Mount Spirit Sword Asylum...

Calvin served as a custodian similar to Ria's job back then, so he knew a lot about Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

Mountain Spirit Sword was based on a real mountain located in the Sawatch Range of Colorado in the U.S. As for the asylum mansion itself, it was molded after the Richardson Olmsted Complex which was also a real asylum located in Buffalo, New York.

'Really... Fivecent always has this habit of making real-life Earth references.' Calvin inwardly mused.

"W-What is that...?"

"Are we going to go there and escape from that place at the same time?"

"No! I won't do it! The place seriously gives me the creeps!"

The newbies started whispering towards one another with some even screaming that they wouldn't enter Mount Spirit Sword Asylum even if their lives were threatened.

"Are you sure that you guys are not going in? Remember that if you back-out from the final phase, then you will owe Fivecent a great deal of money! That is what's written in the contract!" A man spoke up, it was the blonde-haired attention-seeker earlier.

Calvin swept his gaze across the eleven newbies and he discovered the indifferent young lady earlier. As always, she still doesn't have anyone around her. The cold look on her face seemed to have become an invisible force field which made everyone steer away from her subconsciously.

Calvin was intrigued.

He approached her with a smile, "Hey, that blonde-haired young man there is telling us to introduce ourselves. Would you mind going together?"

The young lady raised an eyebrow, "Blonde-haired young man? Aren't you a young man yourself too?"

Calvin was speechless.

He got carried away and forgot that he was back to his young self.

To think that he would make such a blunder!

Calvin scolded himself.

"Well, you're right. But how about it? Will you introduce yourself? I mean, we are all going to be a team once we get inside the mansion and I hope that we can work together to survive and pass this final phase." Calvin revealed a smile.

He planned on saving humanity from its impending doom.

Calvin wasn't so arrogant to think that he could save the entire world by himself.

Of course, he needed allies!

He needed comrades that he could trust his back to.

And even if they won't become his allies, since they were fellow humans. They would still surely help humanity fight against the upcoming invaders. If he could save valuable talents like them from dying so early without even having the opportunity to exert their potential. Calvin was willing to save them.

Mount Spirit Sword Asylum was a dangerous place.

Even though he had already prepared a relatively safe route that he could use.

The spawn locations of those madmen and intangible demons were unknown. Calvin reckoned that he could only rely on his past experience and rich experience in battles to guide these newbies to safety.

Even though it was difficult, at least it wasn't impossible.

So long as these newbies were willing to listen to him, he would do his best to guide them all.

"Okay, now that we have everyone gathered here, let's introduce ourselves!"

The blonde-haired young man from earlier spoke, "I'll go first. My name is Ray, and I'm a University Student and a member of the going straight to home club!" Ray had this amused smile on his face when he completed his sentence, but when he realized that everyone remained indifferent, he frowned...

"That's strange, wasn't that a good joke? Why is no one laughing?"

Calvin inwardly cringed, 'Dang, so the reason why he's trying to seek attention is to flaunt his chuuni?'

The other newbies revealed bitter smiles on their faces as if they were in pain.

It was obvious from their expression alone that they didn't find Ray's joke as funny.

Ray awkwardly scratched his head and stepped backwards.

Next, everyone turned their attention to Calvin.

"Uh, hello... My name is Calvin, I play video games as a hobby. I hope we can work together!"

Calvin rubbed his nose, he didn't know why but he felt somewhat embarrassed introducing himself.

It reminded him of his embarrassment every time he introduced himself to his classmates on the first day of school.

"I'm Medea."

The young lady stepped forward and said a single sentence before stepping back once again.

"That's it?"

One of the newbies uttered in disbelief.

Medea didn't reply.

She maintained her stone-faced expression and seemed to have no intention to reply.

"What is wrong with this girl?"

A middle-aged lady frowned upon seeing Medea's indifference.

Her displeasure was clear for everyone to see, but none of them spoke up.

