Chapter 63: Day Two
It was an hour before dawn when the surge of monsters finally petered out. The scout teams picked off any stragglers while Qingxi called a meeting with the leads of the south tower.
“The west and east towers have confirmed their plans to move to the central tower today,” Qingxi said, “To transport our 52 adventurers to the main tower, its’ estimated to take at least 8 hours.”
“Speaking of, we’re down by 4 people. They’ve all escaped the trial safely.”
“Good. No awakening stone is worth our lives.”
“With each person we lose into the final battle,” Qingxi said, “the final wave becomes more difficult.”
They set off as early as possible. Nara and John looted the hundreds of dead monster bodies outside and within the tower, providing a copy of the loot to everyone in her aura range at the time. As long as John was linked to Nara with her Party Guide, they would both trigger simultaneously.
Qingxi was beaming about the increase in resources. Spirit coins were one thing, but they may need to utilize greater resources to pass the trial, such as for rituals to protect the main tower. To spend their hard earned coins and materials to gain awakening stones—it would likely be a contentious issue in the final two days. Especially if costs surpassed the normal market rate of awakening stones.
With the awakening stone, essences, and loot gained from looting powers, many wondered if it was worth continuing the trial. The awakening stones looted didn’t offer as much variety or rarity as the trial did, but there was nothing wrong with common awakening stones. They often awakened important workhorse powers. Nara’s sword was from a common stone, as was her armor, her perception power, and Thanatos himself. Boon Conversion had awoken from only a slightly less common stone. The issue at hand was risk versus reward—no one in Qingxi’s group had died yet—the low lethality of the trial was part of the Adventure Society’s more relaxed attitude towards it. Any adventurer from out of town could make a small fortune selling off their earnings in their non-saturated home markets. Those that wanted to pass the trial had to convince those that didn’t to stay—else they wouldn’t have enough manpower for the final day of the survival trial.
During their trek, two adventurers decided it wasn’t worth it, and they used their escape tokens, reducing the numbers of the south tower to 50.
The trip was tiresome, and the jungle was humid. Wind cyclones and swords hacked away at the nature to clear a path. They were repeatedly attacked by sentient monster vines, wharks, snake abominations that crawled with short legs, lizards that shot globules of poison, birds with extra wings and faces as if they had been grafted onto them in some mundane Elden Ring fashion, and squirrels that had mushrooms growing out of the with bulbous eyes like a malformed pug, who would have died of respiratory issues if not for the adventurers.
The group took a break in the clearing. Qingxi took the opportunity to address the crowd.
“I know many have reservations about the upcoming final two days. You may also think you’ve all earned enough and wish to return. We all know the final two waves will increase in numbers and difficulty. Consider this—with two loot powers, how much additional reward is that? The events here could set up your adventuring careers for the rest of your lives. With the escape token, you make escape at your discretion, so, why not stay the distance? Push as far as you can in an opportunity to train yourself.”
Qingxi looked out at the jungle.
“To fight monsters of multitudinous numbers is a rare experience. Besides the monster surge, there is almost no other such circumstance.”
Qingxi used logic, not emotion. It wasn’t the time for rousing emotions and inspiration—the fate of cities or even the world was not at stake. This was an ordinary trial—it mattered not whether they succeeded until the end. While the first day had net them an incredible treasure trove of loot, costs escalated ten-fold with each rank, or more. Loot abilities were rare, and this, perhaps even more so than the trial, was an incredible chance to capitalize on them.
The group restarted after their break, and Qingxi fell a big behind to chat with John and Nara.
“I apologize for offering your abilities without asking. It was impolite, but I saw it as the best option.”
“It’s alright, I have a reason to try to make it to the end of the trial,” Nara said, “I’m aiming for that library.”
Qingxi nodded, “There are scholars that often aim for the library. I have a team member who is interested in the library as well. It’s unfortunate that we’ve gathered so little from it.”
“Unfortunate? What do you mean?”
“Beyond the difficulty of passing the trials, which change with every entry, the library only allows three days of entry.”
“Oh…Then what happens after three days?”
“The books within the library become incorporeal to unable, unable to be accessed or read.”
“Gotcha, thanks for the information.”
Qingxi bade farewell, returning to the front of the caravan.
“Three days…Shouldn’t be a problem for the two of us.”
Nara wondered if it was an influence of the world they came from, but both John and Nara had spectacular information recording abilities. John could take a picture of a book, and it’d store the information within the book. He could print temporary physical books and organize information however he wished in files, and Nara could make astral constructs of anything within her Archive.
As those living in the Information Age, their powers reflected their lifestyles and needs. Duplication and recording powers existed on Erras, but these types typically did not take the trial, or these powers reached full utility at a higher rank. They were auxiliary powers that combat-focused adventurers did not want, nor typically have a use for to hire.
