Chapter 1: Welcome to the Archario TrialsNoah winced as he came to. His body ached all over, and his head throbbed as if someone had drilled a hole in it. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the dim surroundings started to come into focus.
This wasn’t the bus.
Where was he? Groans came from nearby. Noah turned to see his classmates sprawled across the floor. He could just about make out the wary expressions of those who were already stirring from the flickering torches.
“Everyone, stay calm,” Ms Hana attempted to command the class with her usual authority, but Noah didn’t miss the tremble in her voice as she helped one of his classmates up. “Firstly, is everyone okay?”
Noah pushed himself to his feet. Memories flashed in his head. The bus tilting, the deafening noise, that blinding yellow light... Had the tales of the Kairo Mountains been true after all?

 
Earlier:
“Ms Hana! How much longer til’ we get there?”
“We should arrive in about ten minutes,” the teacher replied. “Please understand that we’re behind schedule because of the weather.”
“Man, ten minutes? That’s like an eternity!” Marcus moaned.
His comment warranted a few half-hearted laughs. Noah supposed that even a lame joke like that was subtly appreciated for breaking the monotony.
“What’s that, Noah? I don’t see you laughing. You didn’t find my joke funny?” Marcus called out. The class chuckled again, more out of habit than amusement.
It was a blunt accusation. From his seat, Marcus couldn’t even see Noah’s facial expression.
But it wasn’t a personal attack. Well, not really. Marcus had a habit of picking random classmates for his jokes, not caring how they felt as long as his remarks got a laugh. And the rest of them always went along with it. It was just a coincidence that Noah was one of his frequent targets—at least that was what Noah constantly told himself.
He resisted the urge to turn around. He couldn’t afford to let Marcus think he cared about his antics. If he showed even a hint of curiosity, Marcus would seize the opportunity to start teasing him again. Instead, Noah kept his eyes on the road ahead, squinting to make out the landscape through the relentless downpour.
But it looked like Ms Hana was right. He could just barely make out the shape of a temple, its silhouette jutting out the side of the mountain. Just another 10 more minutes…
Their class was one of several visiting the Kairo Mountains, renowned for their rich cultural history. One of the landmarks was a shrine, said to be a sacred place where deities blessed students with academic success. Trips like these usually weren’t to Noah’s liking, but the idea seemed interesting enough, especially since…
He continued scrolling through the article on his phone that he had been reading before he was so rudely interrupted. Mysteries of the Kairo Mountains. Several incidents had been documented over the years.
—

Tourists Lost on Naru Peak
Construction Workers Vanish by Katta Lodge
Surakko Campsite Family Disappearance

—
The place certainly had a history, but that was decades ago. The authorities had long since written off those incidents as simple accidents or bad luck, with nothing of note happening within the past 60 years. In fact, the area had seen a gradual rise in popularity, with the local hospitalities and businesses slowly expanding to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.
Wouldn’t it be funny if there was an article titled ‘Annoying Student Vanishes on Kairo School Trip’? Noah cracked a small smile.
The bus jolted suddenly, bouncing over a pothole.
“That’s enough of that, Marcus,” Ms Hana ordered.
“If I sit still any longer, I’m gonna turn to stone like one of those shrine statues!” Marcus complained.
Ms Hana slammed her hand on her lap. “Marcus, if you could…”
She stopped mid-sentence, revealing a low thundering somewhere in the distance. The only issue was… it didn’t sound like thunder. The rumbling continued as the earth started to shake.
“Landslide!” someone yelled.
“Everyone hold on!” Ms Hana shouted.
The bus driver cursed and slammed the brakes. But it was too little, too late. There was no time to react.
The bus lurched violently, throwing everyone off balance. The world tilted. Cries of shock followed by a sickening crunch echoed through the cabin as the bus slammed into the guardrail, snapping it like a twig. The barrier buckled and the bus rolled off the edge of the cliff, dragged in a deadly embrace of water and dirt.
Screams filled the air. Windows shattered as the bus continued tumbling down. Noah clenched his teeth, his hands gripping the seat so tightly his knuckles turned white. The sound was deafening.
A burst of yellow light exploded in the cabin. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. The light swallowed the bus, masking the screams, the rain, the chaos—

