COI C20

"Welcome, and this is special news in Isekai City. Mass coverage regarding a duel between the infamous goblin, Sork, and the representative of the city guild, Gordon Truefan, one of the highest rank guilds, sun's skies . . ."

The news spread to the Horsin community in Akiba's Trip, a main highway lead from the outside city to the inner districts, where they stayed in a small public residence. Refuge and trap by the policy of the city as they watch the previous match tonight. Many saw the impressive performance by the two nerds and much more surprised by defeating the Totemic creature's heads. The fight is truly from their own skills, and they never seen a match to have flaws.

Squandering around by the conversation of Horsin, they describe it as it is.

"Totemic creature, made by the gobin's rituals. They are unpredictable of their choices about the heads. To see being defeated at their first encounters. It's incredible to behold"

"Yet they don't know about shamanism and declared it to be the winner"

"They only check on their physique and mana, what brings a right to judge a so call monster?"

"They drag on the fight a bit longer, which is not good where that storm volcanoe will overwhelm them in time"

"It won't work when Alga's light intervenes the ritual, and what bright ideas did that gobin believed will worsen his victory"

Others busily watching the replay, and found out some nice view during the fight.

"The damages they did would actually force it to use it, I heard words from the other people in Agatheus City that they use overwhelming power with less knowledge"

"I can't agree on that except on the east coast situation"

"Hey, just focus on the match. They held a new match by the end of the week"

During their conversation, a few people entered the checkpoints. Two people dressed in Enders Guild attire and one adventurer to be a citizen here, they stop by to rest.

U'ecin complains to the employer by the new changes happening during their mission.

"A delay!? What happened to the urgent request?"

"I'm sorry, my client told me to have my holidays to come early"

Myrrkei stops U'ecin by grabbing his shoulder.

"He needs it, he is not ours who are restless after a few circles around the city"

U'ecin don't like this is going and goes to the other people to chat. Leaving Myrrkei and the employer having a serious conversation.

"Remember to spend your time relaxing, elves are telling you to be prepared once we head back"

Myrrkei had few experiences working for them, their logistics are commendable for their long quest.

"How do you . . . nevermind, probably you know my client already. What's make you think our exploration would be dangerous?"

"If you know more about the forest, it’s better to let it grows back. The elves might need more than they should in the future"

"Are you sure about that? It's just a D rank forest"

"By your perspective, yes, but undergrown is what I say, and what can Alga's light can do more than just swarm limpers"

The employer has nothing to say about that, he got his messages by his client through their birds with letters without any notice. The last letter he received when reaching to the border was more of a “step by step” process.

First, get any members in Enders Bridge, recommending Raker Mawn, then reached back to the border telling him to take days of rest and info gathering with the recruits. The important warning written down for him is to understood in capitalized words.

"LET THEM KNOW YOU, IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE"

He stops there and tried to befriended with them, reluctantly so and he faces Myrrkei while he hears something interesting. The employer reaches out and saw the video on the screens. A match from hours ago between a totemic creature and the challengers, and on the video where the nerd prepared his magnetic field and throw his spear through its head.

Locals tells them the details.

"This is their first time facing Goblin's magic"

"First time? they have unique tricks I can see here"

"Oh hey now, don't think they know until the end"

"What happens to the match?"

"Watch and learn"

The employer got caught up watching the match where Myrrkei and U'ecin analyzed the totem's abilities and the challengers' new capable equipment. Myrrkei commented them while U'ecin watches.

"They overdoing it with their powers but . . ."

They continue to watch until the part of the totemic creature's last head with its arm gone.

"One"

The locals counted the scene as they saw something off, while the employer is focusing on the match how his own people managed to take it down. Soon after the next part where the final head shred into pieces . . .

"Two"

another one counted, then finally, the siren manages to destroy the last piece of the totem. The employer was astonished to see how those challengers managed to almost defeat it.

"Three"

the last counted scene to be odd in their view, U'ecin waited for Myrrkei on his take on the match.

"I didn't watch the totem U'ecin, I just watch the challengers"

U'ecin turns to the other locals about them counting during the match.

"What's with the three?"

U'ecin tells him in curiosity letting the others pointed out what he didn't know. One after the other, the locals open up about the match.

"Like an arena, but stricter and more for entertainment. The rules are too simple and it is difficult to know when fighting a creature to its full potential"

"The bastard is right, and what's more is the conditions of defeating a totem"

The employer heard them and explained the basic principle of the match.

