"Alright, I think we should stop," Wade said with a frozen tone.
She stopped walking and planted her feet firmly on the large expanse of sand.
However, her words left Hector feeling uncertain, while Violet showed no sign of surprise.
"What do you mean?" Hector asked, glancing around with a hint of confusion.
"This is the endpoint. You can't notice anything because what lies ahead of you is an illusion."Wade replied.
"But don't worry. I found it using my method," Wade explained, and then she glanced at her cousin with a bit of a wave of emotions.
"Um, so... where will it lead us?" Hector asked, scratching his head awkwardly.
At that moment, he felt uneasy. It was clear that he should have known something about this, but he lacked even the faintest idea.
It felt truly ominous, and he had begun to suspect his knowledge.
"I don't know," Wade made a grin. She then looked at Hector and added, "Everything depends on your fate."
With that, she quietly stepped forward and took Violet's hand, who followed behind her.
"Don't die too soon..."
With those parting words, both of them gradually vanished into the empty space, except Hector, in an awkward state.
''What a crap! I don't understand anything you said!'' Hector cursed in the wave of anger.
''I hope we never meet again.''
''The one time is enough!''
After these final words, Hector also stepped into the illusion ahead, without a hint of hesitation.
***
This place was a vast expanse of white, with nothing else in sight, but this scene did not last long. The white clouds quickly formed, floating across the sky.
Not only that, but an arena also quickly appeared. It was massive in size, completely different from his first thoughts. It stood about one kilometer high and two kilometers wide, constructed from tiny, sharp rocks.
It resembled a colosseum but was gigantic and strange.
At that moment, the place where Hector was standing seemed fully formed.
Hector looked around, feeling a swirl of mixed emotions.
Suddenly, a sound echoed in his mind.
''Ting!''
Then, a large screen appeared in front of him.
—-------------------------------------------------------------
System Announcement: The first challenge has begun.
Mission: Satisfy the Kings.
—-------------------------------------------------------------
A moment later, Hector's expression became a mix of amusement and ease as he looked at the System's screen.
''Yeah! That's it.'' He chuckled.
''I know this mission. It's the main character's first mission.''
Basically, the goal of this mission was to fight with all of one's strength. Fight to the death, without hesitation. Only then could the Kings feel satisfied.
As long as everything one did entertained them, the mission would finish.
Of course, one could satisfy the kings, and they would have a worthwhile reward.
"If I'm not wrong, the main character, Kevin, would win this challenge without any injury."
It seemed impossible, but it was true. He just slept in the arena. No one attacked him, as if he didn't exist.
In the end, he still claimed the ultimate reward of the challenge by satisfying the kings.
It really was a cheat. He didn't even do anything. The strange thing was that no one attacked him, as if he were a lion that couldn't be defeated.
It was something everyone saw, but He knew the whole truth. In reality, Haley was so terrified that he had fainted right there.
Clearly, Hector didn't do that stupid thing because he didn't want to die soon. After all, he was just a side character.
However, this unfairness didn't make him sad; he should feel happy so that all the joining people would become weak and foolish.
''I'll try to get the greatest reward as possible''
''I only have two Keith grasses left,' Hector sighed as he remembered his fight with Violet's pet.
'But it's enough for me'
Afterward, he looked around with great concentration.
'A lot of humans, as well as monsters. So, all the candidates from the two worlds will join. I should go as well.'
A moment later, Hector gradually vanished into the huge river of people walking toward the arena.
***
"Get out of my way!" a lizard monster shouted, its tone filled with anger. "If this place didn't have the rule, you'd have died in my claws."
''You'll see who's the one to die first.''
A pale young man retorted aggressively, then quickly moved toward the arena's gate.
Just like the countless small conflicts that had occurred, all of them ended in face-to-face verbal insults.
In general, everyone was young, except for the monsters, which made it hard to distinguish them from their usual appearance. They almost seemed like monsters in human form. No one said anything, but it was clear that they were so strong.
A nimble human body combined with the strength of an animal was the perfect combination. The mana that boosted the monsters' abilities was just an added advantage. However, there was a major issue: candidates couldn't use mana in the first challenge.
It was clear that this thing put humans at a disadvantage.
As everyone remained in the arena, a loud voice suddenly echoed over the space.
"Fucking slaves, hear this!"
Above the tall, shabby, and uneven walls, a King appeared. He wore an ostentatious outfit and held a golden scepter in his right hand, leaning on it as he sat on a throne. With his fat, old face, he scanned the arena with disdainful eyes.
"Entertain me!" he sneered, rubbing his large, round belly with his left hand.
Below in the arena, everyone was taken aback by the King's scornful words.
A moment later, a green, musical goblin shouted angrily, "Hey! You fat bastard! I'll cut the fat off your belly and cook it for you!"
"Why don't you come here and fight with us, huh? Fool!"
The green goblin grinned and glanced around at the others.
"Right? Everyone!"
He tried to wink at the group of people near him, encouraging them to join in.
After a few seconds, the group began to catch on to his idea and started shouting.
"Y-Yeah! You're right!" a goblin called out, though he seemed a bit uncertain.
After the first monster spoke, several others began shouting as well. They were no longer confused and joined in unison.
"Bastard! Get down here!"
"Huh, your mother must be as fat as you to have given birth to you!"
"Stupid pig!"
"..."
And so, countless insults were hurled. However, not everyone acted this way—only a small portion of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Hector stood in shock, his mouth agape as he watched the scene unfold.
"What the hell! This wasn't in my mind," he thought. "By now, I really doubt this novel's accuracy. No... everything's been wrong from the start. I probably shouldn't have believed it at all."
"Damn, now I don't even believe in my own perk. What should I do?" Hector muttered to himself, gazing at the King's expression to judge his next step.
After a brief moment, Hector's face darkened with a frown.
"He's smiling? Is it working?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
He glanced around warily. Gradually, more people began to join in the insults directed at the King, clearly noticing that this method seemed to have some effect.
However, Hector felt differently. A sense of unease crept over him, as though something bad was about to happen.
"Fuck you, pig!"
"Get down now!"
...
Hector still kept his eyes fixed on the King's face until, suddenly, the King burst out laughing in amusement.
"It's really working!" Hector sighed in relief, thinking perhaps he should also join in.
"F—"
But before he could finish his insult, all the noise in the arena abruptly ceased. Instead, a deafening clap of thunder reverberated through the arena. Instantly, the noise disappeared.
Hector clutched his ears in pain, his face twisted in pain.
Several seconds later, the thunderous sounds completely stopped. Hector lowered his hands from his ears and tried to look around to understand what was happening, though his head was still slowly spinning
''....''
When everything became increasingly clear, his expression also underwent a certain transformation.
Of course, it wasn't good at all.
These groups of people had scolded the king, and now they were all dead. They were nothing more than lifeless corpses, completely charred by the hating electricity of the thunder.
Everything happened incredibly fast, leaving the remaining people in the arena to get deep into an alarming situation.
"Interesting!"
Hector instantly glanced at the king at the height of the wall. The king only ginned quietly while his chin leaned on his left fist.
"But you damn, wretched slaves! You said .... I don't have hair."
….
Silence.
Five seconds later, everyone held their breath in growing concern.
The king's expression turned to rage as waves of electricity swirled deep in his eyes, rippling through the space around him.
He shouted loudly,
"It's not a joke!"