Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

The silence lasted for a brief moment before someone suddenly moved.

It was none other than Cedric who did.

His neutral expression was obvious to everyone despite the facemask hiding half of his features. He did not pay any attention to the eyes watching him, in his eyes, his only concern was to experience all the tests that the instructors prepared for them.

His decision surprised several participants. By now, everyone here knows of him already, how could they not when firmly sits at the top of the list?

Knowing his results, there's absolutely no need for him to partake in this test. Especially since the instructors themselves said that the likelihood of being injured was almost certain.

In short, he already passed, so why bother with this?

And to that, Cedric says: 'It's just a matter of perspective, really.'

Because in his mind, why the hell not? Yes, if the standards were to be followed, then he has indeed passed. So why not see this all the way through, then? While it's true that he has nothing to gain by participating, he also has nothing to lose, right?

Besides, he's curious alright. He had never experienced something that tested his Willpower before. Is it bad that he wants to know where he stands in terms of that?

No. Of course not!

But what about the injuries, you say?

Hmph! As if that's enough to scare him. Cedric's no stranger to injuries. In fact, he'd say that he had danced with death so much that they're quite familiar with each other now. So why the hell would he be afraid of some injuries?

Therefore, this decision wasn't an episode of impulse from him. Cedric was certain of his choice and would bear full responsibility for whatever happened to him next.

Seeing him stepping forward, the Instructors remained stoic. It's as if they didn't care at all. They just waited until everybody made their decision.

Following Cedric's lead, Isabella and Garrick also stepped forward.

Their decision also surprised some people but the rest found it understandable. More than that, the rest are now deciding whether they should take the bonus test or not.

Time passed by and eventually, a total of ten people stepped forward. As cliché as this sounds, these people were the already acknowledged top 10 of this batch of examinees.

As for the rest, they didn't dare at all. Some were torn about their decision while others were not. Either way, nobody truly cared.

Since everybody seems to have made their decision, Orion stepped forward to say something:

"All of you who stepped forward decided to take the Bonus Exam. Make your way towards the staircase and climb as high as you can. You will be expelled from it when we sense that you can no longer endure it."

After saying that, a set of stairs appeared out of nowhere.

It was covered in a mist cloud, making it hard for anybody to see the finer details of the staircase. To Cedric's surprise, the obscurement also blurred his senses.

This was shocking to him since this was the first time he encountered something like this. But instead of feeling uncertain, Cedric actually felt refreshed for some reason.

'This is proof that my senses haven't reached omniscience yet. There's still a lot of growth for me to achieve.' He mused inwardly.

Walking up to the staircase, he was able to tell that it only had a total of 10 steps. Each step was wide enough for multiple people to stand side by side with ample space in between.

Just like before, it was Cedric who took the lead, followed by the rest. The moment he came close to the mist that was obscuring the staircase, he frowned.

He sneakily glanced at the others and saw that they too were puzzled. It seems that he wasn't the only one who sensed it.

Well...it'd be more accurate to say that they heard something. It sounded like faint whispers of unintelligible words, making no sense at all. It lingers long enough for them to pay attention to it and then disappears just as soon as it gets what they want.

All of them knew that these whispers did not come from their fellow examinees nor the audience because they heard these whispers telepathically, plus it didn't sound like any of them.

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, all 10 participants paused as soon as they gained a stable foothold at the first step, which greatly puzzled them.

Then, they saw their expressions becoming blank. That's when something clicked in their minds and somebody audibly whispered:

"It's illusions..."

That's right. All 10 participants fell under an illusion the moment they reached the first step.

The others might never learn how this happened at all because even Cedric, someone who performed excellently at the 3rd part of the Practicals thanks to him having superb instincts, also fell to the same illusion as the rest.

In truth, however, this was because of the combined effect of the steps themselves and the mist obscuring it. They release a resonance that lulls people into a false sense of security before ensnaring them into a terrible illusion.

It was clear that whatever they were seeing must be a personal hell, for everybody wore varying degrees of negative expressions.

For Cedric, he saw himself back at his quarters at the Risk Management Center. He caught a brief image of himself and was reminded of how pathetic he looked back then.

Fortunately, though, Cedric was lucid enough to realize that this was nothing but an illusion. And at the same moment, he made that realization, the illusion shattered before him and he found himself back to the present, still surrounded by the obscuring mist.

He gave his fellow participants a cursory glance and saw that the rest were still trapped under the illusion. Mildly shaking his head, he decided to continue climbing to the 2nd step.

Upon arriving there, he once again heard those same whispers from before. They were louder this time but still unintelligible. And just like before, they lingered long enough to make him curious before disappearing. It's like they're teasing him or something.

"Excuse me, young man!"

Cedric woke up from his stupor by the sudden call. His mind momentarily blanked out when he saw an old man standing before him holding a metal plate with cold and sticky porridge.

"I'm...would like to have this?" The old man offered with a kind smile on his face.

Cedric blinked, and then his lips trembled...

He could tell that he was under an illusion once more but unlike the previous one he's in, this familiar scene greatly affected him.

"It's just that this might be...no, this will be the last time I'll ever be here. This meal is wasted on me. You're young, you need this more than I do."

Those weren't the exact words that had been said to him by this old man but they affected him just as much as they did during the first time.

"I...what's your name, Sir?"

"Hahaha! Just call me Old Bull! That's how everybody here refers to me anyway!"

"Thank you, Old Bull. I'll enjoy this meal on your behalf." He replied before accepting the plate of porridge.

He played his part just like before. There might be some differences here and there but this is how it generally went. Cedric truly couldn't help but be affected since this was the part where his life turned around.

Numerous thoughts rushed through his head at once. At first, he debated whether to accept this or not, knowing what followed after this scene. Should he have accepted this or insisted that the old man had his fill instead?

In the end, he still decided to accept it. He felt shameful somehow but his mind was determined. Besides, he's aware that this is all just an illusion. Whatever his decision here ended up to be, it wouldn't make any difference in reality.

The symbolic part of this made him feel ashamed yes, because he felt like he stole the old man's second chance, but he still did it because he knew what was gonna happen.

No matter how many times this same scene plays out, he would still accept this gift and he would still feel just as guilty as he did during the first time. This is something that might never change at all and it's baggage that he will carry with him for the rest of his life.

'Thank you, Old Bull. I don't care what others say, you are my Hero. Wherever you are, I pray that no pain will reach you. Rest in peace.'

Sighing despite feeling the sting on the corners of his eyes, a determined glint replaced his vulnerable gaze as the illusion shattered once more.

Just like before, he found himself standing at the 2nd Step. He didn't know how long he had spent trapped in that illusion but he discovered that there were five of them now on that same step.

Since he already broke the illusion on the 2nd step, there's no reason for him to remain here. He lifted his soles and started making his way toward the 3rd Step, wondering what kind of scene he would encounter next.