“Challenges of the city,” Alnea mumbled, pulling himself out of his daze. “Are you talking about the trials or the Arena?”
“Does it matter?” Cecilia said, fiddling her Blood Card. “In either case, we just have to complete the trials, earn some points, and increase our ranks.”
“Things are not as simple as you think they are,” Yuri said. “We may not know much about either the three halls or the Black Desert Trials, but from their name itself I can guess that that the trials will not involve competing with other Wanderers in the city. Yet, the things represented in our Blood Cards is not how many trials we have completed, but our points and ranks in the trials. Do you understand what this means?”
“…Not only do we have to complete the trials, but we also have to perform better than others,” Alnea said. “Be it those who have completed the trials before us, or those who will complete them after us, we have to perform better than all of them.”
“…Why can the ranks not signify that we will have to compete with other Wanderers in the trials?”
“…We cannot be sure until we learn what exactly trials are. However, it is unlikely for trials to be just mere competitions. After all, if these ranks were all about who has better fighting skills, then the three halls should have been named as Arenas, and not halls. Maybe the Black Desert Trials might involve some battles, but the other trials should only be about our skills in the respective paths.”
“…Doesn’t that mean that only those who are proficient in all three paths can enter the inner city? How hard will reaching the core city be then?”
“Let us not jump to conclusions just yet. First, let us gather some information about the trials, then we can decide how to proceed.”
“…Then what are doing right now?”
“…Deciding how to tackle the challenges of the city.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It is different,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “While we need more information to decide how we to go through the trials, the city’s challenges are not just limited to the trials. Let alone the other Wanderers, I suspect that even the guards, and the other staff members of the Blood Hall are a part of the challenge that we must face.”
“…I admit that Wanderer Martha went a little overboard, but she was kind to us for the most part. She even—
“It is exactly because she was kind that we must not trust her so easily,” Yuri said to Cecilia. “Have you not noticed it yet?”
“Noticed what?”
“…How kind the True Wanderers are to us,” Yuri said, taking on a solemn tone. “Repeatedly warning us of the dangers of the city, and asking to remain wary of other Wanderers…”
“Are you talking about the guard? He kept trying to intimidate us, but you are right. He did keep warning us about the dangers of the city. But wasn’t that because of Lady Nyssa?”
“…If it had been just the guard who had been kind to us, I could understand. But almost all of the True Wanderers that we have met in the city have been exceptionally kind to us. They have explained everything to us without showing even a shred of impatience, and have answered all our questions. Does that sound like typical True Wanderers to you?”
“…Except for big sis Serena, the patriarchs of the Lotus clan, and the Heterodox Wanderers, I have not really met other True Wanderers before, so I don’t really know what typical True Wanderers are like.”
“…What about you, Cecilia?” Yuri said. “Alnea has not had much contact with True Wanderers, but you are different. You have met many True Wanderers in your clan. Tell me, have ever seen any True Wanderer showing so much patience to the False Wanderers, or even the Seeds of your clan?”
“…Sometimes,” Cecilia said with hesitation. “But only to their relatives, or those whom they have good relations with. To strangers, True Wanderers are generally indifferent.”
“That is because True Wanderers have a Clear Heart. If they had Serene Hearts, they may act in ignorance, but with a Clear Heart, they can see through all their thoughts, and judge whether their actions are against their core beliefs or not. Unless it is in their nature, or their action lies in line with their core beliefs, they will never talk to strangers. And they surely would not go out of their way to warn some False Wanderers that they do not know. The True Wanderers in the city though…”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Yuri paused, and turned towards Alnea, before adding, “Do you remember the question that you asked the guard?”
“…Why are True Wanderers still staying in the outer city…”
“Such a simple question,” Yuri said. “Yet the guard still refused to give an answer. Did you not find it strange?”
“…Wasn’t it because the guard was embarrassed to say the answer?”
“He was. But was just a part of the reason. After all, he is a True Wanderer. Unless the question touched the wounds of his Heart, he would not have become so solemn. And if the question truly was a forbidden topic for him, he would not have explained himself. Big sis Nyssa’s threat would have been enough to deter him from not attacking you, but you would also have made an enemy out of him. From the way he left though, rather than being angry, he seemed more afraid of you asking more questions. Questions, that he could not answer.”
“Like the reason why True Wanderers are so kind to us?” Alnea said, scratching his head in confusion. “Did the city promise them some benefits?”
“There is also the question that he did not answer,” Cecilia added. “From what Martha said to us, it is apparent that she has regrets in her Heart that she cannot get rid of… Is that part of the reason why she in the outer city?”
“…So, all the True Wanderers have committed some taboo of the city, and are now being punished to serve in the outer city?”
“That would also explain why all the Wanderers are so kind to us… because they can redeem themselves through us.”
“If they can help us reach the inner city…”
“Stop,” Yuri said, massaging her head, while letting out a wry smile. “Just stop for a moment. Let us not jump to any conclusions. Maybe, we are just overthinking, and all the Wanderers are just doing their jobs.”
“But you just said—
“Whatever I said was just my guess. Until we have proper evidence, we cannot be sure of anything.”
“…But that also means that we cannot disregard any possibility.”
“…Now, do you understand why we need to gather more information?”
“…Because, in a sense, gathering information in itself is like a trial… just a hidden one.”
“And the most important one.”
“…So, what exactly are we going to do next?”
“…We need to gather information. From the Blood Hall, from the True Wanderers, and even from other False Wanderers. We need to get as much information as we can. However, we cannot gather the kind of information we are seeking in just one day. And we cannot sit by idly until we get all the information. Rather, only when we attain a certain status in the Blood Hall, will we get the information we want.”
“…And we can raise our status in the Blood Hall only be completing the trials, and raising our ranks.”
“…Isn’t that the same as what I said earlier?”
“No, it is not,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “Earlier, your focus was on raising our ranks and earning some points. But just blindingly completing the trials will not get us the results we want. Even when we complete the trials, and compete in the Arena, we need to keep in mind that our main priority is not to raise our ranks, but to gather more information.”
“…I don’t understand the difference,” Alnea said, scratching his head. “Wouldn’t the end result be the same?”
“…What did you gain from your Blood Challenge today?”
“…I earned some Arena points and upgraded my rank by a few thousand places.”
“And?”
“…And I learned that the Lotus clan in the city has begun targeting me.”
“And how did you learn that?”
“…By observing the man’s words and behaviour, and comparing them with those that of the other Wanderers around us.”
“So, until you fought with the man, you were tying your best to collect information about your enemy, right?”
“…You can say so.”
“What about you, Cecilia? Did you gain any meaningful information about the man you fought?”
“…No.”
“…There is no need for you to make such a face. I am no different from you. Like you, I too, was not interested in gathering information about the woman I fought. For us, who we were fighting was not important. All that mattered was that we got a chance to fight… Now, do you understand the difference between challenging the city with an aim, and just blindly climbing the ranks without any aims?”
“…More or less,” Alnea said, just as his blood rushed to his face. Thankfully, he had his Aspect to cover up his embarrassment. “However, I think that rather than just focussing on gathering information, we should also focus on increasing our strength. After all, if we want to climb to the top of the rankings in the Arena, we will have to face peak stage Wanderers sooner, or later. And this time, we will have to fight them alone.”
“Does that even need to be said?” Cecilia said, quickly recovering from her embarrassment. “Increasing our strength is a must. And so is increasing our means. Otherwise, passing the trials would not be easy. Especially the trial of Scholars… We need to speed up our progress.”
“Don’t worry,” Alnea said with a confident grin. “It won’t be long before we finally set foot on the path of Scholars.”