"It's a beat someone until its down, that's the simplest rule I can explain"

The locals replied to him the tricks of abusing those rules.

"How about faking itself to fight?"

"Uhmm, no I don't think . . ."

"Then the match should be those challengers to be the winner if they know that the totem's head is already destroyed"

". . . And they thought the body was alive. The remnants of the rituals will kept linger through it for a bit moment"

"You mean the body couldn't be part of the totem?"

"It moves because of the spirits, and that stone body never moves from the ground but the essence did"

U'ecin looks at Myrrkei for further explanation. Myrrkei whispers to him.

"The totem is the challenger, not the spirits who plays around them. Spirits were just tools for it to fight"

U'ecin remains in question in thought and Myrrkei is not amused of his blatant understanding. The employer was dumbfounded to hear that it should be. The challengers should have won, they mistakenly thought that the body of the totem can fight on but it was there to act alive, deceivingly to the rest of the audience of its victory.

"Did the others know about it?"

"Most locals like us knew, but have no dealings going through their festival. Besides, there should be another match by the end of it though"

The employer never seen such a powerful match, never been part of the overpowerful group. He just here for being in a human resource department, and he is only lucky enough to walk outside due to his connections before the city states meeting. He only sees his own people as a destructive force until the reports of the east coast incident. The so call godlike people were taken down and imprisoned, it was more terrifying to hear that the goblins were the captors.

"Now I think about it, what's with the counting?"

"Oh yeah, I just caught up with the totem and didn't mention how it cheats"

"You already said it where the moving stone body, how about the other two"

"Yeah, of course"

The locals show the two scenes, the storm volcanoe head being destroyed and the freely flying movable totem pieces.

"They destroy the third head, that leads everything around its ritual or curse to shatter. The cheat here is that they are trapped inside until the aftermath settled. In other words, it will remain its destructive force where the battlefield is the perfect container extending the effects. It will be gone once destroyed unless the aura can be release to the air freely out from the dome, the effects will remain and will degrade overtime"

The last cheat to be mention where the locals had difficulty to explain the flying pieces.

"This . . . where the spirits forcing itself to struggle, the totem pieces have their very own individual spirits to move around them. They will slowly drain away and settle to the ground. The spirits are controlling those dusts, making it hard for the challengers to breathe from the storm volcanoe's dusty aftermath. They getting cramp inside of it, tricking the challengers with annoyance as an actual attack, leaving them not sensing the wavering third totem. It is quite an admiration to fight blindly"

The explanation proved of it all, but will it be an exemption for the last match. The city guild will figure it out someday or the locals will cooperate. The locals are already trapped in the lockdown and they have nothing to do until it clears out.

The three busily talking with the locals and their time to waste until the mission starts again. Both of Raker Mawn members might have a chance to meet with them but they don't bother to be their messenger bird. The employer decides to head to the districts to enjoy the night festival.

"Hey you two, care to have dinner. I'll be buying"

U'ecin started thinking of something to buy with Myrrkei's suspicion towards the employer.

"Ok, lead the way"

The employer headed first, leaving the two talking to themselves.

"Let's put him out to finish our survey"

U'ecin quickly said to him without hesitation. Myrrkei let him initiates the plan, knocking out a citizen will be impressive to see.

At school, only people who are working there are the men of Horsin and a few people checking on them. Andui and Coral are seeing the report by First and Second about the yesterday's incident. They all also added the daily routine of entering the sphere exploring the details of what was once before the fall.

"Andui, they mention about their differences, but why everything is unique in there way?"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I have to read the book, this sphere they are holding is special. I have contacted the other schools with any luck of their own virtual reality simulations. Ours is more outdated because how old it is"

"You mean they are doing their own simulation?"

"Yeah, the only defected about the others of how it plays what they have research so far"

"I heard about Thean's incident, he almost traumatized by the sphere"

"Oh Thean, they got interested even more after that. They are taking a liking of having risk"

"Are they? it sounds like a near death experience"

"I don't know, the world out there is more dangerous than we thought. It will cause a painful experience to everyone when they leave the city"

"I get it Andui, don't try to explain it. I'm a former police officer, I heard more dangerous stories inside than out. We need to let them experienced it without harming themselves"

"Thank you Coral"

Haw is inside the sphere, teleported where they went out. Back in the view of the gigantic bridge along with the vehicles by most gobins pass by. A recreation of the old world, meaning a repeating action of the everyday life. He first checks the most common facilities he knows, guilds, and what its purpose than now. Watching this civilization is odd to see, where most of its currency hidden and the people showing no sign of giving money. He can't see magic and puts himself into his imagination, nevertheless, the sight of such world going on and on by every new machine move pass by.

