"Here it is," Victor announced, standing in front of the game machine. Against the dark haired man, the waist-level machine only reached his upper thigh.
His aura covered his entire body in a faint indigo color.
Nox walked over, observing the colorful surface and seven holes. Two of the metal rims encircling the holes seemed shinier than the rest.
Lei followed from behind absentmindedly.
Nox glanced at her dazed expression with some curiosity. The modern arcade seemed like a place Lei would come to often. Roxanne also had a habit of wasting her allowance money when she went to the arcade, despite her being older than Lei. At one point, Nox worried that she would develop a gambling addiction.
Ari appeared silently, followed by So Jiwoo. The latter frowned, curling his fingers in the sleeve of his sweater. "Whac-A-Mole?"
Nox blinked. "What's that?"
So Jiwoo looked at him reflexively, "You don't know what that is?"
"No."
Lei snapped to attention at his words. "Uncle, you've never played Whac-A-Mole as a kid?" She paused, "Wait, when was it invented?"
"Lei, I know you call me 'Uncle' but I'm not that old," Nox sighed. Even he knew arcades usually had classic games that were created ages ago. He had just never gone to one before.
"Oh. My bad."
She didn't look sorry in the slightest, Nox noted with exasperation.
So Jiwoo bent down to observe the machine, not touching it. It was a given, since this machine would send them into a trial.
Nox eyed the pair of binoculars in Victor's hands. The man had explained its function when they were heading towards their current location. Seeing through them could allow him to view large energy fluctuations. Usually that meant the object was a trigger for a trial.
"It's called chaos energy," Nox had offhandedly revealed, scolding himself a second later. Blindly disclosing information was a foolish move. At Victor's raised eyebrow, he hurriedly threw out an explanation. "In my first trial, an Overseer described it like that."
The dark haired man gave a curt nod of understanding. "I've heard So Jiwoo's description of them."
So the second Arcadia leader also acquired his ability before the Eclipse.
So Jiwoo let out a light cough. "I believe we need to touch the machine in order to enter the trial. How about I-"
The hammer hanging next to the machine tapped one of the metal rims. "Ari will go first."
With a flash, the girl disappeared to Lei's surprised shout, leaving the toy hammer dangling against the side of the machine.
Victor followed without hesitation, then So Jiwoo who gave Nox a quick nod. "See you inside."
Lei gaped at their quick motions, "They really..." She ran a hand through her bangs, eyes shifting through an impressive range of emotion. Finally, her expression smoothed out and she gave Nox a grin. "Uncle, pleasure working with you again."
Nox nodded calmly, "Let's go, then."
The two tapped the hammer against the machine and were pulled into the trial.
This time, Nox didn't react as the familiar dizzying motion left him standing in an underground cavern.
The holographic screen appeared instantly.
[Trial: The Luck of Seven
Main Task: Avoid being struck by the Unfortunate Hammer. A curse will be placed on you if you are hit. The accumulation of three curses will result in death. Survive all nine rounds with your own ability.
Difficulty: B
Synapse: The mole children like to play in the underground cavern because they often find tasty morsels. However, if Mother Mole catches them eating before dinnertime she'll get mad.
Time Limit: Nine Rounds
Reward: Giant Squeaky Hammer, Lucky Dice
Penalty: Death]
"There's too many shadows," Nox said as he observed their surroundings. There was light coming from above, but a light source would be more of a hindrance in this situation.
Lei nodded in understanding, "It will be easy to be caught off guard because of the shadows." She stuffed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, circling Nox to get a good look of their surroundings.
Nox spotted the three others that came with them a few meters away but didn't call out. Besides them, there were another two participants. 'Seven in total.' He watched as So Jiwoo walked to the unknown people, talking quietly before gesturing to Victor and Ari behind him.
The female participant hesitated as she spotted the small child. The man had a look of disinterest on his face.
Playing as strangers, Nox and Lei walked to join the rest. He extended a hand towards So Jiwoo in a natural manner. "Nox."
So Jiwoo smiled, his expression open and friendly like the first time they met. "You can call me Jiwoo. The two with me are Victor and Ari."
"Mister, what's your name?" Lei asked the unknown man.
The man reflexively smoothing down his short hair. "Wen." He rubbed his palm against the dark material of his pants and extended a hand which Nox smoothly intercepted.
