Training Hall 2, Ego Training Room 9…

“Attention, all participants. In two days time, a new event shall replace the second match, and the latter shall be rescheduled to next week. Participation is mandatory. Please gather in your assigned arena lobbies at the appointed times. Good luck.”

“A new event, huh?” Lavenna stopped her decompressing stretches with a light groan.

Sitting up with her legs still split apart in a straight line, her gaze turned to Zexus who sat opposite her in the small training room with his back to her. Within the cube of five metres length, their two bedrolls were placed at the back left corner against the padded walls.

Seeing his non-reaction, Lavenna’s gaze narrowed in suspicion. “Any clue what that’s about?”

Fixated on his holobracelet, the amber-eyed man replied simply. “No. But if I had to guess, it’ll be something that sends everyone into a frenzy. People have been relatively at ease with the matches and training so far. They must want to stir up some chaos.”

“Hmm…I guess it does seem that way.” The Kitsune laughed, tilting her upper body left and then right, touching her toes and bending her spine as she did. “It’s like we’re on an extended Isle Tournament. A little bit more stressful for those continent people, but otherwise pretty chill. Then again, I haven’t done much.”

“You burned down one of these training rooms. I wouldn’t call that ‘not much’.”

“True~.”

“Don’t sound so smug.”

“How can I not? It’s literally my thing to be smug and frustrating.”

“Fair enough.”

The ashen-haired beauty eyed her partner. Their whole lives spent together, she could tell that something was off. His responses lacked its usual wit.

That aside, she could also see the slight tension in his muscles as his eyes darted left and right. Within the quiet room, her ears also picked up the faintest rhythmic beats of his heart. It was faster than usual, if only by a thin margin.

“What’s he thinking so hard about?” Lavenna wondered, a thoughtful look on her face as she inched closer. “Watchu lookin’ at?”

“Just confirming the information I received from the attendants.” He replied, sparing no glances.

“Ho? Sounds boring as usual. Did something particular happen with them?”

“Not much. Aside from some ‘motherly advice’.”

Lavenna raised a brow at that, immediately catching on to his meaning. It was not all that subtle, but likely still enough to pass by anyone listening in.

“That’s nice. Anything I should know about?”

“Just that I’ll be working a bit harder from now on.”

…

Watching him, her thoughts wandered to an earlier conversation she had in the baths just a few hours ago with their other ‘group members’. A smirk spread across her face as she all but dove onto the man’s back. Throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her ample bosom against him, she brought her lips to his ear as her tails instinctively clung to his arms.

“Hey, let’s have a baby!” She beamed like a child asking for candy.

Amber eyes against midnight fields looked back at her. What would have paralysed most instead made her heart skip a beat in excitement. “Are you serious?”

Although the question may have seemed to imply otherwise if spoken by anyone else, Lavenna knew that her Bonded was sincere. He was like that, always stoic and to the point. In some ways like when she tries to crack a joke, it was annoying to her. However, in other situations such as her current one, it endeared him to her like no other. Blunt and straightforward, her ideal type.

“Obviously I don’t mean the…’normal’ way. Having an actual baby while we’re in this screwed up place would be highly irresponsible and stuff. But…” The fox asked, trying her best to be just as honest as he was. It was against her nature as a seductress and ‘lurer of men’, but she managed to get the words out nonetheless. “If I said I’m serious, is there a chance you’d say yes?”

His eyes shifted.

“... Yes, but on three conditions.” Zexus said. “First we find out what this ‘new event’ is. Second, we have to tell mother. Third and more importantly, we get married.”

“Well aren’t you romantic, little mama’s boy?” Lavenna teased with a smile. “Not the way I thought we’d officially get betrothed, but good enough. Shall we skip the rings and honeymoon?”

“Not like we have a choice.”

“As mum says, there’s ‘always a choice’. Best not though.” Resting her chin on his muscled shoulder, the Kitsune smirked. “So no baby now. But…still wanna do it?”

Her partner contemplated the offer for a moment. “A smart man would decline.”

Lavenna rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a eunuch. I don’t think many men would decline here, smart or not. I mean…just look at me. Who’d reject this? Plus, you look really stiff, honeyberry~. So, you can either stretch with me or you can stretch me.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He froze, but not for long. “... You make me unstable.”

