In a cozy chair by the window, a teenage boy with vibrant pink hair and matching eyes sat lost in thought, replaying all the juicy details he had gathered from Emi..
First of all, Emi is already married. Secondly, she is the owner of the inn, and her husband married into her family and manages the inn with her. Thirdly, he doesn't even have 10% of my handsomeness.
"Wait, what am I even thinking?" He smacked his cheeks with both hands, snapping himself out of his daze. The most important piece of intel he had snagged from Emi was about the trial portal, the key to unlocking the second floor. This portal was smack dab in the middle of town, conveniently close to the inn where he was crashing.
On the first floor of the trial, players only had to deal with goblins. But these trial goblins were no joke, way trickier than the ones lurking outside. They were sly little buggers, with teamwork skills that put most humans to shame. Many parties found themselves in a tight spot thanks to these crafty critters. And for solo players like him, unless their stats were off the charts, they didn't stand a chance against these newly awakened players.
"Should I find a party too?" He pondered aloud. "Nah, I'll be just fine flying solo. My stats are way higher than those second floor players, and with my unique skill, I might even take down a third floor player," he mused. After careful consideration, Kai made up his mind. Going solo would give him the freedom he craved.
After devouring a hearty breakfast, Kai decided to explore the town. But just as he was about to step out the door, Emi, the inn owner, intercepted him. "Oh, you're heading out," she remarked. "Yeah, just gonna take a stroll around town," he replied. Of course, Emi didn't miss the opportunity to remind him to recommend her inn to any new players he came across. Classic Emi.
As he wandered the streets, a wild old man suddenly appeared in his line of sight. There was something oddly familiar about him. "Oh, it's you again, brat," the old man grumbled. "Oh, it's the oldie again," Kai retorted with a mocking tone, which only served to rile up the old man.
"This disrespectful brat never learns to respect his elders," the old man grumbled."
Hah, this half-dead old man never learned how to communicate properly," Kai fired back.
"
What did you say, you brat?" the old man shouted.
"Huuuh, don't tell me your ears are half-dead too," Kai taunted.
"Fine, I won't waste my breath on you anymore," the old man huffed, realizing he couldn't win this verbal battle. He ignored Kai and went on his way.
"Don't tell me you're scared, oldie," Kai jeered, but the old man didn't dignify him with a response.
"Sigh, fine then. [Slip]," Kai activated his skill. Suddenly, the old man slipped and landed on his butt. With a mischievous laugh, Kai sprinted away.
"That's what you get for pissing me off," he chuckled.
After an hour of leisurely exploration, Kai found himself standing in front of the trial portal. It was a massive door, radiating an intense amount of mana.
"Talk about a total fantasy gate," he muttered to himself. Just as he was about to turn away, the portal suddenly surged with even more mana, growing to over 10 meters in size. The pressure was so intense that some people nearby fainted. Before Kai could even process what was happening, he was sucked into the portal.
Outside the portal, the onlookers who managed to withstand the pressure were left in shock and panic. "What the heck just happened?" one player exclaimed.
"How should I know? The portal just sucked that guy in," another player replied.
"Shouldn't we report this to the association?"
"Absolutely. He got pulled in all by himself. I doubt he'll survive until reinforcements arrive," they agreed.
"All we can do is pray for him. Let's go report this incident to the association." "Y-Yeah, let's go."
Meanwhile, inside the portal, our pink-haired protagonist strolled through a dim, cave-like space with an air of aloofness. "This isn't how portals are supposed to work, especially trial portals," Kai grumbled. "Well, I guess I have no choice but to complete the trial and find my way out." After a brief bout of complaining, he continued on his way.
Suddenly, six goblins leaped out in front of him. Two brandished daggers, two wielded bows, and two hid behind shields. "Well, aren't they a funny-looking bunch," Kai chuckled. To his surprise, the goblins screeched in response. "Screech~scree." "Wait, did they actually understand me?" Kai wondered aloud. Without missing a beat, the goblin with dagger let's go Dagger A and Dagger B charged at him, while Bow A and Bow B took aim from behind Shield A and Shield B. "Such childlike tactics," Kai laughed at their feeble strategy.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a sword he had swiped from a fallen player when he entered the portal. Slowly infusing it with mana, he dashed forward, closing the distance between him and Dagger A in the blink of an eye. With a swift motion, he sliced its neck, and without skipping a beat, repeated the move on Dagger B.
Two arrows were fired at him, but he effortlessly dodged them. He poured even more mana into his sword and flung it with all his might at Shield B. The sword, fueled by mana, pierced through the shield and impaled both Shield B and Bow A.
Witnessing this, Shield A and Bow B panicked. Kai couldn't help but notice their reaction. Seizing the opportunity, he channeled mana into his feet and right fist, sprinting behind both goblins in a flash. Before they could react, Bow B received a powerful kick to the abdomen, while Shield A was struck with a punch to the back of the neck. A satisfying crack echoed through the air. Shield A crumpled to the ground, lifeless, while Bow B crashed into the wall. Kai swiftly retrieved his sword from Shield B and thrust it into Bow B's neck.
When he decided to continue moving forward, an audio interrupted him.
"[Host, congratulations for killing 6 goblins].
[You obtained 6 sin points]."
This made him more energetic. With full of energy, Kai continued his journey to slaughter goblins.
After 2 hours of walking, Kai was already in front of the boss room. "Sigh, only 14 goblins," Kai complained. "Well, even this much is exhausting. Only 20 points, I have already reached my limit. I should rest here before entering the boss room." While resting, he checked the system shop.
[System Shop]
- Fireball (E): 10 Sin points
- Waterball (E): 10 Sin points
- Magic missile (E): 10 Sin points
- Low heal (E): 10 Sin points
- Dash (E): 10 Sin points...
After some careful thinking, Kai chose the Dash and Low Heal skills.
Dash (E): A wind elemental spell used as a footwork technique by knights. By activating it, your speed increases by the amount of mana used.
Low Heal (E): A low-ranking light spell which increases the regeneration of cells, heals wounds, and restores injured areas.
"I have a lot of firepower due to my Lord of Mana skill. Using it with my sword, the only thing I need is speed and recovery," he said. After a few minutes of rest, he opened the door, thinking about how to defeat the boss.
Meanwhile, in the association building, a heavy silence hung in the air until one man finally spoke up. "How many survivors do we have?" The bearded man with a rugged stubble asked, his brow furrowed. He was the leader of the Shield Guild, one of the top 10 guilds in the Fidem country.
"Just one survivor," Secretary Lina replied. She was the right-hand woman to the association leader, Lina Fins.
"And what about casualties?" a stunning blonde woman chimed in. She was the leader of the Plum Guild, known for her beauty and charisma that turned heads wherever she went.
"127 players lost their lives, and only one made it out alive," the secretary answered.
"So, do we have any plans to counter this?"
"That's why we're here, to come up with a solution to this problem," Association Leader Joe Donald declared. His commanding presence demanded the attention of everyone in the room.
"Shall we begin the meeting then?" the secretary proposed, passing around the papers she held to everyone present.
And so, the discussion began, as they sought to find a way to overcome the challenges that lay ahead.