---Third POV---
The appearance of the projection made the bearded man who was gathering his chips look up for a moment.
His grin widened with delight.
"Oh? Just won some money and now there's a good show to watch too?"
A dark-skinned, stern-looking middle-aged man beside him frowned slightly.
"A good show?"
In high spirits, the bearded man laughed heartily and took the initiative to explain.
"John, you've only just arrived in Nary Town, right? This is the signature event of the Scarlet Casino, the Trial of the Opportunists!"
The Scarlet Casino was located in the central district of Nary Town. It was responsible for guarding the passage to the dungeon, which was located within the Mage Guild.
But the Mage Guild had two such passages:
One was at the stairway between the first and second floors, and the other was in the public lounge area on the first floor.
The qualifications to enter the dungeon belonged only to either the extremely wealthy nobles, or to those with at least the strength of an intermediate mage.
Both types of people had access to the upstairs passage.
There was no reason for them to activate the mechanism on the second floor, only to take the trouble of going back to the public lounge. Only those curious opportunists, who happened to spot the "bait" the casino planted near the mechanism, would be drawn to investigate. And only then might they discover the hidden passage beneath the carpet in the lounge while someone else opened the gate.
These opportunists, driven by excess curiosity, were one of the rare true amusements in the casino.
Beneath the passage lay a corridor filled with traps and mechanical devices.
After passing the initial trial corridor, which filtered out the complete failures among the opportunists, the unlucky ones might turn right and find themselves in a brightly lit hallway.
At the same time, they'd appear directly under the eyes of everyone in the casino.
Guests of the casino could then witness, in real time, the life-or-death trial of one or more opportunists.
Opportunists were mostly beginner mages.
After surviving the first corridor, they could usually hold on for a while, keeping the audience entertained.
Some rare individuals might even escape the reaper's scythe and survive, but of course, the chances were very slim.
The Scarlet Casino might not see one such case in two or three years.
But when it happened, that chosen one would gain the admiration of all present and become a star of the Scarlet Casino.
From that point on, they'd rise above the common folk.
As he recalled a past Trial of the Opportunists, the bearded man's eyes filled with nostalgia.
"Humans only reveal their true potential and nature between life and death. It's an experience worth savoring countless times…"
"Curious why the VIP hall's host is only an intermediate sorcerer?"
"He's the lucky one who survived the trial five years ago! Don't let his mediocre talent fool you, he's ruthless in action!"
"There were six people who entered the trial with him. He wasn't the most gifted, nor the strongest in body. Not even the only one to make it to the final stage… But he was the only one who walked out alive."
John raised his head to look at the empty hallway, offering no comment. This bit of information was a pleasant surprise.
The Scarlet Casino truly lived up to its name, a prosperity built on bloodshed.
No wonder this remote border town had both a hidden high-ranking mage presence and a relatively large population of commoners… Yet had very few low-ranking mages.
With a sigh, the bearded man added with some regret, "Pity… once the first autumn rain falls, I'll have to leave…"
Though he had stayed in Nary Town for years, he wasn't a native. With the arrival of the tide, he had his own place to go.
For now, he was staying just to catch a few more spectacular Trials of the Opportunists.
How could a simple casino in a border town compare to the delights of the royal capital?
Seeing John still staring at the projection in midair, the bearded man looked a little smug.
He knew it, no one could resist the allure of the trials.
And just as well, the other players were also captivated by the 3D projection above, not in the mood to start another round.
Speaking like a seasoned veteran, he offered an explanation, "Don't be in a rush to look up, the opportunists might die right in the first corridor. Just relax and wait."
Although the projection didn't show much yet, you could hear chaotic sounds coming from the far end of the hallway, along with several distinct voices.
Crystal clear. And it sounded thrilling.
Perhaps to satisfy the guests' curiosity, the projection shifted to show the branching point at the center of the corridor.
The next second, a burst of flames erupted, startling the onlookers into a series of gasps.
John was surprised. "That's a projection stone?"
From the bearded man's words, this was supposed to be a live projection, so no one knew the outcome.
