Caleb ate silently, ruminating on his own thoughts. He sat at a table filled with various grain foods and milk, along with the all the other chosen in the trial, the mayor and the lone brigadier. They ate mostly silently, though some exchanged a few words, mutterings about their own tiredness and other mundanities. The rest only spared the occasional glance amongst themselves before continuing to eat.

The food was nice. Plain, but enjoyable, probably because of how hungry he was. Caleb hadn’t realised his appetite till they’d been woken and offered breakfast at the chief’s house. He glanced up at the others, looking. It was strange, seeing so few of them now.

Well, they hadn’t lost that many, but the deaths were still fresh in everyone’s minds. Caleb’s mind flicked back briefly to the battle. He shook his head. It’d be better not to think about that right now, he didn’t want to lose his appetite most of all when he needed to eat.

He went back to eating his bread, taking a few bites before glancing around the room. The chief’s house wasn’t much bigger than all the others in the town, his dining hall slightly crowded with all of them sitting around the table. But Caleb was less intrigued in the lack of space and more intrigued by the interior.

It reminded him of the interior of a Victorian house, the perfect mixture of brick and wood. But the decoration threw the aesthetic off.

It was strange, a mix of random religious trinkets he recognised from the church that lined the walls, along with proper photos of various of people lining the walls and the odd painting of landscapes. It created a strange, somewhat comforting vibe and framed the chief in a completely different light. That and his offer to let them have breakfast at his house.

The only decoration that seemed out of place had been the taxidermy boar head that sat over the doorway. That’d given him the creeps. For some reason when he’d looked into its lifeless eyes he’d been reminded of Jakob’s and the girl in armour who’d died in the infirmary.

He didn’t know why. Maybe it had something to do with his dreams, a mixture of memories, guilt and fear that he could only remember in emotion alone. His brow furrowed further as a slight tremor passed through his hands.

[Caleb?] Kana whispered.

“Hm?” he said, sparing a glance at Markus and Angelina before looking to Kana.

[Are you not hungry? You’re playing with your food]

“No, no. I’m fine” he mumbled, before returning to his bread. She continued watching him for a few seconds, and he took a few bites, awkwardly waiting for her to turn away.

[Caleb?] she said.

“Yeah?” he replied, confused as he looked to her.

[Back during the fight, with the red sword hand creatures, why did you throw me?]

“What?” he mumbled.

[You threw me. To Layla. Why did you throw me?] she said, a note of sadness in her voice.

He stared at her for a second, before realising what she was talking about. He’d forgotten about the moment already.

“I… wanted to save you I guess” he mumbled.

[Please don’t do that again] she said, the solemness. [I don’t want anyone to sacrifice themselves for me]

“O-ok” he said nodding. He looked back to his food, silent again as he stared at and through his plate, a confusing swirl of emotions going through his mind.

Suddenly everything shifted. It was sudden, an assault to his senses. Like a bright flash of light at the edge of his periphery, a sudden weight imposed itself onto the outer edge of his magical awareness. Magic greater than anything he’d ever felt.

Caleb eyes widened and he dropped his fork, his sense of balance pulled towards the weight, like gravity. He blinked for a moment, realising too late that he was leaning back in his seat, then his chair tipped and he crashed to the floor.

[Caleb?!] Kana cried worriedly as the others all looked to him.

“I’m fine” he muttered, still struggling to manage his sense of up and down.

“What happened?” Ryan said, as he, Kana and Sierra helped Caleb up.

“There’s- something powerful coming” he muttered, his heart beating hard

[It’s the others] The brigadier said, standing as he frowned at Caleb. [The captain and the rest are here.]

Everyone looked to him, then to the mayor as he let out a heavy sigh.

[I guess it’s time then] he said standing as he dusted himself off and stood from his chair in the corner. Without a word he made his way over to the door and stepped out of the house, the door slamming behind him. Everyone looked amongst themselves, uncertain.

[We should probably follow] the brigadier said, before making his way to the door. The chairs quickly began scraping against the wooden floor as everyone stood from the table, finishing off the last of their meal. They filed out quickly, Caleb sparing one last glance at the boar head before stepping out into the heat of the early morning sun.

He slowed slightly, shielding his eyes from the sun. Without his sunshield, he could really feel the heat. The others began murmuring amongst themselves, and he watched as the brigadier and the chief made their way down the road, closer to the three magical weights that.

Caleb could see the people clearly now. A man and two women. One of the women wore similar armour to the leather knight, but the other two - the ones with the greater magical brightness - wore a strange metallic armour.

It looked like a cross between football pads and a knight’s armour, with a leather base with inscribed iron panelling over the top, and extra armour on the shoulders.

