Trial—Face Your Nightmares

A man with a slightly bulging belly, hidden beneath his black short-sleeved top and a waistcoat, emerged from behind the shelf at the back.

Adjusting his round spectacles, he flashed a small smile. Levi was obviously a regular customer.

"Ah, the painkillers are almost finished. You're lucky that you came right now—the miners would have surely bought all the stock."

Levi sneered inwardly. Despite knowing each other for years, Gao Lei was still trying to dupe him at any opportunity he got, yet it didn't change the fact that he needed painkillers—and antibiotics—to treat his wounds; they weren't going to heal on their own.

But first… painkillers.

Levi glanced down at the bluish patches on his skin—the places Xu Kai had landed his hits and clicked his tongue.

"Another cut on your face," Gao Lei observed and shook his head pitifully. "Sigh, at this rate, your entire face will be covered in plasters."

He dropped a small bottle onto the counter, causing a mini tremor.

"You know the drill. There are three pills, and you must take all of them for it to work. But…" Gao Lei's smirk widened. "I'm afraid the price is no longer the same."

Levi's frown deepened.

"Don't look at me like that—I don't make the medicines. Those folks in the citadel do." Gao Lei raised his hands in mock innocence. "One bottle of painkillers and antibiotics for your wounds will be 50 coins."

Levi's eyes widened. 

"Tsk!" Clicking his tongue, he turned on his heel, heading for the entrance with wide, deliberate strides.

"Hey, Levi!"

Gao Le's voice rang out.

Levi turned, his piercing gaze locking onto him.

"Take it for 45."

"25."

"You…! Fine, I'll give you for 40."

"26."

Gao Lei almost fainted from the absurd price this young man mentioned.

He ground his teeth and glared furiously at Levi, but when he saw the young man had already stepped out of the shop, his heart shook.

"35!"

"30."

Levi's response came almost instantly.

After struggling for a while, Gao Lei reluctantly agreed with a sharp exhale.

"Fine."

It was better than Levi spending those coins in another shop. With this thought, Gap Lei's heart was at ease—if only slightly.

_____

After applying a plaster to the cut on Levi's forehead, Gao Lei studied him carefully. 

"You've sustained too many injuries fighting on the streets. If this goes on, you'll eventually break down." He sighed. "And you know most of the men here have eyes on your mother."

Levi's eyes turned cold and his murderous intent leaked, sending a chill through the air.

The fine hairs on Gao Lei's neck stood on end, but he shrugged it off—after all, he wasn't on that kill list.

"Your eyes isn't going to frighten them then," Gao Lei continued. "Once you're dead or crippled, nothing can stop them from acting out on their desires. Say, what if it is Fatty Luo who wants to claim her? What then?"

Silence followed after that question.

Levi lowered his head.

The Cataclysm had unfolded right in front of his eyes when he was just an eleven-year-old kid. Now, seven years later, the world he once knew had transformed into this living hell.

It all began shortly after a viral video.

The video showed a woman, crying about the end, warning that humanity should prepare to face the death trials.

Naturally, everyone laughed at her words. After all, who would truly believe in such fallacy?

The laughter and mockery were until people actually started dying.

Then the video spread like wildfire as the deaths continued, numbering to thousands.

The laughter turned into terror. The reality of the woman's words dawned on them as millions perished in a single day. The government was powerless to do anything; even its own officials fell victim.

Dread befell the world as the number of deaths kept rising. 

Then, as if the mass deaths weren't enough… 

Some of those who slept woke up as monsters.

And the world was never the same again.

Fortunately, a handful of people woke up with inhuman abilities. 

They confirmed that, whatever the woman had said was the truth—this was no natural disaster but the work of an entity that had orchestrated the apocalypse.

A demon, he called himself.

He plunged millions into an endless slumber until only a third of the world's population remained.

