Blacksmith Assassin

Forest of Trials VIII

A crimson-colored room. Scarlet curtains, a red rag with golden linings. Acid black chairs that are finely hand crafted, and cushioned by velvet seats and back rests. These are only some of the things that Zeke Elwood saw when his consciousness returned to him.

He can’t remember much. That is the truth. He knows that he’s been fighting against a great ogre after killing off all of the monster’s subordinates but, other than that, he can’t remember anything else. There is a big haze covering up the remainder of what he needs to pick up. Though one thing is certain, he’s now safe from any danger…for now.

“Congratulations!” The voice suddenly made Zeke jump up and look at the direction where the voice came from.

He could’ve sworn he’s the only person in that room. Yet there he is, looking at another individual that is there, in the flesh, just like him. A tall and slender man with a predominantly black blazer, with bits of crimson red being added to it. This is the first thing that Zeke put his attention on because, there’s just no way he can explain why this creature has horns sticking out of its forehead.

“You cleared the Forest of Trials.” The man added. “I’d expect nothing less from the human that’d be my champion.”

“You’re the one that sent me there?” Zeke asked right away, referring to the forest.

“Ah but of course.” The creature answered. “I need to test a human properly before I pick them out as my champion so you had to go through all that first.”

“Who are you supposed to be?” Zeke then asked.

“You have a lot of questions for someone that should be keeping his mouth shut.” The creature smirked at Zeke. “But I’ll entertain your questions for now. As for the answer, I am Hephaestus, Lor of the Forge. God of Blacksmiths.”

This explains why the creature has something close to an unsightly appearance. There is a wide scar on the left side of Hephaestus face and the features look both tired and old. Though the creature still looks respectable himself. Though if there’s one god here…that means that there are others. The gods of Olympus should also be there.”

“God huh.”

Hephaestus raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even seem surprised?”

“Well, I already figured that something beyond normal would be in charge of all this.” Zeke said. “There’s no way monsters would exist out of nowhere. There’s not way I would suddenly be brought out of school and into the forest in the blink of an eye as well.”

“Hahahaha! You humans truly are an interesting bunch.” Hephaestus grinned.

“What?”

“You’re actually the only one that survived in this round. I’m supposed to have a total of five champions but, just one is also fine if all others are defects.” Hephaestus said. “The fights weren’t meant to be something that can be cleared. The difficulty, the lack of information, the suddenness of danger, and the inevitability of death closing in, all of that should’ve caused you to despair just like the rest. But you didn’t!”

“What do you mean that I’m the only one that survived?”

This puzzled Zeke the most. After all, there were no other humans there other than himself. That’s right. He’s the only human who was fighting against monsters in that forest. So this statement of the god, that suggested there are other humans, puzzled him.

“Ah, I haven’t told you yet haven’t I? You’re not the only one that’s been forced into this shitty little game.” Hephaestus informed. “There are a total of a thousand like you…and only you survived. The only reason you didn’t see them is because they’re placed into a different forest similar to yours. You all have the same missions and goals but, you’re the only one that got through the second stage and, heck, even through the third stage.”

As if on cue, Zeke began to remember everything that happened on the last fight. How he’s facing off against five powerful ogres. How two of these are burned to death by the leader of the monsters and, how Zeke is able to win by poisoning his allies…before he got engulfed in a sea of flames.

“The third trial being cleared was basically out of pure luck. You’re not even supposed to encounter the ogres yet. That’s supposed to be reserved for the last quest. But since you encountered them early and, killed them before you completely got burned in flames, you passed.”

“Am I supposed to be glad or something?” Zeke asked sarcastically. “You made me go trhough all of that! What kind of stupid god would make a human go through something as dangerous as that?”

“For starters.” Hephaestus snapped his fingers. “It’s a god that’s willing to reward you.”

“You’re going to reward me?”

“Oh absolutely. I’m giving you a reward, the same thing that other gods do with their respective survivors.”

“What? You just told me that I’m the only one?”

“Yes. On your division that is.

“You see there are a total of twelve divisions that have been made for these fights. Each having their own impossibility in terms of difficulty and, each producing results. However, in your division, you are the only one that’s able to come out alive.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel good?” Zeke asked.

“No. But I’m sure the reward would.”

“Just give me the reward already then.” Zeke said.

“But of course.” Hephaestus snapped his fingers a second time.

[Choose your Job Class]

This option appeared in front of Zeke. It has the same interface as all the other system windows that he’s encountered with before. So he knows that it’s really there. And if it’s making him choose a job class, that can only mean one thing as well…that the fights are far from over.

“Hey. Is this a joke?” Zeke asked.

“It most definitely is not. You see, the first part is nothing more than a preliminary test to weed out the weak and leave out the worthy. You are one of those. You are worthy to go on to the main stage!”

“And what will you do if I don’t comply?” Zeke asked.

“You’ve got good senses mortal…”

Bloodlust. Extreme and unfiltered bloodlust. That’s what Zeke felt and it is directed towards him. Coming from nobody else but the god of the forge. He felt as if he’s suffocating and running out of air at the same time. His legs weakened almost instantly and, his fingers trembled to the point that he can’t hide it. He can’t even stare at Hephaestus anymore. Instead, he simply looked at the ground. Not even daring to meet the gaze of this powerful creature.

“You should know the answer instinctively by now.” Hephaestus added.

Zeke felt himself cornered against a wall. That is how it felt like with this conversation with Hephaestus. There are no choices for him to make. Instead, all that’s left for him is to accept the fate being handed to him. This and nothing else.

“What do I need to do?” Zeke accepted his fate.

“Good boy.” The god smirked.

“You, along with the other humans, are going to have a race. We want to see who among you would be able to defeat the Demon Lord first.”

“Demon Lord?”

“You are being sent to a world that’s similar to what you experienced in the forest. One that’s infested with monsters and with danger lurking at every corner.” Hephaestus explained. “There are a total of twelve kingdoms that each division will be sent to. Your mission, as soon as you arrive there, is to guarantee that you are the one that will beat the one true Demon Lord that all of these kingdoms combined have not been able to throughout the ages and – Oh my.”

There’s the sound of bells coming from beyond the windows of the room. It stopped Hephaestus from speaking for a moment as, the god brushed the back of his hair and fixed his attention back on Zeke.

“It seems that time is up my dear champion.” The god of the forge snapped his fingers a third time. “You can choose your new job class once you reach Ragna.”

Zeke felt as if his whole body is enclosed in a kind of prison that he cannot understand. He can’t move anymore and his consciousness began to fade against his will again. All of these happened as the vision of the god and this room started to go away. But not before Zeke heard three last words from Hephaestus:

“Good luck mortal.”