"Why have you not unlocked a class despite having the means to?" the administrator asked.
"There are too many classes to choose from. I don't know what dangers I am going to face in the next trial and what class would be the most suitable to deal with them. So, it's only reasonable I hold on to my trial points for now," James answered.
The administrator felt impressed with James' choice.
'He is smart, armed, and good at fighting. Maybe down the line, he will become as terrifying as those player killers.'
The administrator suddenly felt that there would be something exciting to look forward to in the future.
'Let's not delay the Earthling any longer.'
The administrator clapped his hands once.
As if some kind of spell had been cast, a portal opened up in the middle of the white room.
"Take the portal. It will take you to the area of the 2nd trial," the administrator said to James.
"I understand," James replied.
Without any hesitation, James went through the portal. He appeared on the other side without facing any difficulty.
It was his first time using a teleportation portal but he didn't experience any discomfort or turbulence.
This was quite different from the usual troupe in fantasy novels.
He appeared in a pitch-black place.
It was so dark that he couldn't see an inch ahead.
A foul stench filled the air. As if it coming from pigs that had been wallowing in their own filth for centuries. It was hard to bear.
James's nose crinkled in disgust, and he felt a sudden urge to vomit, but somehow he managed to prevent himself from puking his guts out.
He didn't know what kind of situation he was in. What if making a noise attracted trouble? Thus, he endured the urge to throw up and kept his mouth shut.
As it was pitch black. James couldn't see a thing.
He knew he had to do something about it.
Otherwise, he might unknowingly walk straight into the jaws of death and offer up his life.
Fortunately, a helmet with integrated night vision goggles rested on his head. It was one of the items Leon had given James while dressing him up in defensive gears and weapons in his study 12 hours prior to the time he was summoned to the land of trials.
'I can't tell if they will be of any use in this situation where the absence of light is as stark as the gravity of my situation,' James thought.
Night vision goggles were powerful devices that enhanced visibility in extremely low-light conditions.
In other words, they required at least some light to function and could not operate in complete darkness.
The place James found himself in was engulfed in darkness with no light at all. He doubted whether the night vision goggles of his helmet would be of any help.
However, he remembered what his father had told him when he handed him the helmet. "Rely on them blindly when you find yourself in the dark. Even in absolute darkness, they won't disappoint you."
Remembering these words, he felt hopeful.
"I can only hope he meant it literally and that these night vision goggles aren't ordinary."
The goggles in his helmet required manual activation. James reached for the switch on the side of the helmet and flipped it on.
To his surprise, once the goggles powered up, he could see his surroundings clearly.
'The goggles in my helmet can function even in complete darkness. How shocking is that?'
'There isn't a technology available today that allows night vision capabilities in absolute darkness.
'This technology is at least several dozen years ahead of what's available.'
'As far as I remember, this technology hasn't been made public. It might be an advanced technology secretly developed by the organization my father works for, or perhaps something otherworldly that he acquired privately.'
This line of thinking didn't seem too ridiculous to James.
Rather, he believed that one or possibly both of his conclusions were correct.
After all, considering the existence of a place like the Land of Trials, it wasn't too far-fetched to think that humans, or at least a select group of them, had established connections with aliens and engaged in trade with them.
As he was able to see in this dark place with the help of his black technology, James looked around, taking in his surroundings.
He was in a wide corridor with enough space for five people to walk side by side. It stretched as far as his eyes could see. There was a dead end behind him and danger in front.
The danger came in the shape of a corpse that was up on its feet and staggering about while grunting like a beast.
Gah! Gah! was the noise it made.
Its skin was gray and sagged as if it were melting off its body, making it look like it was rotting. Its eyes were showed no signs of life, just an eerie emptiness. It wore torn and dirty clothes, covered in dark stains.
It had not noticed him yet as its back was to him and it didn't have eyes behind its rotting head. However, the situation would change the moment he bleeds or makes a noise.
'Zombie? Am I in the corridor of the dead?'
In the novel "Tales of My Regression," the sixth trial that Melody had faced in her quest to unearth the secrets of the land of trials and find a way out was called the "Corridor of the Dead."
It was a long hallway filled with zombies.
To pass this trial, all the zombies in the corridor had to be killed.
Melody was made to regress thrice by the zombies of this trial before she managed to clear it.
James knew the cause of each one. So he knew what he shouldn't do if he didn't want to die at the hands of zombies.
James stopped thinking about what had happened in the novel. Only a few moments had passed since he started thinking about it.
'Before the situation can change, let's take it out,' he thought as a determined glint flashed in his eyes.
The zombie had its back to him.
It wouldn't notice him unless he made a loud enough noise.
As long as he moved noiselessly, he would be able to assassinate it effortlessly.
James learned how to move silently from playing "Hide and Seek" in his childhood. If he dared to say he was the second-best player in Hide and Seek, no one would dare to claim the first spot, at least no one in his social circle.
He moved like an assassin, expert in stealthy movement, and snuck up behind the zombie without being noticed.
He pulled his dagger out and thrust it into the back of the zombie's head.
Immediately, it stopped moving and grunting.
James pulled his dagger out of the back of the zombie's head, and it collapsed to the ground.