“Wait, where am I? Gu!? O-Ow…”

Just as I heard that inorganic voice, I collapsed back into the original room. I must have been transferred; after a moment of floating feeling, I realized I was here. My sword had also been transferred next to me.

More importantly, my left arm was in extreme pain. Tears streamed down my face.

“Are you okay?!”

Tanaka-san and another woman ran towards me as I lay on the ground.

“That’s a bad injury. Midori, I’m counting on you.”

“Sure. It hurts a bit, hold on!”

“AHHHGH!!!”

The tough-looking, beautiful older woman with short black hair, named Midori, forcibly pulled my broken left hand and reattached it into the correct shape.

I screamed in agony.

“Endure it! You’re a man, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, Ugh. Yes, thank you…”

Then Midori placed both hands on my left hand.

Suddenly, a gentle green light enveloped me. This was healing magic. Rarely, some people can use magic to heal injuries, so it was probably that.

But to attach bones at this speed…she’s probably a fairly high-level magic healer, isn’t she?

“Alright, it’s attached. If you make it back alive, be sure to go to the hospital. It’s been forced into place so the positioning is bad. Also, I fixed your other injuries.”

“That’s amazing…uh, thank you so much!”

I made a fist with my left hand.

It still hurt, but it was enough to move.

So, this is healing magic…truly a power of fantasy.

“Hehe, it’s a freebie today, but in the outside world, I could get a million yen for this.”

Midori-san giggles and winks.

Healing magic is very valuable, and therefore expensive.

So it’s not a joke, in reality, this much treatment would probably cost that much.

“Th-thank you so much.”

I stand up and express my gratitude as much as possible. Tanaka-san then bends down in front of me, seeking a handshake.

“You survived well. I’m Issei Tanaka, and this is Midori Tendo, the healing magician of our guild.”

“I’m Kai Amachi, an unranked adventurer…but…somehow I managed to survive.”

I shake his hand.

Looking closely, Tanaka-san seems to have been injured as well; his clothes are covered in blood.

“I see. Unranked…Kai-kun. You did well. You’re the fifth person to return.”

“Huh?”

I look around and see that there are only five adventurers in the room, including Tanaka-san and me.

“Hai-kun, what did you fight?”

“I fought a hobgoblin. It’s weak, but for me, it was a formidable opponent.”

I say with a little embarrassment.

It’s a little embarrassing that I struggled against an opponent like a hobgoblin, whom Tanaka-san could easily kill with one hand.

“Hobgoblin…no, there’s no need to be ashamed. Soloing it was a truly difficult opponent for you. Well done. So then…”

Tanaka-san looks at Midori-san, who nods.

“Hai-kun, I fought a high ogre, an upper B-rank monster. It’s a step away from A-rank, and I could have died if I made one mistake. I managed to win in a close battle. Midori here fought a similar battle. It was a truly difficult fight, and you were in the same situation.”

“Huh? So, then…”

“Well, probably, there’s a formidable opponent for everyone that’s barely possible to beat. I thought it was impossible, but this dungeon is clearly too different from previous ones. And… that mechanical voice as well as the meaning of the words ‘Knight of God Selection’ and ‘Trial of Strength.’ Heh, I’m an atheist, but I’m starting to believe in a God. But it’s quite a mean God.”

Tanaka-san then looks a little gloomy.

I can’t take Tanaka-san’s words at face value, but at least I affirm the existence of a higher being.

Maybe not an Omniscient and omnipotent one but at least a God with power beyond human knowledge.

“Hm? Sorry, Hai-kun. See you later.”

Tanaka-san and Midori-san head to the next clearers who appear.

I stare at the door for a while.

A pyramid with a triangular shape and an eyeball pattern.

If this is God’s trial, then how long will it continue?

As I stare at the door vaguely, that inorganic voice is heard.

『Challengers of the Trial of Strength. Everything has ended. 15 out of 60 have cleared. Seconds until the next trial. 1000, 999, 998… 』

“Huh?”

I couldn’t believe what the voice had just said.

