Chapter 196 The Trial Begins

It only took a moment for the silver-haired girl to choose what she wanted to eat as the allure of potatoes and savory smells came from one of the Milligarde outlets.

“Well, you can grab whatever you want, but I really want mashed potatoes in Milligarde style!” Melisande said with a smile, clapping her hands together.

Still, he wasn’t so quick to decide, but as he roamed around, he found himself entranced by the Danxian restaurant, which had steam exuding from its kitchen with a rich smell oozing from it that rumbled his stomach.

Danxia, huh?...That’s where Feiyu was from, right? If it’s anything like China on Earth, then the food here must be just as good, he thought.

“Hmm...I guess I’ll try a Danxian dish,” he said.

As he read the menu, which was fortunately in common language, he found a lot of dishes seeming unfamiliar, though a few stuck out within his scope of knowledge.

“Err, I’ll have shrimp dumplings and...let’s try ‘Dragon’s Ma Po Tofu’,” he ordered.

“Oh! Nice choice! Coming right up!” The chef accepted his request.

The chef who took his order was an energetic man hailing from Danxia, with tan-brown skin and fuzzy, dark-brown hair. Though he wore a crimson chef’s uniform and was manning the kitchen, he wore a cobalt adventurer’s insignia.

He’s an adventurer, too? Is everybody here one? Emilio thought.

As he sat down at the table, meeting back up with Melisande, the lithe, emerald-eyed girl swayed her legs happily as she dug into her large serving of fluffy mashed potatoes.

“Yum!” Melisande cheerfully said.

Emilio wasn’t as delighted as he was still waiting for his meal, feeling his stomach grumble while having to endure the enticing aroma of the potatoes.

Finally, his meal arrived as the Danxian chef set it on the table: a plate of steaming dumplings, paired with a dark sauce, as well as a bowl of tofu, covered in vegetables and spicy sauce.

“Enjoy!” The Danxian chef said.

As he was left with his meal, he found himself slightly salivating at the mixtures of scents that greeted his nose, quickly trying one of the shrimp dumplings.

“Mm!” Emilio hummed in delight.

Melisande looked over, looking slightly jealous at his more complex meal, but continuing to enjoy her hefty serving of mashed potatoes.

After swiping through the dumplings like a fiending carnivore, he found himself left with the intimidating plate of piping hot tofu; even without tasting it, he could smell just how spicy it was.

A dragon dish for a Dragonheart, right? He thought.

Taking a spoonful of it, he inspected it for a minute before finally taking the plunge, guiding it into his mouth.

“–!”

His complexion immediately reddened as he froze for a moment before slowly swallowing the spoonful of spicy tofu. As he kept it down, sweat left his pores as Melisande looked over worriedly.

“...Are you alright?” Melisande asked.

“Never better,” Emilio responded.

There was a large carriage waiting, drawn by a colossal lizard, in which he was signaled by the instructor to get in.

“Enough gawking! Time is of the essence, Dragonheart!” Halfheim barked.

“R-right!”

As he jumped into the back of the carriage, he found the interior of it to be filled with unfamiliar faces of his fellow recruits.

Where’s Melisande? He thought.

“Hey, where’s–”

With Halfheim entering behind him, as he was about to pose his question, he was shoved aside, naturally falling onto a seat beside two other applying adventurers.

Wait...he said groups–are we in separate groups? He thought.

As Halfheim clapped his hands together, the driver of the carriage was signaled to take off, causing it to begin moving on its route as the scarred instructor faced the perplexed recruits.

“Alright! Now that you’re all together, let me explain to you the trial set for those who wish to become a ‘world-class’ adventurer!” Halfheim called their attention.

Settling in, he looked side-to-side: to his left, a man in his early-twenties with a red scarf and leather armor said, twiddling with his golden tufts. To his right, a nervous man fiddled with his glasses and wooden staff, sweating bullets.

There wasn’t anybody who dared speak a word amidst the instructor’s own time of talking.

“We’re heading to the ‘Valley of Parmesus’. This is a top-secret region in which its location is only known to the highest ranked members of the Guild Foundation. It is occupied by highly-lethal creatures, most of which are specifically sealed there. As such, when I am done giving instruction, you will all fall unconscious,” Halfheim announced, “When you awaken, you will be alone, separated from your fellow recruits, in the Valley of Parmesus. You will need to survive a week in this environment–evading creatures, combating them, and finding resources for sustenance.”

It was a lot to take in at once, and by the expressions worn on the other recruits’ expressions, he could tell this was dire news to many ears.

“Any questions?” Halfheim asked.

“How are we going to–?!”

“None? Good! Best of luck to you, recruits, you’ll need it!” Halfheim clapped his hands together.

In that single gesture, before anybody could pose a question or react, a spell was put in place that swiftly put everyone in the group into slumber once more.

Emilio found his eyelids growing heavy, feeling his body become dense before slowly–it all faded.

Just...great, he thought.

The dreams that awaited him were ones he experienced every so often; painful, but precious to him: scenes of him at home, as Ethan, with his mother. Though these were once times he spited, after accepting himself, he reminisced fondly of the one, sole thing he had in life as Ethan Bellrose.

I’m sorry...I have to go now, he thought.

It was foggy, though the warmth of unconditional love was something unmistakable to him, though he soon faded to darkness once more.

–

Parting his eyelids, he slowly groaned out, finding himself laying on his back, looking up towards a ceiling of leaves overhead.

I...was asleep? Where am I? He thought.

Sitting up, he glanced around while rubbing his head, finding himself in a densely-packed forest. It took a minute for him to remember what happened, putting it together as he quickly scrambled to his feet at the sound of monstrous calls, echoing through the mysterious land.

That’s right! The ‘Valley of Parmesus’! That guy said this was essentially ‘monster land’! He recalled.