“This...can’t be true...Uncle can’t be dead right Mae:?...” Erwin had a look of pure shock and horror on his face after hearing what Mae had said. He decided to lay back down in his bed after hearing this news.

 

“Mae please don’t come back in for a little while please...I need time to just sort all these thoughts going through my head…” He laid down in his bed with a look of dismay at the news he had heard. 

 

‘These rumours can’t be true can they?’ ‘What am I do to now with Strana gone’ these thoughts circulated inside Ewins head for a rather long time. After a while Erwin fell into a deep slumber.

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Erwin got up from his bed and opened the door to the outside of his room. But before he was able to walk out he was blinded by some type of light which caused his eyes to burn.

 

“Ahhh” Erwin let out an audible sound of pain. ‘What the hell is going on?’ Erwin thought this finally snapping out of his depressed state.

 

Erwin opened his eyes and let out an audible gasp. “W-what is this” the boy said this in a surprised tone.

 

What had once been the outside of his room now had turned into a snowy domain the likes of which he had never seen in his life.

 

‘Should I step out of my room…’ Erwin contemplated either to leave the comfort and warmth of his room or step into this snowy domain that had just appeared outside of his room.

 

‘Well I’m not going to get anything done just standing here’ Erwin decided to step into the snowy domain when the frosty wind hit his face.

 

‘Geez it's chilly out here I wonder if i’ll freeze heh…’ Erwin started to shake from the frosty winds hitting his entire body over and over again.

 

‘Ignite’ as soon as Erwin thought this a barrier of flames started to surround his entire body 

 

After warming up a bit Erwin decided to survey his surroundings and what he saw asstounded him. Snow surrounded him entirely there was no sign of life besides Erwin, near him he saw a forest of trees which were all at least 11 meters tall and near those trees was a small sign in a language Erwin had never seen before.

 

After spending a few minutes looking around at his surroundings he heard a voice in his head ‘Young one this is a trial,a trial which will test you,if you pass the test you will be rewarded if you don’t pass the test then you will perish here and be forgotten about forever’. The voice that the boy heard was a rough voice but also a soft voice at the same time.

 

Erwin just stood there in confusion upon hearing this random voice in his head tell him that this was a trial. “What was that just now?” Erwin decided to brush off that weird voice and continued to look at his surroundings.

 

Then suddenly the weird voice came back ‘Boy do you not hear me this is a trial,if you fail it you will die here!’ Erwin finally started to pay attention to the voice after hearing for a second time that he might die.

 

“What do you mean I will die here if I fail this trial? Also what even is a trial?” Erwin responded to the mysterious voice in a rather confused manner.

 

‘I mean you will die if you fail the trial and a trial is a sort of test and if you pass that test you will get a reward but fail and well you probably already know now’ the mysterious voice made it very clear what would happen if Erwin failed earlier.

 

“It's quite hard to believe your mysterious voice but I mean suddenly getting into this snowy place isn’t normal either” Erwin was unsure if he should believe this mysterious voice but for now he would go along with it.

 

“Mysterious voice, who are you and how did I get into this so-called ‘trial’?” Erwin asked this in a calm but serious tone.

 

‘I am the administrator of this trial. My name is not of importance,Also to answer your second question I will have to explain how this trial picks people to enter’ the mysterious administrator answered in a rather warm tone this time as if indicating that he doesn't get to explain how the trail picks people often.

 

“Will it be a long explanation mr...administrator?” Erwin replied in a rather dull and uninterested tone. 

 

‘It won't be too long and anyway it's not like you have anything better to do anyway do you young one?’

 

Erwin just sighed at the previous comment the administrator had made.

 

‘Now then the way this trial picks people is rather simple it randomly chooses people from within a certain kingdom and makes them enter this place through any means,take you as an example you decided to just walk through that door but if you hadn’t then you would have been forced to go through through some means’ The administrator now had started rambling about how the people were selected.

 

“Through some means?” Erwin asked this rather interested in how he would have been forced through to this snowy domain. 

 

‘Well one means of getting you through is by forcing your body to move through the door although since you're fairly strong you would have resisted this method’ The administrator explained this in a calm tone.

