-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Trial
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A fiefdom.
In the past, when wars between species were common.
It was a territory established on the promise of a lord's protection in exchange for the people's land, labor, and loyalty.
When many such fiefdoms gathered, the strongest lord was called a king, and a nation was formed.
Of course, that was a tale from the era of the Old Kingdom, when land was abundant.
After the Labyrinth's overflow contaminated the world with mana, and most sentient species either died or devolved into monsters, the concept of a nation vanished.
Now, the only places where sentient species could survive were a handful of fiefdoms where Divine Beasts purified the mana with the goddess's blessing.
Nevertheless, the sentient species established fiefdoms around the few Divine Beasts and painstakingly rebuilt their civilization.
But as was to be expected.
Or perhaps, ironically.
In this already ruined world, the value and importance of a safe fiefdom surpassed that of the Old Kingdom era, becoming more precious than gold.
However, there were only a few fiefdoms capable of defending themselves from the Labyrinth's monsters and mana contamination.
These were the Odobaekryeong.
The last bastion of the sentient species.
Their most comfortable cradle.
And their most prosperous strongholds.
The five great capitals and one hundred cities that drifted through a world already in ruins.
Of course, while smaller than the Odobaekryeong, there were countless small and medium-sized fiefdoms where hundreds gathered to live.
Among them was a high-ranking fiefdom of considerable scale, with a population exceeding several thousand.
Nakrang Castle, until recently, had been particularly overflowing with people.
Admittedly, its population was already large due to its proximity to the Malformed City, where demi-humans like orcs and goblins were the majority.
But the reason for its recent surge in numbers was the declaration of Nakrang Castle's lord.
"To the one who passes my adopted daughter's trial, I shall grant the right to marry her!"
—A Suitor's Contest.
This event, a public search for a bride's partner through competition among several men or by presenting a specific challenge, was surprisingly common.
Nobles who couldn't arrange a political marriage due to political or personal issues.
Or, conversely, noble families that needed to accept a son-in-law into their house, sometimes used this method.
Besides, for the bride, it offered a wider range of choices than a political marriage, and for the groom, it could be a chance to turn their life around.
In the Odobaekryeong, a Suitor's Contest was a kind of festival.
The contest itself was a spectacle, making it an even more boisterous event than a typical wedding.
"However, should a challenger fail the trial, they must offer up either ten million Krutal or their life!"
"Ten million Krutal... Where would anyone get that kind of money?"
"Tsk, the Lord of Nakrang Castle has gotten greedy."
"He's already holding this contest because it's hard to find a match for that witch, and now he's adding conditions."
Of course, the initial reaction to this Suitor's Contest was lukewarm.
Ten million Krutal was too much for a commoner, and nobles had no reason to participate.
All the more so because they knew very well who the bride, the main prize of this contest, was.
But that was all before they heard the other condition.
"In return, I will give a fiefdom to my son-in-law as a dowry!"
"Hey, just lend me ten million Krutal! Huh? I swear I'll pay you back when I become a lord!"
"As expected of the Lord of Nakrang Castle! To think he'd offer a fiefdom as a dowry!"
"To go this far for a daughter he's not even related to by blood. The rumors that he dotes on his adopted daughter must be true."
A swarm of ants drawn to honey.
When the contest finally began, the scene in Nakrang Castle could be summed up in that one phrase.
People flocked not only from the Malformed City and the Demonic Territories but also from other capital cities, forming a sea of humanity.
Not just mere commoners or lowly Crawlers, but even fallen nobles and the proper young masters of noble houses went wild at the prospect of a fiefdom as a dowry.
With over a thousand participants flocking to the contest and even more simple onlookers, the event became unprecedentedly clamorous.
...At first, that is.
But...
"It's quiet."
"That's because there are no more challengers."
"There were quite a few until last month."
"That was before the participants started failing one after another."
"True, what kind of madman would come here just to throw away ten million Krutal?"
"They'd be lucky to only lose money. Dozens of fools have lost their lives."
The square in Nakrang Castle where the contest grounds were set up.
A kobold fruit vendor and a goblin general goods merchant, who had set up stalls on one side, clicked their tongues as they looked at the deserted contest grounds.
It couldn't be helped.
The thousands of participants who had confidently entered the contest had all failed, losing their ten million Krutal.
They were lucky if they only lost money. Dozens had lost their lives, and far more had become slaves to pay back the entry fee.
