Chương 91: The Anomaly Trial

A middle-aged man blurred, appearing in front of Larry. His right hand moved as if he was going to slash Larry from shoulder to hip. However, his hand held nothing. While the hand was in motion, a cold mist started to appear. It swirled, materializing an ice sword. When the swing motion was about to complete, the sword completed its form. It was an inch away from landing on Larry's cheek. Larry sat on the leader's chair with a bright amusement smile.

He didn't shift his body or do anything for the incoming attack from the middle-aged man. He apparently knew the war hammer was also an inch away from the top of his head. Deano directly moved above Larry's head. He swung a hammer with both hands. The two attacks were an inch away from landing. When they were about to land, Larry tried to move his body away, escaping the attack. However, suddenly, he couldn't move. The eternal smile on his face waned quickly. Turning around to his side, he looked at Tantoo.

She stood a few meters away from him, holding her hand in front of her. However, her hand was empty. No attack could be seen coming out of her, or any magic she was using. That was what a naked eye could see. But if some veteran awakener looked closely, they would find a transparent thread exiting from her hand. It was coiled around Larry's body. The thread was so small and almost made of empty air. It was non-existent. Larry automatically realized he was bound by the woman.

However, in the next second, he revealed a snorting smile. His eyes started to shine a bright orange light. Snap! Boom! The next moment, everyone heard a sound of some rope snapping. Deano's hammer landed, shattering the chair into pieces. When the dust settled, Larry was nowhere to be seen on the place of attack. The middle-aged man quickly turned his back. Larry was suspended in the air with his hands clasped back.

"What a great attack, not gonna lie. I am impressed," Larry calmly said. SPLUTTER! Suddenly, Tantoo bent forward. She covered her mouth with her left hand, but blood spilled between her fingers. Her complexion turned deathly pale. The invisible thread that bound Larry had disappeared. The backlash was immediate. Breaking the binding by force had sent a recoil straight through the thread and into its caster. Tantoo's entire right arm trembled as she wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand.

"Tantoo, are you okay?" The middle-aged man turned towards her and asked, worried.

"Not a problem, Master. Did you get him?" Saying so, Tantoo immediately clasped both her palms in front of her chest. A golden light encircled her whole body. Her pale face started to disappear.

"Yes, I got him," the middle-aged man said, turning to Larry.

"You all need a century of hard work…" However, before he could continue, Larry's voice faltered and he felt something odd on his left cheek. It was a small change, but it made a world of difference. Larry moved his right hand and wiped his wrinkled left cheek with his middle finger. Moving his finger close to his eyes, the old man Larry saw something. There were traces of blood.

"We already had enough strength to make you bleed," the middle-aged man said in a mocking tone. The old man Larry's face changed for a quarter of a second. However, he quickly came back from the shock. The ice sword actually landed on him before he could break free from the bindings. It was a remarkable achievement as far as his concerns. His old eyes swept over everyone, including Edgar, who was spectating the battle.

"Indeed, you had enough strength to make me spill one-tenth of a drop of blood," Larry said. His eyes landed on Tantoo. She had already recovered from the backlash and was ready for the next round of battle.

"Hahahaah!" Suddenly, Larry started to laugh aloud, as if he heard some best joke. The laughing continued for a while. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes and looked at the middle-aged man.

"Let me propose a proposition. You all have great strength, but these strengths wouldn't be enough to defeat me and stop this Trial." Larry looked up at the ceiling for the timer.

"Work under me. I will give power and wealth that will help you to rule this world." The old man's eyes moved to everyone.

"Don't you want to rule the world?" The chamber fell into an eerie silence. Their eyes stayed on the old man at all times. If one were to look at the current world, everyone moved with one particular objective. That was to gain enormous power and wealth to rule over others. One could guess it wouldn't have been any different in the old era. Who wouldn't want to order others around as per one's own will! Seeing the middle-aged man was silent, Larry floated to his right.

