Adam looked around. He felt like he’d been pulled into a quaint German town like where his great-grandparents were from. The cobblestones were uneven and slightly frustrating to traverse, the buildings were colourful but misshapen like dumpy clay sculptures, and the trees and plants grew wherever they pleased. A simple guitar melody filled the air and made his heart-rate slow down to a state of relaxation, despite what he’d just gone through.

  [Welcome to Interim Island. Players like yourself will be sent here following every completed Stage. Before your next challenge, you should visit the vendors in the Market and utilise your Points to acquire Relics, Healing Items, Rerolls, and anything else that might be useful.]

  “My Points are money?”

  [Points are the currency of the Trials of Defiance.]

  “Which way is the Market?”

  [Follow the sound of the music to the north.]

  Adam needed a few seconds to figure out which direction it was actually coming from, since it was bouncing off the buildings. When he was sure he knew its source, he followed the cobblestone path that snaked through the strange town in that direction. There were no other people around, despite Shitbox mentioning that all Players would come here after a Stage.

  “Where is everyone?”

  [The Interim Island is sliced into individual dimensions. You will only encounter other Players in the Dimensional Tavern.]

  “Tavern?” he asked, as he rounded the corner of a light-brown building with crooked window frames and no door.

  [The Dimensional Tavern can be located to the south by following the smoke of its chimney.]

  Adam paused and spun around to search the baby-blue cloudless expanse above.

  Where?

  A tiny plume trailed into the sky in the distance, hardly noticeable above the organically-shaped rooftops.

  Ah, I see it. It’s in the other direction. Guess I’ll go there after the Market.

  “Anything else I need to know?”

  [It is recommended that you get proper sleep in the Player House. It is located on the edge of Interim Island to the east. Stage Two will commence tomorrow at dawn.]

  “Proper… sleep?” Adam couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. “You’re killing us! But also concerned about proper sleep!?”

  [For the Trials of Defiance to be undertaken properly, the Players need to be at their peak. Excessive exhaustion results in unenthusiastic participation.]

  “You want us to try and relax, before sending us back out to be slaughtered!? Fuck you, you sadistic piece of shit!” Adam yelled, swinging his sword at the tesseract.

  The dimensional box blinked out of the way of his attack, as well as the three follow-up slashes.

  [Please cease your hostilities.]

  “Or what!?” he yelled, jabbing his sword towards its eye, only for Shitbox to appear a finger’s breadth from his face.

  [I will not be the one to deliver your punishment.]

  Adam stumbled back a few steps in surprise, before squeezing the handle of his sword in impotent fury.

  I’ll find a way to break this box, mark my words.

  Then he noticed a heat slowly building from the back of his hand and shifting along his fingers to his palm. When he looked down at the Duellist’s Glove, the colours were inverted, such that it was now a red glove with white stars embroidered into it.

  Without a second thought, Adam slashed his sword upwards to try and catch Shitbox unawares.

  Woosh!

  His blade travelled through the air with way more force than usual, but the tesseract once again appeared right in front of his face, making him stumble.

  [Any attempt to harm me is futile.]

  “Eat my ass!” he yelled, swinging again, only for Shitbox to teleport away.

  With a huff of frustration, Adam gave up for now and stomped along the cobblestones towards the music indicating the Market. As he followed the meandering road with uneven stones, he passed by shrubbery and trees, as well as many more of the dumpy houses without doors.

  This place is like a bizarre fever dream, he thought to himself.

  Then the road opened up ahead of him and he immediately saw the source of the guitar melody.

  “What the fuck…”

  It was a human-sized yellow-and-black wingless wasp. It was sitting with its bottom two legs crossed on a tall wooden stool, its abdomen to the side and its stinger on proud display. Its four other legs served as its arms and were strumming away on the strings.

  “How is a wasp that good at playing guitar?”

  “I have a name, you know,” the wasp replied without pausing. The voice had a sultry note to it and was distinctly female, while the appearance was distinctly I’m-going-to-die-if-it-stabs-me.

  “Ah, didn’t realise you spoke English as well. That raises an unfortunate amount of questions.”

  [The denizens of Interim Island adjust to the inhabiting Player’s language, in order to establish a sense of comfort.]

  “How do I mute you, Shitbox?”

  “My name is Yenna,” the wasp introduced herself.