No matter how coveted the fiefdom was, it was unlikely anyone else would challenge for it.
Among those who had already failed were more than a few nobles and Awakened Ones.
Furthermore, a rumor that no one could pass this contest unless the Five Heroes returned from the dead was being treated as fact.
"The Lord is the only one who's profited. He must have made a fortune from this, right?"
"It's not just the money. The man who struck it rich by picking up a daughter has now gained a reputation for being generous."
"Heh, he really is a clever one, not at all like an orc."
"But is this really his idea? It must be the Calamity Princess's doing."
"Tsk, just like a cursed witch... Now she's devouring not only her adoptive father but her suitors too."
As they grumbled, they gazed at the contest grounds with longing eyes.
A voice was heard.
"Hmm, so that's the contest ground for finding the Calamity Princess's groom, is it?"
"Why ask something so obvious?"
"Yes, thank you for telling me."
"Thank me for what...?"
"...?"
After answering without thinking.
The merchants reflexively turned around, their expressions turning peculiar.
'A mask?'
'Why a mask?'
It wasn't as if there was a masquerade ball.
A boy in elegant attire with a thin mask covering his eyes, and behind him, a maid wearing a veil.
The precious-looking young master, who clearly seemed to be from some distant city, left the blinking merchants behind and strode forward.
Straight toward the contest grounds set up in the middle of the square.
And so, a moment later.
They watched with strange expressions as the masked boy spoke to the examiner dozing in front of the contest grounds.
"That kid, is he really going to enter the contest?"
As they watched in surprise, having assumed he was just a young master passing by and stopping to watch for fun.
The examiner guided the boy to the first trial area.
Though calling it a trial area was a stretch; he was just led to a small boulder sitting off to one side.
—The Trial of Strength.
The first trial, which simply required one to lift the boulder over their head.
But that simple trial was also the trap that had eliminated the most challengers.
"He's just thrown his money away, that kid."
"There's no way a little kid like that can lift it."
"Of course not. They say even a 3-Star Awakened One would struggle to lift a Thousand-Pound Stone of that size without a strength Trait."
"So that's why he's wearing a mask. So he won't be embarrassed when he fails."
The merchants clicked their tongues.
More than a few challengers had thrown out their backs, not knowing the boulder was a Thousand-Pound Stone, ten times heavier than ordinary rock.
It was obviously impossible for the boy, who looked frail and not at all like a giant, to pass the Trial of Strength.
...At least, that was how it seemed until the boy gripped the boulder.
*Grind.*
"...Huh?"
"Eh?"
*Grind, grind, grind!*
"W-wait? Hold on."
"Th-th-th-that!"
*CRASH!!!*
"Agh!?"
"Wh-what was that!"
The other merchants in the square and the passersby looked around for the source of the sudden roar and saw it.
The kobold fruit vendor and goblin general goods merchant, their eyes wide with shock.
No, to be precise, they saw the masked boy and the boulder embedded in the ground before him.
Some were confused, but the other merchants in the square who had seen the Suitor's Contest before quickly understood the situation.
"That sound... could it be...?"
"That kid passed the Trial of Strength?"
"No way. Several 3-Star Awakened Ones failed that trial."
The reality before their eyes and common sense.
Those thrown into chaos by the collision of the two.
But a sound that soon followed forced them to accept reality.
*Dong, dong, dong!*
The examiner, who had been staring at the boy in shock, signaled for the drum to be beaten.
The moment the sound of the drum, announcing a specific event, filled the square and spread throughout the city.
"—A challenger for the contest!"
"Has a challenger who passed the Trial of Strength appeared?"
As the citizens, eager for a spectacle after so long, gathered, and the merchants, realizing a prime business opportunity had arrived, hastily prepared their wares.
The boy who was the cause of all the commotion.
Dion looked at his throbbing wrists—an ache that started after he lifted the boulder—and muttered.
"Hmm, I'm glad I leveled up a bit before coming."
* * *
A new challenger had appeared.
When the drumbeat announcing it rang out, people were intrigued but not overly interested.
It might have been different in the early days when little was known about the contest, but by now, everyone knew how viciously difficult it was.
The first trial, where over a thousand had failed.
The second trial, which only six had passed.
The third trial, where everyone had been eliminated.
Not to mention the fourth and fifth trials, which had never even been reached.
The conclusion of those who had watched so far was that passing the contest was utterly impossible.
Everyone subconsciously thought that this time would be no different.
