Cole and Lucy had made it off of the train unharmed. They exited the portal into a small room, roughly twice the size of the car they’d just left.

“Congratulations.” IQ said. “You’ve cleared both of your assigned trials. As of now, your team has collected a total of seventeen points out of one hundred points needed to clear the first tier. A detailed breakdown of each trial may be viewed at any time through your provided console. ”

“Console?” Cole asked, grinning slightly. “What console?”

“The console is the device to your left.” IQ replied monotonously, “It will provide you with many basic necessities, along with various other belongings.”

So she can respond...

“That?” Lucy asked, pointing to her left.

Cole looked to see what Lucy was referring to. Placed at the far corner of the room was a large, pitch-black pillar protruding from one of the room's corners.

“Yes.” IQ said. “To interact with the console, simply pour a small stream of mana into it. You will now have twenty-four hours to recuperate for your next trial. If you choose to depart early, simply indicate so on the console. Whenever you choose to leave, be it now or after your allotted time has passed, your next trial will be explained. After hearing this explanation, you will have an hour to prepare accordingly.”

IQ’s voice cut out, enveloping the room in silence. Twenty-four hours was an entire day, but was it really enough to process all of the events Cole had gone through, one after the other? Cole was optimistic but overwhelmed. He wanted to curl up and take a nap, but his adrenaline had spiked so high that it was unlikely he’d get any meaningful rest.

Looking around the room, Cole noticed how bare it was. To his right was a single small bed. In front of him was a couch and a table. To his left was the console. The room contained nothing else, outside of a single door that led into a bathroom. Well, it’s not the high life, Cole thought to himself, but it’s not the worst room I’ve seen.

“How are you keeping up?” Lucy asked.

“Alright,” Cole said, trying his best to keep a positive attitude. “That was a pretty nice kick.”

“Thanks.” Lucy chuckled. “Who did you vote for?”

“I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t vote, but I’m dying to know who the imposters were,” Cole said, cringing slightly. “Well, maybe that’s the wrong way of wording it.”

“You’re awfully calm about everything that just happened,” Lucy said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“You’re calm, so I’m calm.” Cole insisted. “You seem to know what you’re doing, and all. I figured if you’re not worried, then I shouldn’t be.”

Lucy looked at him blankly for a moment.

“Fair enough.” She shrugged.

“I do have to say, though… couldn’t you have done more back there? Seeing Dwaine and Lin’s bodies like that was horrifying.”

“Normally, you’d be right,” Lucy replied, walking to the console.

Pushing her left hand against the console's flat surface, Lucy waited a few moments. Cole also waited for something to happen, but nothing appeared. He tried tapping his wristband, but all that was displayed was a clock ticking down for their twenty-four hour stay. Looking back to Lucy, he saw her eyes were scanning across the console, back and forth.

“Ah, that’s how you do it,” Lucy said. “It even tells you who acquired which points and for what reason.”

“Huh?”

“Right here,” Lucy replied, pointing at the pillar. “It says we collectively gained four points for completing the ‘imposter trial,’ along with three additional points for our guesses.”

“I don’t see anything.”

“You don’t?” Lucy asked, turning to Cole.

“I do not,” Cole replied, poking at the console’s hard surface.

“That’s weird. Even if you can’t use magic, you should be able to see the same stuff I’m seeing. Do you at least see the blue light around the console?”

“I don’t.”

“Hmm.”

“Is that bad?”

“I don’t know,” Lucy said, turning back to the console. “I’ve never used one of these before.”

“Are they not common?”

“There are devices like it in some of the larger towns I’ve been to, but nothing quite like this.”

“I guess I’ll be relying on you even more, then,” Cole said, trying to conceal his disappointment in the idea. “Who were the imposters? How many points did we get?”

“We got a point for each,” Lucy replied. “You got zero points while I got three.”

“Wait,” Cole said. “There were three imposters?”

“Didn’t you think it was weird that you could pick up to three people?” Lucy asked.

“I didn’t pick anyone.”

“Ah, that must be how you got zero. It says here that each incorrect answer subtracts a point from your score.”

“I’d bet we’re the only group that gained any point, then,” Cole said, thinking of how they’d left things.

“Most likely.”

“Three would definitely make sense. If there were three, then that’d explain how each group had an alibi for at least one of the deaths.”

“Exactly,” Lucy said. “Now that you know, who do you think the three were?”

Cole took a moment to think about his answer.

“I’m not sure. Tobias and Zaviar seemed to have known each other for a long time, and I got that same sense from Wendy and Monica. If I’d have to guess, it’d be Wendy, Monica, and Niko.”

