Chapter 11:The First Trial

A week had passed in the blink of an eye. Kael entered a passage where he could rent a carriage to go to the temple. The fare for the carriage to the Pantheon Temple was 4 lew. He had 6 ewi with him. One ewi was equal to 8 lew. The currency of Midgard was stranger compared to other nations. Essentially, 1 ewi was 8 lew, and 8 ewi equaled 1 royal gold coin.

Kael handed over the money and got into the carriage. The driver was not an old man, but he was older than Kael. His name was Mars. Mars fed the horse a carrot and started driving the carriage. After a short, friendly conversation, they left the glorious city behind and continued into the depths of the forest. As they traveled, the number of houses along the road began to increase.

This was a sign that they were approaching the Pantheon Temple, and after approximately three to four hours of travel, they arrived. As always, the temple was crowded. The grand temple did not impress Kael, but it had captivated everyone around him. However, what truly caught Kael's attention was a massive gladiator statue and the other statues lined along the road. Beneath them, words were inscribed in the Midgard language. Simply put, they displayed names along with birth and death dates.

The colossal statue, however, contained more information than the others. The only problem was that only part of it was written in the Midgard language—the rest was unreadable. After examining the statue, Kael stepped aside and sat down.

"Kael, what are you feeling?"

Kael flinched. As he tried to determine the source of the voice, it spoke again.

"Idiot, have you already forgotten my voice?"

Kael asked suspiciously, "Inner voice?"

The voice replied, "Ha, yes, but I'd prefer if you called me Morgoth."

Kael simply said, "Alright," and fell silent. Morgoth, however, continued.

"The trial will begin in two hours. Are you sure about this?"

Kael didn't respond at first, then said, "Huh? Yeah, yeah," nodding his head.

Morgoth began explaining the history of the temple. "The Pantheon Temple, also known as the Temple of the War God, has witnessed many sacred battles. Aside from the grand statue, the figures represented in the other statues are the Pantheon and his forty apostles."

In the last ten minutes of the two-hour wait, Morgoth fell silent, and the number of people around them had decreased. A few moments later, a voice echoed through the temple.

"Attention, all trial participants! The total number of participants: 119. The trial will begin in five minutes."

As Kael tried to figure out the source of the voice, Morgoth spoke.

"The source of the voice is the system."

Kael, confused, asked, "What the hell is that?"

Morgoth replied, "A spell that will never leave you for the rest of your life. You better get used to it. Also, I won't be able to talk to you during the trial, just so you know."

Shortly after their conversation, another announcement echoed through the temple.

"Dear participants, the current number of participants: 123 your trial has begun. We wish you all success."