Chapter 60: Test
With another tap. The red light cleared and turned green, right after, the gate slid open.
Yone looked between them, but no one seemed to explain anything, hence he just didn’t dare say anything, as getting a house in the inner wall by itself was something that only the top ten guilds’ elites ever dared to reach back in his past life.
Yone didn’t know why, but before the emergence of Eclipse Online, very few people were publicized to pass the test and enter the inner wall. However, after the game, a lot of elites passed through the test like a walk in the park and secured their family’s safety and theirs by buying a house inside.
It should be known that houses inside the inner wall were by no means cheap, but to accommodate individuals who had the skills to pass the test but not the necessary funds, the outskirts of the inner wall were extremely cheap, with the range of their price hovering between one million dollars and fifty.
Hence, Yone didn’t ask anything as he wanted to use the opportunity of his early funds and game relation to enter.
Through the final door was a long hall, lined with reinforced glass. Beyond it, the Inner Wall stretched out like a separate world, part fortress, part server grid, part city. It was both real and virtual at once, everything rendered in sync.
’Truly a fantasy-like place, no wonder the prices of the inner wall outskirt houses in the future were raised to a mind-blowing amount of five hundred million dollars minimum, with each house needing an auction by itself in order to sell it,’ Yone felt his inner organs shook as he suppressed the excitement he was feeling and moved.
He took a step forward and moved even deeper inside.
Behind the glass, someone whispered to no one in particular:
"Still not the Beast Master... but something’s up with that one."
After several minutes of walking in silence, Yone reached a gigantic chamber that let Yone gasp in amazement,’ I can’t even spot the ceiling, is this virtual as well, or what the hell is going on?’ He knew he was underground, which is why he was shocked by the sight before him, as his neck was about to snap from looking up for far too long.
Pitter!...Patter!
Pitter!...Patter!
In the deep silence of the chamber, only drips of distant water echoed through the stone.
The guard behind took several steps back as he uttered with a high voice," Civilian Yone, we are deep underground, past layers of steel, secrets, and surveillance. You are in no way, shape, or form to say anything you saw here, and after leaving, you are to sign a contract."
Yone nodded to his words without turning his head to face him.
The guard saw his action and stopped being wary as he wavedwith his hand, and tens of guards wearing weird clothes circled the whole chamber. They numbered in the tens, and even Yone raised a brow to this sight.
However, what took his interest the most wasn’t the guards, but the massive black dragon statue. Its wings curved upward like obsidian blades, head bowed as if it watched the boy directly.
The room was circular and ancient. Cracked murals lined the walls with beasts, wars, and forgotten gods. At each corner of the arena and several meters in front of each wall stood a man. Not the guards and not the trainers.
But killers. Each one armed with a real weapon, varying between swords and daggers, they were motionless, and their eyes locked on Yone.
’Don’t tell me this is the test?’ Yone exhaled slowly as he observed the statue and everything around him. For some reason, with each passing moment, he felt the air getting heavier as he suddenly had a thought.
’You telling me my father passed such a test?’ Yone chuckled as countless ideas stormed his mind, but decided to think of this matter later as he put his guard up and got ready for the so-called test these people conducted on normal civilians.
Above the chamber, behind a bank of flickering monitors, two figures sat in the observation room.
"Kid’s got tranquility," murmured the older one, his voice a low creak. "Still... he’s not the one we’re waiting for."
"The Irregular Beast Master," the younger one muttered, leaning forward. "Still no sign. Just rumors and ghost data ."
"Maybe he shows when he wants. Maybe we’re not ready yet."
"Or maybe Eclipse Online is a sign for us and he would emerge from there," The older one spoke as he caressed his long white beard, his eyes squinting as he fell into deep thought.
They then shifted their focus back to Yone as the test began.
The four moved.
There were no words spoken and not a single warning; they just moved stealthily with the intention to kill, to the point that even Yone felt a huge pressure descend on him both mentally and physically.
’Such a well-trained group of four men, not even on Guardian Angels training arena in real life did we ever have such mentors training us,’ Yone couldn’t help but think that the casual body technique he received from Guardian Angels tenth legion commander wasn’t enough to beat these people.
In the next second, steel flashed. Yone ducked low as he pivoted on instinct while simultaneously grabbing the arm of the closest attacker and twisting it out of socket before throwing him into the path of another’s blade.
Every move Yone made was efficient, not flashy, and brutal, but even then, the spectators above couldn’t help but lose interest really fast.
"He fights like someone who’s been doing it alone too long. One would think of him as experienced at first glance, but if they focus too long on his movements, they would find him quite sluggish," said the older watcher.
The younger one didn’t answer. He was too focused, watching frame by frame, registering every move and every feint Yone seemed to take.
Below, Yone’s breath quickened, but his eyes stayed sharp as he couldn’t help but think,’ Should I use that?’ He still had a trump card up his sleeve, but he felt... no, he knew that he was being watched and would rather pass the test without showing too much.