The cool air pressed against Rion's skin; it was calming and very nice. The smell of dry grass, leaves, and earth filled his nose. His eyes flickered open, taking in the new scenery before him. He stood at the center of a massive forest that stretched out as far as his eyes could see.
"This… this is God's Domain? It looks completely normal," Rion muttered. He looked around him, there was nothing else other than trees and forest.
"Where do I go? What do I even do? I was thrown in here against my will and without preparation," he muttered.
There was nothing that he could have done when he discovered the mark, because the moment he was found, they would throw him in. Even if he refused and resisted, everything was taught to them when they were kids. Everyone knew that from the moment you got the mark, you had to be thrown in.
He looked around and then picked a direction to walk toward. He took a step, and then suddenly something snapped, a rope covered in thorns latched onto his feet, the thorns digging into his ankle.
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Rion screamed out in pain, blood splattering all around. The trap pulled him by the foot, dragging him deeper into it, blood gushing out as he was held upside down with blood dripping down his body.
"Arghhhhhhhh! Arghhhhhhhh!" He cried from the pain, snot running from his nose. He tried to bend his body to touch the rope, but it dug deeper, and the pain rose instantly.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" He screamed in even more pain, his head hanging low, tears dripping along with blood.
Then something unexpected happened.
[You have begun your first Trial.]
[The Awakening.]
The message rang in his mind, and the floating words appeared, but he could barely focus on them; his gaze was hazy from the pain.
'Trial? What's that? Why is this happening to me?' he thought. The pain was intense, and he was losing blood extremely fast.
'I just wanted to rest. I wanted to have a calm life, that failed. Why me?' The pain kept growing. The more he tried to get used to it, the more the gravity dragged him down, and the pain increased. Rion stayed hanging there for an hour in pure pain, agony, and confusion. He had lost so much blood that he was losing consciousness. It was then that he heard footsteps headed in his direction.
He struggled to pay attention to them, and after a few seconds, he saw feet standing before him. He looked up with what strength he had left and saw a humanoid figure standing there. After struggling a bit, he managed to see who it was, a man clad in loose clothes and holding a spear. The man had an oddly pale complexion and deep black eyes.
"H-hu-human?" Rion muttered. Could he have just met a Hunter?
The man swung the spear and cut through the rope. Rion fell to the ground, hitting it hard. He felt joy in his heart, this hunter had come to free him. But the next moment changed that for him. The man grabbed the rope connected to Rion and started pulling him. The pain returned, excruciating.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" He screamed while the man dragged him off without a word. The pulling of the rope caused even more pain than when he was hung. He wished his hands had some strength to help make the journey easier, but all his limbs were weak due to blood loss. He was barely keeping himself awake.
The painful and excruciating journey continued without stop for half an hour until finally, a large campsite came into view, with several camps inside and people who looked much like the man. The man dragged Rion into the campsite and, without a word, tossed him to the side.
'Is it finally over? Do I live?' he wondered. But then the man followed up, thrusting his spear right through Rion's shoulder so deep it came out the other side and dug into the ground.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" Rion screamed from the bottom of his lungs. With the spear, he couldn't move anywhere, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't. His body couldn't muster the strength; the pain stopped him from falling unconscious. So he sat there, watching the spear in his body and the man walking away.
By now, Rion understood that it was the man who had set that trap, and he wasn't here to help in the slightest. They were going to do something to him, probably kill him.
'I guess that's not a bad thing. Rather than this pain, I'd rather die. I've wanted to die for a while now. Maybe I should end it all,' he thought to himself while closing his eyes. But then he felt something in his pocket.
He slowly moved his hands, mustering all the strength he could. He touched the pocket and felt it, it was his chocolate, the one he had collected.
'My chocolate… my chocolate.' As he felt the chocolate, he had a desire to live and eat it. He didn't want to die, even if it was just for that chocolate alone. He was willing to fight for the chance to eat it.
And then it hit him, a realization he had never had before. He was willing to risk his life for the benefit of that sweet, sweet chocolate. There were many sweet things in life, but he was yet to find them, things that might bring more joy than chocolate. If he was willing to live for chocolate, then how about for the sake of other good things?
'I want to find out if there are more sweet things life has to offer. I want to know if I can find other happiness. I'm not ready to die. I'm not ready to end it all.' Tears streamed down his cheeks.
'I want to be able to genuinely smile at something, even once, before I die.' As he thought about that, a thundering roar shook the entire forest, extremely loud and terrifying.