《Trial of Awakening》 Chapter 1-The Singularity Sam smiled at the feeling of fresh dirt sliding between his fingers. He was in the greenhouse planting more chamomile flowers for Ms. Dasher. His employer loved to drink the foul-smelling tea he made with the daisy-like flowers. The tea did wonders for a person''s health, which was why he made it for her so often. She couldn¡¯t move around as much anymore but that hadn¡¯t diminished her love of gardening. Evaleen had ¡°hired¡± him to help her maintain her greenhouse. The only problem was that he didn¡¯t know anything about gardening. However, her husband, Edgar had been his mentor for years until he passed away recently. He felt like he owed it to the old man to keep an eye on Evaleen which was why he took the job. It had been a year since then and to his surprise, he found he liked the work. It gave him a weird sense of peace. Once he finished planting he got up and left the greenhouse. The bag of chamomile seeds was resting against the metal storage locker where the rest of the seeds were kept. Inside there were multiple bags of garlic, ginger, tomatoes, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and collard greens. He had just made a trip to the local market and had bought in bulk so that they would have enough seeds to last a while. After he put the bag away he made his way to the house. When he got there he saw the large RV that belonged to Alfred parked in the driveway. As he walked through the door he heard Alfred, her son, speaking. ¡°....normally I wouldn¡¯t ask again so soon but we need this break.¡± Alfred and Ms. Dasher were in the living room. Despite being bent by age and leaning heavily on her mahogany cane Evaleen seemed to loom over her son. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I need a break too? Especially since I just had them last month and I¡¯m still buying new furniture for my dining room,¡± Ms. Dasher said. ¡°I know and I made sure to reimburse you for the damage.¡±-His shoulders slumped-¡°it¡¯s just that our last vacation was canceled due to an emergency at the office and we had to spend the whole time fixing it. And the kids promised not to do any of their science experiments inside the house¡± Alfred said. The man was pretty much begging at this point. They were so focused on each other they didn¡¯t even notice Sam come in. He smiled to himself as he quietly closed the door and made for the stairs. Both of them knew Ms. Dasher would watch the kids. She loved spending time with her grandkids; she just liked to make her son beg a little. Alfred was so busy that he often forgot to visit. Evaleen often used these moments to ring promises of future visitations out of him. As Sam climbed up the stairs he could still hear her speaking. ¡°You know my canasta group loved it when you visited last time.¡± Sam smiled as he heard the grin in the old lady''s voice. Upstairs he found Dara and the kids unpacking. It was sometimes weird seeing them. Since his wife had left him last year, he felt more a part of their family than his own. Dara stood there looking as tired as usual; the bags under her eyes usually hidden by makeup were visible today. Her face softened and her long dark hair was put into a ponytail. She wore baggy pants and a comfy looking green sweater. Right now she looked more like the stereotypical girl next door than the intimidating businesswoman she was. There was no doubt that Alfred was a smart and ambitious man. The money and connections his father possessed also played a role in his success. However, Dara was the one who took Alfred¡¯s vision and boiled it down into the step by step plan that he followed. Together not only had their business succeeded, but they also had built themselves up as a power in town. When Dara saw him she greeted him with a nod and smiled. ¡°Hey guys look who¡¯s here,¡± she said. Both kids turned around and beamed at him. ¡°Hey Sam,¡± they shouted as they ran up to him. Both Brian and Niki were in their last year of middle school. They were already tall enough to reach his shoulder. They were born only a year apart. Along with the fact that both of them had black hair and brown eyes, many mistook them for twins. They hugged and he was soon caught up on everything that had happened to them since last month. When they finished talking they went back to unpacking. And Sam made his way towards Dara to catch up with her when the house began to violently shake. He knew an earthquake was happening but was shocked. There had been earthquakes before but nothing this intense. He heard the sound of glass shattering everywhere. The house itself seemed to creak as if it were being torn apart by two opposing forces. He joined Dara and the kids who were crouching in the corner of the room with their hands over their heads. Just as things seemed to end he heard the thunderous crash of what sounded like a mix glass breaking and wood splintering. Sam was pretty sure it was the sound of the greenhouse collapsing though for Evaleen¡¯s sake he hoped it wasn¡¯t. Minutes after the earthquake finally stopped he double-checked that Dara and the kids were fine. Alfred yelled upstairs to check on everyone but couldn¡¯t come upstairs. Evaleen had fallen badly and needed help. He quickly started downstairs to help Alfred with Evaleen. Halfway down his body suddenly seized in pain and he fell. His head probably hit every last wooden step on the way down but he failed to notice with the extreme amount of pain he was in. The pain was replaced after his fall by a different sensation. A debilitating cold surrounded him. His whole body seemed to freeze as ice somehow flowed into his veins. He lay there at the bottom of the stairs curled into a frozen ball. When the cold left him he groaned as he tried to pick himself up from the floor. His body was shaking so badly he thought another earthquake was happening. Yet his body felt stronger than before. His mind seemed somehow sharper despite the dull ache in his head. When he opened his eyes and saw what was before him he wondered just how many stairs he¡¯d hit his head-on. In front of his face was a blue box with text in it.
