[Error Floor 3 Waiting Room]
Waking up from his nap groggily and cracking his back, he checked the time to see how much time he had left.
[Day 2 - 11 hours 22 minutes 51 seconds]
"I slept for 12 hours!" Aasal immediately stood up from the bed in shock. He was planning on taking a small nap, maybe for a couple of hours, since he still had to train. I have to further strengthen myself before I take on the next floor. He had about 11 hours left to train, which was longer than last time.
Stretching his body out, he did a couple of warm up laps around the perimeter of the cube as well as some basic exercises. He had a feeling the next trial was going to be more combat-related, so he focused on manipulating his mana and using it during battle.
It was relatively easy to channel the mana through his weapons, as it seemed that fixed objects held mana very well. He wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, he could create items with special properties never seen before on Earth. Focusing on the task at hand, he continued to train for the full eleven hours. Time flew by as he became swept up in a trance fighting imaginary opponents.
He was alerted that the time in the waiting room was coming to an end, so he began mentally preparing himself just like he had the last time.
Let's hope this floor isn't as difficult as the last, Aasal thought, though deep down, he knew it would be.
He teleported away, leaving the shelter of the waiting room behind.
[Error Difficulty- Floor 3]
[Follow orders from the commanding officer.]
Confused, he looked around and noticed a large number of battle-worn soldiers. Their uniforms bore regal insignias, though many were tattered and stained. Some soldiers were missing limbs; others looked like they hadn't slept in days. He quickly realized he was in the middle of a battlefield.
The air was thick with dread and smoke, filled with the metallic scent of blood and grime from countless bodies. Soldiers bustled around in organized chaos, carrying supply crates and dragging wounded comrades toward makeshift field hospitals.
He turned around—and froze. A wall towered behind him, easily over 100 meters tall, curving in a protective hoop around a massive castle. The drawbridge was lowered, flanked by two enormous stone arches. Guards stood watch every few feet along the top, next to what looked like massive mana-powered cannons.
Aasal felt uneasy. With so many people around, he wondered: were these real people with souls or just constructs of the Tower? There was no clear answer.
While walking around trying to make sense of it all, he tripped over a severed arm on the ground and bumped into a man.
"Watch where you're going, you piece of shit," the man spat in Aasal's face.
Aasal wiped the spit off. "Bro, what is wrong with you? Why would you spit on me? You got rabies or something?"
"What the hell is rabies? Just don't make my day worse, I'm exhausted from carrying boxes all day."
"Yeah? Then don't suck up all the air, mouth breather."
Their bickering continued until tensions finally eased.
"What's your name, kid?"
"My name's Aasal. What's yours?"
"It's Valor, but you can call me Val. Who's your commanding officer?"
"Uhhh, I don't know. I just got here. I don't know anything."
He must've been dropped on his head a few times as a kid, Val thought, sighing. "It's alright. Follow me. I'll get you situated. Our commanding officer is Sergeant Griffith. Whatever he says, you do. Doesn't matter if he tells us to walk into hell—we go."
Aasal wasn't so sure about that last part, but he appreciated Val's help. The man seemed to be in his late 30s or early 40s. With messy black hair, piercing ocean-blue eyes, and a body built like a tank, Val stood at around 5'10 and looked like he could punch through metal.
Val led Aasal to a patch of dirt that, apparently, was their assigned station. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were taking up similar positions all around the castle, each under a different officer.
"What's happening?" Aasal asked.
"It's time," Val replied.
FWWOOOOOOOM. A horn sounded, shaking the ground with its roar.
From behind, a massive 6'7 man stepped forward—Sergeant Griffith. His voice thundered over the crowd:
"Soldiers! Today, we stand at the edge of extinction. Behind us lies the last bastion of mankind. If this wall falls, so too does our species. The monsters you see before you have taken your families, your homes, your very lives. But today, we take it all back!
There will be three waves—each more brutal than the last. But you are not just soldiers. You are the shield of humanity! So raise your weapons, steel your hearts, and carve a future worth dying for!
Let the world remember: we did not go quietly. CHARGE!"
RAHHHHHHHHHHHH! The unified roar of hundreds of thousands of voices shook the very air. Soldiers surged forward. Aasal nearly got trampled, but Val yanked him upright.
"LET'S GO AASAL! HAHAHA! Let's kill those sons of bitches!" Val shouted, pulling him into the chaos.
Aasal didn't even know what they were running toward—until he saw it.
The sound of the soldiers' screaming was deafening. But the thing coming toward them was worse.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions? No. Thundering footsteps.
The battlefield depressed into a basin, and from the ridge came a nightmare.
Hundreds of thousands of four-legged monsters charged down the incline toward the advancing army. That was only what he could see—there were likely millions more behind them.
Aasal's stomach dropped. There was no way he could survive this alone.
But this time… he wasn't alone.
"HAHAHA! AASAL, don't look so glum. This is the opportunity of a lifetime—to feed our blades the blood of the monsters that tormented us for decades! Stick close and you'll be fine!"
He scanned the closest monster:
[Voidcrawler - Level 8]
HP: 450/450
ATK: 13
DEF: 8
Fighting one of these wouldn't be a problem. But fighting them by the thousands?
This will definitely not be fine, Aasal thought, heart pounding.
The frontlines clashed with a thunderous impact, sending a shockwave of dust and debris that rippled across the battlefield in a choking wave. The monsters didn't care about the etiquette of war—some were tearing into fallen soldiers with savage hunger, others consuming pools of blood like wild beasts, and many trampled or clawed through their own kin just to kill the enemy
Darkness. A shadow loomed above.
Aasal looked up just in time to see a monster plummeting toward him. He sidestepped, the beast slamming into the ground. Before it could rise—
A blade pierced its heart. Val stood atop the corpse, pulling his sword free.
"You'll have to try harder than that if you want to kill more than me!" Val grinned.
Aasal brought his fingers to his mouth.
I'm. . . smiling?
Something had changed inside him. For the first time in forever, Aasal didn't feel as alone as he used to.