Chương 15: 14. The Calm Between Storms

The Five of Rings was bone strengthening and Two of Chalice—healing. I carefully examined the cards as I picked them up one at a time. I was rather fortunate that the aelf hadn't resorted to the Ten of Swords, probably even viewed me as too insignificant to do so. That was all well, for if he had, he might actually have won. The card in question was common, yet let its owner perform a multi attack; specifically, that meant a series of fast-paced thrusts in immediate succession.

Parrying that, even with major cards, was difficult if not impossible. If the attack was combined with a poison or paralysis card, victory was unavoidable. A few steps away, Cathy was examining her own card. If she had followed my advice, there was a chance that she would have earned a few more from the boss. Noting that now would only get her pissed, though.

"That's it?" she asked.

"Pretty much." I took the pair of aelf blades. Arguably, they were a lot better than anything I had. Technically, they were even superior to my goblin-killer. For better or worse, I was stuck with that. Nothing good came from tossing a divine gift or gambling it away. If I were lucky, it would break before I came across something better. I tossed all the goblin knives on the floor.

"Want these?" Cathy offered me the pair of hatchets. A few hours ago, they would have been incredibly useful. Not that it was her fault. No one knew when a deity would take a liking to a participant.

"Keep them," I said.

"They'll make a good trade. I doubt most of the others got anything useful." Rays of sunlight shone through the shattered windows, flooding the room. Harlequin had sped up time, it seemed. Even during the starting trials, he couldn't restrain his impatience.

"Leave the arrows," I advised.

"I don't think they'll work well with your bow." Diana would certainly provide arrows later, maybe even during the pause between trials.

"Makes sense," the woman agreed with me.

"Shall we go?"

"Give me a moment." I went into the corridor.

"Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," I replied. That was the one non-lethal aspect of the Grand Arcana that annoyed me the most. Here we were, surrounded by magic, fighting in worlds literally created at a whim, and still nothing could be done about our bodily functions. Everything that came in had to go out. The non-stop pressure up to this point had helped mask the fact, but as time went on, people would start to realize that they had to plan accordingly. The second worst thing one could do was to be forced to go during a trial.

The first worst—doing it between trials. It was still early, but soon enough the scheming would start, and anyone who left the group for any reason was more likely to become a target than not. I locked every door I had a chance to; I went to my stall to take a dump. Once that was over, I flushed and went to wash my hands. SPONSORSHIP OFFER! A deity has shown interest in you and is willing to offer a pact. Do you agree? A message appeared before my face. Another one? I wondered.

They could see my weapon, so they had to know that someone else had made a claim. Maybe that was the whole reason they were trying to butt in. Some deities only did things to spite others. Forming a pact with them was a bad idea. I had seen participants get discarded at the first opportunity for no reason whatsoever. Also, there was a good chance that my initial sponsor was playing games. Since I had no way of knowing who stood behind the offers, nothing prevented him from pretending to be someone else.

"Who are you?" I asked as I rinsed my hands. SPONSORSHIP OFFER! The deity cannot reveal its identity as of yet, but has decided to leave its offer open should you change your mind. The message abruptly changed, then disappeared. Two open offers? Aren't I lucky? Some might almost think that I was some big shot. In terms of physical attributes, my body was a mess. Even after consuming the monster spheres, it was going to take considerable effort, and no small amount of pain, to get close to what I had to be.

Last time it had taken me ten years to crawl my way to the peak. Now, I had every intention of doing it in one. Cathy was waiting for me in the floor's main corridor as I went out. In the sunlight, the area looked a lot worse than it had before. Blood, corpses, and goblin parts were scattered everywhere.

"Do we take the elevator?" the woman asked, seeing me press the button.

"The trial's over," I replied.

"There's no point in killing us now. You can use the stairs if you want." She didn't. Walking through the empty town felt almost pleasant. If one were able to ignore the recent experience, it almost felt like sightseeing. Everything was built to appear grand, and now that there were no more goblins, it did. The starting area was empty by the time we reached it. Everyone had taken the first opportunity to rush off to what they believed to be safety.

I couldn't blame them; I had been the same during my first few trials. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Does that make us last?" Cathy asked. I could hear the slight concern in her voice.

"No, this is a survival," I said calmly.

"We'll be graded on performance." A single archway shimmered, inviting us to leave the trial. I took one final look, then stepped through. Reality around me shifted, bringing me back to the familiar white-walled room. This time there were no cards placed on the walls. Instead, several doorways had appeared.

"Greg," someone shouted. It was Marcus. It was unusual to see him openly show much interest in someone else. The disturbing part was that his blood dagger was way into the double digits, reaching one level short of thirty.

"Did you get him?" he asked.

"Yes, we got him." I nodded. Now it was clear why he had chosen the sewers. His goal was never the boss, nor the goblin leaders. What he really wanted was to boost his weapon, and his intuition had told him where that would be possible.

"Got anything interesting?" I feigned curiosity. My skill let me see perfectly well that he had gained two cards and also taken on a second weapon. One of the cards was the familiar One of Swords. The other was the Six, which didn't mean anything to me. The weapon, though, was a different matter. Devourer, I read out. It also had a level and a percentage behind its name. There could be no doubt that Marcus had obtained a second blood weapon, just as it was certain that he'd received it as a gift.

Unlike Cathy, though, he didn't seem to have made a pact.

"Nothing much," he lied without a moment's hesitation.

"But there's still time." Just as I was about to ask him something else, Harlequin appeared ten feet above the center of the room. Instantly, all chatter ceased.

