It won't be any different
I press the button.
The door swings open as the knight stomps in with shock on his face.
"Y-You did it?!"
"Yep," I reply.
He unlocks the cell and examines the corpse. He picks up some hair and seals it in a plastic bag. "Alright, you've passed the second trial, walk right out and turn left, there's a group of knights there, one of them will escort you to the third trial."
As I leave, I look back. The knight is picking up bits and pieces of the deathworm meat and tidying the cell.
I take a pile of fresh deathworm meat and punch through them, cracking the wall behind. Thus, it looks a lot more realistic with the way the meat is scattered.
The knights almost dropped their weapons when they see me walking out of the door unscathed.
Their heads were turning as I go.
"What the... Is his luck that good?" They say.
I walk out to meet a group of knights. They were chatting to each other about the bet and when one of them sees me, the knight starts to cheer in excitement.
??
"Haha!! There he is, I won the bet bastard, pay up." He shouts.
"Fucking hell, you are really lucky Mason." Says the knight beside him.
"No no, it's not my luck, it's Loi's." Says Mason.
Mason is a man wearing only plate armour and some knee guards. His messy hair, slight facial hair, and mild wrinkles indicate that he is older than me. He has a slim build like everyone here and has black hair and eyes.
The knight beside Mason passes him a bag of coins.
Mason happily accepts it and places it into their storage ring. He walks to me and shakes my hand.
"Come, sir! Let's go to the next trial, I will guide you there." Says Mason happily.
I follow him. As we walk away, Mason smirkingly points a middle finger at the group of knights still stationed outside the building. They return the smirk and point a middle finger at Mason.
...
"Haha... Those bastards." Mason mumbles.
"Anyways, how are you?"
"I'm not sure. Countless knights have been glaring at me and underestimating me." I say.
"I see. Don't mind them, they reaped lots of benefits from the Igniz family and now that you FINALLY got rid of them, who wouldn't show you hostility? I'm Mason Cell, nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
We stop in front of the building beside the headquarters. It's slightly smaller than the headquarter.
"This is the place, the third and final trial is psychology resilience so most people fail here. If you do pass, however, Brigade Thirty-first welcomes you with open arms." Says Mason.
"You are being very friendly, what's the matter?" I ask.
"What? I have no ulterior motive. Well, truth be told, Brigade Thirty first is also named the useless Brigade. All of us are people with low talents and the missions we are tasked with are usually basic cleaning up or errands. So there's no other Brigade that will allow you to join them." Mason says, shrugging. "But don't worry too much. Our salary is the same as the other knights and we have more freedom to do whatever we want. We just need to endure a little...discrimination."
...
"I understand. See you soon." I say.
I walk into the building. One of the guards at the entrance sees me and stops me.
"Loi," I say and pass him the brochure.
He checks it and ticks a paper on the table beside him.
He passes me back the brochure and opens the door.
I step into the building to find myself in a large hall. Once again, the ceiling is ridiculously high. It is cool in here, I look to the top to find a large ice magic circle used as an air conditioner.
Around the hall are candidates sitting in the lotus position on the ground spaced exactly 5 metres apart. Upon closer inspection, I manage to realise there are formations under each candidate, the third trial that tests one's psychological endurance.
A knight patrolling around the outskirts of the hall sees me and instantly recognises me. He gestures for me to follow him and I walk toward him. He is standing at the corner of the hall in front of a pillar. There are four pillars at each corner to support the building.
I follow him and he guides me to an empty spot.
As I look around, many are sweating buckets and in distress. Some even fainted and knights have to carry them out.
We stop at the edge of the hall.
!
I recognise this formation. Inner devil delusion formation...
I sit on it and the knight activates it.
--------
...
I open my eyes to find myself in a void. Although it is pitch dark, I can see my body. There are, however, no shadows.
"Loi..." Says an eerie voice behind me.
I look behind to find my past bedridden mother. "You disgrace. It is all your fault, if it wasn't for you, the family wouldn't be in this state. You are useless. I wish I can kill you myself."
Her wrinkles are back. Her eyes are dead and her boney appearance is back. This is how my mother looked when she was sick with an incurable disease. I reckoned it was caused by another person, the person who hated my father and wanted his family to suffer as well.
But despite searching for 2 years, not a single clue emerged.
The sickness she was diagnosed with is called Harbinger of death. It is achieved by prolonged exposure to corrupted mana or direct injection of corrupted mana.
Corrupted mana is formed when there are many poisonous impurities mixed with mana. When used correctly, it can greatly benefit a cultivator and harm them.
My mother never went out of the capital. So I can safely say that someone injected corrupted mana into her.
...
I smile at the bedridden mother.
Her agonizing face contorts in rage when she sees my smile. "You bastard, smiling?"
"Why wouldn't I? It is thanks to you that I became an adventurer, that I started to wake up to reality, and that I persevered through countless hardships."
...
My mother's rage calms down.
"This time, I will not make the same mistake."
I turn to my left to see an older me, the past me. Messy blue hair with a slightly shaven beard. The body is full of scars, bruises, and bandages.
"I've already overcome you long ago, my inner demon. This time, WE will not go through the same fate." I say, emphasising "we".
The older me stares me eye to eye. After a few seconds, he nods and disappears.
-----------
I open my eyes as the formation below me cracks.
!!!
"S-So fast? Did you cheat?" Asks the knight who guided me here just now.
"How can I cheat with you staring at me here?" I say.
"What the... Ugh."
The knight takes a badge out from his pocket and passes it to me. "Go back to the headquarters and pass this to Deputy General Orland."
I take it and walk out of the hall.
Mason sees me and waves at me. I return the wave. He is leaning on the tree in front of the headquarters, smoking. He seems to be waiting for me.
I enter the headquarter to meet Orland.
Orland is doing some paper works on the counter in front of the door. His eyes widen when he sees me.
"What are you doing here?" Says Orland.
"To give this to you."
I place the coin on the counter.
!!!
Orland narrows his eyebrows and clicks his tongue.
He takes the coin and places it in a machine on the counter. The machine is a black square engine connected to a bigger square engine. Light comes out of the smaller square part and scans the entire coin. It starts to vibrate a little before something drops out from the bigger square part.
Orland picks it up and passes it to me. It's a card with my identification on it.
I take a look at it.
----------------------
Loi Krist.
Rank: Squire
Division: 31th
Code: T9388
-----------------------
Orland hands me a booklet. "Come back tomorrow at 7 am sharp. Familiarize with the rules and regulations of the imperial army. The types of missions and how the system works are all in the booklet."
I smile and take the booklet. Leaving while waving at Orland.
...
Orland glares at me as he sighs.
He presses a button on the counter. "Loi, that bastard's son, made it in. Take very good care of him." Says Orland to the person on the other end.
"Understood."
Asshole, I can hear you. My hearing improved ever since I broke through. Just a little bit more and I will be in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Orland... I've fought him in the past as revenge and won as a talentless bastard.
This time, it won't be any different.