6 Aeruk 1

Tang Gon was back in the cave / room, where he originally came from. This time, however, three out of the four glowing doors had disappeared making it a lot dimmer and darker than he was used to.

But at least he was finally going to complete the tutorial, as there was only one door left. Walking towards the final one, he soon felt a force propelling him forwards from the back, and another force yanking him forwards from the front. Either way, his feet were moving without him noticing, walking closer and closer.

The forces moving him forwards, penetrated through his mind and blocked out all of the notifications that the system had sent out.

x[Ding! System has detected DANGER!!!! Host Turn Back! Turn Back! Turn Back!]x

x[Ding! System has detected DANGER!!!! Host Turn Back! Turn Back! Turn Back!]x

x[Ding! System has detected DANGER!!!! Host Turn Back! Turn Back! Turn Back!]x

When he finally stood face to face with the door, all of the pressure he had faced earlier had now disappeared.

The door in front of him was unlike any of the other ones that he gone through. For one, it wasn't even a door, instead it was a steel gate with two stone pillars on the side.

And etched on each of the gate's steel bar was the letters Aeruk.

The gate then swung open with a loud "Screech" as Tang Gon was observing it. The gate was somewhat rickety, and when the gate had swung open, it had also pulled one of the nails off.

Ahead of him was the darkness, shrouded by a hazy mist that was covering everything from Tang Gon's sight.

Going inside, the gate had suddenly closed behind him. Turning back, the gate seemed perfectly fine, so perfect that the hinges that were originally broken were now completely fixed. And the places on the bar where there used to have scratches and claw marks had now disappeared. It was completely shining and new.

A little unsettled, Tang Gon just continued walking further in, believing that this was most likely a test by the system. And that his current performance would later decide the quality of the reward he would get. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned back once more. Then he saw that the gate that was suppose to still be there had disappeared. It was nothing new, but the presence that he felt made it unsettling.

The hazy mist surrounded him from all sides, he could barely see his feet now, much less the couple of feet ahead of him. Tang Gon wanted to call out for the system, but it felt like if he did, whatever was with him would know. And Tang Gon didn't feel like taking such a risk that could potentionally endanger his life.

Tang Gon soon got tired, the paths in this strange place was too tiring, and he really didn't feel like walking anymore, but the quicker he got out of here, the better. At least then, he wouldn't constantly feel that lingering presence.

It felt like an endless walk. At times, Tang Gon felt that he was just going in circles. The paths that he was taking led him all over the place.

It had started off fairly normal with the road being paved. Accelerating further in, the road started to crack, and the once straight path had started to curve and turn at every couple of meters.

And as it turned and curved, the road ahead slowly changed into sand and gravel. The boulders and stones that were at every turn slowly started changing into rocks and pebbles.

At the end, it had just suddenly stopped, the path was now covered in sand and gravel. A few more minutes ahead, a new path had started to form surrounded by trees.

It was similar to the last path, but this time, there was the forestry. Though the forestry was slowly starting to thin as he walked further in.

Then the first paved concrete path had appeared. On the side of the road were beautiful roses in full bloom. Wanting to enjoy the beauty, Tang Gon carelessly picked a rose off the bushel.

But as he did his finger had been pricked by one of the thorns on the rose. It had made a small cut across his pointer finger, but it was barely visible. Trying to get a closer look at it, Tang Gon squeezed his finger, trying to see exactly where the cut was made.

Beleving that it was just a minor cut and would fade in a day, Tang Gon continued with his brisk jog. But as he got further in, the rose he was carrying was starting to wither. It looked like the rose wasn't suppose to be plucked by him.

Laughing it off, Tang Gon kept his head up and slowed down to a walk to save his energy. He believed that he was going to reach the end soon. The paths that he was walking on looked almost the same, but he knew he wasn't going in circles. If he didn't look carefully, he wouldn't of noticed the distinct differences between each of them.

There were roses in some, gnomes hidden in others, and minor cracks in the end of some. But the most obvious factor was the weather would constantly change as he went. Turning from cloudy to sunny, raining for a few moments before disappearing, and at one point it was even snowing for a few seconds.

But other than those key differences there really wasn't anything else.

Deciding that he was probably lost, he tried to turn around. But the moment he took his first step back, the intense pressure that was pushing him forwards had appeared once more. This time, however, it leaked a little killing intent, making Tang Got shiver in fear.

Knowing that he would never come out alive if he continued back, Tang Gon helplessly continued straight ahead.

Further and further, nothing new came to sight. Half a hour later, he soon approached a small body of water inside the oak forest he was at. It was the newest thing Tang Gon had seen so far. But it wasn't that surprising as it was raining quite a bit a few blocks back.

Gravel and sand coated the edge of the waterside, but here there were no fishes or life in the water, but he did see someone in the water. It had a human shape, but the scary part was that, earlier there was nothing there, it had just suddenly appeared.

Getting closer, he saw his reflection and an old man that looked strangely like an older him.

Shaking, Tang Gon, reached his hands upwards to touch his face. No, it was still his face, there was no wrinkle or scars on his face like the man in the reflection.

The man in the water, never reached out. He just continued to swim in the water completely ignoring Tang Gon. Tang Gon on the other hand, just stared at the old man in the water that looked strangely like him. He now understood.

While he was staring out, his surroundings had changed.