Drawers, Closets, a Bathroom, a sofa, a massive, cushy bed, and the assortment of things you’d appreciate in a high-end hotel room were displayed inside the interior in such an elegant manner; It was an image straight out of a five-star hotel room, and I couldn’t help but sneer at the spectacle. The only strange object in this room was a floating white orb that floated off the desk across the bed, however, it didn’t react when I interacted with it.

How did the Observer come up with stuff like this?

The floors were carpeted, causing each step to feel more comfortable than the rest. The air was cool, but not so cold that you’d shiver. The lighting was warm, giving the room this cozy vibe that made you sleepy the moment you stepped in. I grazed upon the surface of the bed and felt the springy, yet firm bedding bouncing against my touch.

Everything was like how the canteen was. Like how the weapons were. Perfect.

At least, that was what I thought so until I entered the bathroom.

Marbles, and granite. An atmosphere so incredible that you’d just wanna sink into the bathtub. Soaps of different kinds were displayed on top of the counter. I turned on the water faucet and was greeted with a blast of warm water, with my arms relishing in the feeling.

The observer was right. He mentioned how he had gone through multiple generations of trials, and perfected the environment to serve our growth; The thought of staying alive, surviving, only to be able to eat and come back here after would do nothing but boost our motivation.

Carrot and stick. Classic.

Of course, the skeptical part of me forewarned me that this was too good to be true. And if you looked at it with a rational, unbiased viewpoint, you’d be right. Something was amiss here, between the warmth and the comfort, between the luxury and incessant splendor.

But then again, I want to shower. I want to sleep.

Ripping the skin-tight white outfit off my body, I plunged into the bathtub, reveling in the pool of heated water. All the worries and stress were flowing out of my system from each one of my pores and I so dearly wanted to spend my time here forever. I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy this moment because I knew that when tomorrow came, I’d be out there and put myself in danger again.

Then, that one thought came. I didn’t know why I never thought of this before. Perhaps from all of the relief, my mind was free of all of the tension and burden, now working at its full capacity; A rare feat.

The Day 2 pass.

Don’t tell me…

###

It’s funny.

For the observer, who had watched over the lives of these humans for decades, He knew that the moment they experienced comfort, they’d lose sight of their true goal almost in an instant. Again and again, they relished in their comfort and let themselves go.

Well, of course, the food, the rooms, and all the luxury were easy feats for him to perform. All he had to do was snap a few of his fingers, and ta-da, all of those popped into existence. These acts were under his jurisdiction, after all; he had the right to provide as much assistance as he could give, as long as he didn’t help the hunters directly.

But if they assumed that he was kind — shudder — then they were mistaken. The observer knew better than anyone else, proven through generations of humankind under his care, that given the option to laze around and do nothing, most humans would give up anything for the luxury of that decision.

However, like all things in life, there were exceptions. If they busted their ass to get as strong as they could, they should be given the comfort they deserved.

Now, how should he determine which ones of the humans belonged to which category?

Thus, the Day 2 pass was born. A concept so simple that they’d be straight-up ignorant to not understand it. The naming of this pass was obvious, after all.

To his surprise; about half of those remaining had completed the double lizardmen mission. This number was a step above the ones from the previous generation, although, the quality of those alive was about the same.

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Maybe there was some hope, after all.

###

I laid on top of the comfy bed, enjoying the snug pillows and soft bed with a relaxed sigh…. And yet, my mind was racing. I couldn’t help but feel that the status quo would be different tomorrow. The Day 2 Pass could only be obtained by finishing the double Lizardmen quest, which I’d believed to be impossible unless you were one of the strongest here from the get-go, or you’d receive help from the others at the top, like me.

The most solid proof for this hypothesis was the distribution of the points. It was believed that only those who had cleared stage 5 — the lone lizardman — would be given more than 200 points from the start, meaning that after they cleared the goblin quest, they’d be holding more than 300 points; enough for a spell or a skill book.

If both those books had the same relative value, then the jump in one’s power level from purchasing just one of them was tremendous, turning the lizardmen from a close fight to a complete pushover for some of us. I experienced that jump in strength with my own two eyes, so I could vouch for the effectiveness of those books; With no magic, I stood no chance against them.

But until tomorrow came, God knows what will happen.

I hoped that at least half of us did so, but that was an optimistic estimate. Would I wake up to a massacre of our population, or would things go on without any changes?

That was a question I did not want the answer to.

Regardless of how chaotic my mind was, my exhaustion prevailed. The realm of sleep was fast approaching, and I had no intention to stop the wave of drowsiness to take over my mind. Then…

I slept like a log for the first time in years.