“Why them, particularly?”

“Wendy and Monica were the only one’s with Sadie,” Cole explained. “and Niko was the last person to talk to Dwaine. I do remember seeing Dwaine alive and well, but that could easily have been some kind of illusion, now that I’ve thought about it more.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Why would they accuse each other then?”

“To seem more innocent. If they’re blaming each other, then it seems like it wouldn’t be both of them. That’s how they got Tobias and Zaviar to turn on us and Wendy’s group. If they narrow it down like that, it’d be easy for Niko to come in later and say he thinks it’s me and you over Monica and Wendy. If we’d been forced to stay by Tobias, something like that could have definitely happened.”

“You think so?” Lucy asked, still messing with the console.

“Assuming they really were the imposters, then maybe.”

“Alright. What about Susie?”

Cole started pacing around the room, trying to occupy himself physically as he thought through what he was saying. Niko or Susie were the most likely options for a third imposter, as Cole didn’t know how long they’d known each other. He’d ruled out Susie, as she’d seemed pretty timid. Niko would then have an easier time convincing her to play along, or simply keep her blindsided to the reality. Conversely, Niko was with Susie the whole time, and would have easily seen if she’d done anything suspicious.

“It was her or Niko,” Cole said. “I picked Niko.”

“An informed choice,” Lucy said, “but not the correct one.”

“Who was the third, then?”

“Did you not consider it could be me?” Lucy asked. “Or you?”

“Well, I figured it could be me, but not you... right?”

“You should have given it some thought, at least,” Lucy said, briefly turning her full attention to Cole. “Your greatest asset is deception. The more you make people think one thing, then the more potent the reality will be when you reveal it. This applies to magic just as much as it does to each trial.”

“I’m lost,” Cole said. “Are you saying you were one of the imposters?”

“No,” Lucy replied, “but it’s something you should have considered.”

“Does that mean you thought I might be one of the imposters?” Cole asked.

“No,” Lucy replied. “I knew who the imposters were after Tobias’ explanation.”

“How?”

“Because of the first trial,” Lucy said. “Don’t you think it’s weird we underwent a trial, but the other three groups didn’t?”

“Of course. I just couldn’t put together why.”

“I’m not sure either, but it resulted in Iggy not coming with us. Each group had one person who died, except our group. Tobias and Zaviar had just met Dwaine, Wendy and Monica had just met Sadie, and the same went for Dwaine. If Iggy was part of our first trial, didn’t it make sense for the same to go for them?”

“You mean,” Cole said, “the people who died were the imposters?”

“Exactly. The Tower may be called the adventurer graveyard, but it isn’t some slaughterhouse where the weak go to die.”

“So, they’re not actually dead?” Cole asked, trying his best to ignore the whole ‘adventure graveyard’ part.

“Not even a little,” Lucy replied.

“Why would they do that?” Cole asked. Continuing to pace around the room, a realization dawning on him. “That must be what Iggy meant by facilitators!”

Iggy had mentioned there were people in The Tower whose sole purpose was to help test the people taking the trial. If that’s what Sadie, Dwaine, and Lin were, then it would make sense that they’d fake their deaths for the trial. Even still, after seeing Lin’s disturbing convulsions, it was a reality Cole found hard to believe.

“Iggy meant what?” Lucy asked.

“Iggy had mentioned there were people, called facilitators, hidden among the adventurers in The Tower who are meant to help test us. The three imposters must have been a few of them.”

“Clever.”

“I never would have guessed it,” Cole said. “Iggy and Lin seemed like such nice people.”

Cole walked over to the couch, plopping himself onto it. Today had been quite stressful for him, and he intended to unwind. Lucy continued to stare at the console as Cole closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He made himself comfortable on the couch, resting his arms across its back. Cole opened his eyes slightly, as he was still far too awake to take a nap.

Staring up at the ceiling, he recognized a familiar image imprinted across it. The image was the same emblem that was engraved on the back of Sensei’s pocket watch. It spanned across the entire ceiling, making it pretty hard to miss.

“Lucy, what’s that?” Cole asked, pointing at the image.

Lucy turned to him. She seemed surprised to see what Cole was pointing at, and paused for a moment before responding. While the image was similar to the one Cole had seen on Sensei’s watch, it was much larger, and therefore easier to make out. The ‘bird’ he had seen had flames surrounding it, and the ‘weird lizard’ he saw was not a lizard at all; it was a hydra. The final area was green, which Cole had failed to make out before. This area contained a small blob at its center, which was filled with all kinds of colors. To say it contained all the colors of the rainbow was an understatement.

