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[The Second Trial—Trial of Endurance—is a mission-based Trial.]
[Trial Objective - Protect the Statue of Goddess of Endurance from the waves of monsters.]
[Success requirements - You must hold your ground for at least 30 minutes to clear this Trial.]
[Upon failure - Death.]
[Additional information - The monsters can only enter through the gap between the fences.]
[The Trial will begin in 30 minutes.]
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System windows materialized in front of their eyes, all displaying the same content.
A wave of stress seemed to have washed over the cheerful and enthusiastic expressions of Damon, Daniel, and Xavier.
"Shit! We still don't have a plan ready yet!" Xavier shouted in frustration while clenching the sides of his head with his hands.
Kai, on the other hand, was relieved to know that he could now finally let go of his act and focus on the main issue—the Trial.
He turned his head around and looked at the so-called gap in between the fences, mapping it roughly to sketch out a plan.
'The so-called "gap" is barely enough to fit two people side by side, so creating a semi-circle at the front would be the best course of action.' He slightly narrowed his eyes as his mind began to brainstorm strategies.
*Ding!*
Amidst the silence brought upon the group by the System, another one of the alert sounds appeared.
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[You can now choose your respective weapons.]
[All other weapons that the player might have will become unusable.]
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All the existing system windows expanded as a panel extended from its side, offering some new information that made Daniel somewhat concerned.
He looked up towards Damon and Kai who were standing right in front, facing him and Xavier.
"Frankly speaking, this isn't my forte. I'm more of a mid-ranged fighter who's been the most comfortable in handling enemies from a distance." Daniel slightly raised his hand, trying to add some gravitas to his words.
"But this right now, it's a close combat situation. Almost akin to a hand-to-hand combat." His eyes rolled towards his right, gazing at Xavier, who, himself, looked concerned enough about the situation.
"Neither I nor Xavier, who's specialized in Siege war tactics, can take our guesses in such a drastic defense-type trial." He calmly continued as Xavier slowly shook his head up and down, agreeing with his words.
"So it's only wise to get the advice from the one's actually experienced in close combat." Xavier's previous, child-like persona had completely vanished as he completed Daniel's words while his eyes clearly pointed towards Kai and Damon.
'Looks like they aren't the stubborn type of people who think of themselves as the all-mighty main characters.' Kai thought as he noticed their behaviors.
'Although, since the very first minute I came into contact with them—including Damon, my senses have been ringing uncontrollably. As if I were hanging out with a group of sly wolves disguising themselves as trustable sheeps.'
Kai narrowed his eyes, 'although, I can't figure out if it's because I'm not used to sharing my trust. Nevertheless, they look trustable for now. Almost too trustable.'
For a few minutes, the group had fallen silent once again. Damon seemed to have fallen into his own thoughts as he closed his eyes, his hands resting on his waist.
While Daniel and Xavier awaited Kai's and Damon's words.
Kai too—just like Damon—was lost in his thoughts, Although for a completely different matter.
His eyes fixated on Xavier, almost glaring.
'Now that I think about it, Xavier doesn't really fit the role of a Scavenger... although he fits the role physically, to think he'd agree about not knowing about defensive strategies that are most commonly used in siege wars.'
'Suspicious... Too suspicious...'
He then averted his eyes and looked in a completely different direction, 'I should pretend to think a bit for now.'
Just as he began to act normal, Damon broke the silence, "Well, I've surely been a close-range fighter, but I'm more of a berserker. A guy who jumps in between a group of monsters with just one intention—kill."
He looked towards Kai on his right and pointed towards his with his hand, "So I think it might be better for him to handle the things for now."
Kai smiled faintly as he turned his head around. The atmosphere had changed surprisingly quickly. For some unknown reason, Kai had become the acting leader of the group without even doing anything.
This only made his suspicions spike, however, he decided to play along for now.
"I guess then Xavier and I should go with a spear and shield while you two can go with any lightweight close combat tool along with a shield." His voice didn't waver at all, even though he spoke right after Damon finished his sentence.
Both Damon and Daniel raised their brows in shock as they didn't think that Kai had already devised a plan.
"I'll stand at the back corner of the gap while Xavier will do the same on the opposite side. We'll take care of the enemies with the spears by aiming for their legs while you guys," he pointed towards Daniel and Damon with his fingers.
"You guys will stand at the front, finishing them off with fluent strikes so they don't have much time to react."
It was a full-fledged plan that sure was simple but was just as much proportionally difficult since even a single flaw in unison would lead the monsters to climb off of the accumulated corpses and counterattack at the defenseless back.
Xavier was so shocked that he had his jaw dropped while Damon chuckled as he strongly patted Kai's back.
"Then I guess I'll choose a longsword." Damon said as he continued to chuckle.
"I'll also choose a longsword." Daniel smiled and agreed to Damon's decision.
Everything was going smoothly...
Or so Kai thought...
***
Not long after the Trial began, A hoarse, almost guttural, coughing sound eerily reverberated on the dead silent battlefield.
It was Kai.
Covered in injuries, bruises, and, most of all, crimson blood, he lay helplessly on the blood-drenched soil.
His bloodshot eyes seemed to be looking at something, or someone as the sounds of his breathing grew duller.
"Motherf—" As he was about to blurt out the curse, blood abruptly flooded his mouth and found its way through his nose, eyes, and ears.