The Begotten Fiend

Chapter 32: His Appraisal, My Failure

Her words lingered in my head, setting in a cold reality.

"I’ll... die...?"

"Yes, the trial is something you can’t take lightly. Though, if you want some reassurance, you’re allowed to exit it whenever you wish."

Still, there’s a chance I’ll die, right?

My breath hitched. These were the only two options: either go in and risk my life, or wait six months and search for work elsewhere.

But that wasn’t the only issue. While I’m down here, whimpering from my wounds, Illias and father get to sit up on high and watch me writhe.

And then Lysandra...

Damn it, I won’t stand for this!

"I don’t care. I’ll do the trial."

The lady at the desk stared at me, raising one eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Certain."

Muttering something under her breath, she passed me a paper.

"What’s this?" I asked.

"A waiver, conveying that the Adventurer’s Guild isn’t responsible for any harm incurred from your trial."

Picking up one of the pens at the desk, I signed my name onto the paper. First and last, as it requested. "There," I said, passing it back.

"Good, then proceed forward." Her hand glossed over the vicinity of the door to her left. It looked ordinary, even with the help of Mana Sense.

Acknowledging her words with a bob, I continued onward.

As my hand grazed upon the door knob, my heart began to pound, my stomach twisting.

No matter how much I held my chest, the feeling of unease didn’t go away. Still, I have to do this.

I closed my eyes and looked away, forcing myself to turn the knob. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

When the door creaked open, my heart’s pounding overpowered all sound, yet, for several seconds, nothing happened.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. The room was empty, covered with pure white. Its walls thrummed with a low luminescence, glowing with flutters of mana. At its center was small, hexagonal raised flooring--panels jutting out to create a nice stand.

"Come on in," a man said. He came from the center of the room, standing in the midst of it all.

"You’re... the trial?"

You would think that there would be something more, like parkour, a monster, maybe even some puzzle. But this is just some guy?

It wasn’t just that. His mana was entirely unimpressive. Even forgetting my full mana capacity, he wouldn’t compare to my suppressed state. It would be generous to say that he has a tenth of my current mana bank.

"You don’t need to be so rude. Believe me, I’m more than qualified for the job." He held his hand to me, curling his fingers to gesture me to approach him. "Come now, kid. I don’t have all day."

Looking around, I searched for traps, anything that would stop me. But I couldn’t find it. There didn’t even appear to be any illusions at work, just this one guy.

I think it’s safe to say I can trust him.

I stepped up the main floor. "So, what do I have to do to--"

Something disfigured my stomach--wrenching me right in the solar plexus.

I hacked, instinctively lowering my hands to my core. The dude punched me without a single warning!

"Reflexes aren’t the greatest," he said, standing just feet from me. He slowly backed up, letting me recoup.

"What the hell was that for!" I yelled out. I was angry that he’d just attacked me, sure, but what frustrated me most was that I could barely follow his movements.

I coiled my fists, letting Regeneration pass through me.

"Ah, that’s that regeneration of yours. Quite a rare ability, especially for humans." The man tapped his foot. "Let’s test out this other ability of yours."

Before I could begin to process what he said, my Mana Sense picked up magic coalescing to me right.

I gyrated hard to my left, lowering my body to narrowly avoid the blast of energy coming from the random point in space.

The purple beam crashed into the ground, but instead of picking up smoke and damaging the room’s internals, the white panels in the room vibrated against its power. They turned purple, absorbing the attack’s full impact.

"What...?" I muttered, sweating.

"This room is built for battle. It absorbs any mana that comes into contact with its walls. Quite advanced technology, from my understanding--"

"That’s not it!" I blurted out. "How did you just create mana away from your body like that? It had to have been at least ten feet away..."

I couldn’t even begin to imagine it. Ejecting mana from the body is already hard enough, but condensing it, then releasing it requires so much control that it’s impractical in a real battle unless you’ve created distance from your opponent.

Yet, he’d managed to not only blast his mana, but use the atmosphere as the source. It was like trying to throw a blade with your mind, it should’ve been impossible.

"Your Mana Sense is quite developed, I must say. Not too shabby."

I swiped my hand through the air. "Shut up! Stop ignoring me--"

"You shouldn’t speak over someone who’s responsible for your admission into the adventurer’s guild." He played with his beard, smiling. "Though, if I were to give you a grade, right now, you’d have an F. So run your mouth off, you’ll only guarantee you stay where you are."

What?

I relaxed my body, standing upright. Then, crossing my left arm over to my right shoulder, I bowed. "I apologize. I was acting out of line. Truthfully, I was just taken off guard by--"

"My strength despite my small mana reserves? Yeah, I’m aware."

"What? How did you know?"

"Boy, there’s very few things I can’t see. You, and your thoughts are not one of them."

I hadn’t noticed it until now, but he only had one eye open. The other was hidden beneath an eyepatch. His opened eye radiated a dark-orange light--a pattern replacing his pupil. "I am Diethard Vennes. With my appraisal, I can see all things. And right now, all I see is a young lad destined to fail."