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Name: Braham Carter
Race: Pure Elf
Age: 29 years
Path: Exalted
Affinity: Harmony – Light
Trait: Halo of Harmony
Soul-bound Artifact: Necklace
Highest weapon talent: Magical Orb
Highest support Talent: Medicine
Chance of Survival: 55.27%
***
Name: Marcus Ignaris
Race: 90% Elf/ 10% Dwarf
Age: 65 years
Path: Cultivator
Affinity: Earth
Trait: Stone Skin
Soul-bound Artifact: None
Highest weapon talent: Great Hammer – Zewihander
Highest support Talent: Fishing
Chance of Survival: 25.13%
***
Name: Drax
Race: Pure Knull
Age: 39 years
Path: Exalted
Affinity: Ash
Trait: Ashen Physique
Soul-bound Artifact: None
Highest weapon talent: Jian
Highest support Talent: Alchemy – farming
Chance of Survival: 20.93%
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I found 3 people that I knew.
The first was my former therapist, Dr. Braham, and The second was Aria's instructor, Marcus.
But the third was the real problem. He was the demon that the protagonist fought at the end of the free chapters.
'At least the plot changrd.'
Additionally, I found that there were exactly 50 demons while the other 50 were from different races.
'There is no way it's a coincidence. This crap has a meaning.'
I didn't know if they would make them fight each other or force them to work together, but nothing good would come from putting them together.
'Well, I will know in the end anyway.'
I put those thoughts in the back of my mind for now. I had to choose a Challenger. The rules said the earlier I choose the better the rewards, so I decided to just choose one now and help him or her with gifts. I wanted to defeat the demon king, so I had to risk everything.
First, I ignored all the demons. Even if my goal was only winning, I didn't want to help a potential threat. Second, I decided to not think much about the chance of survival. After all, what was the chance of all the coincidences that happened to me?
Then, I studied all the other Challengers. There were exactly 25 Exalted and 25 cultivators. In the end, I had 4 candidates. The first was Dr. Braham, but I was leaning more towards the other three.
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Name: Kaito Ishido
Race: 99% Human/ 1% Celestial
Age: 35 years
Path: Cultivator
Affinity: Will – Celestial Fire
Trait: Sword Saint
Soul-bound Artifact: Katana
Highest weapon talent: Katana
Highest support Talent: Runes Inscribing
Chance of Survival: 89.23%
***
Name: Nameless1142511234
Race: Pure Human
Age: 15 years
Path: Cultivator
Affinity: Fire – ???– ???
Trait: dorment
Soul-bound Artifact: None
Highest weapon talent: Katana
Highest support Talent: ??? – ??? – ???
Chance of Survival: 0.032%
***
Name: Zorath Armstrong
Race: Pure Orc
Age: 32 years
Path: Twin-core Cultivator
Affinity: Metal – Lightning
Trait: Berserker
Soul-bound Artifact: Full body armor
Highest weapon talent: Great Axe
Highest support Talent: Forging
Chance of Survival: 76.5%
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Braham was a healer Exalted. The harmony should be what healed my trauma, meanwhile the light would work as physical healing and speed, giving him a high chance to be the most protected in case he got a team, and I also considered that he has a soul artifact.
Then there was Zorath. Unlike humans, elves and dwarfs, the orcs can't use mana, but instead, they get two aura cores—giving them the highest physical and mental power. Zorath especially had metal and lightning, turning him into a great fighter in speed, defense and strength without forgetting his armor, and even though the information only gave the trait name, I could guess what Berserker could do.
The third option was the most remarkable of them all. Not only has 2 unique affinities that I never heard about before, but he also has a trait that should be related to his swordsmanship and a soul-bound katana.
'The race part is also interesting. I never saw the celestials race in any book.'
The last one was the most mysterious.
He was nameless, which means he was just a kid from the slums without any family to name him. He was the same age as me, didn't reach tier 4 to awaken his trait, just a normal human, didn't have a soul-bound artifact and his Chance of Survival was the lowest among all the 100 Challengers.
But… the moment I saw him, my sixth sense activated for the first time since I awakened. There was also something strange about him. The question mark at the affinities should mean that he didn't sense them yet. There were 3 other cultivators with the same problem, but what about the support Talents? Even the demons didn't have something like that.
I focused on his image behind the information. He had short brown hair, light skin, grey eyes and above average face. There was nothing special about his look.
I imagined a cold cola and a small cup of cola appeared on the table. I started drinking it while thinking about my choice.
'The healer that needs protection. The Berserker with body armor. The Sword Saint with unique affinities and the unknown boy that made my sixth sense activated.'
After thinking for an hour, I finally decided to trust my instincts.
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[Are you sure you want to choose Nameless1142511234? You can't change this later]
[Yes] [No]
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I pressed yes instantly. Then another screen appeared.
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[Please enter your nickname]
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I thought for a moment before deciding to make it Night Terror
'Well, how to leave now.'
I thought about leaving in my mind, the next moment, I was back to the training area.
I tried to take a step forward just to realize that I was still in the middle of the air.
'Shit, I forgot!'
I started enhancing my body to prepare for the fall, but someone caught me suddenly.
"Are you okay?" I heard Alfred's voice. I felt like it was eternity since I heard him.
I nodded to him, and the next moment, I found myself standing behind Zephyr and Cel.
Cel looked a little sad and worried, while Zephyr looked… Excited?
Suddenly, our bracelets started ringing and I heard Aria's voice in my mind.
—Ray! Did something strange happen to you? Something like… wait, I have to go. I will talk to you later.
[Emergency!!! If any strange events happened to you recently, please tell us the full details. This may be something more dangerous than the demons!]
"They are really fast at their work." Alfred suddenly spoke, trying to lighten the mode, but I noticed some nervousness in his voice.
I sat on the ground from exhaustion. That was… too much to my mind. I recalled what happened in that room.
'I was calm… too calm. I don't know if my trait was what caused this or the room itself.'
"Did you see that too? The land of challenges?" Zephyr suddenly spoke, and I could swear that he looked too excited for this!
"Hey Zephyr, did you participate in something similar on the black market?"
His eyes widened for a moment, as if caught off guard.
"W-what makes you think about that? I only go there to buy."
I shifted my gaze towards Cel, but she turned her head the moment our eyes met.
'Useless lie detector.'
For the next hour we discussed everything that happened there.
I found out that Aria, Selene, Zephyr and I were all VIP, but none of us wanted to risk and say anything that went against the rules.
I told them about my choice but only told them about the sixth sense part. Aria and Selene decided to trust me and choose him later, meanwhile the others didn't want to just choose before seeing the first episode at least.
The social media turned into chaos. From what I gathered, only the people above 14 and considered Tier 1 either as an Exalted or Cultivator saw the show announcement.
The government kept trying to calm everyone, but it looks like even them were completely powerless. They only suggested to stay home for the next week.
That day, I couldn't even sleep the night
* * * * *
[The Next Day]
I was back in the same room as yesterday, walking to the sofa, the TV suddenly turned on, showing the same scary man from yesterday.
"I hope you are ready for the number 1 show across all the worlds! For our VIP viewers, remember that you can only send one gift at the end of each episode, so choose wisely."
I sat on the sofa while focusing completely on the screen.
Suddenly, the screen started showing a young boy with brown hair and grey eyes.
'Well, I have only one chance. Let's hope that I chose well. It's Everything or Nothing.'
❖End of Volume 1: A New Life❖