Chapter 44: Being Put to the Test

Schezo's POV

I felt like a bunch of bricks collided with my head. I woke up in this dream-like landscape. "Where the hell am I?" "Good, you're awake." "Dave…! What did you do to me?!" "I just sent us to this place here." "Where?!" "I'm not exactly sure myself... but I know what purpose it has in store for you." "What purpose?! Dammit, stop being so cryptic and give me a straight answer!" "I can't tell you that, Schezo… you need to discover the answer for yourself." "Wha-? AAAAAAH!" I fell into a deep, void-like pit below my feet. My body hit the ground and it was PAINFUL. "Ouch! Dammit, Dave… ... What is he seriously hoping to accomplish by making me go through this? … Hm? What's this?" I saw mirror-like crystals on the walls of this tunnel. They displayed my past, recent events, and supposedly, my future from the looks of them. Some of the ones from my past, I remembered clearly. One past memory came in repeatedly to haunt me; the time that I encountered the Sword of Darkness and first became a dark mage. "Why? Why does this place keep reminding me of that memory?" As soon as I asked that question to myself, another vision of the "future" flashed before my eyes. What I saw was horrific, even for me. Just about everyone who I had ever known were being killed left and right, mercilessly. Some of these deaths were too much to bear eyes on. That's how gory things were in a nutshell. The killer was shadowy, but I figured out who it was. "The killer's… me. But... why? And how? I don't feel remorseful, but there's just one thing that doesn't sit right in my mind. What did I use to kill them? Assuming if this actually is what my future shows… just what was it?" I asked myself.

I watched more of it to get the context behind what was going on. Dave laid face-down on the ground, almost dead while future me didn't say anything."Sch-Schezo… you- *cough* -have doomed us all. ... Why must it come down to this? You have unknowingly let yourself be controlled by them, the Yogs...! Remember who you- AAAAAAGH-!" He screamed. I flinched at this happening before my eyes. Future me stabbed through Dave's armor and his head with an unknown blade, splitting them open in a bloody mess. "Th-there's no way this can be true...! How would I have been taken under control by them?!" I shook my head in denial. The crystals showed me what I had doubted. In my cave... I sat there, days after Dave went away. Assuming if I had still declined and stayed inside, smoke from a wicked seed got to me before I noticed. I became a tool of destruction for the Yogs to use and to kill Dave and his friends. I then destroyed both the worlds that Primp and Suzuran resided in respectively. At first, I didn't know what to make of all this... but then I slowly seethed with rage. "No one takes advantage of me... and gets away with it…! I'm not going to just be someone else's puppet to destroy both worlds. I may not care about the people living in them, but I surely care about myself… You hear that, Dave?! I'll fight, but for myself ONLY, and I'll do it MY way! I know that you can indeed hear me… show yourself already!" I yelled furiously. "I can't do that, Schezo…" "Why?! Expose the truth to me this instant!" "*sigh* Schezo, you need to prove yourself worthy before you can wield the weapon that will see to the Yogs' destruction." "Enough with dragging out this bullshit! I want to do this my way, as well as you letting me out of here!" "Not until your heart, mind, and soul are cleansed of the overwhelming darkness surrounding them. It's obvious that even though you are not bad per se, your three things are not in the right place."

In the end, I had NO choice but to do as he was going to say. "Fine! What do I need to do to prove myself "worthy" of this, Dave?" "You must navigate your way out of here; climb up a mountain in front of the exit, and participate in a special game. I'm at the top to be part of your final test. I'll see you when you get up there, Schezo." "W-wait!" I called on him, but he did not say anything else. "... If that's what you want… Very well, I'll ace this." I began to look for a way out of this stupid subterranean labyrinth. I had to run from creatures along the way, since I didn't have much to fight with. Eventually, I saw a light appear before me. "Ah-! That must be the exit!" I ran faster to get myself out of there. The light burned my eyes for a few seconds. "... This must be the mountain that Dave meant. What's this sign right here? "To climb this mountain properly: Follow the path up until you see a fork splitting it, then go left and continue your way towards a deep river. You will have to hop across boulders to get to the other side. The rest will be straight-forward and you won't get lost." Well, that's good to know…" I did what the sign instructed to do. I followed the path leading up to the fork and went left. The river part of this proved to be far more troublesome than I figured. "With the river's current moving fast like this, one false move… and I am as good as dead." I then noticed a person on one of the boulders, as though they were waiting for me to jump on one of them. "I am here to test you to see if you can think on your feet." The figure told me. "Is that so? What you're saying is that I have to force my way through you, isn't that right?" I figured. "Take it as you will. First, here is a blade for you. I don't like to give myself an unfair advantage." They said. "Ha! You'll regret making this decision." I smirked. "We will see about that…" They turned to face me.