Dead? 45 out of 60, including military personnel, have died?

I looked around, but there were only a few survivors among the many clearers.

And all of them were badly injured.

“Everyone, gather here!”

Immediately after the announcement, Tanaka-san instructed us to gather in the center.

“As you can all hear, the next trial is about to begin. We don’t know if we’ll be separated again or what will happen, so we can’t prepare for it but-“

“What?! Are you kidding me?! You’re the one in charge!”

Then I heard a familiar voice.

It was Sato. He must have survived the battle, judging from his torn clothes.

Whether it was due to luck or skill, he seemed to have some combat sense.

“This is impossible! We were told it was safe!”

“Let us go home!”

“Take responsibility! How many people do you think died?!”

The complaints kept coming left and right.

Even I, who had braced myself for death, felt like complaining.

But it was pointless to say it to Tanaka-san.

As the angry voices continued, I started to become frustrated.

The surrounding began to become noisy, but then…

“Quiet!”

Tanaka-san’s loud voice silenced everyone.

“You can complain all you want after you survive. With as much guarantee as possible, I’ll do my best to negotiate with the government and the association. But that’s only if you survive. What we need to do now is not to fight amongst ourselves, but to do our best to survive. If you understand, Listen to me quietly!”

Tanaka-san’s calm demeanor and forceful words silenced everyone, including Sato.

“Ok. Fortunately, we have about 10 minutes left. We don’t know what kind of trial we’ll face next, but hurry up and get some food and water. You can use whatever is available here. Some of you have lost a lot of blood. Come on, hurry up! We don’t have much time! The most severely injured come here first, and we’ll do our best to treat you!”

Following Tanaka-san’s instructions, we quickly grabbed some food and water.

I needed a lot of fluids because I had lost a lot of blood.

I felt dizzy, but the water helped.

『Can I talk to you for a moment, Mr. Tanaka?』

『Oh, Alfred Lieutenant.』

I saw Tanaka-san and an American military person having a conversation while I drank water. I only understand English vaguely, but it seems Tanaka-san can speak it fluently.

I heard the military person call a name but, could it be that strong looking Alfred?

With a hat pulled over his eyes, his gaze is very sharp.

His strong physique looks as if he could take on a 100 of me at once.

『I want you to entrust command of the Japanese to me. I’m Class S, you know that? Five out of nine of my subordinates died, and they were all Class A. We can expect an even tougher situation to come. You’re clever enough to understand that we need someone to be a sacrifice when the time comes.』

『I’ll be in charge of the Japanese. That was supposed to be agreed by both countries. And I won’t use sacrificial pawns.』

『…Hmm, that’s right, you aren’t a soldier, you’re just a civilian. It’s okay to talk about ideals but reality is something you need to look at. If it becomes a tight situation, I won’t hesitate.』

『…We can only pray that it doesn’t become that.』

The man called Colonel Alfred then returned to the military group.

There were ten soldiers, but now only five were left.

All of them were battered and exhausted.

They had risked their lives, surpassed the trial, and were now exhausted.

It was not exhaustion that could be cured in ten minutes. However, the countdown continued even if they did nothing.

There were those who were scared and trembling, those who shed tears for losing their friends, and those who just expressed their anger.

Everyone was focused on the countdown.

『It’s time. The Trial of Knowledge, worship God, will begin. There are fifteen participants… Ten, nine…』

『Eight, seven…』

『USA! USA!』

『OORAH! OORAH!』

The US military formed a circle and raised their voices to boost morale.

『Six, five…』

“What exactly is the Trial of Knowledge?”

Midori-san muttered as if pondering.

『Four, three…』

“Damn it, damn it! I’ll survive. I won’t die! I’m not a loser!”

Sato shouted loudly to encourage himself.

『Two, one…』

“Phew… okay. I’m ready. I can fight now. I won’t give up until the end.”

I reminded myself out loud not to repeat my previous mistake.

『Zero』

“Everyone, I pray for your success!”

『It is time. Transferring now.』

And then, our view faded to black.