Chương 113: A Long Wait

In the dark sky, a bright moon hung low as stars glittered, casting a faint moonlight over the world. At the center of this dark world stood a white building. It provided the sole source of illumination, standing out like a speck of dust on obsidian marble. On that eerie night, flashes of golden and crimson light erupted at regular intervals, often accompanied by booming clashes. Golden chains erupted from the ground, attempting to crush Susanne, but the chains were instantly reduced to dust.

The force of the chains could not bypass the barrier of misty particles that swirled around her like a typhoon. Susanne created an enormous fireball and threw it at the Deity, who moved out of the path effortlessly. The battle appeared to be a stalemate. The golden chains were ineffective at subduing Susanne, and the fireballs failed to land on the Deity. In truth, however, Susanne was feeling the constant drain on her stamina. She had been constantly hurling fireballs just to keep the Deity at bay.

If she stopped, the Deity would definitely use her superior speed to launch an attack. While fighting, Susanne tried to understand the misty particles so she could use them against the Deity. Although she was trying to gain control of the mist, she had yet to succeed.

"Do what I said, and I may spare your life," Susanne demanded.

"Do you think you have the authority to say that? I don't think so. You are a fool," the Deity proclaimed.

"I will kill you and make an example out of you to the lesser beings who try to defeat me!" Hearing this, Susanne fell into sudden thought. The Deity called others lesser beings, but she herself was a Rat. However, even though she didn't possess a crown, she had the Ability to move extremely fast. What was that? Did all of these Ratkin also have an Ability? Or was this Deity the only one with the Ability to move fast, which was the very reason she believed she was superior?

While she was thinking, the misty particles stopped yet another chain attack. If Susanne guessed correctly, the other altar was the place where the crown was placed and where the Rat had obtained it. Then, why didn't it try to obtain this Scarf as well? Did this indicate that one person could only obtain one item, and not two? But what was the purpose of these items, and why was this strange Shrine building standing out of nowhere? Ohaaa! Susanne sent out one more fireball with frustration building in her heart.

She couldn't get anything right, but did she really need an answer for everything? Did she need to understand everything to do what was right? No, that was not how she should approach things. She needed power. Power so great that she could do whatever she wanted. Yes, that was what she desired: a power so overwhelming that she wouldn't even need a second thought to do something. While anger and a sense of incapability welled up in her heart, the misty particles started to swirl around her.

The violent red misty particles started to destroy everything in their path. The golden chains were instantly turned to dust. Susanne took a step forward and looked at her hand. On her palm, something had gathered. Was that a fire? No, it looked different. It was a swirling ball of misty particles. She looked at it with a blank expression. Previously, she had tried hard to control this power to defeat this so-called Deity, but nothing had happened.

However, when she simply thought about wanting to do what was right, she suddenly felt the power manifest in her palm. Maybe these two items were exact opposites. One wanted to do wrong, no matter the suffering of others. The other wanted to do the right thing, no matter how it was done. I like it. Susanne lifted her hand, enjoying this new power she had obtained.

"I will ask you one last time. Free all these people from their suffering, and I will let you live the rest of your life," Susanne issued one final ultimatum.

"You frivolous thing! Once I kill you, I will make a statue out of your corpse and use it as a decoration for my Shrine!" the Deity shouted furiously. In the next second, her golden Crown shimmered and shone brightly. At the same time, golden lights erupted across the dark pit. The slave collars of the Ratkin had suddenly begun to shine.

"I, the Goddess of you lesser beings, order you to kill this insolent being! But keep her body whole. I have plenty of decoration ideas in mind," the Deity screamed her order to the Ratkin. As soon as the command echoed through the dark pit, shimmering red eyes began to appear. At first, the Ratkin moved slowly towards Susanne. Soon, however, they grew frantic, clawing their way up the slope of the pit. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"You two, make sure she does not escape," the Deity commanded the two Ratkin standing inside the Shrine. Instantly, their slave collars shimmered. Their eyes turned red, and they moved to obey the order.

"Don't worry. I will not try to escape this place until I kill you," Susanne said as she moved. Shooo! Her movement speed was entirely equal to the Deity's. As she moved, the red misty particles continuously swirled around her body. The Deity, who had not expected this speed, was shocked. Her eyes bulged with surprise. Not knowing what to do about the sudden approach of her enemy, she attacked. Hundreds of golden chains shot out from the ground, yet none succeeded. Every single chain failed and crumbled.

