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Massacre. It was a massacre.
Whoever crossed the line was killed by Arya in a single slash.
'How can he be this strong? What is his level? This is cheating,' Max thought as he watched his people, who he was proud of, die left and right like flies. He couldn't understand how someone could become this strong so quickly. They joined the trial together, but Arya was leagues apart.
'Wait, I am outside the line. He won't kill me, right?' Max thought, realizing he was standing outside the circle Arya drew. Arya said he would only kill those who entered the circle.
*Slash*
'Why do I feel so light? So free? Whose body is that? Why is it upside down? Wait! That's my body. But how?!' Max thought as Arya slashed his head from his body. And just like that, he died.
"You thought I wouldn't kill you just because you were outside the circle," Arya said.
Arya walked back to the box inside the circle and stood there as if nothing had happened.
People were dazzled by this sheer display of strength and finally came back to their senses, wondering what to do. All those who had thoughts about the essences didn't have them anymore after seeing the outcome.
Finally, one man walked towards Arya. As soon as he reached the circle, he said, "I want to buy 7 essences."
"That will cost 700 points," Arya stated plainly.
After Arya's permission, the man entered the circle. They shook hands, transferring points directly. Arya handed him 7 essences after receiving the points.
Seeing the transaction take place smoothly, people started buying essences from Arya. Those lacking points started selling whatever they could to buy points.
"I am a tank, so I can sell one point in perception."
"These cheapskates. I bought this sword for 500 points, but now they're buying it for 300."
As more time passed, many people bought essence from Arya.
Soon, all the thousand essences he had were sold out.
"I want to buy 5 essences," a skinny boy asked Arya.
"Oh! Sorry, but you're late. I've sold all the essences I had."
"W-what?! B-but I need them. How will I get them now?"
"Well, there's still half an hour left. Maybe you can earn some by killing a few monsters."
Arya, after answering, started walking towards the wormhole. He soon passed through the portal and reached the next stage.
After Arya left the third tutorial, the place turned into a bloody mess. With less than an hour left, people started torturing each other to make them submit and get their essences.
Using these means, a few more people passed the tutorial trial.
[The Third tutorial is now over. Participants who failed to collect the required number of essences will now face the end.]
As soon as the announcement rang, all hell broke loose. Many fissures started appearing all around the sector, and soon lava began flowing out of them.
All the people left in the trial were burned to a crisp by the lava.
Some participants entered buildings to save themselves, but it was for naught. The lava broke the foundations of these buildings.
This place represented the End—the end of the world.
And soon, every living being present in the area died.
---
Arya, after passing, appeared in a new area. It was a large hall, and many other people were present there.
When he looked around, he didn't recognize anyone. Despite trading with many people, he knew their faces, but none were here.
As he was looking around, an announcement rang.
[Welcome, participants, to the fourth tutorial trial. The trial's format is Defense.]
[The trial will start after two hours, which is given to you all as resting time. All the important information about the trial will be announced in due time.]
Knowing they had two hours to rest, everyone started resting.
Arya sat in a corner and began observing. At that moment, he noticed someone he knew.
This certain someone was a person he knew from his previous life.
'I didn't meet him in the fourth trial in my last life. Is it because last time I entered as soon as the gate appeared, but this time I passed much later?' Arya pondered.
Even though Arya knew this person and they were very good friends, he didn't approach him. He knew they would be together in the next trial.
---
[The two hours given to all participants to rest are now over. The fourth tutorial trial will now start.]
As soon as the announcement rang, three gates appeared on one of the walls. All three gates had different colors.
One was white, one blue, and the last one was red.
[These three gates are the paths for the next trial. Each represents a way. The white one will take you directly to the next stage. The blue one will send you to a trial of average difficulty. And last but not least, the red gate will take you to the nightmare difficulty.]
As soon as the announcement finished, a person started sprinting towards the white gate, shocking many others who began running behind him.
As soon as he reached the gate, he tried opening it but was knocked back by an invisible force. He crashed into the other people.
[These gates have specific conditions to enter.]
[Only one person can enter the white gate, while only three people can enter the red gate. Everyone else will enter the blue gate.]
"Who will enter the white gate then?!"
"Still, though, whoever enters the red gate will be quite unlucky, isn't it?"
As the announcement rang, many such conversations took place.
[The person who is the strongest right now in the hall will be given the right to select the gate, and this will continue similarly.]
*****
1. Arya Dev
2. Aetherius Rex
3. Raze Nightingale
...
....
*****
A screen appeared on top of those gates, and Arya's name was at the top.
Seeing his name on the list, Arya smiled. He had just cleared one of the many milestones he placed upon himself.
Wanting to be the strongest, this list represented that he was the strongest in the trial right now, and he would maintain this every time.
As everyone saw their name and rank, most became disappointed for not being the strongest.
Arya, who was on top of the list, as stated a little while ago, had the right to select the door. He started walking towards the gates.
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