The hours in the hot and humid jungle dragged on, testing their willpower in another manner. Nara had lost count how many mosquitos she had slapped that attempted to suck on her rare vintage outworlder blood. They paid the price for their transgressions with death.
Nara spent a little time searching through her inventory after the deluge of loot she had just received.
“Oh? What’s this?”
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Item: [Oasis Bracelet] (iron, uncommon)
Description: A bracelet that draws on the power of water quintessence to bestow the blessings of a personal oasis.
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Effect: Keeps the wearer cool and refreshed. Bracelet energy is consumed at a varying rate according to climate.
Effect: Reduces incoming fire and heat damage. This rapidly consumes bracelet energy.
Effect: Consume a water quintessence gem to completely refill bracelet energy.
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She slipped the bracelet over her arm. It fit her perfectly—Nara wondered if it was because she looted it. A nice and refreshing breeze washed over her, like she was standing on a cliff overlooking the sea on a nice day. Her jungle trek was already immensely more pleasant. She felt she was strolling through a botanical garden rather than through a monster-infested jungle. It didn’t stop the mosquitos—but the Oasis Bracelet born hope that a Mosquito-Repellent Ring may exist. Or even a potion she could consume for an anti-bug effect.
As expected, Mona had a point that Nara should invest in more equipment. If anything, for her personal comfort. In a world full of magic, why suffer the annoyances of the environment?
She nudged John, and told him to find something with a similar effect in his own inventory. He did. His was a crown that hung daintily over his head.
“Paradise Circlet—how do I look?” John said, posing with a cheery grin and fluttering his eyes.
“High fashion John, high fashion. Maybe with some fancy robes and you might look like one of them Lord of the Rings elves.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Have I de-aged enough to look like an elf?”
She studied his face. He certainly looked younger than when she first saw him. Some of his wrinkles had disappeared and his face had some of that revitalized, youthful glow he hadn’t had earlier, although she didn’t think that was all essences. Finally finding the trial through the forest for his way back home alleviated a lot of John’s stress. He still had his same stubble, which he had learned to trim with a short blade.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she said after a pause.
“I’m going to look like my kids’ older brother rather than their father. I thought for a moment I’d get away with explaining nothing but how do I explain away 10 years off of my face?”
“You’ve disappeared for a revolutionary top-secret de-aging trial intended for rich elites, but they wanted to test it on the peasant folk first.”
“I don’t think they’d buy it, but it might be more believable than reality.”
“You couldn’t say nothing about an entirely different magical world. You can’t even say nothing about Earth to the people here.”
“I just can’t help myself,” John said wistfully, gazing at the jungle trees, the vibrant birds, and the caravan of adventurers from different races and different cultures, “It’s all far too exciting.”
The tree line of the jungle ended in the same wide dirt circle that surrounded all of the towers. Another group had arrived first—the west tower, Sen and Vallis’ tower. The east tower was headed by some foreign prince, someone named Conrad.
A circular conference room was quickly set up, and various adventurers mingled and waited as their leaders debated.
“I am Qingxi Lugu, leader of the south tower.”
“Sen Arlang, tactical leader of the west.”
“Vallis Nisei, operations leader of the west.”
“I am Conrad the Resonant, of Caliber, commander of the east,” the final leader said. His introduction was more a declaration of his title. He was an elf, but surprisingly stocky to go with his height. His muscles seemed to strain at his clothing, threatening to pop a seam. He had the sort of biceps an American comic book hero with the powers of lightning would have. Perfectly coifed blond hair matched his grey-blue eyes, with beamed with the confidence of generational achievement.
He lived up to his name, his voice boomed across with room with little effort, filling the space with his presence. Sen repeatedly protested that he wasn’t royalty, and Nara could see distinct difference in how they carried themselves. Sen matched the etiquette of adventurer families, proper but not ostentatious. Conrad held himself with the unmistakable arrogance of royalty, a posture that demanded attention like royal procession demanded reverence.
Needless to say, it grated on the others, especially those of the east tower. He had one-sidedly declared himself the leader and disallowed any dissent, silencing those physically with his team of well-trained guard-companions. His tower had lost the most members, down to 44. Two, unfortunately, had died, the revelation of which had sunk a pit into Nara’s stomach. None of her teammates had died, but deaths of adventurers didn’t sit well with anybody. John’s expression had his characteristic look when he was angry, an unsettled frown, likely thinking of their young ages. He closed his eyes and shook his head, turning away from the ostentatious Conrad.
“The first topic to discuss is organization,” Qingxi began, “Now that the adventurers have reunified, I propose teams that have been split apart join back together. Regarding distribution, we can shuffle teams around to keep the manpower even. It is convenient to have leaders directing operations for each group of people.”
