- Wave 4 - Five level 2 wolves -
The dreaded messaged arrived - signaling the arrival of a new, more formidable challenge.
As the level 2 wolves emerged from the shadows of the lush forest, Alex readied himself, his axe and shield in hand. The environment around him, though beautiful, was now a battleground teeming with hidden dangers.
The first wolf lunged at Alex, its teeth bared. Quickly, Alex raised his shield, blocking the attack, but the force of the impact sent a jolt through his arm. He countered with a swing of his axe, but the agile wolf dodged, disappearing into the underbrush.
As Alex faced the circling wolves, his mind raced with strategies and calculations.
"Use the trees, use the environment," he reminded himself.
The first wolf lunged, and instinctively, he raised his shield. "Good, the shield held up... for now," he thought, feeling the impact reverberate up his arm.
He glanced quickly at the surrounding trees, noting their positions. "If I can funnel them, control their movements..." his mind racing, stepping back towards a large tree.
The wolf, following his movement, became momentarily trapped between Alex and the tree trunk. "Yes, that's it! Use their momentum against them."
With each strike and dodge, Alex's internal dialogue guided him. "Stay light on your feet, anticipate their moves," he coached himself as another wolf attacked. He sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a swipe, and retaliated with a swift axe blow. "Gotcha! But don't get cocky, stay focused."
The fight intensified, and Alex's thoughts became more frantic. "This is harder than I thought, but I can do this. I have to."
Then the worst thing happened - his shield shattered under the brute force of a wolf's claw, leaving him exposed. But he no time to dwell on the matter.
"No shield, great,,, Just what I needed. Keep moving, Alex, keep thinking."
He dodged around a tree, narrowly missing another attack. "
This is like some kind of deadly dance," he thought, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "But I'm leading." He struck again with his axe, felling another wolf.
"Just a few more, you can do this!"
As the final wolf fell, Alex's heart pounded in his chest, his thoughts a whirlwind of relief and exhaustion.
"I survived... I actually did it." He leaned against a tree, feeling its rough bark against his back. "Every fight is a lesson. Adapt, overcome. That's how I'll survive. That's how I'll win."
- 15 minutes before Wave 5 -
He was relieved that he had 15 minutes to rest. He really needed to get his energy back before the next wave. This time, it should be a level 3 Skulker. Since it's only one - it should not be too bad. I'm glad I did not fight more. But this makes me think, as I continue to level up in the game, does this mean that the amount of fights will continue to be this hard and in more numbers? I have to strategize well when leveing up in I.Zombie going forward. I need to focus on quests more, but I wonder how the trails will differ then?
'Now that my shield broke, what now?'
Just as Alex thought this, a new duplicate shield appeared, while the existing broken one vanished.
'Perfect, it's like something is watching over me'
Just incase something really is - "THANK YOUUU" Alex shouted into the air.
- Wave 5 - One level 3 Parched Skulker -
As the environment shifted around him, Alex found himself in a vast desert landscape. The ground was a sea of undulating dunes, the air hot and dry, the sun a relentless orb in a cloudless sky.
The Parched Skulker, a level 3 creature. 'Holy crap, this thing looks so much more dangerous
It was a beast of the desert, perfectly adapted to its harsh environment. The Skulker had a long, serpentine body covered in thick, sandy-colored scales that shimmered in the desert sun, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.
Its eyes were narrow slits, gleaming with a predatory intelligence, and its mouth was a jagged maw filled with rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. The most striking feature was the set of spiny ridges running along its back, ending in a barbed tail that twitched with lethal intent.
Alex gripped his axe and shield tightly, his eyes scanning the horizon. He knew the Skulker's ability to burrow and ambush from below would make this a daunting battle. "Stay alert, watch the sand," he reminded himself.
Without warning, the Skulker burst from beneath the sand, its jaws snapping inches from Alex. He barely managed to raise his shield in time, the impact sending a shockwave through his arm.
"That was too close!" he thought, his heart racing.
The Skulker proved to be a cunning adversary, disappearing and reappearing unpredictably.
Alex swung his axe at the creature each time it surfaced, but the Skulker was swift, its movements a blur of sand and scale.
During one such attack, Alex miscalculated. As the Skulker lunged, its spiny ridge caught his face, and a sharp, excruciating pain exploded in his right eye. Alex cried out, stumbling backward, his hand instinctively covering his wounded eye.
"My eye! It got my eye!" he realized in horror.
Blinded on one side and disoriented, Alex fought through the pain. He knew he couldn't afford to falter, not even now. "I have to end this," he thought, his determination overriding the agony.
With a deep breath, he centered himself and listened for the Skulker's movements. As it emerged once more, Alex, using his remaining vision and heightened senses, timed his strike perfectly. With a powerful swing, he drove his axe into the creature's head, piercing through its tough scales.
The Skulker shuddered and fell still, its body slowly sinking into the sand before de-materializing
- 30 minutes before Final Wave -
At this point, Alex was exhausted. He just wanted this to end. He could see himself getting stronger and smarter as the fights went on, but this is crazy. The environment made the last fight so much harder. Isn't this supposed to mimic his experience in I.Zombie? Then why did the environment change so much? Why are the beasts acting much more intelligently? They are also deploying skills that Alex has never seen before.
'This is insane. My hands are shaking, the pain in my right eye is excruciating. This is not something a 10 year old boy should be going through. This is not what I was expecting. This is so much more difficult than I ever imagined it could be.'
