Chương 93: Breaking Rules for the Greater Good

Two days after arriving at the Concentric Trial. After disguising themselves as researchers, Patrick's team entered the Concentric Trial. Although they possessed extensive knowledge about these types of Trials, one could never accurately guess when the event would actually start; everything was based entirely on the [Catalyst]'s will.

According to the documents provided by the UG Headquarters, which contained every known detail about the Concentric Trial, the Trial would only begin once the overall strength level of the participants met a specific threshold. This requirement, of course, was determined solely by the [Catalyst]. As a result, the four of them had been laying low. If Patrick had to guess, only a few elites had arrived so far.

Most of them were either from the outer regions or were mercenaries hired by powerful figures to achieve specific goals without alerting the UG. However, people tended to forget the fact that the UG always kept its eyes on everyone. According to Patrick's estimation, they would have to wait a few more days until the major power houses from Faith City finally arrived. Whenever any kind of Trial suddenly appeared in a specific territory, the people from that local region generally took precedence in participating.

This was especially true for a Concentric Trial, given its extreme rarity. Although this wasn't a strictly enforced UG regulation, it functioned more like an unspoken code of mutual respect among the powerhouses that ruled the city. If elite factions from other regions were to interfere, unfortunate and bloody events tended to follow; people were known to go as far as eradicating entire rival families over such disputes.

Because of this unwritten rule, factions from other regions usually sent special elites in secret to achieve their goals, much like how the UG had deployed Obispo to handle their own interests. The UG deliberately ignored these covert arrangements rather than trying to monopolize the Trials, a move that would have placed immense political pressure on the government. Instead, the UG officially restricted its involvement exclusively to Dungeons and Gates.

Therefore, Patrick's team was biding their time, waiting for the city's powerful figures to arrive, an event expected to happen soon. Fortunately, no one from their squad had fallen into a deep sleep upon entering. While succumbing to the slumber wouldn't have jeopardized their mission entirely, staying awake granted them a significant tactical advantage in executing their job. However, despite being in a relatively strong position, certain activities taking place in the waiting area made Patrick's stomach churn.

One major issue was the rumors beginning to spread among the common people who had become stranded within this Trial. For instance, Patrick's covert team had entered alongside four other individuals: three genuine researchers from the Great Chaffey Firm and one Awakener hired as an escort through the valley.

Compared to government operatives, these individuals possessed extremely limited knowledge about the situation, information that was fiercely guarded even by the ruling powerhouses, let alone shared with ordinary citizens like them. When Patrick's group arrived, a total of twenty people had already been trapped there for the past nine days. The vast majority of them were simply commoners who had ventured into the Solomon Valley to forage for herbs and medicinal plants.

Severely lacking any real understanding of the Trial and how its mechanics worked, their ignorance became a breeding ground for panic. As a result, wild and unsettling rumors had started to spread rapidly through the camp. One of the most absurd rumors came directly from Old Man Larry, whom Patrick had already discerned was actually the [Catalyst]. It was clear that the old man was the primary instigator.

He had started spreading false narratives, claiming things like, "This is a Maw, and no one will leave this place until they reach the center of the Trial. To do that, you have to kill every monster and the territory Boss. Whoever does that will receive the key to the next Safe Spot." There were a few fragments of truth woven into these rumors, like the fact that they indeed had to move toward the center of the Trial, but beyond that, the rest was pure fabrication.

Still, Patrick wouldn't have been so unsettled if the rumors had been spread by ordinary people. The glaring issue was that this misinformation was coming from Old Man Larry, the [Catalyst]. Based on Patrick's knowledge, a Catalyst spreading fake rumors was entirely unprecedented. In reality, Catalysts hardly ever spoke to participants at all, yet here this one was, actively sowing bizarre lies. This anomaly planted a lot of strange, unsettling thoughts in his mind.

As an elite member of Obispo, it was his job to analyze every angle and evaluate every possibility. For the past two days, his mind had been constantly running through different scenarios. Was there actually a possibility that slaughtering all the monsters and the territory Boss would grant a key to the next safe spot? And if so, what kind of rewards would a person receive for achieving it?

"What are you thinking about?" Breaking Patrick from his deep train of thought, Casey, his current employer, walked over and took a seat beside him.

"Nothing much, just thinking about my family. Whether I would meet them again, since I got stuck in this place," Patrick lied, effortlessly constructing a cover story. As a secret Obispo team member, he had to constantly maintain his position. They could never slip away from their character; if that were to happen, it would put everyone on the team in danger. Even if the elite of the elites doubted your story, it didn't matter, you had to hold your position and play the part.

"I feel you. I miss my family too. I hope they will stay away from the Valley instead of storming in here in the name of rescue," Casey said.

