Pity

At Jason's words stifled laughter sounded in the air.

Jason's reply made the boy frown.

He hadn't expected that he would get replied, he imagined that the person he was trying to bully was going to retort.

He looked at the boy in front of him, not only did he look younger than him but he also had blue eyes.

'Does that mean something.' He thought.

"Get your hands out of my way." Jason's voice was almost a whisper, it sounded like he was talking to himself.

The boy with red hair grinned.

"Make me." He declared.

Jason looked at him shocked, it was the kind of look that was given to an idiot.

Without taking his eyes off him Jason used his arm to push him lightly.

The boy was sent skidding backwards, before he could even stabilize himself Jason continued walking.

Jason had no interest in the boy.

He was much more interested in the people before him, specifically the branch family children.

Jason scanned them and observed their expressions.

Some had expressions belonging to that of a predator that had just found its prey when they looked at him, others seemed confused of how to deal with him; they weren't sure if they should bully him or suck up to him.

But there was a small minority that showed him something entirely different.

'Is that... pity?' Jason couldn't help but be amazed.

He didn't expect to be shown any pity, he thought that everyone would treat him like garbage. When he thought about it before he believed they would behave like 1 dimensional extras.

But then again he didn't need pity.

They could hate him, admire him, fear him or envy him, but that wouldn't change the fact that he didn't care about it.

Pity was new, it wasn't expected, but it was still worthless to him.

He went into a corner where no one was and sat down on the grass, he was waiting for the damned elder that was supposed to supervise them before they enter the dungeon.

From the crowd he had noticed that neither Hereon, his sister or Zane had arrived.

Jason believed that they were the only ones missing.

He closed his eyes as he tried to sleep.

He was eager to enter the dungeon.

Staying in the same area with boot-lickers and weaklings was starting to get annoying.

He was itching to try his skills against a monster.

And before Jason knew it he fell asleep, the grass acting as his bed as sleep took him away.

…

Zane appeared in the midst of several nobodies.

They ranged from members of the Hachiman clan to the members of the many branch families that hung to the clan.

'The amount of people here exceeds 30.' Zane noted after doing a head count.

He wouldn't be surprised if only 10 or 15 made it out of the dungeon alive.

Zane yawned, he was already bored.

He was already aware that he was going to be the last to arrive but he didn't expect the people to bore him instantly.

He could sense their magic and could tell that himself when he was 11 years old have much more mana and mana control than all the people gathered here, with the exception of the elder.

'Then again, when I was 11 I had already reached the qualification of rank 5 awakened.' Zane smiled wryly.

It was when his head was in the sky with bliss that he had met Jason.

And lost.

From the way Jason fought it was clear that Jason had never fought anyone before, his movements were wasted and his style was apparently non-existent.

But he had still lost.

When they met again he had still lost.

To date, he had never won in a fight against Jason.

"But that should be for the best." Zane said to himself.

If Jason didn't appear in his life he would have been under the delusion that he was strong, it was because of Jason that he kept training harder everyday.

But it still irked him that he hadn't won against him once.

He glanced around the group once more, searching for that one person who always seemed to be where no one expected him.

Jason was no where to be seen.

"I see." Zane covered his mouth as he yawned again, this time it was more exaggerated.

It seemed like Jason's special skill that allowed him to disappear and erase his existence was still active.

Jason had seemingly gotten a treasure that allowed him to teleport or he had a skill that allowed him disappear without leaving any trace of his existence while he moved.

And when it wasn't active his body seemingly repelled mana in the surrounding and those who could sense the mana would notice him.

But mana in the air was very thin, nature energy suppressed it to the extent where it was barely there.

However it was still there.

Zane frowned.

Footsteps.

Someone was coming to talk to him.

He didn't want to entertain any boot-lickers.

He turned in his head to the direction of the noise.

To his surprise it was a half-boot-licker, Hereon Hachiman.

"What do you want and make it quick." Zane said impatiently as Hereon approached him.

Hereon's professional smile faltered at Zane's attitude.

"It's been a long time, cousin."

"Are we related?" Zane questioned.

There was someone that had told him that once.

Hereon's expression worsened. "... You don't know?"

"No idea."

Hereon sighed at Zane's attitude. "The second elder is the second brother of the Clan Head."

"Oh, nobody told me that." Zane admitted, the previous information did not faze him.

He didn't think he would be related to someone like Hereon, but now that he knew he didn't care.

"Well good luck in the dungeon."

"Keep your luck, I don't need it, I have skill." Zane said before walking away.

…

Jason awoke to see an old man standing in a clearing in front of the group, he would have mistaken him for the elder that picked him up if he was wearing the same colored robe.

The difference was that one of them had a shorter beard.

"...This is not a place for the faint of heart." His voice was low, but every word carried weight, reverberating with the gravity of the situation.

Jason got up as he realized he was missing a motivational speech.

"Before you lies a realm that you have never seen before. You will face monsters—beasts, demons, and horrors that defy your understanding. They will not show mercy. They will not hesitate. They will strike with all their might, and they will kill you, eat you and use your bones at toothpicks."

"In this place, there is only one rule: survive. The monsters that are in the dungeon function on instinct alone. The rules of our world do not apply here. They will push you to your limits, and they will seek to kill you."

'This is boring.' Jason thought as he had no interest in the words the elder said.

He was only interested in the rules and how they would determine the winner in the trial.

"There are no guarantees in the dungeon. Only one thing is certain: what you face inside will change you. Some of you may come out of this stronger, tempered like steel in fire. Others would have perished inside, their lives only a memory."

"Do not hesitate. Do not hold back. The moment you step through that portal, the world you know will cease to exist. There will be no second chances. Fight with everything you have, or you will not make it out."

"Now, I'll explain the rules of the trial."

A/N: Add this book to your collections!