The Trial

Shock...

This was the only emotion Saber currently felt. Not only did he realize he wasn't able to feel the presence of the being behind him, Saber felt a thick and insane feeling of dread that originated from the voice.

Slowly, he turned his gaze around as he braced himself to face whatever monster that he knew he had zero chance of winning against. But, when he turned his gaze, he was unable to see anyone, causing his expression to turn to that of confusion.

"Down here, you idiot!" The voice that caused him to feel fear once again resounded. The contents caused Saber to dart his gaze downwards where he was able to see the figure of what seemed to be a kid around 1.5 meters in height.

What set him apart from the other kids Saber had seen so far was the two black-colored goat horns protruding from his head and what seemed to be multiple intricate red-colored markings across his face. He had an extremely cute appearance that was turned scary because of the horns and markings.

But, what truly set him apart from other lifeforms that Saber had seen so far was the fact that he seemed to be almost transparent. And seeing Saber's shock and confusion, the 'kid' clicked his tongue in annoyance as he then said.

"Look little kid, you have two choices. One, undergo a trial set by the master, or...die!"

The 'kid' said to Saber. His last words were said with a thick killing intent leaking out. Saber instantly understood the gravity of his situation as he quickly nodded his head even if he was unaware of the trial which he was about to undertake.

The 'kid' then gestured for Saber to follow him as he began walking in a random direction. As they reached the wall of the room, the 'kid' touched the wall, as soon after, the wall seemingly transformed into a door that automatically opened for the 'kid' and Saber.

Walking in, they then walked down a hallway while the 'kid' began talking.

"That was an interesting plan you previously used to kill those two mortals. Especially knowing that the only way for the current you to place them under an illusion was to throw their emotional state into disarray."

The 'kid' said in a praising tone. He then continued.

"The reason why you guys were even sent here in the first place, was because the master prepared a trial for a worthy successor.

When I first saw you seven, I thought that you all were another group of wastes, but after examining you people properly, I realized that you seemed to be different.

Unlike the other trash, your talent seemed to be comparable to even some of the geniuses of the galaxy." The 'kid' said with a smile on his face.

Saber was once again left in confusion by hearing the term galaxy. It wasn't that he did not know what a galaxy was, it's just that he was unaware of the fact that there seemed to be other living beings in the galaxy.

'Well, traveling between worlds is way more unrealistic than there being life throughout the galaxy.' He thought with an excited smile on his face. It seemed that things were beginning to become interesting.

"Anyway, to see if you truly were worthy of even undergoing the trial, I waited to see if you would have survived the androids. But, you surprised me once again with your ruthlessness, and boy was it a pleasant surprise. Since, the things you'll need to do if ever you pass the trials and become my master, a ruthless heart would be needed."

The 'kid' said. His aura became darker when he spoke those final words, causing Saber to feel evilness permeating the air. His eyes couldn't help but light up in delight after sensing such things as it seemed things were a lot more interesting than he gave credit for.

Eventually, the duo reached the front of a massive door that automatically opened for them. Saber's eyes laid on the sight of a humanoid body that was four meters in size that peacefully laid on top of a massive bed with golden engravings around the edges of it.

"The master created a weapon that caused many greedy beings to attack him. But he was able to escape to this world before they could have killed him, and he was also able to hide this world from their eyes for multiple Cycles."

The 'kid' said, using a term that Saber once heard be used by his master. This greatly intrigued him as he thought that he'll then be able to understand what the term 'Cycle' meant. Anyway, the 'kid' then continued.

"Sadly, the injuries he suffered would eventually kill him, so he decided to sacrifice his life to boost the power contained in the machine of this space that hid this world from his enemies' eyes. He extended the time so that he may find a successor to his legacy, a successor that'll be able to inherit not only his weapon but also be able to eventually kill those damn bastards!"

The 'kid' said with clear anger in his voice whenever he spoke about his master's enemies. As they walked up to the dead man's body, Saber was able to see his appearance.

He had a long white beard and long hair that both reached his waist. His face was filled with wrinkles and his skin was brown. He had an extremely burly body, akin to a modern-day bodybuilder but a few times bigger.

"All you need to do is place your hand on his chest by his heart region. Thereafter, you simply need to survive." The voice of the horned 'kid' caused Saber to come out of his thoughts as a stifling feeling appeared in his chest. He wasted no time as Saber contacted his system and asked if he would be able to survive whatever they were doing.

[Insufficient Kill Points!]

Those words appeared in front of his eyes, leaving him in a state of not only panic but also anger.

He was angry that yet again, he did not have a choice in the matter. It was an anger that caused him to realize that he needed to raise his strength even quicker. He needed to find a way to quickly break through ranks so situations such as this would never happen again.

"Oh, why are you so angry?"

A voice of a certain nine-tailed fox entered Saber's mind, greatly startling him. As he listened to the words of his master, a smile slowly began creeping onto his face as he then stepped toward the dead body of the old man.

The 'kid' watched on in slight surprise since Saber showed no signs of hesitation and instead willingly placed his hand on the left chest heart region of his master. A smile then formed on his face as he realized that maybe there was something that even with his ancient eyes, was unable to see in this little brat.

Maybe there was some secret to him that caused his confidence to rise, or maybe it was simply arrogance. Whatever it was, in the next few seconds, he'll know.

It would be quite annoying if he needed to wait for another few Cycles since he seemed to be fading away with the dregs of time. The longer it took, the higher his chance of being erased.