It may not have been the first time Jake had encountered the familiar darkness within the Red Cube, but it was still a mind-bending experience. The darkness was bearable, but the silence and lack of sensory feedback as if he had no body was just too disturbing for him to adjust to. Somehow he felt as if he no longer existed.
[Participant: Jake Wilderth, Earthling]
[Second Ordeal concluded]
[Type: Simulation/Battle Royal (Humanoid species)]
[Aether density: 4 or 40 pts]
[Number of participants: 11,658,435]
[Main Mission: Enter the Sanctuary Bubble.]
[Penalty for failure: None.]
[Evaluation of the Ordeal in Progress...]
[…]
[Evaluation complete. The result is as follows:]
[-Main Mission; Rating: Perfect= +100]
[-1st Trial: Reach the Shore; Rating: Fair: +50]
[-2nd Trial: Spend a night on the Island: Rating: Good: +75]
[-3rd Trial: Surviving on the Island until the descent of the Phantom Sanctuary (Battle Royal)): rating: Perfect= +150]
Happy New Year! :)
The releases will resume their normal schedule, i.e. one chapter per day. I'll try to make up for the chapters I missed over Christmas, but I can't promise anything.
NB: This chapter is supposed to be the first in volume 4, but I made a mistake (created the chap before the new volume and it's not editable...), so it's still in volume 3.