I really need to be smarter, I've been acting like this is all fun and great, but this is serious. There must be a purpose, a reason why this is all happening to me. I need to research the shit out of this before I do make another step if I get out of this alive. Will my eye even heal? I don't like this. Alex, for the first time in a long time, started crying. Tears streaming down his face out of fear, exhaustion, and frustration.
But the trial did not care…
- Final Wave - One Level 4 Crimson Whelpling -
The environment transformed dramatically once again. He found himself standing amidst a volcanic landscape, the ground cracked and scorched, with rivers of molten lava snaking through the terrain.
Intermittent spurts of fire shot up from the ground, the air thick with heat and the smell of sulfur. It was a hostile, unforgiving world, demanding constant vigilance to avoid the deadly geysers of flame. Alex was not prepared for this. The heat alone nearly made him pass out.
In this infernal setting, the Crimson Whelpling made its grand entrance. It was a formidable Level 4 creature, resembling a dragon in its infancy, yet already exuding immense power.
The Whelpling's scales were a brilliant shade of red, glowing as if forged in the heart of the volcano itself.
It had piercing amber eyes that radiated malice, and its wings, though not yet fully developed, fluttered with the promise of future might.
From its maw, it spewed fire, its breath a weapon as deadly as any claw or fang.
The loss of vision in his right eye immediately put Alex at a disadvantage. His depth perception was compromised, and his ability to track the Whelpling's swift, agile movements was severely hindered.
'Do I just let it kill me? I'm in so much pain. If I die, will I really die? What if this really is just a dream. I've heard of virtual reality games being so real that one becomes so immersed they cannot differentiate between whats real and whats not. Maybe this is just like that. I really don't think I can win this no matter how hard I try…'
Suddenly, Alex heard a voice. "Stay calm, adapt, you can do this," It sounded female, it felt so warm and nice he wanted to hear it again. "I believe in you Alex Walker. You were chosen. Remember, you were Chosen!"
"But I cant go on, I cant win, I dont know why I was chosen, I don't know anything anymore. I thought this was fun, I thought this was going to be my ticket to become someone greater, but you chose wrong. You chose the wrong person! Alex yelled. Tears still streaming like a waterfull, and as soon as they touched the ground, they instantly evaporated due to the hotness of the surface.
"We did not choose wrong. Alex Walker, get up, embrace the pain, know that we love you, and you must see this to the end. We love you Lexie…" as the voice faded into obsqurity
As soon as Alex heard those final words, he shuddered, his body almost convulsing. 'Lexie?? But how? Its impossible!!'
The Whelpling watched for a few seconds, and much to Alex's dismay, immediately started attacking. It was relentless, its attacks swift and ferocious. Alex dodged and weaved through the volcanic terrain instinctively, narrowly avoiding the creature's fiery breath and the random bursts of flame from the ground.
His shield and axe felt heavier in his hands, the heat and his injury taking their toll.
During one particularly fierce exchange, the Whelpling's fiery breath caught Alex's right side, searing his flesh.
He cried out in pain, feeling his skin blister and burn, the agony almost too much to bear.
"I can't give up, not now. I have to figure out what the F**K is going on!" he thought, gritting his teeth against the pain. At this point, Alex's eyes changed, they glowed red, blood was pumping through his veins. He could feel it, he could feel everything, his perception at its max. "You damned whelp, how dare you, HOW DARE YOU STAND IN MY WAY".
Alex was furious. All he could think of was one thing, and one thing only. I am going to rip your wings, stomp your head, and eat your heart. And once I'm done, i'm going to survive this trial, and i'm going to figure out what the hell is going on. I heard the voice loud and clear. It said it. It said the name only my parents used to call me. It said 'Lexie'
The battle raged on, Alex pushing himself beyond his limits. He fought not just against the Crimson Whelpling but against the environment itself, his every move a struggle for survival.
In a final, desperate confrontation, as Alex prepared to strike the killing blow, he threw the axe with all his might while the Whelpling unleashed a torrent of fire directly at him. Reacting instinctively, Alex raised his right arm to shield his face. The fire hit the shield, burning it, and then burning his hand. He could visibly see his hand melting. Due to the adrenaline and the anger, he barely flinched. He did not care what happened to him at this point. His sole purpose in life was to annihilate the whelp.
As Alex discarded the shield with his mangled burned hand, he saw that the axe he threw embedded deep into the whelping heart, making it stumble on the ground. Alex ran towards it with all his might, jumped as high as he could with his new found lower body strength, and stomped as hard as he could on the whelpings face.
"KRRRRRK, Splish"
The whelpings head exploded. Still in unrivaled fury, Alex grabbed the wing with his working hand, and ripped it off. The Whelping was not even moving at this point. It's been dead since the axe pierced it heart. But Alex did not notice, nor did he care. He discarded the wing, and immediately grabbed the other one, ripping it off in one swift motion. He then bent down, withdrew the axe, placed his hand into the hole it created, took the heart out, and munched on it.
Once he ate the whole heart, Alex looked into the sky, drenched in blood from head to toe, blood dripping from his mouth. And screamed. Alex let out a scream so loud that the air around him vibrated. He let out so much anger that the air around him vibrated and shook, almost saddened by the visible change in Alex. But this was the purpose of this trial. Alex needed to wake up. Alex needed to get stronger
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Alex's eye turned back to their greyish colour, and as soon as they did, Alex slumped down, and passed out