Back into the gobin's city, where he thought he is in the right district. Buildings in a form of markets, he entered the place and saw only a lift coming up where many people going out. He follows along in their lift and moved down to see an underground metropolis below. Treating it like another new world to behold where its flying contraptions moving freely underground. Spaces fit for the skies and clouds appearing and disappearing by magic. Haw puts himself in a loss of trying to figure things out, where he finally landed this undercity. By stepping in, he was called out by a random gobin.

"Hey you humie, first time under the dirt huh?"

Haw didn't believe it. After fixing the sphere’s functions, the capability of the sphere starts to show its value. Yet, he doubted and suspected its limits, so he thought.

"Yeah, I want to see a guild"

"Wait a minute, first let's first hear names here buddy. This city likes popularity, and I won't nobodies to get into trouble you hear"

". . ."

A silent respond and the gobin plays the same without moving, playing along and the gobin felt a familiar attitude.

"A silent treatment heh, here!"

He gives him an alcoholic beverage and a straight face then said.

"Hah! acted like a gobin eh? Then let's go"

Haw picks up a drink and give a taste, a rare taste coming from his throat as the two moved on. The drink didn’t affect his senses, carelessly but won’t harm him or he’ll left sphere for poisoning, and yet he felt a familiar sensation with more refine quality.

"The name's Haw"

"Bor here, sounds like a gobin. Did you got raised by gobins?"

"Let me finished . . . Haw Edan"

"Wow! did some humie woman pawned a gobin? Edan, those clan of stickos from Kinteinou. I would think you'd be some wannabee stealing our names, but your attitude and the drink fit those rich bastards and don't I mention about . . ."

Haw never thought to listen to this conversation, hearing him saying all that made him question more. He thought

"This is not some ordinary world based on cause and effects"

It's just a guess for him, but trivia were never used on the sphere. He remembered what the Agathean man said, a second world or something else. If it is true then he will be talking with Bor like any other in the real world.

". . . And one last thing Haw, you're wearing a lot of potions. Are you a pharmacist or an alchemist?"

"I used them for weapons"

"Good, if we are going to be honest for ourselves. Others won't follow us from the start"

He looks behind where other suspicious gobins following along had dispersed.

"One more thing, I don't know why you have them in those smaller glass things with a black lid on it"

"Oh this! its experimental"

"Looks sealed to me humie"

Bor reacted like a gobin Haw will never knew from the Horde, now Haw couldn't ignore what this sphere made off. A creature has its own mind and everything around him interact independently, only to know as it felt like you are in another world. Haw and Bor shared the bottle until they reached the guild, an entire district of guilds. In different jobs and services, Haw sees them in a different manner as if they are treated only on specific kind of work. He reminds this kind of organization by the Enders guild, all of them are different under the same union. Raker Mawn, the renaissance guild with every job it recreates that had lost before the fall.

Now seeing the alternative guild matches his, Classical Guild, where its premise to preserve and recreate old cultures. Sounds different but the motive is the same for him.

"Ok humie, this is the place. I would join you but I have to go"

Haw brings out the coins from his world and give it to him. If his thought is correct then the old customs are far beyond its legacy. Bor picks the coins, 13 Cuu (1,300 Y), from Haw's hand as he is right by Bor's reaction and some new surprises.

"13! Well now, you should be living here. You're more gobin than those humanesques. What do you say?"

"Or maybe I just know some customs"

"Customs!? No no no, my new best friend. I'm talking about these coins. These are rich people's money. Edan like you should know about that, plus the 13 of them proof of your origin. You gobin"

"Then enlighten me, I have the time"

Bor just leave him anyway after his proposal and as he tells him a bit what he knows.

"These coins are in a high in values, since there are a lot of people overpopulating the world. Money is based on your mana, your life, as currency. Coins were valuable and limited to make which is difficult to match the inflation"

Haw rediscovered that these coins remained to this day.

Bor is already far ahead and shouted at him.