All this spelt one thing: the world was now a place where only the fittest would survive. Civilization had crumbled and the law of the jungle had crept into human habitations. In the eyes of some desperate men, Levi's mother was nothing more than a prize.

To make things worse, Fatty Luo—the very man who had given Levi this money was one of those people with inhuman abilities.

He was like a god in the slump town, a man no one dared to offend.

"Sigh…"

The metallic floor creaked under Levi's boots as he walked out, leaving Gao Lei's question unanswered.

The moment Levi stepped out of the shop and onto the street, a pickup truck screeched to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust around its frame. 

Several kids, ranging from mid to late teens, sat in the back of the truck, their laughter echoing through the air.

A blonde-haired young man, noticeably out of place among the Asian kids, hopped down. He was just as tall as Levi but had distinct foreign features.

A Westerner.

Clutching his backpack tightly, he approached Levi—only for a can to slam into the back of his head. The impact sent him staggering forward, nearly crashing into the golden-brown ground, which would have stained his worn-out white jacket.

The kids in the pickup truck burst into laughter.

Vlad turned, picked up the can and raised his arm to hurl it back at the moving truck, but before he could, Levi simply snatched the can from him.

Vlad met his gaze, frustration and questions flickering in his eyes.

"You'll get yourself beaten up," Levi said flatly. "And I can't afford to pay for your treatment."

But Vlad's next move made Levi's eyes widen.

He pulled out three golden coins.

"How did you get that?" Levi asked.

"A gift from my teacher for graduating," Vlad said, his voice caught between excitement and apathy. "And the teacher said he would recommend me to the lords of the citadel. If I'm lucky, they'll recruit me into the army."

Levi's brows knitted together. "What did he say about me? I'm supposed to graduate today as well."

Vlad hesitated as he stared at him pitifully and then sighed. "Bro… you spent too much of your time-fighting in the streets. It has ruined your reputation. The teachers said you cannot graduate with our batch. They think it's impossible for you to enter the citadel." Then, his voice firmed. "But I don't believe it."

Levi exhaled slowly. "Oh," he muttered, a forced smile tugging at his lips. "I'm glad you graduated, at least you can take Mom into the citadel. Guess my investments in your school fees didn't go to waste."

His smile was bittersweet.

"You can make it too. I'll work hard enough to bring you in." Vlad vowed, clenching his fist. 

He was an American by birth, but his parents had moved to China for reasons he wasn't privileged to know about. However, they ended up dying during the Cataclysm, and since then he had lived with Levi.

As they walked home, walking past malnourished folks huddled in the streets, Levi suddenly remembered.

"I had another dream."

Vlad tilted his head. "Don't tell me you saw yourself fighting aberrants… again."

"It's different this time," Levi admitted. "I fought the demon." He paused. "And this time..."

Vlad stopped in his tracks. "Bro, we should visit Gao Lei before your craziness gets any worse."

Levi's tone turned solemn. "This is serious."

"Oh? As serious as when you dreamed of enjoying a luxurious life in the citadel, then you complained about how bad our bed was compared to those in the citadel for a week!"

"You!"

Levi launched a false punch, which Vlad easily evaded, chuckling as he darted ahead.

Seeing this, Levi smiled softly and shook his head. But just as his amusement faded, his expression changed—his focus sharpened as if he was seeing something that no one else could.

[Levi Li! Prepare to face your nightmares. Your trial begins tonight.]

This was the real reason he hadn't gone to school today. 

The dream he told Vlad about might be the last normal dream he would ever have.

For tonight would decide whether his life would come to an end—or if he would be reborn with an inhuman ability, thus becoming an Aberrant.

Seventy coins should be enough to support Vlad and his mother for a month should he not survive the trial.

He calculated that by the end of the month, the citadel would have recruited Vlad into the army.

Unbeknownst to Levi, Vlad also saw crimson texts blinking before his eyes.

[Vlad Martin! Prepare to face your nightmares. Your trial begins tonight.]