Chapter 413: The Trial begins...

[Trial begins... 9, 8, 7...]

Seth took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all distractions... "This is a trial of greed, right? Physical prowess shouldn’t matter as much then, should it?"

A layer of green energy began to coat his frame once more, a familiar sight, and he understood instantly that the transportation mechanism was being activated.

Focusing for a second, he was able to equip a full set of armour, a leader-grade, dull-looking armour, something that met the requirements he sought.

Something that wouldn’t stand out... with his current state, the more he was underestimated the better, he would much rather avoid conflict if possible.

The moment the armour fully materialized, the flash of green igniting and illuminating the lightless space, the countdown ticking down to zero.

Seth’s surroundings warped, his vision spun, as rays of light bled into his sensitive pupils, plaguing the two organs with a burning sting.

He winced, squinting, as his vision went blurry, but his other senses still retained full function, his nose catching the stale yet strange foreign smell riding the wind flowing against his skin.

From this alone he could tell he had been transported into a greater space, probably a terrain simulation of sorts.

He shook his head, his eyes slowly adapting to the harsh light and the scene before him slowly blending back into clarity, the moving shadows at the corners of his sight alerting him that he wasn’t alone.

The complicated stench wafting from the newcomers, riding the wind into his lungs...

His vision finally snapped back to full clarity, allowing him to instantly register the scene before him...

A grand staircase leading to the boundless beyond, glowing with a sacred shade of bronze, one look at it provoking something unbound in his soul... longing? ’No, greed!’ he realized...

He remained silent and composed, feeling the flow of hot air washing over him, as he stared at the darkness that lay beyond the stairway.

That grand stairway definitely had something to do with this trial... he thought silently, turning to the side, finally taking note of the other candidates.

Numerous figures of varying shapes and sizes, a total of 99 according to the system, yet he remained the only human.

Gazes turned his way, wills washing over his frame, unfortunately Seth had no means to resist them at all.

And he could only endure the violation of the blatant scans, and on seeing that he was nothing more than a mere human who couldn’t muster resistance to their inspections, they sneered and turned away, lacking any further interest.

Seth didn’t feel insulted, instead it could be said that he was okay with this reaction even, like he said earlier, the more they looked down on him the better his chances.

Just as he couldn’t resist their scans, without access to will he couldn’t initiate an inspection either.

He could see myriad unique-looking figures, members of unknown races, but surprisingly all earthlings...

He couldn’t help but marvel at the sight, to think the earth had so many intelligent lifeforms arguably superior to the humans, all hiding on the same planet while humans remained oblivious to their existence for centuries...

Honestly if not for the specific circumstances and the fact that humans had awakened their racial trait faster than these guys anticipated, they truly had all rights to look down on his race.

The entire area remained silent, as the candidates scanned their surroundings, assessed their opponents, before focusing their attention back onto the stairs.

And while they still showed signs of disdain towards Seth, they still kept him within their radar, especially the truly exceptional prodigies from the immortal, merman and bloodborn races.

Each of these geniuses was a member of distinguished and extremely powerful races, races that had waged frequent clashes against the humans.

These guys knew first-hand how terrifying humans could be, though not all, they had been specifically instructed by their ancestors to make sure that no matter what a human wouldn’t win this trial.

So even though they didn’t feel a sense of threat from Seth he still remained under their radar, if they had a chance he was going to be the first they would eliminate.

As for now... they could clearly feel a restriction suppressing their might, so for now they would have to tolerate his existence...

Seth shuddered, feeling the cold gazes of the alien-looking predators eyeing him... ’Is it me or are the top dogs staring my way?’ he wondered with a frown.

There was no way, right? He gave off the least threatening presence in this place, ’or don’t tell me their hatred for humans runs that deep?’

Unfortunately he didn’t get a reply, but a flicker pulsed before his sight... this time the system words relayed not only in text but in words that echoed in one’s heart.

[Candidates of Greed, welcome to the Gilded Ascent!]

[Objective: climb the staircase.]

[Each step grants Gilt. The Gilt doubles with every step: 1... 2... 4... 8...]

[Gilt can be exchanged for treasures and unimaginable rewards]

[Warning! Every step strains the body and the mind. Strain cannot be recovered during the ascent.]

[Combat is prohibited. Candidates who attack another candidate will forfeit all Gilt.]

[You may descend at any time and keep the Gilt you have gathered.]

[The staircase has a ceiling. It has never been passed.]

[The Sin measures Appetite, not Gilt. Appetite is not displayed.]

The entire room remained silent as everyone processed the rules, quietly trying to understand what the win condition of this trial might be.

But in the end everybody came to the same conclusion, this was a sin trial of greed, a trial that tested if they would be suitable for the Mantle of Greed.

To win it, they had to prove themselves worthy, meaning they had to showcase an overwhelming amount of greed, enough for the mantle to have no choice but to resonate with them.

[Good luck, candidates... prove yourself worthy of the Mantle of Greed!]

[You may begin now!]

The moment the text faded, a small icon flickered into existence at the corner of everyone’s vision...

[Gilt: 0]

Everywhere remained silent for a second, the dark room entering the briefest moment of peace.

Then suddenly, with a rising beat, all the candidates moved towards the towering ancient flight of stairs.

Finally the trial had begun...