The Mansion of Trials and Trials

The Beginning Draw

"My dear Wanderers, may I introduce you to the first trial. It's called 'The Beginning Draw'." said Puppet as she snapped her finger.

Unexpectedly, a young short black haired boy carrying a round table and a black box walked down from the stairs slowly. He put the table down in front of the stairs and stood still quietly. As I observed him, although he was wearing a formal butler outfit, I could see he was being covered with bandages all around the body. Legs and hands. The bandages also covered his right side face, leaving his left eye standing out significantly, glittering in gray. And of course, the tattoo 'Resident' was printed on his forehead. Is he a mummy? No, he must be.

"Wanderers, let me introduce you to Mel. Same as me, he is also one of the Residents. Mel, why don't you say hello to the Wanderers?"

Hearing Puppet, Mel took out a sketchbook, drew on it with a pen and showed it to us.

The drawing was as follows.

​「​​　(​^o^)​　」​

​​「​​　Mel. Nice to meet you. (​^o^)​ ​」​

Emoticons? Why does he need to draw emoticons?

"Err.......sorry, Wanderers. Mel doesn't like to speak, instead he likes to use emoticons and simple words to talk. Although it is sometimes hard to understand what he is thinking, he is excellent in cleaning up the Mansion. But on top of it, he handles dead bodies the best. So watch out, if you don't want him to clean yours."

.......oh dear. Dead bodies?! Why are the Residents in this Mansion so strange and creepy?

"Anyway, I'm going to explain the rules of this trial. See the box on the table? Inside this box, there are 38 number balls. 19 balls with the number -1, 18 balls for 0 and 1 ball for 1. Each Wanderer just needs to pick one ball and they can get obols according to the number they draw. For example, if a Wanderer draws a ball with the number 1, then he can get one obol. However, if he gets a negative number, then he will need to give away their obols."

"Also, as it is a solo trial, no advice from other Wanderers is allowed when picking the balls. Once your hand gets out from the box, the trial ends immediately. Above are all the rules. Because this is the first trial, it doesn't require you guys to pay any obols. Any questions?"

No one answered.

"If no, then let's—----"

"Wait a minute!" All of the sudden, Keira broke the silence, "You said we need to give away our obols, right? We only have one obol, doesn't that mean...."

"Yes. According to the rules of the Mansion of Trials and Trials, Rule No.3, if Wanderers cannot pay enough obol for the trial, he will receive judgment immediately. You guys only have one obol now, if you pick the ball with the number -1, you won't have enough obol to pay for the next trial and will receive judgment immediately once the next trial starts. In other words, this is a life-risking game. A game that bet on the most important thing in your lives!"

"WHAT?! Don't be kidding me! I'm not going to play that kind of game! I want to get out of here RIGHT NOW!!!!" Keira screamed. Other voices followed.

"If you don't want to participate in the trials, then do you want to die?" Puppet asked.

Keira's face went pale. So as everyone else.

"I understand you all must be scared and confused of what's happening here. But you guys don't have a choice. You have to make a decision. Whether to die in fear or stand up and fight for survival. Win or lose. It all depends on your choice. This is the Mansion of Trials and Trials. A trial that tests your skills, limits and bravery. A trial that no one can avoid."

"Of course, you can always choose to quit but I can tell you, if you do that, you may end up like that police officer." Puppet giggled again. Pimples appeared on my skin, the shivering just wouldn't stop.

Puppet's right.

We don't have a choice.

The Residents in this Mansion have some kind of special powers. There is no way we can defeat them.

We are being kidnapped, not the kidnappers.

At the moment we arrive at this place, we are forced to follow the orders and instructions they tell us to do. No matter what they say or what they do to us, we cannot resist.

If we do, we will all be DEAD.

"Excuse me, can I ask something? I have two questions." Out of blue, a voice interrupted my thoughts. I raised my head, it was the man who talked to me earlier, Von.

"What?" Puppet asked.

"You know, Puppet. I've been thinking about this question since I arrived at this Mansion. You said we ended up here by ourselves. Then, why do we end up being here by ourselves?"

"Well......hehehe......I can't answer that question. But if you are really curious, I can tell you when you leave this Mansion. That is, of course, if you can survive in the trials." Puppet smiled at Von, looking down at him. She was playing with him. But Von didn't seem to care.

"........fine. If you don't want to answer, answer me my second question then. If we pass all five trials, you will really let us go, right? You're not lying, are you?" Von sharpened his eyes.

".........hehehe.....you're really strange. This question is meaningless. If I'm lying, how can I tell you I'm lying? Like I said, you guys don't have a choice. No matter what I say, all you can do is to trust me. Apart from following my instructions, you guys don't have another way to get out of this place, right?"

"HUH?! DON'T BE KIDDING ME! If you're lying, doesn't that mean that we can't get out of here even if we pass all five trials?! HOW IRRESPONSIBLE ARE YOU!!!" Max roared.

"Responsible? You're really funny. Why should I be responsible? Shouldn't you understand your own situation more carefully? It is WE who make the RULES, not YOU."

"WHAT DO YOU SAY?!!!!" Max lifted up his fist. Von grabbed his arm.

"..........Mr. Max. Please, calm down. She's right. We don't have a choice. Let us follow their instructions first or else we will all die."

"DON'T BE KIDDING ME! IF I DON'T AT LEAST GIVE A PUNCH TO THAT GIRL FIRST, I CAN'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

"NO! Please calm down. Don't you remember Rule No. 5? Wanderers cannot kill or harm the Residents in the Mansion. Anyone who kills or harms the Residents will be trapped in the Mansion forever! If you hurt that girl, you will become a monster just like that police officer! So, please calm down, Mr. Max." Von sweated. Max glared at him and squeezed his fist, although he didn't want to admit, Von was right, there wasn't another choice. He threw away Von's hand.

"Wait and see, Puppet! I'm going to let you regret what you did to me!" Max scolded loudly and walked away. Oddly, Puppet's smile grew wider.

"Regret? Hehehe.......that's interesting. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one who will regret it." Puppet chuckled.

"No, he is right." Von agreed, "I won't let you guys control us. I'll play in your game, Puppet. But don't ever think I will lose so easily."

"Hehehe.......how confident you are. I do hope that it doesn't kill you."

"Well, Wanderers! Sorry for the delay!" Puppet spread her arms, "Let's resume our trial. Everyone, please come forward and pick the ball according to your Wanderer number. May Wanderer No. 1 step forward."

After all the arguments, the first trial finally started.

I gazed at my room key.

No. 31. I'm the last. Wonder if this is good or bad.

I don't want to die.

I cannot stand to die in such a strange place.

But the trials cannot be stopped.

Then the only thing I can do is to win the trials.