Rigel watched the third group, the righteous blonde man group being surrounded by goblins and hobgoblins. He couldn't help but remember the memories of his past life when he encountered that blonde man.
(Flashback)
Rigel walked aimlessly through the forest with bruises that stung all over his body every time he moved his body. He knew he had no hope of surviving the trial because he was alone with no weapons on him. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive, and yet he didn't want to die because he was scared of death.
After a whole day of wandering in the forest, starving and thirsty, he smelled something good that caught his attention. He didn't know where it came from, but he used the remaining strength he had left to find out where the smell was coming from.
When he found a group of players resting and cooking food, he was glad and didn't hesitate to show himself to them. His condition startled those players, and they hesitated to allow him to join them because they didn't have much food even for themselves.
"What happened to you?!" Erick asked when he saw Rigel and his condition.
"I got separated from my group... We were ambushed by goblins..." Rigel answered as his eyes were set on the meat being roasted.
"Come! No need to feel excluded!" Erick said with a gentle smile. "My name is Erick, and I'm the group leader. So I'll get something to treat your injuries and I hope you can tell us what happened," he added and welcomed Rigel.
(End of flashback)
"You were a good man, but you were naive that you led your whole members to their doom. This scenery is exactly the same as I remembered," Rigel said as he watched Erick and his group being butchered and slaughtered by the goblins and hobgoblins.
As Rigel said, Erick and his group met their deaths at the hands of those monsters. His naivety and lack of experience killed everyone, and he was the only one who should be blamed for that outcome.
"A bad leader is worse than a strong enemy," Rigel muttered as he remembered Hugo's words and left the scene. "The coward survives and the brave dies," he said and remembered he ran away when he knew Erick and his group wouldn't be able to survive back then in his past life.
Rigel still hadn't found the last group, Aaron's group, and he tried to remember where he had found Aaron in his previous life. He still had some unfinished business with Aaron, and it would be great if he could make a mess of Aaron and his group.
Rigel took his time to find Aaron's group and he finally found them not far from where Erick's group was. He noticed that Aaron and his group were aware of the presence of the goblins and hobgoblins. They were discussing how to kill those monsters since apparently, they had defeated dozens of goblins and a few hobgoblins.
Rigel found their plan was flawless just like what happened in his past life by ambushing the hobgoblins and goblins who were busy with their catches. The plan worked flawlessly in the past, and Rigel didn't plan on sabotaging the plan for a reason.
Aaron and his group were in their position and observed the monsters in front of them. They saw the hobgoblins and goblins skinned the bodies of players and it made them feel sick. But Aaron didn't back down and immediately ordered everyone to get ready because it was the perfect opportunity.
"Attack!" Aaron shouted and his voice was so loud that everyone immediately followed his command.
The hobgoblins and the goblins were startled and since they weren't ready, Aaron and his group killed the goblins first. They knew the goblins were the most annoying monsters to deal with since they were small and swift. The bigger they were, the more predictable their movements became which was why Aaron chose to kill the smaller ones first.
It happened in less than a minute where all the goblins got killed by the players, leaving only the hobgoblins. Compared to Joan's group, Aaron's group was more versatile because some of them could use bows. It gave them the advantage and made the front line have an easier job and less pressure.
Rigel enjoyed the view from the tree and counted the casualties from Aaron's group. He remembered that only ten of them were left before Aaron met with Joan, and it was the same now.
"Now you guys have killed all the monsters, I believe it's about time for the main course," Rigel said and then a notification appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations to all the existing Players for surviving on the first half of the trial. It's finally time for the players to challenge for the second half of the trial. Follow the sun and you will reach the end of the forest where the final challenge is]
Aaron looked up at the sky and saw where the sun was, so he gathered his members and followed the sun's direction. Rigel was following them from behind unnoticed and he was like a shadow because he hid his presence and silently followed them.
Aaron's group met with Joan's group since they were following the sun. They immediately grouped up and combined their forces so they could clear the trial. Joan was still looking for Rigel, but Aaron didn't know anything about him.
Rigel stopped following them because it was the end of the forest and he didn't want to be participating in the trial at all. After all, he didn't want to contribute anything just like in his past life, and wanted the trial to fail as soon as possible.
"No sign of Rigel. I think the worst-case scenario would be he died in the forest," Leonardo said as he looked back at the vast dark forest. "From 100 players, only 37 players survived, so it's a shame that he didn't make it out alive," he added.
