Chapter 1008 Change in Rules?
The city was still in shock from what had happened the day before, but a new day had to start once the sun rose. Xeloria was a bustling city with hardworking citizens. The soldiers made sure to protect them while they did their best to work.
Gold was a lot less valuable on the second floor, Arthur realized. He was standing in front of the recruiting office for the soldiers, which offered ten gold coins per month. Since he was a newbie, he tapped the shoulder of the man in front of him.
"How much does it cost to live in Runera?"
The burly man in front of him was not impressed as he turned to face Arthur, looking down on him. This man was at least two hundred kilos with a two-meter height. He was a monster, and an unhappy one.
"You just arrived on the second floor?" asked the man as he scrutinized Arthur from head to toe. "Go to the wilderness and train first. This army is not a place for wussies."
After saying that, the man turned away from him and ignored Arthur. Surprised by being treated so harshly, a man tapped him from behind. Arthur turned and saw a muscular man in casual clothes standing behind him. Although he was not tall, his muscles were well-defined.
"Don't mind him. I bet he has a nervous tummy-ache," said the man with a polite smile. "A single gold coin would last you a week in Xeloria. Another one for rent, and that leaves you with two coins each month. We can live in the barracks, leaving us with six coins. If we want to eat with the soldiers, they just take two coins for the entire month."
"Oh, you know so much but have yet to enlist in the army?" asked Arthur with surprise. "You don't look like a newcomer."
"I took my time to research the situation here in Xeloria," said the man with a grin as he ruffled his hair. "It can be confusing to enlist straight away. You are rather brave!"
"Or just foolishly overconfident," said the burly man in front of him as he glanced at the two. "The Newbie Division has the most casualties in the entire army. Do not enlist if you are weak-hearted. I even heard there is a demon on the loose! You might lose your life for real!"
"Are you not used to risking your life?" asked Arthur, making the man stare daggers at him. As for the one behind him, he began to chuckle. Before the burly man could retort, he was called forward to enter the enlisting office.
"I think you would be targeted if we get enlisted in the same platoon," said the man behind him with a sigh. "My name is Joey. If that happens, I can help you get rid of him," he said while offering a handshake.
"Mine is Alexie," said Arthur as he shook his hand. "Don't worry, he would not make any trouble. I feel like he's a good person."
"…that is quite the insight," said Joey with surprise. "Your turn is here. There is an exam up ahead before we can join the army, but I doubt someone as confident as you would have an issue with it."
"Next!" someone called from inside the office, and Arthur gave Joey a nod before going inside. He found several tables inside to register new recruits before being given a small badge. Arthur saw a woman waving at him to come forward, to which he obliged.
"Name?" asked the woman as she placed her hand over the table. She was chewing on something and smelled like tobacco. "Spit it out, lad!"
"Alexie," said Arthur with a smile as he looked around. Many others like this woman were registering recruits and shouting at them to go somewhere.
"Level?" asked the woman while still chewing. "You are not very bright, are you?"
"Only in desperate times," said Arthur with a smile. "My level is ten."
"Not bad," said the woman with a nod as she jotted down his name, level, and assigned him a number: 323.
"Take this to the third yard, second field. There will be someone there to examine your stats. You have to be no less than fifteen in all stats. Is that understood, desperate lad?" said the woman as she pointed toward an exit behind her.
Arthur smiled and took the badge, then made his way toward the third yard where he found several fields separated from each other by high walls. In the second field, he saw a group of people standing in a single file.
"Hurry up!" shouted someone from the crowd, and Arthur walked to stand behind the same burly person from before. He gave Arthur a grin as if he wanted to cause trouble. "The exam will begin after one more person arrives!"
The one shouting was a soldier standing on the other end of the yard. Arthur looked back and saw Joey walking toward him with a smile. He waved toward the two and took his place, completing the number.
"The exam will now begin!" said the soldier as he activated an artifact. The ground began to shake before he began to rise from the ground. Beneath him was a stone platform that rose in the air. At the same time, the entrance was sealed by another wall rising from the ground. "You have ten minutes! There are fifty people in here, and we will be accepting only twenty-five! Begin!"
Arthur was still confused when he saw the burly man twist his body and send a punch toward him. It was then that he realized this was a battle royale where only half of them could survive. The punch whistled as it rushed toward him, but Arthur did not need to move.
Joey jumped forward and kicked the punch away, almost toppling the burly man. This exchange seemed to signal the beginning of the battle as each of them began fighting each other. The sole exception was Arthur, who looked around in interest.
"Most of the recruits seem to know about this," said Arthur with interest before he looked toward the soldier on the platform taking notes. After a few moments, he bolted from beside Joey and his opponent, straight toward the examiner.
"Careful, Alexie!" shouted Joey as he held back the burly man launching another punch at him. Arthur dashed through the ongoing battles before jumping straight toward the platform. The examiner was surprised and took a step back as Arthur landed in front of him.
"What… are you doing?" asked the examiner with a frown and the intent to strike. Arthur gave him a smile before turning around and sitting down in one swift motion. His feet dangled from the platform atop the ongoing battle.
"Excuse me, but I will wait here," said Arthur with a smile as he leaned back while watching the show. The examiner was shocked, but could not do a thing to stop Arthur from taking a seat on his platform. After all, the rules stated that he had to survive, not defeat others!
"You have to know that those who defeat others will be recommended to enter the Golden Division!" said the examiner after composing himself. It was evident that he did not like Arthur lazing around while others were fighting amongst themselves. "Even if you pass this way, I will place you in the weakest platoon!"
"You can place me in a platoon on my
own, and it would not make a difference," said Arthur as he lied down on the ground and rested his chin over his hand. "I will not participate in this fight."
"Is that so?" asked the examiner with a displeased expression. Then, he turned to face the soldiers. "Anyone who defeats this man will be recommended to enter the Golden Division! If you participate in a single battle with the Golden Division, you can leave the second floor!"
Everyone stopped fighting at the same time, turning toward the examiner with shock. It had never occurred that someone would enter the Golden Division from the get-go. Their eyes were suddenly filled with greed as they stared at Arthur.
"This should be illegal… right?" muttered Arthur with shock as he turned toward the examiner. "You cannot change the rules all of a sudden!"
"I can, and I did," said the soldier with a grin as he held onto his clipboard. "Incentives like this can be allowed to punish wrongdoers."
"Just kidding," said Arthur with a smile as he slapped the platform to propel himself into the air. Then, he landed on the edge as he stared down at the fifty challengers. "I just hope that you have an excuse for your superiors when they know what happened."
After that, Arthur jumped down. At the same time, the challengers all charged toward him, wanting to defeat him and enter the Golden Division. Arthur retracted his arm, preparing to strike as he descended. Then, with a single motion, destruction ensued.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