We didn't have long to sit with the mystery of a class that officially didn't exist, because two days later every player on the server got the exact same notification, at the exact same time.
**"Ding! Kingdom Announcement: The Astia Trials will begin in 14 days. Registration is open for all players Level 30+ Top performers get Kingdom Sponsorship, real-currency prize pool and guarantyd placement in Kingdom-affiliated guilds."
That nite when we logged in the village square was quite a different place. Real crowds everyplace, where there had been only a scattered few we'd grown used to, gathered around the enormous floating scoreboard that had appeared overnight next to the fountain. ""Real currency prize pool," Tommy read aloud, his eyes practically turning into dollar signs. "How real is real?"
Dario read through the details. "First place is 50 diamond coins. Which is—"Fifty grand," I said, doing the math before he could. "Fifty thousand real dollars for first prize."
Sana whistled softly. No wonder half the server's logging in.
The Trials, the fine print said, weren't just a straightforward tournament. Three stages: a solo qualifier, a party-based gauntlet, and a final stage that the description simply called "undisclosed, difficulty: variable," which was either thrilling or deeply worrying depending on how much you trusted game designers to be fair about that sort of thing."We're doing this," Alex said. There was no questioning."Of course we'll do it," I said. "Even fifty grand in five installments is enough to make my mom stop asking me when I'm gonna get a summer job.""We need to register as a party for the gauntlet stage," Dario said, pulling up the registration window. "Solo qualifier," but only for the individual. Before the party stuff even matters, everyone has to clear that up themselves.
That part didn't stick with me like it should have. A month ago, solo anything would've scared me. I went from a hatchet-throwing panic case to a party player pretty fast, and the idea of standing alone in front of whatever the qualifier threw at players felt like going back.
But now I had Vanguard. A class that, according to every database Dario could find, should not exist. Whatever that meant it felt like it meant something, and the Trials felt like exactly the kind of stage that might tell me what.
The next two weeks we spent as you'd expect. Grinding, testing builds, running practice fights against each other until Tommy banned "pulling three packs at once" from all future strategies by unanimous vote. Dario and I found the Rally passive terrifyingly effective when the entire party was working in concert around it, on purpose rather than on accident, dropping me low on purpose at the beginning of hard fights to give everyone a damage window."That's crazy by the way after the fourth time it worked perfectly," Sana said. You're just bait with good insurance."I'd rather say 'tank with commitment issues.'That's not an improvement.
The flickering had begun again the nite before registration closed. Not the icon this time, but something new, a faint pulse along the edge of my vision when I closed my eyes to log out. I said nothing to the others. I still didn't know if this was a game thing or a me thing, and a small, cautious part of me wanted to know which before I said anything.
I registered for the solo qualifier at 11:58 PM, two minutes before the window closed, hands actually a bit shaky considering there was nothing physical on the line.
**Confirmed Registration: kenistoocoolforu69 — Astia Trials Solo Qualifier**
I had a feeling I was about to see what the top of this game really looked like for the first time.
*More to follow...*