Becoming a skeleton had cost Cheng Shi quite a bit of ti. Before he even had a chance to check the various channels for updates, a new trial had already arrived.
Standing on the rooftop, Cheng Shi put on his ring, pinned the brooch to his chest, and then, upon seeing the bright red notification before him, his face twisted into a grimace as he cursed:
“Damn it!”
[Special Trial (Who Deserves Redemption? [Fate])] has begun.
[Matching teammates (1/6)]
[Trial Objective: All parables of gods speak of weak beings trying to cling to Them (Ti Limit: 3 Days)]
Co on! Why am I being dragged into this because the gods got into an argunt? Why take it out on us? Ridiculous!
Cheng Shi tried to psyche himself up, already preparing for the worst in this trial.
He let his vision darken as the trial took over. He didn’t struggle. He didn’t resist.
[Match Found (6/6), entering trial…]
…
A bed, a desk, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a balcony.
Warm breeze…
Wait a minute!
Am I back in another inn!?
I swear, I’m developing PTSD from inns!
Cheng Shi jumped out of bed, his eyes scanning the small room with sharp precision.
The layout was different, and the furnishings were arranged differently.
Phew—
Thank goodness, it’s not Eternal Bloom Town.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His gaze fell on his hand, and he noticed that the Screaming Mouth on his ring was half-powered.
“…”
What a wonderful start. I’ve scared my own ring into charging.
Great, now I can 100% succeed if I want to off myself.
But…
Next ti, no need to give
such scares, thanks.
Just like last ti, Cheng Shi didn’t rush out imdiately. He pressed himself against the wall and listened intently for a while.
However, this ti, there were no sounds from the neighboring rooms, and no one ca knocking.
Frowning in thought, he decided to take the initiative and check things out.
Opening the door, before his eyes could take in the surroundings, his attention was drawn to a tall girl standing right at the entrance.
It wasn’t just because she was standing in the doorway, but mainly because of how… scantily dressed she was.
She was wearing a translucent white halter-top dress that barely covered her body, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her figure.
Her slender waist and smooth white legs peeked through the flowing fabric as it swayed in the breeze.
Even though the girl stood perfectly still, it felt as though she was swaying, silently exuding an irresistible allure.
Her head was adorned with unfamiliar accessories, and on her feet were delicate sandals. Her toes, curled slightly with nervous tension, were dusted with a light pink color.
If it weren’t for her hands clasped modestly in front of her and the slight hint of nervousness on her face, Cheng Shi would have thought he’d walked into the wrong kind of establishnt.
“G-greetings, sir. Did you rest well?” she asked, her unfamiliar accent slightly halting.
Cheng Shi frowned.
This wasn’t the language of the Land of Hope.
The [Faith Ga] didn’t complicate things for players in terms of language. Any player who joined the ga beca a language expert, able to communicate effortlessly with NPCs speaking various dialects.
But when it ca to written language, players were still on their own.
Cheng Shi subtly studied the girl’s outfit and finally gleaned so information from her accessories and the inn’s decor.
This trial seed to be set underground!
The language she spoke sounded like a mixture of the subterranean volcanic dialect and the Land of Hope’s official language.
This ant the place he was in wasn’t far from the entrance to the underground world—known as Abyssal Volcano.
Rubbing his furrowed brow, Cheng Shi feigned a hangover and asked, a little confused:
“I don’t seem to recognize you. Who are you?”
The girl pressed her lips into a smile, still maintaining her reserved deanor:
“Greetings, sir. Welco to Far Dusk Town. I’m your personal tour assistant. My na is Shaman.
Did you sleep well last night?”
Far Dusk Town?
Cheng Shi nodded while his gaze darted around, his mouth offering vague responses.
“Not bad. I seem to rember… uh, where are the others?”
“Ah, are you asking about your guide? He’s already left. Please don’t worry, I’ll be taking care of you for the next few days. When the ti cos, soone will co to escort you back.”
Guide?
So, this town is a tourist destination?
“Oh, I see. Thanks.”
Cheng Shi politely thanked the girl and then walked over to the corridor railing.
His gaze quickly darted around the space, scanning everything like a laser, taking in as much information as possible.
The inn was four stories tall, not very high, but it was expansive.
The building was shaped like a square, with the center open to reveal a large courtyard below. The outer periter was lined with rooms.
