Eugene, the prodigal son, goes on a shopping spree

Out of the thousands of participants that have appeared in Demon Sebastian's White Room against or not against their will, only a few hundred have passed the first test.

Yet, Eugene, who had once gone through a similar event in the game and witnessed many more on video streaming platforms, knew that the reason the number of people who had failed was far greater than those who had passed was not that the first test was hard enough to warrant such a high failure rate, but because most of the people taking it were inadequate.

Only Earthlings have failed the first test.

That showed how physically weak the failures were due to years of inactivity, bad eating habits, and practicing self-harming activities such as substance abuse, smoking, drinking alcohol, etc.

Their inability to keep their emotions in check, take things seriously, adapt to a foreign environment quickly, and remain mentally stable was worse than their pathetic strength.

Like Jude King, all of them would have passed with flying marks if they had just kept calm and used their brain.

After all, unlike Ogres, who had had brawns for brains and liked to use strength alone to solve nearly all problems, humans could take pride in being intelligent enough to create innovative ways to overcome challenges.

Yet, they were so out of touch with their reality that they failed to pass the test by taking advantage of their innate traits.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the participants who have passed the Test of Strength. You must think it's not a big deal, but it actually is. Even the people who have passed the test with the worst grade possible have gained enough miracle points to acquire a class. Like a caterpillar turning into a moth or a butterfly, you can now evolve."

People like Eugene felt excited after hearing what Sebastian had to say.

Now, they could finally get the class they had been eying for a while and test out just how great of an effect it would have on them.

"As for the ones who have failed, you do not need to feel worried or look down on yourselves.

"You still have a few good chances left to step on the staircase to Godhood."

Sebastian made the newbies who were yet to enter the tower feel hopeful by flashing them his signature smile.

"Oh fuck! He is fooling everyone with his encouraging words, handsome face, and sickening smile." After hearing what Sebastian said and seeing the reactions people had to his words, Eugene cringed hard enough to fart. "Even though this demon knows that the upcoming tests will not be as easy and harmless as this one, he still told them lies and gave them false hope. I guess he is sick in the head and likes to relish in watching others despair like a psychopathic bastard."

Eugene was talking to himself in such a low voice that even the people around him couldn't catch what he said.

The demon, too, didn't find out Eugene was badmouthing him.

"I trust you can all do it. I believe in you, but you must believe in yourself. So give your all in the upcoming test that's soon to begin."

"He's encouraging me. Even my parents never did that when I got 100 marks on my math exams."

Who could have said that if not an Asian?

"I feel like I can do anything now."

"I was blind to take him as a scary person. He is quite handsome, like a gentleman."

Because even though Sebastian possessed great power and sharp senses, he was busy fooling innocent lambs and was far away from Eugene.

"I so want to punch him in the face right now so he will stop yapping that I can hardly control myself."

However, Wren, who had hearing senses far greater than an average human, heard the shitty remarks he made on Sebastian, who was whitewashing his character in the mind of the Earthlings.

"You couldn't be more accurate about Sebastian. He's a sickening bastard. It is his hobby to give newcomers a false sense of security and watch them break down when they face the harshness of reality and realize he had only told them lies."

He didn't fear the owner of this white room, but he didn't want to implicate Eugene by offending the demon with his words.

Thus, he agreed with what he had said about the demon in an equally low voice.

It was clear to him, but it wasn't to others.

"Heh."

At his words, Eugene chuckled as if he had heard something amusing.

"You seem happy."

"There's another person beside me who had seen through his facade. Why wouldn't I be?"

To meet a like-minded person after entering a muddy sea of confusion made him so genuinely happy that he didn't let his passive skill stop him from smiling.

"We're getting along quite well so far. Don't you think so?"

"What? Do you want to tag along with me?"

"What if I say yes?"

After seeing how strong Wren truly was, Eugene did consider begging him to join hands with him, but he was still unsure whether they had the same destination or not.

Thus, he didn't act out of his character and kept calm.

"I will reluctantly allow you to follow me if your decision doesn't change and we are going to the same place after the assessment ends."

Moreover, he acted like he would be doing him a huge by becoming his Guide.

"We don't need to remain indecisive about this matter any longer. I don't have a set destination in mind. Besides, I need a guide, and you seem knowledgeable about the tower. So, I plan to stick with you and witness its wonder following after you. Can't I?"

Either Wren was naive, like a child who would gladly count the money for the person who sold him, or he was so confident in his strength that he believed Eugene, a complete stranger to him, wouldn't be able to harm him if he had any ill intentions against him.

Eugene didn't know why but he felt there was something off about him.

However, he had no intentions of declining him a third time as that came off as quite rude.

"You can."

"Good."

Suddenly, Wren coughed hard enough to puke blood, but because he had used his hand to hide the scene of the blood coming out of his mouth from others, Eugene missed that he was in far more severe condition than he made it seem.

He helped Wren sit down on the empty spot between him and Jude, the ugly sleeping duck.

"Are you unwell?" He asked the boy in a voice tinged with concern.

"No, I am fine."

Wren gave him a nod to ease his worries while secretly wiping the traces of crimson blood tainting his lips using his palm.

"It's just the backlash of tapping into the power of my bloodline."

Before the other party became suspicious, he brought his palm soaked in blood down from his mouth.