“Agreed,” said Sen and Vallis.
It may not be the most efficient organization method, but it was the most comforting. Many are on edge while separated from their teams.
“This is moronic,” Conrad said, “We shan’t choose the inefficient option. We shall organize by roles. That is the intelligent way to accomplish this trial, anything less shall result in failure.”
“We can organize by roles for the daytime preparations,” Qingxi offered, “But surge battle will be more efficient in teams than scattered.”
Qingxi and Conrad stared each other down for a tense moment.
“That is acceptable. If you all desire comfort, so be it,” Conrad said, “Proceed.”
It was a relief to the other three that he wasn’t entirely unreasonable. His attitude and speech were off-putting, but he often had legitimate counterpoints for suggested solutions.
Even as the discussion progressed, teams were organizing and setting up defenses. Starting from the top and working their way down, as many balconies would be sealed off as possible, leaving a few floors for ranged attacks and supporters to strike from.
The only reason Qingxi, Vallis, Sen, and Conrad were so adept at organization and leadership was because they had been trained for it. Nara certainly wasn’t adept enough to lead 50 adventurers at a time. Qingxi was the best at organization, Sen showed his mastery of tactics, Vallis was clearly a moral center great as inspiring others, and Conrad got things done, even if he was hated for it.
Sen’s discipleship with Aliyah resulted in an understanding of the capabilities of ritual magic that few leaders had. They could not enact the wide-range array magic used to protect buildings and compounds, but they could set up other ritual magic defenses. Funds and supplies were collected equally from every participating adventurer, with Conrad enforcing the ‘donations’.
This time, the iron rankers would leverage more of the ground space. Qingxi wasn’t speaking out of her ass—adventurers genuinely functioned better in their own teams, since so many abilities and sets were individualized. Adventurers in small teams or no teams would serve as flex members, healing if they were capable, or attacking at range from balconies if they had the ability.
Nara was assigned to the same role as before, afflicting or taking out as many bronze and iron rank monsters together with the scouts and assassins. While she functioned decently in a team as a partial-defender-slash-attacker, her high mobility and sustain abilities encouraged solo action.
The general meeting was adjourned while the leaders continued to hammer out details. Conrad had a few capable attendants that made passing orders highly effective.
“Encio, Eufemia, Aliyah,” Nara greeted, “I’m glad to see you all again.”
John held his arms out to offer a hug to the other three.
Nara copied him, “Bring it in, group hug.”
“I’m not really the touchy-feely type,” Eufemia denied, “I’m glad to see your old mug, John.”
“And me?”
“And your clueless face, Nara. Who knows what’s going on in that mind of yours.”
Nara looked down at her hand, “We really need a secret handshake or something.”
“Secret…handshake?”
“You know, a cool greeting that only we would know. It is the cornerstone of every cool team, secret society, misfit gang, and band of heroes.”
“Nonsensical. If we need a method to validate we are who we are, a secret phrase is good enough.”
“Yeah, but a secret handshake is funner.”
“That isn’t a word,” Eufemia said flatly.
“You and me, Encio, how about we hammer one out?”
“Sounds like a plan. A good secret handshake—you don’t expect to complete it now, however.”
“Of course not, this sort of endeavor requires many months of painstaking and thorough research.”
“Rest assured; I will dedicate my all to create the most exemplary secret handshake together with you. Our team will be the trendsetter in adventurer culture.”
“No,” Eufemia said with horror, “Absolutely not. I do not want to be known to be in a team with a ‘secret handshake’.”
“It sounds pleasant Eufemia,” Aliyah gently offered, “It’s very distinctive. It’d set us apart in a way unique to us.”
“No, no, no…” Eufemia said, “It sounds childish!”
“What’s the point of longevity if you’re going to act like an old person the entire time?” Nara said, “Just look at Sezan. He’s got the right idea.”
“A diamond ranker can act whatever way they want!”
“Or maybe, he knows something we don’t. You think someone with centuries on us may have insight into the human condition that we don’t have yet,” Nara said, as usual using intelligent-sounding bullshit to try to win arguments.
“Oh my, now that’s an interesting idea,” Aliyah said, “I would love to talk to your grandfather about his insights into life. Much of magic is connected to our souls, especially as essence users. While I seek to determine the secrets of external magic, his experience may be illuminating for many fields of research.”
“The next opportunity, I’ll invite you all. Grandfather is always delighted to speak with new people. It’s part of why he travels,” then he added offhandedly, “He may as well make himself useful. It’s not like he’s using his experience for anything himself.”
“I can’t believe you all,” Eufemia said, stalking off in a huff to end the conversation.
John chuckled, and followed behind his long-time friend to catch up with her in private.