Looking down from the corridor, Cheng Shi saw the first-floor bar and various entertainnt areas. At first glance, he thought he was on a cruise ship.
Many of the rooms had their doors closed, but outside a few rooms stood other “tour assistants” like Shaman, silently waiting.
But these assistants weren’t all female—there were quite a few n as well.
And their clothing…
How should I describe it? Also very… breezy.
The n wore long white pants that barely covered their thighs, and their upper bodies were completely bare, their oil-slicked muscles gleaming as if they were participating in so bodybuilding competition.
Cheng Shi was left speechless.
“……”
Was this really a legitimate inn?
Just as Cheng Shi was observing his surroundings, a few people erged from nearby rooms along the sa corridor.
Everyone exchanged glances and quickly realized—they were teammates for this trial.
Behind each of them stood an assistant, just like Shaman, so male and so female.
Cheng Shi gave a aningful smile, and a conspiratorial thought began forming in his mind.
Tour assistants? Or personal watchdogs?
There’s definitely more to this Far Dusk Town.
A middle-aged woman in a sharp suit and heels confidently strode over. Her head was styled in small braids that clashed with her formal attire.
She waved dismissively at the handso male assistant behind her, signaling him to stay back, and the man obediently stopped, returning to stand by her room’s door.
Seeing this, the others followed suit, gently “dismissing” their assistants.
Only Shaman, standing outside Cheng Shi’s room, had nowhere to go since the players had gathered right at Cheng Shi’s door. Embarrassed, she gave a small smile and pointed toward Cheng Shi’s room.
Cheng Shi nodded gracefully, allowing her to retreat inside.
Grateful, Shaman gave a quick bow and hurried into the room.
Once the assistants had dispersed, the intimidating woman in the suit finally spoke, her expression full of amusent:
“They call them assistants, but they’re really here to monitor us.
Seems like we all noticed that this Far Dusk Town is a bit too welcoming to us outsiders.
I got so information from the handso guy in my room. The people here don’t worship any of the gods we know.
They believe in a so-called true god called [Eternal Sun].
From my limited understanding, I couldn’t find any record of this god’s na, nor is He a sub-deity of any known path…
That’s all the intelligence I’ve gathered for now.
Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Li Bola, [Existence], Hunter, 2216.”
Hunter?
Cheng Shi eyed Li Bola’s sharp suit and had initially assud she was a bard or a mage, not a hunter.
Dressed like that, wasn’t she worried about mobility?
Still, her aura was powerful, and her gaze was even more aggressive. After her introduction, her sharp eyes began scanning her fellow teammates like a predator searching for prey.
Usually, prey would instinctively avoid the hunter’s gaze.
But this ti, soone stared right back.
“Yo, a rival, huh? Nice to et you.
Ji Ran, [Void], Warrior, 2076.”
A disheveled teenager in silk pajamas lazily scratched his ssy hair and raised his hand in a casual greeting to everyone.
His laid-back attitude made it seem as though he had just been dragged out of bed for an early-morning class.
So of the group frowned, others raised their eyebrows, but Cheng Shi’s face turned dark the mont his gaze landed on Ji Ran.
Damn it, another “colleague”!
Cheng Shi could tell right away—the reason Ji Ran so openly declared himself a [Void] follower in front of a [Existence] follower wasn’t out of excitent or a thirst for battle.
No, it was the unmistakable aura of a slacker.
Cheng Shi knew this feeling all too well—after all, this was exactly how he acted at the start of every trial.
Cheng Shi’s lips twitched in frustration.
This is my role, damn it!
And Ji Ran’s nonchalant expression said it all:
“Yeah, I’m the slacker in this [Fate] trial. Whatever, deal with it.”
Yep, [Fate].
[Void] was a particularly tricky path. Because of [Deceit’s] existence, this path seed to have only one god.
Followers of [Deceit] never openly claid to be His. They liked to disguise themselves as followers of other gods, particularly those of [Fate].
So, in this context, if soone claid to be from [Void], whether they were [Fate] or not, it was easier to just assu they were.
After all, even if they were lying, they wouldn’t admit it either.
And Cheng Shi had a strong intuition that this guy was definitely a follower of [Fate].
As for where that feeling ca from, Cheng Shi couldn’t say.
Sigh—
Never mind the fact that we’ve got a mole from [Fate].
How am I supposed to handle two slackers in the sa trial?
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