Chapter 2: A Different Trial
Welcome to all participants from around the universe. As stated in our invitation, you have been invited to the Eulers Trial because of your incredible will to survive. Each and every one of you has been measured to survive any situation thrown at you. In this trial, you will find out whether you are truly the best.
I have one of the best wills to survive? Michael thought. This trial is getting even weirder. I did not even argue with my own family over my future. Whatever, let's just hear what I have to do to get out of here.
All 1 million participants have been teleported to a separate plane of existence outside the universe itself and have been given a planet to themselves. Every planet has special measures to keep every candidate isolated. No one will be able to influence any other participant. The spiritual energy of every planet will be the purest you can find within the universe. Once the trial starts, everyone's cultivation will be reset back to that of an ordinary mortal without any ounce of cultivation or spirit energy within them.
What is going on? I am in a separate plane of existence? How does that work, and what kind of science made this possible? No one from Earth could ever do something like that, the only possibility is that I have been teleported by aliens? Please let this just be a dream or a coma or anything else but reality. And what is that voice talking about regarding spiritual energy and cultivation, I understand nothing.
The trial itself is simple. Just be the last one to survive. Don't worry, even if the winner is on the verge of death by the end of the trial, as long as everyone else is dead, they will be transported back home, and their body will retain the age they started with. Since this plane was created for the sole purpose of the Eulers Trial, the time here will not affect the outside world. So after the winner is decided, they return to live the life they desire. Everybody else who fails to be the last one alive, will be dead in the real world as well.
Is this for real? I have to survive the longest out of everyone to get back to my world. In this empty place and without any water, I will die in three days. Now I understand why the writer of the e-mail could not spell a single word correctly, the trial is just as stupid as the e-mail. But it's not just stupidity, the cruelty to transport 1 million people into a wasteland and only a single person can live on. These aliens do not even value life itself.
Before the trial begins, all participants are allowed to select a specific model for how their world will look like, and more importantly, what it contains. Additionally, there will be the opportunity to select three scriptures containing every cultivation manual, martial skill, movement skill or other important knowledge desired.
As the robotic voice stopped, a large display emerged in front of Michael. There, he could see different options to select different designs of his very own planet.
Wow, thank you so much robotic voice, now I can choose a planet where there is at least some water and hopefully some food sources to survive. Is Eulers Trial some kind of survival show for aliens? And even worse, won't this be the most boring thing ever? I thought my life as a manager would be boring, but sitting on a rock for hopefully 100 years is way worse.
But I should not think too much about it, as now I have to start by selecting the best-suited planet for me to get through this first. I have to take it slowly and find the best available option.
As the selection process should not take too long, every participant will have to submit all choices within one hour.
Well, shit.
Just after the end of the message, another gigantic clock hovered in the distance and started to tick down.
As Michael went through the different options for his planet, he noticed more and more that there was something odd about this selection. Why does every planet I have seen so far not contain drinkable water or edible food, but instead has a "starter kit" of 5 years worth of water and food supplies?
The structure of the planet always has a distinct description of some training ground for cultivation enhancement, different Daos of elements, or different weapons. Some planets even contain rare minerals or treasures.
I don't want any of that bullshit, I just want to drink, eat and maybe some entertainment. What can I do with a jade that enhances the spiritual energy around me, or some training dummies that measure force? I don't even know what cultivation or spiritual energy is.
While Michael was slowly getting desperate to find his planet, on another planet, a contestant had the same choices, but a very different thought process to Michael.
In the same barren terrain stood a stunningly beautiful woman. With her golden hair and shining emerald eyes, it was hard to look away from her perfectly shaped face. Wearing a golden robe accented with the finest jewellery one could find, she looked like an otherworldly fairy.
She was twenty years old and was hailed as the number one cultivation talent of her world.
Currently, she was quite scared but also very focused, after hearing the announcement that only one of the candidates would survive.
I know the cultivation world is cruel, but is this really the only way to pass this trial? I don't want to be responsible for the death of everyone here, but at the same time, I can't die just like that. I have to return to my family and save them from the calamity. This is my last chance.
With this mindset, she looked at all available options.
Hmm, what would be the best choice here? Only five years of food and water? What a cruel way to test talent. I should be able to cultivate fast enough to live without food or water in about four years, but many others might die by that time.
Longevity is all about the cultivation stage, so I need to pick the world that helps me cultivate the fastest. Since I have my talents in the Dao of light, hopefully there will be a world and cultivation manual to train it.
