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Chapter 3 - Trailblazers

I understand. I have corrected the grammar, punctuation, and tense inconsistencies while keeping your original vocabulary and phrasing exactly as you wrote them.

That night, Solomon was resting on one of the tables inside the Guild Hall. He sat together with the man who had stopped him earlier, as a bunch of other guild members walked around the place.

"Come on bro, that's a Floor Rush! You get priority over the materials there. What if there's a void stone? Then you'd be able to reset your manifestation!" The man who was with him earlier, who had stopped Solomon from fighting Ryan with his vines, spoke out.

"Zeke, I don't know why, but my instincts are just screaming at me to not go. There's something fishy going on." Solomon grabbed a glass of cold beer and chugged it down to the last sip.

"Why? Because it was those Black Flags that invited you? I mean, didn't they say it was the Trailblazers? You know, the ten strongest humans in this entire place?" Zeke, who had changed into a more casual shirt, continued to convince Solomon.

The table had three empty glasses, and none of them were Zeke's.

"No, it's not that..." Solomon murmurs.

"Then what is it? Last Floor Rush at 51, only about 1% died. Besides, aren't you Undying?" Zeke raised his hands, trying to catch the attention of the server.

"Look, for me, I want to accept this just because of the chance that there might be a void stone, and something else that we need. Our Guild has been in a decline ever since those fuckers in Black Flag started to expand."

Solomon stayed quiet for a while. His mind was tipsy, but he also couldn't particularly explain why a simple invitation to head down a level felt so dangerous.

Was it because it was a totally new district? Or was it the last Harbinger battle? Finding difficulty in finding a proper reason, he stared at Zeke and asked him a question.

"Why did they wait for an entire year before organizing one?"

"I think you know the answer to that already. The Fallen from Floor 60 killed too many of our forces. They were probably training the Manifester that was granted his manifestation," Zeke replied with a solemn expression on his face.

"Maybe so... You know, Zeke, I'll update you once I decide." Noticing the shift in the atmosphere, Solomon stood up.

"Okay, remember it's tomorrow already."

As Solomon lay in bed, still a little dizzy from his thoughts, he couldn't help but think about the heavy feeling in his chest. It wasn't like he purely relied on instincts, but the simple fact that he lived while facing multiple near-death experiences was nudging at his head. Maybe those exact experiences were trying to tell him off.

Solomon laid quietly while he covered his eyes with his arms. There were no sounds except the tapping of the rain just outside his window.

What else could I possibly lose? Simply living in this world forced me into multiple sacrifices. Family turned to no one but just me; friendships became temporary; everyone had died.

It wasn't like there was a moment that I had no bad feelings like this.

Overwhelmed by the constraints of his past, Solomon bit his lips in regret. Blood started to form around his canines, but his regeneration made the droplet unable to grow bigger.

He was afraid. Afraid of making new friends just to lose them in the following week.

He's scared.

Not because of himself, but of losing the remaining few friends he had.

As his thoughts started to swell up on him, a knock on his door dragged him out of his stupor.

"Solomon? It's me, Zeke. I'm not sure what's going on in your head right now, but I just want to let you know: it'll be alright, okay? We'll be the best guild in a few years' time." A coarse yet lonely voice escaped from the other side of the room.

"But yeah, that's all I wanted to say. I'll be off now." Zeke rested his back on the door to Solomon's room. He was wearing his signature jacket again due to the lower temperature from the rain.

Hearing his voice, Solomon sat up slowly. His head was still nodding downwards. But as he heard Zeke's consoling voice, he started to consider things.

Maybe… this time it'll be different. He started to hope. Maybe from now on, it'll be different.

There'll be void stones, and no one in his guild will die from then on.

Hearing no replies from the other side, Zeke lowered his head and lifted his back from the door. He glanced a little at the knob before finally deciding to walk.

"You cringe bastard. Why are you talking like a mother trying to console her child? Sleep early; you'll need all your strength tomorrow." Although the rain was loud, Zeke could pick up a voice with a muffled yet sarcastic tone on the other side of the door.

