Second Life: Welcome to Gaia

Chapter 12: Test of Awareness

The Military Camp in City Ji has soldiers of different races mix together training in swordsmanship, archery, and fighting. The place that the soldier is taking him is located on the far side of the camp, between the archery training ground and the city's wall.

When he arrived, he found out that the NPC he needs to meet is outside of the city. The soldier only brought him here so he could ride on one of the horse wagons that were going in the same direction as him. Xia Hou Yuan is a Buddhist monk that lives in a temple located in one of the mountains in the northeast of the city.

Ye Yan finally understood why you can start the quest so soon. That is because the player will have to walk so much before the quest is completed, that he would be level 5 at the end.

He rides on the horse wagon until it got 5 km (~3,1 miles) from the temple. It took 3 hours for him to arrive in the place nearer to the temple and the experience that he had on the wagon was something that he doesn't want to repeat any time soon. It felt like he had been kicked in the ass for 3 hours, and when it passed over a pothole, he almost had to grit his teeth and even took 5 of damage. He had to use [First Aid] on himself because of a ride on a horse wagon! A person with hemorrhoids wouldn't stand even one minute of it.

When he got out of the wagon, he massaged his ass and started to hike the mountain. It only took 2 hours, between hiking and killing monsters, to get to the temple on the top.

The Buddhist Temple was basically a circular three stored pagoda 10 meters wide, surrounded by gardens with all sorts of medicinal herbs. Ye Yan got near the herbs but a monk gave him suspicious looks, so walked in his direction instead and ask about Xia Hou Yuan. The monk made a sign that he should follow but didn't say a word.

When he met the NPC, he introduced himself, showed him the military token Xia Hou Lian gave him and asked about the test, but he didn't say anything and looked at Ye Yan in a neutral way for about 5 minutes. When Ye Yan thought that he should do something and that maybe this is a part of the test, Xia Hou Lian spoke.

"This token is very special. It represents that my brother thinks highly of you and believe you capable of showing the true power and spirit of a fighter. This test is not something that anyone that aspired to become a fighter can challenge. Only one every hundred years can do this test in each city of Yan Empire.

"I will lead you to the place where you will do the test. You need to remember that true awareness means to recognize that you are at war with the darkness of ignorance, and the lack of it, will let ignorance grow."

"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril. You need to forget all you preconception and look for the truth because in the truth, is the answer."

The monk spoke a lot but Ye Yan didn't understand anything. All of it was just too confusing to him now.

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The monk leads him to a place where there was a two-meter diameter circle made by many little stones. That was an array that would teleport him to the test location. He entered the array and a white light engulfed him, making him blind for five seconds. When he could see again, he discovered that he was in a vast field and there was a village about 1 km(~0,62 miles) away. He decided to go there to look but he couldn't walk, it was like his body didn't understand that he was in another place now and he could get out of the array. Even his mind was having a hard time trying to adapt. He feels as he has gotten motion sickness. He stood still for five minutes and started to walk in the village direction, but as he got near, he began to hear screams.

In the village, people were running and screaming while a giant monster was attacking them. It is a 5 meters (~16 foot) tall chicken with golden feathers all over its body. Ye Yan's first reaction was to go and fight the chicken so he could save the villagers, but he remembered what the monk said: "Look for the truth because in the truth, is the answer."

This is a test and he doesn't know what is the reason for the golden chicken to be here. So he decided to ask, but all the villagers only said that the monster wants to hurt them and asked him to kill it.

Ye Yan hesitated. Should he kill the golden chicken? He doesn't think the test would be that easy, but maybe, it isn't the test and the villagers would give him the real test later.

He stood before the golden chicken and decided to talk to it, even feeling really stupid doing so.

"Stop! I don't want to hurt you, but if you continue to hurt the villagers, I don't will have any other choice."

Differently from what he imagined would happen, the chicken spoke. "My child! They took my child! I can't let them torture him anymore. They knapped my child! Those monsters. They want his golden feathers. I want my child back!" The golden chicken yelled.

Ye Yan turned to the villagers and asked if the chick is with them. But they didn't need to answer because their faces betrayed everything.

"It's a monster. What is the problem of selling ou eating it? You are a human adventure, so you should kill this monster. We will give you half of its golden feathers." One of the villagers said. Ye Yan was indignant because he almost helped those villains to kill the mother chicken, and they were just been greed.

"Nooooooo!!! My child! You can't eat him. Where is my child?" The golden chicken started to fight the villagers once again in despair. Ye Yan turned to one of the villagers and started to speak in a stern tone.

"Give the golden chick back to his mother, now! Or I will help her look for it." Even the NPCs started to fear Ye Yan's angry face and went to retrieve the chicken's child.

'Fuck! First, the hen that Laid the Golden Eggs, and now, the My Little Yellow Chick!'

When the villagers bought the chick, Ye Yan could see its appearance. He wasn't golden like his mother, but yellow. And there are missed feathers in his wings.

"Mother!" The chick runs to his mother while crying. It would be moving if the characters weren't a golden giant chicken and a yellow chick with many bald spots.

'My little yellow chick

Fits right here in my hand

In my hand!

And whenever he gets hungry

To look for bugs, he scratches the ground!

My little yellow chick

Fits right here in my hand...'

'Fuck! Fuck! Now this music got in my head and it won't go.' Ye Yan became irritated because the music started to repeat again and again in his mind.

System: 'Test of Awareness completed. Go back to commander Xia Hou Lian for more instructions.'

After the chicken took her child and left the village, Ye Yan went to the array location. He got inside and it lit immediately.

When he got back to the temple, Xia Hou Yuan showed his praise lowering his head, and later, started to meditate, ignoring him. So Ye Yan began to make his way back to the Military Camp.

................

Sun Tzu. Art of War.