"My name's Rose, I'm an accountant."

She then stepped back and returned to her original position.

The other newbies introduced themselves.

"You can call me, Roy..."

"My name is Jannette. My line of work is a... secret."

"I'm Philip..."

"Hugo here, nice to meet you..."

"I'm Nicholas, no Cage at the end though..."

The men finished their introductions, while the remaining three ladies seemed to have some hesitation. But due to peer pressure, they soon caved in as one of them stepped forward and introduced herself.

"I'm Scarlett. She's Jane, and she's Zahra... We're the best of friends."

Jane and Zahra were pleased as they revealed smiles on their faces.

The other newbies quickly became lukewarm to them. Probably because they seemed to be the final bastion of light amidst the darkness and eerieness of Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

When the introductions were over, they finally entered the gates of Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

[You've entered Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.]

[Great danger is everywhere in this damned place.]

[Please exercise caution!]

Calvin saw three system notifications floating in front of him.

The other newbies were somewhat astonished by the system notifications but after a simple explanation from the blonde-haired Ray.

They soon understood what the transparent windows were about and they gradually calmed down.

Of course, their calm didn't last for so long.

As soon as they made a single step forward beyond the gates of Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

The gates behind them abruptly closed!

"Ah!"

The girls, except Medea and Rose, simultaneously cried out.

Ray swiftly turned around astonishing Calvin who realized that Ray was in a fighting stance.

'Oh, so this guy knows how to fight?'

Calvin was amused.

'But it's useless...'

'Fighting against the monsters in this place is basically the same as courting death...'

'No matter how powerful you are, the most that you can do while you're in this godforsaken place is to run!'

Calvin's face turned serious.

Mount Spirit Sword Asylum was indeed incredibly dangerous but hidden behind these dangers were treasures waiting to be found.

Back then, when Fivecent suddenly collapsed.

It was revealed that Mount Spirit Sword Asylum was a treasure trove.

When the Predators around the world of Las Felipinas realized that the rumors were true.

They rushed at Mount Spirit Sword Asylum to claim the treasures for themselves.

Of course, a slaughter ensued and in the end, none of the greedy men claimed anything.

All of them died within the depths of this black hole known as Mount Spirit Sword Asylum!

Calvin felt his heart pound harder against his chest.

The more dangerous it was, the more he felt that his effort would be worth it.

He wasn't even planning on claiming the most guarded treasure of Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

The only treasure that he wanted from this Asylum was a notebook that everyone deemed useless but incredibly useful to him!

The Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life!

Calvin's eyes flashed with determination.

Soon, his group approached the front doors of this asylum mansion.

Courage and bravery could be seen on the faces of his comrades.

Little did they knew that this little courage of theirs would swiftly be snuffed out as soon as they step their feet into the mansion itself.

'I'm planning on helping them in critical situations, but before that happens. I should be able to use this place as a grindstone to squeeze out their potential. Is there even a better way of squeezing one's potential apart from a near-death experience?'

'To learn what is necessary to live, one must first face death...'

'Without facing death, these newbies will definitely undermine the value of their life. Especially, once they get their Aspects if they managed to pass this final phase. Fivecent does not want any naive contracted individuals. That is the reason why they devised such a cruel and cold two-phase tests...'

Calvin lightly shook his head as he emerged from the depths of his thoughts.

It was because, in front of him, one of the newbies was actually trying to kick the doors of the mansion!

"Stop!"

"Don't kick the doors! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Do you want to die that much?!"

Calvin hurriedly cried out.

He really was angry this time.

The reason why he didn't say anything while they were approaching the front doors of the mansion was that he thought that these newbies would only try and twist the doorknob to see if the doors were locked.

Little did he knew that these noobs would actually try to kick the door open when they discovered that it was locked!

If they did that, then they would immediately awaken those monsters inside the mansion!

That was tantamount to instantly killing everyone here!

How could they be this stupid and dense?!