When Kai felt grounds beneath his feet, he had to blink away the whiteness still lingering in his eyes.
Before he could see, the cacophony bombarded his ears, though.
He was in a Grand Hall with a domed roof, echoing, blurring the noise. There were at least a hundred more Contestants around Kai, all wearing a red martial arts uniform lined with blue at the seams.
He looked down and saw the same uniform on him.
Kai put his hands inside the pockets of his loose pants, eying a few girls who would just lay out all the information about their Initiation Mission without having him asking for it.
Suddenly, his entire body shuddered, the tips of his right hand's fingers touching cold metal.
As if time had slowed down, Kai took it out, his eyes wide in disbelief.
The Iron Coin!
How… Kai couldn't believe it. He had arrived to the White Room buck naked. Then he came here, wearing fresh uniform. The coin wasn't in his Inventory, either. For it to appear in his pocket, just made it one of the most mysterious things Kai had experienced after his resurrection.
"Here!"
A powerful voice thundered in Kai's ears. He looked straight ahead, and in the distance, found the silhouette of an armored knight standing right outside the main arched door.
Even from a distance, the knight seemed tall.
"Hurry up! You Mongrels!"
Kai put the coin in his pocket and mingled with the crowd. Once he was nearer, he could see the knight clearly.
His armor had a dull-silver color, covered in signs of heavy battles. Scarcely any part of the armor had remained smooth. A white cloak was fastened on his shoulders, fluttering high and low in the gusts of dry wind under the darkening sky.
"I am Ser Morgan Tussy," the Knight introduced himself. "I am assigned the detail to drop you lot at the 1st floor's city. I will say it one time. Don't break the line. Don't open your mouth. When I question, you answer. Simple enough, right?"
Many gulped when the knight showed a grin at the end.
"Then what are you all gawking at?!" Ser Morgan suddenly snapped. "Line up!"
As the Contestants gathered in five long files, the knight shut his visor, his eyes hiding behind the metal. He whistled loudly, and the ground shook.
Kai saw a tall, black destrier running towards them from far.
Ser Morgan mounted the horse and trotted it between the Contestants, the snaps of hooves echoing in the hall.
The knight returned after making a round and gave a hard look to all.
"Haha! Thirty-three and a hundred," Ser Morgan Tussy said, chuckling, his destrier whining in excitement. "Let's see how many of you will reach the city."
*
*
6 hours later,
Ser Morgan Tussy had been riding non-stop, crossing streams, barren hills, plains, and dense forests, following the game trails.
It was just a trot. A casual pacing, as if he was enjoying the view. Except there was no view. No life. No sound. Nothing.
And, yes. A group of the most haggard-looking people, trying to stay close to him.
Kai's eyes were bloodshot, and in his right hand was a raw piece of flesh.
On and on, he kept putting one leg in front of the other, pushing himself a little more forward, and chewing meat.
Just as it felt like the earth had slipped off beneath their feet, the Contestants heard the words.
"We are here," the Knight suddenly said and stopped.
Behind him, the survivors tried to roar out cheers, which came out as muffled grunts.
It was a plain, grassy, and rocky area. Trees were sparse, and the dry air had a chill in it. But their destination… the City… was missing.
Kai looked over his shoulder and counted. Only 17 had survived the journey, the rest falling behind, lost in an unknown, barren world.
Then the knight laughed, his horse whining along with him. "Haha! Tonight is beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, pointing at the moon. "Come on then. Look alive! Take out your Items, if you have any… Haha! It's time for your first battle."
WHAT?!!!!
…
[
Commencing Battle Sequence…
Floor: 1 (1st Set)
Kill Count: (0/20)
Battle Number: 1
]
…
Kai gawked at the notification as if matching the gaze of the strongest enemy.
Arlen had already told him about the Battles, but not that he would be facing one right after his teleportation to the Primordial Tower.
Motherfucker! Kai cursed, knowing well the blue-haired bastard must have deliberately kept the information.
