After a few hours, Leon's and all 1326 other students that were boarding the buses came to a stop as they had reached the end of the road.
And what was in front of them was… a train station.
Yet again, in the middle of nowhere.
"Did they seriously build all these random things just for the 'Lambs Training' region?" Dan sighed.
"I mean, must be important if they made an entire region just to choose people who would access the first city…" Leon replied.
Everyone was forced to get out of their buses, and then all the vehicles left, leaving from the same road they were on for all these hours.
"Alright," Only Toji and a dozen soldiers remained, "Please stand on the station until the train arrives, it will directly take you to the 'Ascension' challenge."
The "elites" didn't even climb on the platform though, instead they remained on the ground.
"Goodbye," Toji snapped his fingers, and all the soldiers immediately disappeared, taking everyone aback.
They were now… alone.
Well, not really alone, but there weren't any figures that knew what was happening, meaning all the students could do was wait.
And thirty minutes afterward…
~VROOM, VROOM~
There was an announcement.
[The train is arriving]
All students who were lying down and sitting suddenly got up as they heard it, then immediately began to rush as the train stopped, opening its doors.
The train glided to a stop, its sleek exterior glowing under the light of the sun.
It was mostly black and silver, with elongated windows that reflected the anxious faces of the students. A machinery noise emanated from its engines.
[Crimson Earth] was written on each of the wagon with a different style.
[These guys really love themselves, don't they,] EGO sighed.
"Just like you, at least you have something in common," Leon shrugged.
As the doors slid open, hundreds of comfortable seats greeted them, lined with a deep crimson color that seemed to invite them to sit.
"Man, this is fancy," Dan murmured, eyes wide as he stepped aboard, and even Foxxy seemed surprised as it immediately rushed toward a row of seats and laid on it.
"Feels more like a luxury train than transport for a trial," Noah added, stepping in behind him.
Leon followed closely, glancing around.
EGO perched on Leon's shoulder, his flames flickering in excitement.
[This is such a trap.]
"I know right?" Leon was confused.
After all, now every single one of the students were cautious since the facility, because now it meant that luxury and resting didn't mean being out of the trial.
After five minutes, all students found their seats, and the train began to move.
There were dozens of screens all over the place, making it possible to see them from any position you were in.
And as soon as Leon spotted them…
~DING, DING, DING, DONG!~
[Welcome aboard the 'Crimson Earth' express, fellow lambs!]
[Do not fret, there is no more trials until the 'Ascension' challenge, so you can spend the next few hours resting!]
"Finally…"
"I swear to go if I see one more dummy, I'm losing it…"
People were finally letting go, as they had been on edge.
After all, the last time, they had only told them that they would [Spend a week in this facility], not specifying that it was a trial, plus the quest should have given the clue.
But now that they were in a train heading to a precise location, there was nothing to worry about.
"I'd still be cautious, those bastards might try something," Noah was careful.
To be honest, it was actually insane that in less than 10 days, all these people had gone from being normal students to awakeners that were getting used to participating in deadly trials.
Everyone was staring at the screens with neutral expressions, and Leon was no different.
[This train will guide you to the very edge of the 'Lambs Training' region, where the 'Ascension' challenge is located, and as expected, only those that pass will be able to enter Nekros, the first city, and thus your awakener lives can start there, as no one will aid you when you are in this giant city.]
[There will be more instructions once you arrive but… I have one simple advice.]
The screen turned black, and a pair of crimson eyes appeared on it, sending shivers down the spine of many as they could sense its presence through the screen.
[Do not expect your teammates to help you, only rely on yourself.]
And as soon as those words appeared on the screen, all of them faded to black.
[We already planned to do that, didn't we?] EGO smiled.
'True,' and Leon actually agreed.
Dan's partnership back at the pre-selection trial was great, but now that he had mastered the basics, he wanted to mainly focus on escaping situations alone (also because he wanted to devour more souls).
[Souls (Experience): 4/15]
He needed 11 more to level up, and hopefully he would be able to find monster that gave him more than one or two, since it would take a century if there weren't any.
[Do not worry, Host, as said before, the amount of souls we get is based on the monster's strength!]
'But that doesn't make sense, how are there more souls if, y'know, a human or monster can only have one soul? Yet the principal gave us 5, and Akira gave us 3.'
[Don't ask questions, just go along with it.] EGO lost his smile, clearly hiding something.
'Alright,' but Leon wasn't bothered enough to find out, because as long as he could level up like any other person (although it would be more difficult), then he was good.
Just like that, two hours passed.
No one could fall asleep or even rest, their eyes opened in case anything happened.
Some were even expecting monster attacks as a challenge, but thankfully the monsters they did see in the distance always remained pretty far.
"Do you need to rest, EGO?" Leon asked to pass up the time.
[No.]
"…" Leon guessed he couldn't pass the time like this, so he went back to being silent.
But…
~DING, DING, DING, DONG~
[We are getting closer and closer to our final destination.]
[Please stay focused.]
"…" Leon looked outside, and the green plains could be seen all over, making it kind of difficult to believe that.
Just where the fuck was this trial…?
And thirty minutes later again…
~FWISH, DING~
[We have arrived.]
The train tracks stopped there, they couldn't go anymore as it was literally the end, no more tracks ahead.
"What?"
"We're alone, where the hell is the trial?" people questioned if this was for real.
But…
[Please go outside and discover it by yourselves.]