Lann was simply abandoned. He watched Maia stealthily tip-toe away to a random part of the gymnasium. It was quite cute, so he couldn’t be bothered about being offended. Plus, he did kill someone after all.

Even if death just meant eviction from the tutorial, there were still understandable sentiments regarding the phenomena—especially so given that blood gushed out of the man’s neck. 

Lann was desensitized to such things. Maybe Maia wasn’t? More likely though, the girl was just selfish. She would probably look for a group that she could act shy with and not get caught. 

Spirit ‘Prankster Lofi’ falls over onto her back, clutching her stomach, and laughs at you. She leaves a message. Do you wish to read it?

“Yes.” 

Lofi: Idiot.

Lann had expected to hear a message filled with mocking laughter, or maybe some cliche villainess type line, yet it went with a simple deadpan insult. He closed his eyes and then reopened them. He decided to ignore it, but just as he was turning his attention to the others in the room, another notification appeared. 

‘Prankster Lofi’ writes another message? Read?

Lann swiped it away and scanned the room. 

‘Prankster Lofi’ wrote another message, annoyed? Idiot? Oii read it!

The process repeated twenty-five times. Each time the spirit got more and more desperate. Ultimately, Lann blocked ‘Prankster Lofi’ with a smile. 

One of the observers seemed to be silently fuming. The reason the messages got through to begin with was because Lann had allowed them previously. The source was the black cube. It was apparently and truly stalking him at this point. 

‘Isn’t this development… kind of thrilling?’ Lann liked to think he was a glass half full kind of guy. It wasn’t like it was some wrathful phantom. No, it was just a spirit stalking him for several years. He should be fine.

And so he turned his attention to the other contestants. 

There were about thirty other people already. While it was spacious and could accommodate more people, it wasn’t large to the point that Maia was hard to find. He even made eye contact with her once. She gave a shy wave before turning away. She was with a four man group. 

The group looked like a classic adventurer party. Lann guessed that the party was composed of a priest, ranger, warrior, and mage. There was a woman with a white robe holding a staff, a man with a bow and a sheathed short sword, a heavily armored man with a sword and shield, and a woman with a pointed hat also holding a staff. 

Their gear was quite pristine and without wear, which could hint at their lack of actual experience. Yet, the party seemed to be quite familiar with one another; thus, Lann speculated that they might have trained together in some kind of martial styled academy. 

Lann quite enjoyed those kinds of settings, so he wished the best for those four youths. He hoped Maia wouldn’t cause them too much trouble. 

Lann finished his silent prayers for the group. It was quite surreal. He was someone who explored multiple worlds and he had seen various styles intermingling together. It wasn’t an uncommon thing, but the aesthetics  of the room were undoubtedly clashing.

There was a group of knights, a lone warrior with two curved blades, a nerdy looking girl wearing a maid cosplay, a small group armed with tactical gear and projectile based firearms, an openly romantic couple composed of two overly attractive individuals, and more. 

The nerdy looking girl was short and wore glasses. Her maid outfit was styled in gothic lolita fashion. She also had cat ears. She wasn’t a demi-human. They were fake cat ears! 

The strange part was that she was surrounded by multiple armed men wearing traditional robes; they looked like some gangsters from a pugilist society, and these gangster-like men were treating her like she was their young lord. 

Lann tilted his head and couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Was their master an otaku?’ This line of questioning brought forth other questions. He had been to many martial worlds, but he didn’t ever see anyone in cosplay. 

Did I just not see it? Is this just a specific fetish of this girl? Where did even obtain such things? Off-world? If it was off-world, was there an express delivery service for such products?

Lann became genuinely frustrated. He hadn’t felt such raw emotions for a long time. His eyes became dangerous. Should I kidnap her? Interrogate her?

He was also a little jealous and regretful. He started thinking of various hardships he endured. Like when a professor at some random magical academy droned on and on with a boring lecture. What if he had manga during that time? 

Lann felt truly enlightened. He would fill his pocket dimension with various forms of entertainment the next chance he got. 

Lann took a deep breath, composed himself, and returned to examining the room. The number of observers continued to increase. They fluttered about between the various people. 

Because groups were already mostly formed, Lann had no choice but to wait the rest of the twenty-five minutes by himself. At least, that was his initial thought. It had been maybe ten minutes and all the observers in the room turned towards him. They appeared to be laughing. 

