The ragged boy was standing in front of the door, waiting for it to open its way for him. His eyes, although looking tired, were full of determination. His strong emotion caused his hands, and even his lips, to bleed. He looked like a person who was tired of life, yet at the same time, craving to bear it.
When the door finally opened, he stepped inside and vanished, becoming its first guest of the day.
After that, the candidates made a fuss about it.
"What the hell? Who was that ragged kid?" said a random candidate.
"Probably some guy from the outskirts," another one replied.
"No, he ain't from the outskirts. We're not that ragged."
The two looked at the outskirts boy, frowning. "What makes you say so?"
He sneered, pointing at himself. His appearance, though worn, carried a distinct dystopian aura. Each frayed edge and patched-up tear, but it was true to his words. He didn't look that shabby compared to the boy, who wore nothing but a torn, dirty shirt and short pants.
"Even though we came from the outskirts, we still have quality to show."
The other candidates, who seemed to come from the same place as him, nodded.
The two had to admit that those guys were different from the other, shabby boy from earlier. Looking at the direction of the door, they raised their eyebrows.
"Then where the hell did that guy come from?"
The outskirts boy sneered.
"Who cares about him? More importantly, look," he lifted his chin in the door's direction. "Two big fishes are heading toward the door."
They looked in the direction he pointed at and spotted two people walking towards the door. They were the prominent figures in Havenlock. Moreover, one of them was the center figure of the recent scene who etched a warning in people's minds.
"That arrogant jerk!"
The first random candidate spun around and tried to rouse the crowd. "Hey, everyone! Let's not let that jerk get away with acting all high and mighty just because of one stunt he pulled"
Contrary to his expectations, the crowd wasn't as fired up as he hoped.
"Eh… I'd rather not make an enemy of the Shedever House."
"True. And aren't you the one who got into a dispute with him before? You should know better than to mess with him and the Shedever House now."
Meanwhile, the outskirts boy observed the exchange between the metropolitan kids with an amused smirk. Stepping forward, he led the other outskirts kids and shouted.
"I'm not sure what happened at that gathering last night, but it seems like that Shedever's boy has changed, huh?"
Right before they entered the door, Sorath glanced back. Whether by chance or intention, his gaze met the outskirts boy immediately.
'Ah, that boy is…'
With a cheeky grin, Sorath stuck up his middle finger and playfully waggled it back and forth, taunting the boy.
Upon catching Sorath's gaze and noticing what was up with the gesture he made, the outskirts boy's eyes widened.
"Interesting."
***
As soon as Sorath stepped through the door, his vision went pitch black. However, he could still hear and sense his surroundings.
He caught an occasional growling from a creature not too far from him but also not too near that it could ambush him at any moment. The surrounding air felt damp and heavy, as though he was inside a cave with numerous tunnels connecting one chamber to another.
At that moment, he had left without any other choice but to wait for his vision to adjust under the Tower's influence. After a short while, the support he needed finally arrived.
Rectangular particles materialized before him, emitting a soft blue glow as they converged, forming a torch. Once the particles completed their transformation, solidifying into a tangible object, Sorath reached out and took hold of it. Soon after, the torch ignited a fire by itself, casting light that illuminated his surroundings.
With his vision restored, Sorath took a moment to ascertain his surroundings. He was indeed inside a cave, alone. Atri, who had tagged along before they entered the door, was nowhere in sight.
As the name implied, this was a Solo Trial. So it was only logical that the two of them would be separated the moment they arrived on the second floor, where the first trial took place.
He looked at his wrist, where a bracelet should wrapped around it. But as expected, the tower had ruled out the item from the outside except for clothes, of course. As a result, he was left barehanded.
'Hmm. Let's start with looking for an enemy,' he sighed. 'Luckily, there's one lurking around nearby.'
Sorath, unbothered by the situation, began to explore the only tunnel ahead of him. The tunnel barely allowed Sorath to make any wide, unrestricted movements without brushing against the rocky walls. It was a narrow passage with just enough space for two people to pass through comfortably.
Despite all of that, he pressed on exploring this simple, straight tunnel.
It didn't take long for him to encounter his first enemy. Exposed by the light emitted from the torch, the creature shrieked. Its skin was green, and its height was only half of Sorath's. Despite its small stature, the creature had a fierce and unfriendly face.
As it shrieked, a pair of fangs was seen protruding from its lower jaw. Its yellow eyes glared at Sorath like a hungry beast.
"As expected, a goblin."
Shriek!!!
The goblin lunged at him with a rusty shortsword in its hand.
Sorath, who had nothing but a torch, threw his only valuable object at the goblin and rushed forward. The torch disrupted the goblin's view of him momentarily, allowing him to grab the goblin's face with his right hand and snatch the torch with his left hand.
The goblin tried to resist by throwing a random swing with its short sword. Before it could make any more attempts, Sorath smashed its head toward the rocky walls, sending it to oblivion.
"Hmm?"
Before the creature's corpse dissipated into a light of blue, Sorath caught something behind its ear. Unlike an ordinary goblin described in Monster Encyclopedia written by an Ascender back in Havenlock, the goblin he defeated had a star mark behind its right ear.
Then as the goblin disappeared like how a monster in an RPG did, it dropped a torn paper in its place. Inspecting the loot, Sorath discovered it was a piece of a larger map of the labyrinth.
"This is what I'm looking for."
Putting it inside his pocket, Sorath patted the dust on his clothes.
"Oh right. Trial Status."
As he enunciated the word, a rectangular blue window similar to a game interface emerged before him, showing the number of people currently taking a trial in the labyrinth.
[231/632]