Joan hummed and he was more worried about the second half of the trial because he believed the second half would be more challenging. The moment he knew that Rigel didn't make it out alive, he became careless about him and focused on the trial with the remaining players that survived.
"Look," Ruiz pointed at the distance where the thick mist blocked their vision from seeing what was beyond the forest.
Everyone stopped moving and they were petrified when they realized they weren't in an open world, they were inside a building where a tall wall surrounded them as if they were inside a dome. They couldn't believe what they saw, but they immediately accepted it since everything about the tower and the players was already beyond logic.
They walked further until they noticed there was a door made of steel, a 200-meter tall and 100-meter wide door. It was massive, but it was nothing compared to the gate that Rigel saw in that unknown place where he met Lysara'elmaris.
When they were about to reach the gate, they heard a loud horn being sounded and echoed throughout the sky. Everyone immediately went on guard and held their weapons tightly, and that was when they realized the second half of the trial was to fight the one who ruled that place.
A hobgoblin that was 3 meters tall, holding a great sword in both hands with scars all over its body. The goblin leader was the one who commanded and ruled over all the goblins and hobgoblins. The leader was nothing like the other goblins and its presence was enough to petrify all the players.
"You're joking, right? Are we supposed to kill that thing?" Aaron's hands couldn't stop trembling.
"It's him against us. We just need to play safe," Joan responded as he held his sword with both hands. "Don't try to take the hit because you're going to die instantly. Focus on the legs because it's the only way to bring that thing down," he pointed out as he looked at how big and muscular the goblin leader's legs and feet were.
When everyone was still trying to calm themselves down, the goblin leader started running toward them. It moved so quickly even for his size and for every step it took, it covered 4 to 5 meters.
"Everyone spread out! Whoever gets targeted by it should keep running while the rest try to attack it!" Joan shouted and started running to his left.
Everyone moved in different directions, but suddenly the goblin leader took a leap and then swung its massive sword down. The moment it landed and stabbed the sword to the ground, it made some of the players fall to the ground. It swung its sword toward those players and their bodies disappeared in an instant with their remainings flying in the air.
"How the fuck are we supposed to kill that thing?!" Leonardo asked in disbelief.
"Don't falter! We have no choice but to fight it!" Joan screamed his lungs out to snap everyone back to reality. "It's either we die or he dies! The more we waste our time doing nothing, the more lives he's going to take and the lower the chance of us winning!" he pointed out as he ran toward the goblin leader.
Aaron realized Joan was telling the facts and harsh truth about their situation. He knew it wasn't the time to think but to act, and he immediately collected his courage and held his spear tightly.
"Archers! Shoot your goddamn arrows at that thing!" Aaron shouted as he looked at his team. "We will distract it and keep aiming for his head!" he added and started to follow Joan from behind.
Seeing Aaron and Joan charged at the goblin leader bravely, the other players immediately joined in. The goblin leader looked at the players running and immediately he lifted his sword and pointed his elbow and forearm toward Joan and Aaron.
"You go right!" Joan shouted without looking back at Aaron.
Joan went left and Aaron went left, confusing the goblin leader as to which one he should take care of first. When he was about to swing his massive sword down at Joan, an arrow hit his face, and almost hit his eyes. He was furious and looked at where the arrow was coming from, and so he threw his sword at the group of archers.
The archers dodged the sword easily and it gave Joan, Aaron, and the other players the opportunity to get close to the goblin leader. But, Joan got close to him, the goblin leader swung his right foot at Joan. Joan barely dodged it when he rolled over to the side, and that gave Aaron an opening, and immediately stabbed his spear at the goblin leader's foot.
The goblin leader roared and immediately threw a punch down at Aaron, but Aaron immediately pulled the spear and moved away. The other players who were behind the goblin leader slashed and stabbed the swords and axes at his heel, trying to cut his tendon muscle.
Their attacks were effective and it was a huge mistake that they admired their own action when the goblin leader's right foot hit them with his heel and killed some of them. Those who survived were severely injured because of the broken bones in their bodies. The goblin leader then stomped his foot on those who were injured and crushed them.
From 37 players that reached the second half of the trial had gone down to 26 players because of that. The loss wasn't worth the amount of damage they did to the goblin leader. The archers kept shooting their arrows while the melee players tried to avoid the attacks that the goblin leaders threw at them.