She smirked, tracing a slender finger across his face. “Obviously. I’m the heart.”

----------------------------------------

Arena 5, Waiting Room…

The time was two to twelve in the afternoon. Five minutes before the new ‘event’ was due to commence. Team K had gathered, all thirty seven of them minus the man still recovering in the infirmary. The atmosphere was tense, full of nervous energy as those who were participating prepared themselves both mentally and physically. There was nothing quite as unnerving as the unknown. Given that this event was to replace something as important as the second Capture the Flag match, it was bound to be quite difficult.

For Zexus, this was just one more thing to learn from. Of all the information he had gathered, the attendants had made no mention of this change. Whether it was due to his status as a participant or a sudden change as the announcement had suggested, he was not sure. He could only assume the former given his knowledge of those in charge.

“Athena’s not the type to have a half-baked schedule. This must be something to stir up the people.” Stood in the back of the lobby and furthest away from the painted blue doorway, his eyes swept over team K.

‘Anxious’ would have been an accurate word to describe the overall mood.

He himself was an exception, as were the three sitting in the corner booth with him.

“You look sooooo cute!” He heard Lavenna beam at Avali. All cleaned up, the latter turned out to be quite the looker. Light-skinned with a lean build, her silky hair was tied in a wild ponytail like a brush. While she was no breathtaking beauty like the Kitsune, at least in Zexus’ eyes, the girl gave off the air of a noblewoman, or the fairy princesses of Estria.

At least, that was before a less than pleasant expression spread across the youngest of their group’s face, breaking any illusions of her nobility as she seethed at the fox. “Shut it. How have you become even more irritating in just three days?”

Lavenna was unperturbed by her insults, pulling Avali into a tight hug, much to the Arakian girl’s annoyance.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Zexus and sitting on one of the couches was June. Watching the two other women in their merry band like an older sister would look after their siblings, the dark-haired mage wore a smile of amusement but made no attempt to join them. Instead, she spoke to Zexus when she caught his gaze.

“Something happened?” The amicable mage asked knowingly.

“Nothing to be concerned about.” He replied just as the last seconds to midday ticked down and the screens within the lobby blared to life.

“Welcome to the new event, participants.” The familiar Overseer Vis addressed them with the same stoic demeanour as usual. “As replacement for the team matches, you will now partake in an ‘Expedition’.”

“But before I go any further, there are a few things I should make clear.” As he spoke, images and letters were conjured around him. “Firstly, at the end of this event, all those under the rank of twenty five thousand will be immediately disqualified.”

For a second, the room was silent as the grave, before murmurs of panic and confusion filled the uncomfortable quiet. As expected, these voices belonged to those below the specified rank for disqualification, consisting of no less than twenty within the team. Avali also showed an expression of concern, but remained calm for the most part.

“Cutting the participants in half. Beyond applying pressure to the bottom, this doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose.”

Zexus eyed the nearest screen as the Overseer continued without giving them much time to process the information. “And secondly, this event may occur on a bi-weekly basis from this day onward. Now, onto the details.”

“Forming groups of up to five people, you will descend into the depths of a location dubbed as the ‘Carnivorous Caverns’. Inside, you will encounter horrors beyond any creature you would have seen above the surface.” With the announcement of the location name, the diagram of a spiralled funnel leading deep into the earth was shown. However, only the two levels nearest to the surface were highlighted. “At this moment, participants may only enter the first two levels, and the starting location of each group will be randomised. Each ‘area’ will have a minimum of five teams.”

*Click*

Zexus narrowed his eyes. “Five teams…”

“Your objective is to acquire as many useful objects as possible, stemming from clothing to mana crystals and Lost Empire technology. After collecting as much as you deem sufficient, you will need to head to the extraction point marked on your holobracelet maps in order to complete the assignment. Understand that extraction will not occur if a hostile entity is nearby, and cannot be activated until twenty four hours have passed.”

“Following that, you will be returned here and evaluated based on items submitted. That said, you may also keep anything you find, but you will be held accountable for any issues that arise.” Despite his even tone, the warning was clear.

After a short pause to allow the inferred threat to sink in, Vis concluded their briefing. “Alright. You have ten minutes to form your groups. After that, each group will proceed through the doors one by one. May the dawn shine upon you.”