  “I’m Adam. I’d shake your hand, but you kind of freak me out.”

  “Understandable. I am also repulsed by your flappy skin.”

  He frowned. “I’m not that flappy.”

  Yenna moved right along with the introductions. “Do you enjoy my melodies? If you have a preference for an instrument, I am proficient in all of them.”

  “Even the Theremin?”

  Despite the fact that her head was a terrifying mask with chittering mandibles at the front, antennae at the top, and black compound eyes, Yenna managed to look confused.

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  “What about the Stylophone?”

  “Are these culturally-significant instruments from your world? I have practised with all those provided to me by the All-Seeing System. Those two were not included as part of your world’s heritage.”

  Adam sighed. Why is the System even doing this? What’s the point of pretending to give a shit about humans and what we like?

  “Play whatever you like. It sounded nice.”

  “Thank you, Adam.”

  He gave the wasp a wide berth as he walked past her. There was a fountain behind where she sat and on it were sculptures of slimes spewing water into the air to land in a top bowl, from which it spilled down three flat circular tiers and back into the bottom.

  When he looked down at the water, he noticed the glimmer of coins that’d been tossed in, which seemed weird, since Shitbox had said the currency here was Point-based.

  Past the fountain were sporadic flowerbeds and between them were a few wooden stalls with different colours for their cloth overhangs. Behind them were two rows of trees, but no other buildings. Or even ground for that matter.

  “Are we in the air!?” Adam exclaimed in surprise, as he saw a cloud drifting by lazily below the edge of the island.

  [Yes. The Interim Island is a flying piece of land.]

  “What happens if I jump off.”

  [You will plummet to your death.]

  Adam gritted his teeth. “Okay, I see how it is.”

  What a convenient way for them to weed out those too weak-willed to go on. Sickening reason to design their little waiting area in such a way.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  He looked away from the distant edge and refocused on the Market stalls. Then he realised they were manned by giant insects as well.

  “Can I kill these people?”

  [Any denizen of Interim Island that you slay will not return nor be replaced. You may take your frustrations out on them, but it is meaningless and will permanently prevent you from accessing their services in the future.]

  Adam shook his head. “What is wrong with you…? Why even put sapient creatures here? You’re clearly capable of handling the upgrades and such yourself. Do you just enjoy cruelty for the sport of it?”

  [This inefficiency was deemed beneficial to Player enthusiasm in the Trials of Defiance.]

  They really care about Player’s being engaged with their little extinction game. But why?

  Wait…

  “Are you broadcasting any of this?”

  [The Trials are being observed by many watchful eyes, yes.]

  “So you need us to put on a show, is that it?”

  [Yes.]

  “Well, at least you’re honest, you piece of shit.”

  Adam flipped off the air. He had no idea where he was being watched from, but he figured it was no doubt from above.

  With his outburst over, he walked up to the nearest stall, which had a blue overhang. Behind the wooden counter was a small anvil and forge, as well as various tools. The creature manning it was a large incandescent-green beetle with two massive plates covering its back. Like Yenna, it was using its bottom two legs as actual legs, and the other four as arms, while standing upright.

  “Afternoon, Adam. My name is Thea. I offer weapon upgrades in exchange for Points,” she told him, also speaking with a female voice, though this one was sharp as flint.

  Adam glanced around at the other stalls suspiciously.

  “Don’t tell me they’re all women…”

  [It was deemed most beneficial to Player enthusiasm to have desirable companionship within Interim Island.]

  “Are you out of your fucking mind!? They’re all insects, you shit for brains!”

  Adam quickly spun back to face the beetle.

  “No offence, Thea.”

  “None taken, I too find your visage offensive to the eyes.”

  Adam sighed. “How much are your services?”

  “450 Points for any upgrade up to and including level 6.”

  “Damn, that’s pretty expensive. But why only until level 6?”

  “I am not allowed to tell you yet.”

  Adam glared at the tesseract. “Seriously? Can’t they just be allowed to inform me about this stupid game!?”

  [It was deemed fair that Players have to discover the facts and facets of the Trials of Defiance on their own. However, it is possible to trade information with other Players at the Dimensional Tavern, if you should choose to do so.]

  With every new thing he learnt about this game, he was realising that the cruelty ran deeper-and-deeper. This was a blood sport, and ‘enthusiasm’ only mattered because it made for a better spectacle. If they gave two shits about fairness, he wouldn’t have been thrown in blind and rushed along non-stop.