Noah stood up, trying to get a feel of his surroundings. The air was damp, carrying a faint scent of moss. The flames of torches in their vicinity licked the walls, scattering their light across the stone floor. Strange symbols—ancient runes?—glowed faintly on the rocks.
He turned to his classmates. All ten… eleven… twelve of them? It appeared as if only a third of the class was present. Where were the rest? Was this a dream? Maybe if he just…
As he raised his hand to trace the stone walls, a translucent blue screen hovered by his palm, nearly shocking him out of his skin.
—
Class: HumanLevel: 1XP: 0 / 1000HP: 1000 / 1000MP: 50 / 50ATK: 300DEF: 250Rank: FTalent: 0
—
What in the world was this all about? The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The few classmates who witnessed his actions started mimicking him. Blue rectangles began dotting the darkness as they checked out their personal stats. Their initial fear turned to whispers of fascination.
“What rank did you get? I got a ‘B’!”
“What does ‘Quicksand’ mean? I got it under the ‘Talent’ section.”
“I got a ‘C’ rank!”
“My skill says ‘Lightning’!”
“YO, check it out! I got an ‘A’ rank!” Marcus declared proudly through the chatter of his classmates. “And my skill says ‘INFERNO’,” he announced, making sure to emphasise the last word.
The interface vaguely reminded Noah of the video games he played. But this wasn’t exactly the time to get excited about it. More importantly, he couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room: the glaring “F” for his rank. He wasn’t sure how the system worked here, but didn’t that seem kinda bad?
In a panic, he brought up the interface again, only to yield a similar result. The numbers and words hovered in the air, mocking him. “What the hell is this?” Noah muttered under his breath.
A sinking feeling gnawed at the pit of his stomach. He clenched his fists. Why was he the only one with nothing? Was this some kind of mistake?
He glanced at Marcus, who was basking in the attention. A flash of irritation stirred within him. Of course he got a high rank with a flashy-sounding skill. Noah wasn’t particularly seeking attention, but his own Rank, which was looking to be the lowest out of all his classmates, would surely make him stand out, just not in a way anyone would want.
“Wowee~! Look at today’s catch!”
The shrill voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.
A petite girl skipped into the light, yet her gigantic, pointed hat kept her facial features in the dark.
“Careful, Miss Anna,” a more mature, raspy voice joined in. It belonged to an older man wearing a smart-looking suit. It gave off a butler-y vibe. Still, his fashion was one that Noah didn’t recognise.
“I wonder how many prize fishies we caught today?” Anna mused, clearly ignoring the man’s word of caution.
She was now close enough that Noah could make out the cheeky, almost cartoonish-looking grin under the brim of her wide hat.
“All of you!” she suddenly boomed, the volume unbefitting of her stature. “Line up in one row! In an orderly manner, please!” she continued, doing a little curtsey for added effect.
Something about the way she spoke made it hard to argue. Maybe it was the confidence in her voice, or maybe it was just the fact that no one else seemed to have a clue as to what was going on.
Regardless, ignoring the dainty little girl, who was practically radiating authority, didn’t seem like the wisest idea. They formed up in a random order, with Noah being almost at the end, second only to Ms Hana.
“It’s okay, Noah. We should be fine if we just follow their orders,” she whispered.
Noah nodded, trying to keep his nervous energy in check.
“Very good!” Anna beamed. “Now, raise your right hand… Yes! Yes! Great job! Now let me inspect your Vitra.”
Vitra? Noah assumed she was referring to the profile-looking interface that he had accidentally pulled up earlier. As ordered, he raised his right hand and sure enough, the page appeared once again. And of course, his profile was still unchanged. He hoped this wouldn’t be a cause for issue.
“A B-Rank! Excellent, please step to the left, Miss.” Anna politely gestured to an area behind her. Noah watched as one of his classmates nervously shuffled over.
“A D-Rank! Tsk tsk, please step this way Sir,” Anna continued, now gesturing to her right.
She continued going down the line and sorting until— “Holy Eryndra! An A-Rank! We’ve struck gold, Cedric! I can’t wait to let the Council know!”
The man, who had been keeping a watchful eye on the rest of them, didn’t waver. “Congratulations, Miss Anna. But please, stick to the task at hand.”
Anna pouted. “Aww, you’re always no fun!”
A third voice joined the conversation. “Umm, do I get a special prize or something?”
Noah could barely believe it. The audacity! He stared at Marcus, who towered over Anna’s tiny frame. Did he not realise the position he’s in?!
“Ah, yes! I apologise, Sir,” Anna bowed. “Forgive my impudence. Please, right this way,” she offered a guiding hand to where all the higher-ranked classmates had been directed.
It was no use. Noah was unable to make head or tail of the current situation.
“Goodness me! An E-Rank! Sorry Ma’am, please head over to the right.”
At least, this Anna girl didn’t seem too hostile, Marcus thought.
“C-Rank! Right over there Sir, to the left!”
Look how she’s treating everyone with respect!
“B-Rank! Please head over there, thank you!”
At this rate, what was the worst that could happ—
“W-what? An F-Rank?! Must be some kind of mistake…”
Noah looked down. A pair of sharp, purple eyes stared back up at him. He had gotten so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t realised that it was now his turn. Nevertheless, he tried to compose himself and read the girl’s expression.
He couldn’t. But he could tell that whatever Anna was feeling, it was intense.
Anna recovered with a giggle. “Over there, Sir,” she said, shooing Noah towards the lower-ranked group.
Noah heaved a cautious sigh of relief as he walked over. At least he hadn’t gotten chewed out on the spot.
“E-Rank! Please join the previous gentleman over there…”
Ms Hana sheepishly made her way over. It was probably a little embarrassing for a teacher to rank that low, even though everyone knew it was something she had no control over.
Two sharp claps brought everyone’s attention back to Anna. “Thank you all for participating in the activity! Now, as you can see, six of you are ranked ‘D’ or below. But don’t worry, we have a way to level you up in no time at all!” She snapped her fingers, and a portal shimmered into existence beside her.
Excited gasps immediately filled the chamber. No way! Was that a real portal? Was this actual magic?
“The six of you in question, please step forward and follow me through the portal. It’ll lead you to a wonderful place called the Enhancement Room. It’s a controlled environment where you can kill low-level monsters for an easy way to gain experience points,” Anna explained.
Ah, an XP farm! Noah felt a brief rush of excitement. It was a strategy he’d relied on in countless games back home, and it seemed like something similar existed here. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised or impressed. This world really did have a game-like feel to it.
“Don’t come back until you’re A-Rank or higher!”
Freakin’ Marcus. Noah could feel the embarrassment emanating from his group as they assembled in front of the portal.
“Alrighty, then! Everyone, hold hands now! We’ll walk through it together!” Anna called.
Noah hesitantly stepped through the portal, half-expecting nothing to happen. But to his surprise, the surroundings faded and morphed, and he could tell that they really had changed locations.