"Ha. You never change, you damned annoying immortal."

….

The next day, Solomon and Zeke, wearing their own respective gear, showed up in the middle of an empty field. Solomon wore light clothing with a couple of poisonous weapons strapped to a utility belt tied to his waist. Although he always served as a frontliner, he had no use for armor thanks to his manifestation. But it wasn't like his clothing was not special. Though it provided him little to no armor, thanks to the Slime King's essence, his clothes were essentially just another part of his body, granting them the same regeneration capabilities as his. It also provided him some buffs to help him fight better. Even though his clothes looked simple, he was still within the strongest percent of every single human.

Zeke, on the other hand, looked more prepared. He still wore his jacket, but inside was a layer of light armor made out of the feathers of a Petrified Fallen Angel. He had no weapons in hand since his vines were his main point of offense.

"I thought it was only three hundred. There are more than five hundred people here." Pointing out the crowd was Zeke. He couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic despite being in an open area.

"Anyways, this still gives me the creeps."

Just a few meters in front of them lay a massive hole, 500 meters in diameter. It was very dark with only the stone stairs carved on its circumference. Some say that this hole is actually a portal instead of actual stairs, due to the reason that most would show up in an entirely new world with stars and clouds in the skies.

The only evidence that would say otherwise is the massive tower that would form once you go outside from floor 1 and up.

"If it weren't for the long travel, I would've honestly believed that portal theory, or whatever it is."

"Anyways, what's taking them so long? Aren't the harbingers supposed to be the ones who organized this floor rush?" Zeke crossed his arms and complained in annoyance.

"The Immortal lives on Floor 49; give him some slack." Solomon glanced at Zeke before looking down the hole beneath their feet. Although he seemed like he was trying to be understanding, he was also annoyed on the inside—specifically due to the immense boredom he felt.

Not long after, as if trying to answer their questions, a massive crowd started to pick up just outside the rims of the hole.

"Violet flames…" Peeking down the hole, many started to gaze at a particular light coming from deep within. Directly at the center, a flickering light shone. Although it's pretty much impossible to notice with the naked eye, some manifesters who had incredible vision started to send signals.

"It's the Demon King, Julius Azazel." Confirming the color of the flames, one of the scouts looking down the hole confirmed the presence of a Trailblazer.

"The 6th on the list…" Hearing the announcement, Zeke, who was nearly about to fall asleep, jolted himself up.

Solomon, who was fidgeting with his fingers while staring at the clouds, shifted his attention to the hole, after which he looked at Zeke.

"You think he remembers you?" Noticing Solomon's sudden attention towards him, Zeke asked him with an awkward smile.

"Probably. I did save that man's life," Solomon said casually.

Soon after, another announcement made it to everyone's ears.

"Red torch!"

"The one who laughs and his guild have made it to the third floor!"

Hearing this name, Solomon, who couldn't have cared less earlier, raised his eyebrows in contempt.

"Ron Circa… A fresh breath of air. Most of the regular humans on Floor 0 like this guy for whatever reason. They think his cockiness and rude way of speech is unique, unlike the rest of the trailblazers. This guy is nothing more than a lucky piece of shit," Solomon muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, like you aren't cocky and rude. Except you have this weird sense of loyalty and morals," Zeke said teasingly.

"Then how is that the same, exactly?" Solomon looked at Zeke with an annoyed expression.

Then, just a few minutes later, another shimmer entered the eyes of the scouts.

"Two flames! White and Green!" the scouts shouted.

Hearing him, Ryan from the Black-flags stood up from his seat.

"They're all here."

"Eternal Maleficent, The Immortal: James Cho. Ranked 3rd."

"The One Who Laughs, The Joker: Ron Circa. Ranked 5th."

"The Ruler of Chaos, The Demon King: Julius Azazel. Ranked 6th."

"Humanity's Sentinel, The Hero: Kath Selene. Ranked 2nd."

"The Trailblazers have arrived!"

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