I grew up a commoner

Today is the day I enter a tear and take the first step towards my life's ambition. The champions I have looked up to as a young child are what I think ever commoner should aspire to become. Champions are the pillars of our society and the backbone of our leagues. They run towards danger while the commoners flee in terror. They crash head first into the tears and endure the trials within. Their stories are sung throughout the land in the bars of commoner inns and league recreation hubs. They are one of the highest rank in league societies which comes with many benefits including everything from monetary to breeding rights. Efren's dreams were never about what benefits he could reap. Instead he has always been someone who would help those who are in danger and threats in this world were never in shortage.

The world itself was the greatest threat to human existence. Actually it would be more realistic to say this world could not support human existence. The landscape was devoid of any natural resources that humans could accumulate. Leagues are the only social structure of this world and all were welcome if you met the different league requirements. Because without a league to belong to, life is incredibly harsh and unbearable. For a league to support and sponsor you you first have to prove yourself and meet their league requirements. Members who bring no support or value to a league waste valuable resources and are quickly discarded. Because those resources can only be gathered in the tears and you could sacrifice your life if you cannot overcome their trials.

The tears happen randomly across the landscape and they occupy a territory. They cannot be predicted and cause chaos to the territory it commandeers. Commoners flee in terror trying to escape the region before it settles in and begins the trials. The tears let out low pulses that can be felt in the terrain and throughout your body. Getting stronger and more powerful if the trials in the tears are dangerous. The rhythm of the pulses increases as the tear comes closer to settling in and becomes inaccessible. The people inside will than endure whatever labors manifest within this different reality.

That type of tear is not what Efren is dealing with today. He steps within the region as it settles in and the final pulses are firing off. The feeling of static in the air felt vaguely familiar as the scene goes from black to a blinding white landscape. As his eyes adjusted he looked on the landscape to see rich soil with green foliage and tall trees. Weary at first he had never encountered anything quite like what his eyes were now observing. His vision palate consisted mostly of grey hills  and stone housing, the slums of the town of Nayas. His higher ranked mentors had been explaining the different terrains he might end up in but seeing them in vivid reality was quite shocking. Not wanting to disappoint his league he heads off to start foraging for resources to bring back.

It doesn't take long to get comfortable with his surroundings. This reality was far more forgiving and serene than his own harsh one. He curiously takes a bite out of the red berries he is gathering. Sweetness fills his tastes, overwhelms it and bleeds into his other senses. The smell is so vibrant if any word could describe it. The tangy taste electrified the inside of his mouth feeling almost uncomfortable. It was no wonder why many recruits and even higher ranks demand they be allowed to challenge these tears. The leagues allow them as rewards to mentor the young recruits, if the mentor distinguishes himself in upper ranked trials. This system accomplishes having to train recruits, gathering resources, and rewarding risk taking members to further league goals. Efren takes his sacks back to the league cart so it can be taken out of the trials.

He approaches the cart while overhearing the strategy the journeyman ranking member is developing with his juniors. The objective of every trial is to overcome an obstacle or defeating the guardian of that reality. Doing so rewarded the groups fighting with tear resources. These included skill essence to rank up magic skills and enhancing their body's capacities. The recruits relay their reports to the journeyman and he guides their thinking to a strategy that can defeat the guardian. An important step in conquering the trial and opening back to their world. It had crossed his mind that he didn't want to leave this haven, but that was dangerous thinking. No one knows the true consequences of being sucked into a closing tear, but most assume you are sacrificed to the higher being who have opened these tears. The trials were the mercy of the deities, it allowed them to survive their unforgiving world. Efren dropped his collection into the cart and headed back to foraging. As much as he wanted to listen in and absorb this knowledge he had his task to accomplish to not burden his league. Also those sweet berries had to be tasted for quality testing to insure he bring back only the best to the league reserves.

The warm sun felt amazing as it radiated down from the heavens. His recruiter that had tested his magic affinity mentioned his body aligned well into the fire domain. Many new recruits that first enter a sunny reality are often not use to the heat as the average temperature on Altelus is lower due to the dismal atmosphere. The air was so much more richer, after a while he felt faint and had to rest to steady his breath. His mind wandered as he sat meditating and finding his rhythm. It is taboo to meditate in a tear trial as it leaves you vulnerable to attacks. Not so much in a low grade trial but he needed to slow his senses and stop his mind from the barrage of information just existing in this reality. In a meditative state you can feel your bodies capacities as his heart rate slowed and his breathing normalized. He than notices he had gained a skill essence since coming here. Focusing on his stamina capacity he concentrated to use the skill to strengthen it. Feeling the process complete he popped two berries into his mouth and set back to work.

