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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The First Trial
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He had such an innocent-looking face.
The kind of ordinary, good-natured face you'd see anywhere. And yet, the sight of that face simply looking down at him was, for a moment, terrifying.
“Are you all right?”
“D-don't come any closer! Stay back!”
Why did a monster like this end up under his command?
Sergeant Steven. He should have known when that crazy bastard, pretending to be normal, mentioned an interesting rookie had shown up!
“R-Rookie. You, you, don't move! Stay right there!”
“Yes.”
*This bastard…* Suddenly, he was answering properly!
Kein was seething, but he gritted his teeth and chose to back away.
His instincts were screaming at him.
This was not someone to be trifled with.
“Then what should I do?”
“...What?”
“The manual says to follow orders, and Sergeant Steven told me not to cause trouble and to quietly do as I'm told.”
*You already caused trouble, you son of a bitch!*
Unable to hold back, Kein shot upright.
“I knew it! That bastard Steven set me up!”
“Hm?”
Kein shouted through gritted teeth.
“Forget it! You, you just stand over there and watch your designated Stray Dog!”
“Yes.”
*He’s a very angry person.*
Mint calmly walked over to the window.
On the floor below, a fierce battle was unfolding, though it was unclear when it had started.
*The male lead is… ah, there he is.*
***
The Tower's trials, given to the prisoners, could be simply described as survival in extreme situations.
The only difference was the theme for each grade.
From the 1st to the 20th floor, the theme was ‘Bugs and Animals.’
The moment they entered a floor, the animals or bugs assigned to that floor would pour in.
In other words, their task was to kill the swarming creatures and survive for a set amount of time.
*You can get through this section without Kia, though.*
The downside was that without Kia, a sharp mind or superior physical abilities were crucial for survival.
I recalled the male lead’s physique.
*Was he starving when they caught him?*
His natural build wasn't bad, but his body looked like it had been starved for a long time.
Perhaps he hadn't eaten properly since he was mistaken for a criminal and captured.
*He didn't eat much in the cafeteria, either.*
Of course, he might have lost his appetite from having to endure all the provocations in the cafeteria.
After all, Helios’s tray had suffered the indignity of being flipped over no less than three times.
But since his life wasn’t in danger, provocations like that were considered very minor.
*Which is why it would be a problem if he died here.*
Behind me, the guards were grumbling.
“All the new guys this time are duds.”
“Oh, really? Is it that bad?”
“Yeah. How did we end up with only incompetent fools who can't even handle Kia?”
“Hah, I heard a bunch of couriers were sent this way. Maybe that's why.”
They spoke as if everyone below was about to die, as if what was happening wasn't even worth watching.
In fact, it was said that it wasn't all that rare for every single rookie to die on the first floor.
*Though the year I arrived was different.*
Perhaps they were wary of Sergeant First Class Kein. They glanced around and spoke in hushed tones, but I could hear everything.
All the new recruits would die. The atmosphere suggested everyone had already decided this.
*They should at least come over and watch.*
But down below, things were unfolding differently from what the guards expected.
***
Helios let out a ragged breath.
“Ugh…”
His forearm throbbed with pain, but he couldn’t look to see how badly he was injured or what state it was in.
If he looked away for even a second…
*Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!*
The giant rats would surely tear at his flesh.
The scene from when he first entered this place flashed through his mind.
“What the hell is this place? A cave?”
There were quite a few new prisoners who had entered with him. About ten, by his estimate.
Every one of them was bewildered, anxious, or unnerved.
It was only natural.
Niflheim was, for criminals, the worst place imaginable.
A prison from which no one had ever come out alive, nor had anyone ever escaped.
On top of that, no other information about it was known.
The unknown only amplified their fear.
“Alright, alright, you can pick from one to three weapons!”
The guard who had entered with them guided the new prisoners from the front.
In a corner of the circular space, a wide variety of weapons had been prepared.
The new prisoners chose their weapons in a daze, and Helios was no different.
“Hey, new Stray Dogs. Do your best. Who knows how many of you will survive! Keh-heh.”
The guard disappeared with a sinister smile that made their skin crawl.
At the same time, the area filled with weapons also vanished.
*Screech! Squeak!*
“Wh-what is that, a rat?”
“It's a rat! But why is it s-so big?!”
No one could continue their train of thought.
Because an opening had appeared in the space, and a swarm of rats, so numerous they looked like a black tide, came rushing in.
“Aaargh! Die! Die!”
“Save me, please save me. Why me! Gak, I was wrong.”
“I was wrong, I was wrong! Let me out!”
Helios knocked away a lunging rat with the crude spear in his hand and scanned the distance.
“Hah, hah. Crazy bastards, are they trying… to kill us all…!”
And now.
Of the more than ten lowest-grade prisoners, only about five remained.
Even those who were left looked utterly exhausted.
Not a single one of them had steady breathing.
There was one person who felt off, but he couldn't spare them much thought because of the swarm of rats.
Helios glanced up.
He could see a large window. The shimmering figure of a person in front of it was also clearly visible.
A smaller frame than the other guards. He recognized them at a glance.
“I'll protect you.”
It was his designated guard.
The moment he recognized them, the thought, ‘You said you’d protect me, so what are you doing now?’ didn't cross his mind.
He didn't feel particularly resentful, either.
His life had been lonely from the start anyway, and life was something to be lived alone, so it didn't matter.
“Just focus on surviving.”
Besides, now was the time to focus solely on survival.
But how?
“Haaah…”
This space was a large, circular room.
On one side where a gate had opened, rats were pouring out endlessly.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.
“Pant, pant, pant!”
“Damn it, how are we supposed to…!”
After fighting the rats for a whole twenty minutes, they were given a five-minute break, as if by magic.
Just like now, the moment twenty minutes had passed, a blue barrier would appear, separating the rats from the new prisoners.
The prisoners were slumped on the floor, glaring at the blue barrier.
“Damn it, how long do we have to keep doing this crazy shit!”
“Just kill me! Kill me already, dammit!”
They hadn't figured out the exact timing from the start.
After a few repetitions, someone had raised their hand.
It was the short-haired woman gasping for breath at the far end.
“Exactly twenty minutes. The rats swarm for twenty minutes. The break is five minutes.”
When the others stared at her like she was crazy, she introduced herself.
Her name was ‘Kana.’ On the outside, she was an alchemist and pharmacist, and she claimed she could measure time with her eyes closed.
“Damn it! It's endless! Are they just trying to kill us all?!”
While a short but stocky man raged furiously, Helios was lost in thought.
Three minutes left of the break. Not much time.
*They called it the Tower's Trial.*
If they simply wanted to kill the prisoners, there were far easier and simpler ways.
But since they called it a trial, there had to be an end.
What was the way to end this trial?
With roughly a minute left, Helios still hadn't found an answer and looked up.
Above the bluish barrier, he could see the large window.
*No way, are they still watching?*
They were still looking down.
Helios wasn't sure, but he felt like he had made eye contact with his designated guard looking down from above.
It wasn't his imagination.
“Be careful not to get eaten. Especially your ‘legs.’”
*Don't get eaten.* Helios didn't like that guard, but he guessed they wouldn't say something like that just to mess with him.
Besides, he had already thought it was a strange choice of words.
And so.
*It's a hint.*
He concluded that it was a ‘hint.’