"Learn some world studies humie. You country boy in Kinteinou should learn more than just gobin customs"

Bor runs back to the entrance seeing the rest of the gobin has nothing to question a humie who plays like a gobin, as mischievous as they are, they will accept him because of the 13 coin rule. An old tradition by them, and shouldn't getting into trouble on people who has a solid coin. Haw walks into the classical guild, believing to be what it is. Where he opens the door where only humanesques inside wearing a familiar badge from their chests. In his thought

"The same junks we scavenged around Rune Isles"

Inside the school where in the simulation room, First and Second are making a checklist between the functions of the sphere, and the data they have for Kinteinou. First/Won'ies speaks out the idea

"Adjusting the abilities in Kinteinou would make easy, and brings out the entirety of all exposed animals by Alga's light"

while Second/Secius had his own idea

"A few ideas somewhere in Rune Isles with the powers inside of the sphere, I think it could work to the citizens"

Both gives some worrisome thoughts about it and had a nice relief after that.

"Then we can understand the stresses they will endure by what Rune Isles’ monsters had accomplish"

First alleges it without any care.

"First, don't you over expect things. We're making this for the students"

"And the lucky they are facing real based on what our adventurers had experienced"

While they talk some other stuff, they have an idea of making the impossible. First shared his hypotheses to him

"If Haw found out more than just what the Agathean man thought, then imagined the intellect they can interact us with"

"Don't go there First, like I said, don’t over expect, but then again, many creators did make almost perfect representation of a single event or life of the other person without fail personally"

"Then it is also what information can hold on the outdated version, if it is true that the creation is perfect then we have some proper preferences in practical use than the book itself"

First is keeping adding more ideas in the question, where Second is had enough of thinking and checks any sources he had regarding Kinteinou's archive of animals alive in this present date. It is ironic to know that Isekai City's border, across it is the forest with unknown secrets underground. Eldesunes always check for changes in Alga's light, and trapped underneath is the roots blocking other wildlife in the burrowed grounds.

Checking deeply within the list of the records of powerful creatures, it emerged north close to Mountaiwall where its entire species being born with different characteristics. The south however, has mostly common creatures but the roots itself had purposedly block known caves from most explorers. Second has his doubts but the archives shown for the past fifty years or more show of its not yet declared extinct.

"Will they ever see these creatures?"

Second is second guessing, and First is already thought about its possibilities.

"Yes, they want to be adventurers, right?"

"That's what they are planning"

First wants to continue on the conversation, but disrupted by the four women behind them. They have entered the room checking in the interiors, First uses his magic to raise the sphere up so suddenly to play along. Reya and Andui screamed

"Aaaah!"

Coral and Iggy almost have a shock from the back hearing them scream from the top of their lungs. Second uses his wisp to slap First right on the shoulder, then the sphere was pulled back down safely. Coral pointed at the sphere

"What was that? Reya, Andui, is the sphere should be reacting like that? Where's the horror part?"

Second apologizes to them and explained what happened.

"Well . . . uhmm sorry, Won'ies just tricked you being active"

Reya rushes in anger and scolds First.

"Stop that! Or I'll . . ."

pausing for a bit and sees the sphere leaking out of something

". . . What's with that sphere? It's leaking"

First started to worry and ask Second cautiously.

"Did Quail finish with the leak?"

"She supposed to finish yesterday, oh yeah the Agathe . . ."

The leak opens up the magic from the sphere. Second quickly casts his wisps on the women to bound the punishment on to them. First sees him puts the spell both of them and then quietly murmured his future goal.

"FOR THE COINS!"

Instead, he screams anyway. Ever so like a hypocrite, he said that like a strong inspiring cry.

The sphere leaks give only what the people who experienced inside will be released. It's a fail-safe when the sphere contains overbearing recreation of its recorded power. Creating leaks like that only proved its accuracy, but never sure why it needs recirculation back to the sphere through methods to counter the flaws. The sphere unleashes the unimaginable, First rushes in to use his magic to redirect it. His magic reaches the sphere and froze into place as he runs in to reach it, Second froze as well. Outside of the sphere radius opens a wave of light flowing throughout.

"Oh no!"

Andui froze a bit not from the sphere but out of fear. Iggy rushed in to stop the sphere, but Andui quickly pulls her back.

"DON'T! It's just a side effect of the sphere"

Iggy turns to her

"You said its dangerous"

"I know, but we need to trust them"

"Huh?"

Reya calls out to Iggy in a serious tone along with Coral's support.

"Iggy, listen! Me and Andui have experienced it, this is their world of magic"

"Listen to Reya Iggy, this is their way of making a simulation. Don't forget we don't know how did they made it"

Iggy stopped looking at the sphere and watched frozen First and his magic as she thought the dangers on him. She acted regretfully in anger

"OK!"

Second can't identify it as the leak never shows an accurate description what is happening, only the effects non-lethally exposed around it. The waving light flashes out and knock him back to where the women are. While in the air as Second stood still in his surprised.

