When he woke in the morning the other beds in his room were occupied by people he didn't recognize. He simply put on his shirt and left the room without paying them any mind. The woman from the night before had disappeared.
After finding some food in the cafeteria, Lane looked around the dormitory and found a place behind the building where he could clean himself up. A line of people stood next to a small area where several buckets of water and rags lay on benches. When it was his turn, he took the opportunity to also wash his clothes, squeezing the water out when he was done. They were still rather dirty, but it was better than before. The sun shone and it was warm out, so he didn't mind walking around in wet clothes for a bit.
Many of the Summoned looked uncomfortable with cleaning themselves out in the open when there were others nearby. This surprised him. There were even separate sections for the males and females, a high segment of cloth set up between them to block any kind of peeping. Nobles might have trouble with this kind of arrangement, but for poor commoners like him it wasn't anything to cry about. It wasn't unusual to see people clean themselves in the nearby rivers in the villages around his town. The Summoned often went on expeditions into the wild for days or weeks, so seeing these people who would become 'powerful' Summoned behave like this felt odd.
The more he hung around them, the more he noticed small details like this about the Summoned.
After cleaning himself, he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know anything about this 'opening of the Colosseum' that was supposed to happen. Having nothing else to do, he moved to the courtyard and decided to just wait near the fountain that was at its center.
Unlike the day before, there were many other people here now. Most were like him, merely waiting for the opening to begin. The number of people grew as more and more left the dormitory and soon enough, there were well more than a hundred Summoned gathered in the courtyard. Sometimes there were even people who exited from the infirmary, often with confused expressions on their faces.
As the courtyard began feeling cramped, Lane picked a more secluded spot next to the dormitory and moved there instead. Sitting down, he leaned against the building's wall and thought about yesterday's ambush.
Just as he had heard, the kobolds weren't much of a threat by themselves. Even with his limited combat experience, he could kill them one-on-one. It wasn't surprising considering the difference in size. The real danger was when they attacked in groups, but they had managed to deal with that relatively well during yesterday's fighting. The problem had been that hobgoblin.
Lane had succeeded in surviving against it by himself because it was large, bulky, and not nearly as quick as him. Despite that, he was on the verge of death's door more than once during the fight.
But then he actually killed it. With ease, too. Like a wolf playing with its prey.
Now that he thought back on it, he couldn't understand why he'd had such a hard time against it at the start. It hadn't given the slightest care about method or technique; relying solely on brute strength. Anyone with a modicum of experience would have been able to see its faults and exploit them.
...The problem was that he didn't have that experience.
But, why was he so confident then? When he'd fought it, he hadn't doubted for a second that he could kill it; that the hobgoblin was beneath him and served as nothing more than a mere warmup.
And then there was his skill with the spear. He couldn't remember even touching a spear before then.
Lane looked down at his hands, opening and closening them. He could still recall how the spear had felt in his hands. The sensation as he tightened his grip. It had felt natural, almost. There had been something off about it, but it was still outside the realm of what should have been possible for someone like him.
He kept going through the encounter in his mind over and over again, recalling every detail he could. He needed to figure out what happened. This wasn't the first time something odd and unexplainable happened to him during this whole ceremony.
Stuck in his thoughts, he didn't notice how crowded the courtyard was. Hundreds of people were gathered now, their voices filling the plaza.
"Attention!"
Eventually, a demanding voice sounded out across the courtyard, pulling Lane out of his thoughts. All voices quieted down. Everyone's attention was moved towards a platform set up in front of the large oval-shaped building, which Lane could only assume was the so-called Colosseum.
On top of the platform stood a tall man in a blue uniform. He had grey hair and a strong gaze, standing with both his arms behind his back as he peered over the crowd. Behind him and to his right stood the woman with glasses that had been in the dormitory last night. Her demeanor now was much more neutral, compared to the annoyed and bored expressions he'd seen on her before.
Two other men in uniform also stood behind the man to his left.
