Maximilian ducked an open hand strike a second before a bolt of bluish-white electricity slammed into the puppet attacking him. The creature fascinated him. This was the third time he had blown a hole in it, and once again, it had repaired itself. It wasn't an all-mighty opponent; the thing had limits. From what he could tell, the doll was a bit like a robot. It had a core inside its center, where a dantian would be located. This core had a limited amount of spiritual energy. That spiritual energy animated the thing. The more damage he caused, the faster he would drain it. He could crush the thing. He was stronger—his musings were interrupted when the wall to his right collapsed. Two more puppets shot out to attack him. He kept calm and expanded his Dao fields, one after another. As if this were a dance he had done countless times before, he avoided all three attacks. His Dao fields interrupted their collaboration just enough to make it possible. He knew what he was doing wasn't smart. He had already verified he could progress his quest if he fought two of them. Yet, he pushed himself. These were the strongest enemies he had faced in a while. They were his best bet at getting stronger. His danger sense warned him in time to dodge another strike. This time, he unleashed a blade of wind. He intended to sever the limb but only managed to cut halfway through. The dolls were made of the most durable stone he had ever seen. It put everything they had on Earth to shame. He wanted to take some of it with him, but it was impossible.

  He unleashed another blast of dao when his gut told him his time was up. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he activated an imbued Severing Disc. The twin blades shot out and split two of the three puppets in half. A second later, Maximilian was running. He felt the master puppet lock onto him, which meant it was time to go. He didn't understand just how strong it was, but he wasn't ready to fight it. He couldn't tell how strong it was. Not exactly. If he had to guess, he would estimate it to be around level 36 or 37. His danger sense screamed a warning, and he expanded and formed a wall with all three of his dao. The barrier lasted less than a second, but it was enough to make a difference. He leapt through an open window and sprinted through the building. He wasn't sure why, but the puppets couldn't enter the structures. Part of him felt it was a trick. One that would lull them into a false sense of security, but he had already done this four times, and it hadn't failed. When he was sure that the puppet was no longer after him, he made his way back to Alejandro's hiding place. He found the swordsman leaning against the entrance. Rapier in one hand.

  "You are insane. You know that, right?" He asked.

  Maximilian chuckled and took a seat against a nearby wall. He closed his eyes to focus on his recovery. "Am I? The rules have changed, and so far, my strategy has worked. I would posit that everyone else has gone insane."

  Alejandro went quiet for several moments before he gave up. Maximilian let the man face his thoughts as he started up his cultivation technique. His quest was progressing nicely, but he needed to pace himself. The leader-type puppet would be after him for a few more minutes, which meant he was stuck. He wasn't ready to fight one, though he could tell he was getting close. That wasn't his only reason, of course. He turned his attention to his dantian. He was at the threshold for a new level, which meant more attributes and a boost to his power. He only wished he had spirit stones. He could have leveled a long time ago. He took a breath and steadied his heart.

  There was no point in worrying about what could have been. The truth was, he had what he had. He needed to deal with it. He let the energy pour into the dantian until the rising tide spilled over. Pushing to level 29 wasn't as exciting as level 27, but it was what he needed. He decided not to spend his new attributes right away. He already knew where they were going, and at the moment, he needed to enhance his combat effectiveness. He needed to ensure he had sufficient spiritual energy to continue fighting. He would rest for an hour and set out again. With any luck, he would complete his skill quest before the trial was over.

  An hour later, Maximilian sprinted through the ruined streets. He decided to stay on the outer edges of the city. That way, he would limit his exposure to the puppets while giving himself plenty of buildings to escape into. The flashes of light and sounds of battle had slowly ebbed as the night progressed. He hoped that was because most people had settled down and not because they had been killed. He hoped that most people would have enough sense to bow out when things got too dangerous, but he wouldn't hold his breath. After all, he convinced himself to gamble with his safety. He wasn't the only person who wanted power. His musings were interrupted when his danger sense alerted him to an impending attack. He pushed off on his right foot and shot into an alley to his right as two more puppets arrived. When he saw that both of them were the standard types, his anxiety turned to excitement. Electricity arced around him as he unleashed attacks at both of them. Both puppets blocked, but it wasn't enough. They were forced back almost five feet. Maximilian didn't give them the chance to respond. Wind, Rain, and electricity pummeled them one after the other. He doubted he could crush both of them in a blitz, but the better he did now, the easier the future would be. The puppets soon regained their footing and launched a joint counterattack.

