Numerical Disadvantage

"Fuck," Ace muttered in a low tone, glaring at the djinn who so frivolously changed the contents of the last trial. 'Well, he can't change the contents. Only the giants or the deities can, but that means they detect something unusual from our batch.'

Changes in trials were very rare. Alex had only discovered this fact after arriving at Telos Dou Dromou, but the administrators of the tutorials could alter the trials in case of an unknown variable where a few people overwhelmed the rest of the population in terms of power.

'This trial is supposed to be to get us familiar with war, but what's war without inequality?' Alex spat on the ground as he cursed Beli, who peeked his head from the enormous hole in the sky. The reason why Alex seemed so agitated was that even he wasn't confident in being able to defeat so many monsters, despite having gained considerable strength after the battle with the Shadow Killer.

'My growth wasn't to my liking,' Alex thought. Despite having developed his physique drastically, he still could not perform techniques from his previous life. He had only absorbed 2 Stones of Magikos, which was considerably lower than what he expected and hoped.

No one could rival the sheer force that charged towards the city, and Kyl, the djinn created by a lesser demon was aware of that fact. It is why he bared his fangs while laughing in a deranged manner.

[I'll be watching you all die.]

Those were the last words he uttered before flicking his wrist and disappearing. What was left behind was a stack of swords, armor, and several pieces of rusty equipment. It was a far cry from what many expected, but they all jumped at the chance of receiving an advantage against their peers.

Surprisingly, no one was worried about the horde of monsters that were currently heading in their direction. It was because they believed in the power of a single human being. Despite having murdered thousands, Alex's strength was trusted among the survivors who hadn't gone mad.

'This is why I hate the concept of heroes,' Alex clicked his tongue as he noticed the countless hopeful stares of the survivors. 'They want me to save them, risk my life, for free. Ungrateful bastards.'

The concept of a hero was flawed, as believed by Alex. It was a position only designed for fictional characters and was by no means practical. 'Think about it. What human would willingly risk their lives fighting every day for the supposed freedom and happiness of others, but expect nothing in return?'

Maxwell, Eugene, and Sarah were the only people who understood the gravity of the situation, due to having faced countless monsters and having experienced Alex's strength themselves. They had witnessed the limits of Alex's strength and knew that he would not be able to match up against thousands, or maybe even millions of monsters.

"We'll need all the help we can get," said Sarah as she paced around, stroking her chin rapidly. The matter concerned their lives, and it was obvious to panic a little.

"Eric's awakening would have been helpful in a battle where we have to face multiple enemies," Maxwell admitted as he stared at the necromancer, who slept peacefully on the hard, concrete floor.

"But can he really summon enough undead to help?" Eugene asked. "We don't even know the number of monsters we're facing. They're too far away to estimate."

"We need to consider the amount of time each of us can fight for," Alex suggested. "There are too many monsters to finish the battle in a single day. It might take a couple of days, but it could potentially take a week. Or maybe we won't be able to prevent them from running over Vancouver, resulting in our deaths."

Everyone grimaced as they heard the word "death." Death was easy to imagine when it was going to happen to someone else, but your own death was difficult to cope with. The feeling of knowing you could die at any given time was terrifying, and many struggled to adjust to it even after experiencing it several times.

"The djinn said we have five days," Maxwell stated. "Shouldn't we gather Stones of Soma in the meantime?"

"We need to set up units and divisions, figuring out who takes the front while who takes the rear," Alex countered. "We need individual strength, of course. However, a war isn't won using an individual's strength. This isn't like the other trials we've faced. This is true war against a force that we don't know whether is intelligent or not. We don't have any information about them, which is why we need preparation."

"Will they listen to us?" Sarah asked, her voice laced with concern. "The others seem carefree as if it isn't a big deal. Only some reasonable people have understood the gravity of the situation."

"Then, we gather the people who are reasonable and build our numbers," said Eugene, to which Alex nodded. "Our survival is dependent on this battle. We need to abandon our pride and ask for help."

"Eugene is right," Alex agreed. "We can't win this war alone. Five days are all we have, which is drastically lower than the time needed to prepare for a war concerning one's life. Numbers are our ultimate priority."

Everyone nodded simultaneously. Firstly, however, they needed to wake Eric up. Maxwell approached the man with a haggard appearance, shaking him around as if he were a ball. Yet the man showed no signs of waking up.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Eugene asked with widened eyes as he stared at Alex. However, the latter revealed the most frivolous, mundane smirk that also seemed terrifying when concentrated upon.

"If he won't wake up, we'll have to use forceful measures," said Alex as he kicked Eric in the stomach. Eric's eyes immediately opened, soon widening to the size of saucers. He rubbed his belly in pain as he glared at Alex with bloodshot eyes. It was a harsh method, but it was necessary.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Eric asked as he vomited all over the floor. Maxwell calmly handed him a bottle of water as Eugene and Sarah stared at Alex with disapproval vivid in their eyes.

"Eric," began Alex in an unusually serious tone. "Why are you so terrified of this world? Why are you so sensitive to the topic of killing?"

Eric did not respond, staring at the ground as he grit his teeth. Fortunately, his reaction had gotten fainter, and he no longer lashed out when "killing" was mentioned.

"You're never going to find help if you don't tell someone," said Eugene. "We need your help, and you need ours."

"I don't need your help," Eric muttered in a croaky tone, his voice cracking several times as tears welled in his eyes.

"What do you plan on doing when obstacles become more difficult?" Alex asked. "At that point, you'll have no choice but to die."

"Alex!" Eugene and Sarah reprimanded the boy for bringing up the topic knowingly, but Alex did not pay attention. Instead, he stared into Eric's eyes with a meaningful expression. Maxwell observed both Alex and Eric, scrutinizing the two with eagle-like eyes.

"I–I don't want to die," said Eric as he stuttered as if he were a child. The unusual and rare cries of a grown man then emerged as tears escaped his eyes. It was as if the entire Tower turned silent as Eric recited his past.

Alex and the others listened intently as they grimaced. Their expressions crumpled as the story continued.