In a vast open space, everyone stood in a line, waiting for someone at the large podium in front of them.
"Alright, man, this is as far as we can go with you. Good luck, and don't embarrass us," Gard said, as the others wished Alex good luck and then walked away.
Alex nodded. "Thank you all, I'll let you know what happens." He waved and looked around. He was standing in an open area, with only the podium in front of him. Around him was a large crowd of people, all waiting.
The people here wore a confusing mix of clothing. Some had ancient Greek-style robes, others wore British royal school uniforms like the ones Alex had seen before, and a few were completely shirtless. It was a strange mix of styles that Alex had never encountered.
He glanced behind the podium and saw an open forest. It seemed that the university was built right in front of a vast forest.
"Alright, let's see what happens..." Alex murmured to himself, looking up.
~~
[Mythology Simulation System
Start the simulation?
Life Simulator - Y/N
Prompt Simulator - Y/N
Summon Simulator - Y/N]
~~
"Go with the prompt simulation," Alex decided.
[At the age of 28, the exam started with a few people coming out and telling you the rules, you just needed to go into the forest which supposedly was the forest where in the past time's Gods of Olympus managed to defeat the Titans, Othrys, the mountain of Titans, you were a little bit weirded out by this since the mountain you knew that was Othrys was close to Olympus and this place wasn't close to it at all,
you got warning from the Examiners that since this mountain was the main stronghold of the titans in the past time, weird things were happening all around it and you needed to survive against them, you also needed to bring back a special ingredient at the top of the mountain which only 5 existed, only 5 people would pass this exam.
At age 29, at the mountain's northern side where a weird-looking tree was just in front of the mountain itself. you served here for about 15 days, nothing weird happened and you were getting worried about the imminent invasion from the Empire, you decided to go up the mountain without thinking about anything since you only had one more month to get stronger and hide.
But something weird happened, no matter what you did you kept getting stuck at the same place, you discovered that this wasn't a mountain Othrys... this was Mount Parnassus... the mountain belonging to the God of Music Apollo.
Every movement of every pebble or flying wind of the birds that were also stuck here, every leave on the ground was Music that enthralled you, you realized how confusing this all was.
At age 30, a year had passed, and you were still trapped in the same place. Despite your efforts, you couldn't escape.
At age 35, after years of searching, you finally found a clue. You discovered a cave that led to an immense source of Spark energy. Realizing this was the mountain's core, you ventured inside and found Apollo's abode.
At age 38, finding the abode empty, you claimed it as your own. Many others who were also trapped tried to enter, but you managed to fend them off and kept the hideout hidden.
At age 45, you finally uncovered the mountain's secret—it was a colossal magical illusion. The music you heard in nature was the real test. To escape, you needed to break through the magic.
At age 65, after years of searching, you concluded your studies. You upgraded your mastery over the Fireball spell to the Mastery tier, but your overall rank remained unchanged due to the illusion.
At age 85, now an old man, you were finally ready to break free from the illusion. You climbed to the highest point you could reach, short of the mountain's peak, and gazed at the sky.
You raised your hand, concentrating on the Spark energy all around you. With a final shout, you released a spell you had created by combining Fireball and Inferno Call. The fire concentrated into a single point and shot up into the sky at light speed.
After years of struggle and a mind frayed by the experience, you broke through the illusion.
The first test was over. A shard from the sky broke off and descended upon you.
You were sliced apart.]
[You can keep one thing from the simulation:
The strength you had at age 28
The experience you had at age 28
The knowledge you had at age 28]
~~
"Gosh, damnit..." Alex muttered, shaking his head. Couldn't he just get an easy test like racing to the mountain top?
"At least I figured out where the simulation starting point is. But one thing bothers me—did I fail the test or pass it since I exited the simulation? Should I just avoid that... big weird tree?" Alex pondered as he looked toward the northern side of the mountain, where a massive tree stood among three other giant trees around the mountain.
"If my instincts are right... those trees are antennas. If I enter their perimeter, I'll be caught in the illusion. If I stay at the outer perimeter... Damn it..." Alex gritted his teeth. looks like he needed to do more than he expected he was also very shocked on what was this test even testing, just patience of the people that were taking the test? or mind energy the people had, but one thing was confirmed here, if you didn't have extreme amount of energy and patience you would be going mad in just few decades and then forget about solving the mystery you would not even be able to solve where you where, so this test simply wasn't a easy one for the people that was participating here they needed grit and grawl and rage to through.
This world was just too difficult.
End of Chapter.