  Maximilian narrowly avoided one strike and caught the second. He was forced back several steps due to the difference in strength. He unleashed his dao fields as the second puppet arrived. He side-stepped another strike and sent a blade of wind into its neck. He slashed less than a quarter of the way through its neck before his attack was exhausted. Spiritual energy surged into his fist as he followed up with a straight jab. The impact thundered out as his fist met stone. Several cracks spread across the front of its face, but the puppet was undaunted. He activated Prismatic Barrier right before the second puppet arrived. He unleashed a lance of electricity, followed by Static Bolt. His eyes narrowed as both puppets attacked. His defensive skill consumed spiritual energy as he held off their assault. It didn't take a genius to determine what would happen next. The puppets were a challenge when he held himself back, but when he used his skills? He activated Severing Disc. The first puppet was split in two almost as soon as the blades appeared. While the second managed a bit longer. It attempted to punch through the energy construct, but its hand and arm were split in the process. Maximilian waited for the kill energy to confirm the kill before he moved on. He braced himself in case the brief battle had drawn the attention of one of the stronger puppets, but nothing happened. He decided to stay cautious and entered a nearby building. As soon as he entered, he knew it was the correct choice.

  The building was a large office. One that reminded him a bit of the entrance to a mall. His eyes fell on a central pillar with what appeared to be a map engraved on all four sides. His inner skeptic prevented him from rushing straight to it. It was possible that this place was intended for new arrivals and would therefore be safe, but he wouldn't put it past the Network to have an array here. One that would blast him or trap him if he wasn't careful. His danger sense was quiet, which was a point in the "safe" column. He took a stock of the rest of the room.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  In front of the pillar was a stone desk that made him think of a reception area. Only there was no one here. Neither person nor puppet. To his right was an empty area with a rectangular box. Based on the symbols carved into the stone, it had once held an array. An array that was long since destroyed. The scene was oddly mundane. If he had ignored the stone, he would have thought that place was no different than a waiting room back on Earth. He made his way over to the desk. As soon as he was close enough to touch the stone, something scanned him. The process happened so quickly that he had no time to react. He braced himself for an attack, but nothing happened. His danger sense was silent, which prompted him to scan his channels and core. He found nothing. He was just about to chalk it up to a misfire when he noticed something on the counter. It was a stone slip that hadn't been there before. The slip was about six inches long and was made of the same stone as the puppets.

  He picked it up and sent a bit of energy inside. The information he got back made him grin. He had really found a registration office. The office had awarded him the status of "guest," which should have allowed him access to all public buildings. He should be able to bypass the arrays. It wouldn't let him into the houses, which were where the good stuff would be, but this was enough. He would need to bring Alejandro by later. Their exploration would go a lot smoother if he could avoid the arrays. He released his Dao, hoping that whatever had scanned him would upgrade his status, but that didn't work. Either there was a hidden requirement, he wasn't strong enough, or the Network had capped it somehow. Not that he cared. The map was the more valuable thing as far as he was concerned. He strode over to it and nodded. The city was comprised of concentric circles. He was in the outer circle, which was essentially a tourist zone. He selected a few places he would like to visit, but the majority weren't worth it. The next zone was a mercantile district. There were several points where he could enter, but the map made it clear that he had to go through one of those places. He couldn't jump over a building and land. Not without being targeted by the guards or, in this case, the arrays. There was an inner ring, which was the governmental plaza. He assumed that was where he'd find all the essential stuff. He wanted to get back ot his training as soon as possible, but this building had the potential to explain more about this place. Information that might shed light on what was happening. He took a moment to commit the map to memory before he explored the rest of the building.

