All Chapters of NEXUS TRIAL: The Rise of Liam Parker: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
32 chapters
Chapter 21: The Maze of Mirrors II
Chapter 21: The Maze of Mirrors IIA scream echoed through the chamber and Liam turned to see one of the participants falling from an elevated walkway, having apparently mistaken a reflection of stable ground for an actual platform. The person hit the floor below with a sickening crunch and lay there moaning in pain but still alive as the silver figure had promised. Other participants gave the injured person a wide berth and continued focusing on their own navigation, and Liam felt a pang of guilt for not stopping to help before remembering that this was an individual trial where everyone was competing against the clock.The timer showed nine minutes remaining and Liam was pretty sure he had made almost no progress toward finding the exit. The maze seemed to loop back on itself repeatedly and he had already passed the same distinctive crack in one mirror at least three times from different directions. He needed to change his strategy because careful methodical exploration wasn't going
Chapter 22: The Culling
Chapter 22: The CullingThe plaza continued to fill with survivors as more people successfully navigated the maze and emerged through the glowing portals, but Liam noticed that the rate of arrivals was slowing down significantly as the fifteen minute timer approached its final moments. Some participants came through looking confident and relieved while others stumbled out looking traumatized and disoriented, and a few were actively injured from falls they had taken during their navigation attempts. Dr. Kim appeared with about forty seconds to spare, followed shortly by Carlos who looked furious about something.Felix made it through with only fifteen seconds remaining on the timer, and he collapsed onto the plaza floor gasping for breath while his hands shook with adrenaline. The teenager had clearly pushed himself to his absolute limits to complete the maze in time, and Liam suspected that his lower physical stats had made the navigation even more challenging since he wouldn't have h
Chapter 23: Shifting Alliances
Chapter 23: Shifting AlliancesThe businessman whose name Liam had learned was Robert Caldwell was gesturing animatedly while he spoke to Marcus, and his expensive suit was now rumpled and stained from three trials worth of stress and exertion. "I'm done with this team arrangement," Robert announced loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear. "You've been making decisions that benefit yourself while putting the rest of us at risk, and I'm not going to keep following someone who sees me as expendable. I'm better off on my own or finding a different group."Marcus regarded Robert with barely concealed contempt and shrugged dismissively. "Fine by me," he said coldly. "You've been dead weight since trial one anyway, hiding in corners and contributing nothing while everyone else takes risks. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."Robert's face flushed red with anger and humiliation, but he didn't respond to the insult and instead just turned and walked away toward a different cluster o
Chapter 24: Shifting Alliances II
Chapter 24: Shifting Alliances II“I’d rather take my chances with people I trust,” Liam said, stepping away from Marcus to join the others. For a moment, the air was thick with tension.Then Marcus laughed. It was loud, sharp, and utterly devoid of warmth. He clapped his hands slowly, mockingly. “Unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re all walking away from the only reason you’re still alive. Fine. Go form your little idealistic group. Let’s see how far you make it without someone willing to make the hard calls. I’ll build my own team. New members. People who understand what it takes to win. And when you start dropping one by one,” he called after them, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”Liam didn’t look back as he joined the others. That left the team at seven members down from the original ten, which was still a decent sized group for cooperation but small enough that everyone's contribution would matter. Liam felt cautiously optimistic that Amanda's intervention might actual
Chapter 25: Trial Four Begins
Chapter 25: Trial Four BeginsThe silver figure's appearance cast an immediate pall over the restive atmosphere, and the survivors who had been scattered throughout the plaza training areas and dormitories quickly converged on the main assembly space. Liam estimated that maybe seven or eight hundred people remained based on the crowd size, which meant they had lost nearly ninety percent of the original participants in just three trials. The faces around him showed a mixture of exhaustion, determination, and barely suppressed terror as everyone braced themselves for whatever horror the Nexus had prepared next."The rest period is concluded," the silver figure announced with its characteristic emotionless tone. "Trial four will test your ability to work cooperatively under extreme pressure while managing limited resources. You will be divided into teams of fifty and transported to separate survival zones where you must work together to overcome environmental challenges and reach an extr