Instantly, the middle-aged man's eyes tracked the old man. However, Larry wasn't attacking them. He simply floated left to right, then right to left as if taking stroll. The middle-aged man's eyes moved towards Tantoo, then to Deano, and finally Edgar. Then, without any words, he relaxed his fighting posture. The sword made of ice disintegrated into a million mists and disappeared. Seeing this, the other three made no reaction or action. Everyone stood, their eyes focused on the old man.

"Very well, I knew you all are very ambitious people. let's hear your demand." Larry stopped his floating stroll after seeing the middle-aged man ready to talk.

"Before that, I wanted to know about one of the Participants on this Trial," the middle-aged man asked. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Everyone's eyes moved towards the middle-aged man. Even Deano, who was fully focused on the old man Larry, looked at his Master from the corner of his eyes. They didn't expect he would ask this strange question suddenly. This had nothing to do with what they planned to do.

He instinctively looked up at the timer, where two minutes had already passed after their first attack. They had to press the old man in order to defeat him. If they gave him any rest, it would definitely affect them in the battle. Only a relentless push could corner the old man. If not, they were bound to fail their objective within the given time. However, no one asked any questions or made objections. They knew whatever their master did most likely took precedence over other matters.

So, they simply stayed at their posts, ready to take action at any time.

"Participant…" Larry went silent, as if he went into deep thought about the topic. It seemed very simple. But, something told him it wasn't that simple. He took a few levitating strolls. Then, he came to a standstill before nodding his head.

"Please ask," Larry said after a long thought.

"How much do you know about a youngster named Arthur?" the middle-aged man asked. Edgar, Tantoo, and Deano gave another look at their Master after hearing what he wanted to know. They all came to know about the incidents that had happened before they arrived here. So, with the mysterious ability to open the Torical Secret Chamber and the things happening around the name called Arthur, they all somewhat knew why their Master asked this question.

"Arthur…" the old man Larry muttered the name.

"Yes, Arthur Purchase," the middle-aged man said the full name, seeing the old man having a blank look. The old man fell into a long thought again. It was as if he was mentally searching for the details about the person named Arthur. While looking at this, the middle-aged man's posture relaxed. It was a kind of relaxation showing he had arrived at some particular situation where he achieved his objective. Seeing this, the other three were shocked.

It was strange, since he was the one who suggested to attack and kill the [Catalyst]. But now, seeing he was relaxed, they were all confused by his actions. But still, they kept their battle-ready stance in case he were to change his mind. Edgar, in particular, was in great confusion about why the old man, Larry, was taking so much time. Since it was a very simple question. As the Catalyst of the Trial, the old man would have all the details of the participants that had arrived here.

The Catalysts were the instigators of the Concentric Trial. Though they held no particular authority upon the Trial itself, they took some part in the Trial. The main power the Catalyst held was the power to cancel the Trial. However, they didn't hold that power on themselves. For example, they couldn't actively stop the Trial by themselves. But, they could cause a cancellation if they were to get killed somehow in the waiting area before the Trial timer ended.

Even though it was one of the best-kept secrets about the Trial, no one wanted to do that becuase the Trial gave a lot of rewards. So, no sane person would try to kill a Catalyst to put an end to the Concentric Trial. So, why did their Master want to stop the Trial? Was he an insane person? No, that was not the case. The truth was, these kinds of Concentric Trials tended to give overwhelming rewards to the participants. That put the world of power in an imbalance.

Especially in scenarios like this, where one had the chance to open a Torical Secret Chamber. Doing so was taboo as far as he was concerned. Because, the world had already seen the strength of a person that possessed a Torical Treasure. Since the founder of the Union Government, there was no other person who showed the capable strength that put the world into chaos. But, if this Trial were to be completed successfully, which had almost a 50% chance...

Then, the person who exited from the center of the Concentric Trial would possess enormous strength. That could turn the status quo of the current world upside down. Their Master was afraid of that situation happening. Hence, he decided to end the Trial before it could even begin by killing the Catalyst. Fortunately, nature had devised a perfect plan to send everyone out of the Safe Spot. Otherwise, the people from prominent families wouldn't let the Trial get cancelled before it even began.

