"Congratulations on completing the first trial at the highest difficulty, Earthling. The reward for your efforts will be issued to you soon," the administrator said.
"Thank you for congratulating me," James said.
He would have never been so polite to the administrator if he knew it was suspicious of him and was planning to erase him from existence if its suspicions proved true!
"Though I am curious, did you already know you were going to be pulled into the Land of Trials? Otherwise, why would appear here armed with such deadly weapons? They took down two magic puppets in a flash. Are you an anomaly that I should eradicate, huh?"
As it spoke, the administrator narrowed its black, marble-like eyes at James.
James felt like a fish on a chopping board under its gaze. His hair stood on end.
James thought, 'In this situation, a single mistake will cost me my life. Luckily, I have long expected to be asked such a question and have prepared an appropriate answer for it.'
"How could that be? I had no idea that a place like this existed until recently," James said.
"Can you say that again?"
The administrator wasn't asking.
It was making a demand.
James had to fulfill its demand. Otherwise, it would crack open his skull, pull out his brain, and eat it to satisfy its curiosity.
It was forbidden for the administrator to kill a player without a valid reason. However, a player that the administrator suspected of being an anomaly being disobedient to it was enough of a reason for it to kill them and absorb their memories.
James didn't want to end up dead, so he knew he had to fulfill its demand.
When it had made its demand, its marble-like eyes had turned entirely white.
If James hadn't read the novel, he wouldn't know what its eyes turning white meant.
In the novel, some of the skills of the administrator were explored.
As James had read the novel, he knew what its eyes turning white meant.
The administrator had activated its Lie Detection Skill. With this skill, the administrator could tell if a person was lying or not.
James didn't feel overly anxious.
He had expected the administrator to use it.
So, he had based his initial answer on that.
Without any hesitation, he said, "I have said it once before and I will say it again. I had no idea that a place like the Land of Trials existed until recently. It doesn't matter how many times you make me say it. The truth won't change."
There wasn't a hint of nervousness in his voice.
'My skill didn't respond. It looks like he is speaking the truth. I was the one being paranoid.'
The administrator didn't detect any lie in James's words even though its Lie-detection skill was active.
Thus, James was freed of suspicions, and the Administrator felt a bit ridiculous.
"I am sorry for being overly suspicious of you, Earthling. But I hope you understand I bear a great deal of responsibilities and overlook my insensitive inquiry," The Administrator sincerely apologized to James.
James was taken aback as he didn't think an entity as powerful as the Administrator would have it in them to apologize, but considering that among the many tasks assigned to it by its masters who created the Land of Trials, one was to encourage newcomers who arrive in this accursed place to strive as hard as they can, it only made sense for it to be polite after troubling and making a player feel threatened based on a hunch that had no valid basis.
James also felt extremely relieved.
His gamble had paid off.
He had learned about the Land of Trials from a novel just 12 hours before being summoned, but he was careful with his words when talking to the administrator. Instead of saying exactly when he learned about it, he just said "recently." This was smart because "recently" could mean anything from a few hours ago to a few days ago. The administrator's lie detection wasn't very precise. It couldn't tell the difference between someone learning about the Land of Trials after being summoned or learning about it less than 12 hours before being summoned if vague terms like "recently" were used. So, James wasn't caught as an anomaly and was safe for now.
He had avoided being labeled as an anomaly and facing annihilation!
"You apologizing to me is enough," James said to the administrator, who felt pleased with how maturely James had acted.
Instead of kicking up a fuss, he had let the matter rest.
Maybe he realized screaming at it would get him killed.
'This is a good quality. It will help him avoid a great deal of trouble in the land of trials,' the administrator thought.
Right at that very moment, a notification popped up in front of James.
[You will receive a reward for completing the Combat Puppet Trial at the Hell Difficulty now.]
[You have acquired +100 Trial Points.]
'25 trial points are enough to buy an F-ranked class. With 50 points, one can afford an E-ranked class. The amount of points I have can be traded for a D-ranked class that comes with both active and passive skills. I have a lot of choices. It's like being a birthday boy who gets to choose what gifts he wants,' James thought.
However, he didn't rush to unlock a class.
He wanted to choose a class that would be most helpful in the next trial.
This was, in fact, the main purpose of the trial points.
They weren't there to be used blindly just to grow stronger. One had to be strategic with them if they wanted to survive in the Land of Trials.
James wasn't sure what his second trial would be like.
After all, the order in which Melody faced trials might not be the same for him.
For all he knew, the second trial he could be facing might be a trial Melody had encountered later in the novel, rather than in the early parts.
For now, he could only hold on to his trial points. Once he confirmed the details of the second trial, he would put them to good use.
*
*
#LMHhere#
Write the scheming part was Hhhhard, but I managed, though it wasted a considerable amount of time.
It had to be written though to give an insight into MC's brain and also set a foundation for the novel that set it apart from others.
In typical novels, dialogues are there just for the same of it.
In this novel, there will be times when an entire cunning scheme is intertwined with a single dialogue.
So look out for them, they will leave you gaping in shock and surprise!