The Best

Good things in life were often hard-won; eight or nine times out of ten, things did not go as one wished.

Deafening thunder boomed outside, while flashes of lightning lit the surroundings as bright as day.

Tap, tap...

First, a few raindrops fell. Then, like ten thousand horses galloping, a torrential downpour came crashing down in an instant.

Splash, splash...

Rainwater slid from the eaves and dripped onto the broad balcony, blown into Arro's room by the howling wind.

Feeling droplets steadily soaking his face, Arro woke from his dream with a blank expression. He stared dully at the balcony and began to question his life.

The more carefree he had been while stargazing earlier, the more miserable he was now.

No way. Such a huge balcony, and there was nothing to block it?

Curled beneath his blankets, Arro used the swaying candlelight in the room to inspect the balcony again and again. At last, he found where "hope" lay.

A recessed line ran between the room and the balcony. A stack of wooden boards had been neatly accumulated on the balcony; those should have been meant as a barrier.

Arro, get up! Hurry and put up the boards!

No! There was a powerful force of attraction inside the blanket. I couldn't break free!

No, that was just your own laziness. Be strong, Arro. You were the best!

Right, I was the best!

After an intense internal struggle, Arro finally made his decision. He rolled over... and pulled the blanket over his head!

"Ugh!"

Only moments later, reason finally returned.

Thinking that if he ignored it, he might soon be sleeping in a pond, Arro could only crawl out of bed helplessly.

A small section of eave protruded above the balcony, but in such a drafty environment, it was nowhere near enough to block the heavy rain blown in by the wind.

It was pouring outside, while a light rain was blowing across the balcony. Puddles of various sizes had even gathered on the seemingly level floor.

The wind and rain carried away the warmth Arro had painstakingly gathered beneath his blanket. He could not help shivering, quickly hastened his Footsteps, stepped into the puddles, and reached for the wooden boards.

The solid wooden boards were quite heavy. Soaked by Rainwater, they were also slippery, but that could not stump Arro, who had trained for years. With a low shout and a slight exertion of strength, he lifted the flat board and set it upright into the groove.

After setting up one board, Arro had gained experience. Relying on his extraordinary senses, he moved faster and faster, and before long, he had put up every board.

He hurried into the bathroom, casually wiped his clothes with a towel, then hastily burrowed back beneath the blankets.

"Phew! So comfortable."

The lingering warmth inside the blanket relaxed Arro's body even further. Drowsiness immediately rose, and he closed his eyes with a satisfied smile.

Unfortunately, the boards did not seem tightly fitted together. Once Arro closed his eyes, he could clearly hear the occasional creaking sounds from them.

Drip, drip, drip... Rainwater falling from somewhere unknown kept sounding, somewhat like Footsteps gradually drawing nearer.

Inhale—snore!

Inhale—snore!

Arro opened his eyes in agony.

He had never imagined that his own teacher could snore!

Brain... I wanted to sleep.

Ears—get lost!

The enclosed space made every sound around him more distinct. Arro stared lifelessly at the burning candle beside him.

With his Physical Quality, staying awake for one night would not have been a big deal.

But being abruptly awakened while sleeping so soundly, then being kept from falling asleep by every sort of noise... that was truly unbearable.

Crackle!

Who knew what the lamp oil was made of? When it burned, it gave off not only a faint smoky stink but also wisps of Black Mist. The candlelight occasionally popped, making the flame sway slightly and causing the shadows on the walls to tremble as well.

Arro stared blankly at those shifting lights and shadows.

After waiting for who knew how long, his eyelids finally began to droop.

ZZZ...

Knock, knock!

Heavy knocking jolted Arro awake again. He rolled over and casually pulled the blanket over his head.

The blanket was my invincible shelter. No one was going to disturb me!

Knock knock knock!

The knocking was neither hurried nor slow, maintaining a certain rhythm without pausing for even a moment.

The tree wished for stillness, but the wind would not cease!

Arro could not help sighing. He could only shout outside, "Who is it? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?!"

Bang bang bang!

Having Heard Arro's voice, the knocking outside became even more urgent!

The Black Cat stretched lazily and muttered in complaint, "Can't you let me sleep quietly for once?"

Quietly?

Hadn't you been asleep for ages already?

Wait!

Quiet?

It was too quiet!

After making such a commotion for so long, why was the inn still this quiet?

Arro immediately sprang up, gripped the Knight's Longsword beside his bed, and looked around with a grave expression. His breathing rhythm quietly changed as well.

"Have you noticed?" The Black Cat rose with a yawn. "If you had not noticed, perhaps you could have continued sleeping. But now that you have awakened to it, the gate to the Anomaly Space has opened."

Arro's pupils contracted.

At the same time, the scene around him began changing rapidly, undergoing unimaginable transformations.

First, the sound of rain outside gradually grew louder. Once it reached a certain limit, the rain abruptly vanished completely. It was unclear whether the sound had exceeded Arro's hearing limit or simply stopped for no reason.

Then, the row of boards erected on the balcony began twisting strangely. The gaps between them gradually disappeared, while the teeth-grating creaks of the boards slowly transformed into dull hissing sounds.

It was as though some colossal beast were constantly scratching behind that wooden wall.

The sound of falling droplets truly became Footsteps, pacing back and forth outside the room's door.

