The rest of the candidates didn't even bother turning toward the commotion.
They'd already seen that short demon of a girl tossing people around like laundry.
This? Just another poor soul about to be yeeted into the wall.
They figured Kai was done for.
Behind the fuming girl, another girl dashed up. Petite, graceful, and clearly the kind-hearted type. Her face was painted with worry as she grabbed the angry one's arm.
"Raquel, stop! I really think the goblins came empty this time. That's all."
"No! Master told me otherwise! I need them! They're mine!"
Raquel's voice cracked like lightning.
Up close, Kai could finally see it, the fire in her eyes wasn't just anger.
It was obsession. Pure, unhinged obsession.
She looked one wrong breath away from exploding like a goblin grenade.
'Man, what's this girl's problem?'
Kai was still frozen, the cold barrel of her musket pressing into his forehead like an iron threat. Her finger twitched near the trigger.
'What a mess...'
One second of crazy, and he'd be eating gunpowder for dinner.
"Look, girl, I don—"
Kai raised his hands, trying to calm her down.
Raquel didn't let him finish.
"Look at him! His face, his vibe—he's obviously an Outrider!" she snapped, sneering. "I know he stole my Blood Stones!"
Then her eyes flicked to the trio, from Thomas to Jasmine.
"And you three—really? Sitting with this mutt? No shame at all? You're dragging the ChosenBorn name through the dirt!"
"Bitch, shut it."
Jasmine rose to her feet, face dark with irritation.
"If you're so obsessed with image, then look at yourself. You're the one making us look like fools."
Raquel's face twisted in shock.
"What?!"
"A ChosenBorn, bullying people? Throwing tantrums over Blood Stones? That's what's ruining our image, not some tired Outrider minding his own business."
Jasmine stepped forward, fearless.
"All the other Outriders are keeping their heads down, trying to survive. Meanwhile, you're out here screaming like a toddler in a tiara. You want more Blood Stones? Go show that fire to the monsters outside, not the people stuck in here with you."
Jasmine shook her head, thoroughly done.
Sharing a trial with the elites was already a headache, but now she had to deal with some rowdy gremlin girl shaking down rookies for Blood Stones? Unbelievable.
Raquel stared at her, cheeks flushing red, not from anger this time, but shame. The kind that creeps up on you when you're suddenly not the loudest in the room.
Thomas bit down on his lips, trying not to laugh out loud. Marcus just turned his face away, clearly wanting no part in whatever mess this was becoming.
"Y-You…"
Raquel sputtered, voice cracking. She couldn't even string a comeback together. No one had ever called her out before, not like this. And worst part? The girl was right.
She was acting like a lunatic over Blood Stones. This was just the beginning of the trial, and she'd already jumped into hoarding mode, trying to stack up power early.
"She's right, Raquel. Just let it go," the girl behind her whispered, timid but firm. "Besides… that boy's telling the truth. He doesn't even know what a Blood Stone is."
Raquel's jaw clenched. Her twin pigtails twitched with every gnash of her teeth, practically vibrating with frustration.
"Like I said, I don't even know what a ChosenBorn—"
Kai reached up, fingers brushing the barrel to push it aside.
Click—BANG!
The shot cracked the air like thunder. Point Blank.
"Holy shit!!"
Marcus and Thomas screamed in unison, ducking and clutching their heads like kindergarteners in an earthquake drill.
Jasmine's eyes went wide. Like damn, she knew this girl was unhinged, but this? This was next-level nuts. Even the timid girl behind Raquel gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth.
The whole hall froze. Dead silent.
Smoke curled up lazily from the bullet hole in the wall, just an inch from Kai's ear.
After a still second, and only after that, Kai let out a breath. Slowly. Carefully. Like breathing too fast might set her off again.
His ear rang like a temple bell, and he knew for a fact something in there was permanently scrambled.
Raquel blinked at her own smoking gun, stunned—either from guilt, or the realization that she'd just gone full psycho in front of a crowd.
Kai didn't move. He didn't flinch. He just stared at her.
"D-Don't touch my gun, you filthy Outrider. Hmpf!"
Raquel whipped her head away like a diva on a villain arc, storming off with muttering madness.
Behind her, the smaller girl paused, bowed politely, and whispered an apologetic, "Sorry…" before scurrying after the human grenade.
For a beat, the hall was quiet. Then, like the final scene of a bad play, the audience shrugged and went back to their chattering, as if a gunshot to the face was just intermission.
Kai blinked. He was still frozen, brain buffering.
"Dude! How the hell did you do that? How?"
Thomas was suddenly in his face, flailing like a child who just saw a magic trick. Kai didn't respond. He couldn't.
His body was catching up to the fact that he should be dead right now.
She really fired. Over nothing.
These people? Yeah, they were broken. Something very wrong was going on here.
Then it hit him, not the bullet, thankfully, but the moment she pulled the trigger.
That voice.
[Activating Blessings of Death!]
[Limitless Grace activated!]
[3/3]
In that split second, time didn't slow, it fractured. The world dipped into a cold, negative hue.
Kai saw it all: the flash at the barrel morphing into a white flare, the bullet blooming like a flower of death in slow motion.
Then—tilt.
His head moved on its own, a ghost reflex. The bullet hissed past and slammed into the wall behind him.
It was over before his brain caught up.
"Are you okay, Kai?"
Jasmine's voice broke the silence. Even she looked shaken. A gun to the face on day one? That was new.
"Man… what a bitch..."
Marcus muttered, shivering and hugging his knees. That look in Raquel's eyes? Yeah. Pure, unfiltered lunacy.
But Kai wasn't listening.
His mind was somewhere else, piecing things together. This world... it wasn't just dangerous. It was insane. Trigger-happy lunatics, monstrous goblins, cryptic systems…
He needed to understand this place. Fast.
He turned to Marcus, his voice low and tight.
"What the hell are Outriders and ChosenBorns?"
No more winging it. If he was going to survive this death game, he needed knowledge—and power.
Step one: stop being the clueless guy everyone wants to shoot.