We stood still for a solid minute, then we engaged. Clashing swords, making the most of the space on these boulders, it was definitely tense. I decide to pull a fast one and sweep them from under with my legs. They must have seen that coming, because they jumped away in anticipation. "It's going to take more than that for you to be victorious in this battle." They landed on a different boulder. I decided to chance things and jump to it, so that I could strike. "Yyyaah!" *sword clash* "That… was a foolish move." They shoved my blade away with theirs, then performed a spinning attack of sorts. They came to me quickly and there was hardly any time to react properly. "Gah-! Rrrrrr…" I struggled to keep them from slashing me. I tried to hold their sword in place, but they slowly won this clash. Shit, this is harder than thought… and without any dark magic to help me, this is a losing battle. Still, I refuse to have things end up like that vision! There must be something that I can do to pass this test. If I can't, I'll never be able to get to the top of this mountain and move things along. Come on, think, Schezo! Think!

I began thinking of a way to pass this test while I fought. It wasn't full-proof, but it was better than nothing. "Yah!" I attempted a jab. Expecting them to dodge it, I prepared to grab them. That's when they did the unexpected. They instead grabbed me and tried throwing me into the water. I squirmed as much as I could to break out of their grip. I just barely managed to shake myself free. Damn it, I'll never get anywhere with this! Whoever this person is, they are unbelievably skilled with a blade. We may have the same weapon... but their swordsmanship is clearly better than mine, which is saying something. I'm looking like a novice by comparison… and that pisses me off! "YYAAH!" *sword clash* "Not bad, but you will have to do a lot better than that." They said. I then took a blow to the gut from their knee. "Oogah-!" My voice cracked. That move left me in bad shape with serious pain. Wait a second… he didn't use his sword to do that. Maybe there's more to these fights than mostly using your blade. … That's it! I had this whole thing wrong! It's not just the blade that makes a swordsman good. It's also about the dexterity and flexibility of their arms and legs. Why did it take me so long to realize that? It might be because before Dave came along, I never met another swordwielder besides… Lagnus. Even then… Dave wasn't too skilled with his blade, and I had brute-forced my way in defeating Lagnus all those years ago.

I knew exactly what to do from that moment onward. I remained calm as I blocked strikes and seized the perfect opportunity. "Hrr-yaah!" "Ah-!" I landed a swift uppercut, just like what Rulue did to me a good while ago. This caused the person to fly and land in the water, then to be swept away by the current. But then... they mustered the strength to swim back to the side I seeked. "You have passed the test." They told me. "You'll let me pass?" "Yes." "... I have a quick question, who are you?" "Let's just say that I am a reimagining of somebody you know. Well… I'll allow you to take a sneak peek at my face." They showed me their face, and was one that I recognized. "C-Comet Warlock?!" "No... I am not Lemres, but I have the face and vocal tone of him now." "I should have guessed that you weren't… he was never any good at sword technique. And he doesn't talk so… formally." "You should go now, your final test awaits at the summit." The Comet Warlock look-alike vanished from my sight. "To the top, huh? That's what things keep telling me to do, like as though I'm a child who forgets things..." I went through the rest of the path to reach the mountain's peak. "D-Dave, I am here!" I panted and saw him. "I can see that, Schezo. I'm impressed, you have managed to pass the midpoint test from the look of it. But… it's not over yet, you still have your final test." "... You said that I am to participate in this special game you mentioned, what is it?" "Allow me to explain thoroughly… although, you only get to hear this once, so listen. What we are about to play is a game quite similar to one I played back in my world. Here are the rules to go by: To start the game, we engage in rock, paper, scissors to determine who goes first. Whoever wins it gets to decide to go either first or second. You see, in this game, we each take turns in choosing what to place down on this field. These are what we'll be placing on the field." "Cards?"

