Beware where you fall

That knight and that system had the worst sense of humor, I swore to all gods.

We were freefalling. No jokes, no metaphors—literally falling. There was the wind rushing from below, so there would be no instant deaths when we reached the ground.

However, even with the force of the wind working in our favor, depending on how or where a person landed it would be enough to hurt them.

By hurting them, I meant broken bones, cripple and possible comas.

By the speed we were falling, even with the force of the wind, I estimated we would reach the ground quite soon.

Too soon.

Although the world below seemed small at that point, I could see the rocks spread out, the small holes and deformations.

I was glad we were transported based on the same spots we were before, the twins falling only inches away beside me.

I could hear screams and curses echoing with the wind, some people wiggling desperately as they fell while others seemed like blocks of stones descending into the ground. The twins were one of the rocks.

With the air’s aid, we wouldn’t die with the fall. Yet it would still hurt—a lot. And if we ended up landing wrong…

I kept trying to look at our surroundings, calculating where we were more likely to fall, and as we approached the ground…it was not good.

Not good at all.

Right below the twins, I could see one large, sharp rock daring people to fall on it. Even if I was only seeing it from above, it almost felt like the rock was eager to stab and pierce some falling pieces of meat.

There was no way to tell its real size, however my intuition told me at least one of the twins would fall straight into it.

Apparently, Hil and Hal noticed the sharp rock as well and I did not need to ask if they had a power that could help them at that moment; I saw in their eyes.

I could only thank the system that we were transported together—at least this small favor was granted to us. I managed to grab Hal's shirt, pulling him aside while pushing Hil so I would stay in the middle.

Right below the pointy rock.

As we approached, it was possible to see its shape better. Thankfully, the rock was not very large or wide; it was just extremely sharp. I held them one in each arm, silently praying I was right.

I heard their screams at the same time the rock’s tip hit my breastplate, a muffled sound echoing around us as we bounced and fell flat on the ground, making me let go of the kids.

It took me a few seconds to clear my head, glancing at Hal and Hil while looking for bruises and cuts as I tried to make sense of where we were.

"Are you guys alright?" They seemed fine, with only a bit of dirt covering their faces and clothes.

Yet that place—it looked like a desert. From the south, I could see a woods’ entrance, a single large path taking it in a straight line.

On the north, there was an enormous castle that stretched for miles up above.

Its flags were made of living flames, its windows red and orange while the tiles and stones carried more warm colors, imposing not only strength but fierceness, a wild aura surrounded the structure.

As I glanced back toward the twins, Hil’s tears still wet her face while Hal was staring at the rock with haunted eyes. It took a couple of seconds for Hil to rush to my side, wrapping her arms around my waist.

“You saved us again, mister…!”

“Hey, I promised, remember? As long as we stay together, I will protect you guys.”

I was about to look at Hal, see if he was truly okay, when all around us people started to fall. Many of them landed well, grunting as they got up and massaged their limbs.

Yet many didn’t.

I’m not sure which sounds were louder and more graphic; the sound of bones being broken or when people fell right into the rocks.

The piercing and stabbing, the sound of blood gushing out as people gurgled and choked.

The screams.

Suddenly all those sounds got louder, a symphony of horror and death like I had never heard before.

It was different from the Jolly Train, different from when I was in my cubicle answering ethics questions. Depending on where the person fell, I could feel the ground vibrating and shaking with their impact.

Hal met my eyes, his face paler and his eyes darker as if there was a ghost crossing them. He walked towards us, his voice somewhat louder than usual, his eyes never leaving my gaze.

“Hil, I told you to not get too comfortable with this guy. We know nothing about him.”

“Don’t be so mean—”

“We are wasting time. Hey, you said you are going to protect us so take us to the meeting point.”

It took me a few seconds to understand what Hal wanted. People were still falling, the sound of some deaths and injuries echoing through the vast area.

The moment Hil turned to face her brother he got in front of her, blocking her sight. He was staring at me, pure anticipation filling his reddish eyes.

I looked around, finally spotting an arc between some stone towers. Most participants were rushing there, some numbers lit up above the arc.

[267/3657]

I understood the meaning of that in less than a second, my heart racing against my chest. Yet when I looked around, my nerves settled a bit—it appeared a great number of participants hadn’t managed to land well, which was good for us.

Yet Hal didn’t want his sister to see it.

“And here I thought I would never be bossed by a kid! Let’s go before all spots get taken.”

I took Hil in my arms, putting my hand on her head to make sure her gaze would only meet the ground, her arms wrapped around my neck.

As we walked, me and Hal continued to talk on top of each other, trying to muffle the sounds. Hil never said anything, much less questioned what we were doing.

I could tell she knew.

By the way her hands grabbed my shirt to the trembling of her body every time someone screamed and cursed, I knew she was aware of what we were doing.

When we finally crossed the arc, the numbers on top went up by three, a new message popping up.

[You reached the Court of Wands’ Tower!]

The Court of Wands, huh…? My sword had belonged to the Court of Swords—they were likely the ones that gifted it to me—so this meant there were more of them.

More Courts, more territories. If I was right and the Courts were one of the responsible parties overseeing the Trials, did that mean different Courts oversaw different Trials?

Was there even a difference between them?

“Look, Hil! We arrived safe and sound. Am I great at keeping promises or what?”

As I put her on the ground, Hal immediately reached for her hand squeezing it briefly before fixating his gaze on mine.

“Congratulations for doing the bare minimum. You want a pat on the head as a treat or something?”

Even by his harsh words, I could see the small gratitude glowing within his eyes, although his smile was as sarcastic and ironic as it could be.

Still, it was enough to take the pain away from my muscles and warm my heart a little bit.

“You can thank me by fulfilling our agreement,” I said while scuffing their hair, receiving one joyful laughter from Hil and one frown from Hal.

Such adorable little angels.

“We can start now, mister.” Hil suddenly whispered, a sly smile appearing on her lips.

At first, I was apprehensive. Chances were, the group the twins knew was here as well and that man could certainly cause trouble for us.

However, most of the people within the tower seemed to be quite exhausted, a lot of them hurt to some degree. The ones who seemed better off were either accompanied by a small group or isolated themselves.

Hal scoffed. “What? Are you backing out now? I thought you were smarter than this.”

Learning more about the participants, and what they knew as well…was not a bad idea at all, at the moment. Perhaps we could even make some allies for this first trial.

Well, the twins seemed quite reliable on their own and they were also putting their trust in me. I should do the same.

I was about to open my mouth when Hildr bulged her eyes, her eyebrows rising and her mouth hanging open with pure excitement in her eyes as she pointed at some spot behind me.

“Coat!”

I frowned as Hal followed her gaze, slapping his hand on his face with a sigh. I turned around in time to see a man taller than me and if Hil calling him out and pointing at him hadn’t attracted his attention, then me staring certainly did.

It was a man taller and more slender than me, with two medium bags stuck on his waist. I didn’t have to guess what was inside those bags.

Also, I would have to agree with Hil on that one.

His coat was cool.