 

“Huh well that's fairly interesting would you mind if I asked more questions mr administrator” Erwin said this in an inquisitive tone.

 

‘Yes young one you may ask more questions’

 

“Well then,what is this trial and are there other people here?” Erwin asked in a serious tone.

 

‘This trial is the trial of cooperation you are tasked with working with other people to survive for 10 days in this snowy domain,if you succeed this trial then you will receive a reward,the more people that survive the better the reward for each individual will be,it also matters how much you contribute to the survival of others.’ The administrator gladly answered Erwin’s question.

 

‘That should be a rather sufficient answer for you young one’ 

 

Erwin was memorizing the information that the administrator had given him while he was memorizing it. He decided to ask another question “Administrator you didn’t really give me much information for how people are actually you just said it was ‘random’ and you never really explained what a trial was why is that?” 

 

‘Young one that information is only acquirable as a reward for completing this trial so I’m sorry but I will have to refrain from giving you that information’

 

Erwin had a look of confusion and started to think ‘why would that information only be available as a reward’. 

 

‘Young one are there any other questions you have for me?’ the administrator seemed to say this in a rather sad tone as though he wanted to answer the previous questions but he just could not. 

 

“Yes I have one more question,is there a gathering place for everyone who has been transported here?” Erwin asked this question without a hint of hesitation.

 

‘Yes there is but you must find it yourself,if a person is not able to get there within the first day then they are more than likely going to die quickly’

 

Erwin started to think ‘is that sign I saw earlier a clue as to where I have to go?’ while thinking this the administrator suddenly started to talk in his head again.

 

‘Well young one I must go now I must go answer the questions of the 9 other people who have come here if you survive we will meet again’ as soon as the voice had finished its sentence the unknown pressure that was by Erwin disappeared. 

 

Erwin then was left alone with the howling wind and the snow covered ground. ‘Huh I better investigate that sign then since it seems like it could be a clue’ as Erwin thought that his spell had started to wear off.

 

The freezing winds were once again hitting Erwin’s face so he decided to recast a spell ‘ignite’ once again a barrier of fire surrounded his body blocking the freezing winds.

 

Although he now had at least some protection from the winds that wouldn't last long since he had already used 10% of his mana from just those two spells and combined with the light clothing he was wearing which a simple shirt and trousers with only some simple shoes not designed for this weather on he would not last very long unless he found some shelter or the gathering spot that the administrator had told him about.

 

Erwin decided to walk over to the sign he had found earlier while surveying the area,the sign was written in a language he had never seen before yet some of the characters seemed familiar to him.

 

‘Maybe there is a way to change the language of the sign somehow’ Erwin suddenly became deep in thought as he was trying to figure out a way to change the language of the sign to show a language he was familiar with.

 

‘Maybe if I walk around the sign I'll be able to find what the solution is’ As Erwin thought he started to walk around the sign in a circle seeing if he could find any mechanizm on the sign.

 

But lo and behold he could not find any type of mechanism on the sign,this caused Erwin to become frustrated and he started to frantically kick the snow about.

 

Then suddenly an idea came into Erwin’s head,’maybe if I burn all the snow around the sign it will react to the element and show the language of the nation that that nation corresponds with.

 

The national element of Radana was fire since the royal family was able to use fire magic and since many of the nobles and even some of the commoners were also able to use it as well.

 

An element of magic always had a keyword which had to be thought inside the head of the user whenever they wanted to use that element as an example for fire it would be ‘ignite’ however for ice it would be ‘freeze’. Additionally the user would have to imagine what they wanted the element to do. Having a higher rank in that element of magic would allow them better control of that element and would also allow them to do more things with the element. As an example if a person with the fire element wanted to create a large forest fire then they would need to be at least B+ ranked to do that.

 

‘Ignite’ Erwin said these words in his head and then a small ball of fire appeared on the ground and started to spread near the sign along the way burning away all the snow that was previously there. 

 

After all the snow had been burnt away nothing actually happened unlike Erwins expectations. ‘I guess I'm thinking too outside the box. Maybe the sign can’t even change language’ As Erwins hope was starting to run dry he spotted a small metal plate on the bottom of the sign.