Congratulations Species #372 Your world has been successfully seeded! Your world has qualified as a Grade A Resource Planet! Because of this high rating, your underdeveloped species has been given the chance to join the Galactic Federation. Normally any species not of sufficient development would be cleansed and the planet terraformed. However, your species has been allowed to attempt the trial of awakening. If a significant number of your species manages to survive the trial then you will be allowed into the Federation. (Know this species #372 while undergoing the trial you are already considered a provisional member of the Federation. This entitles you to all the benefits and regulations that come with membership.)
¡­ It felt like thousands of syringes were being stabbed into her. She had been arguing with her son when the earthquake hit. She had fallen and there was a sharp pain in her hip. When it ended she had thought the worst was over. Her son had checked on his family and Sam who were all alright. She had begun to dread the visit to her doctor when a new wave of pain hit her. The feeling of syringes piercing every available inch of her body was horrifying. However, the feeling quickly changed. It was as if every syringe piercing her began to inject liquid fire into her. Her body rapidly began to heat up. Yet she stopped feeling uncomfortable. She felt just like she did when she visited the sauna in town.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. It was like she was sweating away all the impurities in her body but on a larger scale. The pain caused by her broken hip. All the old pains in her body were disappearing. No, they were being burnt up. Years of pain and the effects of old age were being devoured by the flames inside her. When it was over she stood and marveled at the fact that her back was straight. She saw her mahogany cane on the ground and simply stared at it. When she looked up a blue box was in front of her face. After she finished reading she was stunned. The earth had been taken over by aliens and humanity was somehow about to be tested. For a moment she was sure that this was some pot induced dream caused by her special brownies but she hadn¡¯t made those in years. Plus it was also hard to explain what she had just experienced. At this point, she heard a groaning come from the foot of the stairs. She couldn¡¯t see though since the blue box was blocking her version. The moment she thought about it blocking her view it turned transparent. Then in an experiment, she thought about making go away and to her surprise it did. Now she was able to see both Alfred and Sam who stood staring off into space. It looked like they must be seeing the same blue box as her. She could see her sons¡¯ lips move as he read the text. By the time both men had read and figured out how to make the blue box go away, Dara came down the stairs with the kids in tow. Alfred went over to his family while Sam was looking at her strangely. Before she could ask him why another blue box appeared.
Congratulations Trial Participate!( Evaleen Dasher) You have met the requirements to establish a settlement! Requirements: Structures: 1/1 Residents: 6/4 Foodstuffs: 50/20 Technology: 10/1 (Know this, structures can only be made into settlements by their owner unless the structures are abandoned) Create settlement Yes or No?