"Nice to meet you," Nox smiled woodenly.
Wen shook his hand twice uncertainly, "Ah... you too." He quickly let go.
The woman cleared her throat, directing the attention towards her. She grasped Nox's hand in her own, flashing her manicured nails. "I'm Li Daiyu."
Nox stared at her fingers suspiciously, releasing her hand after a quick shake. It was surprising that her nails weren't cracked and dirty like his. A quick look at Victor's hand confirmed that his hands were in a similar state to Nox's.
So Jiwoo continued, "Now that introductions are over, should we strategize for this task?"
"A good idea," Li Daiyu nodded eagerly, lips pursed in thought. Her large dangling earrings caught onto the light coming from above, shining in a distracting manner.
Wen smiled, "Isn't it just to avoid being hit? I really got lucky with this trial. We'll probably be able to wrap this up and return within an hour."
"Mr. Wen, please understand my reservations." So Jiwoo replied, an understanding smile on his face, "I have gone through four trials myself and I've learned that the simpler the task, the more complicating it is for the participants."
Nox silently approved. 'I can see why he can be called a leader next to Bai Yu.'
"That might not always be the case." Wen said stubbornly. "Look, all we need to do is run away."
"But isn't it better to be prepared than to die because you were caught off guard?" Lei frowned, feeling that the middle-aged man was being rather rude. His appearance was somewhat unkept too, with an unshaven face and haggard dark eye bags.
Li Daiyu let out a tinkling laugh, "With these reliable young men, we don't need to do much work." She winked at Lei, drawing her long sleeve jacket closer to herself.
There was a bit of a breeze in the cave.
Lei furrowed her brows, opening her mouth to refute the statement.
Nox patted Lei's shoulder lightly, a silent request to leave it be. "I'm more concerned about this 'time limit.' The description doesn't say anything about how long a round is."
"I'm sure it won't be that long," Li Daiyu smiled brightly, affected by Wen's flippant attitude.
Skrit.
"Stop." So Jiwoo raised a hand.
"Wha-"
"Shut up," Nox snapped, feeling a dull throb in his side. He frowned as the wound Verita gave him flared in pain. 'I thought the wound healed already.' He resisted lifting up his shirt to check on it.
Srkik.
The shuffling paused, then a pair of small, beady black eyes narrowed in on them from the shadows.
"Run away." A small blur passed Nox. It was Ari.
"Huh?" Li Daiyu blinked in stupor. "When did that girl.."
「Human.」
The group froze.
「There are humans!」
There was a moment of static before the voices gradually became clearer. One by one, greedy eyes appeared in the dark corners of the cavern.
「How many?」
「One, two, thirty...」
「Dummy, it's three.」
「You are the dumb one. There's seventeen.」
「It is seven. One for each of us.」
「Only seven? Last there were forty.」
「Fourteen.」
「Whatever.」
「Won't Mother get mad?」
「I won't tell if you don't. Number Six told on us last time.」
「Hey!」
「Deal.」
The light blue screen appeared.
[Round One has begun.]
The moles wasted no time in attacking.
"!" Nox dodged underneath the quick swing of a furry limb, straightening up in amazement. 'It looks so ugly.'
Moles definitely weren't the most photogenic animals- especially so if they were scaled to the height of a full grown human. It even stood on two feet, the pink tip of its nose twitching as it spun back in his direction. In its paws was a giant red and yellow squeaky hammer- the kind that could be found in any store that sold children's toys.
Despite their bulky appearance, their movements were fast and coordinated.
In no time at all, the entire group had been scattered.
The smallest mole of the group chased after Lei.
Victor and So Jiwoo avoided the wide attacks of their moles with ease.
Nox observed their motions as he ran away from the mole tailing him. 'Their agility must be high.' There was still no sign of them using their ability.
It seemed like Wen and Li Daiyu were having a difficult time, but he didn't need to care about them.
This trial was a test run between their group and Arcadia, after all.
The mole in front of him tilted its head in displeasure as Nox ducked its next swing. With a frustrated noise, the mole aimed the hammer at him again.
Feeling the hammer just brush past, a shudder ran down Nox's spine. 'Shit. This thing is persistent.' While he ran circles around the mole, he called for Kuna to appear.
