On his way back, he stopped by a coffee shop within the outer settlement.
Most of the shops looked really nice; even the average shops here were better than anything back in the outer settlements.
Most of the shops in the outskirts were mostly half-built and patched shops.
'If the middle settlements looked this nice, how would the inner settlements look?'
"I guess the difference isn't just in the names."
He walked into the shop, paused for a bit, and looked around.
'Damn, no matter how many times I see it—the difference is just too much.'
Unlike the dirty walls and floors of the outskirt shops, this place looked rather clean.
The people were seated, enjoying their food and gentle chatter.
'Even the way people act is so different.'
As he walked to a seat, a young lady approached him.
She wore a radiant smile on her round face, holding a pad in her hands.
"Good afternoon, what would you like to order?"
Kael smiled as he turned to look at the waitress properly.
"I'll have a cup of coffee please, with some sugar and no milk, please."
As the waitress was about to turn around, he spoke again.
"Oh sorry, please add a burger as well."
"Okay."
As soon as his coffee arrived, he was already mentally calculating how much his ostentatious order would cost him.
To most people there it was probably nothing much, but to someone like him, it would most likely cost as much a week's rent payment for the room he stayed in.
"Here you are."
She placed the order in front of him without breaking her smile by an inch.
'That's a pro for you.'
He took a sip of his coffee first, but he put it back down a second later.
His lips curled awkwardly as he was about to convulse.
'Bitter, extremely bitter.'
He refrained from letting it show on his face.
'Damn it, I should have asked for more sugar and milk.'
It was his first time having coffee, so he just blurted out something he heard someone order.
'Damn it, I wasted so much money this crap.'
He stood up and picked up his burger.
He could feel his stomach turning from the thought of what he could have used the money for.
As if to make it worse, the waitress brought his bill, and Kael felt like sinking down into his chair.
'Damn it.'
After leaving the coffee shop, he straight to the outer settlement and headed to Mallik's warehouse
Entering one of the stores, a man in his mid-forties with a bald head was busy scribbling on a note in one hand while counting soul stones in the other.
He looked up and noticed Kael as he walked inside.
"How did it go?"
"Well, as good as it could have."
With a bit of creativity, he agreed that he would sell soul stones. The contract's been signed; all that's left is to agree on the small details and all."
The man immediately put on a mischievous grin on his face.
"That's good, as expected of my protégé."
"Anyways I just came to drop the contract and get my pay. I'll be unavailable for a while."
"Okay, but are you sure you're fine?"
Kael smiled sheepishly and replied.
"What's this now? Are you actually worried about me now?"
Mallik burst into laughter.
"That's a good one, but yes maybe I'm getting old now.
Anyways just take care, kid; someone needs to keep bringing my money."
After a few short conversations with his friends in the warehouse, Kael went around the back of the complex and headed to his private room.
The inside of the room was small but half-arranged with some sheets of paper lying on a table; there were a few erotic comics lying in a corner.
He looked around and opened a box filled with important things, which included a picture with him, his parents, and his little sister, who had been separated from the family during a gate crisis over a decade ago. He kissed the picture and put it back in the box.
After tidying up a bit, Kael left the apartment and headed to the medical center close to Middle Settlement.
He stopped for a bit outside the warehouse where he had worked since he started living, as far back as he could remember.
He had worked here for so long, being exploited while being powerless because he chose the certainty of his environment over the uncertainty of the world of the awakened.
Now he was choosing that very same uncertainty to free him from the prison he always knew.
'How ironic.'
He moved forward without ever looking back once again.
On his way, all he could think about was what the challenge was like and how he could pass it.
'Safe to say that the odds aren't in my favor.'
Because there was a lot of knowledge children from clans and stables were able to get private tutors, which gave them a much higher chance of surviving.
About 6 out of 10 children form the outskirts die in the challenge, which made Kael even more pessimistic.
After entering the center, he approached the front desk and stopped in front of the Tall, slender and attractive lady.
She smiled, and his heart skipped a bit.
'Damn'
She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman he had seen, but there was a certain allure about her, as Kael noticed a few other people couldn't stop themselves from looking at her.
As if her very existence was a level above the others.
"Good day, are you experiencing symptoms of the system challenge?
Kael looked at the lady with a hint of surprise.
"Why did you assume that? I mean, it's not as if people around here are experiencing it regularly and consistently."
The lady shrugged, waiting for a few seconds before responding.
"It's not easy to sense for ordinary people, but there's a subtle trace of people who are experiencing the challenge for the first time.
The higher one is in the path of ascension, the easier it is to notice the trace."
Kael looked even more surprised.
"Then that would mean you're a transcendent?"
Now the lady was the one who showed a slight hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Wow, you're a smart one, aren't you?"
"Then if you don't mind me asking, what is an exalted existence, one of the few dozens in the world working in a hospital ".
He looked around and noticed the few people still stealing glances at her.
Before she could respond, he added.
"I assume the people here don't realize who you are, either because you are not well known or because you're in disguise."
"Hmm. You deduced all that just from what I said.
Very few ordinary people have ever piqued my interest or discovered my disguise, even though only slightly, much less achieved both."
She gave him a genuine smile, and Kael felt his heart skip once more.
"Then let's get back to the main topic, shall we?"
She then escorted him down the hallway while she explained some procedures.
"You'll be put in a room and restricted with reinforced bindings after you start your challenge. Also, there are things you need to know about the nightmare.
Most kids in the outer settlement don't know much about the nightmare, and at the end of the day, most don't survive it."
Kael looked at her with a surprised look again.
"Then why didn't you tell them then?"
"I would have, but I just arrived not long ago, and you're only the third challenger I've attended to.
Even after I explained to them, they still didn't survive, so you're in luck, because I'll try to tell you as much as I can before it starts.
And I'll also have a few extra tips as a bonus for catching my attention."
Kael didn't know if he should feel happy or a bit worried.
He already knew that the challenge was dangerous, but hearing that many other people didn't make it made him feel even more alarmed.
"The first thing you should know is that you don't need to fight anyone even if you encounter something threatening; just evading or running away will do because your goal is to identify what is going on and survive until the end of it."
Kael was listening with rapt attention because the information he was receiving could very well save his life.
"Also, since you start the challenge, you'll be given an armament; it might be a weapon, charm, armor, or utility. Just try to use it well.
And also, you won't be in your own body; you'll be taking on the body of someone similar to you in that scenario."
"Thank you very much."
The lady smiled and led him into a room.
"No problem; if you survive, just go to the academy and ask to meet the headmaster.
Then give him this."
She handed him a pendant with a small diamond piece engraved in it.
Kael looked at the pendant suspiciously and turned to the lady.
"Don't worry, it's nothing fishy."
It's just so that I can treat you to a celebratory meal later; not just anyone can be allowed into the inner settlement, you know.
"Maybe I'll take you up on that."
The lady looked at him and laughed.
"Also, my name is Altair."
"Okay, my name is Kael."
"Kael, huh? A rather unique name."
A few minutes after he lay down on a bed, he was already losing consciousness.
Before he drifted off in his sleep, he could hear the last thing Altair said.
"Remember, Kael, just survive."
After that, all he saw was darkness.
Then he had an announcement.
"Welcome to your challenge, Kael."