And on their person, each carried a weapon that seemed to exude just as much mana as they did. The woman in leather had daggers at her hips and a short sword on her back. The other woman had a great sword on her back that glinted bronze in the sunlight. And finally the man, an absolute giant, had a huge war-hammer strapped to his back. He had to be at least a foot taller than Caleb, maybe even more.

“Holy” Ryan mumbled. ”I can see why the chief said we should call them. I think I can feel whatever it is you can Caleb”

“Yeah” Sierra muttered. “It’s like the air just got twice as heavy”

Caleb glanced to Ryan and Sierra in surprise, then to the others, noticing the subtle shift in their mana. Everyone was noticing the magical pressure the Brigadiers exuded.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

These guys are seriously strong, he thought. It’s worrying.

Caleb frowned as he watched them even more. He didn’t understand how there were people here with magic. The artifacts were one thing, but now that he was really starting to think about it, the brigadiers were the only people he’d seen outside of people in the trial with magic. Why? Wasn’t magic supposed to be special? Had they gone through a trial of their own?

The trio come to a stop with the chief and the other brigadier, quickly descending into discussion. Caleb and the others slowed, slightly apprehensive.

[What do we do?] Angelina, the spear girl said.

“Go talk to them?” James said. “I mean, the guy said they’d need our help”

“But they could be dangerous” Sierra said. “I know the guy saved us, but there’s no guarantee they don’t just turn on us. I’m pretty sure they could kill us pretty quickly. We just need to be careful”

[You think they’re going to kill us?] the girl whose name Caleb still hadn’t gotten said, wide eyed.

“I- it’s just a possibility” Sierra mumbled back. Caleb glanced to her, then back to the group of knights as the discussion continued. She had a point. He didn’t know why they’d do it, but if they did that wouldn’t really matter, he and the other chosen would just all be dead. It’d be better to at least be somewhat prepared instead.

The sinking feeling returned to his gut and he wiped the sweat from his palms onto his trousers. Once again he was reminded of the hostile nature of the trial.

[So what do we do?] Kana asked.

“We haven’t gotten a message from the arbiters or anything” Caleb said. “Maybe we wait for that?”

[Screw this] Eriana said suddenly. She broke free of them, and marched forwards, to the still discussing group.

“Crap” Sierra said, quickly following behind. Ryan, Kana and Caleb shared a glance, then followed too, the footsteps of all the others followed not far behind.

Caleb clenched and unclenched his hands as he neared, glancing between the brigadiers. He didn’t have a weapon, everything already destroyed from yesterday’s battle. He felt exposed. And the creeping fatigue that he’d felt when they first arrived became present in his conscious mind once again.

Then the group broke, the mayor quickly hurrying away as the Brigadiers turned to them. They watched them for a second, then Eriana began talking.

[So you guys are these so called Brigadiers?]

[Yes] the tall man said, sparing a glance at the teleporting brigadier.

[Well who do you want us to fight?] Eriana said, her tone aggressive.

“Hi" Sierra said, quickly pulling Eriana back before she could say more. "Uh… sorry about her, she’s… tired”

[Cut here tells me, that you are all children of the Gods] the older man said, ignoring Sierra's greeting.

"Uh..."

Caleb came to a stop behind Sierra and frowned at the Brigadier’s phrasing. Did he mean deities? Was this another translation error?

[Was I mistaken?] the man said, glancing between Cut – the teleporting brigadier and then back to them.

“No” Caleb said. “I think we are what you think we are. We’ve got magic and everything”

The older man nodded, then glanced behind him as the chief disappeared into the church hospital.

[That’s good] the woman in the half leather half steel armour said stepping forwards. [I’m Roeca, these squirts are Cut and Aima, and the big guy is our Captain, Reinhard. We’d appreciate it if you could help us]

[With the evacuation?] Kana said.

[No] she replied. [Aima here is best suited for that. Cut, Captain Reinhard and I are focused on stopping the threat to the plains. We’d like your help finding and exterminating the cultists responsible for this whole mess]

[Wait- cultists?] Angelina said.

[Yes. Cultists. I suppose it’s a bit difficult to explain, but they’re a group using religious texts to try and reawaken our planets connection to the Gods. They’re well intentioned, but their assumptions of the text are wrong. Because of a reliable prophet, a descendant of the Farsight, we believe their antics could cause the release of a calamity that could cause the destruction of the entirety of the plains or even the northern side of the continent]

“Woah, you’re saying you want us to fight a continent destroying calamity?!” Ryan said.

[No. Just the people trying to cause it] Roeca said. [They’re strong, but with your blessings, you’ll be able to beat them, define your legends and grow stronger]

[We’re in] Eriana said instantly.

