A small gnome the size of a cat glowered at me.
Just like the first test, this test chamber had limited space. I found myself again in a forest but this one was slightly different from any of the other places I have seen so far.
For one thing, it had no trees. The ground was covered with tall reddish grass and green shrubs with tiny black dots I assumed to be flowers.
I stared at one single gnome standing in front of me. It looked vicious, but it was just a gnome. I almost found it cute because of its size.
Unlike the ones you would see in the gardens, the gnomes in the Door didn’t wear fashionable hats and charming farmer’s outfits. Instead, they looked more like tiny barbarians with their filthy hair and torn rags tied with tiny ropes around their waists.
Ding!
I looked up when I heard the crisp sound of a bell. Above me, a holographic screen of a timer suddenly appeared.
[01:00:00]
Okay, so I had one hour. From my training, I knew the goal of this test was for me to last an hour without dying. This was a typical method for the Door to assess a Support’s defense ability.
Just as Ryder predicted, the Door must have recognized me as a Support already.
There were two things a Rhombic could do in this situation.
The textbook answer was to maintain the barrier for an hour. I have heard that some famous Supports had the ability to keep their shields up for an hour against the dragons on higher floor tests.
In comparison, one small gnome in front of me shouldn’t require much of a barrier.
The second option was to kill it. But like Ryder explained before I entered the chamber, killing it would only cause another one just like this one to appear. This meant that I would have to kill the same gnome over and over again for an hour.
Whichever option I chose, I decided that I was going to be perfectly fine. One gnome wasn’t going to take much to deal with either way. It was no wonder everyone called this the easiest test.
I felt silly for worrying so much. Placing all of my money and my will in a safe now seemed like a huge overreaction. I was just glad no one was going to ever find out about what I did.
The timer would begin the moment I make my first move, so I considered what I should do. I could form a barrier and just sit around for an hour. This would require a minimum amount of energy, and I would get a nice rest for an hour.
Or I could keep killing it as new ones appeared. My eyes lighted up greedily at the thought. This option appealed to me more for an obvious reason…
You guessed it, gems!
Gnomes were weak monsters, so they tended to generate cheap gems. But like I always say, gems were gems. A dollar might not look like much, but if you picked up a thousand of them, wouldn’t that be worth it?
“Bwaaah!”
The gnome was getting frustrated. It did its best to roar, but it sounded more like a small fart.
“Gomi,” I called out, and I instantly felt the familiar sword materialize in my hand.
I was ready to begin this game.
Ta da da da.
Slice.
[00:59:59]
I felt silly even using a sword against a gnome, but it would have been foolish to try stepping on it like it was some helpless insect. The gnomes were known for their razor-sharp claws and teeth that were capable of cutting through bones. They could also jump high, which meant this little guy could easily reach my legs and eat them like fried chicken.
Nope, I definitely didn’t want that.
Fwoosh.
The mutilated gnome glowed and left a tiny red gem the size of my thumb. It wasn’t much, but it was still something. And besides, the relief from knowing I was going to live to see another day continued to keep me content.
This was going to be a breezy one hour.
Fwoom!
A new gnome dropped from the sky. Its eyes darted side to side in confusion for a moment before locking on me.
Ding!
Fwoom!
Unexpectedly, I heard the invisible bell ring again before 10 more gnomes dropped in front of me.
“Huh?”
I didn’t even get the time to process my confusion because 11 cat-sized gnomes sprinted toward me. Instinct kicked in, and I hastily formed a barrier around myself. It was a thin one, the kind Ryder would have shaken his head at to shame me, but it was going to be enough for now.
Hmm, 11 gnomes.
Well, that was a little unexpected, but this didn’t make any difference. After all, they were just gnomes and nothing more. I wondered if this happened because I killed the first one. Perhaps it was best to just stand behind my shield and wait it out.
11 was fine, but I didn’t want to get myself in unnecessary trouble.
I mean, what if 100 more appear if I kill them again?
“Gomi, I think we’re just going to sit this one out just to be safe.”
“What? But they are so tiny! We can take them out easily. Just do it!”
Gomi urged me, her sword form vibrating in excitement. I think she has been bored out of her mind because I have been focusing on my defense skills for so long.
“No, I think more might come if I kill them. What if killing one brings 10 more each time?”
I shuddered at the thought. Can you imagine having that many gnomes…
Ding!
Fwoom.
“...”
Another 10 identical gnomes fell from the sky and immediately charged toward me. 21 sharp-teethed monsters scratched at my invisible barrier like cats on a scratching pole laced with catnips.
I stared in confusion. What was going on?
I didn’t even kill any of them yet, so why…?
“Gomi, do you know what’s going on here…?”
“Hmm, I don’t…”
Ding!
Fwoom.
I jolted when I heard the same sound again. This time, 10 more gnomes dropped on top of my shield, making it sound like rain hitting an umbrella. But instead of harmless water droplets, these were like piranhas that were dying to fillet me alive.
Wait, the bell rang from above my head, didn’t it? And above me was that holographic timer.
I looked up slowly.
[00:59:15]
I had a bad feeling about this. I kept staring at it until…
[00:59:10]
Ding!
Fwoom.
Okay, 10 more. This couldn’t be…
Just to be sure, I continued to watch the clock.
I murmured, “Four, three, two, one…”
[00:59:00]
Ding!
Fwoom.
Now, 61 gnomes surrounded my barrier, trying their very best to get to me.
Gomi seemed to have realized what was going on as well. She exclaimed, “Sweetie, I think I get it now. It’s 10 gnomes every 10 seconds, so one gnome every…”
I yelled, “Yes, yes, I can do the math!”
Crack.
I felt my barrier crack a tiny bit in one corner where the majority of the gnomes were gathered and attacking. I hurriedly repaired it by pouring my mana into it, and I stared at them with growing concern.
In five minutes, there would be 301 gnomes.
In 10 minutes, I would be surrounded by 601.
In school, I wasn’t the best at math, but even I knew that I was in trouble.