But something immediately felt off.
It was dark. Too dark.
“Is everyone okay?” It was Ms Hana’s voice. The group murmured in acknowledgement.
Torches suddenly sprang to life, revealing long, wide corridors in all four directions.
Anna was floating directly above them. “Welcome to the Enhancement Room!” she giggled.
A girl beside Noah raised her hand. It was Ashley, who regularly topped their class in exams. “Um, excuse me? This doesn’t feel very safe…”
“What makes you say that?” Anna replied. This time, her voice had a bone-chilling, sinister edge to it. Her buttery cheerfulness had all but vanished.
“I can’t really explain it, but this doesn’t look like a place where ‘low-level monsters’ would be…”
“That’s because you’re ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!” Anna burst into laughter. “Tell me, is there any good reason we should waste resources on bloody ‘D’ ranks or lower? NO!”
She must have sensed the shock and confusion in the air, for she continued, “Tell y’all what. Long story short, you’re being disposed of. That’s it. Game over. The end.”
As if on cue, a low rumbling noise echoed down the tunnel.
“Um, th-this isn’t funny. You can stop the jokes now,” another of Noah’s classmates, Josh, began blabbering.
The ground trembled as the rumbling got louder. Its source revealed itself soon enough.
A huge, crystal-like monster resembling a praying mantis stumbled into view. A status bar appeared over its head.
—
Diamantis/ Lvl 63
HP: 36,680/36,680
—
Anna cackled maniacally. “Welcome to the Archario Trials! Let’s see if you can find a way out! Of course, every legitimate maze has an entrance and an exit, and if you somehow manage to find the way out, then you’ve earned it! But um, spoiler warning: No one has ever made it out alive.”
With that, she disappeared through another portal, leaving only her mocking laughter echoing within the walls.
“Curse that bitch!” Josh yelled.
Ms Hana stepped between her terrified students and the towering monster before them. “I’ll distract it. The rest of you run away as fast as you can!”
“Wait! I’m sure there’s a strategy we can use to—” Ashley began.
“There’s no time! Go now befo—”
Ms Hana's words were cut off, as was her head from her body. The Diamantis lunged forward with lightning speed, its razor-sharp claw slicing clean through her neck. Blood erupted from the wound, painting the floor crimson as her body crumpled to the ground.
“Run for it!” Josh yelled, only to be silenced a moment later as the Diamantis struck again, cleaving his body in two.
Ashley stood frozen in terror. “S-someone, please—”
Noah turned away just as he heard the sickening impact. His legs moved on instinct, propelling him forward as he stumbled blindly into the oppressive darkness, almost tripping over himself in the process. Behind him, the screams faded into the distance.