There were no dreams this time. Not a single speck of light entered my head. It was just… dark and silent, peaceful and somber. I’d yearned for this type of sleep for such a long, long time, and in the eleventh hour, after multiple fights where I died, or when I was about to die, I was given this peace at last.

But The Observer wouldn’t let us rest that easy, would he?

[Day 2 pass found. You are granted + 200 points.]

[3x Mission passes have been distributed. Interact with the obelisk to obtain them.]

“Ghh….”

A barrage of messages interrupted my sleep. Grumbling while cursing the screen at the same time, I had no choice but to read those messages. It was a wild experience to see things with my eyes closed; hinting at the screen being more akin to a projection that was playing inside of my mind rather than it being a visible, animate object.

I woke up in the same luxurious room that I slept in, which prompted a sly smile from me. No more waking up somewhere else unannounced this time, huh?

After I got up, I looked down to see my whole nude body in its full glory/disgrace. The stomach was still there — as much as I’d love for it to go — but I couldn’t help but notice that my arms and shoulders were larger, more compact than how they used to be yesterday. It wasn’t such a major change that I’d notice it in a heartbeat, but I didn’t need to gawk to see the differences either. Perhaps it was due to my growth in my attributes, or it was my body shedding some of its water weight through all the physical exertion yesterday.

Or maybe I’d always been this way and I’m just seeing things?

Obviously, After ripping my own skin-tight suit apart before I showered, there was no way I could wear the same suit again. I’d assumed that there was a change somewhere in this closet, and after a few minutes of looking around, I sighed, relieved when I found one filled with a dozen of identical suits. It’d be funny if I had to leave here nude and display what little I had to everyone else… Well, if I was fit, like Phillip, then I had no problems with it.

As soon as I touched one of those suits, it disappeared and re-materialized itself around my entire body, fitting each inch of my skin with its white rubbery surface. I was beginning to worry that I’d take too much time to figure out how to wear such a tight outfit, but the problem was solved before it began.

Patting myself to check if everything was in order, I gazed at the floating core to see if anything had changed but shrugged it off when I realized I wasted my time.

There was one line of the message that I was glad to see. I’d earned an additional 200 points from owning the pass, meaning, I had the option to buy a skill book if I wanted to. Assuming that the spell and skill books had the same value in terms of usage, owning another skill would boost my survivability even further, or…

Wait, There’s only one spell book in the store, right? So I can’t.

My thoughts then moved on to the class stone… What about that? Was saving for them a wise decision, or should I focus on the things I could get now?

Asking these questions wouldn’t do anything… Let’s f-

“Uhm!” A voice cracked and echoed inside my room, like I was stuck inside a speaker. “This is… the Observer speaking. I hoped everyone had a great time last night, but I need you to gather in the Trial Nexus… now.”

Is he watching us?

“This isn’t a request, by the way. You have to come, or I’ll do things to you. So… let’s say that you better be there in 5 minutes, got it?”

His sarcastic tone was annoying, but with his overwhelming power, no one had a choice but to listen. That included me. I sighed as I took out my room card and left my room, reappearing in the lobby where a bunch of groggy, annoyed people gathered after their sleep had just been interrupted by him.

I saw a couple familiar faces, and they all carried the same lethargic expression from their obvious lack of sleep. I bet some, if not most of us, weren’t able to sleep despite how exhausted we were, and to be honest, I was surprised I slept as well as I did.

It didn’t take long before we were all gathered in the Nexus once again. Now that a day had passed, the number of people crowding this area was visibly lesser than how it was yesterday. So my fears are unfounded, then… I exhaled a breath of relief since I’d expected the worst possible outcome.

The observer made his presence known after a few minutes of us waiting in the nexus. He scanned the room for a moment, then began his speech.

“Good. I assumed that everyone is working hard and doing their best to get stronger.” He spoke, “I see a few happy faces here and there, I bet the living quarters proved to be satisfactory to at least some of you…”

He folded his arms behind his back, “Before we begin our second day, I need to re-emphasize how important it is to do your best here... I don’t tolerate sloths, after all.”

Then, he extended his arms apart, almost in an exaggerated fashion, “Look at all of these. None of these facilities are free. Your room, your food, they were all paid for —subsidized, by none other than the Sanctum.”

The Observer held one of his arms up high, pointing with both his index and middle finger upwards. “And to those who owned your Day 2 pass… congratulations.”

With a snap of his fingers, more than half of us dissipated, turning into ashes. “You live.”

My fears came true.