However, seeing their Master's actions now, they were oblivious. They couldn't ask questions at this moment. They could only wait for the situation to play out. Meanwhile, the old man Larry was still lost in his own thoughts. Seeing his actions, Edgar felt something was not right. His mind told him an anomaly had appeared in the Trial and It wasn't a regular Concentric Trial.

"Sorry, there was no participant named Arthur Purchase," the old man Larry finally said, coming out of his thoughts. After hearing this, everyone's eyes widened. This Trial was clearly an anomaly! They had to stop it before it created unwanted events in this world, putting innocent lives on the line. Tantoo, Deano, and even Edgar readied themselves to battle and kill the old man. They had very little time left. Moreover, their enemy was formidable.

They had to go to any extent to finish him before the timer hit zero.

"Very well. Thanks for answering my request. We refuse your proposal. We will not work for you. Let's go, everyone. Toni may need our help," the middle-aged man said. Hearing their master, everyone was startled. Did they hear him correctly? They had already expected he would refuse to work for the Catalyst. However, he was asking them to walk away instead of killing the old man and stopping the Trial.

"Master, what happened?" Edgar took a few steps forward. This was the first time he questioned his Master's decision after they had decided to fight the old man. However, before he could ask for any more reasoning, he was stopped by a simple palm-stop gesture. Seeing this, Edgar halted his steps. He went quiet, not letting out any more questions.

"Oh, what a letdown. I almost hoped I got capable workers. Are you all sure you don't want to work for me? You will get the power and wealth that you humans seek," the old man Larry said. He was dejected by the decision of these people. Hence, he tried to lure them with tempting rewards.

"What about you, young lady? Would you like to work under me? I could put your talent to good use." His eyes moved towards Tantoo. He tried to recruit her after seeing Tantoo's formidable power, which had put even him under constraint.

"Sorry, I already have a Master," Tantoo said as she relaxed her posture.

"That is a very sad decision. A talent wasted." Seeing the denial, Larry shook his head. He then asked, "What about you, young man? Would you be willing to work under me? You will get power unheard of."

"Thanks for your offer and I reject your offer." Deano put away the war hammer.

"Let's go!" the middle-aged man said as he walked.

"Hey, old man, where is my offer?" Seeing the old man ignore him, Edgar was somewhat disappointed. Was he unworthy of the offer? That was a blatant insult. However, the old man Larry didn't answer him. He simply gave a short look as he drifted towards the position where he used to sit earlier.

"Edgar, let's go." While Edgar was about to get justice for the insult, he heard a call from the middle-aged man. Hearing the call, Edgar gave a snort. He walked away from the main chamber. The old man was already in his earlier position, with his eyes closed and his head tilted down to the ground. The three of them quickly ascended the steps. Edgar joined them quickly.

"Master, why the sudden change of plan?" Tantoo asked, unable to control her curiosity about the middle-aged man's sudden change of mind.

"I don't think we have enough strength to defeat that thing," the middle-aged man said, shocking the other three.

"Furthermore, I wanted to see what this Arthur kid is capable of," he said as he stepped out of the Safe Spot.

"But, Master, why wouldn't that thing have no information about that kid? Don't you think it is unusual? That thing completely ignored even the events that had happened in the main chamber earlier." Deano asked all the things which nagged his heart.

"I wish I had answers for you, Deano. But, I am as baffled as you are. So, we may have to find out what these anomalies mean before the Trial begin." The middle-aged man looked up at the countdown timer.

"Okay, let's move out. I hope we are not too late!" the middle-aged man said, looking towards the crater.

"Edgar, don't join the battle. I want you to find the kid and extract as much details as possible. My deep gut tells me that if we miss this opportunity to get to know what is happening around the kid, then we may never have enough strength to get the details." The middle-aged man finally said as his figure disappeared from the entrance of the underground passage. Following him, Tantoo and Deano's figures moved. Only Edgar stood alone as he started to run towards the crater.