“That’s the emblem of the three great continents.” Lucy said, “Though it is a very rare sight to see.”

“Three great continents?” Cole asked, feeling as though each question he asked only provoked more questions.

“There are three primary continents,” Lucy replied as she continued to tap away at the console, “Zashi, Ashura, and Ventis. Ventis is where everyone you’ve met so far is from, as it’s occupied by the human kingdoms. Ashura is the land of the demons, and little is known about it outside of maps, books, and folktales. Zashi, on the other hand, is less of a continent and more of a collection of islands. A lot has been written about Zashi, but little is verifiable.”

“Mysterious,” Cole said with a hint of sarcasm.

“And Dangerous,” Lucy added. “The terrifying monsters that inhabit Zashi make it nearly impossible to navigate on both sea and land. It’s rumored that Zashi is the only place where humans and demons coexist, solely due to this fact. Of course, the adventurers that have actually survived visiting Zashi have never verified the notion.”

“Interesting,” Cole said, scanning back over the emblem. “Does that mean The Tower is in Ventis?”

“No, The Tower is located between the three continents. To our North is Zashi, South-West is Ventis, and South-East is Ashura. While the only way to enter The Tower is through Lithia, it’s meant to be a place void of the demon and human conflict. It’s not too surprising it would contain such a symbol of unification.”

“Unifying?” Cole asked, thinking back to his near beheading.

“However,” Lucy continued, “that emblem has gained another meaning over recent years. A far more popular meaning, at that.”

“Oh?” Cole asked curiously.

“Every guild has a mark.” Lucy said, “That emblem has been adopted as the mark of one of the newer guilds. The Hunters Guild.”

“Huh.” Cole replied, “I’m not sure the guild name fits the meaning of the emblem.”

“You’d be surprised.” Lucy said, “Most guilds operate within the confines of Ventis. The two main reasons for this are the monetary gain and safety. If the pay is low, and the risk is high, why would a guild travel to Zashi or Ashura?”

“For fun?” Cole guessed, trying to understand what her point was.

“Maybe,” Lucy laughed, “but probably not. There are two prevailing theories behind why the emblem was chosen as their mark. The first is to send the message that all voices will be heard, and all requests will be fulfilled, no matter where they come from. The second is to send the opposite message: that they’d hunt anyone, on any continent, if they meant to do humanity harm.”

It was an interesting prospect, one Cole still couldn’t fully wrap his head around. If the reason is unknown, does that mean the guild is so new that no one has asked?

“Which do you believe?” Cole asked.

“The former,” Lucy stated, “though I am in the vast minority in that opinion.”

“Really? Why?”

“It’d have to do with their leader,” Lucy said. “No one knows any of the guild members directly, and it’s impossible to tell who could be a member of the guild. The only one who is known is its founder: the adventurer named Slayer.”

“Ah.” Cole said, “I can see why people would think that then.”

“Recent events haven’t exactly helped their image, either.” Lucy sighed, “Anyway, I think I got us some food.”

“Food?” Cole asked excitedly, only now realizing how hungry he was.

He sat up to see Lucy still staring into the console. A small rectangular surface protruded from it, roughly at waist level. Its base began to glow purple, creating a portal on the surface. A large platter of food came out from it, resting snugly on the surface as the portal closed. The platter took up all of the space available, as if the rectangle had been formed specifically for it. Now that’s cool.

Lucy grabbed the platter. As she lifted it from the surface, the rectangle that had formed resized into a smaller square. Once again, it glowed purple, and a small bowl was produced. Lucy grabbed the bowl, watching the new square surface retracted back into the console as if it had never existed in the first place.

“This food,” Lucy said, turning to Cole.

“That was awesome,” Cole said.

“Yeah, it kinda was.”

Lucy brought the two dishes to where Cole was sitting. Placing them between herself and Cole, Lucy returned back to the console. The platter she’d gotten held a tasty-looking meal. The dish was split into two sides by a line of various greens and two sets of utensils. Each side was the same, with cooked chicken legs, sliced chicken breast, and a full baked potato. The potato had a small piece of soft butter beside it. A steady stream of steam rose from the dish, and the smell made Cole’s stomach grumble.

The other dish Lucy had gotten was a small bowl filled with bright red strawberries. Lucy returned with two cups, placing one on either side of the platter. She sat directly beside Cole, the platter between them on the table. Lucy grabbed the chicken wing and began to dig right in. Cole followed suit, chowing down on the free food.