Chương 5: 4. The Bard (IV, Major, Chalice)

I had lost count of how many people had messed up here without even knowing it. On the surface, the setting was simple: a trial of strength in which the participants chose their opponent. Two statues—two obstacles, one of them green, the other white. There were countless theories as to which to engage. The white elephant was vicious in attack and defense, while the green one had superior stamina and endurance. I looked behind, making sure no one was watching, then went up to the white elephant.

The smart challengers realized that choosing an enemy to evade was a much better solution. As a rule, Harlequin did his best to avoid deaths this early. Yet only the smartest were aware that there was one more trick—a shortcut that everyone ignored. Stopping in front of the white elephant's trunk, I took out a tube of silver coins.

"Silver," two voices whispered in unison.

"Give us silver." The same thing had happened last time. Not to me, of course, but there were enough people claiming that the statues had asked them for silver. I counted five coins, placing them in the hole in the white elephant's trunk.

"More," one voice said.

"Give me more silver!" Aren't you a greedy one? I continued, adding five more. Satisfied with my sacrifice, the stone trunk moved up. Taking ten coins out of the tube, I returned it to my pouch of containment and made my way to the green elephant. Once it took my coins, the trunk rose up again, creating just enough space for me to walk between the statues without having to engage in a fight.

"Thanks for your hard work," I said, then slowly made my way between them. The tough part was over. All I had to do now was sprint to the end of the corridor, and I would get to choose my card.

"Wait!" a loud voice boomed just as I reached the middle of the elephants. I felt a lump in my throat.

"Why did you feed him first?" the green statue asked. I had no knowledge of this ever happening before. Desperately, I concentrated, trying to remember if I'd heard anyone mention such an occurrence in my past life. The elephant statues were supposed to serve the person who fed them silver. Some people even boasted that they had ordered the elephants to attack the other competitors after the bribe.

"I gave ten to both of you," I said, doubling my pace.

"You did." The green elephant's trunk struck the side of the cave, causing chunks of rock to fall to the ground.

"But you showed preference." What the heck? Was the monster seriously complaining about the order? It was impossible to do otherwise. The trunks hadn't been remotely close enough for me to feed them coins simultaneously. Did that mean that no matter which of the two I gave coins to the second would end up displeased? If that were the case, what was the point in sacrificing so much silver to begin with?

"And you chose him!" The green elephant briskly turned its head, striking at me with its trunk. In the height of my previous arcana run, I would have avoided the attack without a second thought. Now, despite seeing the attack, my body refused to move to avoid it. A dozen feet before striking me, the white elephant blocked the attack with its trunk. The clash sounded like lightning as two indestructible forces met each other.

"He chose me," the white elephant said in an identical voice. This was my cue. Without looking back, I dashed forward. Blasts sounded behind me, shaking the tunnel like massive explosions as the two statues engaged in combat against one another. Rocks fell from the walls and ceiling, making the entire experience a lot more similar to a later level challenge. Covering my head with my backpack, I kept running. I was in no position to affect the battle one way or the other. The only thing I could do was stay alive.

Every fiber of my body screamed for me to look back and see what was going on. Gritting my teeth, I suppressed the desire, focusing on one thing and one thing alone. Ten seconds later, I couldn't stop myself anymore. Slowing down, I glanced over my shoulder. The white elephant had a substantial number of wounds covering its side. Sadly, it was losing steam. The energy and endurance of the green elephant proved to be superior.

When it struck again, the white elephant could no longer withstand the raw power, tumbling to the ground. Chunks of white marble flew in all directions. Holy shit! I leaped onto the floor face down. Pieces of marble flew above me, while others struck the walls of the cave, echoing like cannon blasts. If I had been a little slower, there was every likelihood that I'd end up with a massive rock in the back. It would have been ironic if my foresight had caused me to die so early in the second run.

"What will you do now?" a male voice asked. It was high-pitched, full of mockery. Bastard, I thought. He was taunting me without even offering to become my patron. Not that I would have accepted. It was always the weaker deities that approached players first. The really strong ones needed to be impressed. Gritting my teeth, I got back up and ran forward. Even if my guardian was dead, the other wasn't in a particularly good state. It would take it some time to chase after me. The end of the tunnel, I told myself.

All I had to do was get there. Wounds didn't matter. As long as I reached the destination, the trial would be considered complete. I leaped to the left, then, several steps later, moved back right. Zigzagging wasn't the most efficient way to proceed, but provided a bit of insurance against the remaining statue. From experience, I knew that such creatures weren't good at decision-making, so moving about would confuse them to the point that they wouldn't be able to target me effectively.

A large chunk of white marble hit the wall behind me. The temptation was to switch to running straight and gain distance. That would be a mistake. I had acquired my current knowledge after numerous trials. As long as I stuck to it and didn't let spur-of-the-moment emotions dissuade me from my goal, I was going to achieve what I had set out for. Several more seconds passed, and no new rocks followed.

"You chose him first!" The elephant's voice bellowed behind me. Reaching into my pouch of containment, I grabbed the partially empty coin tube, emptied the coins into my hand, and tossed it over my shoulder. With everything going on, I could barely hear it hit the floor. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Silver!" the stone creature shouted. Clearly, its greed was far superior to its smarts. The whole tunnel shook beneath the elephant's feet. It was all a matter of speed now. Pouring every ounce of energy I had into my legs, I continued straight forward. Every second, the thunder came closer and closer. Yet at the same time, there were signs that the end of the trial was approaching. The walls of the cave were slowly shifting back to the original form of the tunnel.

A few seconds more and I saw it—the grey brick wall marking the end. Finally. I smiled. Many would have found the situation hopeless, but in my mind I had already won.