“W-wait a second” Sierra said, pulling her back. Eriana struggled against Sierra’s grip and shoved her away, glaring at her. The stared at each other for a few seconds, the tension growing, before Eriana looked to everyone else, then back to the brigadiers.

[Uh- we’ll give you a moment to discuss] Roeca said awkwardly.

“Thanks” Ryan said, gently steering Sierra away from Eriana. “Alright everyone, team huddle”

The group stepped slightly away from the Brigadiers and formed a circle, a few sparing glances between Eriana and Sierra.

“So… you guys want to vote on this or something?” Ryan asked.

[But what are we voting on?] Markus said. [I mean, I know they said fight cultists, but we've got no reference. If these guys need our help then it’s just suicide]

[Yeah] Angelina said. [Plus we still haven’t gotten a message or anything. What if these guys are supposed to be the bad guys?]

"Let’s not jump to any hasty conclusions” James said, glancing to the Brigadiers. “They might actually just want our help. I mean they’re probably the good guys”

“I think they are” Caleb said, eyes narrowed in thought.

[Why?] Kana asked.

“I mean, it makes sense” Caleb said, looking to the others. “I don’t know if this was the same for you guys, but when the tutorial officially started we got teleported to a kind of settlement, that had soldiers, a good fighter that helped you fight monsters that attacked and someone who explained things a bit. A guide, kind of. Did you?”

Everyone except Layla nodded.

“I think it’s a bit different, but here – the plains - is our settlement, and these guys are our a mix between fighter and guides. We don't have context for a lot of the stuff they're saying, but it sounds kind of similar to what the people back on our tutorial planet were saying. Blessings and records, gods and arbiters"

[What're you trying to say?] Eriana said.

"I think we got put here by the arbiters, or whatever the hell they're called, but I think we got put here specifically when all this is going on for a reason. I think this mission is that reason, that this is our test, or at least a second one. I don't know. It just seems too convenient for them to show up almost as soon as we do and need our help out of nowhere. And plus, if there really is a big calamity coming then why not help them stop it?"

"Yeah" James mumbled. "I mean, from the way they’ve been talking, it doesn’t sound like the villagers will be very safe if they fail”

Everyone glanced to the still leaving villagers as they continued down the road, towards the distant mountains.

[I mean that’s all well and good, but it’s just speculation] the girl whose name Caleb still hadn’t gotten said.

“I…” Caleb trailed off.

[He has a theory. Kana said. [About the trial. I don’t think it’s all right, but parts of it definitely are]

[What theory?]

[That the world of the trial, the places, the events and even the people are designed around us somehow.]

“And you think that means these guys were supposed to find us and ask this?” James asked.

"Well, I mean, we all somehow showed up to this town one way or another, didn’t we?" Caleb said.

Everyone went silent, furrowing their brows as they slipped into thoughts of their own. Caleb looked over their expressions, struggling to gauge their reactions, before glancing to the brigadiers.

[Can we just fucking do this already?] Eriana said, annoyed.

“Alright, everyone. let’s just vote” Sierra said. “All against?”

Layla, and the girl whose name Caleb still hadn’t gotten raised their hands.

“Ok, well, For?”

Everyone else raised their hands, though some more hesitantly than others.

[Thank you] Eriana said with a huff as she turned back to the Brigadiers.

“Shit” Ryan mumbled. “I guess we’re really doing this then. More fighting”

“Yeah” Caleb mumbled, glancing to the others as the group began to spilt apart.

“Welp, If things go south I’m pinning it on you” Ryan said jokingly.

“H-huh? Why?”

“I’m kidding man. I just think everyone brought into your idea. The guides, the settlements, the fact that everyone else had them and now we’re basically doing a repeat with a few differences… just another tick in the box for your theory, huh?” Ryan said.

Caleb looked to him, then nodded, somewhat disturbed. Not everything lined up perfectly, but the number of similarities definitely fed the flame of his idea more. He looked to the villagers that stood on their porches, to the clear lack of mana they had, then to the Brigadiers and finally to the rest of the chosen.

It disturbed him, the implications of what his idea meant. He glanced up to the sky, frowning as he wiped his palms against his trouser.

Kana frowned as she glanced to Caleb, then the others, sensing the unease that was slowly starting to take hold of the group. Sierra looked to her and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

[Everyone seems so scared. I’m not sure if this is really the right thing to do] Kana muttered.

[Objective 2 complete]

[Objective 3: Assist the Brigadiers and stop the calamity]

“Well” Sierra mumbled, staring up at the message. “I guess that answers that”