  An hour later, he rolled his shoulders. The building hadn't provided too much more information. The city was Xianbei City, an independent city located on a much larger continent. It was considered a peak rank-two faction, which wasn't particularly impressive, at least not by the standards at the time. They were middle of the road. Which only made the city stranger. Nothing here should warrant the large-scale battle that took place. His current theory was that one of two things happened. Either the city turned on itself for some reason. Perhaps starvation, perhaps an external threat. Either way, the city fell into chaos. It was either that or the city had gotten something it shouldn't have. A treasure, a weapon, a person, something that made the nearby factions descend on it like vultures. The city wasn't strong enough to survive that kind of attention. He hoped it was the latter. If the item was still in the city, then they might be able to find it. Of course, if it were that valuable, it might not be worth having. The last thing Earth needed was something to draw eyes before we were ready to deal with it. If he could sell it, though? That would be a whole different can of worms. He would need to do it in a way that concealed the origin of the item. He shook his head and focused on the present moment. Right now, he needed to focus on his quest and surviving the night. Everything else would be dealt with in time. He took a moment to relax before he headed back toward Alejandro. He suppressed his Dao fields as he sprinted through the ruined streets.

  He encountered three more puppets along the way. He decided not to train against them this time. Opting instead to unleash his full power all at once. He dispatched them without much difficulty. By the time he returned to Alejandro, the sun had started to come up. He gave the man a brief explanation of where he had been before settling into a meditation session. Unlike his early session, this one was purely to rest. He wasn't sure what the next day would bring, so it was best to get some rest while he could. He opened his eyes a few hours later and cracked his fingers. The sun had fully risen. Which meant it was time to get moving.

  "Did the puppets disappear with the sun?" Maximilian asked as he joined Alejandro by the entrance.

  The swordsman gave him a curt nod and then shook his head. "It was strange. I didn't see them leave. They just weren't around anymore. I wasn't sure if it was because they gradually pulled back until they were gone or if they somehow disappeared."

  Maximilian shrugged. "Can't say one way or the other. We know the Network can teleport things in and out, so it's possible that it removed them. This place is also massive. It wouldn't be difficult for the puppets to disappear amongst the streets—either way, we should set out. I am willing to bet that most people won't head out immediately. Everyone who survived the night would need to take stock of the situation. Whether or not they want to continue. If we are going to get you some credentials. We should go now."

  "Se?or, I've got to be honest with you. I still doubt what you said is true. I mean, I believe you, but it sounds convenient. A. I could handle stuff like this before everything, but I hadn't expected a fantasy city like this to have something like that." He said as they took off.

  Maximilian nodded. "It's a bit weird, but it makes sense. The Network said we had just reached the threshold for induction into the Network. It's possible that we were behind in just about everything. If that's the case, then we should expect a lot more things. We could consider the puppets an advanced type of robot."

  "Yeah, which is a bit fucked. Could you imagine what would happen if we encountered anything in space? If we brought those puppets to Earth, we might've ended the world."

  Maximilian wasn't sure how to answer that. That question had bounced around the back of his head for a while now. Why hadn't they found life before this? Sure, they hadn't figured out how to go beyond the Milky Way, but was that all? Or had someone, or rather something, prevented it. It was a sobering thought. They had been like children playing with a grenade. One wrong move could have ended everything. Fortunately, Maximilian was spared from his musing when they arrived at the office. He waited in the entrance in case something went wrong, but he shouldn't have worried. Alejandro received the same credentials as him. He then reviewed the map before joining Maximilian at the entrance.

  "With that taken care of, I think he should head toward the mercantile circle. I could use some new equipment. Or at least stuff to fill my bag." Alejandro began.

  Maximilian shook his head. "We will definitely head in that direction, but I want to go toward the herb display. I don't think the Network will open the next part of the city yet. It feels like this trial is designed a bit like a death trap. One where the space we can operate in gets smaller and smaller. "

  "You mean like one of those battle royale games? That makes a bit of sense, but if that's the case, then the inner reaches will be a blood bath."

  Maximilian nodded as they started up again. "Yeah. I assume that's where the best gear will be as well. The Network will encourage us to fight in a king-of-the-hill style."

  "That seems like a pretty big assumption. I mean, I can see the thought process, especially if your assumption about the city's history is right."

  "You will have to decide if you want to continue. I am not sure I can protect you during a battle like that."

  Alejandro went quiet after that. Maximilian decided to let him have the time to think. He wasn't sure how the rest of the trial was going to go but he knew it wouldn't be simple.