The next morning Fredric showed up at the group’s doorstep with 3 cups of coffee neatly tucked into a foam cupholder. He walked in through the door, right past the still-dazed Ulmak, handing him a cup.
“Large black,” he tapped Ulmak on the shoulder twice, causing him a great deal of surprise.
Fredric walked straight into the lobby, looking towards the door into Ulmak’s room.
“Ahhh, so that’s how it is,” Fredric smirked.
He walked towards the other side of the lobby and gently nudged the door handle open with his foot as his hands were still busy holding up the tray.
“Good morning, lovebirds!” Fredric screamed, waking Zeke and Elaine up, scaring them beyond belief.
In panic, Elaine grabbed the blanket, pulling it over her naked body in a haste attempt to cover herself up.
“Mmmm chardonnay, great pick!” Fredric laughed, looking down at the empty wine bottle.
He approached the dazed pair and handed them each a cup of coffee.
“A small macchiato for the girl and a medium latte for the gentleman,” he smiled. “I’ll be waiting for you on the couch just outside your room,” he said whilst walking away as he playfully waved his hand.
In about 10 minutes, both Zeke and were seated on two chairs opposite the couch. Ulmak stared on with an intense annoyed expression right next to Fredric, who was blissfully sipping a cup of tea.
“So, how did you guys rest?” Fredric asked.
“Fantastic!” Ulmak replied, visibly angry as he gazed over at the two.
“What about you two?” Fredric asked.
“Good!” Zeke and Elaine replied in unison, before briefly looking at each other, blushing, and hurriedly looking away.
“Mhm, I’m sure,” Ulmak retorted with his arms crossed.
“What’s wrong Ulmy? Feeling left out?” Fredric asked, jokingly smacking Ulmak on the back.
Ulmak turned towards Fredric.
“My name is Ulmak,” he growled with bloodshot eyes.
“Woah, scary,” Fredric giggled.
“Fox, I ask that you do not disrespect me!” Ulmak growled. “I’ve suffered quite enough of that as it is,” he muttered under his breath.
“Alright!” Fredric stood up, smacking both of his thighs with the palms of his hands, “Then, shall we go see what the rest of the competition has in store for you?” he beckoned, as he walked toward the exit.
The trio soon followed suit, catching up to Fredric and making their way towards the elevator. Fredric pressed his card against the elevator display, causing it to light up yellow. The number -15 flashed on the display as the elevator started to shake rapidly on its descent below ground.
The elevator suddenly stopped, its doors opened revealing a gray hexagonal corridor dimly lit by orange lights positioned on its top two diagonals, placed about every two meters.
“What is this place?” Zeke wondered.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Fredric replied.
The four walked for about 200 meters until they reached a peculiar structure. A set of railroad tracks with a small trolley that appeared to be over 50 years old. In a flash, the doors opened as the hydraulic pistons squealed for the first time in years.
Fredric stepped in through the doors.
“Climb aboard,” he said, while reaching his hand out to Zeke.
Zeke grabbed his hand, hopping into the trolley, then once inside, he gave his hand to Elaine, while Ulmak boarded on his own, quietly admonishing the two.
The trolley took off, its wheels sparking as they spun in a strong, loud skirr.
“Where are we you taking us, Fox?” Ulmak asked with a serious expression.
“Relax, relax.” Fredric waved with his hand, “We’re going to a special area called the ‘ring’. It’s where the third stage of the competition always starts. You will be given your objective there,” Fredric explained.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Third? What were the other two?” Zeke asked.
“The first was the cave, and as for the second one, you’re in the middle of it right now,” Fredric clarified.
“What do you mean by that?” Elaine asked in surprise.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Fredric smiled.
Suddenly, Ulmak struck the bench he was sitting on with the palms of his hands disturbing the ride even further, sending a shockwave of sound through the tunnel.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Umak asked in a deep, raspy, angry tone.
“I’m sorry,” Zeke replied.
“Are you two even serious about this?” Ulmak sighed.
“About what!?” Elaine asked, slightly raising her voice.
“About what, silly girl? About what exactly you’ve been doing with this young man?” Ulmak shouted.
“And how is that any of your business?” Elaine shouted back, leaning forward towards Ulmak’s face.
Zeke stepped in, positioning himself between the two.
“Hey, let’s calm down. There’s no need to fight over this.” Zeke looked towards Ulmak. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. We just felt we needed to wait before we figured things out,” Zeke explained.
The trolley suddenly stopped moving and its doors opened.
“We’re here!” Fredric exclaimed, standing up and hopping out of the vehicle.