"Why wouldn't you be rescued from here?" Patrick asked.

"Come on, do you even know what people are talking about? No one will leave this place alive since we have to face an Omega Standard monster in order to exit this place. I mean, who in their right mind would do that? So I don't want my family members to be involved in here," Casey said, nobly sacrificing herself rather than putting her family members in danger. Patrick, who was listening to yet another rumor about having to face an Omega Standard monster at the end, could do nothing but shake his head inwardly.

He realized he had to strongly suggest that the UG let the details about the Trials go public; the common citizens were truly kept in the dark regarding even the fundamental rules. In reality, the difficulty of every Trial a participant faced was based on their own strength. For example, if a newly Awakened person entered the Trial, the threats would adapt based on their Core Strength.

This specific rumor would only turn into reality if a person entering the Trial already possessed a Seven Core Layer which was equal to Omega Standard. The difficulty of the Trial was always strictly proportional to one's own strength. Although these were the fundamentals of the Trial, that did not mean it would be easy. Participants could easily perish if they failed to complete their individually assigned Trial.

If a person were not greedy and simply completed their designated tasks, they could exit without any issues, albeit with a limited reward. However, human greed often drove people crazy; the treasures this Concentric Trial possessed were enormous, and people tended to stray from their original goal of merely escaping. Even the noble-thinking Casey Merriman might make a different choice once she fully entered the Trial, since everyone was a normal human with desires and ambitions.

Patrick could do nothing but nod his head in acceptance. While they were discussing more rumors, a sudden flash of bright light shone in the middle of the main chamber. When the light dissipated, everyone in the chamber saw a group of youngsters; some were standing, while a few lay on the ground. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"After two days a new arrival," someone commented in a flat tone.

"These guys were too young to be get strangled in this Trial. Poor things," Casey said, feeling pity toward the kids who had just arrived.

"What is your name kid," she asked as she stood up and walked toward the group, who looked completely baffled.

"My name is Susanne." Susanne looked around the chamber, taking deep, heavy breaths as she couldn't make sense of what was happening. They had just been entangled and devoured by living vines. Just when they thought they were dead, they had suddenly appeared in this place. The other two were also in great confusion, especially Nickolas, who went completely quiet as he looked around.

"What is this place, where am I?" she asked the basic question and quickly looked around to check if everyone was there. However, her eyes suddenly landed on the three people who lay flat on the ground.

"Finola, Finola, wake up, what happen to you. Arthur, Roddy?" Susanne suddenly went into panic mode, seeing that no one was responding.

"Don't worry kid, it was normal." Seeing this, Casey quickly consoled Susanne. Even aged people got agitated after arriving at this place. So she quickly talked to the three and gave them a fake story, instead of telling them where they truly were and putting them in a state of absolute terror. Patrick also offered some kind words and gave them some hope so these kids could settle down from the shock of the sudden terrain change. Hearing everyone, Susanne and others calmed down.

They were in great joy since they had escaped death from the vines. Although arriving in this strange place had initially made them panic, seeing a lot of other people around helped them relax. That was, until Susanne noticed that Arthur's eyes had started to move. Everyone suddenly gathered around and started to call his name, trying to wake him up. While they were concentrating on waking him up, they were startled by the sudden appearance of a skeleton beside them.

This incident attracted everyone's attention, especially Patrick and his team. Since they knew every detail about the Trial, they hadn't thought highly of it when Susanne told them that Arthur's eyes were moving. Patrick had simply sat where he was, since he knew it was not possible for the people who went into a deep sleep to wake up. It was a fundamental setting of the Trial, and they were bound to fulfill their role. Just like Old Man Larry had a specific role, the people who fell asleep also had a role to play.

That thought persisted until the skeleton suddenly appeared in the chamber, and the kid who was in a deep sleep actually woke up. This deeply startled Patrick, sending his mind into a brief panic. He had already been greatly disturbed by the abnormality of the [Catalyst], and now, seeing someone wake from the deep slumber, the sheer uneasiness of this Trial escalated to a whole new level.

However, he quickly controlled his demeanor; he couldn't afford to break his disguise, as doing so would put the entire job in jeopardy.

"How is this possible?" While Patrick was standing with a neutral look on his face, he suddenly heard a voice beside him. A man wearing glasses, who looked exactly like a scientist, asked this while staring straight at Arthur. Although this guy looked entirely normal, Patrick knew he was one of the concealed elites within the Trial, and he completely understood the man's question. If Patrick had been even slightly careless, he would have blurted out the exact same thing, as he too was shocked to his core.