But linking two projection stones in real time required complex spellwork. Any magic fluctuation or environmental change could affect the projection's clarity.
Just now, the projection was almost consumed by fire.
Yet the massive image remained perfectly clear, without the slightest distortion?
The bearded man gave a mysterious smile.
"Why do you think it's the casino's signature show? That's not a projection stone. It's a projector, an arcane device from the Divine Era!"
Realization flashed in John's eyes. "A relic from the Divine Era… that's a rare treasure indeed…"
"And that's not all!" The bearded man grew more excited as he spoke.
"Nary Town isn't just any border town. Before the last world-ending magic tide, this place was actually the capital of a mid-sized kingdom."
The "world-ending magic tide" wasn't truly world-ending, it was a term for the catastrophic, continent-spanning surge of magical chaos that occurred once every 300 years across all of Aeltia.
The bearded man leaned in close to John and whispered, "I won't be here after the autumn rains begin, but you probably will be. At that time, the auction house in the east might put up some real heavy hitters. You'll definitely be interested."
John's gaze darkened slightly.
"Of course. Thanks for the tip."
"Haha, just saying!"
The bearded man laughed loudly and stepped back, returning to enthusiastically promoting his favorite event.
"The Trials of the Opportunists don't open often. Even if we want to watch, it depends on luck."
"You better pay close attention. This might be the only one you get to see before you leave."
As he was speaking, three figures leapt through the wall of fire and appeared before the crowd.
Gasps filled the hall.
"They actually made it out!"
"Wait, is that a kid?!"
"They barely even look injured!"
"This is gonna be fun!"
"Start the betting, quick, who's going to make it the farthest?"
John said nothing, watching with a slight frown.
That tallest opportunist in the middle…
Suddenly, a clear voice rang out from the projection, loud enough to drown out the audience's chatter:
"Whatever! I pick left!"
John's hand froze in place, chip halfway between his fingers.
---
In the projection, Child dragged the other two into the darkness.
Boos echoed from inside the hall.
"Ugh, nothing exciting again… What a waste of excitement!"
Even the man with the beard showed a disappointed expression.
"To train special employees, the trial passage on the left side of the casino is closed to the public."
"Those three opportunists picked the most boring dead-end. Lame!"
Although the projection was still on, the final stone ball would roll left, those three had no way back.
No more drama to watch.
The bearded man reluctantly turned around and resumed stacking chips.
"Forget it, let's get the next round started!"
At that moment, John clutched his chest, looking unwell.
"Cough, cough… Sorry, I need to step out."
The bearded man, fully focused on the gambling table, nodded casually.
"Hurry back. I'll save your seat."
Though they'd only known each other for two days, they had unexpectedly hit it off in conversation. He didn't mind doing a small favor.
John didn't reply. He grabbed the light gray cloak from his chair and quickly vanished into the crowd.
---
Meanwhile, in the trial corridor for the opportunists, Child sidestepped a crescent-shaped hooked wire, moving with the wind.
He touched the cut on his cheek, luckily, it was just a shallow wound.
Still, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Which game designer got their trap ideas from a TV game show? I'm giving this a one-star review!"
As they went deeper, their stamina continuously drained, and both agility and reflexes worsened. But the traps just kept getting nastier and more counterintuitive. And behind them, a massive stone ball thundered forward, relentlessly in pursuit.
They didn't even have two minutes to think.
Child cursed silently as he ran.
A spiked stone ball that could keep rolling forward?
Shouldn't the spikes get worn down? Shouldn't the ball get stuck mid-way?
Why was it only a little slower?!
"Stay focused!" Garble barked. "Turn right and duck!"
Child instantly dodged as instructed.
From the left wall, countless spinning metal blades shot out, gleaming coldly. The already narrow corridor became even tighter. Having narrowly escaped another trap, he patted his chest in lingering fear.
Gaeman's nose twitched, and his eyes lit up slightly.
"I can smell it. About 40 meters to the exit!"
He paused.
"But the scent of blood is strongest up ahead. You'd better be ready."
Child tossed a rock from who-knows-where forward. It triggered flames and hidden arrows in front.