There was a slight tugging sensation as the blood fox leapt out of his shadow. The 'phantom' part of his familiar was pretty useful.
"Chii!" A pair of sharp claws dug into the mole's thick-furred hide.
「Yeouch! Number 2, this human had a red thing scratched me!」
Kuna leapt away as the mole swiped at the fox.
「Of course you would be dumb enough to chose the annoying human, Number 5.」
The mole called Number 2 had been chasing Wen and successfully trapped the man in a corner. It swung down on, smacking Wen's leg with the squeaky hammer.
Instead of the squealing noise Nox expected from the hammer, Wen was the one who let out a shriek of pain. "Hhiiek!"
With a sickening crunch, the squeaky hammer crushed his leg.
Number 5 paused, saying in admiration, 「Number 2, has your hammer gotten heavier?」
Number 2 shrugged, 「I think this human is just fragile.」
So Jiwoo leapt over, grabbing the back of Wen's shirt to pull him away from the finishing blow.
Clang!
With a resounding bang, the hammer smashed down on the floor of the cavern. A slightly smoking crater was left in its place.
Kuna released a displeased chirp at the noise, ears flat against his head as he lengthened his claws and plunged them into Number 5's hind leg.
「Kiiiiya!」
Nox took the opportunity to retrieve his sword out of his inventory. He gripped the handle and swung it towards the furry limb holding the hammer.
Chesrk.
The blade's edge barely sunk in.
Wordlessly, Nox poured more aura into it until the blade held a jagged glow around the edges. With a grunt, he sliced down.
[Item: Sword of Hearts (Ace)
Function: Boosts attack power the more aura is poured into it. There is a chance that the user will become mad, but it is only a negligible probability.]
The fight against Verita had left its shiny surface slightly scuffed up, but it showed no signs of breaking as it cut into the mole.
The mole shuddered uncontrollably from the attack and dropped the hammer.
「Oh no-!」
A loud stomp came from above, shaking the entire cavern.
"Woah-" Lei tripped over a rock, falling onto the ground. "Oomph-"
A small hand reached up to stabilize the unbalanced teenager. "Ari will help."
「Dinnertime!」
The moles abandoned the humans in a split second, gathering in a panic.
「Hurry, hurry-!」
「We can eat them tomorrow!」
「Don't make Mother mad!」
They scampered off in a single file line, quickly disappearing into the darkness once again.
With bright eyes, Li Daiyu shouted, "Let's go!" She ran after the moles, eager to get out of the dreary cavern.
So Jiwoo stiffened, "No, don't follow them!"
His warning came too late as her fingers reached forward, sparking against an invisible barrier.
"Uwwauk!"
Li Daiyu was thrown backwards, her back colliding with the stone wall.
"Li Daiyu, you're crazy!" Wen barked, his gaze unnaturally feverish. "Don't you know that the trials have barriers to keep the players in place? How did you manage to survive for this long if you don't even know this?!" Despite his leg getting smashed earlier, he seemed to be in high spirits.
The rest of the group ran over to the woman, her eyes clenched shut. She let out a painful groan as Lei helped her up, reaching up to touch her head.
So Jiwoo grabbed her hand midway. "You're bleeding. It's best not to agitate the wound too much."
Silently, she brought her hand down.
The pleased smile in Li Daiyu's eyes couldn't be hidden even in the dim light.
Nox observed her expression with a snort, Kuna settling around his shoulders. The little fox sniffed in displeasure, echoing his master's sentiment. Nox's mouth curved downwards as he stared across the cavern. "It's getting dark."
Victor started at Nox's comment, following his line of sight. A frown appeared on his face as well.
Lei let out a muffled exclamation. "Ah? How will we see the moles then?
So Jiwoo shook his head. "That's not what Nox means. The shifting light is showing us the time."
Lei blinked, her brows furrowed. The moment she realized the truth, her eyes widened in shock. "You're saying that a single round is one day?"
Nox tilted his head in consideration, leaning against one of the stone pillars. "If Mother Mole catches them eating before dinnertime she'll get mad," he quoted. "So dinnertime will happen..."
A look of dread appeared on Li Daiyu's face. "Nine times," she said faintly, face paling until her complexion resembled a ghost's.
Nox nodded.
It was good to know that her brain still worked, at least.