The brutal fight with the Scarabs lasted for what felt like hours. Players, both alien and human, fell. The plain became littered with the shattered shells of Crucible Scarabs and the dissolving bodies of those who failed.
Aarav, Maya, and Rohan fought side-by-side, a surprisingly effective, if chaotic, team. Aarav's [ADAPTATION] was key. He'd mimic the Martial Artist's [IRON FIST] for powerful close-up hits, then switch to a Psionic's [MIND PUSH] (a stronger version of Rohan's [MIND TOUCH]) to send a Scarab tumbling. He even used a crude [HEALING TOUCH] from a nearby Spirit Walker (a Cultivation Class) to mend Maya's scratches, earning a surprised look from her.
[AARAV SHARMA]
[LEVEL: 3 (340/1000 XP)]
[EP: 10/50]
He was tired, but alive.
Suddenly, the monstrous roars stopped. The ground stopped shaking. The remaining Scarabs froze, then shimmered and dissolved into dust. A tense silence fell over the plain.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: TRIAL 1 CONCLUDED]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVAL - ACHIEVED]
[PLANET RANKINGS PENDING]
A wave of tired relief washed over the survivors. Many collapsed where they stood.
Then, the System's voice boomed again, and a massive holographic screen appeared in the sky, visible to everyone on the entire plain.
[GLOBAL RANKING: PHASE 1 (INITIAL)]
[RANK 1: PLANET XYLOS PRIME (Xylorians) - POINTS: 12,450]
[RANK 2: PLANET K'THARR (Q'yalar) - POINTS: 11,980]
[RANK 3: PLANET NOVA PRIME (Vylos) - POINTS: 11,500]
[...]
[RANK 728: PLANET VERIDIA (Skarr) - POINTS: 4,800]
[...]
[RANK 899: PLANET THORN (Flora-folk) - POINTS: 3,100]
[RANK 900: PLANET AURORA (Light-Beings) - POINTS: 3,050]
[RANK 901: PLANET EARTH (Humans) - POINTS: 3,020]
[...]
[RANK 1000: PLANET GLOOM (Shadow-Slinks) - POINTS: 1,200]
Aarav stared. "Are you kidding me?" Earth was at Rank 901. Just barely above the line. "We almost got wiped out in the warm-up?!"
Maya put her hands on her hips. "We barely made it! I mean, good job us! But wow."
Rohan looked ready to cry again. "Just twenty points... twenty points from being on the bottom!"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PHASE 1 ELIMINATION THRESHOLD: RANK 900. PLANETS RANKED BELOW 900 AT THE END OF PHASE 1 WILL BE TERMINATED.]
[CURRENT PHASE 1 TIME REMAINING: APPROXIMATELY 9 YEARS, 11 MONTHS]
Aarav let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Okay, so we're not dead yet. But we're cutting it close."
[SYSTEM ERROR. PLANET EARTH RANKING RECALCULATED. ADJUSTED TO RANK 898 DUE TO UNIQUE PLAYER CONTRIBUTION (AARAV SHARMA).]
[PLANET EARTH: CURRENT RANK 898]
Aarav blinked. "Wait, what?" He pulled up his own personal status.
[AARAV SHARMA (EARTH)]
[PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION RANK: 1 (OUT OF ALL EARTH PLAYERS)]
[NOTE: SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON TRIAL 1 OUTCOME]
He scoffed. "Great. So I actually did something useful? And now I'm on their radar."
The massive sky screen then changed, and a new, crucial message appeared, aimed at all surviving players.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: TRIAL 2 OBJECTIVE: PARTNERING]
[EACH REMAINING PLAYER MUST FIND A 'PANTHER' OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER FROM THEIR HOME PLANET.]
[YOUR 'PANTHER' MUST BE FOUND AND LINKED VIA THE SYSTEM UI WITHIN 24 EARTH HOURS.]
[FAILURE TO FIND A PANTHER WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYER.]
[FURTHER: PLANETS WITH LESS THAN 90,000 ACTIVE PANTHER PAIRS AT THE END OF 24 HOURS WILL BE TERMINATED.]
[PLAYER UI UPDATE: NEW TAB 'PANTHER LINK' ADDED]
Aarav's jaw dropped. "A what?! A 'Panther'?! Of the opposite gender?! Are you serious?!"
Maya looked at him, then at Rohan. "Wait, so... we need to partner up?" She looked between the two boys, then back at the floating text. "And our planet needs 90,000 pairs, or we're all gone?"
Rohan looked even more terrified. "But... but what if there aren't enough girls? Or guys? Or what if someone doesn't want to partner?!"
As they panicked, a new voice cut through the air, clear and melodious despite the chaos, but tinged with a hint of exasperation.
"Is anyone from Earth not completely useless?"
Aarav turned. Standing a few meters away, watching the panicking crowd with a mix of disdain and tired resignation, was a young woman. She was strikingly pretty, with long, dark hair tied back in a neat braid. Her eyes, sharp and intelligent, scanned the chaotic scene. She wore practical, dark clothing, a sharp contrast to Maya's more casual wear. Her accent was distinctly American, a clear sign she wasn't from Aarav's home country.
She had a certain quiet strength about her, even as she too pulled up her UI and sighed at the new notification. "A 'Panther'?" she muttered, more to herself than anyone. "This is going to be incredibly annoying."
Aarav stared at her. Another Earthling. And she's... actually smart enough to be annoyed, not just terrified. And American? His System UI suddenly pinged.
[NEW CONTACT: SARAH ANDERSON (EARTH)]
[GENDER: FEMALE]
[STATUS: UNLINKED PANTHER]
Aarav suppressed a groan. This was going to be a long hundred years indeed.