Chapter 2: The First Trial

Five minutes.

That was how long Aldara had before the first trial began.

She stood in the middle of the endless white grass, staring into the distance.

Nothing.

No trees.

No rocks.

No buildings.

Not even a path.

Just grass.

Aldara slowly turned in a full circle.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

There was no answer.

She examined her hands.

The power of the Magnet Desire Egg was still there.

She could feel it.

Some invisible connection between herself and the metal around her.

But what metal?

Aldara scanned her surroundings.

Nothing.

She crouched and dug through the grass.

Nothing.

She checked the ground.

Nothing.

She even picked up a blade of grass and studied it.

Still nothing.

Aldara sighed.

"So much for the magnet power."

She sat back.

Of all the abilities she could have received, she had chosen one that seemed completely useless in a field with no metal.

Then she remembered why she had chosen it.

Aldric.

She remembered the moment she saw the magnet-shaped Desire Egg.

Maybe I could pull Aldric out of whatever cage they've put him in.

That had been her first thought.

She had believed her new ability might somehow help her find him.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Aldara clenched her fists.

"No."

She stood again.

"I chose this power for a reason."

She looked toward the endless field.

"I'll figure it out."

A strange voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Talking to yourself already?"

Aldara spun around.

A young man stood several meters away.

He wore a brown, short-sleeved police-style uniform with sandals. A cutlass hung from his waist, and he carried a thick card binder beneath one arm.

He looked completely relaxed.

Too relaxed.

Aldara watched him carefully.

The stranger smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

Aldara didn't answer.

He placed one hand against his chest.

"My name is Genzo."

He paused dramatically.

"And my dream is to become the King of Harem."

Aldara stared at him.

"…What?"

"The King of Harem."

"I heard you."

"Good."

Genzo smiled.

"Then you understand."

"No, I don't."

He laughed.

"You're funny."

Aldara sighed.

She already had a bad feeling about this man.

Genzo looked her up and down.

"You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"No."

The answer came so quickly that Genzo froze.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

Tears appeared in his eyes.

"You rejected me immediately!"

"You asked immediately."

"Fair enough."

He wiped his eyes.

"But don't worry."

He pointed at her confidently.

"I respect your decision."

Aldara nodded.

"Good."

"I'll just ask again later."

Her expression dropped.

"I said no."

"And I respect that."

"Then stop asking."

"I'll consider it."

Aldara stared at him.

Genzo grinned.

Despite his ridiculous behavior, there was something oddly sincere about him.

He didn't seem offended.

He simply accepted her answer and moved on.

Aldara's eyes shifted to his clothes.

"You're a police officer?"

Genzo looked down at his uniform.

"I was."

"Where?"

"Back home."

"Home?"

"My island."

He scratched the back of his head.

"It's a pretty small island. Not many people live there."

"That explains the uniform."

"And the cutlass."

He rested a hand on the weapon.

"When I woke up, I had this."

He lifted the card binder.

"And this."

Aldara's expression changed.

"You have a Desire Egg ability too?"

Genzo nodded.

"Yep."

"What is it?"

Genzo smiled.

"You'll see."

He opened the card binder.

Aldara watched carefully.

Genzo flipped through the pages.

Then he stopped.

He pulled out two cards.

They looked ordinary.

He held them between his fingers.

"I only have a few of these left."

He smiled.

"Better make them count."

He placed the two cards together.

Then something appeared behind him.

A red glow.

Aldara's eyes narrowed.

The glow expanded into a sphere floating several feet above the ground.

It was roughly the size of a person.

Crimson light pulsed inside it.

"What is that?"

"My Spawn Point."

Aldara studied the sphere.

"Spawn Point?"

Genzo nodded.

"Watch."

He touched the two cards to the glowing sphere.

The red light suddenly flashed.

A woman appeared beneath it.

Aldara's breath caught.

The woman wore the same brown police-style uniform as Genzo.