Then Lann felt something on his leg. It tapped him three times. 

His gaze naturally lowered to see what caused it and was met with the grin of what could only be called a teddy bear. Lann wasn’t surprised, but he wondered if he should be. 

“You strong. Worthy challenge! Legendary battle!” The teddy bear took a boxing stance. It began weaving left and right, but before it could begin punching, Lann lifted it up into the air. Its arms naturally couldn’t reach him and so his fluffy fists met air. Still, Lann could feel the pressure from the soft stuffing. 

A punch from this cute bear could potentially eviscerate a person’s internal organs. 

‘Was it a daoist technique?’ Lann tilted his head.

At the same time, the teddy bear began to chant as a flurry of blows came forth from its fists. It was a familiar chant filled with “ora” and “muda.”

Its fists continued to increase in speed. Not only that, its arms began to make movements that would be unnatural for a human. Well, it was still unnatural coming from a stuffed animal, but it was less questionable as its arms began to make full rotations. It became a blur and it was as if there were two rotating blades in place of its arms. 

A gust of wind appeared, and with it, Lann’s grip loosened. The bear escaped his clutches and began to fly around the room in an erratic manner. It didn’t seem to be able to control its limbs that were releasing such power. 

While it was in the air, Lann noticed that it was actually wearing a white cloak of some sort. He couldn’t be sure because it was flying about and creating chaos in the room, but he was pretty sure that the cloak had one large word written on it: boss. 

It was a delinquent teddy bear that knew martial arts. It definitely wasn’t the weirdest thing that Lann had witnessed throughout the years. It probably wasn’t even close, yet he couldn’t help opening his mouth blankly. 

‘So cool!’

The bear, whether because it regained control or not, began to dive bomb towards Lann once again. However, it was intersected. A female knight appeared and slashed out with her sword. Dozens of slashes appeared in a single second, bisecting the bear multiple times over. 

Not only had its momentum been stopped, but the bear fell limply to the floor—stuffing was overflowing from various cuts on its body. 

The female knight sheathed her blade and returned to her group, which was composed solely of heavily armored knights. A roaring black flame could be seen on a banner carried by one of the men. Despite being embroidered into the fabric, it crackled and moved as if it was alive. It was a coat of arms, a covenant. Their purpose was most likely to increase their influence and stake a claim on the new world.

There were a few similar groups, but most participants appeared to be more carefree. A variety of duels and fights broke out during the rest of the time, but none of them ended up being as strange as the scene with the bear. Fireballs were flung, swords clashed, fists coated in aura were swung, but no one ended up dying. 

People in the room were just curious. They would wonder if their techniques and weapons would work against someone else's. Lann merely watched. He was just much stronger than anyone else in the room that such childish spars would amount to nothing. At least, he felt that participating wouldn’t feel much different than watching. 

A sigh escaped his lips. A slight feeling of melancholy pervaded through his body, and because of it, he wasn’t restless or uncomfortable. It was a strange thing. For Lann, the feeling of anticipation often transformed into something akin to a lull. 

He closed his eyes, and with it the sounds of surroundings faded away. Nothing was worse than getting one's expectations up just to be disappointed. 

Twenty minutes passed and Lann opened his eyes. Everyone was motionless as the true event started.

Riju, the Administrator of Testing Zone 22 of Area 3, has made her appearance. Further instructions will be given by the said administrator. Be warned she has complete authority and it is up to her discretion whether you are disqualified.

In the center of the gymnasium, a bright light shined out and a beautiful woman appeared. Looking at something that pleased the eyes was another form of gratification. 

“Don’t you think you're staring too much?”

Lann tilted his head slightly. The otaku girl had made her way next to Lann. Curiously, the girl had a teddy bear in her arms. There were various stitches on it. 

“I’m staring because I can. You see I’m what they call trash. That said, do you need a tissue for your nose?”

The girl wasn’t even embarrassed. She wiped her nose, which was bleeding, with her hand. “It’s the gap-moe. You know what that is, mister?” 

“Of course. Someone that walks through the heavens in search of enlightenment is bound to become cultured.” Lann moved his hand to reposition the non-existent glasses that he was not wearing. 

