[EMERGENCY!]
[Survival path not found]
[FORCED ACTIVATING THE TRIAL SIMULATION]
'I need a new strategy. More than that, I need information. From what I had gathered, we had been kidnapped and taken to another world. They were going to separate us. Those deemed worthless would be locked in prison. But why? They didn't kill them outright. That meant there was some purpose. But then other groups will come to kidnap the losers.' Leon pondered.
'Depending on what I did, they would put me in different places. If I could just survive long enough, I should be able to find out their true goal.'
'So I just need to survive. My best bet was the Gladiator King. He would take four of us under his wing if we killed a classmate. But I also needed to stay alive afterward to avoid being killed by the others.'
[10 Energy Units Consumed.]
[Starting Simulations...]
[Age 17: I regained consciousness inside a castle and saw my class teacher fighting armored men.]
[Students began to wake up. Some tried to fight and were immediately knocked out. When the armored men approached me, I surrendered.]
[I was locked in a prison cell with other classmates. There were thirteen of us. The walls were made of stone, and the iron bars had strange inscriptions. They didn't bend or break, even when using Esper abilities.]
[Without drawing attention, I moved into a corner and made space for myself while my classmates shared various conspiracy theories.]
[At dawn, a man in fancy clothes arrived with a group of armored people and dragged away three classmates. I remained with the other ten.]
[Soon after they left, a man in a red cape appeared. He looked furious and disappointed with the guards. Then he stormed off with his soldiers.]
[Two days later, it happened again. But this time, all ten of us were taken by another group.]
[We were brought to a place resembling a coliseum. There were no spectators, but more than fifty people stood in the arena.]
[Suddenly, words echoed inside my mind.]
[The Gladiator King was willing to take five of us under his wing.]
[He wanted us to prove our determination of serving him by fighting and killing each other.]
[One classmate got angry and retaliated. They threw a spear at him, and it nearly killed him. He survived only because he activated a forcefield just in time.]
[They attacked him relentlessly until his shield broke and he died. Even after his body dropped, they continued stabbing him, as if to make sure he was truly dead.]
[Then they told us to fight again. The number of people the Gladiator King was willing to take dropped to four.]
[I rushed forward and pulled a spear from the body of the dead classmate.]
[The others ganged up on me first. Five of them came at me.]
[I declared I would definitely kill the first person who approached, no matter who it was.]
[Only two classmates attacked at once. One had a control-type Esper ability that increased his leg speed. The other had an alteration-type Esper ability that generated electricity from his palms.]
[I focused on the one with enhanced speed but kept my spear pointed at the one with the electric palms to hold him back. When the first tried to strike from behind thinking I was distracted, I stabbed him before he could land the hit. Then the second rushed at me. I hit him with the back end of the spear.]
[While he reeled from the impact, I drove the sharp end of the spear into the first classmate's face while he was still screaming from his stomach being punctured. With one kill secured, I ran toward the far side of the arena to avoid being ganged up on again. Eight of us remained. That meant four more had to die.]
[I looked back and saw someone else kill the classmate with electric palms. The rest were already fighting among themselves. One had scored a kill but was now engaged in a three-on-three battle.]
[It was a bloody scene. No one escaped unscathed. But eventually, the victors emerged: Ethan Walker, a control-type Esper; Liam Orin, an alteration type; Noah Alar, a manifestation type; and I was the last of them.]
[The four of us were led to a new chamber. It was nothing like the prison. Warm, bright, and luxurious. The people here smiled. Covered in blood, we felt out of place. No one seemed to care.]
[We were presented before a towering man, more statue than human. He was the Gladiator King.]
[He inspected each of us with mild interest. His gaze held no admiration, as if saying out loud that none of us had any value in his eyes.]
[He spoke in a language none of us recognized, yet the meaning was conveyed inside our mind. He said we were now under his protection. It was thanks to him that we escaped a dog's death, which would have been our fate if we stayed in the castle.]
[He explained that only those among us who proved themselves would be allowed to live.]
[A classmate questioned our location and why no one could understand each other. The Gladiator King answered: you were subjects summoned from another world through magic.]
[He said if we remained in the castle, our path might have led to magical warfare or slavery. If not that, then in some underground laboratory. But here, we could become gladiators. If we showed value, we could earn our freedom, as long as we survived the arena.]
[The next day, they handed me a sword, a shield, and a set of armor. Refusing wasn't an option. My first official battle was about to begin.]
[With thousands watching from the stands, I stepped into the arena. My opponent was a massive, green-skinned creature with tusks. It carried a shield as large as my body and a warhammer twice my size.]
[It swung the enormous hammer at me with just one hand. All I could do was raise my shield and brace myself.]
[The moment it struck, my feet left the ground. My sword flew from my hand like it had grown wings, and my shield caved inward from the impact.]
[I didn't remember anything after that.]