"Each floor has a certain Kill Count," Ser Morgan explained, ignoring the stunned look on the Contestants' faces. "If you want to teleport to a Random World, get stronger, and seek opportunities, then you must complete the Kill Count first. It doesn't matter how many battles it takes, either. Both Chaos and Order have no shortage of cannon fodders. Believe that!"
Suddenly, the neighs of another horse echoed around them.
Kai spied a golden knight mounting a stallion standing atop a low hill with some hundred meters between them. The knight's silhouette was a blur, a spear gleamed dark in its hand.
Both knights stared at each other.
One looked up, and the other down.
One looked battered, and the other a hero of ancient tales.
"You all will battle against the likes of you," Ser Morgan continued, narrowing his eyes behind the visor. "Order's newbies, having a specialty in close combat, like you. They will be tired, like you. They will be almost dying, like you. And they will want to live too, like you. Kill or get killed. As the Systems like to say…
… the choice is yours."
The steel screeched against leather as Ser Tussy unsheathed his two-handed greatsword and pointed it at the Order's golden knight.
Up, on the hill, the spear's head fell, thrusting itself downhill.
Charge!
Charge!!
Both knights commanded, louder than the other.
The 17 Chaos' Contestants charged uphill.
The Order's newbies flew down from the hill, like tiny black birds, appearing one after the other. They were wearing dark blue-colored martial arts uniforms.
There were no shouts, no battle cry.
They wouldn't be getting loot here, either. Today, they only killed to live.
Heat exploded in his chest when Kai saw a newbie charging at him, barehanded, weaponless.
Kai's eyes turned reptilian, his pale, tired body became red. His figure rippled under the scalding hot steam coming out of him, like the wind-battered banner
Elementary Snake Instinct!
Elementary Slither Footsteps!!
Kai slithered uphill, the Blue-tailed Boa Constrictor appearing on his right arm, along with the longsword.
A silver arc flashed, and his kick followed, landing at the gash left behind by his slash.
One more kick separated the dangling head.
Screams woke up the small hill when the two groups of newbies butted themselves against each other.
Kai's eyes blurred.
I am losing the power over my senses, Kai analyzed in the heat of the battle. What good are Abilities if I can't utilize them to their fullest potential even when I am tired? I need…
Another one dashed at him. Sunken eyes, disheveled hair, and bare breasts. She had come for an easy kill but met her doom.
Kai had already hidden the longsword in his Inventory. When he took it out, the steel butchered her, almost parting her in two from her waist.
Blood rained down, washing Kai's head, dying his white hair in muddy gray and red.
Perception is the key…. Kai hissed to himself, cutting her in two with one more strike.
On his right, Kai saw three blue uniforms killing a red one. Their bodies failed to appear in his vision, the world blurring in the corner of his eyes.
Kai wasn't the only one facing the repercussions of hours of long run, but he was the only one with enough experience to know what was needed.
With a thought, the 2 Unassigned Attribute Points melted into his Perception.
As if someone had snatched out a drowning man from the depths of sea, Kai felt a rush of senses, his vision expanding and his instincts returning with full force.
Kai's figure melted into the air as he slithered this time.
A thud resounded in the three Order's Contestants' ears. When they looked down, they saw something had appeared in the small space surrounded by their legs.
Kai twisted his waist and jumped. The longsword flashed, carving out a silvery arc.
Tink!
Three throats opened like a bloody, clownish smile, a stunned and stupefied expression still planted on the dead men's faces.
The longsword broke in two.
…
[
WARNING: Castle Forged Longsword - Quality: 3%
]
…
When Kai looked up, panting, the hill was in repose.
Those who had the strength to kill, had already killed. Those who were destined to die, had already died. Now the survivors were barely slapping each other, clawing at each others' faces.
Chaos, oh, Chaos, Kai frowned, taking one step after another. Were you mocking me by putting me with these… fighters?!
