Chapter 102
The others were all astonished by Daran’s proposal.
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“Test? What test?” Jared asked with a frown.
“J heard this from Angelina and then she told me. Apparently, there is a certain test that we can
take to be verified rogues. And then we will have ess to the Grace Ruin.”
Daran looked to Kass for verification, “Is that true?”
Kass was reluctant, “It is true. But I don’t know the details of that test. It could be extremely
dangerous. Plus, are you really willing to go that far? Once we are in the Rogue King’s imperial
city…there is no turning back.”
“We don’t need to turn back.” Daran said deeply, “This war won’t end unless we kill the Rogue King.
And the only way to do that is to face him directly. If some of you are having second thought and
want to withdrawal back to Crimson Fortress, now is probably a good time.”
Kass’s jaw clenched. He looked irritated.
“I will go wherever Gamma J goes,” he said decisively.
“And so do we,” Jared nodded. “So where can we take this test? Any clues?”
“There is a certain ce that we can sign up for the test. Finish your meal and we will go there
immediately,” Kass said.
They gobbled down their meals and left the restaurant.
The ce that Kass brought them to turned out to be a dive bar hidden in a dingy alleyway.
The doorbell made a jingling noise when Daran pushed the door open. Everyone inside turned their
heads to look at them.
The dimly lit interior was stacked with warn leather stools and cracked vinyl booths. The air was
thick with the acrid smell of beer and decades of cigarette smoke.
Customers hidden in the shadows of the booths eyed the neers as they made their ways to
the bar.
Hunched over the oily bar was an old man with messy hair and lumpy skin.
He looked up briefly at them and huffed, “What?”
Kass slid a 50-dor bill across the table, “5 Whiskey Ruined on ice.”
The old bartender narrowed his eyes, “5? For all of you?”
“Is that not allowed?” Jared asked.
The bartender snorted, “We just haven’t had a group in a long time. And just so you know, that drink
is damn strong. It will fucking kill you.”
“I know. And we can take it.”
The bartender dumped the piece of rag that he was wiping those sses with and lurched to the
back.
“What is a Whiskey Ruined?” J whispered.
“It is how you ask for the ticket for the test. You will see.”
Momentster, the bartender returned with 5 sses of whiskey and 5 tickets. “Finish your drink,”
he mumbled. “The entrance is in the back, next to the man’s room.”
They exchanged a brief look, and each took a ss of wine and a ticket.
J drank her wine in one draught. The whiskey burned all the way down to her chest. She
suddenly felt reenergized.
After they all finished their drinks, they went to the back of the bar and found a door next to the
man’s room just like the bartender had said.
There was a ticket gate standing outside of the door, like the one that they had in the
subway.
“OK.”
Kass turned to look at the rest of them.
“So now you are supposed to insert your ticket here and the gate will open up, leading you to the
ce where you can take the test. But that is all I know. I have no idea what will happen beyond this
gate.”
Daran reached for J’s hand and locked fingers with her.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his gorgeous eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. J smiled and
gently squeezed his hand, “Whenever you are.”
Daran stepped up and inserted his ticket into the ticket machine.
The green light shed, and the door opened up, revealing a secret tunnel. The narrow staircase
descended into the darkness, leading to somewhere unknown.
J followed Daran and inserted her ticket as well.
One by one, they all passed the gate.
The tunnel was pitch-ck. And it was not even wide enough for two people to travel shoulder by
shoulder. They could only walk as a line and held on to the moss-covered wall as they traveled
downstairs.
A muggy and rotten smell filled the air.
The further they went, the more humid it got.
And the stairs seemed to never end.
They must had walked down 10 flights of stairs already-J was keeping counts-but still hadn’t
reached the end.
They were deep beneath the ground already.
“How much further?” Glen’s voice came from the darkness.
But no one could answer him.
Because at this point, nobody-not even Kass-knew what would happen.
After another 5 minutes of traveling in the darkness, they finally reached to the bottom of the
staircase.
After they all finished their drinks, they went to the back of the bar and found a door next to the
man’s room just like the bartender had said.
There was a ticket gate standing outside of the door, like the one that they had in the
subway.
“OK.”
Kass turned to look at the rest of them.
“So now you are supposed to insert your ticket here and the gate will open up, leading you to the
ce where you can take the test. But that is all I know. I have no idea what will happen beyond this
gate.”
