17 The Island Of Patmos IV : The Trial Of Revelations

The shocking turn of events aside, I was really looking forward to getting out of this cage. So far all I've seen of this game was an ocean, a forest, a big ass tree, and a giant snake that wanted to eat me. It would be really nice to experience and see something new, even if I was a slave for an internationally sanctioned gladiator arena. This game keeps on taking more and more interesting turns.

[WORLD WIDE SYSTEM ALERT: The game event; The Trial Of Revelations are about to begin!]

[The Great Tree of Revelations was nothing more than a little plant, that was grown and raised by The Disciple; John. This tree had witnessed the prophecy of the end, and witnessed a million other prophesies in the process. Divine and Cosmic energies caused it to transform and grow, giving it the power to divine the future of whoever gains it's approval.

It's also capable of granting skill and abilities based on the unique color of its leaves. And finally as the Disciple John was passing, he gave a prophecy about how an ancient and grand civilization would come to grow within and around the roots and body of the great tree. And one day, it's chosen king or queen would come to take charge of the City Of Prophets; Zebedee. The trial is a test created by the tree, it takes place every three years, and it's to search for the chosen king of the tree. Are you the one?]

[All players participating in the first knockout stage of five compulsorybattles gets +1 skill and stat point for participation.Players who win the knockout stage get + 2 skill point and +3 stat point. Players who participate in the trial of seven rings gets +1 skill and stat point for participating. Players who make it to the 3rd ring gets 3 skill and stat points, and one random earth equipment. Players who make it to the sixth stage and below gets 6 skill and stat point, with ring 4 players getting four and ring 5 getting five,and also one random heaven grade equipment. Players who reach the seventh rings get 10 skill and stat points, 1 random battle skill,500 thousand gold dollars,and one random legendary grade weapon and armor. Further rewards will be kept secret until overall winner is announced.]

[You have been given one stat and skill point.]

As soon as I finished reading the message, a uniformed guard came to my cage and banged hard on it. His green skin had a sheen of sweat, and it seemed as if he had ran all the way to get here. He looked up at me and said.

"Hey Dragon Elf man. It's time! Follow me and I'll lead you to where you can use your points. And then it's off to the arena for you."

My wooden cell door, turned into tiny little vines, and slid back into the wooden floor. I had my suspicions, but I was reserving judgment. I walked out of the cell and followed the guard, making sure to take a good look at my surroundings. Everything seemed to be made of wood, and even with the sophisticated tech I was seeing, which included display screens and intercom speakers, the place was lit up by bioluminescent fruits that grew out of little vines at the top of walls. We went down a long hall, before coming out around a circular walkway that seemed to surround and was above what looked like a market square.

There was a giant screen suspended in the air, and it was showing thousands of names and faces, and the voice of a presenter telling the people watching about the favorites for the competition, and the dark horses in it.

The walkway was a little ways up, like about twenty to thirty feet above, and below was the market area. There were lots of tents, and wooden huts, and apart from the green people, Patmosians was it; there were numerous other races there too. Some were buying, others were selling, while many of them had their attention glued to the giant screen, or the counter placed in front of it, where bets were being placed. I looked up at the ceiling, but all I could see was a wooden ceiling, carrying spiral patterns that lit up with different colors. I think at this point, it was quite obvious, that I was Inside the big ass tree.

I felt my guard push me forwards, as we went on towards an elevator. It was really baffling to me, how it was possible that nature could integrate so seamlessly with technology. Whatever method these guys used, it worked, and it looked really beautiful.

When I got to the elevator, there were a couple of other prisoners being pushed into it, along with three other guards. We all crowded into it, and I was pushed to the back. When I got there, I realized the back of the elevator was actually made of glass or a crystal of sorts, and I could see the world outside.

The basin was bigger than I thought, maybe I mistook the size due to darkness, but from what I could see, it was tall, very tall, almost at the size of the empire state building in New York, or a little bit taller. And funny enough the bloody tree was almost three to four times it's size. One thing I was sure of was that, the edge of the basin, actually coincided with an area just above the roots of the tree.

So this tree was big, very big. I could see lights shimmering below, and saw that it's roots had houses either burrowed into them, or built around and within them. The main city itself was outside with the roots and everything, but the tree was like a castle or an administrative building, that also could house a number of people.