He closed it before placing it on his thigh like everything was okay as he didn't want a stranger to see the blood dripping out of it and worry about him right after agreeing to become his guide.

"Your pale complexion says otherwise."

It was hard for even a nearly blind person to miss there was something wrong with Wren because he was as white as a piece of paper or like a sick person that had lost a lot of vitality.

He hid the evidence of his sick body, but he couldn't hide his ever-dimming face from the thoughtful eyes of Eugene.

So even though he didn't want him to worry, he still caught that he was hiding something from him.

"I'll be fine in no time. I mean it."

[Ding!]

Thankfully, a notification popped up before them, causing their conversation to end.

[You may select a class and buy skills.]

It wasn't just them who got it.

"Huh?"

Everyone in this white room received this notification.

"What is this?"

And when they focused their eyes on it, they saw more details about it.

[You can trade 1000 miracle coins for the class Necromancer, Death Knight, or Templar. You can buy their respective skills for an equal price.]

[You can buy the classes swordmaster for 400 miracle coins, Mage for 400 miracle coins, Magic Archer for 200 miracle coins, Black Magician for 100 miracle coins, and Barbarian, Rogue, and Hunter for 10, 30, and 50 miracle coins, respectively. You can purchase a skill of any class by using an equal number of points you would use to purchase the class.]

[Through acquiring a class, you can gain an increase in your basic stats and gain the ability to learn the skills belonging to your class.]

[The character screen, which you can access with a thought, mentions your status]

[The stronger the class, the greater the power-up you'll receive from acquiring it, and the further you'll go in the staircase to Godhood.]

"I advise you to select a class immediately as it will help you immensely against the challenges you are soon to face."

Sebastian had no good intentions behind informing, urging them to get a class.

He was a demon, rotten to his core.

The reason why he wanted to strengthen themselves was so that they would be able to put up a display in the upcoming tests and amuse him and 'them.'

Wren closed the window without selecting a class and turned to Eugene in curiosity.

"Are you going to select a class?"

"Hmm, I already have."

"What? Really?" Wren gaped at him in surprise.

"Yes, I did."

While saying that, Eugene made the notification that had just popped up before him visible to Wren.

[Participant Eugene has used 100 miracle coins to purchase the class, Black Magician (Lvl: 1) (0/100 XP)]

[For becoming a Black Magician, You've acquired the passive skill, Black Aura, your maximum level cap has increased to 10, you've gained an affinity with shadows and elements of darkness, and you've gained a significant increase in your stats]

[Your Blue Aura has changed to black]

As if unwilling to believe what he was seeing, not only did Wren blink his eyes but also rubbed them in disbelief.

However, the blue screen in his vision remained unchanged.

"Damn!" As a result, he cursed out loud. "You wasted your chance at acquiring one of the best classes for newbies. I had spent many days idling in bars and eavesdropping on the conversation of drunk warriors and rankers, so I know that an examinee can somehow earn at most 1000 miracle points by acing all the tests. If only you had consulted me before selecting a class, you would have had a chance at raising the dead from their graves, making others piss themselves with a gaze, or punishing evil with your blessed blades."

He sighed as if he was feeling sad for a fool's sake.

"You don't know, do you? The most powerful classes would bound a person to the rules of a God or a higher being. If it means giving up my freedom and walking on a road paved by someone for me, I would rather not have such impressive powers."

While the others were drooling for the top three classes with cool names, Eugene disdained even looking at them, for he knew that acquiring even one of them would push him into becoming someone's dog.

He hadn't even begged others for money or God for life when he was dying of cancer, so why would he throw away what pride he had now?

"That's news to me." One of Wren's eyes showed a deeper interest in him, and the other showed absolute admiration for himself for finding a gem and grabbing it before anyone else could. "I've never heard rankers in the flying island talk about such a sensitive topic."

Eugene gave him a profound look. "Like the people around us who a certain someone is brainwashing, maybe even they don't realize that they are playing into the hands of the Gods they had unknowingly chosen to follow."

"You make a lot of sense." Wren's eyes lit up in glee. "I wasn't wrong to choose you as my guide."

Many people could only select the weakest and cheapest class as they lacked the miracle points to get a better one.

Only Eugene, who had earned 20 times more points than your average person in the first exam, got the class he desired.

Like its name, he could now learn and use black magic.

To use black magic, a black magician needed Black Aura, also called black mana.

Thanks to the passive skill he had received from gaining the Black Magician class, his Blue Aura has changed to Black Aura.

Black Aura was similar to Blue Aura in terms of properties, but it had unique characteristics that distinguished it from other Auras.

He could use it to activate Shadow and darkness-related spells.

Eugene opened the blue screen with many skill books belonging to different classes and scrolled through it.

'Which one should I purchase?'

He had 100 miracle coins left, and he wanted to put them to good use.

'Aha! This one's a gem.'

[You've purchased the skill Void Travel by using 100 miracle points]

[Void Travel: Allow you to teleport behind or in front of an enemy instantly]

Type: Active

Cost of skill: 20 Black Aura

Skill Cooldown time: 2 minutes

Level: 1

Proficiency: 0/100

Requirements: Magic Class, affinity to darkness and shadow, Black Aura!]

[You have 0 points left]

Although he was now dirt poor, he was satisfied as he had gained a potential game-changer.

He was more confident about dealing with the dangers of the second exam now that he had Void Travel.