Susanne's hand moved with that same speed, instantly grabbing the Deity's throat. The golden crown continuously shone as more chains flew out to attack. The Deity clawed her hands, punched Susanne, and kicked her legs against the ground in a desperate struggle to breathe. Her eyes started to bulge and turn red, but absolutely nothing worked. Susanne felt all of the Deity's struggles, but she did not feel even a speck of pity.

All she wanted was to kill her, completely free of the thought that she was doing anything wrong. She looked directly at the Deity's face, watching as the light faded from her face as well as the crown. The Ratkin that came running to stop her escape could not even get close to Susanne. The barrier of swirling misty particles would not let them through. They attacked with their clubs, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, the Ratkin that came crawling from the pit finally reached the upper ground.

Just as they were about to attack Susanne and fulfill their order, they came back to their senses. They looked around, wondering where they were. In front of them stood a figure, and their eyes moved to the ground, where another figure lay limply, not moving a single muscle. Susanne killed the Deity without mercy, exactly as she had wanted to do. She did not feel any regret for her action. Perhaps this feeling came from the fact that it was simply a Trial, and not real life.

Or, perhaps it was real, and she wouldn't feel anything even then. Her eyes moved towards the crown that lay before her. She bent down and tried to pick it up, but she couldn't do it. Her fingers passed through it as if it were a mirage, and it started to disappear from the surface. She turned around to face the Ratkin, who had finally climbed the pit and gathered in front of the Shrine. She saw that the slave collars on their necks also started to disappear. However, there were no changes to their appearance.

They looked the same as always. Seeing the change, and not knowing what to do, they looked at each other and knelt down on their knees. Seeing this, Susanne understood the implication. They had made her their Deity and were ready to obey her orders. Susanne looked up at the sky as the stars glittered. She felt nothing in particular. Maybe this was the end of the Trial, and it was time to leave this place. She moved her head and looked back at the Ratkin.

"In the name of the Soil and Sapling, I free you all from this cruelty. Live free." As the words left her mouth, a blinding light engulfed her entire consciousness.

Arthur stood alone at the entrance of the descending underground tunnel. He remembered when he had first stood here, looking around and thinking about how he was going to exit this unknown place. From then onwards, a ton of things had happened to him. He had even died and returning back to life, not once, but twice. Of all the changes he had gone through, did he change in any possible way? He would say he did change, both physically and mentally.

He knew he was a insignificant being in this grand world, and he had been chosen for something. Although he did not yet know if it was for good or bad, he was chosen, that was for sure. He often thought about what his life would have been like if he had obtained a normal class. Would he have been satisfied with it? Maybe, or maybe not. Or maybe just a little. When you die twice and lose half of your lifetime, things naturally change. However, he wasn't worried about anything at this very moment.

The reason was that he held enormous power in his hands. He no longer needed to worry about any of the powerful people he had feared earlier. With that confidence, he took a step forward and walked down the steps. As he walked down, he sharpened his ears to hear if any noise was coming from the Main Chamber. However, just as he was about to exit the steps, he heard no sound. It was just a plain, empty Chamber. Arthur stared at the empty Chamber until his eyes landed on the side of the stone wall.

Someone was sitting there without any movement.

"Who the hell is that?" Arthur muttered. However, his subconscious mind quickly remembered something.

"Is that Old Man Larry?" Arthur quickly walked towards the place where the man was sitting. He remembered when he had tried to talk to this old man but couldn't do it. At that time, the man had also sat with this exact same posture. Did he die from shock? A strange thought came to Arthur's mind. Since the old man was the first one to arrive, considering his age and the rumors that had spread at that time, something must have happened to his old heart.

"Larry! Larry!" Arthur called out his name as he stood a few feet away from the spot. Hearing the call, the old man moved his head and looked at Arthur.

"Oh, Mr. Larry. What are you doing here?" Arthur asked a general question, since he didn't know what else to ask. He had almost thought the man was dead and that the Trial had left his body here, but the old man currently looked healthy.

"Oh, you finally came?" Old Man Larry said. Finally came? Arthur was confused by this. Was he expecting me?

"Yes, I came. But why are you still in this place?" Arthur asked.

"I have been waiting for you," Larry said.

"Waiting for me? What do you need from me? Did you not enter a Trial?" Arthur was in great confusion. According to Cecil, every participant must take a Trial. If Larry was still here, did that mean he was in a situation similar to his own?

"Okay, tell me what you need. Do you need help to stand up?" Arthur extended his hand, thinking the old man must have been sitting in this single place for a long time. Seeing the hand, the old man's eyes shifted towards it, and he grabbed Arthur's hand. Suddenly, a notification appeared directly before Arthur's face. [Concentric Trial]