Dave went further in with explaining this. "Yes, cards. There are four basic types of cards: "Creature Cards", "Conjure Cards", "Bait Cards", and "Skill Cards". Creature Cards are the infantry that you bring forth to the field. They all have stats that dictate how strong they are. Each creature has a specific number of diamonds on the top right corner. This generally signifies how strong a Creature Card is. Additionally, there is "Offense" and "Resilience"... labeling exactly how strong the Creature really is. The discrepancy between estimates and exacts will come into play shortly, in case you were wondering… these cards can be placed face-up straight, face-down straight, and face-down sideways. The first two correspond to leaving the creatures in an attack stance, and the last one relates to placing them in a defending stance. What's the purpose of all this, you may ask? See those numbers next to each side of the field right there? The big one represents how much life you have left. It's abbreviated as CP: Or, if you want the actual term, "Continue Points". Each time that one of your attack stanced creatures is killed by one of mine... or vice versa, one CP is eliminated. Each player starts with five and whoever loses all five is the loser. Fallen creatures are sent to the "Mausoleum" and stay there for the most part. Let me go back to the diamonds for a second. I mentioned how the number of them on a creature generally dictates their strength. The diamonds represent tiers for them and so… creatures that are of tiers four and below tend to be more common. They make up the majority of your creature stockpile in the deck. The higher tiers is where things get interesting. Tiers five and six are uncommon. Then finally, tiers seven are eight consist of the rarest and most powerful creatures in the game. You can see right here... how many creatures of each tier you are allowed to have in your deck. They also have their own abilities to apply to situations. The other thing you see by the CP is your SL, or "Summoning Level". At the start of the game: both players begin with one SL, regardless of who goes first. And, at the start of each of your turns... you gain two SL. You can spend SL to bring forth your creatures, if you have enough that is. You could pass your turns to build up SL, but make sure you have a creature at all times. Tier eight creatures are one per deck for a reason. You see, if the opponent doesn't have a creature out... they're the only ones that can attack the opponent directly. If they land a successful attack this way, you automatically lose. But, enough about the Creature Cards, let's shift over to Conjure Cards."

I was understandably overwhelmed by the information, but I wasn't confused about any of the rules either. I felt like the Creature Card part was the bulk of the game. "... Alright, Schezo… these are Conjure Cards. They have a power that can be considered "magic" for this game. Normally, you can only play them on your turn, just like the creatures. Spoiler alert, Bait Cards work differently. But yeah, unless the Conjure Card is a Quick-Time Conjure… these cards are usually restricted to your turn with their various effects." "Usually?" "You might see that for yourself, Schezo. Other than that, Conjure Cards are simple to follow. Bait Cards have to be placed face-down first for a full turn; after that though, they can be triggered during either players' turn. That's if the conditions of the card can be met… You'll figure them out as you go along. Both Conjure and Bait Cards are placed in this area. You'll only be able to put face-down up to five of either type at one time, so be aware of that. Lastly, Skill Cards. Each player carries one skill card with them at all times, however… Depending on what the cards asks of the player to accomplish, it can't really be used in most instances. Think of it as like a trump card of sorts, your last-ditch effort to try and secure a game in your favor. Let's see... any other miscellaneous rules that I forgot to go over? … Oh-! I can't believe I forgot to say this! Both of us start with five cards in our hand. You start your turn by drawing the top card of your deck. If you run out of cards to draw from where your deck is, you'll lose. Well? Any questions before we begin, Schezo?" "No. You're going down, Dave!" "We'll see… Anyway, choose a deck from here. There's plenty of different ones to pick from." "..." I ended up deciding on this hell-like deck. I saw that these creatures had both a race and element associated with each of them. He might have forgotten to tell me anything about these races and attributes… It matters not, I just need to be able to defeat Dave. "Now, pick a skill card that you think will prove to be useful." He said. I did so and walked to my side of the field. "Are you ready, Schezo? This will not be an easy feat to accomplish, I assure you." "Heh, I was hoping it wouldn't be. It'll be more satisfying to defeat you after at least some struggle. I may be new to this game, but let's see if the student can outsmart the teacher, Dave!" "Even while wearing an uncertain face, you intend to go through with this. Prepare yourself, Schezo: This will be the ultimate test to see if you are worthy." This is it… we're about to kick off the rock, paper, scissors thing to decide the fate of the game.

Author's Notes: Schezo was taken to an unknown place to be tested for whether or not he is worthy. He still wanted to do things his way after deciding to join in the fight against those Yogs. Dave instructed Schezo to find the exit of the tunnel, climb a mountain to the top, and to defeat him in a game. We now find Schezo preparing all he has in winning the game. He listened to the mechanics and rules of this game, then picked a deck and skill card to play with. How will Schezo win the game against Dave of all people? Next chapter, Chapter 45: A Life-Changing Game.