"Congratulations on completing your second trial," the entity said, its porcelain mask looking at everyone in turn.

"The deities are pleased with your performance. In fact, the spectacle you provided was so entertaining that all of you will receive a Ring of Containment. Your wounds will be healed as well." A ring of containment? That was a particularly cruel joke, like rubbing salt in a wound. The ring only allowed for an additional item to be kept within the status window. Furthermore, the vast majority of people didn't even have anything to put there.

"And, of course, the best is yet to come!" A small table of white marble emerged from the floor, just beneath the rule master. Four cards were placed on it: the Drummer and three more face down.

"From this point on, only the top achievers get to look at the cards as they choose which to pick. Do not be concerned. Everyone is free to claim the revealed card." The monster paused, as if expecting some sort of applause. All he got was a deathly silence. Knowing him, he probably appreciated everyone's fear.

"The unquestionable winner, now for the second time, is Gregory Wiles." As Harlequin said it, all eyes turned to me. Less than a day ago, most of the people were grateful I had helped save their lives. Now, I could only see envy and anger in their glances.

"In addition to killing the second largest number of goblins, Gregory defeated four goblin leaders and the trial's hidden boss." The rule master's yellow-gloved hand extended in my direction.

"Go up to the cards and take your pick." Under everyone's glares, I went up to the table and picked up the three hidden cards. All of them were silver. That was a nice trick. No matter what I chose, everyone else would be left with the impression that I had scooped the rare for myself. By chance or intent, each card belonged to a different house. Unfortunately for me, none of them were of Chalice. The Troubadour, the Knave, and the Sleeper…

All of them were of the major arcana, but it couldn't be said that they were particularly good. On the surface, the Knave seemed the obvious choice. It was the only direct attack card, with three potential attack skills. If I hadn't already obtained several minor cards, it would have been my certain pick. The Troubadour was associated with manipulation, which potentially made it dangerous in the hands of certain people, but neither Marcus nor Cathy would value it properly.

My best guess was that they'd take it because of its rarity and trade it at the first chance they got. That left the Sleeper. THE SLEEPER (XXII, MAJOR, RING) (Rarity – Exceptional) SKILLS (1/3): 1 DREAMCRAFT: Engage in battle within the dreamscape 2??? 3??? As assuring as the skill sounded, it would be a while before dream invasions became a thing, not to mention that the Sleeper was a purely defensive card. What the description didn't mention was that dreamcraft could only take place in the owner's dreams.

Still, maybe it was the better option. Harlequin had already made the second trial a lot more difficult than it was supposed to be. There was every chance that he'd continue to do so in the future.

"Done," I said as I returned the Knave and Troubadour cards to the table. The card evaporated from my hand, joining the rest.

"Very well," Harlequin acknowledged my decision.

"You're free to take a rest and relax until it's time for the next trial. Make sure to take advantage of everything the Grand Arcana has to offer." I intend to do so. I thought as I walked away. Behind me, Marcus was announced as the runner-up with the greatest number of goblins killed, followed by Cathy. In both cases, there was no surprise. Each of them picked their respective cards, leaving Drummers for everyone else.

"Fourth is Eleanor," Harlequin kept on announcing.

"The only person to have been found amusing enough by the deities to earn an additional prize." I looked over my shoulder. The goth girl had won a prize? Given that she didn't come close to killing monsters, there was no way she should have earned that honor.

"For amassing the greatest number of Minor Arcana cards, she has been granted a placeholder." I used Harlequin's sight to spy on her status window. There could be no mistake. The woman had somehow obtained ten new cards, bringing her total to thirteen. That also wasn't supposed to be possible. I had defeated the greatest number of goblin leaders as well as found the hidden cache. There was no further doubt in my mind that the goth had been brought into the game by a deity.

The reason I hadn't noticed during my previous run was because I was too focused on my own survival to bother with other details. Also, none of my previous trials were this generous when it came to cards.

"What's her deal?" Cathy approached me. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one who found the goth suspicious.

"I have no idea," I admitted.

"But something tells me that she knows a lot more than both of us combined." Giving us a smug look, the goth immediately went to the gambling tables, where she bet her placeholder. Whoever her hidden sponsors were, they were doing a good job of setting her up for something. The question was what was that going to be. If I had to guess, it was all for the trial five split.

The next few trials would slowly decrease our numbers up to the point that we'd be merged with several more groups, then split in two depending on performance. The more skilled group would be fast-tracked to more difficult challenges with greater rewards, while the rest would repeat the same types of trials until they made the cut or died trying.

"Now, your second trial is officially over." The table beneath Harlequin vanished. The monster itself floated towards the ceiling, transforming into a yellow and red cloud of smoke.

"The doors provided will take you to the sleeping area, the fitness area, the feasting hall, and the bathrooms. Have a rest, enjoy the food provided, take a bath, or gamble at the tables. Everything you do depends on you. Just remember that in a full day's time the third trial will begin." Sneaky as usual, I thought. Out of all the options, there was only one which he had taken the pains to ignore. As it happened, it was exactly the one that I had to go through. The majority of people rushed toward the doors.

Carl had decided to try his luck on the gambling tables, possibly reassured by the fact that he had several cards and a few items. Secretly, I hoped that his greed would get rid of him, but that was unlikely. Even when gambling, the cockroach tended to survive.

"Where are you going?" Marcus asked, keeping an eye on me.

"The gym," I replied.

"It's always better to work out before a trial."