Strolling the forest with alert eyes he tried to recall how to find the signs of root type foods growing nearby. He recognized a long stems below the tree shade and new at the end of those stems were bear roots. Bear roots were valuable foods that were filling and had health benefits when consumed. He pulled out his spade and started the digging process and soon had two sacks worth of roots. Keeping his eye on the surrounding his mentors warnings were ringing in his ears. Bears would consume these occasionally so always be alert. He didn't have to be too cautions as they would only seek them out is they had eaten something that didn't agree with their stomach.  Efren would not be able to defeat one as he was now so he keep one eye on the ground and the other scanning the tree lines. All the while digging up the bear root his wandering eye would go back to a certain spot a couple of meters away. He could sense a static aura that was reaching out to him, feeling like static at the back of his head when his eyes met that particular spot. He started to move the soil and each spadeful the feeling grew slightly stronger. He came upon a dark lump and almost mistook it as a lump of soil. Efren would have walked away from it or wouldn't have even dug it out if not for the static feeling that had shifted from the back of his head to the front of his eyes. He had to blink more than usual from the unsettling vibration in his eyes. Picking it up in his hands it looked like a potato gone bad from the dark color and rough, lumpy skin. It didn't smell like anything he had ever seen but looked very familiar in a weird way. In fact he felt comfortable enough to try a bite of it right there. It was very robust and terrain that reminded him of the smell of leather. Sticking it in his pocket he would be scolded for tasting a root not specially explained to him by his seniors. But it was delicious and now he had to wait for how it would effect him in time.

Time ticking down as they had gathered nearby the recruits in a battle with a guardian. All faces around were flushed red as they screamed in support of the recruits. Seven different leagues had their recruits battling as Efren watched with wide eyes as the guardian wood troll swung wildly at the surrounding threats. The protectors in front took the brunt hits on their shields as they hacked decisively at his arms and rib areas. Many good strikes were dealt but the wounds were closing up and healing quickly the recruit lead protectors grew steadily worried that they would not be dealing a fatal strike. Forest trolls have high regeneration rates and are difficult for younger recruits to handle. Two fireballs flew over the protector heads in coordinated attacks but the magic casters were running low in stamina. Two of the mages were already collapsed over in exhaustion as spell casting was very taxing on the physical bodies. The trial was on the verge of expiring and much was at stake if the guardian was not defeated. Even the journeyman's of the different guilds abandoned their hands off training and were instructing specifically what each recruit had to do in the strategy. Flames were used to stop the regenerating skin from closing and healing. A combat specialist attacked from behind and got three good strikes at the trolls back. An over zealous attempted as the trolls attention switched from the protector to the short sword wielder. Low stamina and life essence he was struck and sent flying back unconscious with a berserking troll ready to deal a fatal blow. Seeing his companion receive such a brutal blow the formation leader panicked and charged the troll in an attempt to gain his attention. Striking the fresh back wounds, the brown troll suddenly seemed to emit a crimson aura in his last berserking stand. The protector could not react fast enough as his shield was gripped and with crushing force heaved over the trolls body four meters into the air. Loud pulses began vibrating across the landscape letting out shrieks. The trial was closing in the next minute. With the formation broken, the manic wood troll broke the lines and charged the lesser protected spell casters in the formation rear. They would soon be defeated. Efren would not hear what his senior was screaming at him, his face a flush red. The vibrating shrieking pulses and the sounds of shouting recruits drowned him out. But he knew what was being shouted at him. His fire affiliation allowed him to be able to cast a low ranking fireball but it might be enough to keep him from regenerating. The formation collapsing all recruits went into all out attack hoping to defeat the troll. Another pulse, Efren got into range and unleashed a fiery blast striking the troll and setting him ablaze. The close combat warriors mobbed him hacking away at him. Efren gathered his stamina and concentrated on unleashing a second attack. Hurling the fiery blast he put everything he into this attack. It felt like he was hurling a five kilogram rock, another pulse vibrates the air. This was the last chance they had. The howl is let out from the troll as he leaps high into the air, the fireball misses. Efren falls to his knees, his stamina and fighting spirit are drained as the troll escapes the fiery spell. The final shrieking pulse is let loose, as the journeyman leaps into the air with little effort. The troll falls to the floor in pieces with a loud thuds. The journeyman swipes his sword toward the ground removing the gore in a single slice. Reality goes black and static fills the air as the trial rips open violently. The league members are back in their own world.

The carts are returned to the respective league centers. Their contents lighter than they had hoped. A consequence of having a powerful journeyman defeat a lower ranked guardian. A disappointment but the alternative is having all their resources taken by the deities. The total tally being around thirty percent of what the journeyman had inventoried in the tear. It felt like failure, the league leaders agreeing they did have some sage advice. Learn from the loss and be better in the next trial. Efren headed towards the bunk houses with low spirits. Instantly feeling better as he reached into his pocket to find the black potato still there. Stuffing it into his mouth his dinner was secured. Looking to the sky he was disappointed with the trial results but he never question once why he was there and what needed to be done. In time he would rank up and defeat the powerful guardians and reach the champion rank. The world being an uncertain place, but in this he was unquestionably sure his purpose in life.