The light grew as bright as a welder's torch, temporarily blinding the onlookers and drawing the attention of moths for miles. The creature beneath the light ballooned as he grotesquely shifted from the appearance of a human corpse to a 17-foot-tall monstrosity.
Tiny shining particles resembling glowing dust of black and brown swirled from the ground and circled the giant's body. Joining it from the heavens above was a similar dust storm of white and blue. These mysteriously bright nuisances swirled together, forming a storm of colors before they suddenly rushed into the chest of the enormous zombie.
Crouching over in pain, the creature let out a soft growl as his flesh burst into a flurry of fur, and the clothing covering his body disintegrated before the party's eyes!
Fangs and claws sprouted from the creature as if he were shifting into some sort of were-fiend.
In a panic, the assholes with the firearms kept shooting into the light, hoping to kill it before it finished leveling up. Each shot that entered the light seemed to call additional magical dust from the void.
"STOP. FUCKING. SHOOTING." Jason hadn't stopped yelling, but it seemed pointless. The oafs were obviously hearing impaired by their powerful bursts suppressing fire!
The light exploded as the whole world turned white, and an eerie silence overtook the atmosphere. As Jason regained his vision, the only thing he could see was a 17ft tall twin-headed lion!
One woman from the group seemed to backpedal slightly as everyone else shook in fear.
A deep wail bellowed from the beast as the heads stretched to the sky, which intimidated the onlookers further, and caused the woman to run.
One particular man didn't seem nearly as afraid of the situation as the others as he stood toe to toe with the beast. It had been summoned at his feet, so it's not like he could have escaped it had he wanted.
He simply tossed his bat to the ground and decided to reveal the trick up his sleeve.
'What the hell is he doing?' Jack wondered as he involuntarily stared at Jason. 'And why the Hell does he have a fish?'
Trying to gather the courage to run away didn't help Jack. He could simply observe the events that played out before him as he waited for his inevitable death. As the leader of his party, it was his responsibility to keep them safe—and he failed.
Jason raised his [Small Mouth Bass] above his head like a great warrior wielding a floppy fish and smacked the enormous twin-headed lion before it could fully gather itself in its new surroundings.
The lion immediately froze in place and began to tremble. It felt power it had never thought it would experience in this life.
The multitude of colored particles left the lion and were sucked into a vortex that had appeared in the mouth of the bass. Suddenly, instead of a fish, the man was wielding a magical vacuum that refused to let a single droplet of light escape.
After the light particles were consumed, the body of the line was sucked directly into the fish, causing it to expand slightly, almost as if it were bloated. The fish didn't stop, though, as it sucked in the very space in which the lion existed as reality warped around itself!
When it was finished consuming the delicious meal, it opened its fish eyes and flicked its tail, instantly freeing itself from Jason's grip. The fish swam a large circle in the air and seemed to be stretching its legs after a long slumber.
A few moments had passed before the bass looked directly into the sky and imploded on itself.
Jason looked on in confusion, not knowing how to react.
"You guys owe me a fish!" he shouted at the newcomers that caused this mess.
"You're in a new world. Quit being so stupid! Do you even know what your items do?" Jason asked the group that was still flabbergasted by the previous events.
The two gunmen approached Jason, still stunned. They had unlimited ammo in their rifles. What else did they need to know?
Plus, why would a god screw them over?
"What do you mean? How could you know?" The tall one asked.
"Let me guess… You guys found those from people that were unfortunate and didn't survive their first encounter?" Jason asked, watching their eyes for glimpses of the truth.
"So what? The dead don't need them!" The shorter man snapped in response.
"That's the thing. According to the shop I went to, those rifles buff your enemies." Jason smirked, "They probably went to the unidentified shop."
"That's ridiculous!" Jack interjected, finally recovering from his stupor and standing up for his team.
Jason turned to face him as he saw the retreating woman returning to the group.
"What do you mean ridi-" Two gunshots interrupted her response to the supposed leader.
Jason covered his ears as they rang in pain and turned to see two corpses collapsed at his feet.
"You're enemies… idiots." He sighed, "Not your allies."
"What the hell? We saved you, can't you show some remorse?!" Jack's face was bright red as he approached Jason, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. "Your jokes just got two people killed!"
He had to admit, it would be difficult to believe in a magical rifle that could buff your enemies. But this wasn't earth, and Jason still had his whacking bat, so he didn't care. Fortunately, it didn't look like anyone else in the group had a useful weapon.
"Look, We aren't on Earth anymore." Jason had retrieved his bat and placed it over his shoulder, to prepare for whacking if necessary.
"You just watched a man turned zombie turn into a lion before a dead fish ate it before it swam into the sky and imploded. Why would magic rifles be weird?" he asked, not backing down to the pissed-off man.
"Still, if you're going to be stupid, you'll get me killed." Jason was agitated by this point and didn't want to deal with the asshole anymore. "You didn't save me, but I appreciate the thought."
"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had to waste a fish," he said as he lowered his bat and walked toward the woman that ran away. "So I guess I'll have to join you until you pay me back."
The woman reached her hand out and attempted to shake hands with this mysterious man her party had met, "Hi, we're sorry those two jerks did that… We didn't know something like that could happen! My name's Elaine. Thanks for saving me."
"You're the one that ran away, right?" Jason asked, accepting her handshake.
Her face turned a bright red as she nodded her head.
"That was smart. If you think you might die, retreat." He didn't fault her for abandoning the strangers that she was grouped up with at the time.
[Congratulations!!]
[You've survived the first trial!]
[Take this opportunity to rest while your rewards are prepared.]