"At this point, the one thing we aren't lacking is preparation!"
Suddenly, a long, rod-shaped object shot past his side.
With a "clunk," it embedded itself in the stone ball. It actually managed to forcefully stop the fast-rolling ball.
He gulped. "Okay, if this is the difficulty spike, I take back what I said!"
That force… If he hadn't dodged just now, he'd be skewered along with the stone ball.
The three of them stared warily ahead.
Unnoticed until now, a dark figure had appeared in the corridor.
With a wave of the figure's hand, the trio had no chance to resist as they were all flung and pinned to the right-hand wall.
Buzz!
The shadowy figure lit a torch.
The sudden burst of light made the trio squint their eyes in discomfort.
The figure, now fully revealed, restrained the trio from the neck down, preventing them from making any rash moves.
"Shh, don't make a sound. It's me."
Garble forced his eyes open, astonishment in his gaze.
"Edgar?"
Child, who had been secretly resisting the spell's control, froze in surprise.
"He's the NPC Viktor told us to find?"
He examined him carefully.
Brown hair, blue eyes, he did resemble the NPC from the promotional video.
Though the armor had changed, his height was still impressive up close.
Talk about effortless success!
Unfortunately, Edgar paid no attention to their reactions. In the firelight, his features looked even more intense.
"If you hadn't barged into this trial and let me hear the whispers of the dead, I'd still be in the dark. This dungeon is not a place you should be in."
Child's thoughts wandered as he mumbled under his breath: "So it's really called 'Dungeon'? That's… a bit lazy."
Garble grew serious. "We came to find you, per Lord Viktor's instructions."
Hearing that, Edgar was momentarily stunned.
"Find me?"
Garble continued, "We've been to the Ship-Carriage Guild and know you're here trying to save someone. We can help!"
Edgar looked at the three of them, so different in temperament, and let his gaze linger an extra two seconds on Gaeman.
"A siren too? Seems you all know more than a little."
At that moment, a loud clang came from the stone ball behind them. The iron rod he had lodged in it was starting to bend under the pressure.
The ball looked ready to start rolling again.
His face tightened further, his tone turning urgent.
"Listen carefully. Nary Town's underground gray market is massive, casinos, black markets, everything. Apparently, it's all remnants from the last Cataclysm. Beside us is the Scarlet Casino in the northern part of the Dungeon. The corridor you just ran through is the Trials of the Opportunists."
Before the trio could say anything, he raised a hand to stop them and continued, "I'm not here in person, this is just a projection. I'll disappear in about 30 seconds. So I can't help you escape, at most, I can get you out of this corridor safely."
He had only managed to locate the corridor thanks to the scouting he did over the past couple of days. Helping them evade the casino's pursuit was already the most he could offer.
"The captured sirens are being held in the core of the dungeon, beneath the mayor's manor. In about two weeks, they'll be auctioned off at a massive auction hosted by the three major auction houses."
"Chances are, Magus-level mages will be present at the event."
Child tried calculating the mage ranks.
Each tier had about 10 levels.
The mage ranking system from lowest to highest: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Archmage, Grand Mage… then Magus.
So Magus would be...
"Level 60-something?"
But Edgar, who understood the player level system, shook his head.
"No, at least level 80."
"!!!"
Child gasped. "We can't win that fight!"
They were just a group of low-level grunts barely over level ten, there was no way they could rescue anyone under a Magus' nose!
Garble's expression turned grave. "Then we can only try to infiltrate the mayor's manor beforehand."
Not that it was significantly easier than ambushing the auction. But at least the odds looked a bit better on paper.
"No need. I have a better plan," Edgar said, rejecting the idea.
"But it requires you to participate in the Trials of the Opportunists."
"Trials of the Opportunists?"
Child was full of question marks.
Honestly, he still had no idea what this "trial" even was. Some kind of blood-soaked version of a game show?
He glanced at the traps on both sides of the corridor.
"Aren't we already in the middle of it?"
"No," Edgar said. "I want you to go to the lit side of the corridor."
---
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60 Advance Chapters!
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