"What is going on, you ask?" The man next to the gate smiled. "While the points you bring up are certainly worthy of suspicion, I assure you nothing out of the ordinary is occurring. We have numerous workers stationed in several different locations to enforce the second test. This isn't the only place."

"A typical excuse that a child could have come up with." Blank waited for a moment. "I'll figure out what's going on later then. For now, let's get on with this unnecessary test of yours."

The staff wielder turned to his right. "I'm glad to see you've complied, at least for the time being. Well then, let's not delay any further. Please, accompany me, and the trial will begin." An opening in the tunnel wall formed itself, and the man entered. After glancing at each other, our group of four followed suit.

Inside was a massive arena. There was an area for onlookers, which is where everyone was at the moment, but of course once a battle began, whoever was taking part would be in the section clearly meant for fighting.

"Strange man." Cereo crossed his arms. "I believe it is time for you to reveal the beast we will be battling. Also, I'd like to know how exactly the first testee will be decided upon."

"There's no particular way." The gatekeeper responded. "But for today, I think the wheel will do."

He tapped the bottom of his staff on the floor, and a wheel with the participants faces on it revealed itself from underneath the surface.

"Ah yes, the wheel that has our faces plastered on it even though we've never been here. Nothing out of the ordinary at all." Blank clearly jested.

The gatekeeper placed his hand on the wheel, preparing to spin it. "The magical energy within this room is what displays the faces of the competitors, it has nothing to do with myself."

The wheel was then spun, and everyone watched as it landed on someone.

"Asada battles first." An echoing voice from somewhere in the room claimed, as the wheel selected her.

Following this, Asada stepped forward, not showing much else of a reaction. "So I'm up first.. that's fine. Just show me where to go, and I'll eliminate the beast you choose as quickly as possible."

"Hah! I'm quite the fan of your confidence." Cereo chuckled. "Without a doubt, the battle you are about to partake in will not be one to challenge a skillful combatant such as yourself. Just do your best, and we may progress further."

"I think something is slipping your mind." Blank watched as the gatekeeper led Asada down a path that would assumingely lead her to the inner section of the arena.

"Oh?" Cereo looked at him. "May you enlighten me as to what I have not considered?"

"As an apparent hero summoned from a rare cube, your intelligence certainly isn't up to par. What you haven't considered, is that the child you brought along, will be required to compete in this test, moron. And sorry to say, I have significant doubts that she'll even survive past twenty seconds."

Cereo shifted his attention to Firose, who was happily awaiting to see Asada compete. "Ahem.." he nervously coughed. "Firstly, she is clearly at the least an adult. Referring to her as a child is simply incorrect."

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"Tchh.. I don't care if it was correct or not. You were clearly aware of who I was referring to."

"Hm. Valid point. Well, concerning the fact that she must battle against a ferocious beast, that actually does pose a significant issue."

"Yes, I'm well aware. Why else would I bring it up."

"Just-.. listen. There is always the possibility that Firose has abilities that we are completely unaware of. She's never been into a situation where combat was necessary, meaning there's a solid chance that she's stronger than we think."

Blank sighed. "Don't be more foolish than you already are. Blind confidence now combined with blind optimism makes me question how you've managed to make it this far."

"Grr.." Again, Cereo's eyes met Firose. "Damn you Blank! Fine, I will admit that you are partially correct this time. But.. don't get ahead of yourself just yet. Per usual, I have a plan to solve this little dilemma of ours. Have you forgotten what I am capable of?"

"Creating anything you may set your mind to out of the most barebones of materials. Yes, I recall. Now go use that talent to make Firose a suit of armor to get killed in."

"Ah-.. Blank, must you make such gruesome jokes?!"

The entire room shook, instantly shifting everyone's attention to the middle arena. The opponent Asada would be facing had been let loose.

It was an incredibly large spider like creature. It swiftly hopped around the arena, frequently landing in corners. Once it had landed on the ground, it horrifyingly stood straight up, only using two of its eight legs.

It's menacing eyes peered down almost into the soul of Asada. The creature, in this state, even looked like it was sentient.

"Tch, what is that thing doing?" Blank asked no one in particular. "If it's attempting to scare someone, it's failed pathetically." Immediately after finishing this sentence, he glanced at Firose, only to see her incredibly terrified.

"Oh man.. I've never seen anything like that monster. I seriously hope Asada can handle something that.. uhh.. well, that gross!" she said.

"Appearance means nothing." Asada claimed, preparing her scythe while staring up at the thing. "Time to see if it's combat is up to par."

The gatekeeper left the arena, and with that the fight began. Before Asada could even react, she was flung into a wall by a kick thrown by the spider creature. It's speed created a sonic boom behind it, as the thing bolted forward to attempt yet another attack.

It smashed its fist directly onto the wall Asada was against, creating cracks around the entirety of the arena.

The breathes of the creature became heavier after this quick series of events. It slowly removed its fist from the wall, allowing bits and pieces of rubble to slip to the floor. Something else that hit the floor though.. was drops of blood. Confused, the creature raised its fist to get a better view of it. That's when it noticed the massive hole that had been somehow drilled into its hand.

With speedy, spiral like movements, Asada bolted her way through the insides of the spider like creature's body. She attempted to find any vital points, such as a heart or lungs, but was unsuccessful. The organs of this creature were like nothing she had ever seen before.

"How odd.." she thought. "While it does have organs, they don't seem to be ones that humans have researched. I suppose that means I'll have to destroy them all in order to guarantee my victory."

With a twist of her scythe, Asada shredded the organs surrounding her. She leapt into an area higher up in the creature's body, splattering everything to pieces. Then, with a final flick of the blade, she sliced open it's stomach in order to escape.

Expecting to have attained at least near victory, Asada glanced back at the creature.. and was caught off guard when her attention was met with a massive boulder sized fist.

Luckily, Asada was fast enough to sever the wrist with her scythe, sending the fist to the ground instead of getting crushed by it.

"Hm? What's the point of having organs if nothing changes without them?" She questioned. Staring up at the thing, Asada began to think. "This location certainly lives up to its name. If such a creature was found in these mountains, then I see why they're so infamous. Though I haven't seen anything quite this strong until now. It's possible that these tests are to confirm we can handle them if they only appear from this point onward."

The spider creature tried attacking again, but Asada lunged forward, and shredded it's entire body. It fell apart, each piece of it hitting the ground with a thud.

Asada flicked her scythe back, and walked near where she had entered the place. "Alright, it's been taken care of. Have I passed?"

"Indeed." The gatekeeper smiled. "That was a very impressive showing. If your comrades have similar abilities, you should have no issue making it to the next section of the mountain."

"Good, glad to hear it." Blank placed a hand on the gatekeeper's shoulder. He had apparently made his way down to the arena entrance on his own. "Now then, there's no need to waste our time spinning a creepy wheel when we all must partake in the test anyway. I'll be going next, so prepare the next beast."

Smirking, the gatekeeper shook his head. "Very well, I guess I can't deny that you're right about that. The next opponent will be unleashed shortly."

Asada looked back at Blank as he entered the arena. "I've never seen you fight, so I don't know how strong you are, but try to be careful. As you probably noticed, the one I faced was incredibly quick with quite a bit of strength."

"Yes I'm aware, your tips aren't needed. Just keep your mouth shut and watch along with Cereo and Firose. Then you'll see why telling me such things is pointless." From his side, Blank prepared one of his liquid forcefields, shaking it up while impatiently waiting.

"Tchh.." he complained. "I don't see what the hold up could be. Just bring the beast in here already so I can slaughter it and move on."