"The Colosseum will be opening soon. I am Nikolas Lichter, and I am the one in charge of this test." Even though he wasn't shouting, the man's voice somehow carried over the whole area. "Those who haven't yet recovered from the battling have already failed and will be sent back. The rest of you will soon be allowed to enter the Colosseum where the real test will begin." He paused and turned to the bespectacled woman. She took a step forward and handed him a scroll of paper. Lane couldn't see where she got it from. Her hands had been empty just a moment ago.
The man took the scroll and rolled it out. "Unlike the previous years, only 250 invitees will be able to pass this test and allowed access to the Chamber of Awakening to be given their class from the gods. Discounting those who are disqualified, there are currently 476 of you left."
Silence filled the courtyard. The number of people that passed the test during the previous years was unknown to him, but Lane could tell from the other's reactions that this was unwelcome news. That wasn't surprising. Despite the number of people that had already died and the number of people that might die in the future, half of the people present wouldn't make it further than this.
The idea of having to compete against everyone here over one of those spots didn't particularly excite him. After all, if he were to fail and die — he'd stay dead.
"The rules of this test are simple." The old man on the platform—Lichter—continued. "You will all enter the Colosseum. There, you will be allowed the use of all facilities present. During the first four days, you are given free rein to do whatever you wish. However. On the fifth day, and from there onward, you will be given two points every day for twenty-four days. You will all start with ten points. Points can be taken from each other by dueling in the arenas. After every fight, the victor takes half of the loser's points. If you ever have less than five points at the start of a day, you're disqualified. Those with the most points at the end of the month will pass the test."
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Lichter's eyes moved over the crowd. "Did I make myself clear?" He said, more a commandment than a question. No one spoke up. Seeing this, he nodded his head and handed the paper scroll back to the woman. Turning around to one of the uniformed men behind him, he spoke a few words which weren't audible to the crowd. The uniformed man saluted and ran off towards the large building behind them. Lichter observed the man for a moment before turning back to the courtyard.
"The Colosseum is now open. Good luck." He said, finishing off without fanfare before leaving the platform. The woman and the other man in uniform followed close behind. Not long after they left, two massive gates in the building opened with a loud screeching.
The entrance to the Colosseum had opened.
The crowd of people started moving towards the entrance without much regard for others. Soon, people were pouring into the Colosseum en masse. Lane had been far away from the center of the crowd and didn't move until it had calmed down some. Finally, after almost the entire courtyard had become devoid of people, he walked towards the large structure. The entrance led into a wide arched corridor with a high roof.
Eventually, he reached the end of the passage and entered an enormous circular lobby. The tall ceiling consisted out of hundreds of panes of different colored glass, the sunshine from outside scattering throughout the lobby in a magnificent shower of light.
At the center of the lobby stood an extravagant fountain even larger than the one outside in the courtyard. In the fountain's middle stood five marble statues in a circle with their arms held high. Water poured out from their hands, with no apparent source. The statues demanded one's attention, and it was as they were the focal point for all the light in the lobby.
Those statues depicted the five gods.
Phula, Goddess of Light.
Osena, Goddess of Magic.
Adva, Goddess of Spirits.
Himes, God of Wind.
Mitdur, God of Loyalty and Vengeance.
Lane was most familiar with Phula, the Goddes of Light. There was a small shrine in her honor in his town. Her church was also the most wide-spread one across the alliance, and it had been since before even the days of the old empire.
It was nice seeing something familiar during all of this, even though it wasn't the most welcome thing for him personally.
There were several stairs and hallways in the lobby with signs above them, leading to other floors and areas. Some lead to the arenas, while others lead to training rooms and other areas.
Apart from that, there were also several shores spread around the lobby's corners. All kinds of things could be seen through the windows of the stores: weapons, armor, food, some kind of colored drinks in flasks, and much more. The magnitude of it all shocked him. The size of the Colosseum—and everything inside it—was on a completely different level from anything he'd ever seen before. And all of it was set up by the gods just to test the Summoned.
Why? Was there no better way?
Lane shook his head. There wasn't much point in trying to decipher the intentions of the gods. That Lichter guy said that he'd be allowed to meet them if he passed the test. If he made it that far, he might get the chance to ask them. Not that he thought they'd give him an answer, but it was worth a try.