This new box confused her more than the last. She tried to make it go away like the last one but it refused. After a couple of tries, she assumed it wouldn¡¯t go away until she answered yes or no. and she didn¡¯t want to do anything until she knew what was going on. The best she could do was to minimize it so it wasn¡¯t blocking her vision anymore. ¡°Please tell me I¡¯m not going insane and that you guys saw the blue notification box as well,¡± Sam said looking at everyone. ¡°The one talking about how the aliens weren¡¯t going to wipe us out. Yeah I saw that,¡± Alfred said ¡°What about the intense pain. Did you guys feel like you were being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles?¡± Dara asked. There were nods all-around at the question. ¡°This is crazy so not only are there aliens but they¡¯ve messed with our bodies and now expect us to participate in some godforsaken trial?¡± Alfred asked. ¡°Maybe this is all just some mass hallucination? I mean I¡¯ve heard of it happening before.¡± Sam replied. ¡°I understand why you would think that. I thought I was high out of mind at first but there¡¯s no way the earthquake let alone the pain wasn¡¯t real,¡± Evaleen said. It also helped that she felt 50 years younger. Dara nodded in agreement then addressed the rest of the group. ¡°Has anyone else looked outside? Everything is a mess. I¡¯m betting the town is worse off.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Sam said and after that everyone was quiet for a while. Evaleen thought about her own home which was creaking ominously which brought her attention back to the blue screen blinking in the corner of her eye. ¡°Did anyone else see the second blue screen? The one asking you to create a settlement?¡± she asked. Everyone looked confused so she guessed not. She saw Sam and the kids perk up though. ¡°First the notification box and now this, this trial they spoke of must be some type of game,¡± Sam said. ¡°Yeah why else would there be some many RPG elements in this trial,¡± Brian said. She could hear the growing excitement in her grandson¡¯s voice. ¡°The notification box and the settlement creation, I wonder what other elements there are?¡± Niki asked. Evaleen saw that her grandchildren were starting to look at this as some type of grand adventure which worried her. She recalled the part where the blue box talked about cleansing entire species. She doubted that anything good was going to come from this trial. ¡°Other game elements huh let me try something,¡± Sam closed his eyes for a moment. Everyone was looking at him when he opened his eyes so they saw the look of wonderment on his face. ¡°Everybody quick, think about the words status page,¡± he said. ¡°No way, we have status pages too,¡± Brian said. The kids were quick to follow Sam¡¯s example and close their eyes. Her son and Dara copied their children which left her as the only person to try it. She was hesitated for a moment but decided that they had to figure out this new reality that they found themselves in. So, she thought about this status page thing and like everyone else the blue screen appeared.
Trial Participant (Evaleen Dasher) Species: #372 Reputation Points: 0 Level:1 Exp: 0/50 Mana: 100/100 Health:100/100 Age: 89 Stats: Strength:5 (base stat for all trial participants) Constitution:5 (base stat for all trial participants) Agility: 5 (base stat for all trial participants) Wisdom:5 (base stat for all trial participants) Intelligence:5 (base stat for all trial participants) Charisma: 5 (base stat for all trial participants) Natural Traits-None Skills-0/2 Titles-None
Evaleen stared at the blue box or rather her status page for a while. It knew her age as well as her name. After talking for a moment, they agreed that the status page showed everyone the same thing. At this point, an animated conversation broke out between everyone that she didn¡¯t fully understand. Status pages were somewhat common in the games that they had played. Even Dara seemed to nod along in understanding. The information under the stats section was supposed to be some sort of evaluation of their current abilities. It seemed like every human had been brought up to some standard of physical and mental fitness. The change was certainly noticeable by the others but not nearly as drastic as it had been for her. It was brought to her attention that her appearance had also changed. Her wrinkled skin had smoothed out. And her gray hair now had slight signs of red in it. The mood was light for a while as the kids explained things like experience points, min-maxing characters, and what mana was in most games. The mood was broken by the sound of coyotes howling in the distance. The coyote population had always been a serious problem for the town. However, they had never heard them so close to the house and it sounded like there were more than a few out there. What was worse was that howl seemed off somehow. The sound was deeper than it should have been. That¡¯s when the idea that most games had monsters was brought up. After that revelation, the question of protection became a priority in their discussion. At least on that point, they had some good ideas. Edgar had dabbled in hunting for a few summers and had left some guns in the basement. Sam went down to grab them and came back with not only the guns but gardening equipment as well. Evaleen was confused until Sam explained that all but two of the firearms were in any condition to be fired. It wasn¡¯t much; two hunting rifles, a pickaxe, and two metal shovels were all they had for weapons. It was at this point the house groaned again which brought up another discussion. The stability of the house after the earthquake was yet another concern. No one wanted to be inside the house if it might collapse but going outside might be worse. It was the kids who reminded everyone about her ability to create a settlement. In games, settlements had the option to be improved or repaired when damaged. Dara surprised everyone when she agreed with the kids and revealed her penchant to play civilization-building games in her spare time. After a few concerns were raised and dismissed they decided to give it a try. So Evaleen focused on the blue box in the corner of her eye and it immediately popped back into view. She thought the answer yes in her head and the box vanished only to be replaced by another one.
Congratulations Trial Participants for being one of the first groups to attempt to create a settlement! You have unlocked the special quest ¡°Alpha Settlement¡± (Mandatory) Alpha Settlements are a step above normal settlements. They require fewer resources for upgrades, provide stronger defenses, and have the potential to become more depending on the choices your group makes. Alpha Settlement Quest: All local wildlife within a 5-mile radius will be drawn to the site of your future settlement. The actual construction of settlement will be delayed until quest completion. Goal: Survive one wave Reward: Experimental A.I Upgraded settlement An upgradable safe zone (Know this all special quest are mandatory during the trial of awakening.) Wave starts in 60 seconds
Chapter 2: The Wave Sam was surprised he was even able to see the notification screen. He was wondering if it meant something that forming a settlement had somehow labeled them as a party. Was there some type of benefit that came from being in a group? His train of thought was forgotten though as he noticed the rest of the text. His face went pale as he dismissed the screen and a countdown appeared in the corner of his eye. Wave starts in 60,59,58¡­ The group shared a look. Maybe it hadn¡¯t been a good idea to create a settlement. They didn¡¯t have time to dwell on that though as they had to figure out how to survive this quest. The first thing they did was divide up the weapons. He and Alfred each grabbed a rifle. While Evaleen picked the pickaxe. There was a brief discussion on should the kids hide or not. However, both kids argued against the idea and surprisingly Dara agreed with them. In the end, Dara gave the kids the two metal shovels and she grabbed two knives from the kitchen. Sam felt better about their chances with a rifle in his hands. While the rest of the group armed themselves he was pacing by the window. Which was why he saw the group of coyotes near the house. The creatures were twice the size of a normal coyote, and their grey fur shimmered with a pale light. The most disturbing thing about them, however, were their yellow glowing eyes. They were so bright that he could see them even at a distance. Wave starts in 45,44,43¡­. After seeing the coyotes his gun no longer felt like enough. Two guns couldn¡¯t take out a dozen coyotes. At least not before they rushed them. The rest of the group noticed him staring at the window and came over. He saw Evaleen looking at her pickaxe doubtfully and the kid''s earlier determination deflated somewhat. He couldn¡¯t fault them since his own hands had started to sweat the moment he saw those yellow eyes. Going outside to meet them with the weapons they had would besuicide.Staying in the house wasn¡¯t much better with so many windows and no time to board them all up. They needed some type of plan but for the life of him, he couldn¡¯t think of one. He had never been the best at thinking on the fly. He¡¯d always preferred making plans well in advance. He thought about going down to the basement. There were no windows down there and the coyotes could only come at them in one direction. and If they did it right the entrance could act as a choke point which would help prevent the coyotes from overwhelming them with numbers. He wanted to speak up and suggest they do just that but hehesitated. His judgement been proven to be faulty in the past and wasn''t sure if this was the best course of action to take. Dara had also tried to come up with a solution but unlike him she didn''t hesitate to share her idea.She suggested building some type of fortification out of the furniture. He wasn''t sure that was the best idea however everyone else agreed. And the house was soon full of activity as they grabbed everything that could be used to make a fortification. Dara led the effort and decided where to place the thing. Dara had them place the fortification in front of the entrance. The front and back of the fortification were overturned couches. While the sides were comprised of the living and dining room tables. When the thing was completed Dara seemed to get some type of notification and the fort seemed to glow with a blue light for a moment. When it was over the thing seemed somehow studier. After that, they gathered anything that might be useful. Which turned out to be medicine and any thing that could be used as a projectile. 3,2,1...Wave has Started As soon as they saw the notification screen everyone got into position. Sam still had doubts but he joined Alfred at the front door which had been left open. The coyotes they had seen earlier were now charging toward the house in one huge mass. He and Alfred started firing as soon as the coyotes got close enough.They took out two before they even got near the house and they were able to wound several more. However, their luck changed as the coyotes got smart and spread out. They wounded a few but failed to kill anymore before they got too close to the house. He and Alfred managed to concentrate their fire on the coyotes directly in front of the door. Thankfully they were able to stop the creatures from just swarming the door. What they couldn¡¯t do though was stop the two coyotes that got inside by crashing through the windows. Sam wanted to turn around and help but most of the creatures were still outside. It seemed like the creatures had grown weary of their guns. When the first two coyotes got in the rest tried to follow. They did their best to stop the coyotes from getting into the house through the windows, but they couldn¡¯t do too much as there were simply too many of them. The best they could do was slow them down enough so that the rest of the group wouldn¡¯t be swarmed. This worked for a while as they were able to kill two more coyotes but after a while, too many of them had managed to make it inside. Alfred had to turn around and help others. This left Sam to deal with the last two coyotes outside. He was doing fine and had even killed another coyote until he ran out of ammo. Normally they would take turns covering each other when it was time for one of them to reload. Now however he was alone and didn¡¯t have enough time to reload as the last coyote rushed him. ... When the first coyote broke through the window Evaleen had thought that they were ready. She was wrong. Things started poorly for them when the coyote easily dodged everything, they could through at it. The creature was just too quick. It closed the distance between them way faster then she thought it could. She and Brian were forced to throwing things and quickly grab their weapons. Her grandson attacked first.He let loose with a wild swing that actually managed to hit the beast. The flat side of his shovel connected with it¡¯s face. While the blow did little damage, it managed to stun the beast, which was all she needed. She swung her pickaxe and impaled the creature. Blood spurted from the creature''s side and she thought that would be the end of things. Somehow though, the coyote dispite its injures, still managed to lunge at her. She let go of her pickaxe in surprise. And barely managed to raise her right arm before the coyote bit into it. The pain was terrible. If this had happened yesterday, she would have crumpled to the ground. Now, however, the pain seemed to make her blood boil. As her body heated up strength flooded into her as she pried the things jaws off and threw it back. As soon as the beast was away from her Brian was there. This time he attacked with the edge of the metal shovel. More blood spurted from the coyote and it turned to face her grandson. This gave her the chance to retrive her pickaxe which was still stuck in the things side. She attacked again and this time the coyote went limp. When she looked up her side of fortification was empty. She turned and checked on Dara and Niki. Which was why she caught sight of Dara diving one of her knives into the nape of the coyote¡¯s neck. The creature went limp instantly, yet that didn¡¯t stop Niki from hitting it a few more times with her shovel to be sure. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The four of them shared a quick look then Dara retrieved her knife from the coyote¡¯s corpse. They had each faced one yet both thier groups were already injured. And it seemed like more coyotes had decided that going through the window was the smart choice. She saw even more coyotes jumping through the windows into her home. Now there were six of the creatures. Four on Dara¡¯s side and two on hers. She thought that maybe they could take two on but there was no way that Dara and niki could take on four. Noticing the situation Alfred turned around help. This left Sam alone she hoped he would be fine. She was pulled from her concerns though by the approaching coyotes. This time the creatures were noticeably slower. That''s when she realized that they were already bleeding from bullet wounds. She almost smiled in relief when she realized that their chances had improved. This time the coyotes weren''t fast enough to avade their projectiles. By the time they came close to the fortification, their yellow eyes had deemed and their body was coated with broken glass and other sharp objects. She even managed to kill one with a single swing of her pickaxe. While Brian beat the other coyote to death with repeated blows to the head with his shovel. When they turned around to check on the others they were greeted with a horrible sight. There were two coyotes in the fortification. One was on top of Dara trying to get its jaws around her throat while the other coyote was biting into her son¡¯s shoulder. His gun was laying on the floor next to him and Dara was similarly disarmed as one of her knives was in the creature''s stomach while the other lay on the floor out of reach. She was about to rush forward to help her son when she noticed her granddaughter was trying with all her might but failing to keep the third coyote from overwhelming her. Evaleen found herself rushing to her granddaughters'' side. By the time she got there the coyote was leaping over the dining room table to get at Niki. A scream of rage came from Evaleen¡¯s lips as she swung her pickaxe once again. This time the weapon in her hands glowed a light red before hitting the creature. The blow tore through the coyote. Its dead body fell to the ground at her feet. Before she could even wonder at what had just happened a weakness spread throughout her body. She could barely move and could only stand there and watch her family fight for their like. With the third coyote down Niki was free to run to her mother''s aid. She smashed her shovel into the creature''s side. The attack distracted the coyote long enough for Dara to grip the knife in the creature¡¯s stomach and rip it out. She then proceeded to repeatedly drive her knife into the coyote until it went still. Alfred also dealt with the coyote attacking him. He just let the creature have his shoulder. And while it was tearing into him, he was able to grab Dara¡¯s second knife and stab the thing to death. After the last coyote in her home died, she seemed to slowly regain some of her strength. she felt like collapsing due to a mix of relief that the fight was over and the blood loss. The only thing that kept her up where all the blue notification screens that appeared in front of her.
