Some time later had passed and the trial had come to a conclusion. Yuuki was able to quickly take care of the remaining participants, players and NPCs alike after the troublesome ones have been dealt with, thus securing a victory.

After it was over, the participants were transported out of the site where they rejoined with their comrades. Yuuki immediately went on to finding Alchimie.

"Oh, Samurai…" Alchimie said as he's seated beside a tree.

"You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… just disappointing that I've died…"

"You didn't pass?"

"That's right, so I'll be meeting you in 3rd floor a few days later."

"Yeah... I need to meet Yun after I recruit this guy, after all."

Their talk was then interrupted as the Moderator arrived by their side from above.

"Hup…" The Moderator landed gracefully. He immediately went to business and asked. "How did you bypass my protection?"

"Am I being punished?" Yuuki turned serious.

"No, not really. Instead, I'm very interested in you, one of the guys in floor 1 do as well. Now that I saw your performance, I see why."

"So you're satisfied with my performance, huh? Will I get any reward?"

"Reward? No, that'll be too much, considering you've gotten a substantial one previously. I'm not sure on what to do since this is the first time this mishap had ever happened in the opening floors since the golden era. But I'll let you off the hook once since those climbers dying are not a problem, enjoy the climb." The Moderator then vanished.

"Not a problem? What the fuck?"

The two of them then smiled after an awkward silence and Yuuki sighed. "I think these guys know about the existence of players."

"Yup, that's an obvious giveaway..."

"So? Guess it's time for me to recruit somebody."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead." Alchimie gestured.

"See ya, then."

"Same here. See you later."

Yuuki then turned around and began making way towards where he last saw Jose.

After a moment of searching, he found them. "There he is…"

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Jose was resting by Emilia's lap with his eyes closed as he was still feeling powerless when Yuuki approached them.

"Yo! You're the one who fought prince Zero, am I right?" Yuuki waved his hand a bit.

Emilia then glared at him as he approaches. Her hostility was showing and even Yuuki noticed something.

"Killing intent?"

"What to you want?" She questioned.

"Hey, I don't mean any harm, alright? I just want to talk."

"You want to talk? Then why is your weapon out?"

Yuuki then looked to the left of his waist. "Oh shit… I'm subconsciously holding it…"

He then quickly stored it into his Inventory, vanishing into blue pixels.

"There, can we talk now?"

Jose then half-opened his eyes as if he's still sleepy and answered instead. "About what? Mister?"

"Oh, I'll get straight to the point since I'm not good with words... I wish to recruit you, that's all."

"Recruit?"

"That's right. Join our group to climb this tower together, that's all."

"… What will I get in return?"

"I'm not the leader, okay? That's why I want to bring you up to floor 3 and meet him there."

"We will follow, but if we do not like it, we'll continue on our own."

"I see no problem." Yuuki then turned around and gestured at them to follow.

"Please... give me a bit more time. I'm tired." Jose said.

"Alright, I'll came back in a bit."

"…"

Yuuki then left and headed back to Alchimie. "Hey, what now?"

"I guess we'll part ways for now. Hopefully, Zero is with you next time we meet."

"Oh, he definitely will be."

"That's nice to hear..."

"By the way, do you have more potions or elixirs? I could use some…"

"Sure..." Alchimie grabbed three vials from his inventory and lightly threw them towards Yuuki who caught them all without even cracking the glasses.

"That's all I have, the purple one would increase your strength for 10 minutes. I haven't yet tested it thoroughly so I don't know exactly how much it will give. The other two greens are for dexterity. It's also the same, 10 minutes and I don't know the full effect. It could be scaling, it could be fixed, I don't know. It's the same formula as in Eternal World but slightly different ingredients since I can't find the original ingredients here."

"Oh, that's not bad, I'll take it."

"Why would you need that? It's not like you can use them within the trials anyway."

"Just to be prepared, maybe?"

"Okay, take 'em then…"

"Thanks. So, see you next time?"

"Yeah, see you..." Alchimie smiled.

"Alright, I'll get going. Make sure to catch up." Yuuki then began leaving.

"Sure! I promise to do better the next time around."

Yuuki walked away and after some time, he arrived back to Jose, who's still sleeping.

"He's still not good to go?" He asked Emilia.

"He is, but since we're still waiting for you, he slept a bit more."

"Is he usually like this?"

"I've only known him for a day, I don't know. Besides, he's exhausted."

"Oh… okay, and you guys are already this close, huh?"

"What are you trying to say?" She glared at him.

"Nothing! Haha… So, can you wake him up?"

Emilia then lightly tapped Jose's face. "Hey, Jose..."

"Hmm?" He then opened his eyes slowly. "Oh… Are we going?"

"Yes, we are."

"Okay..."

He slowly stood up, stretching his body as he did so. He then awkwardly stared at Yuuki for a few seconds.

"What the fuck?"

"Uh, did I do something wrong?"

"Wha—? No, no, you're just a little weird. Sorry… Anyway, just call me Samurai."

"Samurai…? That's a weird name…"

"Why is that?"

"Nothing… It's like those sword-wielding guys…"

"Sword—? Oh you mean the Kenshi?"

"No, not that… I'm sorry for confusing things." Jose then looked down sheepishly.

"Nah, it's fine. You're Jose, right?"

"Uh, yes! And…"

She then interrupted, "It's Emilia."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you two then." Yuuki hurriedly extended his hand for a shake.

"Umu, same here…" Jose said in a soft tone.

"All right, here's a shirt. Wear it." Yuuki then tossed a black shirt which was previously the default clothing of his avatar.

"Oh… Okay…"