Until then, he had other things to focus on. Four days to make himself ready to fight the other Summoned. He genuinely didn't know what to expect from them. Some of them—like the coachman with the longsword—seemed to have no prior combat-experience and had trouble handling even a kobold. Others like the twins had enough prowess to fight several kobolds at the same time.
Considering Lane's lack of true fighting experience, his advantage shouldn't be too large. But after easily defeating the hobgoblin he just wasn't sure anymore.
There was only one way to find out. For that, he needed a new weapon.
However, the store that sold weapons was filled to the brim with people right now. In fact, all of the stores barely had any space left in them after all those Summoned that had flowed in at the same time. There wasn't much else to do but to wait.
A cafeteria with tables placed in front caught his attention. Everyone was busy trying to enter the stores, so most of the seats were empty. Lane walked over and sat down at one of the tables.
While he was waiting for the weapon store to empty out, a young girl with bright blonde hair in a ponytail approached. "Do you want anything?" She asked with a smile.
He looked at her. She was holding a pen and a piece of paper in her hands, but she looked like she were twelve years old at most. She had a different hair color, but the air around her reminded him of his sister. After examining her for a moment he gently shook his head. "No thanks, I don't need anything."
She just lightly nodded her head and prepared to turn away, when Lane spoke up again. "Sorry, but...Aren't you a bit young to be here by yourself?"
She frowned slightly. "I'm not young. I'm almost thirteen."
Lane raised his eyebrows. While he agreed that she wasn't exactly a child, she wasn't completely an adult either.
"Besides," She continued. "I'm not by myself. I'm here with my mother."
"Your mother?" Who'd bring their child to a place like this?
"Yes. She's one of the people administrating the test this year." The girl's frown had disappeared, replaced by a proud smile.
"And I guess that means she's someone important?"
"Of course she is! Even among the Summoned, my mom is pretty well known."
Something about the way she said that stuck out to Lane. He was curious and decided to probe deeper. "The Summoned? Aren't you also a Summoned?"
The smile disappeared from the girl's face and she eyed with a wary expression. "...No, I'm not. I'm a Native."
"...Then how—"
She glared at him. "I'm adopted, okay? You've got anything against that?"
He gazed at her for a few seconds, but then quickly shook his head. "No, it doesn't particularly matter to me." It only surprised him that a Summoned would adopt a Native. Honestly, most of the things he had learned about the Summoned recently surprised him. He tried putting on a smile.
"I'm Lane. What's your name?"
The hostility in her face was gone in a blink, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "I-I'm Lela."
It might take a while before the number of people in the stores lessened. He could just as well use that time for something productive. "I don't know much about this place. Mind if I ask you some questions?"
Lela looked around her at the other tables in the cafeteria. There weren't many people here and no one was likely to buy anything right after they arrived anyway. She considered it for a moment, then looked back at Lane with a grin. "I'll say yes if you buy something."
He eyed her for a second. "That depends. How much does it cost?"
"Half a point per meal. But for ten points you get free meals for five days!"
Half a point for just one meal. Lane summoned his status window.
[Information]
Name: Lane Davenrish
Summoned: N/A
Age: 21 y/o
Height: 1.84 m
Weight: 70 kg
Gender: Male
Class: N/A
Affiliation: Barrage (Temporary)
Birthplace: Haeryn
Location: Testing area of the Gods (10 P)
Titles: None
------------------------------------
[Stats]
[Strength: 2.09]
[Stamina: 2.03]
[Speed: 2.12]
[Endurance: 2.00]
[Perception: 1.96]
[Mana: 1.19]
[Luck: 2.01]
------------------------------------
[Abilities]
[None]
He'd received his ten points, but half a point for just one meal was still expensive if he needed to keep five points by the start of the fifth day. He glanced up at Lela. She was looking at him excitedly. It was expensive, but he did need more information. "...Sure. I'll take whatever you have that is most filling." He sighed and closed the status window.
Lela almost squealed in delight and ran off towards the kitchen of the cafeteria. He watched as she raced away.
Hopefully, he hadn't just wasted half a point.