The battle was so fierce and things were easier because the goblin leader had lost his sword. All the players tried their best to prevent him from getting his sword back while at the same time trying to immobilize his movement by cutting the muscles on his legs.
Although they managed to immobilize the goblin leader and cut the muscles on his heels, it was only 30% of the problem they had solved. The upper body of the goblin leader was more dangerous than his feet because his muscular arms were enough to kill them if they got hit by them. That also became a major problem because they couldn't do anything about it and trying to get too close to him would only mean death. They only had one option and that was to put him down to the ground and aim at his head.
"Only 14 of us left, do you think we can do it?" Aaron asked Joan for an opinion.
"Nobody knows unless we risk it and climb his body. We can cut his neck and let him bleed out, but that scenario is quite unrealistic, but it's not impossible," Joan answered as he watched the goblin leader roar and throw a lump of dirt at the archers to stop attacking him.
"I'll do it," Aaron said without hesitation. "I think I can climb on his back if you can distract him," he looked at Joan.
Joan nodded with understanding and told the other players about the plan.
Joan with 6 melee players charged at the goblin leader while the 6 archers distracted him. Aaron moved to the side and made sure he didn't get noticed by the goblin leader. When he managed to get behind the goblin leader, he waited until the goblin leader used both hands to attack Joan and the others.
Aaron ran as fast as he could while staring at the goblin leaders on his knees. When he got close enough, he jumped as high as he could and then managed to stab his spear at the goblin leader's lower spine. He grabbed his sword and immediately stabbed it above him and pulled himself up.
The goblin leader realized it, but there was nothing he could do other than move his body around. Aaron held at the sword like his life depended on it, and Joan didn't let Aaron die, so he stabbed the goblin leader's thigh to attract his attention. He kept stabbing his sword and dodged the punches and smashes.
When Aaron managed to reach the nape, he saw a hand coming down toward him, and he knew he couldn't risk it and jumped off. While he was in the air, the goblin leader turned around and smacked him down to the ground flattened his body with the ground. It was a shame, but Joan didn't let the opportunity go and started climbing while ordering the others to keep distracting the goblin leader.
The goblin leader was enraged and forced himself to use his feet to stand up. He started walking and stomped on the ground, killing the remaining players below him. He then started running toward the archers and jumped at them, sacrificing his feet because he could no longer use them.
The archers couldn't dodge and died from getting smashed to the ground. The goblin leader grabbed his sword and started killing the remaining players. It was only Joan and the goblin leader left, and because of the sacrifice the others made, he managed to reach the goblin leader's neck and cut it open with all the strength he had left, slitting the neck from the right side, down, and all the way to the left side of the neck.
The goblin leader tried to scratch his neck and Joan had no choice but to jump down because he had achieved his goal. He just made the same mistake as Aaron because when he was about to land on the ground, the goblin leader slammed him to the ground. Fortunately, he survived even though he broke his left leg, right shoulder, and arm.
Joan tried his best to walk away from the goblin leader who was gushing out green blood from his neck. The goblin leader was crawling to catch up to him and wanted him to die with him. When the goblin leader slammed his right hand at Joan, he rolled over and barely dodged it. He thought he was about to die if the goblin leader attacked him once more because he couldn't move anymore, but to his luck, the goblin leader died of blood loss.
[Congratulation! You have completed the trial! Please walk toward the door and your wounds will be healed and you're eligible to enter the first floor of the tower!]
[Remaining Players: 2]
Joan looked at the notification and he chuckled in disbelief that he had managed to clear the trial. But then he noticed the remaining players that were still alive. He thought he was the only one that survived, so he stood up and looked at his surroundings, but nobody was alive.
"Who's still alive?" Joan furrowed his eyebrows. "Is someone still alive in the for-" Before Joan could finish his sentence, an arrow hit his neck.
Joan coughed blood and collapsed to the ground, wondering who had done it to him. When he looked in the distance, he saw Rigel with a bow in his hand, staring at him with a cold expression. He was shocked and started to see all the things that happened in the forest were Rigel's doing.
"No hard feelings," Rigel looked down at Joan as he pulled an arrow from a quiver and aimed it at him. "Goodbye," he shot an arrow right into Joan's forehead and killed him instantly.
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