Stacy, who stood near the front of the crowd, shot a pointed glance at Patrick. The rest of the team also felt the gravity of this strange incident. Anomalies like the Catalyst spreading bizarre rumors and a participant waking from a supposedly permanent sleep would definitely go into their final report once they exited the Trial. But the immediate problem was that they were still inside, entirely unsure of the significance of these unprecedented changes.

Should we get involved since some strange anomaly started to appear in the Trial? That question arose in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it. They were bound by their mission; they had to focus strictly on the primary objective of their job rather than getting entangled in other affairs. Patrick and the rest of the team silently ignored the incidents, going about their business and waiting for the Trial to begin. However, before they could even relax that evening, the kid was murdered by some brat.

Although Patrick felt that Arthur was some kind of anomaly and had wanted to intervene, hoping to discover what kind of changes the boy might bring to the Trial, he had been stopped by Stacy and the others. Over the next two days following that incident, many powerhouses finally started to arrive. Patrick and his team stayed in their lane, keeping a low profile to ensure they weren't noticed or caught by these elite figures.

But their biggest miscalculation occurred when the team found out that the brat who had killed the kid received reward. When they learned that the reward was the ability to read the Torical Secret Chamber, their hearts stopped. As covert operatives of the Union Government, they knew the full, terrifying extent of the consequences that would follow if that chamber were opened. That was when they realized they should have acted to stop the killing of the kid.

Even if they had intervened, they could have simply revealed their identities as independent elites participating in the Trial, rather than exposing themselves as agents of the Union Government. At the very least, they could have easily stopped this disaster that would definitely turn the world upside down. But now, it was too late to break their cover, as there was very little they could do at this stage. They would have to devise another plan to prevent these people from opening the Torical Secret Chamber.

They kept quiet the entire time, strictly staying in character as more powerful individuals continued to arrive. They could feel that the moment was drawing near. Soon, by the end of their fourth day inside, the Trial timer began to count down. This meant the Trial had gathered enough powerful candidates; it was finally time for it to start.

Of all the strange and bizarre events that had occurred during this Trial, the incident that transpired when the timer had only thirty minutes remaining threw everything into chaos. Rumors spread that the murdered kid had come back to life, making Patrick and his team realize this was an Anomaly Trial. They knew they had to abandon their disguises to prevent any further anomalies from putting the world in danger. Their previous silence had already allowed a major anomaly, the Torical Secret Chamber, to manifest.

Now, after maintaining their cover for so long, they couldn't begin to imagine what other disasters were bound to occur. The moment Patrick sensed the presence of a [Theta] Standard entering the Chamber and noticed it was a skeleton, the Obispo team resolved to do what they should have done two days prior: prevent the kid's death. Although it was now too late, they still had to act. Patrick quickly issued orders to search for the boy outside the Safe Spot.

Freddie was the first to exit the Safe Spot, instinctively flying toward the Crater at blinding speed. Following closely behind him were Stacy and Geoff. Patrick, however, remained in the Main Chamber in case these powerhouses made any important decisions. Just as he had anticipated, new decisions were being weighed, especially regarding Arthur. They debated whether to kill him again or spare him to exploit his unique condition.

Since the boy was undeniably an anomaly, he could bring either great wealth or profound disaster; they had to find out for themselves. Within moments, Freddie reached the Crater. He had chosen this direction because he knew people usually hunted for meat here, and Arthur had previously visited the area with the others. Upon reaching the center of the Crater, he stopped and swept his gaze across the dim morning landscape. He couldn't detect any movement, even with the sun on the verge of rising.

Yielding no results, Freddie activated one of his Innate Abilities to track his prey. As the ability took effect, his eyes began to glow a vibrant red. He scanned the Crater for a brief moment until he finally spotted a disturbance. Meanwhile, Stacy and Geoff arrived at the Crater as well. However, before they could move toward the movement, someone else came rushing into the area. Freddie instantly recognized the approaching figure: it was Toni.

Spirit System -Book One-The Chained City In Ninleth, the gods teach one truth: the weak exist for the strong to stand on. Bree Hearthstone breaks the law—and the city decides she should die for it. Left as bait for Night Dragons, she's saved only when Ash Ironwood throws himself into the darkness to reach her. Mauled and dying, the two are offered a single chance at survival: The System.

Now thrust into an elite Academy where warriors and mages rise or fall by strength alone, Bree and Ash are marked as weak, hunted by students, monsters, and the undead. But the System gives them what no one else has— the power to harvest spirit energy, forge weapons, brew potions, and walk both the physical and spirit realms. They were meant to be prey. Together, they become something far more dangerous Progression Fantasy System Novel Academy LitRPG Weak‑to‑Strong Arc Crafting Multiple Leads