“No” is my first reaction. “I died every single day for almost two years. There’s no way anyone else can make it through”

“Don’t be that way, I can finally see the path! And you will not be alone this time! We will go together as a team all the way to the end. You should know how powerful I am! It will be easier!” Ahorn pushes back.

“Why are you so dead set on going to the end of the dungeon, anyway? What did God promise you?”

“I…. I can’t say… BUT WE HAVE TO. I will throw every resource at this that I can!” Ahorn is looking straight at me, unyielding in his look… I know this is important to him, but I can’t see us making it through.

“There is… another factor, that may serve to sway you.” A voice sounds from the man in the room that has been left out since I asked him to shut up. The leader of humanity.

“What is it, Prink?” Finally, a name for that guy.

“I heard a new study has gained traction at the university. Basically, they believe that rather than random chance, as we have assumed so far, some underlying principle dictates how ferocious the monsters of a particular dungeon are.” He takes a swig from a drink he poured himself.

“If you find out what they estimated the dungeon Yos has experience with is, you may find a dungeon that is much easier to conquer.”

“So? What do you say Yos?” Well… If it is much easier, couldn’t I at this point clear the dungeon by myself?

“Fine, but no one weak is allowed to come” I don’t want anyone dying on me. That shit feels horrible.

“Granted. How weak are we talking?” The gears turn in my head a little. They should at least be strong enough to stand up to me, right?

“Vegar, you must have seen that guy since you attend the finals of the gifted section, right? No weaker than him”

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“Right, I can only think of some six guys, but I’ll be on it immediately!” Ahorn shouts halfway through the sentence, as he leaves the room at the same time… Just what is it God promised him?

I still feel uneasy about the whole thing, but my feelings don’t get time to fester.

“So, let’s start talking” Prink sounds.

He ends up quizzing me on every minute detail about God’s appearance, from how God appeared, to how they talked, to if there was anything special preceding it, and I capitulate, telling everything from the giant steel colossus, to the orange seed and light tendrils, which he listens to with great joy.

Once we are finally done, hours must’ve passed and he offers to escort me to the palace. I accept, but it ends up not really being him escorting me, but rather a half dozen guards, who were waiting outside the luxurious room escorting us both.

It is very close, since it lays up the very same plaza the circle does. Indeed, the luxurious white mansion with a colorful garden and fountains is his home. On the way, I wanted to ask Prink a little about how everything works, but I can’t really get past the small wall of guards that has been formed between us.

Eventually, I am automatically separated and led to a room. It has apparently been reserved for if the winner of the gifted championship accepted employment. I am then asked to stay put until morning, because I am not trusted yet…

I don’t need rest and it is still only in the afternoon, but with a busted arm and missing fingers, I want morning to come fast, so I try to sleep. The bed here is exquisitely soft and I soon fall into slumber.

I wake, and check my arms. Both are in mint condition once again. I didn’t look around the room much when I went to sleep, but it is rather fancy. Large dresser, large bed, a table with four chairs surrounding it, all with intricate carvings in them.

Breakfast is apparently arranged on the table, so I might as well dig in. Breakfast has been the meal the least to my tastes in this world, since it usually mostly consists of meat, like all other meals, which I find a bit heavy for the first meal of the day. But this appears to be some kind of stew, made mostly from fruit and vegetables. It has a mild sour taste, but is very easy to eat.

In the middle of breakfast, Ahorn barges in. “There you are!” He yells. “Come” he walks up, grabs my arm and pulls me along. “I got all of them and we have located a dungeon, that should be much easier than the one in Berliso nearby. We are leaving immediately!” What the hell, just what did he do all day yesterday?

“Wait, Ahorn, I can walk by myself!” I try to protest but he leads me on by his hand on my arm anyways. I could probably easily break free, but his gift is quite scary, so I wonder if he will accidentally strike me or something.

Once he has lead me to a certain door, he opens it and six people are gathered around a table, all looking very tired. I recognize two people among them, Spetus and Vegar.