“You won’t believe what happened,” shouted Svenne after he forced the door open.

Ali and the others were discussing their strategy for the next hell grind when the tall teenager barged in without warning. Ali looked at him with skepticism, thinking there was no way anything important could be happening this late. It was almost time for bed and he was ready to get some rest. For the short time he was there, the teenager had yet to see the proctors being cruel enough to plan something terrible at night except for the hell grind.

“I just checked what groups are participating in the special training tomorrow,” continued Svenne. “Our group is on the list.”

“What?” muttered Ali as soon as what happened dawned on him. “I thought we agreed that we won’t be participating?”

The teenager was certain they had a lengthy discussion on the matter where they weighed the pros and cons. With the cons greatly outweighing the pros, they came to a simple conclusion of not taking part. Therefore, none of them went ahead with the registration papers that were needed to join.

“This must be a mistake,” said Kamis, “Or some other group entered our group as a joke?”

Svenne explained that he checked with the proctor and there was no mistake. They investigated the matter, claiming that the submitted document was legitimate. Now that their names were on the list, it was too late to refuse unless they were willing to accept the death penalty. The teenagers inside the room looked at one another before they sighed in unison.

“What’s the plan then?” asked Umaru. “We aren’t going in completely blind, right?”

“We are,” said Svenne. “Those who participated in it are sworn to secrecy so no one knows about the details. As long as it's shrouded in darkness, the special training doesn't need to change event by event.”

Now I see why some of the groups just die. Hard to prevent that when you aren’t ready for what awaits you.

“Let’s get some rest so we’ll be ready for it tomorrow then,” said Kamis.

“Wait, do we still have to do the morning run tomorrow?”

Ali looked at Svenne after hearing Umaru’s question. When the group leader shook his head, everyone headed to their respective bunks. Ali fell asleep immediately because that was one of the perks of going to the summoner realm. Due to the perk, the teenager had almost guaranteed rest each night, giving him an edge over others during high pressure situations. Yet, he didn’t expect to see Tian waiting for him at the entrance.

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“Is something the matter? “

“Follow me, Ali!”

The two of them flew in the direction of the summoner temple. Since he unlocked the orb at the altar, he never went back as there was nothing waiting for him there. He and Tian generally trained on one of the pillars closest to the entrance so they could maximize their training time before he had to wake up.

Is there something waiting for me at the temple?

With so little knowledge of the summoner temple, Ali had no clue as to what requirements must be met to unlock more of the structure. Even the orb he picked proved to be very useful so he welcomed any augmentations, especially if they could help with the upcoming special training that promised death to those who weren’t ready. The temple soon came into view and the two of them entered it promptly. Like last time, the stone walls that sealed off the rest of the floor were still present. Ali walked up to the altar where three objects, all resembling shattered pottery, floated above it.

Good thing I am literate now.

Ali walked up to the first object.

“Embrace the cold chill of the north...”

This is incomplete? Are there other pieces I’ll unlock later?

The teenager walked over to the second object.

“Heat the material until it’s yellow…”

Ali studied the third object.

“Reclaim the abandoned lots…”

The teenager was at a loss at what the three objects were hinting. He discussed with Tian who believed that the three objects were related to an element. After the short discussion, they believed they came up with reasonable conclusions. The first involved ice as the ice nation of Ablon was in the north. The second one involved metal since heating a material was the first step of metalworking. The third object hinted at nature due to its ability to reclaim anything abandoned by humans. With the puzzle out of the way, Ali had to pick one.

“Which one do you want,” he asked the air serpent.

Tian went between the three multiple times before he closed his eyes, turned three times and pointed. Ali followed the direction and found the air serpent had selected the third one tied to nature. He reached out for the object, feeling a warm light shining off it before it vanished.

“How do you feel? I cannot check my prompt here.”

Tian exited the temple and flew a few laps around it. He then returned with the shaking of his head. Ali took that as a sign that he might need all the pieces together before the air serpent gained any benefits.

“Let’s not dawdle then,” said Ali. “Let’s train while we still can. I don’t look forward to the special training that awaits me tomorrow.”

The two of them trained hard until Ali had to get up. The teenager wasn’t surprised to see his roommates didn’t get a wink of sleep. A tough trial awaited them and they lacked his perk of guaranteed rest each night. While the others were grumbling about their lack of sleep, Ali wanted to check his prompt regarding Tian but, before he could do so, he heard a shriek from Svenne. He followed the tall teenager's eyes until he stopped on a strange marking on Umaru’s shoulder.

What exactly was Umaru hiding? And is it related to when he had to retrieve something?

Ali’s suspicion only deepened when Umaru showed no sign of surprise. Instead, he seemed rather pleased with himself, as though everything was going according to plan.