“Hehehe. Air glasses? I think we will get along, Mister.” She stuck her hand out, “I’m Vio, the daughter of the Heavenly Demon from the Alabaster Forest. And these are my minions!” 

The armed gangsters that Lann saw previously all bowed. They weren’t offended by Lann’s presence nor did they show shame from their young master’s behavior. It was apparent that they had become numb to such things, and so they just watched. 

Lann looked down at the hand Vio extended towards him. It was the one that she used to wipe her nose with. 

“Lann.” 

Vio took her hand away and chuckled without minding, while Lann just turned his attention back to the administrator.

‘Gap-moe, huh? I don’t see it. Maybe there are still things for me to learn.’

The administrator was adorned in an expensive black robe decorated with orange and white highlights. Two webbed ears poked out of her light blue, almost white, hair, while a forked tail could be seen waving back and forth behind her.

It reminded Lann of an ink painting with the way it seemed to melt with the background. The only color on the white tail was the orange splotches that accompanied the black ones. 

As if knowing her beauty would attract attention, the administrator let the crowd stare for a moment before rolling her multicolored eyes to inspect the participants that had arrived. 

Although she didn’t rush, she spoke before people grew restless, “Welcome chosen ones from another word…” Her voice trailed off and she gave a loud puff as she appeared to crumble something up.

“Who came up with this bullshit? It was the raccoon wasn’t it… I thought I told that bastard… no nevermind…” Although annoyed, her face didn’t crease a single bit. 

She fanned herself and continued, “Well, let’s just get on with it. First, if you annoy me you will be disqualified. Second, if you are excessively stupid then you will be disqualified. Frankly, stupid acts are boring and while cheap theatrics might humble our sponsors, it will not provide long term and valuable entertainment.”

“She is looking at me, isn’t she?” The otaku was excitedly looking back and forth between the administrator and Lann, seeking his verification. At the same time, the bear in her hand seemed to be trembling.

On the other side of the room, a man raised his hand.

“Sir, if your question is stupid…”

The man brought his hand down. 

“So be it…” The administrator sighed before snapping her fingers. The sound of cogs and gears could be heard all around. The room trembled as the noise filled the room. 

Water began to fill the room and there was a panic. 

“Let’s begin, the first event will be underwater…”

The observers began to frantically flail about. There were many more than before. They had been flooding in ever since the administrator had first appeared. Dozens of black orbs circled around her and buzzed like flies, causing her lips to frown.

“What do you mean most of them can’t breathe underwater?” 

The administrator snapped her fingers and sighed. Her voice became even more disinterested. “How… boring.”

The room stopped trembling, but the floor was still coated with a thin layer of water. “There seems to be a change of plans. We will take a vote on what event to do first.”

Tutorial, Trial 1

Red Light, Green Light  Hide-And-Seek Hopscotch Dodgeball Simon Says Tower Defense Timed Survival Freeze Tag Rock, Paper, Scissors  Monster Subjugation …

Lann wanted to avoid the options that heavily leaned towards combat ability. They would simply be too easy. Some of the options might be childish games, but within the bounds of the rules, the limitations could potentially provide the semblance of a challenge. 

He voted for Hide-And-Seek because of this. Whether he was the one hiding or seeking, it would be thrilling. 

“Alright, the votes are in and the most popular choice among the participants is option one: Red Light, Green Light.”

Several figures in the crowd seemed happy but the administrator kept talking.

“And among the observers it appears we have our real winner, option 8: Freeze Tag.” She fanned herself some more, “I’m sure you all know the rules, but if you don’t feel free to use the system to display them. There should be a prompt… somewhere.”

Warning… warning… trial one is starting…

Lann dismissed the notification. During that time, the administrator had vanished. A loud shriek could be heard from the center of the room, and a black, shadowy figure bubbled up out the ground. Dozens of black tentacle-like hands began to shoot towards the participants. 

Someone blocked one of the hands that was coming towards him and was instantly paralyzed. It was the person wielding a sword and shield from the inexperienced looking adventurer party. 

A small chuckle escaped Lann’s lips when he noticed the way Maia had hid behind the man when the event started. 

Many people were screaming, most were running away, and some managed to hold their ground. None went out of their way to help their fellow participants unless they were previously affiliated. 

No one even batted an eye as the rest of the adventurer party was overtaken by dozens of shadowy hands. 

‘Now what should I do… should I save them?’