She carried a cutlass.

And she was beautiful.

Genzo smiled proudly.

"Meet one of my girls."

Aldara studied the woman.

Then the Spawn Point flashed again.

Another woman appeared.

Her face was completely different.

Another flash.

Another woman.

Different face.

Another.

Different again.

Aldara slowly turned toward Genzo.

"They all look different."

"Of course."

Another woman appeared.

"Every one of them has a different face."

The new girl stood beside the others.

They all looked like ordinary young women.

Except there was something strange about the way they had appeared.

They hadn't walked in.

They had simply emerged from the red sphere.

Aldara watched.

Ten seconds later...

Flash.

Another woman appeared.

Aldara's eyes narrowed.

"Every ten seconds?"

Genzo nodded.

"One new Spawn Girl every ten seconds."

She studied the growing group.

"How many can you summon?"

Genzo shrugged.

"As many as the combo allows."

"So how many is that?"

"I don't know."

He grinned.

"I haven't found the limit."

Another ten seconds.

Flash.

Another girl appeared.

Aldara watched the Spawn Point carefully.

The process didn't stop.

It didn't slow down.

It simply continued.

Every ten seconds, another girl.

One by one.

Genzo crossed his arms.

"My army."

Aldara studied the summoned girls.

"How strong are they?"

Genzo thought about it.

"About as strong as me."

Aldara glanced at him.

"So not very strong."

Genzo's smile disappeared.

"That was unnecessarily honest."

"You asked."

"Fair."

One of the girls lifted her cutlass.

Aldara studied her stance.

They weren't warriors.

At least, not particularly skilled ones.

Individually, they weren't frightening.

But there were already several of them.

And the number would continue growing.

Aldara focused on the red sphere.

"What happens if that disappears?"

Genzo blinked.

"I need to use another combo."

"You need two more cards?"

"Yeah."

"And if you run out?"

Genzo didn't answer.

Aldara remembered that silence.

She didn't know why yet, but something told her the red sphere mattered.

Then she noticed something else.

The weapons.

Every summoned girl carried a metal cutlass.

Aldara's eyes focused.

There.

She could feel them.

Metal.

The sensation was faint at first.

But the moment she concentrated, it became clearer.

Like invisible threads connecting her to every metal object nearby.

Aldara slowly raised her hand.

One of the girls suddenly lost her cutlass.

The weapon flew through the air.

Genzo's jaw dropped.

"Whoa!"

The cutlass stopped in front of Aldara.

She examined it.

"I can feel it."

Genzo pointed at the weapon.

"You pulled that?"

Aldara nodded.

"I think so."

She focused.

The blade moved closer.

A strange excitement filled her chest.

The power wasn't useless.

She simply needed metal.

Aldara studied the other weapons.

There were plenty now.

She raised her hand again.

Three more cutlasses suddenly flew from their owners.

They joined the first.

Four blades floated in front of her.

Genzo stared.

"You stole four weapons."

"They're temporary."

"That's what every thief says."

Aldara ignored him.

She concentrated on the four blades.

She could feel the pull.

She brought one closer.

Then released it.

The blade dropped.

Aldara quickly focused again.

The weapon stopped.

She frowned.

"So I can't just move them however I want."

"What?"

"I'm pulling them toward me."

She moved one blade closer.

"But I can't push them away."

Genzo tilted his head.

"Then how are you going to attack?"

Aldara examined the blade.

She experimented.

Instead of pulling it directly toward herself, she focused on a point to her side.

The blade shifted.

Not because she pushed it.

Because it was being attracted toward the new point.

Aldara's eyes widened.

"I can change the direction."

She tried again.

The blade moved sideways.

Then upward.

She pulled it back toward herself.

Aldara smiled.

"So that's how."

Genzo whistled.

"That's pretty useful."

Aldara tried controlling all four blades at once.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

They floated around her.

She could control them.

But the concentration was heavier.