The elevator went up for almost seven to ten minutes, and even then I still couldn't see the edge of the basin the tree was in. Honestly I was awe struck, no matter how I looked at it, this place was beautiful and amazing, I wish I could get a chance to see more of it.

The elevator came to a stop, and we were all pushed out. This time there was no walkway, just a hallway. I realized that we had just come up from the place where the roots connected to the tree, and that my prison cell was within one. We were led into a place that looked like a waiting area, but it was built weirdly. There were cubicles placed at the side, and each of them had numbers on it. There were no more than thirty cubicles here, and some of them were already occupied.

"All of you, go in to the cubicle with your given number, you can make any purchase with your points, or even gamble on your fights from there. Beware of any stupid actions, this place is under live broadcast, which means occasionally, the rest of the world could see what's happening here.If your cubicle lights up, then that means it's time for you to fight, then you can make your way down to the gate at the end of the waiting area. It would take you to the arena within the tree, where your battle would take place. I would say good luck, but it would be wasted. You're all just here to fill the spots, to make sure the required number of candidates are met. Good riddance."

The guard left with the rest of the comrades, and we were left to our devices. Everyone chose to mind their own business as they made their way into the cubicles. We all had on the same uniform, and on the shoulders of each uniform was a number, mine was seven. Which was how I found my cubicle and sat in it. It was comfortable, too comfortable in fact, and it was really state of the art. Pristine white seats, a table with a holographic display, and metal plate on the wall, that looked like a dumb waiter. The display in front of me changed and a question was asked.

[Candidate no 7 you have 5 battle points. Would you like to see the list of available options, that are within your specified price range. YES/NO]

[Showing list now: Basic Warrior Kit (Long sword, Shield, and Helm) 5 BP/ Basic Mage Kit (Magic wand, Tier 0 defense spell, tier 0 attack spell) 5 BP/ Basic.....]

There was nothing really good that could be bought here, not for 5 BP at least. But for some reason the basic Marksman Kit came with a few extra surprises. In this game, traditional weapons, as much as modern weapons were used in tandem with your classes. So I was given a short bow, a quiver of arrows, and a revolver with six bullets.

It might seem like an advantage, but it means nothing. Some people were resilient enough in this game that a bullet would be like throwing cotton at them, and some of them were so fast their bows and arrows could break the sound barrier. It was all a matter of preference.

All of the weapons I was given were all normal grade, not even mortal, so the damage bonuses were negligible if not nonexistent. I would be relying on my skills, and not just the in game ones, but the dozens of close combat and shooting practice my grandfather and Nanny Florence beat into my body, not to mention the grueling army training.

It doesn't matter how strong my opponent might be, Health pool, armor and defense could be circumvented if you hit the right place and hit it hard enough. Just like in real life, in here weak points, blind spots and simple injuries mattered. This might just be me trying to comfort myself, but I could win, I know I can. And no matter what comes my way, I'm going to beat it,just like everything else that's stood before me. All of a sudden my cubicle lit up, startling me out of my thoughts. I guess it was time now.

I got up, hung my arrow pouch around my waist, so it was just hanging there for my hand to reach out and carry. I preferred it this was, swords, axes, and spears can remain on my back, it doesn't take long too bring them out. But an arrow needed to be close by for fast access and reactions. The arrows were sticking out from behind my waist, just at my left hip, and the revolver was hanging on my right hip.

I grabbed my bow, and made my way out and towards the gate.

Every move I made was under the gaze of the other candidates, I'm sure in their minds they were thinking, here goes the first one, the guy who's blood would christen the sands. Damn it! they're making me feel nervous.

I got to the gate, and it opened up. There was only a platform, and a long walkway that was lit up, connected to it from both sides. Every other thing was dark, no audience, and no cameras. It was weird, but this was a game.

"The first fight of the Trial of Revelations is about to BEGIIIIIINNNN! On the right side we have candidate number 7. He's a Dragon Elf who actually washed up ashore, and escaped the jaws of Sortovat the monstrous serpent! The first person in 700 years to come onto Zebedee from outside the barrier without using a teleportation gate! You have to admit he's really something.

And over here on the left, we have one of our local talents. He is the reigning champion of the Patmosian Glory Arena, and one of the defenders of the realm. He is Maurice, The Patmosian Butcher! Hero of the great battles of Condar, where he had slain a thousand and one Minotaurs, of the Dreaded Nukari Herd!

This is going to be an exciting first fight, and one to be remembered for the ages to come. So without further delay, let the trials begin!"