Nothing happened as I looked around; in fact, the forest was eerily silent. None of the sounds you would expect in a forest just the occasional gust of wind and my nervous breathing. After standing there for a few more minutes, I decided I couldn't just wait around.

So gripping my sword in hand I started to move through the undergrowth. It wasn't long before I stumbled into a sort of clearing that looked almost artificial. The trees formed an almost perfect surround creating a small six-foot circle of dirt.

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My heart rate rose as I guessed anything this different had to be part of the test.

The tower didn't leave me disappointed because a few moments later, I sensed movement from behind me. I turned around just in time to see a ma.s.sive tiger leaping at me. Its front claws slas.h.i.+ng down with the obvious intent to disembowel me.

My body reacted unnaturally fast as my sword formed a perfect ark while I sidestepped the lunge. It caught the tiger at the neck, decapitating it as it thumped onto the ground lifeless.

I forced my breathing to slow as I stared at my sword. I may have been good at sword fighting before, but this level of reaction is on another level.

I guess I made the right choices with my points previously. I grinned. Maybe I had a chance of making it threw this h.e.l.l.

My excitement was quickly dampened when I looked down at my wrist and realized I still had no black mark. What did I have to do to pa.s.s this so-called test?

That's when I sensed movement once again outside the clearing. This time though, it was coming from multiple directions. I quickly raised my sword, prepared for what was coming.

From two directions, tigers jumped out once again their bared fangs the size of daggers as they tried to rip me to shreds.

I jumped backward moving out of range of their lung while thrusting at one of the tigers catching it in the eye before bringing my sword up to defend against the remaining threat.

It circled me for a moment before once again lunging at me. This time I quickly sidestepped and sliced the tiger in half.

Looking down at my wrist, I realized this still wasn't enough for the test and prepared for the next wave. They came quickly, and I could sense three of them. At least this tower seemed to like being predictable.

All three jumped out with perfect timing. This time my dodge was only able to dodge two of them as I blocked the third tiger with my sword.

Much to my surprise though, instead of being overwhelmed by the weight of the beast, my hasty block threw him across the clearing knocking one of the other tigers over in a sprawl of limbs. It seemed I was still underestimating this new body.

With renewed confidence, I approached the tigers and went on the attack.

My sword swung down before they could ready for their next lunge cutting through the front tiger before it could react. I then carried my momentum forward, catching the second tiger with an upward swing and bisecting it.

The third tiger tried to lunge at me then, but I caught it with a kick sending it flying into a tree which splintered and collapsed crus.h.i.+ng the tiger.

With the three tigers eliminated, I realized I wasn't even breathing hard. I started laughing at the absurdity of my kicking around tigers like they were house cats. Maybe this tower wouldn't be so hard. I did manage to get one of the strongest races available.

It wasn't long, though, before I heard movement once again. Unsurprisingly it was coming from four directions. It wasn't long before they pounced once again.

This time though there wasn't any panic as I causally took a step back, dodging two of the lunges before bringing up my sword in one direction and a kick in another. Slicing one tiger in half and sending the other flying into the forest.

With two tigers left, I made short work of them quickly dispatching them with my superior speed and strength. As soon as the last tiger was killed I felt a burning sensation in my wrist and a black symbol formed.

I grinned I made it. At least, according to Matt, whether I could trust him or not was still to be seen. I had no intention of letting myself be killed until I was certain it wasn't going to be permanent.

The pain in my wrist wasn't the only change to happen with the death of the last tiger. A section of the trees seemed to melt into the ground quickly form an una.s.suming dirt path.

Figuring this was the way I was supposed to go, I started following the path wary for any sudden movements. Nothing came though, and I quickly found myself in another clearing nearly identical to the first just larger.

Once I entered the clearing, I didn't have to wait long before I sensed movement. Though this time, it wasn't the stealthy movement of a tiger's prowl. Instead, it was a thunderous charge of some behemoth. It quickly emerged from the screen of trees, revealing itself to be a ma.s.sive brown bear.

It was double the size of any I had seen in museums on earth. It towered at least 15 feet high as it raised, sending its ma.s.sive paw towards me.

I quickly dodged out of the way it's speed still paling in comparison to mine. Yet when I moved back, something extended from its claws landing on my chest, tearing threw my s.h.i.+rt and sending up a set of sparks as it met my skin.

I was surprised both with my body's resistance and the fact that the bear was using some kind of magic. I noticed that now coming out of its paws was a set of what looking like stone claws chipped at the end where they had met my skin.

I didn't enjoy the idea of testing just how durable I was, so I quickly struck out with my sword, aiming for its head. It tried to s.h.i.+ft backward, but my sword was faster, adjusting the strike to catch it in the neck.

It tried forming a layer of rock with its magic, but my sword tore right through it almost decapitating the ma.s.sive bear. It tried to charge me after the strike but quickly collapsed before it could reach me.

With its death, the trees melted away, causing me to let out a sigh of relief at not having to fight two of those monsters. Of course, the relief was short-lived, knowing I would be presumably fighting something even more dangerous than magic bears next.

I arrived at another identical clearing this one about the same size as the first one. It seems they weren't going to keep getting bigger. I paused, waiting for the next beast.

I heard a slight rustle and turned but was still to slow as what seemed like a giant praying mantis leaped from the trees. It's arms where two large blades which swept down at me with a surprising speed cutting apart the very air.

I was able to bring my sword up, deflecting one of its arms while attempting to dodge out of the way of the other.

I wasn't quite fast enough as it caught me along my waist, leaving a shallow scratch. Turns out, even if it wasn't able to cut me deeply, it could still hurt me. Now I had to be truly serious. I held my sword up, wary of its next attack.

I noticed a slight movement of its arm signaling an attack. Quickly reacting, I moved to the side, dodging one of its swipes and deflecting the other than following with a kick to its abdomen. It went cras.h.i.+ng into the tree line, but unlike the tigers, it picked itself up though it seemed to be moving slower clearly injured.

Not wanting to continue being on the defensive, I quickly charged towards it before it fully regained its feet and swept my sword down. It attempted to block with its arms, but I cut right through them, bisecting the oversized insect.

I calmed my breathing as the next path opened up, urging me onward. I checked my wound that was only leaking a few drops of to my surprise silver blood. It seems I'm quite different from the human I used to be. With a shrug, I moved onward, dreading the next opponent I would face.