After cleaning up Babel Square, Finn ordered the adventurers to split up and clear the rest of Orario, telling them to use their blood as bait.
Looking at the giant ice flower in the east, Finn couldn't help but admit there were still strong adventurers hidden in the city.
On the other side of the flower, Akira had reached the end of Daedalus Street. He used his spear as a walking stick, too injured to stand properly.
His blood-soaked figure slowly walked toward the green field that lay in front of him. The field was filled with gravestones—some marked, most unmarked. This was the resting place of many of Orario's adventurers and was thus called the Adventurer Graveyard.
He sat on the grass with his back against an unmarked gravestone. Feeling weak from blood loss, he thought about resting for a bit.
As he closed his eyes, he remembered his time training under Scáthach. Whenever he thought he was too tired to go on, Scáthach would push him just a little more.
Opening his eyes, he smiled. "Just a little more, huh."
He placed his spear back into his inventory and took out a roll of bandages. Using his bloodied hands, he wrote runes on it: first were the pain relievers, second the blood repeller, and third—and last—the shrinkage rune.
He didn't have enough practice, strength, or time to write more complicated healing runes. Wrapping the bandages around his legs, arms, and torso—over his skin-tight rune-covered costume—he took a deep breath for the next part.
Since Cú Chulainn's Battle Continuation skill hindered healing in exchange for survivability, he had to unequip it.
Just as he put his costume into his inventory and equipped a comfortable samue, his consciousness began to slip away due to the absence of Battle Continuation. He activated the runes on the bandages, now hidden beneath his clothes.
The shrinkage runes tightened the bandages around his body. The blood repellent pushed against the flow, stopping it from pouring out of his wounds, and finally, the pain relievers eased his suffering.
"Let's take a few minutes' rest before the next fight…" With those words, he fell unconscious.
-----------------------------------
The first wave of the trial was nearly over. Finn watched as the Garden of Twilight Manor was filled with injured adventurers.
As for the civilians—if a rat had managed to injure them, there was little chance they would survive until help arrived.
Biting his throbbing thumb, Finn asked Riveria for a report. "How many?"
"About two dozen Level 1 adventurers and one Level 2 dead. There was a breach at the Amphitheatron—70 civilians injured, 6 dead. On our side, 3 civilians injured," Riveria replied in a heavy voice.
"What about the civilians outside the safe zones?" Finn asked.
"We don't know. There were traces of human blood in the destroyed houses, but we didn't find any bodies. Best guess—the rats ate them whole." Riveria grimaced.
Finn nodded. He would think about that later; right now, his throbbing thumb signaled a bigger challenge yet to come.
"There's one more thing you should know," Riveria said, grabbing his attention. "The gods are watching using divine mirrors—just like during the War Games."
"Oh, that must be what Loki-sama was talking about," Finn realized.
"If only that were all. The Clocktower took control of it and added a ranking list. The ranking is based on kills and achievements." Riveria sighed, feeling a headache coming on—they might have shown too much about her familia.
"Ranking, huh? Who's at the top?" Finn asked.
"That's the biggest problem…"
-----------------------------------
Inside the Twilight Manor.
"Asterius? I don't believe it! How can a monster be included in the ranking? And what's with that magic sword—who gave it to him? Hephaestus, it's one of yours, right?" Loki was livid, staring at the ranking in front of her.
Rank — Name — Kill Score — Achievements — Total Score
1 — Asterius — 1,854,971 — 300 — 2,154
2 — Riveria Ljos Alf — 1,584,879 — 300 — 1,885
3 — Ais Wallenstein — 1,643,321 — 0 — 1,643
"My familia has never produced such a weapon," Hephaestus denied flatly. "Also, you're wrong about one thing, Loki—that magic wasn't activated by the sword."
"A magic-using Minotaur? Must be a variant," Apollo said, licking his lips and thinking things no one wanted to know.
"A variant, huh? My familia encountered one on the 16th floor the day before yesterday."
"Same with mine."
More and more gods chimed in, sharing information about the rising number of variants appearing throughout the Dungeon.
As the broadcast showed adventurers cleaning up the remaining rats, the gods grew more interested in gossip than the fight.
"Looks like the Dungeon's been acting strange lately. Wonder why the Guild hasn't told us anything," Dionysus remarked.
"It's been a busy week for the Guild—first the Dungeon riot, then paying every familia compensation for the damage," Demeter answered.
"That's true—they even paid for all the potions used."
"Ah, you got compensated for potions? They only paid me for armor repairs!"
"You must have sent your children. That fat pig Royman uses the gods' presence to sniff out lies—you should've gone yourself."
The broadcast screen suddenly turned black, pulling everyone's attention back.
"Is it over?" Hestia asked worriedly. The last time her child had appeared on-screen, others saw his strength she saw his injuries. She hoped it was the end so she could go and find him.
Splash!
The tower slowly brightened the screen. First appeared the large silhouette of a man walking against a roaring tide of water in a tunnel. As he reached the end, the scene lit up to reveal a massive mound riddled with holes, each one glowing with countless red eyes.
The gods' excitement returned—not for the fight itself, but for the man who would fight it: Ottar the King.
-----------------------------------
Ottar had jumped into the tunnels dug by the rats, hoping to find their source. Following their disgusting stench, he reached the mound.
Deciding to end it in one blow, he drew his sword and began to chant.
"Silver moon's mercy, the golden wilderness…"
He gripped the sword with both hands, taking a stance for an overhead slash as the blade began to glow gold. The rats in the mound swarmed toward him.
"This body is destined for the wild boar of war. Run through—carry the goddess' will!"
He swung the glowing sword downward with all his might, producing a slash that tore through the horde and blew the mound into dust.
[Armored Rats Spawn Point Destroyed.]
[First Trial is over.]
[Time till Second Trial starts: 00hr:27m:45s]
With that announcement, cheers erupted throughout Orario. The remaining rats dropped dead in an instant.
But while others celebrated, one goddess was far from happy. Loki stared at the ranking.
Rank — Name — Kill Score — Achievements — Total Score
1 — Asterius — 1,855,971 — 300 — 2,154
2 — Ottar — 598,137 — 1,300 — 1,898
3 — Riveria Ljos Alf — 1,584,879 — 300 — 1,885
"What are these random achievement points?" Loki pointed at her personal ranking screen, scrolling through it.
As a small earthquake—caused by Ottar's attack—shook Twilight Manor, Loki stumbled forward, accidentally tapping Ottar's name.
The screen changed, showing his profile. Loki was shocked. The other gods, curious, tried the same—and got identical results.
Rubbing her sore nose (she hadn't had any cushioning when she fell), Loki glared at the screen displaying Ottar's profile.
[Name: Ottar]
[Title: King]
[Affiliation: Freya Familia]
[Kills: 598,137]
[Achievements:2nd into Filivius Tower (300)
1st Damage Tower (500)
Destroyed Spawn Point (500)
[Total Score:1,898]
.........….
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