Chapter 26: Trial Four Begins II
Chapter 26: Trial Four Begins IIDrake's face flushed with anger and he took a step toward Leah Stone with obvious hostile intent. Liam felt his enhanced perception pick up the micro movements that suggested Drake was about to do something violent, and he stepped between them without consciously deciding to intervene. "We don't have time for this," he said quickly while raising his hands in a placating gesture. "The trial is about to start and fighting each other is exactly what the Nexus wants. How about we agree that both of you have leadership roles with different responsibilities? Leah Stone handles logistics and planning while Drake takes point on combat situations."Both of them looked ready to reject the compromise, but several other team members voiced support for Liam's suggestion and the pressure of peer consensus seemed to make them reconsider. The timer was down to thirty seconds and they clearly needed to make a decision immediately, so Leah Stone and Drake grudgingly agr
Chapter 27: Into the Depths
Chapter 27: Into the DepthsThe vote resulted in thirty one team members choosing the moderate safe route, twelve voting for the direct dangerous path, and six preferring the longest route that avoided all marked hazards. Leah Stone declared the moderate route the winner based on simple majority, though Liam could see that the dozen people who had voted for speed were unhappy with the decision. Drake had abstained from voting entirely and just stood watching the proceedings with an unreadable expression, and Liam suspected he was calculating how to use the team's divisions to his advantage later.Leah Stone organized the team into a marching formation with scouts at the front to identify hazards, the main body in the middle carrying supplies, and guards at the rear to watch for threats from behind. Drake positioned himself with the forward scouts along with the three highest agility team members including Amanda, while Liam found himself in the middle group with Margaret and Felix. Th
Chapter 28: Into the Depths II
Chapter 28: Into the Depths II"Nobody is getting left behind," Leah Stone said with steel in her voice. "We're going to keep moving as a unit and we're going to figure out ways to help the struggling members instead of abandoning them. That's my final decision as logistics leader, and if you have a problem with it you can take it up with me after we complete the trial."Drake's jaw clenched with frustration but he nodded curtly and walked away, apparently choosing to conserve his energy for later conflicts. Several team members thanked Leah Stone for standing firm, while others looked troubled as if they secretly agreed with Drake's approach but didn't want to voice that opinion publicly. The incident had revealed deep fractures in the team's cohesion, and Liam suspected those fractures would only grow wider as the trial continued and desperation increased.They resumed their march through the caverns and the environment gradually became more hostile as they penetrated deeper into th
Chapter 29: The Cost of Progress
Chapter 29: The Cost of ProgressThe remaining team members crossed the damaged bridge in a state of numb shock, and the process took nearly an hour because everyone moved with extreme caution after witnessing the deaths. The bridge held despite losing a significant section, though it groaned and swayed alarmingly under each group's weight. By the time the last person reached the far side, the structure had deteriorated so badly that it collapsed completely just minutes after Drake brought up the rear, sending chunks of ancient stone tumbling into the toxic river below.Team Seven now numbered forty eight people instead of fifty, and the psychological impact of those first casualties was visible on every face. The two who had died were a middle aged man named Ronald Miller and a young woman named Anna Baldwin, both level three with relatively low stats who had been struggling with the environmental challenges. Several team members were crying quietly while others stared at the collaps
Chapter 30: The Cost of Progress II
Chapter 30: The Cost of Progress IIDrake looked like he wanted to argue but apparently decided the compromise was acceptable enough. "Fine," he said tersely. "But if the protected individuals can't keep pace even with support, we revisit the question of whether to continue supporting them. I'm not sacrificing the entire team to save people who are fundamentally incapable of surviving these challenges."The protection assignments were made with Amanda taking responsibility for Felix given their existing connection, while Liam volunteered to help Margaret who had low constitution. Other high stat team members reluctantly accepted similar assignments, though Liam could tell some of them resented being asked to shoulder additional burden. The new formation put significantly more pressure on the capable survivors, but it also meant the vulnerable members moved faster and safer than they had been managing on their own.They resumed their march through the cavern system with the modified te