(Zack)

Before I begin the slaughter, I pull several potions out of my Inventory and throw them as high as I can, using all of my Strength to do so.

Then, I Jump off the roof, soaring high above the center of the street. As soon as I'm there, I twist around, throwing the spear at the ground. It drives down a full foot past the head, and I drop down, flipping so that I land on the butt of the shaft with my left foot, my right foot standing on air, positioned behind it as I draw my swords.

"I don't have a shield," I tell the goblin army. "So you'll have to deal with me using two swords instead."

Now that they've been informed of that, I jump off the spear, twisting to the side to avoid some sort of arc slash. I cut through four goblins before landing, lifting my blades up in an X to stop another from slicing into my head.

Moving my wrists together quickly, I cut their blade as if using big, super-sharp scissors, then as the goblin pulls back in shock, spin with both blades out, killing the goblins around me, then jerk to the side, stopping a frost-covered blade from cutting me with Zack's Holiday.

Elite Frost Goblin Knight. Tough fucker, huh?

Only until I run my swords through him with Zack's Blood, then move on to the next-nearest goblin as I trigger Shroud of Darkness and Aura of Darkness, lashing out with Dark Strike at any goblin that comes too near.

Or that I get too near to.

As I battle, I observe and learn the different types of goblins. Frost Goblin Knights imbue their weapon attacks with the power of frost, while Flame Goblin Knights do that, but with fire. Spring Goblin Knights are annoying, as they can manifest vines from the ground to either try to trap me or create a shield.

Blood Goblins seem to be a blood-focused version of Dark Knights, but for goblins, as they do drain their own Health in their attempts to kill me, City Goblin Knights are just stronger versions of Goblin Soldiers, but using shields more often. Not as strong as Goblin Knights. Light Goblins have an annoying tendency to illuminate their blades or flash bright lights at me, causing me to need to rely on my ears and the air until the spots fade from my vision.

Dark Goblins are probably the most annoying of them. They can feed off my Shroud and Aura, though thankfully, none of them manage to actually hurt me.

Lunging forward, I jump a little into the air, just over the head of a goblin, and grab the potion, draining it and tossing it to the side before I hit the ground.

Well, a goblin, but then we hit the ground from the momentum, and only one of us stands back up, flinging another potion into the air as I continue my assault. It only takes me three Bounty Beast kills before I manage to master Champion.

As soon as I do, I carve a path to the spear, yanking it out of the ground and thrusting it through the stomach of the nearest goblin, immediately acquiring Spear Mastery, allowing me to take on Novice Spearman, so I do.

The spear is fun to use, but I have to keep switching between it and my swords, and I switch it between hands as well. I fucking love being ambidextrous.

A few times, I Jump into the air, then hurl the spear, or the spear and myself, down, creating craters in the ground while killing several goblins at once. A few of the Spring Goblin Knights create barriers of vines when I do that, which are annoying.

Spitting vine-leafs out of my mouth, I impale the nearest Spring Goblin Knight, then turn around and impale another goblin, before pausing.

"Didn't I already kill you?"

The thing's already got the signs of being killed, such as a sword puncture already running through its neck. I can even see the other side. Oh, fuck. This one's called an Undead Goblin Knight.

Wonderful. I guess that's what a Goblin Death Knight can do, huh? They're necromancers.

Not as cool as I was hoping for.

The zomblins are annoying to work with, and I do my best to hunt down the Goblin Death Knight, but it's keeping its distance from me. It knows its death will come. Probably because it's the only way I can think of to stop the damn zomblins.

Oh, wait. I can cut off their arms and legs, can't I?

Yep, that works.

Something impacts my back, and I spin around, slashing with my spear and killing the Flame Goblin Knight that tried killing me.

"Take that, bitch!" I stick my tongue out, before resuming dismembering zomblins.

As the battle draws on, I feel myself growing weak and exhausted. I had not planned on zombies appearing here. I was thinking something like a mix of dark and blood magic from the death knight, not necromancy.

After all, it didn't say it was a Necromancer Goblin Knight, and I didn't play any video games back in reality where Death Knights could bring back the dead. I mean, I'm sure some existed, I just never played any that had that feature.

Even with my growing exhaustion, however, I'm confident I can win this fight. Spearman uses the same second-Skill as Knight, which means I already have it up. The more I fight, the more Experience I acquire.

All I have to do is kill that damn Death Knight, and all my problems will go away, so I begin hunting it down, jumping into the air and launching my spear at it, memorizing the direction it moves while throwing my knives at it.

I hear it cry out in pain as I drop back down, then I carve a path through to it, Rage building up within me. Keep it tempered though, Zack. Don't let it get too high, or you could potentially…

Actually, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but it's still best to keep it tempered. Never know what'll happen, I black out again.

Reaching the Death Knight, I find it pulling my knives out, though it blocks my twin strike with its sword. The blade itself is black as night, with a few skull imprints on it in dark grey. The hilt is decorated like bones and a skull, with the pommel a bone hand gripping a black stone.