  But who gives a shit about fairness? I’ll fight as dirty as I need to, if it means my family gets to live.

  I’ll finish checking out the wares here, then I’ll visit the tavern, before preparing for the next Stage.

  “I guess I’ll come back when I can afford your services. Wait, that came out wrong. Ah, fuck it, you know what I mean.”

  “Bye Adam.”

  He left the beetle smith and went to the next stall, which had a green overhang. Here, a red-brown cockroach stood behind a slanted wooden board draped in a black cloth, which displayed items he easily recognised. There were three size variants of vials and they came in three colours. Along with the potions were dried roots in a similar colour scheme.

  “I’m Belin, I sell consumables,” she told him, while he tried his best not to focus on her fucked-up appearance. Her voice was calm and gentle.

  “Well, you probably already heard, but I’m Adam. How much are your potions? I’m guessing red is Health, green is Stamina, and blue is Mana?”

  “Correct. Each small potion is 100 Points. Medium is 500 and Large is 1200. The roots are 250 and provide a 10% boost to one of the three stats, but only one boost can be active at a time.”

  “Damn, everything here is pricey… Do you also have roots that boost Damage, Defence, and Speed?”

  “Not yet,” she answered vaguely.

  I guess that means the choice of wares expands as I progress through Stages.

  “I’ll come back later,” he said.

  “Until then, Adam.”

  They all really insist on using my name…

  The next stall had a sandy-brown cricket behind a dark wooden counter. A black cauldron bubbling with a green soup stood next to the cricket and various bizarre reagents hung down from strings attached to the purple overhang.

  “Hi Adam!” the cricket said cheerfully, her tone warm and welcoming. The way she was standing on her overlong back legs seemed uncomfortable, since they were folded in a way that did not look normal. “My name’s Karie, I sell general upgrades. All upgrades are 300 Points!”

  Her massive black compound eyes were locked onto him, while she swayed her head from side-to-side, swishing her overlong antennae back-and-forth. Adam focused on the cauldron instead of her.

  “Is there no level cap where the price increases?”

  “Nope!” she replied. “Would you like to see what I currently have on offer?”

  “Sure.”

  Karie waved one of her arms over the cauldron and it released a puff of toxic-looking vapour, then four symbols appeared. Two of them were new to him, a four-leaf clover and a blade with a droplet at the end. The last of the four was a blue rare, but it was for movement speed, which didn’t interest him.

  < < Upgrades For Sale > >

  < Venom (Uncommon) — Attacks inflict venom slowing target by 10% for 10 seconds >

  < Damage (Common) — Increases all damage by 5% >

  < Luck (Uncommon) — Increases luck by 2 >

  < Movement (Rare) — Increases movement speed by 15% >

  “If you purchase one, the options are scrambled, and four new options will appear. If you don’t like the options you see currently, you can use a Reroll to scramble them.”

  So, it’s possible to get a Luck boost as well. I guess that’ll increase the likelihood of better upgrades. Wonder if that’s a good trade, when compared to something immediately useful. Although, I can foresee a strange feedback loop where increased luck makes the next luck upgrade stronger, which then makes the next one even stronger, until eventually all upgrades are the rarest possible outcome. Can’t really tell what the numbers mean though. Is +2 in Luck something that actually makes a difference?

  “Thank you for the explanation,” he said, while wondering if Shitbox would actually give him a straight answer to his question.

  “If you come back after the next Stage, the options will be different!”

  “Guess I’ll do that then.”

  Although he could afford an upgrade from her, he was fairly sure his Points were better spent on buying Rerolls and Potions. It was likely that the second Stage wouldn’t have an easy-to-grab Healing Item, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “See you later, Adam!” the cricket called as he went to the next vendor.

  The stall had a red overhang and a black metal counter. Atop it was a red velvet pillow holding an obsidian ten-sided die, with each golden-glowing face featuring a Roman numeral. Behind the counter stood a grey spider, which used four of its eight long legs to stand on and the other four as arms. Its head was small compared to the abdomen that hung below and its eyes were clustered together above two large mandibles that chittered slightly.

  Adam thought he might shit himself at the sight.

  “Welcome, Adam. I am Lucca.”

  The spider’s voice had a very sinister quality to it and he couldn’t stop staring at her, as though paralysed by dread.