Kai's slitted eyes held murder, the Blood Demon of his previous life awakening once more. He towered over a blue-uniformed man, who was biting the ears of a red-uniformed woman.
"ENOUGH!" A womanly, but powerful shout came from up the hill. "Fall back!"
"Fall back!" Ser Morgan Tussy commanded his soldiers in return.
Kai lifted his broken sword, his back facing the golden knight.
"Humph!" the Order's Knight snorted, and in the next moment, she disappeared. She reappeared over Kai, her long spear charging at Kai's back.
Ser Tussy met her mid air like a silver wraith.
Boom!
The greatsword hugged the spear, and both Morgan and the golden knight got thrown away..
When they landed on the ground, a head was rolling down.
Kai looked at the longsword as the steel broke down into tiny chunks of silver stardust and sighed.
"What's the meaning of this, Morgan?!" the golden knight fumed. "I need an explanation, and I need it now."
"Explanation?!" Morgan said, his voice showing his puzzlement. "If someone needs an explanation, then that should be me, Elaine."
"How dare… you?!" Elaine shook in anger. "Have you no shame, Ser?"
"Tch!" Ser Tussy clicked his tongue. "We gave the command simultaneously. But it takes time for the sound to reach the ears. It's just that."
Even a child could tell by now what Morgan was doing. "Black hearts, blacker thoughts," Elaine rebuked. "I will have none of your nonsense."
"Oh?" Morgan said, a slight chuckle coming out of his helm. "I have other things to give you, my lady. You just never give me the chance."
Kai could have sworn he heard the golden knight gritting her teeth in anger.
If Desmond could tell that I have an Ability, then certainly these knights can too, Kai had told himself before activating the Blood Essence. He knew the Order's Knight would come to kill him if he were to give any reason whatsoever. And he also knew Ser Morgan Tussy would have to come to save him. A newbie with Elementary Ability? None would want to lose such a prize.
"Hand this criminal to me, Morgan," Dame Elaine commanded. "He will have to pay for his insolence."
"Haha!" Morgan laughed, his voice booming against the hill. "Criminal?! We all are criminals, Elaine. Or have you forgotten that?"
"Don't put me with the likes of you," Elaine said, flinging the spear, the banner on it swishing with the wind.
Morgan stepped forward and pointed his greatsword at the headless body. "Think about it, Elaine. Do you really want to do it? For a useless, weak, and dead newbie?"
Both knights went silent for a moment.
When Kai twisted his neck, he found the golden knight looking at him. He couldn't see her eyes behind the helm, but he could feel her anger.
"I have seen your face, kid," Elaine said, turning away, "and I don't forget faces."
The notification appeared then.
…
[
Terminating Battle Sequence…
Floor: 1 (1st Set)
Kill Count: (6/20)
Battle Number: 1
]
…
When Kai looked around, the Order's Contestants had already gone.
On the Chaos' side, out of the 17, only 7 had survived.
"Boy!" Ser Tussy boomed, catching Kai's attention. "Line up, or do you need an escort?"
When crawled his way to the Contestants, they all backed away, letting him take the front position. The knight said nothing. Neither he asked for Kai's Elementary Ability nor did he mention the golden knight.
It was only after they had traveled a few dozen miles did he say something. "So seven, huh? That's a number I wasn't expecting," Morgan said, looking back, his visor wide open. "You all did OK out there. Not bad!"
Kai could feel the knight looking at him, but he feigned ignorance.
Suddenly, the knight stopped. Kai bumped into the destrier's rear, making the beast neigh in annoyance.
When he shook the smell off, Kai looked beyond the beast. They were standing on a cliff's edge.
And beyond the forest at the cliff's foot, Kai could see high walls and towers. The flickering light coming off that place couldn't have anything but the sign of life.
"Look at it!" Ser Morgan Tussy said. "Isn't it beautiful? That's the Chaos' Valley of the 1st floor…
… The City of Assignments!"