Screen turned off, the room erupted into conversation and team K scrambled to form their groups. Some seemed desperate, while a few were confident in their capabilities and thus their guaranteed position in the formed groups.

Zexus, Lavenna, June and Avali naturally formed theirs, remaining in their corner off to the side to avoid the noise of others. They themselves exchanged only a few words.

“Any ideas?” The dark-haired mage asked.

“Nup.” Lavenna sat back, not a care in the world.

“Not a clue.” Avali shrugged, her eyes and mind elsewhere.

June rolled her eyes at the two. “Guess I should have expected that.”

“Ya think?”

“Total waste of effort.”

“Alright… You two can stop now.”

Just as the mage sighed in exasperation, a group of people suddenly approached them. There were nine in total, all of them in the lower ranks with faces Zexus recognised but had never interacted with.

“Excuse me.” The leading man spoke up, an amicable air about him as he stopped before the group of four. Smiling with both his lips and eyes, the ranker in the upper thirty thousands offered Zexus a hand to shake. “I’m Henry. A nobleman of Wisteris, specifically the Golden Lands.”

Amber eyes shifted from the offered hand to the man’s face, and then the group of six men and two women behind him. A few seemed nervous, but all tried to put on as strong a front as they could.

“A show of force?”

“What do you want?” There was no emotion in Zexus’ reply. Nothing but the simple and blunt question.

Caught offguard, the man recovered quickly, as he too was aware of the limited time remaining to form their groups.

“I would like to propose a deal.” Henry, holding his hands behind his back and spreading his legs. The clear cut posture of a well-educated nobleman with military experience. “As you can see, we have many members in the lower ranks, and one group will have a missing person. If possible, we would like one of you to join us.”

Off to the side, Lavenna nudged Avali with her elbow. “Looks like your time has come, hotshot.”

“No thanks.” The Arakian blew a loose strand of sakura-shaded hair out of her eyes, uninterested. “I’m perfectly happy with the free ride I’m getting.”

“Same.” June pitched in with a friendly smile.

Henry inclined his head, his attention on Zexus and Lavenna. “What say the two of you? Your team has many high rankers. I’d imagine you’d all get through this easily enough. However, our team could really use the extra help. In return, we can give up thirty percent of whatever items are gathered.”

“Clever. He only mentions the ‘gathered items’. Well, it’s not like he can stop us from taking everything anyway.”

Zexus remained stone-faced, exchanging looks with Lavenna who appeared to be smirking in amusement.

“Sorry, I’ll be staying right here with my honeyberry.” The Kitsune said, grabbing his arm and pressing her body against his. “For obvious reasons.”

Spotlight now placed on him, Zexus was calm as water in his own response. He had no feelings of empathy nor sympathy, only a critical mind judging the worth of those before him.

“I have no desire to leave my group.”

“...I see.” Despite hiding it well, Zexus could tell that Henry was clenching his teeth and balling his fist behind his back. He did not let up however, for such was the essence of negotiation. “If the percentage isn’t high enough, you can even take half of whatever is collected.”

Lavenna, perhaps being in one of her ‘playful’ moods, scoffed. “That sounds great and all, but that’s only if you guys collect anything to begin with.”

Running a hand through her hair, a shadow dropped over the magenta eyes of the Kitsune as her lips twisted into a mischievous grin. “It’ll be reaaaaaaaal tough for you guys to survive. With how Vis talked about horrors that lurked beneath the surface and the twenty four hour entrapment period, a lot of you might not even make it back.”

There was no doubt that she was fanning flames that need not be lit, but Zexus made no attempt to stop her. Perhaps, given what occurred in the previous few nights, he had been swept up into her pace. He could only rationalise his own behaviour by believing it was his trust in her. She had better senses than he did in any case. For all he knew, she had seen something he could not.

“What are you playing at?” Zexus conveyed mentally.

“One of them smells alright. I’m just having a little fun in the process of getting our next potential investment~.”

“None of us are particularly interested in breaking apart our little family. But maybe some of the other high rankers would be willing to join you.” Lavenna said. “That said, we wouldn’t mind getting one more person.”

As soon as the offer was voiced, Henry’s group broke into discussion. At first, looks were exchanged, which soon devolved into murmurs.

Letting the seed she sowed fester for a moment, the ashen-haired beauty pointed a finger. “That one will do.”