After about five minutes of searching, she found her ideal world:
World Name: Immortal Light Realm
Contents within the world:
Highest quality light (alternating between different forms)
Cultivation training facility with the Light of All
Standard earth floor
Starter kit:
Five years of food supplies
Five years of water supplies
Sword of light
Indestructible training dummies
After choosing her world and scriptures, with almost fifty minutes left, she could finally relax and think about the difficult times ahead. Even if I have to survive a few millennia, I will get through this and save my family.
Meanwhile, not knowing anything about the importance of cultivation, Michael finally found a world he desired. Only twenty minutes left, I need to hurry up and pick this if I want to have any chance to get the knowledge I want from the books.
Michael once again looked at the features of his world.
World Name: Immortal Spirit Farm
Contents within the world:
Unlimited seeds of every plant known in the universe (only available to plants you know of)
Water (drinkable)
Fertile soil
Starter Kit:
One year of food supplies
One year of water supplies
Cooking equipment
Alchemy oven
That's it. This is the perfect world. I can plant food on this planet and live until I reach my natural limit. This is the best chance I have. Select!
You have selected your world. Please select five scriptures within our library of unlimited knowledge.
I know how to plant a crop, but I can't know every plant. First, I want to select a book where I can see the names and properties of every plant in the universe.
After being relieved that he could now search for everything he wanted, he searched for plants and found: The World of Plants Completed Universe edition. Perfect, Select!
1/3 scriptures selected.
Now that I can plant every crop in the universe, I just have to find a way to cook them properly into something that tastes delicious and is healthy at the same time. I also want to at least enjoy some good food, while staying for 100 years. I already have cooking equipment, but I'm not the best cook. Let's get me some universal cookbook or something.
Michael started to search for a cookbook, but as he typed in the words cooking and cook, there were no results. There are no cookbooks here? Library of unlimited knowledge my ass. They don't even have a cookbook. There is no way I'm just going to eat boiled potatoes for 100 years straight.
Ten minutes left.
Michael put his thoughts aside as the robotic voice sounded from above. Shit, I have to select something. Two books to go, but I need something that teaches me cooking. As he still pondered over how he could find something to teach him cooking, he looked over his world details again.
Alchemy oven? I don't know what that is, but an oven is an oven, maybe there are some recipes to cook in there.
As there was only little time left, Michael searched the term "alchemy", and found only one scripture again. The scripture was titled: "Every Pill Recipe in Existence and How to Concoct Them."
Pills? I want food, but I'm running out of time. I have to select something. Please let these pills be something like cooking for aliens. Select!
2/3 scriptures selected.
Two minutes left.
Phew! Close one. Now I have what I require to survive.
With only one choice left, I need something for entertainment. I watched enough survival shows on YouCute to know that being lonely and bored are huge mental killers, and will affect my physical health in the long term.
But what kind of book can I choose for entertainment or diversion of my mind? Hmm, perhaps I could gain some knowledge about these alien technologies. What did the voice mention? Cultivation techniques? Yeah, never heard about those. Perhaps I can gain some knowledge about them while I'm trapped here and entertain myself at the same time. I might even be able to become rich once I return with the knowledge I've gathered.
After making up his mind, Michael searched for cultivation techniques and found not just one scripture as he expected, but more than he could see on his monitor.
Wow, that is crazy there was only one book about plants, but so much about these cultivation techniques? What are those? "Immortal Dragon scripture?", "Godly body of the immortal Pangea?", "Phoenix flames of life and death?"," Transcendent Ice frozen Mountains?"
After reading all of those names, Michael became even more confused. These names sound like a competition between 13-year-olds. Who can come up with the coolest name for their fighting moves? Answer: No one, you are all trash.
Whatever, I will just go for my personal winner in that competition: "Celestial God Art of the untainted unknown Emperor", that sounds like the perfect book to laugh at. I hope I will have some fun reading it. Select!
3/3 scriptures selected.
Thirty seconds left.
Hey, I even have some time left, Michael thought. He tried not to think about the despair of staying in this place for probably the rest of his life while waiting for his death.
Michael did not know anything about cultivation and everything around him, but he knew that aliens had teleported him here and 999.999 people to participate in some trial of the best. The chance that everyone was a human just like him, and has a lifespan similar to him or shorter, should be close to impossible.
He knew he would die, but still, he would not give up without a fight.
I probably won't survive, but I will not give up just because my chance of surviving is lower than winning the lottery. I'm going to try my best to get through this bullshit, and if I happen to just die, unlucky.
As Michael strengthened his resolve, the robotic voice again sounded from above.
All participants have arrived. It's time to start Eulers Trial.
"No, that was last chapter!", Michael shouted.
Sorry, all participants have made their choices. It's time to start Eulers Trial.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone