It was the third day since the apocalypse began and everything changed. It the last two days the 53 teams had occupied different areas in the school and have even made alliances with other parties. These who scored higher on the second trial were more respected and had bigger areas in the school.
The only times all the parties met up was when it was time for lunch. In order to not run out of food quickly, the number one party's cleric was managing food delivery. Although some teams did not like it, they could tell by examining the team that they were leagues ahead of most of the other parties.
The average level in the area was level 6 yet team gladiators had an average level of 9.1 in their party. They also had 8 members which is more than average. Unless a couple of parties allied against them, their leadership was indefinite.
Drew walked up to the front of the cafeteria and asked for his party's rations to be given. In front of him was his little sister who he had been enemies with just a few days ago. Now that he looks at her, he can only sigh.
"Here is your rations." Minnie said emotionless. Drew grabbed it and hesitated a bit.
"What? You need more?" Minnie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I wish I had gone with you Minnie. If I could, I would joined your team in a heart beat but Your not allowed to switch alliances." Drew sighed as he said this before going back to his teammates. Minnie's poker face cracked for a second before she regained a her cool and asked for the next party to come up.
When Drew finally sat down, he received a cold look from his coach.
"What was that?" Mr. Smith asked coldly.
"Nothing. I just wanted to know how my little sister was holding up." Drew answered quickly. Mr Smith scoffed.
"Can't you see for yourself? How she lucked out on that team is astonishing. I don't believe it for a second. She must have somehow accepted their request last second or something. No one is that lucky."
"Well who cares at this point.?" Mr Kit asked as he grabbed his food.
"I do and you should all too. Have you not seen their levels? 3 of them are level 10 and one of them is even level 11 a mutt like him being at a higher level then me! Then all of you! What a disgrace." Mr. Smith angrily spouted. Mr Kit closed his mouth regretting saying anything.
After handing out the rations for lunch, The Gladiators continued to practice their casting skills. And they even began training with each other in order to level up their skills.
They had taken the gymnasium spot and put it to good use. At this moment, Minnie and Erin were in a heated battle. Everyone cheered for their side as Minnie attacked Erin with her Black iron sword she received from the system.
Minnie maneuvered the weapon with ease as she aimed for his shoulder. Erin blocked the sword with his Spear and continued to keep a distance from Minnie. By keeping a distance, Minnie found it difficult to get a good shot at Erin. It did not help that his speed was much higher than hers so even when she does get close enough to hit him, he easily dodges the attack.
They ended up dueling for a good hour before Erin's spear was right in front of Minnie's neck.
"My win." Erin said with a smile. Minnie sighed in defeat.
"Are you sure you have not allocated any points yet? This is really hurting my pride."Erin laughed as he heard this.
"I feel like I should think carefully before deciding. I don't want to make a Sean."
"Haha, very funny." Sean said sarcastically as he got up.
"How about you have a taste of my lighting!" Erin quickly moved away before the yellow sizzling mass of mana got him. Sean twirled his staff as he failed to hit him yet again.
"Watch out Sean. If you keep using your powers like that you will run out of mana or worse hit me." Sean narrowed his eyes as he saw Erin smile at him jokingly.
"Its my turn to fight you now." William said as he stood up. Erin's face grew serious again as he looked at William.
"Yeah ok. Lets go."Erin said lightly. William smiled as he heard this. He had been waiting for the opportunity to fight Erin. Out of all the members, there were only two that he felt threatened by. Minnie and Erin. Even though Minnie was a natural born leader and had great athletic and logical skills, Erin felt like more of a threat. He acted invisible when ever he needed to and created a good relationship with anybody he needed to back in first year.
He was poor but knew his way with words. He was able to create a good atmosphere in the party without even trying. Even when he tried to get Erin in a bit of trouble when he acted without getting everyone's consent, Erin was able to control the situation.
If there was a vote to see who would become the leader, William knew that Erin would easily win. There was no need to fight, Erin won the position in everyone's heart.
William did not envy Erin for this trait nor did he feel like taking over such a large position. If he was that type of person, he would have easily won presidency in his class but he did not. He wanted to fight Erin in order to see if he was worthy enough to have his vote.
The two boys faced each other. Erin smiled at William as he positioned himself. William played with his daggers as he waited for Jessica to start the battle.
"And the match will start in three, two, o-"
~Ding~
"Really System?" William swore.
~ World message~
~ Congratulations to all 1 356 709 458 survivors. You have fought through battles, have created alliances and have gained rewards for your troubles
~ There is just one thing left before the tutorial is completed
~ Trial will commence in a few moments
~difficulty: E
~ Rewards:
Unknown
Exp will not be given for the duration of this trial
Good luck~
Erin looked at everyone after he reading this. William looked at Erin and he stared back.
"What do you think is going to happen?" William asked.
"What ever happens...I know you will all do great." Erin said with a smile.
"Are you su-" Williams's voiced drowned out as Erin found himself in a darkly lit room.
He looked around wondering were all his teammates went. Suddenly in the distance he saw the figure of a girl with twin tail braids. He quickly walked towards her and tapped on her shoulder.
"Hello miss, do you know were we ar-" Erin paused as he saw the girl's appearance.
"P-Picasso?" Erin stuttered. Picasso smiled at him as tears fell from her eyes.
"Brother! I was so scared I thought I would never see you again!" Picasso hugged Erin tightly as she began to cry. Erin hugged his sister back.
"Its ok, your brother is here now. I am here now. What happened Picasso?" Picasso looked up at Erin sadly.
"It was awful! A bunch of goblin's came and killed all my friends and then I got grouped in with a bunch of people I did not know. I almost died so many times. The only thing that kept me alive was the hope that I would see you and mom again." Erin messed up the girls hair as he heard this.
" Well I am glad I inspired you to live on. You know...You did the same to me too. You and mom kept me going. I would not want to cause anymore hurt in this family. We have been hurt enough."
"Brother..." Picasso cried.
"Stop talking like that." Erin ordered. Picasso looked at him oddly.
"What-What do you mean?"
"You can stop using her voice now."
"Brother. I don-"
"My name is loser or douchebag. Lilly would never call me brother." Erin said with a smile. Picasso's face turned ugly before calming down again.
"Hehe. You knew all along. No wonder they have such high regards of you." Erin looked at the girl oddly.
"Who has high regards for me? The system?"
"No need to be curious. If their will is correct, you will find out soon enough."
"Is this the third trial?" Erin asked.
"No. This was my trial and you passed. I just want to ask, why did you go along with the charade?" The girl asked. Erin looked at the girl solemnly.
"If I never get to see them again, I just wanted them how I felt even if it was not truly her." The girl laughed as she heard this.
"You humans are such fickle creatures." The girls laugh echoed the room until she disappeared as quickly as she left. Erin was transported again to a forest. He looked around and realized he was left alone again. Without anytime to relax, a shadowy figure came and attacked Erin. Luckily Erin was on his guard and with his spear in hand, he split the figure in two.
Erin did not hear the notification of the figures death and so he kept his vigilance. His patience did not fail him as the figure came together again. Erin did not hesitate to attack him again. and again and again. This continued for hour as the figure became noticeably stronger each time.
Erin had killed the figure all the ways he could think of but he always came back. Erin began to become frustrated as he felt like he was thrown into a trial he could not win.
"Maybe if I defeat a 100 times? 200? 300? How many times do I have to defeat this guy!" He thought angrily.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Erin began to become fatigued. The injuries had begun to take their toll and the fight duration were becoming too long for Erin to cope.
"I am not dying today. Not today!" Erin screamed this as he stabbed the figure in the gut.
"Hyuuk!" Erin gasped as he felt a sword go through his chest. Blood started to flow from his mouth as he stared at the figure who would be dying for the nth time.
As Erin's consciousness began to fade he could eerily hear the sound of laughter. It was not from the shadow, it was coming from something else in the trees. Erin's eyes flashed as he heard this. He was not going down with out a fight. As the shadowy figure was resuscitating. Erin finally added his extra stats.
He had 50 and knew exactly where he would put them. 25 to Agility, 15 to constitution, 10 to strength. The sudden burst of power did not overwhelm Erin as he was focused on the sound. He fell on the floor as the wound on his chest continued to bleed out.
He suddenly heard the sound of rustling three on his right side. He did not hesitate and brought out his bow and arrows. While ignoring the pain of his joints, he swiftly shot the arrow through the three and shot another and another.
"Ackhh!" Erin smiled as he heard the screams coming from the trees. He did not even care whether he killed him or not. His eyes closed since he lost too much blood. As his mind slowly faded, he could hear the sound of an audience cheering.
~Ding~
~ Trial 3 [Endurance] has ended
~ You have lasted longer than 3 hours
~You have lasted longer than 5 hours
~ You killed the [puppeteer master]
~ You killed the puppet more than 100 times
~ You killed the puppet more than 200 times
~ You killed the puppet more than 300 times
~ You killed the puppet more than 400 times
~ You strained your ears to hear to the heavens. You have obtained [Acute senses]
~ Your performance will be calculated please wait in the auditorium area until further notice