The Goblin Death Knight itself is a darker green than most goblins, and from what little skin I can see – a rarity in and of itself – it's well-built, even if it's only the same height as me. Then again, I am, too.

Moving on, it's dressed in black armor decorated with skulls and bones done in white and dark grey. Its ears are a little bit more pointed than other goblins', and its black eyes show me far more intelligence than I've seen in a goblin before.

"Hi," I say. "I'm Zack."

The goblin chatters at me, and I take a step back, swinging my sword in an attempt to cut off its head, only to find it blocked by its own blade. It knows to deflect my swords against the flat of their blades, rather than against their edges.

Guess it saw me cut through weapons too many times.

As my other sword swings to cut through its legs, I find the goblin deflecting it with my Spook Knife.

"Hey!" I kick it in the stomach, causing it to stumble back. Wow, that actually hurt. Guess its armor's pretty tough. "That's my knife!"

I slash through the incoming goblins, then charge the death knight, striking out at it again, only to find my attacks deflected once more. I continue to attack the bastard and thief as I kill any goblins that try to interfere with our fight.

He doesn't seem to be raising their corpses into Undead Goblins, making me curious as to what he needs for that. Is fighting me preventing him from doing it in some way?

The death knight's blade strikes the exposed part of my right arm, barely cutting it, and it lets out a triumphant sound, before frowning. If it doesn't see hurting me as something to be proud of, then the fuck was that sound for?

Curses. Fucking death knight thought it hit me with a curse, didn't it? But that's magic, which my armor draws away.

My armor and my sword. It's why none of the magic goblins' attacks have really done anything to me – the magic's neutralized quickly. The only reason the Spring Goblins' vines even work against me partly is because they're grown magically, but they themselves aren't magic.

"I bet your daddy'd be so happy, you failing to curse me!" I taunt it, and by its angry response, my guess was right. "Ha! 'Look at me, Daddy! I'm such a big, bad death knight, but I can't even curse one lousy little kid!' Ha!"

The death knight charges me, and I start deflecting its enraged blows. I need to finish this fight fast so I can focus on killing what remains of the army. Some of it's helping me with that on their own, coming to their deaths, but there are still a couple hundred, outside of the zomblins.

As I battle, my Spearman Level continues to grow, even advancing as soon as my Spear Mastery hits the required thresholds. The secondary Skill it needs is the same as Knight, luckily, though I'll still need Impact Drop once it's time to move on to the final Tier.

The death knight manages to cut me again, though this one's even shallower than the previous, my growing Endurance making me tougher.

I stab at it with the spear, and it jumps back. I stab the spear into the ground, pull both of my swords from the goblins I left them in, sheathe them, then grab the spear and Jump to the full height I can.

Twisting, I throw the spear with all my might straight down.

"Impact Drop!" I call out, triggering the Skill before kicking my feet against the sky above me with as much force and speed as I can.

For a moment, the sky feels like it's solid beneath my feet. Then, I'm soaring towards the spear at a rapid rate. The spear impacts into the ground and sinks down probably a foot, creating a shallow crater a few yards around, and I perform a flip so that I land on it with one foot.

The moment I do, the effects from Impact drop trigger, resulting in a massive shockwave, the spear sinking four feet into the ground, the land itself rippling outwards as a larger crater is forged. Only the head of the spear is actually still in the ground, due to the sheer force of the impact.

That's what this Skill does, after all.

Impact Drop Active Vastly improves the radial impact of any spear into the ground when dropped or thrown from a great height based on the force of the impact, which is also increased. The effect can be triggered by landing on a thrown spear. Impact increase: 20% per Level of this Skill Cost: 1,000 Mana

It's a Tier 4 Skill, and the one required for Dragoon, and it looks like it's the full impact, not just the spear's, that is increased. It just requires a spear to perform.

Looking around, I take in the damage. The crater I caused stretches dozens of yards due to the full impact, and the bodies of the goblins have been thrown about, buildings collapsed due to the ground beneath them suddenly shifting and flying.

It takes me a minute to find the death knight, which is half-beneath a piece of the road. Its right leg has been completely crushed.

Twirling the spear, I slam it down into the thing's chest, impaling it into the ground.

Pulling my spear out of the thing, I pick up my knife and fling it before returning to work killing goblins. Now, I can mainly use the spear, though I really need to end this soon, because I'm running out of potions to toss up and consume when they drop as well as running out of stamina itself.

As soon as Master Spearman reaches Level 10, I send the spear back into my Inventory and start kicking ass with my swords. I'm faster this way, and don't have to worry about Levels.

The moment everything around me is dead, I sheathe my blades, advance Master Spearman to Dragoon, then spend 900% of my Bonus Experience to master it. I earned two Titles, there – Dragoon and Master Adventurer. It looks like I'm one Bounty Beast shy of mastering that particular Subclass, too.

There's one more notification as well, and it's purple rather than blue. The purple of Big S, yet I'm pretty sure it's not a message from him, but a standard message for reaching Level 250.

