Chapter 27: New Team

"Attention!" the woman with glasses once again called out to all the participants. "I have one more instruction to give you." 

Li, Selene, and Irmin approached the platform to hear what she had to say. 

"Now that we're close to the time limit, I'd like to clarify some details about the next test!" Liming shouted to the still somewhat confused participants. "By now, you should be accustomed to the mission system. Well, it is with great pleasure that I announce we will debut a new program this year." 

The holographic screen appeared again, this time describing a new project. 

"Animus?" Li thought. 

"The Animus Project is ongoing technological research conducted by none other than Brigid!" Liming seemed excited to unveil the new system. Li, who had seen her dozens of times before, was surprised by the expression on her face. She seemed to be in ecstasy, like a fan talking about their idol. Jihan, despite never having heard of this name, had read about it during one of his visits to the library. 

"Despite that, I don't seem to be the least informed here," he thought as he looked around. Several participants were visibly scratching their heads, unfamiliar with Brigid, the goddess of wisdom. 

"It would be too much to ask for everyone to know the most incredible person in this world… anyway," she continued, "Animus is an improved system of what we were already using. More realistic, detailed, and of course… more deadly!" 

Some participants exchanged nervous glances. There were murmurs here and there, but no voices of dissatisfaction. Selene swallowed hard next to Jihan. 

"As mentioned earlier," Liming continued, "we are looking for only the best, and with that, I have two pieces of information for you. The first is that death within Animus will mean death outside it as well. For those who are afraid, I present the second option: unlike the mission system, surrender is possible… all you must do is shout 'I surrender' and you will be immediately removed." 

"At least it's not as bad as I thought," said the conjurer. "If everything goes wrong, we can surrender!" 

"Don't be fooled," Li countered. 

"What do you mean?" she asked. 

"We'll talk about it when we have more privacy." 

Selene just nodded. The brief relief she felt from the information about surrender vanished as if it had never existed. 

"Don't worry," Jihan reassured her, noticing her distress. "As long as I'm here, you won't die, neither of you will." 

Both women looked at Li a little more confidently. Despite not knowing him well, his calm and confident posture made him seem like a great ally. 

"Well, my role ends here!" Liming smiled slightly, "And your time is up too. To all participants, may luck be with you!" And with a clap of her hands, the 60 people were teleported from the hall. 

When the trio opened their eyes next, they were amazed by the sight before them; it was breathtaking. 

"In… incredible," Selene proclaimed, agape. "What is this place?" 

Half a dozen entire mountains floated in the air, connected by dozens of long stone bridges. Waterfalls flowed down the slopes and descended below the clouds. Temperate forests with little underbrush dominated the terrain around the mountains. The yellow leaves, combined with the white peaks of the mountain ranges, made the scene even more majestic. Suddenly, a chill ran down Li's spine, and the hairs on his arm stood up. 

ROARRRRRRR 

A roar. So loud and strong that it made the air and the ground tremble. The living beings who witnessed it froze, afraid that the slightest movement would make them targets of the creature that had just announced itself. 

"Mr. Li, are you okay?" Irmin asked. 

"What? Didn't you hear that?" 

"Hear what? What were we supposed to hear?" 

"Is this thing working? Hello? Participants, can you hear me?" 

The trio turned in the same direction. The half a dozen mountains formed a hexagon in the air, and in the middle of it, a projection of a face appeared, the face of none other than Hakim, the librarian. 

"Nice to meet you. For those who know me and those who don't, my name is Hakim. I am the guide of knowledge, or librarian, as you prefer." The image of the old man smiled in the air. "For those who just heard a certain roar, don't be afraid. The beast with that voice cannot harm you; it is merely a projection of Animus, and well…" Hakim chuckled innocently, "even if it could, I doubt it would. No man, for example, would go out of his way to step on an ant by the roadside, hohoho." 

A complete contrast formed between the words spoken and the expression of sincerity and kindness on the man's face. 

HAHAM 

Pretending to clear his throat to relieve the tension, Hakim continued: 

"This is the first scenario projected by Animus. Welcome to the legendary, Cadmus Islands!" 

The man's voice echoed through the mountains and forests. 

"Extraordinary! I never believed I would see this place with my own eyes," Selene exclaimed. 

"What are these islands?" 

"You don't know, Jihan?" 

"Is it that strange?" Li replied, shaking his head negatively. 

"Well… it's a legend as old as I can remember. I've heard many stories… but…" 

"But?" 

"You must be wondering how this is possible, right?" the projected voice interrupted their conversation. "Well, to the disappointment of many, including myself, this is actually just an expectation of the island, based on reports and the legend itself." 

"I see, so apparently the island was never really confirmed as real," Li thought. 

"Anyway, let's get to what really matters. This will be the last time you hear outside voices until the end of the test, so I'll give you two warnings; this applies to everyone listening. There are some monsters on the islands, placed only to increase the difficulty of the third test… in addition…" the old man's gentle expression changed to one of disgust, "Some young people think they are important enough to try to sabotage the outcome of this third phase… worms that grow too fast and don't know their place in the world." Shortly after, his expression calmed down. "However…" 

Although it was impossible, the eyes of the large projection seemed to stare directly into Jihan's. 

"I don't think we will have many problems with that," and diverting his gaze, Hakim concluded. "May luck be with you!" And the projection dissolved. 

Li furrowed his brows, not quite understanding what the old man meant. 

"Let's go," Li turned and headed into the forest. 

"Jihan?" Selene and Irmin followed behind the man. "Where are we going?" 

"There are 20 teams and 6 islands," Li replied. "By basic math, there are at least 3 teams per island." 

"So, you want to clear this island as quickly as possible?" 

"I have a feeling that I need to." 

"A feeling?" 

"Pick up the pace!" Jihan retorted. 

"Wait! I know you're the most famous here, but don't you think we could talk about this?" Selene argued, while Irmin just followed behind. 

"We don't have time!" 

"Jihan!" 

Li quickly turned and grabbed Selene's collar. Raising his fist from under the cloak, he pulled her close and, with white mana covering the glove on his hand, punched the projectile that was aimed at the woman's back. 

As soon as the projectile made contact with the copy of Járngreipr, it exploded, generating a light cloud of smoke. 

"Apparently, I realized too late…" Jihan tore off the now-tattered cloak, revealing his entire body. 

His black light armor, covered his torso and legs, leaving his arms and feet exposed. The parts of his body, that were visible, revealed some scars, decorating an already well-defined muscular body; his slightly tan skin made this definition even more evident. His straight black hair, which was no longer short, had grown to his shoulders after more than two months without care. All this, combined with the white glow in his brown eyes and his extremely serious expression, made Li a formidable opponent. 

"Are you okay?" Despite the man's stern face, his question to Selene made her feel a bit more secure, though still anxious, she could only nod. 

"Alright. Irmin, protect her. You two, stay behind me!" 

Wielding his shield and changing his expression, Lind quickly positioned himself in front of Selene. 

"Selene, remember, you are a mage. Compose yourself and give me cover quickly! There are more people than I thought…" 

As soon as he finished speaking, several shadows began to appear from behind the trees. 

"Two teams…? No, more." 

"It's nothing personal, boy," one of the men stepped forward. His face was familiar. Jihan didn't saw his name, but he was an acquaintance, likely within the top 20 of the 60 participants in Animus. "It's just business. Why don't you surrender to avoid bloodshed?" 

Li clenched his fists. 

"I say the same to you." 

The man brought the saber he was wielding to his mouth, licking the blade. 

"I'm glad you said that…"