Daran reached for J’s hand and locked fingers with her.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his gorgeous eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. J smiled and
gently squeezed his hand, “Whenever you are.”
Daran stepped up and inserted his ticket into the ticket machine.
The green light shed, and the door opened up, revealing a secret tunnel. The narrow staircase
descended into the darkness, leading to somewhere unknown. J followed Daran and inserted
her ticket as well.
One by one, they all passed the gate.
The tunnel was pitch-ck. And it was not even wide enough for two people to travel shoulder by
shoulder. They could only walk as a line and held on to the moss-covered wall as they traveled
downstairs.
A muggy and rotten smell filled the air.
The further they went, the more humid it got.
And the stairs seemed to never end.
They must had walked down 10 flights of stairs already-J was keeping counts-but still hadn’t
reached the end.
They were deep beneath the ground already.
“How much further?” Glen’s voice came from the darkness.
But no one could answer him.
Because at this point, nobody-not even Kass-knew what would happen.
After another 5 minutes of traveling in the darkness, they finally reached to the bottom of the
staircase.
A rusty iron door stood in their face.
Daran gave it a small push and the door swung open, revealing a cell with the size of a bedroom.
J was stunned to find that there was already more than a dozen of people inside of the cell.
They were either leaning against the wall or crouched on the ground. And they all stared at them
hostilely as they walked in.
“What is this? A group test?” Jared murmured.
J looked around the room and walked to a man closest to her.
“Hey,” she said lightly. “Are you here to take the test as well?”
The man stared at her in silence.
“Do you know what the test is about? We might be able to work together,” J said.
The man still kept his mouth shut.
And then the next second, he grabbed J’s hand abruptly and brought her wrist to
his nose, taking in a deep inhale.
“You…smell too good…you don’t smell like a rogue.”
The rogue sniffed and grinned, shing his yellow teeth.
“I can just gobble you down alive…like a sheep…”
J gritted her teeth in fume..
Yet before she could snatch her hand back, a great force came behind her back and shoved that
rogue against the wall.
Daran stood with his hand firmly mped around the rogue’s neck.
The rogue’s feet were forced to leave the ground, his legs kicking vainly in the air.
“No…Please don’t!” The rogue gasped, struggling to breathe.
“Wrong person to mess with,” Daran said coldly.
“Let me down…You-You are not supposed to kill anyone before the test!”
“Daran,” J called him in a low voice..
Daran loosened his grip and let the rogue fall to the ground. Holding her in his arms, he led her
back to their own group.
“Are you alright?” Kass asked in worry.
J smiled, “I am fine. These are justmon rogues, not even trained soldiers.” Everyone here
had been on the battlefield and ughtered countless enemies. Those people were nothing to be
afraid of.
Glen scratched his head anxiously, “So what the hell is this about? Locking the bunch of us in a
cell? And what did that rogue mean when he said that we were not supposed to kill him before the
test?”
“Do you know what this reminds me of?” J asked.
“The Coliseum,” Daran said icily.
The Coliseum, a brutal battleground where the ves battled with wild beasts and each other to
entertain the royals.
It certain seemed like the rogue’s taste.
“Filthy bastards,” Jared snorted.
They took their seats on the ground and waited in the darkness.
“Filthy bastards,” Jared snorted.
They took their seats on the ground and waited in the darkness.
Daran let J learn on his shoulders and said, “You can shut your eyes for a while. I will wake you
upter.”
“No, I am not tired,” she shook
Der head.
“Nervous?”
“No, not at all. I guess…I am excited.”
Fire of rage and thirst for revenge was burning inside of her chest.
She had a feeling that they would be meeting the Rogue King soon.
And that was exactly what they had hoped for.
So they kept on waiting.
Didn’t know how much time had passed…probably an hour, or even longer than that.
Then they heard a deep hum and rumble of the machinery.
It was like some chains and gears were turned on to work, and the damp ground beneath their feet
started to quake. Dust fell off the ceiling on their shoulder.
They all jumped up.
The brick wall slowly slid to the sides.
Silver moonlight poured in. And they could finally see what was behind those thick walls.
The vast arena, the opening space, the dried blood on the ground…
They were standing in a Coliseum.
fan