When Ha-nul Rang blinked his eyes open, it was the middle of the night, which was odd, because he usually woke up with the sun if nothing unusual happened. Gazing at the darkness, he realized he was looking at a ceiling, though it was a very distant one.

[color=4bc7cf]“The Tower…”[/color] he whispered. [color=4bc7cf]“Finally,”[/color] he sighed, and rolled into a sitting position. He looked down at himself, checking that his clothes and weapon were with him; they were. Good.

Then, the so-called God appeared before him, as he thought he had in a daydream. [color=4bc7cf][i]It wasn’t just a dream this time, though.[/i][/color] The boy smiled eagerly at the Guardian, then stood up, now towering over the short rabbit-like being.

[color=lightblue]“Correct, young one. This is the Tower. Were you truly in such a rush?”[/color] Headon asked, amused, and shook his head. [color=lightblue]“A common trait among the Chosen,”[/color] he commented.

Ha-nul knew he was being mocked, but just shrugged nonchalantly. [color=4bc7cf]“Hey, we live long, but time is still [i]precious[/i] to us, [i]you know[/i]?”[/color] he replied with a smirk, his words carrying an undertone of ‘so stop wasting mine’, though the boy wasn’t so arrogant as to truly state such a thing. He was more than willing to imply it, however.

The Guardian smiled its characteristic smile, the corners of his mouth opening enough to reveal his sharp teeth. [color=lightblue]“Very well. To the test then. I’m certain you will appreciate the one-hour time limit within which you must complete the task,”[/color] the God grinned mischievously, twirling its golden staff. [color=lightblue]“Your goal is to reach the center of the labyrinth,”[/color] he stated, pointing to a wall. There had definitely been nothing but a wall there before, but suddenly an entrance to another area manifested. [color=lightblue]“The count-down begins once you enter the maze,”[/color] Headon explained.

Ha-nul blinked, observing the entrance, then the surroundings. [color=4bc7cf]“No clues? Information? A whole layout of the maze for me to memorize or a partial map of it?”[/color] he asked. The Guardian seemed to consider this with a hum, and answered, [color=lightblue]“One clue: Don’t let the Barnacle Goblins impede you.”[/color] The damned rabbit was still smiling, obviously enjoying messing with him.

The young male pursed his lips, and strolled to the labyrinth’s entrance. He stopped just before it, crouched into a low start, then dashed within, eyes roaming around, observing. The walls were high; he couldn’t see where they ended, so jumping or climbing over would be unlikely. Ha-nul drew his hook from where it’d been sheathed at his side, and struck at the wall. As he expected, the damage was minimal; he would not be breaking through by any means. Keeping his pace, the youth jogged through, making turns on random – though he memorized each one, in case he had to backtrack.

When he reached his first dead-end, Ha-nul was faced by a trio of agitated barnacle goblins, and he simply turned around, ran to the last intersection, and proceeded down another path, disregarding the creatures chasing him. He had to evade and jump over another duo of goblins, which was quite the close call. Thankfully, he was able to reach the center soon enough. The heart of the maze was a simple square room, empty besides a glowing cube with a timer. Ha-nul ran to it and tapped it, which stopped the count-down, and transported him back to the 1st floor.

Ha-nul collapsed to the ground immediately, panting and sweaty. The rabbit stared at him complacently. [color=lightblue]“Congratulations, you have completed your first test successfully,”[/color] it said cheerfully, though with blatant cheekiness. [color=lightblue]“It took you 18 minutes and 58 seconds to do so. Not too shabby for someone like you,”[/color] he remarked, entirely unnecessarily in Ha-nul’s opinion. However, the boy was too tired to do much beyond direct a glare at the being.

[color=lightblue]“Hmm, as a gift for being such a good sport and learning your lesson, I will let you rest for 10 minutes before sending you up,”[/color] the Guardian offered. [color=lightblue]“Unless you are still too impatient?”[/color] Headon immediately added a flippant query. Smartly, Ha-nul kept his mouth shut, resting his mind and body.

The God nonchalantly paced around the 1st floor and after ten minutes, transferred Ha-nul to the next testing ground. The newly minted Regular found himself within a vast field of wheat. [color=4bc7cf][i]At least I can see around here,[/i][/color] he thought grumpily. However, his spirit wasn’t at all undeterred, and with a renewed vigour, Ha-nul took to jogging around, watchful for single targets. Seeing as the task was to halve the number of aspirant climbers, it would be best for him to run and evade powerful opponents, remove the weaker ones, and possibly team up with someone of at least equal strength or ability.