Level 250 has been reached. You may now perform the Ascension Trial. Do you wish to? Yes No If you reject this, you may continue to acquire Skills, Skill Levels, and Titles, but you may not advance any more Class Levels or take on any more Classes. Subclasses can still be acquired if slots are left, and their Levels may continue to increase until maximum. You pull up this interface at any time.

The whole purpose of this training thing was to Ascend as quickly as possible, and the Shadow of Life left me prime for it instead of killing me. He's probably fuming, now, especially if he knows where I am.

It doesn't give me any indication of what the Ascension Trial is, though, and I'm exhausted from the fight. It would be best to rest and recover before beginning the Trial.

However, he might try to send Fallen Adventurers and strong Bounty Beasts at me, now I'm worn out. I really, really doubt I'd be able to handle something strong right now, especially if there are several of them.

What should I do?

Zack? Big S speaks to me directly.

He sounds hesitant, unsure.

"Big S?" I respond.

You don't need to rest and recover to perform the Ascension Trial, he tells me. You can simply accept it. However, it will take around thirty hours due to temporal… anomalies. At least, that's my estimation.

"Temporal anomalies?" I ask.

You'll understand when you return from the Ascension Trial, he tells me. I've been informed of your situation. You can rest if you want, but I know why you're hesitant to do that. That's why I'm letting you know now that you're fine. No resting is required for the Ascension Trial.

"Alright," I say. "Then yes, I wish to perform the Ascension Trial."

Immediately, I find myself in a Sacred Chamber. This time, I'm greeted with the sight of Big S himself, in all his violet glory. Instead of one archway on each edge, however, there are two, one that is a dark grey, one that is light, with the emblems of the other Crystals.

Big S radiates power. The others radiate authority, mystery, and so much more, but none of them actually radiate power itself. The entire chamber is filled with it, filled so thickly I could almost drag my fingers through it.

Zack Noruva, Big S's voice fills my head. You have chosen to undertake the Ascension Trial. Because you come from reality, this takes the form of living there again from the moment of your first death there.

You will spend a period of time there, and after it ends, you will die again, as fate has chosen for you. When you die, you will once again be granted the opportunity to enter the Boundary and live there again.

Before I transfer you back, you must first empty out your entire Inventory. All of it. You must also remove that which you wear, though worry not, as you will be dressed as you were when you died, being returned back to your dying body.

"Why?" I ask. "And Big S – there's no way I'd not accept the offer again."

You might, he says. Remember, Zack – that which isn't of reality cannot exist within it. All of your memories of here will not be available there, and you are not powerful enough to ensure they persist. Only once you return to this chamber and make your choice will they return.

"And my stuff?" I ask.

Zack… I just told you.

"Oh, right," I feel my face heat up.

That stuff can't exist in reality. If I bring it with me, all of it may just disappear entirely. It can't exist there, period. It's possible it'd stay, since it's in my Inventory, but even if that's the case, I need to lose my memory and connections to the Boundary, it seems.

"Why do this?" I ask. "For the trial, I mean?"

A reminder, he says. Of what it is you are fighting for. One has, before you, undergone the Ascension Trial.

I don't like the idea that someone else got here before me. They had to have been a Child of Existence, I'm sure o fit.

"So there's been an Ascended before?"

No, he responds. When it came time to make the choice, he rejected it. When you return here, you will remember your life in reality. That will affect your decision. For him, he could not stand the thought of such a life, and rejected it, moving on to death.

"Well," I grin at him. "I bet I'll be more than willing to do this fight when the time comes," I grow more serious again. "But… why do this to us? Why let us return? Why give us this choice? Why is this our Ascension Trial? I know the adventurers born in the Boundary don't do this – they can't exist in reality."

That is correct, he responds. They undergo a separate Ascension Trial, and at the end of it, are given a choice. Each of them has chosen not to continue the fight.

"How… how many?" I ask. "How many have reached here before me?"

Eighty-seven.

Eighty-seven. There have been eighty-seven who have reached Level 250 before me. Not one of them accepted the offer. That makes me a lot less confident that I will. At least one of them had to have been like me.

"Big S?" I'm a bit worried now. "Why-"

Why do we do this for the Ascension Trial? He asks, and I nod. It is simply the way it is. Now that you have accepted, there is no turning back. Empty your Inventory, Zack. The other option is to pass on to the afterlife now.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, then nod, opening up my Inventory and pulling everything out of it. There's no way I won't choose to continue on. There's no way I won't agree to the fight. I will do it.

When I finish, I take another deep breath.

"Before you do it," I say. "How are you able to return me to when I died? It's been months since then."

The Boundary exists in a flexible state, he informs me. Including a flexible temporal state. Are you ready?

"As ready as I can be," I nod.

Farewell, he tells me. When we meet again, you won't remember me. And remember that without your memories of the Boundary, you'll be back to the same irritating, annoying brat that you were before. The jerk of jerks that came before the Boundary.

Those are the last words shared between us before everything goes black.