Delayed Combat Log Brian attacks with metal shovel Mana infused coyote loses 5 Hp remaining Hp 35/40 Mana infused coyote is stunned! you attack with a pickaxe Mana infused coyote loses 10 Hp remaining Hp 25/40 Mana infused coyote attacks. You lose -10 Hp Hp remaining 90/100 (Natural Trait: Adrenaline Rush has been unlocked)
Brian attacks with a metal shovel. Critical Hit! Mana infused coyote losses -10 Hp remaining Hp 15/40 You attack with a pickaxe. Critical Hit! Mana infused coyote loses -20 Hp remaining Hp 0/40 Mana Infused Coyote has died. You and Brian have gained 15 Exp
She was surprised to find that their entire encounter had been somehow recorded in some type of log. When she got to the point about the natural trait, she guessed it must have been behind her sudden surge of strength. See this she skipped past the rest of the combat log in order to find the explanation behind her pickaxe briefly glowing red.
You have used the skill Crushing Blow. your attack has been augmented with 100% of your Mana. Mana infused coyote loses -40 Hp remaining Hp 0/40 coyote has died You are experiencing Mana withdraw weakness effect applied until Mana regenerates
So, the glowing red light was a skill. Despite her forearm still hurting she couldn¡¯t help but grin. Her grandkids started to laugh as they lay on the floor. She could hear the relief in their voices as well as the excitement. The rest of the group broke out in smiles. It seemed like they too had unlocked powers and gained a level. Despite the relief, she was a little worried about the future. If this was just the beginning of the trial, she couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen later. After a while, another emotion began to emerge again. The feeling of excitement. Just yesterday she had been struggling to come to grips with the fact that her body was beginning to fail her. Now in this new reality, she found herself in, not only was she strong but she felt that she could become even stronger. She was pulled from her thoughts when she realized there were more notifications blinking in the corner of her eyes.
Congratulations Trial participant you have unlocked a new level of strength!(Open your status page to choose your development path)
Congratulations Trial participant you have discovered the skill Crushing Blow!(open your status page to learn about the skill)
Trial Participant: (EvaleenDasher) Species: #372 Reputation Points:0 Level:1 Exp: 50/50 Mana: 100/100 Health:90/100 Age: 89 Would you like to level up?Confirm Stats: Strength:5(base stat for all trial participants) Constitution:5(base stat for all trial participants) Agility: 5(base stat for all trial participants) Wisdom:5(base stat for all trial participants) Intelligence:5(base stat for all trial participants) Charisma: 5(base stat for all trial participants) Natural Traits Adrenaline Rush(Passive)-After your blood is drawn you gain a 5 percent increase to all physical stats during combat Skills-1/ 2 Crushing Blow(Basic)-Doubles the damage on a single attack. Damage triples on critical hits. Requires 100 mana to activate. Titles-None

Congratulations Trial participants you have completed the quest¡°Alpha Settlement¡± Construction of Alpha Settlement will begin once every basic role has been assigned. Normal settlements start off with basic roles that are upgraded through settlement quest. Alpha settlements, however, offer the settlement owner three advanced roles. These roles are generated and assigned based upon the skills of the randomly selected trial participants. (Settlement Role Progression: Basic, Advanced, Expert, Master) Settlement Roles Leader (unique):EvaleenDasher Alchemist (Advanced): Sam Ashford Merchant (Advanced):Alfred Dasher Architect (Advanced): Dara Dasher Defender (Basic) ??? Laborer (Basic) ??? (Unique roles are singular and settlement role ranking doesnt apply) Begin Constructing Settlement?Confirm