Aura's vision of her familiar room faded into darkness and she was surrounded by a deafening silence. She couldn't feel her body or even hear her own breathing.
Before panic could set in a warm feeling washed over her. Her consciousness slipped away…whats happening…a single weak thought flicker before fading…time passed.
Suddenly sight and sound returned and her body registered that she was standing on solid ground.
However before she could form any coherent thought she was overcome by dizziness and nausea. She collapsed and threw up.
It took several moments for her head to clear and her stomach to settle. As she started to recover, memories flooded back and the first thought, since the so called teleportation, entered her mind.
What the hell was that message…. Galaxy alliance… teleportation. A sense of foreboding filled Aura, her head snapped up taking in the surroundings.
She was greeted by a dark sky filled with black clouds that flickered with purple lightning accompanied by loud peels of thunder, but no rainfall.
Thoughts raced though Aura's mind again…Don't panic….Don't panic…panicking will get you killed…Observe, learn, plan and then react…she recited in an effort to remain calm. It was advice her Sword-master, Tedrick always told her during practice.
Taking a deep breath, Aura refocused on her surroundings. The ground seem to be littered with small pebbles, and when the lighting lit up the area, she noticed that the landscape was covered in different size sphere shaped rocks, almost like a giant had throw a large bucket of marbles everywhere.
The smallest ones were about a meter high, the larger ones were like small hills bordering on becoming tiny mountains but not quite their shapes casting eerie shadows when the lightning flashed.
Some of the boulders had what appeared to be luminescent crystals of various colours growing on them which offered some light in the dark landscape, allowing her to see further then one normally would in such an environment.
Before she could take in anymore details about her surroundings, she heard a familiar voice in her head.
[Welcome Aura to the Galaxy Alliance Recruitment Trial. You are one of the lucky few chosen for the privilege of participating in this Trial]
[Assigined Mission]
[Goal 1: Reunite with your teammates.]
[Goal 2: With your teammates, head to the pick up point while surviving attacks from void spawn]
[You have 24 hours to complete the mission. Time can be displayed on the left wrist of you combat suit. Please say "Display timer" to make it appear.]
Mission…teammates…void spawn monsters from the game…thought Aura as she tried to take in everything the Voice was saying.
Huh… combat suit…she quickly examined herself and realised that she was dressed in a tight-fitting black combat suit made out of strange flexible material.
So not only have I been teleport against my will but also undressed and redressed…whoever is responsible is dead…she thought as anger and embarrassment coursed through her. Aura thoughts were interrupted by the voice repeating the same message insistently.
[Waiting for participant to say "display timer"]
"Fine." Aura raised her left wrist "display timer" she snapped. Immediately a blue lit twenty-four hour display appeared on the inner left wrist armour of her suit.
[24:00:00]
As soon as the countdown appeared she heard the voice again.
[You have 1 hour of preparation before the timer for the trial starts. During this time you are confined to a 10 meter safe zone. You will receive a verbal warning when you have 1 minute of the preparation hour left]
[it is strongly suggested that you familiarise yourself with the combat suits manual during this time. Double tap you left wrist to make the manual appear.]
[Good Luck. We hope you perform well]
"So, summing up the predicament I'm in" muttered Aura to herself, while attempting to keep calm, as she stood up and moved to sit on a medium size bolder decorated with several glowing crystals.
"I've been teleported to god knows where, undressed and redressed by people who for all intents and purposes are now walking corpses, am being forced to participate in a recruitment trial for some Alliance, have to fight void spawn that should only exist in a game, and a stupid voice tells me I'm lucky to be here…hmm hate to see what they call bad luck." Her words dripping with sarcasm as she finished her rant.
"What the hell have I fallen into…a novel" continued Aura, only to suddenly freeze as a thought enter her mind…Navi, Kai and Lucas…they all saw the same message as me…shit they most likely have been teleported too…probably my teammates mentioned in the trail missions…Navi…Damn I need to find them…no stop don't panic…Observe, learn, plan and then react…I have 1 hour till the trail starts…less now…lets start with the suits manual…she decided, as she fought to suppressing her worry and concerns about the current situation she and very likely people important to her were in.