*Dongdongdongdongdongdong.*
*Dududududududududong!*
"What is that sound?"
"What's all the commotion?"
...Yes.
That was the case, until a frantic, continuous drumroll erupted after a brief pause.
Those bewildered by the sudden uproar were shocked when they finally learned the reason from eyewitnesses.
"—The new challenger passed all the way to the third trial of the Suitor's Contest in one go?"
If he had passed up to the second trial, they would have been impressed, calling him a rare talent.
But the news that someone had passed the third trial provoked only one emotion.
"Impossible!"
"If you're going to joke, at least make it believable."
Disbelief.
They dismissed it all as baseless rumors or lies.
It was only natural.
An Awakened One was a superhuman who could gain all sorts of genius-level talents depending on their awakened Class, but there was a fact many overlooked.
—That awakening came with penalties.
To be precise, side effects that corresponded to the awakened Class.
For example, a combat Class like [Swordsman] could solve everything with a blade, but their eloquence and patience would decrease.
Other Classes were the same.
Spellcasting Classes, whose intelligence and special abilities grew stronger, often had penalties to physical abilities like stamina.
Information Classes, who could easily gather intelligence, were weak at improvising in unexpected situations.
Production Classes, which displayed excellent abilities in daily life, tended to have lower combat power or fighting spirit.
It was a kind of trade-off.
The price for genius-level talent.
Of course, compared to the talents granted by awakening, such minor drawbacks were practically nonexistent.
The problem was that this Suitor's Contest was designed to exploit those weaknesses, making it harder to pass the next trial the more easily one passed the previous one.
Take the second trial, for instance. The task was to perfectly replicate a sample flower, but the material was fixed.
Glass Silk.
A material thinner and more beautiful than a dragonfly's wing but so fragile that it was notorious for causing even [Artisans] and [Tailors] to fail in their work.
It was especially difficult to handle for those with great strength, which was precisely why the challengers who had passed the Trial of Strength failed in droves.
Those who broke through that trap fell into two categories.
Veteran Awakened Ones who had raised multiple Classes close to the [Master] level and grown accustomed to the penalties, or young nobles who overcame the penalties with their innate talent.
The former were impressive, but the latter were rising stars who would one day influence the landscape of the Odobaekryeong.
For some young boy who had appeared out of nowhere to pass the third trial, which even such prodigies had failed, was, by all common sense, impossible.
But no matter how much they denied it...
No, the more they denied it, the more detailed the eyewitness accounts from the contest became.
"Lies? What lies! I saw him pass the second trial in under a minute."
"What? He folded a perfect flower from Glass Silk in under a minute?"
"Yes!"
"That's impossible. Glass Silk is incredibly fragile."
"That's not all. He passed the third trial without even batting an eye."
"How could he pass the Trial of Mana, which even Baekjeon of Unmu City and Cheolhyeon of Bronze City failed?"
"It must be because this challenger is more skilled than either of them."
"No way! He must have used some kind of trick."
"There was no trick!"
Some cried fraud.
Others insisted it was real.
Many regretted missing the chance to witness a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
But not all the onlookers were happy.
Among the spectators were many gamblers who had, of course, bet on failure and had their pockets emptied.
As rumors spread that only a certain maid who had bet a fortune on success had made a killing, people turned their attention to another fact.
"If he passed the third trial, did he end up failing the fourth?"
"No, they say he'll continue tomorrow."
"Why? Does it take that long to prepare?"
"Because the Lord of Nakrang Castle and the Calamity Princess will be the examiners themselves."
"Well, if he passed the third trial, it makes sense for them to step in."
"I suppose so. If what he's shown so far is real, he'd be a worthy match even for a biological daughter, let alone an adopted one."
"That's true, but..."
"What?"
"No, I was just wondering how many trials he'll be able to pass this time."
"...Who knows."
Not just commoners, but even nobles whispered about this trial.
The absurdity of this contest was already known not only around the Malformed City but throughout the entire Odobaekryeong, so they couldn't help but pay attention.
Curiosity about how far he could go was an added bonus.
Of course, no one knew the answer.
There was only one thing everyone knew.
If this challenger truly passed all the way to the final, fifth trial on ability alone, a new star—a nova—would rise in the Odobaekryeong.
One comparable to the heirs of the Baekdaesega...
Or perhaps, even greater.
—A monstrous genius who, like the Paljongyungma, had already transcended the limits of a mere rising star.