As the group stepped outside, they could see the wheels of the trolley glowing red, sizzling in damp steam coming off the tracks. A great dark unknown opened up before them. A cold hollow void with a narrow unsupported bridge, created and held up with powerful earth magic. The bridge didn’t glow, yet it emitted a certain light. A light the inner workings of which could not be understood by those who walked along the platform.
The group followed down the path. Everyone apart from Fredric could feel a certain rush taking over their minds, digging deep into their subconscious, creating a perplexing disconnect between their physical and mental states.
Eventually, they reached a clearing. A large round pantheon-like structure constructed out of floating stone pillars, connected by dozens of roads, all of which led to it. A large, blue, ornate crystal could be seen floating in the middle of the structure. A long black chain, with an ornate knife attached to its end squirmed frantically inside the crystal.
There were more than 50 people gathered there, most appearing to be extremely tired and mentally drained.
“You’re finally here!” Ludwig screamed out, as he suddenly appeared creeping in from the pitch black darkness, looking completely unchanged from when the contest first started.
“I see you’re here too! And what of your ‘Over fifty’ contestants? How many survived?” Fredric mockingly asked, making binoculars out of his hands as he peered towards the distance.
“Thirteen,” Ludwig mumbled.
“What was that? I didn’t quite catch that,” Fredric brought his hand up to his right ear.
“THIRTEEN!” Ludwig shouted.
“Ah, some competitors you picked. You must be getting pretty bad at this. Look at my guys, all still alive and well,” Fredric smiled.
“Well, I have to admit, the bald guy and the girl are pretty good. But the kid is clearly just being carried by those two.” Ludwig paused. “Speaking of which, why don’t I show you someone even better!” he smiled. “HAZE! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!” he shouted.
A man suddenly emerged from the crowd and started making his way towards the group. He was rather tall and lanky with undercut hair. Wearing a black tattered robe and a mask that covered his mouth. The whites of his eyes were tattooed black, making his red pupils appear incredibly sinister.
“Ulmak right?” Ludwig came up to him. “I’ve heard of you. You’re quite famous in lower babel. I’ve heard you had a run in with the reaper.” Ludwig smiled with an expression distorted by his sinister under-bite. He growled and moaned as his face itched closer to Ulmak. “And while you managed to escape from him. Haze over here was able to hold his own for about 5 minutes. I’d be curious to see which of you is stronger in a fight,” he said while backing away as laughed in a creepy, over the top manner, that from the pure sound of it, appeared more like a cough rather than laugher.
“Did you call me here just to gloat?” Haze asked in a deep, robotic tone distorted my his mechanical mask.
“Freddy!” a nun with crosses tattooed under her eyes emerged out of the darkness.
“Olivia! How have you been?” Fredric asked, visibly excited.
“Well, I was rather busy looking over all the contestants. I couldn’t bear seeing my darlings die like that,” Olivia clasped her hands in payer.” At least Phin is okay,” she sighed.
“Phin? Is that the name of the leader of your group?” Fredric asked, visibly confused by the woman’s rant.
“Yes, a sweet, sweet boy, however, I have someone different in mind,” Olivia licked her lips. Her expression changed suddenly, her brows twisting, contorting unnaturally into an angry frown. “Freddy, I’ve been watching you too. I’ve seen what you’ve been doing. You can’t hide it from me.” she stared blankly at Fredric, her eyes appeared glass, almost transparent. “I can’t believe you’re doing this. The king will not be happy when he finds out. He may kill you for this, he may even kill me for this. What to do? What to do?” she said, visibly flustered and with a slight blush on her cheeks.
“I knew it!” Ludwig shouted excitedly. “You’re a fraud!”
“He knows,” Fredric replied, lowering his gaze.
Olivia’s eyes widened. “That’s good then!” She smiled warmly, for a brief moment appearing as an innocent, lovely young woman. “By the way. Have you seen Orland’s little one, is quite cruel this time around, how unlike him, how unlike him,” she said while touching her chin with her index finger.
The structure started shaking as Orand entered, jumping up from the darkness below. It soon became clear to the contestants that another guardian had appeared before them.
“Shall we begin?” the tall, muscular giant asked.
“We shall, Orland” Olivia replied.
“Alright!” Fredric screamed, “I’m glad to see that so many of you survived, but as you know, there can be only one team that wins. As such, if any of you wish to step away, you can do so now. Otherwise, your objective is as follows. Our teammate lies somewhere within the city, the man that you have seen before. You must find him. He has the key for your last test.” Fredric explained.
“So, what is it we need to do?” Haze asked.
“That is for you to figure out,” Fredric smiled.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/yNgN7xWv/Name-Alias-X-Species-Demon-Age-80-Height-182cm-Affiliation-Knights-Rank-Special-grade-investigator.png]