"Traitor!" the elephant shouted, thrashing the wall with its trunk.

"You didn't give me any silver!" I stretched my hand, reaching to touch the brick wall. The moment my fingertips came into contact, a wave of stillness swept past me, like a heavy draft. Moments later, I found the starting room in front of me again with Harlequin standing in the middle. His porcelain mask looked at me with its ever-present smile, but I could tell that he was far from happy.

"You're the first to complete the first trial," he said with the enthusiasm of a wet cat.

"That makes you the winner of our bet." The red and yellow jester snapped his fingers. I didn't feel any change, but had no doubt I'd see the difference once the rest of the participants arrived. For all their faults, the rule-masters did not lie. Rather, it was more appropriate to say that they couldn't do so. There were rumors that one had tried to on the orders of a deity and had burst in a cloud of flames. I so much hoped that the same fate would befall Harlequin.

If I ever accepted the patronage of a deity, that would be one of my first requests. Without warning, the jester twisted, allowing him to slither up to me like a venomous serpent.

"Who told you how to cheat?" Harlequin asked.

"You couldn't have figured out the elephant riddle on your own."

"It wasn't against the rules." I struggled to control my fear. Even knowing that he couldn't do me harm wasn't enough to prevent me from trembling like a leaf in the wind. I could feel the creature's body coil around. The porcelain mask stared right at me, almost touching my face.

"No," he said.

"It's not against the rules, but if you were sponsored before joining the game, you should have told me." Sponsored? During my previous run through the Grand Arcana, there had been rumors of people being sponsored by deities. It was claimed that some of them were such sore losers that they ventured into the dreams of humans years before the event, helping them train and prepare for the actual game. I didn't know anyone who had openly claimed to be sponsored.

Thinking about it, there were a few that could fall into that category.

"Are many in this batch sponsored?" At my question, the jester froze up, then quickly uncoiled, moving away.

"My apologies," he said with a bow.

"Your ingenuity has been recognized by the deities, and you shall receive a reward. Since this is a learning trial, you will have to wait for all participants to return before you get to choose your prize." I nodded in relief. This was too close. There was no telling which deity had intervened, but I was grateful they had.

"Didn't expect you to be first," Marcus said from the other side of the room. His first reaction was to look at the card-covered wall. Seeing all of them there, he glanced back at me.

"The prizes will only be collected once all participants are here," the rule-master said in his usual polite manner.

"It will give everyone a taste of what's at stake." Marcus shrugged, then made his way to the wall beneath the cards. A few moments later, I joined him. Harlequin's sight quickly came into effect, showing me his status window. Marcus Estien Level: none Cards: none Special: Intuition Weapon: Blood Dagger (Level 2) A blood dagger? Someone was feeling generous. Giving a weapon before the first trial was bad enough, but for someone to have put blood weapons into play, they were aiming for more than a common spectacle.

There were many wildcards in the Grand Arcana; blood weapons were among the most recognizable. Initially, they were no different than anything else. However, their strength grew with each kill. The change wasn't visible at first glance. It would require someone with appraise abilities several goes to notice the difference. The owners of the weapons, on the other hand, knew perfectly well, just as they knew of the weapons' second secret: it didn't matter whether the person killed was a foe or an ally.

People arrived pretty much as I expected. The leader of the goth group was first, followed seconds later by Cathy. Thanks to my improved sight, I saw that the goth girl was called Eleonor Ray and had poison immunity as her special. Cathy, on her part, was given night vision. At that point, the order no longer mattered. The first four were going to get the good cards, and everyone else would claim what was left. Even so, the formation of groups continued.

Some joined me and Marcus, while others stood closer to the goths. When the twentieth person finally stepped into the room, Harlequin clapped his hands.

"Splendid," he said, opening his arms as if to welcome us.

"This marks the end of the first trial." As he spoke, I noticed that the corridors had disappeared. We were once again walled off on all sides.

"Some of you had no issues dealing with the presented challenges," the jester continued.

"Others needed to put in a bit of effort, but all of you made it out alive." I did my best not to smile. Around me, I could hear whispers of relief at the false hope that they'd been given. I didn't see most of them making it far. As much as I wanted to warn them, I knew it wouldn't do any good, and even if it did, I would be putting my own life in danger further down the road.

"Gregory has been recognized as this trial's winner." Harlequin pointed at me.

"Because of that and the amusement he provided; the deities have granted him a prize item." CUP OF HOLDING (Item - Exceptional) A cup that can fill up with water three times per day. Not bad. Even with all the water I carried, it was nice knowing I wouldn't die of thirst.

"What's the item?" the man in the tourist shirt asked.

"The items will no longer be revealed going forward," Harlequin quickly answered.

"Just know that any item bestowed by the deities is one worth having." The whispers grew, then quickly stopped as everyone eagerly waited to hear the others who'd earned a prize.

"No other participants have distinguished themselves enough to earn anything more." The jester quickly dashed their hopes.

"And now, Gregory will choose the first card." He pointed to the wall. I knew how it went.

"I choose the Bard," I said loudly. Whispers erupted. Even Harlequin was hesitant for once.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Paladin cards are rare. You might never obtain them again."

"I choose the Bard card," I repeated. BARD chosen The card disappeared from the wall, emerging next to my status window. BARD (Rarity – Exceptional) Skills: MUSIC – Provides mastery of all music instruments. The owner can soothe the hurt, calm the angry, cheer up the sad, and provide hope to the desperate. It would be several more levels before the bard could be even moderately useful, but I didn't care. I had gotten off to a great start in more ways than one.

Now, all I had to do was follow the path I had set out for myself, while keeping an eye out for those who betrayed me.