Just as Len readied himself for an inevitable clash, a dark-haired guy stepped forward, blocking the path of the commander.
"Sir!" He saluted. "That guy committed no offense. Brian and his group were the ones who attacked first."
"Huh? And why would they?" Orson asked with a frown.
"I-It..." he stuttered for a moment before completing his sentence. "It seems they were already being controlled by that creature."
Orson's gaze darkened on hearing that.
'That damn creature. How come? I thought we managed to escape its demonic powers?'
'Dammit! Wait till we meet again.' He thought, clenching his fist tightly. "Clear up the bodies... we don't want to attract those creatures here."
Staring at Len and the others, he made his way back into his tent.
"Phewww... that was a close one," the dark-haired guy muttered before making his way towards Len.
Len still had his grasp on his dagger firmly as the dark-haired guy approached him.
"Hey. Calm down, bro. I'm not like them," he muttered with a casual smile.
"I'm Isaac, by the way." He said, stretching forth his hand for a handshake.
Len stared at the hand for some seconds before walking past. "There is no need for me to introduce myself since you already know who I am." He muttered, taking hold of one of the bodies.
"Seems you still don't trust me. That's good. Trusting one easily literally means an unexpected death here."
He soon assisted Len in carrying the body into the forest.
Minutes later, the bodies had been gathered in a pile, and a girl stood with them this time around.
Len had been told that burying the bodies won't do much since the creatures had extremely sensitive senses and lighting a fire was only bound to attract more of the creatures here.
The girl finally stepped forward and placed her hands on the bodies. A dark greenish liquid flowed from her open palms, forming a little boob that covered the bodies.
Len noticed the bodies began to melt under the liquid with a sizzling sound. Minutes later, the bodies were all gone as if they never existed before. Just the little trace of blood that spilt from the process was evident.
"Ahhh. I think I'll pass on dinner." Isaac muttered, covering his stomach with a pale face.
Len kept his face straight as they returned back to the camp.
During their walk, through Isaac, Len was able to get the gist of their current situation.
They were soldiers under one of the many kingdoms protecting this continent. The last two standing actually in a continent overrun with hordes of 'Eldritch creatures' as they were called.
Not only that, the two kingdoms appeared to be in war even in the situation they were in. The soldiers within the camp were survivors from their first clash.
Isaac got to the important part when he began explaining how the Unranked Aspirants had taken the place of most soldiers for the trial.
"Humans will still be humans no matter the time or realm. Their greed is something else." Len muttered, thinking back to his past world.
Len still had two questions churning in his head. 'The first was how were they supposed to complete the trial? And, how the hell does everyone know who he was and seemed to want to kill him?'
Even till now, due to his strange sensitivity to bloodlust, he was able to sense their killing intent directed at him, though they didn't attempt to do anything after his ruthless display of the trio that attacked him.
That didn't mean he had to be lax. For now, he would join them and head back towards the castle.
Isaac had led him to one of the tents, explaining general stuff to him.
By the time Len settled down, the sun had fully set with the moon taking its place.
Len didn't bother to come out for supper given his trust issues. Who knows? If they couldn't kill him directly, there were several ways to end his life... like poison.
Activities finally calm down, with most finally hitting the sack safe for some few soldiers on patrol.
Len sat on his bed, his grey eyes reflecting the translucent blue panel that was floating before him.
He decided to check what he had received from the trio he had killed first.
Summoning the relic from his soul space, a jagged mirror like crystal chained to a silvery white bracelet slowly formed before his open palms.
Relic: [Rebound shard]
[Rank: E+]
Type: Defensive Relic
Description: [A jagged fragment of the mirror of Eckador]
[Enchantments: Backlash, Rebound]
Backlash Description: [Reflects a fraction of direct physical damage back to the attacker]
Rebound Description: [The bearer can store 40% of damage taken and release it in his next attack or use it for healing oneself]
Len drew in a sharp breath after going through the description.
Nice. How did they get their hand on an E-rank relic so early?
An E-rank Relic with two Enchantments. Most E-rank and F-rank Relics usually held one Enchantment safe for some rare few.
'But I can't help but wonder... why didn't they use it during the fight?' Placing his hand on his chin, he pondered about it for some seconds before coming to his own conclusion.
The relic probably belonged to the first guy he had killed in one slash. Meaning the relic had a limitation. It couldn't reflect a sure kill attack?
Being a low grade Relic, there's bound to be a limitation to its power unlike higher grade Relics.
Equipping the bracelet on his left wrist, Len continued to his next agenda.
The panel flashed before him, whispering its contents.
[Do you wish to spin the wheel?]
"Yes."
Len felt the space around him flicker, and then moments later, he found himself in a white expanse standing before a giant wheel so tall he felt like an ant before it.
"How am I supposed to spin this?" He thought, staring at the dark crystalline wheel, which contrasted the white expanse.
Not sure what to do, he placed his hand on the wheel.
The wheel let out a soft glow as if responding to his touch. A loud rumble occurred as the wheel slowly began to spin, slowly at first before becoming a whirlwind.
Len watched with wide eyes and bated breath as red sparks ignited around the wheel as it spun for a full minute before finally coming to a stop.
Just then, the panel whispered into his ears.
[You've successfully spun the Great Gacha Wheel: Wheel of Eternal Blades!]
[Congratulations! You've summoned your first sword!]
[Your path as a Sword Summoner has fully begun...!]
Those weren't what interested Len.
No!
It was the next set of words flashing before the panel…