The candlelight flared brightly. The walls, which had not been particularly old, gradually became mottled as countless gray-green molds rapidly crept across them.

Crash!

The Earth Block partitioning the bathroom gradually crumbled, while spiderwebs inexplicably spread through Mid-air.

In that brief span of time, the whole room seemed to have endured several centuries!

Crack!

The sudden sound startled Arro. Only after turning around did he discover that the rotten wooden bed had collapsed.

The woolen bedding across the bed began shrinking and blackening, while an obscure, unpleasant Foul Odor gradually filled the air.

Looking at the gray-black woolen sheets amid the rotten wood, at the faintly visible impression where someone had lain, Arro could not help feeling disoriented.

Had he fallen into the Anomaly Space, or had he been trapped in the Anomaly Space for several hundred years?

The moment the thought crossed Arro's mind, the light went out. In the pitch-black room, the faint light seeping through the door crack became all the more conspicuous.

Bang bang bang!

As violent impacts rang out, the light entering through the door crack widened. Arro's heart pounded wildly, and an intense Sense of Crisis gradually shrouded his heart.

Arro swallowed and instinctively took half a step back.

The Black Cat slowly approached and soothed him, "Little Arro, don't be afraid. You should have felt it too—the abnormalities around us have intensified, haven't they?"

"This is actually because of you."

"This is merely a low-level Anomaly Space, but because you developed feelings of identification and treated the events created by the Anomaly Space as real, the connection between you and this Anomaly Space has deepened."

Arro gave a bitter smile. "I don't want that either, but... I can't stop fragments that suddenly flash through my mind!"

"Once you become a beginner Wizard Apprentice, you will be able to stabilize your Mental Strength. Then, as long as your reason remains, you will be able to restrain your own thoughts."

Arro took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Then I want to leave this place even more, because I'll soon begin learning wizardry. When that time comes, I'll naturally be able to do all of this."

"Teacher Gemma, if we stay where we are, can we automatically escape this place?"

Arro knew very well how knowledgeable the Black Cat was. Faced with this unknown situation, he could only turn to the Black Cat for help.

The Black Cat continued asking, "Did you later develop a sense of fear? Did you feel that things were becoming more and more dangerous?"

Arro did not deny it. Frowning, he asked, "What about it?"

The Black Cat looked around and raised a brow. "A Sense of Crisis is not wrong. Your fear has already been absorbed by the anomaly. You have been marked!"

"Do you feel that this Anomaly Space is becoming more and more real?"

"Waiting in place is waiting for death!"

"And besides... there is no need to!"

"Hahaha!"

The Black Cat's laughter turned wild.

"You are afraid because you are too weak. If you had sufficient strength, how could you be afraid?"

"This is an opportunity!"

By the light leaking through the door crack, Arro was shocked to discover that black smoke was rising from his enlightenment teacher's body.

"Arro, today I'll teach you another piece of knowledge."

"Many Anomaly Spaces can absorb your emotions, thereby stealing your Mental Strength and strengthening themselves!"

"Even after becoming a wizard, it will be difficult for you to fully guard against all kinds of Anomaly Spaces."

"The emotions they draw upon may be fear, greed, lust, appetite... but almost no Anomaly Space will absorb the desire to fight!"

Black Mist spread out, gradually condensing into a Black Cat larger than Arro himself.

"Do you know why?"

"Because in battle, a life's instinct to survive is awakened. Every emotion strives for survival, and scattered emotions become exceedingly scarce, so..."

"Do not always think about running away."

The enormous Black Cat charged at the constantly banging Wooden Door.

Slash!

Before the Black Cat's sharp claws, the Wooden Door was as flimsy as brittle paper.

Wood chips flew everywhere. On the Black Cat's enormous head, a pair of deep Dark Green vertical pupils looked toward Arro.

"Arro, fight!"

He had been marked?

Waiting meant waiting for death?

...Fight?

Arro fell silent for a moment. Looking at the encouragement in the Black Cat's Eyes, the corners of his mouth split into an exaggerated grin.

"Alright!"

He raised his hand and slowly drew the longsword from its Sword Sheath.

Slash!

A flash of light streaked through the darkness.

He crouched, and Cat Form Fist—Dash activated automatically.

The Arrector Pili Muscles all over his body tensed, sending every minute sensation around him into his brain.

His breathing gradually deepened as great quantities of oxygen flooded into his lungs, and his heart began beating rapidly.

What a familiar state.

It was like—returning to "kindergarten"!

So, let me think...

This time—what posture should I make you cry in?

Yesterday was Monday, and I had wanted to make a push up the rankings.

Unfortunately, I couldn't compete with them. Yesterday, I couldn't even hold onto sixth place in the category rankings and fell straight out of the top ten, let alone the New Star Overall Ranking.

Still, thank you all for your support. Today, we slowly climbed back up again.

We're not in a hurry. After all, there are still more Mondays ahead.

From now on, I'll reduce the words of thanks, because copying the list of names to thank each time takes nearly more than ten minutes.

I need to search through the categories one by one and compare names one by one. Some brothers have names that are too hard to type, so I have to go to the web version to copy them. Especially some brothers with numbers in their names—for the sake of typing those names, my eyes practically go blurry...

So, let me apologize to everyone in advance.

Please continue supporting me in the future. Next Monday, we'll keep charging up the rankings!