was no match for my Mariliths Martial Arts. brutal and concrete!" saying it to my new allie, and looking around me after the falling of stone.
"I'll be heading to the next trial, can I get my reward?"
I asked, and appearing in front of me from a cyclone of sand, the Pharaoh appeared holding two small fur bags. But the real question is, how can they have the resources to give out like this, how prepared are they to try and recruit us? Never mind, I'll think of it later.
"Congratulations, that was impressive for a mortal"
Walking over to him, "I know, and you won't regret being allies with me and my team," I said going over taking the pills from him, "Now, where next?"
I said as the room was closed off, even the hall I came through was gone, so looking at him for answers, I had asked, and looking back at me he pointed.
Pointing in front of me the wall opened into a hallway.
"Good luck on the next one"
"Thanks, I will"
Running off to the next hall and going through it with my blade in hand to make this quick, I went though a hallway an continued till I came across the next light.
Coming into another room, this was bigger, and looking around I saw another Pharaoh, this one was a pretty girl, big boobs, ass, yet sadly covered in full bandages.
What a shame, I bet she's a beauty.
Though I have no time to flirt, I need to...
Oh shit I forgot to ask about Aster!
Damn, I guess I'll ask her.
But looking at her, she was across the room on a stage as the ground was altered and there seemed to be little broken wooden platforms all around here.
Rope connected them all, and it looks like a jump test.
"Excuse me miss!"
Wanting to ask about my subordinate, she opened her mouth cutting my voice out, literally, wanting to talk and trying to talk, no words came out when she spoke.
"Your next trail was to test your wits and courage, under each platform is a pit of snakes, your goal is to cross them without falling in and dieing, good lu–"
But as she was talking and she said courage, I jumped onto one of the platforms and feeling it about to break under me I "blinked" to the next one and feeling the same thing, I did the same again and again to one.
Getting to the center in less than a second, it was stable and I just leaped 15 yards over to her all while carrying Darwin in my hand the entire time. And I left her speechless as it took a mere 2 to 3 seconds.
An seeing me in front of us, as I hadn't made a sound, she stopped before she could say luck, an seeing her all speechless, I chuckled still unable to speak to her.
"How did you?..."
Balling a fist and glaoting a little by saying I'm awesome with actions, she laughed, and then said, "I like your confidence, we could use someone like you with us"
Hearing her I jumped! Yeah, I'll join the fuck out of you!
"Good to see, anyways, you may speak now"
"Thank you so much! You're so beautiful!!!"
I said without even thinking, it just happened...
"Oh, I am now, am I? You can't even see my face"
And already saying it, fuck it.
"I don't need to, to see your beauty!"
"Hahaha, you're adorble~"
"I know I am! Hahaha"
"I like your confidence, what's your name"
"Greg Shirley! The Demon you want! And need!"
"If I couldn't tell any better, it sounds like your flirting"
"Does it matter if I am?"
"You're cute but I'm afraid I'm too old for you"
"Age is just a number"
Laughing some more as I was so flirting with this god like being, I regret nothing, even the others get mad at me for it, so continuing with this, I said back to back.
"Especially if it's with a woman like you"
And stepping towards me, "Hm, intresting" stepping up to me, she grabbed my chin and lifting my head up slightly, she pressed her bandaged lips against mine.
Stepping back, "Pass the trials, and I'll be waiting"
And hearing her, my motivation for this skyrocketed.
"Yes ma'am!" the wall opened and going to the hall.
I stopped at the entrance and turning back to her I said, from the top of my heart, "When I get out of this, let's go out on a date! I really like you, okay miss!"
I said running off into the hallway.
And putting her hand on her cheek, "That boy's way too innocent, I wonder what his bare flesh taste like"
Running down the hall, I came across another room to where this one had two pharaohs in it standing in the middle, seeing them, they opened their mouths saying.
"Answer our 3 riddles or the ceiling will cave in"
"Uh... That's a bit much but okay?"
"I have no mouth but eat many things. I fear water, but I love wind. What am I?" They said both together.
"Fire" I heard Mari say something like this before?
"Wash me and I won't be clean, don't wash me, and I'll be clean. What am I?" they said together again?
"Water?" I think, shit I just said it without thinking.
"You can often see my effects. Although I am not ever seen. I come after cross, whirl and wood. And I come before sock, mill and screen, what am I" they said...?
Looks like I passed the other one, but what is this?
You often see my effect but am never seen? Poison maybe? No, it can't be, you can see poison, maybe it's energy, it has a big effect on things too. Magic?
No, if the last one was water, and the latter was fire, maybe, yes, maybe their naming the elements, let's see, but is it the prime or can it be any of them?
You can see my effects, though I'm not seen, I make whirls and do things to wood? And I come around the socks, mills, and screens, what am I now?...
Wait mills, their air powered!
Could it be wind?
Damn it, imma take my chances!
"Wind!"
"Correct, you passed all 3 riddles boy"
And hearing them I was pumped.
But then they both faced eachother and pointed to the wall right of them, and the wall opened up again.
"Now go, and be prepared, men are prepared in there, let us see if you can go against other humans" they said. Chuckling, "Don't go underestimating me"
Running around them and into the next hall, I went into it and down it, into the next room, and going into it there was no Pharaohs, just a band of camps here.
And seeing bearded brown men sitting around fires, it was like they were frozen until I took another step, and then it was like they came to life as they chatted and rested, and seeing me, they didn't even engage.
So is this my next test, to see how far I'll go.
If that's the case, then so be it.
Stepping towards them, I saw a man get up walking to me, he opened his mouth, "Greetings, I haven't seen you around here, where are you from stranger?"
He asked kindly, but pulling back Darwin, I crouched and dashed, cleaving him in two from his waist, and hearing his live corpse drop in two as if clumps of rice.
I cracked my neck before kicking the ground and running into the camp, and before I could even get to the first tent, I pulled back Darwin and screamed out.
"Demonic cyclone!"
And in a slash horizonal, a wave of energy came from my great sword that came inwards an started spinning, lifting things up and creating a reddish blue cyclone.
And as people and items were lifted up, [ Blink ] in the matter of seconds I came into my own cyclone and in the next instant I was carving up every other human.
By the time my cyclone faded, limbs and blood were raining down, and seeing that a group hadn't died, I rushed them, slaughtering them as they screamed.
Darwin was stained with blood, and finding a place to sit down, I tore some cloth from a leg piece, cleanin the blood off of Darwin, because blood's corrosive.
I don't want him to rust or be covered in hard blood.
. . . . .
After minutes and Darwin clean, "Are you ready to proceed," I heard a voice behind me, and glancing back, "Yes, what's the next trial" I said asking back.
"Next, one of my peers will spar with you, and see if you have what it takes to join forces with us. Now boy, are you ready to proceed or do you need a moment"
"I... Need a moment"
"Take your time"
With a deep breath, I looked to my bloody hands, I know they're not real, but... I'll never get over killing my own race, but I can't let the others see me weak.
But then something occured to me again!
"Oh shit! I forgot to ask about Aster again!"