Aura raised her wrist and double tapped the armour, a holographic screen about thirteen inches in height appeared above her lower left arm and a voice in her head spoke.
[Welcome to the Galaxy Alliance Combat Suit. I am the suits built in AI, please select a name for me to respond too when needed]
"Hang on…how have you and that other AI that introduced the Trial been talking in my head?" asked Aura irritated, worried that while she had been unconscious they had implant something in her head, but also slightly curious.
[All Galaxy Alliance Combat suit AI's have telepathic communication capabilities]
Aura was momentarily stunned… telepathic AI…how does that even work…the AI voice interrupted her thoughts.
[Please choose a name]
A name…lets see…"Chloe" voice Aura with the first name she could think of.
[Pleasure to meet you, my name is now Chloe, how can I assist you?]
"Can you give me a brief outline of the suit's capabilities and how it works" Aura immediately replied.
[Yes. The Galaxy Alliance basic combat suit was create using Mana technology for the sole purpose of training recruits]
[The suit is powered by a basic artificial Mana core designed by the Galaxy Alliance]
"Wait, wait, wait" Aura interrupted the AI "did you just say mana as in energy that lets you do magic, like spells?" a mix of disbelief, shock and surprise evident in her voice.
[Yes. For this trial the suit is equip to provide 3 spells of your choosing from a list of available stored spells]
[Please be aware that as you can not wield mana. The suit will provide the mana need for the spells. However the suits mana is limited, please use it wisely]
Aura's thoughts churned… so yes to magic in some form…spells are mentioned…but vastly different from the game…hmm…lets check…"Chloe can you explain how mana works and the cost of spells?"
[Mana is the energy or fuel that is responsible for creating everything. Most people can't sense it unless exposed to very high concentrations and remain oblivious to its existence, apart from a few selected races that are born with mana, and those with a mana related talent. A person can train to feel it, but it can take more time to master then most are willing to spend learning.]
[The cost of mana for spells varies depending on mana talent and the spell being cast, higher tier spells will naturally cost more mana].
[The basic combat suit uses mana at Tier 1 and only provides Tier 1 spells. Most spells at this level can be cast approximately 15 times with the suits current mana stored]
Aura was silent as she absorbed the information the AI had just revealed. Magic…real magic…she was always fascinated by magic….it would be a challenge yes but if she could learn it….the rewards would be worth it…the magic system was different from the game though…at the moment the only thing similar to the game was the void spawn threat and the combat suits style… hmm…the suit offers 3 spells and 15 casts with the suits current stored mana…so 5 casts per spell….need to be careful what spells I pick…a combination of attack and defence…wait attack…"Chloe can the suit provide a weapon?"
[Yes. The suit can also provide you with 1 weapon of you choice from the stored weapons list. Would you like to view the list and choose one?]
"Does the list contain twin short swords as a option?"
[Yes]
"I chose twin short swords then" Aura stated decisively.
[Affirmative. Generating weapons choice.]
In front of Aura blue light gathering and got brighter taking on the shape of two short sword that slowly solidified and then remained hovering in front of her.
The Holographic screen on Aura's wrist disappeared as she reached out to grip a blade handle in each hand. Slowly and then faster, as if performing a gracefully dance, she executed a few sword techniques.
Nice..she thought as she finished the last move…they are well balanced and perfect for my build. "Chole what other features does the suit have?" but this time she was not just asking out of necessity for the trial, but because she was also genuinely interested.
[The suits other features include a short-range telepathic communications mana crystal, a life-sign detector, two meal rations and a basic med kit]
"Huh…a communication crystal … Chloe can I use it now" her voiced laced with hope at the possibility of contacting Navi, Kai and Lucas.
[Negative, all communication are blocked till the start of the trial]
"Of course it is…damn" Aura swore in frustration. "Chloe, how long have we been talking
[27 minutes]
So thirty three minutes till the trial starts..lets see what spells are on offer…"Chloe display the available spells lists" Aura order feeling some excitement despite the situation.
[Displaying spells list]
The holographic screen above her arm appeared again. As she skimmed through the names and descriptions in the list, Aura's eyes widened and lit up…Now I wonder what I should choose…