 

‘Huh what's this?’ The boy thought this as he crouched down to investigate what this small metal plate was.

 

As he crouched down to investigate the sign he suddenly had a wild idea come into his mind ‘maybe if I put my hand on this metal plate something will happen to the sign like maybe it will change to my native language. 

 

Erwin decided to place his hand on the sign and when he did the sign started to shake slightly ‘Oh I wonder what's going to happen,is the sign going to give me some type of power to take on this trial?’ While all these thoughts were circulating inside Erwins head the sign suddenly stopped shaking.

 

‘Huh why did it stop shaking all of a sudden I could have sworn something big was going to happen’ Erwin decided to go back to the front of the metal sign and lo and behold something did happen,something which no one ever could have expected. 

 

The sign had changed to match Erwins native language[1],The boy could now read the sign perfectly and so he decided to read what it said out loud “Head east for 1 mile and then place your hand on a large rock with an X On it, that rock will tell you where the meeting point for everyone is”. 

 

‘It's not some great power oh well at least I know where to head next’ Erwin thought this while feeling slightly disappointed that he didn’t acquire some new power.

 

Erwin was now walking through the deep snow that was in front of him after walking for about 10 minutes east the snow had started to become rather deep which had made it more difficult for Erwin to pass through it.

 

Erwin was slowly trudging through the deep snow as he was doing this. He was on the lookout for a large rock with an X on it just like the metal sign had mentioned.

 

After walking for another 5 minutes he finally arrived at the rock that was mentioned on the metal sign.

 

‘The sign mentioned that I just had to put my hand on it so I guess I'll just do that’ As Erwin was thinking that he instinctively placed his hand on the rock that was more like a boulder however nothing happened.

 

“Eh” Erwin let out an audible noise of confusion from nothing with the rock that was too big to be called a rock but was a rock anyway. 

 

‘Maybe I have to put my hand on the giant X that would make some sense’ Erwin then decided to put his hand on the rock and as he did this words suddenly started to enter his mind.

 

‘Head straight north from this rock for another mile there you will find the meeting location that everyone is supposed to gather at’. As these words filled the head of young Erwin he suddenly started to think ‘I hope that is the end of this wild adventure for today’.

 

Erwin had been trudging through the extra deep snow now that was blocking his way,he had been soldering on through the snow for the last 20 minutes yet he had still not come across anything that could remotely resemble a meeting place.

 

‘Did that damn rock lie to me or was that even the right rock in the first place I mean it looked more like a boulder then anything’ When Erwin was just about to run out of hope he came across what looked like a cabin in the distance.

 

‘I hope that is the right place. I'm so damn cold right now’ Erwin had used his fire magic to create a barrier a further 7 times during the time he had been trudging through the snow. He had used the barrier so much since it ran out quicker the deeper the snow had gotten.

When Erwin was finally at the door of the cabin he opened it up only to find no one there. ‘Oh no...please let this be the right place’ Erwin thought this before he discovered a note that had been placed on a table in front of him.

 

The note read ‘Congratulations on being the first person into the meeting place. As a reward for being the first person to arrive in the cabin you will now acquire the leadership skill. 

 

As he read the note Erwin started to feel relaxed as if all his troubles were now just floating away from him and as this relaxing feeling encompassed him he instinctively checked his status.

Age: 12

Skills: Swordsmanship B-,Daggermanship C-,Fire magic D-,Body split [This skill allows the user to split themselves into two bodies the second body has ¾ of the originals strength],Leadership skill D-

Aura: Wrath [when fighting the user has a chance to absorb part of the opponents mana]

Affinity: Fire 

Mana: 11,000

 

As soon as he checked his status he was greeted by a new skill the leadership skill,he clicked on the leadership skill in his mind.

 

[The leadership skill allows the user to lead people easier and also makes people see you more as a leader thus allowing the user to issue orders easier]

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Author's notes: This is by far my best chapter yet I enjoyed writing this so much. If you enjoyed it as well then please comment and heart it.

 

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it :)

 

Also see any mistake mind pointing it out please 

 

[1] Wow who would've thought that it would match his language truly unexpected lol.