Her head began to ache slightly.

She stopped.

Four was enough.

For now.

Genzo looked impressed.

"You just got your ability today?"

"Yes."

"That's scary."

Aldara glanced at him.

"Your army is scarier."

Genzo smiled.

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I'll take it anyway."

A loud voice suddenly echoed across the field.

Both of them looked up.

The girl's voice from earlier returned.

"Attention, participants."

Aldara straightened.

"Initiating the first trial."

The entire field became silent.

"The objective is simple."

A timer appeared high above them.

60:00

"Survive within the designated area."

Genzo looked up.

"One hour?"

The timer began.

59:59

The voice continued.

"A guardian beast has been released. The trial will end when the guardian is defeated, or when the timer reaches zero. Defeating the guardian will grant additional rewards."

Aldara's eyes narrowed.

"So we can fight it or survive it."

Genzo grinned.

"I like the first option."

The timer ticked.

59:58

A low rumble passed through the ground.

Aldara froze.

Genzo's hand moved toward his cutlass.

The grass several dozen meters away began to shake.

"What is that?" Aldara whispered.

The rumbling grew louder.

Genzo drew his cutlass.

"Something big."

The ground suddenly exploded.

A massive creature burst through the white grass.

It was enormous.

Four thick limbs slammed into the ground.

Dark armor covered its body.

Its mouth opened.

A roar shook the entire field.

Aldara's heart pounded.

The monster charged.

Genzo immediately shouted.

"Everyone, move!"

His summoned girls rushed forward.

The creature swung one enormous arm.

Several girls were thrown through the air.

Their bodies dissolved into red light before they hit the ground.

Their cutlasses clattered to the grass below.

Aldara's eyes widened.

"They're dissolving!"

Genzo didn't look surprised.

"Yeah."

"But their weapons—"

"Stay behind."

He grinned.

"That's the rule."

The monster crushed another group.

Red light scattered where they fell.

Metal blades lay scattered across the field.

Aldara stared at the growing pile of weapons.

The monster swung again.

More girls fell.

More red light.

More cutlasses.

The field was becoming littered with metal.

Aldara's heart pounded.

Metal.

There's metal everywhere.

The Spawn Point flashed.

Another girl appeared.

Ten seconds.

Another.

Flash.

Another.

The monster crushed another group.

Another ten seconds.

Flash.

Another girl appeared.

Genzo laughed.

"See?"

He raised his cutlass.

"They don't need to win."

He pointed toward the monster.

"They just need to keep it busy."

Aldara understood.

His army wasn't about strength.

It was about numbers.

One soldier could be defeated easily.

Ten were a problem.

A hundred would be something else entirely.

And every ten seconds...

Another one arrived.

Aldara studied her four floating cutlasses.

Then the monster.

Then the scattered weapons on the ground.

She took a breath.

The first trial had finally begun.

"Let's see what this power can really do."

She raised her hand.

All four blades moved.

She pulled the first toward the monster.

Then shifted its trajectory.

The blade curved through the air.

CLANG!

It struck the creature's armored shoulder.

The monster roared.

Aldara pulled the weapon back.

The second blade shot forward.

Then the third.

Then the fourth.

She couldn't push them.

She couldn't throw them with invisible force.

Every movement came from attraction.

Pull.

Redirect.

Pull again.

It was difficult.

But it worked.

Genzo glanced at her while fighting.

"Not bad!"

Aldara didn't answer.

She was concentrating too hard.

The monster charged.

Genzo's army surrounded it.

The Spawn Point flashed again.

Another girl appeared.

The timer continued counting down.

58:47

Aldara's four blades danced through the air.

Genzo's army continued growing.

One soldier every ten seconds.

The monster roared.

The Tower watched.

And somewhere beyond this battlefield, beyond the first floor and the trials waiting above it, Aldric was still climbing.

Aldara tightened her grip.

She would find him.

But first...

She had to pass this trial.