"Don't give me that weird look. I just offended that brute for you; you've already seen how reckless I am. Is it that hard for you to fathom that I hopped into this place without knowing what it was?"
The boy-man's lip twitched again. Was this considered self-awareness?
"This is the Hero Exam."
"Okay. And what the hell is that?" Zarek blinked expectantly.
The boy-man was still in shock. Had Zarek really gotten himself into so much trouble just for such basic information?
"It's the Exam to join the Hero Association."
"First of all, who gave it such a lame name? And second, what the hell is the Hero Association?"
"Lame?!" the boy-man reacted as though his tail had been stepped on—not that he even had a tail. "The Hero Association is the most prestigious organization in the galaxy. They protect us against the Fallen in ways you couldn't imagine. The only reason you can even stand here today is because of them!"
"Is that so?" Zarek smiled. "Then I stand corrected. I can't be seen as ungrateful, now can I? Then I'll ask you another question. What's the Exam about? What's it testing? What's the goal?"
The boy-man seemed to still be somewhat fuming from Zarek's previous statements, but the fact he admitted his faults had taken quite a bit of the edge off.
"It's a test to push you to your limits. Survive. That's all I know. The test changes every cycle, but the end goal is just the same: prove. Prove that you're strong enough to stand as a Hero."
Zarek fell into silence. If this was all there was to know, then it seemed that he couldn't just charm his way to more information. There was only so much he could gain from the boy-man, it seemed.
As for those he had offended, he didn't really care all that much. He had already seen from the tension in the air that everyone here was gearing up their own killing intent. This was going to be a trial of life and death regardless.
So what if they were targeting him on purpose or targeting him because he would coincidentally be in their way? The end result would be the same regardless.
Surviving was what he did best.
—
Note:
[Oh, the irony.]
—
Zarek's gaze flashed as he noticed the change to his status screen. He didn't expect that the system, after such a long silence, would suddenly appear like this.
What did that mean?
Was he overthinking things before? Was he overthinking things right now, even? Why did the message sound a lot more laid-back and subtle than the usual barrage of curses?
'It seems that the system is as good at messing with me as I am at messing with other people, huh? Curious.'
While it seemed that Zarek was letting too many of his cards lay bare, he knew quite well what he was doing. There were many things you couldn't accomplish unless you were willing to take risks, but by the same token, taking risks didn't mean you had to put your entire neck out on the line.
Even though his ignorance was on full display, no one knew he had already seen the name Hero before, no one knew that he was already a Hero Candidate, and… no one knew of the map flickering at the bottom of his status screen, carrying with it a needle that was trembling quite fiercely right about now.
This was the main reason that Zarek had said the system was quite good at messing with people. The arrow hadn't been acting like this before. It had been steady and calm, pointing in a single direction as though it was quite sure of itself.
But now, while it was still pointing in the same direction as always, it was trembling in a way it hadn't been before, as though it was only now that it was well and truly alive.
Zarek's intuition was telling him that this was the true map. In fact, maybe if he had stayed on Earth the entire time and spent a lifetime following this arrow, he'd end up circling the planet completely only to find himself in the exact same location.
Or maybe the system would have found another way to continue leading him by the nose, or maybe force him into dangerous situations hoping one of them would end up killing him.
But now, Zarek felt as though some sort of noose was tightening around his neck. Every time things went right, almost too right… it was like he was watching more of the control he liked to have over his own life slipping away.
And what made it all so complicated was that this tug on his life wasn't necessarily bad.
The first time he felt it, he knew the individual in question most definitely didn't have the best intentions at heart.
But this time? It felt like there was a guiding hand trying to speed him forward even if it came at the cost of things he wasn't yet ready to give up.
'I wonder… why do you hate me so much?' Zarek looked at the Note in silence, his face becoming oddly stoic compared to what he had been before.
—
[Welcome, young candidates, to Planet Uphore. Classified as an A-Class planet, the threats you will face are unlike any you've seen before.]
—
Zarek's gaze became a hint more serious. He wasn't sure what sort of planet rank Earth was, but if A-Class meant what he thought it meant, it was certainly stronger than whatever Earth was right now.
The strongest threat on Earth was C-Class at worst right now; there should be no B-Classes yet. It would take exponentially more time for the ceiling to be raised as well.
This… was outside of his expectations. Wasn't this a C-Class Godsfall Tear?
—
[For this Cycle, the rules are simple. There are only two ways to make it to the end.]
[The first? Survive for three years.]
[The second? The heads of ten A-Class or one S Class Threat.]
—
Zarek cursed.