  I hope I don’t have to fight spiders of this size in the Stages…

  She continued. “I sell Rerolls and Relics.”

  At the mention of the latter, she gestured to a black treasure chest next to her. It had the engraving of a spider on the lid. Golden light peeked out from the seam and it popped open to reveal four items.

  “My Rerolls cost 100 Points. The price of the Relics is based on their rarity, with Common being worth 150, Uncommon 300, Rare 500, Epic 1000, and so on. If you do not like the options I have, you can always Reroll them.

  “I will also buy any Relics of yours for half their worth. For example, you could sell me your Duellist’s Glove for 250 Points.”

  The mention of prices and the fact that he could sell his Glove to earn Points, immediately snapped him out of his wide-eyed stare. He turned to look at the four Relics hovering above the treasure chest.

  < < Relics For Sale > >

  < Healing Apple (Common) — If the Player’s health falls below 25%, this apple is consumed, healing them back to full. Once consumed, the Relic disappears >

  < Blink Ring (Uncommon) — Charged attacks are performed instantaneously when you blink >

  < Committed Attack Ring (Uncommon) — All Cooldown-based Relics gain a second use that can be triggered within 10 seconds of the first activation, but the cooldown is tripled >

  < Scope of Insight (Rare) — Any target viewed through this Relic has their weaknesses laid bare >

  Hmm, two of these might actually have synergy with my Glove.

  “Isn’t it a conflict of interest that you also sell Rerolls?”

  “Rerolls are a type of Relic. They may even appear as a reward in any chest you find within a Stage.”

  That’s an odd way to phrase that. Is she saying there are more chests than just the one after the Boss?

  “So, let’s say I wanted to buy the Blink Ring. It would cost me 300 Points, right?”

  “It would. If you sold me the Relic you’re wearing, you could even buy two Uncommon Relics or one Rare,” she said, her voice seeming even more sinister than it already was. He was fairly confident she just wanted him to take a bad deal, since her profit was way higher the rarer the item was.

  “Shitbox, can I sell my things to other people in the Tavern?”

  [No. Trade between Players is prohibited.]

  Okay, so I don’t actually have a choice if I want to get rid of a Relic.

  [However, any unused Relic can be stored in the Player House.]

  “Has any other Players attained these Relics you’re offering me?” I asked the spider.

  Apparently this wasn’t prohibited information, since Lucca answered, “All items you see are potential rewards of Stage One.”

  “Which means the Relics you sell will change the further I progress?”

  “I am not allowed to answer that.”

  “Figures.”

  I wonder if the Blink Ring works the way I think it does. It might be worth asking other people in the Dimensional Tavern.

  Adam read through the four options once more. “Alright well, I’ll be back later I think.”

  “I know. Until then, Adam.”

  He went to the last stall, where a silverfish was jittering while standing on two of its six legs, using the rest to rapidly clean down the stone counter in front of itself. The overhang was yellow.

  “Uh, hi?”

  “Hi! Nelly. That’s my name. Weapons. I sell those.” The silverfish’s voice was high-pitched and hurried, but had a cheerful tone to it.

  “What do you have?”

  Nelly pointed to a stone block next to her and it came to life, displaying four items above. A bow, a spear, a two-handed sword, and a spell staff.

  < < Weapon Types For Sale > >

  < Archer (Common) >

  < Lancer (Common) >

  < Warrior (Common) >

  < Spellcaster (Uncommon) >

  I forgot that Spellcaster was a rarer type. That introduction was really unhelpful… It’s like they set people up for failure.

  “How much do they cost?”

  “Common is 500, Uncommon is 1000, Rare is 2000, and Epic is 5000. They are not upgraded. You want something else, use a Reroll.”

  “Can I sell you my weapon?”

  Shitbox answered in her place. [It is not possible to sell your weapon. However, you will lose your current weapon and its upgrades if you purchase another.]

  “That’s a dumb system… Guess I’ll come back after next Stage,” he told the silverfish.

  “Okay! Bye Adam!”

  If I find someone with the Blink Ring inside the Tavern who can tell me how it works, I might end up buying it, since there’s something I want to try. Otherwise, I might just buy two small Healing Potions and a Reroll.

  After what had felt like hours of perusing the stalls, Adam left the Market and headed towards the south of Interim Island, all while Yenna’s guitar melody followed him.