When “God” Decides To Start Over - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Trial Gate

Translator: CKtalon

As the fully-armed soldiers shouted, Li Xiu and the others came out of the room and walked along the narrow, cold passageway, shuffling amid the dim light.

There were many similar rooms on both sides of the passageway with its occupants forced out before they ambled towards the end of the passageway.

After turning a few corners, the scene in front of them suddenly became clear. A huge, brightly-lit underground space appeared in front of Li Xiu.

The steel frame and wooden beams acted as the main supports for the underground space. Through the steel frame, irregular patches of gray-black rock could be seen above their heads. Water droplets still hung from many of the crevices in the damp rock. There was even moss growing on them.

In the most glaring area of the light, a large blue stone door, more than ten meters high, was set into the stone wall. The natural rock wall contrasted strongly with the stone door, which was carved with a variety of exquisite, mysterious patterns. The strange symbols, grooves, and patterns made it seem eerie and terrifying.

“Is this the Trial Gate?” Li Xiu muttered to himself as he looked up at the blue door.

“More like Devil’s Gate.” The burly man beside Bandit sneered. “Boy, you guys are really unlucky. I don’t know what got into those guys to open the Devil’s Gate so early. Being new, you’ll be dying without even getting a day of training. What a pity. But even if you have time to train, it’s useless. You’d better pray for luck.”

“Shut up, all of you!” came a cold shout from the megaphone, and soon everyone was quiet. The huge underground space was so quiet that only the sound of dripping water could be heard.

On a raised platform made of wood, a man held a megaphone. Beside him stood two guys who looked like Iron Man. They were all wrapped in some kind of weird carapace.

They were the Demon Suiters dressed in Demon Suits—war machines that could fight Demon Spirits, humanity’s best fighters.

In the eyes of Li Xiu, who was also a Demon Suiter, these two Demon Suiters were nothing impressive, but to ordinary people, the intimidation these two Demon Suiters exhibited was no less than nuclear weapons.

“Some of you know me. Some of you don’t. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Old Gu, and I’m in charge here. I’ll cut to the chase. You know better than anyone why you’re here and what you want from this place. I’ll be here waiting for your return. Come out of the Trial Gate alive and give me the goods in exchange for everything you want. This is your only way out.” Old Gu didn’t wait for a response. “Open the gates,” he barked at the blue stone door.

As Old Gu gave the order, a few soldiers carrying boxes came to the blue stone door and placed them in front of it. They took out sapphires and stuffed them into the grooves.

When all the grooves in the blue stone door were stuffed with gems, those gems came alive by some magical force. They did not need to reflect any external light to emit a strong blue light.

Crack! Crack!

In the glare of the blue light, the blue door opened bit by bit. Mysterious and magical white light shot through the gap.

Old Gu didn’t need to give any further orders. Someone was already running toward the open blue door.

The experienced old-timers like Bandit and the burly man were all running forward. Only some of the newcomers remained rooted to their spots.

Crack! Crack!

From the back came the sound of soldiers socking their rifles. The rookies turned to see all the surrounding soldiers pointing their guns at them.

“Those who remain outside before the Trial Gate closes… die…” Old Gu’s grim voice spoke again.

This time, no one hesitated. Everyone, including Li Xiu, swarmed towards the gap in the blue stone door.

The blue stone door wasn’t even half-opened before the blue light on it began to fade and the door began to close.

Everyone ran even more desperately towards the stone door. When the stone door was about to close completely, everyone had already stepped through the stone door.

Boom!

The stone door closed completely, and the underground space returned to its previous cold and silent state.

In the crowd, Li Xiu sized up his surroundings. Although he had heard some things about the Trial Gate, this was the first time he was personally experiencing it.

The hundred or so people found themselves inside a huge building that looked like a stadium. It was surrounded by layers of spiraling stone stairs that led to an oval arena in the middle.

There was a goal in the center of the field. Labeled on the ground about ten meters from the goal was a cross. In the center of the cross was a soccer ball.

Li Xiu looked at the people around him and then at himself. He realized that no matter what they had been wearing before they arrived, they were now wrapped in the same white tights. Everything else on them had disappeared. There was a red bracelet on his left wrist with numbers on it.

Li Xiu glanced at his bracelet and saw the number 49.

“Damn, it’s a C-class!” The burly man who had been right behind Bandit looked up at the sky above the field and cursed softly.

Li Xiu looked up and saw a huge screen floating there. On the screen was a large “C.”

“Welcome to the Sea and Sky Trials. The trial difficulty is C-class. The rules of the trial are as follows…” Some words appeared on the big screen, and an electronic voice sounded.

After listening to the rules of the trial, some people looked excited, but most of them wore looks of dismay.

The rules of the trial were simple. Everyone participating in the trial was divided into groups of two. One person stood in front of the goal to guard it, while the other kicked the soccer ball. There were two chances. One scored a point by scoring a goal. One scored a point from successfully defending the goal. As long as one scored a point, they completed the trial. Everyone had one chance at guarding the goal and kicking the soccer ball. Scoring one point meant they could keep their lives; those with a zero score would die.

There were a total of two rewards. If one person could obtain two points, they could take both rewards.

However, if one person obtained two points, that meant zero for the other person. In other words, death was the only outcome if they failed.

No matter how one looked at it, this rule was somewhat similar to the penalty shootout in soccer. One ball determined life and death.

“Now you can start choosing your teammates. Just shake hands and exchange bracelets. You must find your partner before the countdown ends.” The electronic voice spoke again, and a six-hundred-second countdown appeared on the monitor.

People were looking around. Some looked lost and helpless, some looked confident, some looked desperate, and others were hesitant.

According to this rule, as long as two people work together, they can get the reward and leave alive. But if their partner doesn’t cooperate, who knows what will happen? Choosing a partner is the key to this trial, Li Xiu thought to himself.

In fact, everyone understood this, but the human heart was unpredictable. Who could be trusted in such a place?

“Kid, do you want to team up with me?” While Li Xiu was thinking, he suddenly saw the burly man walk up to him and smile as he extended his palm that had a red bracelet.