The Trial zones in Euphoria were divided based on the difficulty of the trials one would have to face. According to the management committee, even though there were 12 zones with varying difficulties, they were mainly categorised based on the 'Zodiac Scale'. But these Zodiacs were a bit different than what the earthlings were familiar with.
"Please place your hand on this stone tablet." The alien instructed Ashton with a smile, "You will be assigned a zone for your first trial through the Euphoria's will."
"You mean the planet's will?"
Ashton was a bit surprised to hear the planet had a 'will' of its own. After all, Astaroth had not informed him about any such thing. However, the mere thought of a planet having a will of its own was a bit... 'absurd'.
[There's nothing absurd about it. Though what these fools are calling a 'will', is artificial intelligence. Once you place your hand on the tablet, it would analyse your grade, levels, skills and abilities, before allotting you a suitable trial zone.]
Ashton nodded before placing his hand on the tablet which immediately began glowing red. A moment later the glow faded away. Once the task was completed, Ashton looked back at the lady, only to see her motionlessly staring at him.
But she wasn't alone. Legit everyone around him was doing the same. The look in their eyes felt like they had seen a ghost or something.
"Is something wrong?" Ashton asked the receptionist.
"N-No, sir..." The woman replied, "It's a rare occurrence, that's all. Please take this wristband with you. It will track your progress as well as inform you once a trial has been completed successfully. You can also use it to quit the trials halfway if you wish and we'll escort you out."
She continued, "But please keep this in mind before quitting. You can only attempt a trial once every decade. Thus if you quit a trial halfway, you'll only be able to attempt it again after a decade. If you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to assist you."
"A decade? That's quite a long waiting time."
"As you can see," She pointed at the ever-growing queue behind him, "We get quite a lot of people wanting to face the trials. In order to reduce the stress on our staff as well as to maintain fairness, the long wait time was arranged so that no one could abuse the system."
'So that's why Lycaon and the rest, told us they wouldn't be able to accompany us.' Ashton thought before voicing his last query, "I see. What about the trials? How will I know what to do to complete it?"
"Generally, you just need to survive till the wristband informs you of your success. But we have been informed sometimes the trials change based on the participant. In that case, you'll be given specific instructions in the form of a quest."
"Alright, that's all I wanted to know."
"In case you ever have any doubt during the trials, you can use the FAQ section of the wristband menu. Thank you for your visit and we hope you succeed in all of the trials."
Ashton gave her a curt nod and departed to the other side where the girls were waiting for him. However, the gaze of the guards was carefully tracking their every move. It would appear the earlier problem has not been solved yet, unlike what Ashton believed.
"So, how many trials did you get?" Anna asked him beamingly, "I got six."
"Four." Irina sulkily replied.
"Three, here." Verina, on the other hand, did not seem displeased at all.
The number of trials one would get was directly in relation to their strength and potential. Also, they'll get specific trials that would make their current selves stronger. That was the reason Irina was a bit disappointed as she had technically been told she was the weakest among them.
"I haven't checked. Let me do that now..."
Saying so, Ashton tapped the wristband twice and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. On the screen, all of the trials allotted to him were listed serially. Everyone's eyes remained wide open the moment they saw the list.
__
Upon careful consideration, the user has been allotted the following trials.
>> Trial of Hydra
>> Trial of Ursa
>> Trial of Cetus
>> Trial of Eridanus
>> Trial of Ophiuchus
>> Trial of Draco
>> Trial of Centaurus
>> Trial of Pegasus
>> Trial of Andromeda
>> Trial of Auriga
>> Trial of Serpens
>> Trial of Monoceros
Please complete the trials to receive the rewards.
Note: The user has to complete the trials in the order they have been listed. Failing to do so would result in no rewards.
__
"There had to be a mistake right?" Anna mumbled, "All of the twelve trials? Is this even possible?"
The rest of them were speechless. Those who received nine trials at once were considered to become A-grade beings in the future. But if that was the case, what would they call someone who received all of the trials at once?
While everyone was in shock, Ashton and Astaroth could not help but laugh. Especially when Astaroth recalled how even he was only able to get 10 trials in one attempt. Euphoria was clearly indicating what had been obvious for quite a while.
The rare combination of genes and skills that Ashton possessed gave him the potential to become the strongest being in the galaxy. That is if he did not lose his head in the way.
"Well... it is what it is, I guess." Ashton shrugged his shoulders, "I'll just try to clear as many quests as I can and hope for the best."
***
At the same time, somewhere else on Euphoria. The 'rulers' of Euphoria had gathered to discuss business as usual when they were alerted by one of their secretaries. It seemed their 'usual' day wasn't going to be so usual after all.
"Twelve trials at once... interesting." Lodd, the ruler of the third seat smirked.
"We could have a monster on our planet." Kersi, The second seat's ruler commented, "What grade was he again?"
"It says Grade E, in the report." Halacha, Ruler of the First seat replied, "Maybe we should establish some sort of connection with him. He would be of great help to us in the future."
The rulers nodded in agreement before going over to the next issue, "A report from Leon... that's strange. That idiot usually kills anyone who causes trouble. He didn't do the same here?"
"That's the problem, sire." The secretary replied, "He couldn't kill the troublemaker."
"Interesting... very interesting..." Lodd smiled once again, "It would appear our days of boredom are over. Haha."
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