"Haw, what in the parts of Horsin you're messing with"

They saw the most unnatural. First reversing himself back and forth where the magic his cast uncontrollably shaking its frozen state. Reversing back outside the radius and knockback towards them from above to the wall and paused on that moment. The women never could believe their eyes as First and Second put themselves in a horrible position.

Their surprises were more confusing than what the women saw at first. First commented on it.

"Is this the trial?"

Iggy putting herself in stressful situation seeing them in a bind

"Trial? what trial?"

Second answered while he is above them.

"A special theatre style training where you control the very stage. What you can see here is the bizarre of it all. Like everything you see and do are controlled by illusions. It’s like you are getting into a sphere from another sphere within"

Coral explained to Iggy briefly

"He said it’s like a game is playing itself from the same game like "Catherine" minigames"

The sphere finally stops and revert them back they used to. Second flew back in where he got knockback, and First returns where he is reaching the sphere. But he moves slowly than Second's. They still talk normally and First being slowly returning back, made the women awkwardly laugh a bit in a weird way. While slowly back to normal, First ask Reya to use a spell. "Reya, can you use true sight. This is show you how is truly done"

"Ok"

Reya pulls out a spell removed the illusion, where they saw Haw already out of the sphere confused seeing First with no response closely to the sphere. Then he turns to them.

"When the leak is over, we need to fix it now before anything like this happen"

"Haw, is that you?"

Second see through the illusion after Reya's spell, where he himself is recovering from the incident.

"Yes, I thought she fix the leak"

"I forgot, they suspend it yesterday, so"

First returns to his senses and casts out the spell to dispersed it all. Reya stops using true sight and the women stood what they saw something strange as usual. First checks any pain in his back and ask Haw.

"Did you enter a training area?"

"It is truly an identical in our world, and yes, I had faced a more unique one"

The women walk toward them as for Second prepares for the leaks. Second picks up the sphere and ask them.

"We should be properly secure it, next time. The sphere will be more dangerous if we can't control it"

Second is calling out to them where he sits on the floor near the sphere, the girls rather sit away from it from the platform stage.

"What you experienced before is just an illusion, and would please tell me what happened outside?"

Haw is looking at them where the women had witnessed horrendous. He grinned for the first time as Reya loosely express herself into an agitation.

"What's with that look?"

Coral remembers that kind of face.

"Are you up to something?"

while the rest has nothing to say on his expression.

"I rarely see myself having fun, my bad personality might come back"

The four never thought the bad side of Haw before, and this is personal rather than moral.

First and Second understand what he meant before and explained to them. Angrily at first by First with his familiarity of this phenomenon.

"I'd say, we're getting played at and Secius’ magic won't work too. Yet, I'm impressed that it is still relevant"

"They are trying to say is that the testimony training was activate inside the sphere, a most common used of test their skills"

Reya ask

"And so . . ."

"It's the same thing being used today, now Haw, what test are you doing in there?"

Haw brings out what the women gave them a while back before his quest with the students.

Andui almost forgot about it.

"Oh yeah, the recordings"

They have a copy before and Iggy like to mention it.

"I still watched when the part where the students actually hunted those elks"

Haw pulls out the recordings and only recorded as he enters the guild called "classical". He entered where just a library of hidden and unknown items or machines, as the viewers see some astonishing collections of the look of the guild. Looking like some sort of western style facility in a more ancient theme. All around where the people inside are all humans and they interacted with him like normal.

Making First and Second put themselves in thought during the video. Haw whispers to them while the others watch it.

"I'll be exploring the sphere for a while longer. Do you need anything to know before we find the main controls?"

First responds to him in a complete detail

"You should, and do you know any faulty interactions like unresponsive or misconception dialogue?"

"Questionable"

First understands and gives him his objectives in a piece of paper, he writes it down with his magic and spoke to him again

"If it is too perfect, then we have to use your city's archives. Please send it to them along with your reports"

Haw nodded in reply.

The video shows something odd for the women to see where the source of the magic leak began. A stage in a well-off scenic view of the testimony where he is to be qualified to join, hearing what plays out, the sounds of crazy performance was held. The instructor in front of Haw playing the role by some actor in a play, it is unimaginable and thinking of it where to be called a guild to be similar from his Enders guild. The things he had done, as they think he is in a simulated world. It was the instructor who chose it and the match contain the power of illusion conducted by the magic of time. The instructor shouted in charismatic provocation

"Fight well, the audience will be entertained"