“Well,” Dave said with a smug grin, looking over his shoulder at Claire.
“Hm?” Claire responded.
“Let’s just go, I was feeling confident about that kid, but taking too many enemies at once’s gonna be difficult.”
Claire raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. “What about the moons? One’s already dead, right?”
Dave nodded, a calculating glint in his eyes.
“Yeah, that kid took out one of them, so their power’s gotta be reduced.
If we bide our time, let the others do some of the dirty work, by the time we’re done here, the moons will be easy pickings.
We kill everyone else first, then we’re the only ones left standing. Simple.”
“Nice!”
Without another word, the two of them turned away from the square, slipping into one of the dilapidated houses.
The house they chose was opposite to the ones Stark and the businessman had taken, each group heading their own way toward the same destination: Termina, the heart of the trial.
And so, with that, 7 out of the 15 participants had already gone their own way.
The remainder of them were either thinking about their next plan, or too deep in thought to care.
Among the stragglers, a pair of twins exchanged a glance.
Without a word, they gestured to one another and quietly made their way to one of the houses.
They, too, knew that fighting now would be foolish—it was smarter to survive, wait, and strike when their advantage was at its peak.
“Hm, interesting,” a woman with long blonde-haired and fashionable clothes nodded, “I guess I’ll just follow the trends, then, like I always do.”
With a final glance over her shoulder, she headed toward another door, entering yet another crumbling structure and disappearing from sight.
There were exactly 15 houses around them, and entering, then leaving them, would make you enter the first area of the trial: the [Death Village].
And so now, only 5 people remained in the middle of the village square.
“These people are monsters, hex?” an old man stood leaning on a cane, his face etched with amusement as he observed the others.
“Quit the bullshit, geezer, I’m out,” nearby, a teenager, no older than Stark, rolled his eyes and groaned.
His body crackled with electricity, the air around him charged with static.
His very presence was a walking threat, and anyone who got too close would likely be fried on the spot.
“Ohoh~” the old man laughed, “Seems like these small ones are surprising…”
Frankly speaking, if it wasn’t for Stark’s sudden interruption to fight the moons, then the square would have turned into a bloodbath.
If there was no way to get out except if you killed everyone, then the best course of action would be to get this done quickly.
But after Stark showed there was indeed a way to win, then everyone suddenly felt like the risk wasn’t needed yet.
Of course, they would kill the moment they saw someone alone, as it could potentially grant rewards.
But for now, getting stronger was the top priority.
This trial was especially sadistic: notice how so many people are together in pairs?
Stark and Sora, Claire and Dave, Miles and his two goons, as well as the twins.
It was as if the people that participated were precisely selected for that, fully knowing they couldn’t beat the moons, yet would be forced to kill each other to win.
The old man decided to leave too, spinning his cane in his hands.
“Well, I received my class very late haha… so seeing all these young folks struggle is interesting,” he smiled, an intensely powerful aura erupting from him, “Let’s see…”
With that, he entered his own chosen house, leaving the square even quieter than before.
Now, only three remained.
And they were just as dangerous as the others.
Among them, one man, clad in priest clothing, stood still, eyes glazed over as he stared into nothingness.
His thoughts were consumed by a singular, maddening desire: ‘Kill. Kill. Kill.’
In front of him, a glowing panel hovered in the air, displaying a message only he could see.
…
[Show your devotion to the ‘Godless Demon’]
[Kill one participant to enhance your power.]
…
The priest, whose name was Kinji, gripped his cross necklace tightly, feeling the power of his godless master flow through him.
He needed a sacrifice. Now.
The second was the artist, his eyes darting everywhere, a vortex of aura spinning in them, much like with Stark.
“My masterpiece… I saw the final thing I needed…”
Once he saw Stark’s aura, he instantly knew that the blood of this boy would be what could complete his work.
With his two brushes in hand, he took a step toward one of the houses, but this time, he actually directed himself toward the one Stark and Sora had taken.
But…
Click!
[This house is already occupied. Choose another.]
Once you close the door of a house, it cannot be opened again.
“Masterpiece… don’t hide from me…” he reluctantly took the one right next to it, and entered.
The final person left standing in the square was a woman, sitting cross-legged, her eyes closed in meditation.
She hadn’t moved since the trial began.
“…” she was calm, her aura focused, though dangerous.
Kinji, the priest, turned his gaze toward her, his bloodlust flaring.
‘Yes… yes… she’ll be the first. She’ll be the sacrifice to my godless master.’
His cross necklace shimmered as he strode toward her, the calmness of her posture only fueling his rage.
As he approached, the cross transformed in his hand, shifting into a massive sword adorned with intricate symbols.
He raised it high, ready to strike.
“I wouldn’t try that if I was you,” while not even opening her eyes, the woman spoke, “You won’t even hurt me.”
Kinji’s grip tightened on his weapon, his eyes narrowing in fury, “Foolish woman… Lord Godless is with me.”
Fwish!
With a snarl, he swung the sword down, aiming for her head.
But as the blade neared her, it stopped—suspended in midair, inches from her face.
An invisible force held it back, an unseen barrier that Kinji hadn’t expected.
“…?”
The woman’s eyes remained shut, her expression bored. “Go play somewhere else puppy,” she said dismissively, raising her hand.
A massive, glowing palm materialized behind her.
With a flick of her wrist, the palm slammed into Kinji, sending him crashing into one of the nearby houses with bone-shattering force.
-73724!
Kinji coughed, blood dripping from his mouth as he struggled to his feet.
This attack took more than half of his life.
“Gurh… Lord Godless… why…”
His vision blurred as the system panel appeared before him again.
…
[Show your devotion]
[Kill one human]
…
“Oh… yes… I need to show you that I deserve those powers…” Kinji laughed by himself, before opening the door of the house he had crashed into and disappeared.
The woman, on the other hand, just stood in place, meditating.
“Fools,” she whispered.
She didn’t even care enough about any of these people to actually try, for she was sure that she was the strongest.
She was currently level 140, and if you considered the power of the [Domination] class, then she could take down level 580 and even level 600 monsters if she wanted.
She didn’t know if she could beat the moons, but there was a good chance she would be able to if she tried hard enough.
‘That boy…’ she thought for a moment, ‘Nevermind.’
She returned to her meditation.
…
Back to Stark and Sora, inside the house they took.
The place was run-down, with mold creeping up the walls and dust covering every surface.
The living room and kitchen were barely more than ruins, and an old, broken television sat in front of a sofa.
“We should be careful,” Sora spoke as they navigated, “We’re probably the weakest here.”
“…Yeah.”
Stark didn’t expect it at all, but if everyone else was level 110, if not more, then there is no way his big level boost could help.
Dave and Claire were level 122 and 123, and the businessman was level 135.
“Death difficulty trial for a reason, heh…”
“I guess so.”
“But don’t worry, Sora,” Stark stopped in his tracks, putting his hand on Sora’s beautiful white hair, “Even if everyone else dies, then I’ll find a way to kill those moons, no matter what.”
Hearing that, Sora let out a quick smile, “I know you will.”
Just like that, the two of them nodded, and headed toward the exit door, which is also the entrance to the [Death Village].
Fwish! Click!
[Welcome to ‘Death Village’]
[Be careful of the moonscorched beasts.]
