Rohan hesitated briefly before making his way over to one of the few empty seats.
The fifth floor's waiting area was too spacious just to be called a room. It felt more like a miniature lobby all on its own, with neat rows of cushioned chairs and polished black flooring that matched the aesthetic of the building and, noticeably, only one single door on the wall opposite the elevator.
There were no lines here, though, and none of the awakened were idly chatting away with each other like in the lobby on the ground floor.
Instead, the atmosphere was… strange.
The roughly fifty people present all looked around his age, but unlike the silent anticipation and excitement you'd expect from such a group, these people were far too composed.
Some sat with their eyes closed in meditation, hands resting on their knees.
Some were checking their weapons.
'Wait, weapons?'
Rohan's head snapped to the young woman on his left; she looked quite beautiful and was just his type, yet aside from her striking appearance, she held a pair of daggers in her hands…
His gaze then snagged a young man calmly wiping down the edge of a sabre with a black cloth. Two seats away from him, another girl wearing tight leather combat gear repeatedly flexed her fingers around the grip of a short spear.
Elsewhere, someone in a sleeveless shirt had a bow laid across his lap while examining a bundle of arrows one by one.
'That fucker lied to me!' Rohan realised, gradually starting to panic.
This place wasn't for the freshly awakened to register themselves! Let alone how calm and composed these people were, their get-ups gave everything away.
They were experienced awakened, and whatever they were waiting for was definitely not something he should be there for!
Rohan looked down at himself. Cheap trainers, a worn-out school uniform, and a jacket tied around his waist because of the heat and the walk here.
Compared to everyone else, he may as well have arrived in clown makeup; he stood out that much.
He was just about to rise from his seat and head back to the elevator in a rush until the subtle click of a door opening caught his ears from behind, with a voice soon following.
"Batch twenty-seven, prepare yourselves. The last batch are just finishing up so your assessment will begin shortly… Hey, there's no chickening out now, boy. There's no backing out once you enter this room."
Rohan froze. That first half was clearly directed to the whole group, but that second half… It was without a doubt for him.
He tried to ignore the gruff man's voice and pressed the call button for the elevator, yet he received no response.
"I wasn't kidding when I said that." The same gruff voice reminded.
'I-I'm stuck here…'
He turned around to face the beastly-looking man, who had the most threatening and intimidating aura he'd encountered so far.
"Uh…" He tried so hard to explain his predicament, but something stopped the words from leaving his mouth. His body was suddenly under immense pressure, like he'd jumped straight into the ocean and sunk right to the bottom.
His eyes caught the smirk on the gruff man, and Rohan understood in that instant that he was the source of this pressure.
'He's stopping me from even explaining myself…'
The stare down lasted a few more tense seconds until the man got bored and shifted his gaze to the others in the room, thankfully lifting the pressure from Rohan.
Rohan let out a deep breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding.
He was deeply alarmed by this point.
He couldn't think much further — the same woman who sat to his left glanced over at him. Her auburn hair and stern face gave her beauty a mysterious touch to it.
"You look nervous," she said.
'Thanks, captain obvious!' He wanted to answer but knew better than that.
"Uh… should I not be?"
She gave him a strange look.
"It's your first beast trial?"
'Beast Trial?'
Rohan's heart skipped a beat.
He forced his face to remain neutral to save himself from any further embarrassment.
"Yeah."
"Hm." She nodded as though that explained everything. "Makes sense. Most people panic a bit before their first live beast trial. Just don't freeze up once you're inside."
Rohan gave her a blank stare, unsure whether to believe what she was saying or not. Though he already knew the answer.
'Live beast? Inside?'
He was still processing the words when a cold chill swept down his spine.
"…Sorry," he spoke slowly. "What exactly is this floor for?"
Now it was the girl's turn to share.
For a moment she seemed to think he was joking, though ironically Rohan was the one hoping that she was…
When she realised he wasn't, her expression shifted from the cold monochromatic look she wore into disbelief.
"You're serious?"
Rohan's mouth was sucked dry of all moisture. "Very."
The girl frowned. "This is the fifth floor trial zone. For lower-ranked awakened to challenge live, captured beasts from the Origin Realm. The association uses it to evaluate combat ability and issues rewards depending on performance."
Every next word that left her mouth made his brain feel more numb.
"…What?"
The girl's eyes flicked over his clothes once more, this time lingering a few seconds longer.
A mocking smile formed from her lips.
"Let me guess, you went to Niko's desk for information, didn't you?" She asked, seeming already certain in her assumption.
"Was that his name?" Was all Rohan had to mutter to confirm her suspicion.
"Don't worry about it; he's always been known as the troll of the association — or the 'newbie's nightmare', as others call him. If he weren't a higher-up's son, he would have been thrown out long ago. That's why he can get away with doing this to you." She informed him.
"Doing this to me?"
She reached over to pat his shoulder reassuringly, expertly dodging his question. "Try to make it out alive."
A swift turn on her feet and she joined the others in filtering through the only door in the open space.
Rohan stood in place until everyone was already gone, hoping they'd forget about him and let him leave — but a single kick on the ass from the gruffly looking man, who had somehow snuck up behind him without him noticing, sent him flying through the door behind her.