Planning

The next day, Arthur woke up from deep slumber. The nauseous experience he went through yesterday was mentally draining, making him fall asleep as soon as he relaxed. That happened after the screams of the summoned monster ceased at midnight.

As his memories drifted there, he was again weirded out by the whole event. Since the first moment he saw this group of people, he felt a sense of familiarity. It prompted him to follow after them, and he ended up here. After that, he again met one of them in the forest for a brief second before the beginning of the first round. Next, he met with Miko while taking a stroll and then a voice told him to trust her.

This sequence of events made him feel like something greater was pulling some strings. As he had a skeptic mentality, Arthur started getting more and more conscious of all the accidental things happening. Did he meet with Sier by accident? In an arcade? Was it a coincidence that he met a wolf he helped, that was weirdly attached to him, in a trial ground that happens every thirty years?

There was also the matter of Solomon, being there at that time, asking him for help. Sure, he was grateful to the dead man, who has helped him in an hour of need, but everything felt surreal after yesterday. Why did it feel like someone trying to push him toward taking these actions?

"Are you okay?" Arthur was startled by Miko's question, and he was pulled from his thoughts. He realized he had been staring at the sky for almost half an hour deep in thoughts, replaying each scenario with a different answer.

He may be naïve, but he wasn't dumb. When he goes back to the real world, he would question Sier and Ronin about everything. Was it all a coincidence? He didn't think so.

"Yes, is something wrong?" He answered as he got up. Seeing her behaving unlike usual, he couldn't help but ask.

"We need to plan things out. What are we going to do from now on?" Miko said, surprising Arthur greatly.

"We?"

"Well, yes." She bobbed her head up and down, another unusual act. It was then that Arthur realized she was acting more natural just like her real self.

"Yesterday, you stood up for me."

"You could've used your ability to escape alone since the beginning."

"And leave you? That's not an option." Miko shook her head vigorously. Arthur realized how honest she was, not ditching him even though she could because he was her benefactor. Maybe, just maybe, he made the right decision of listening to the voice. It didn't seem like Erin would appreciate his cooperation, either.

"Okay, let's stick together until this whole thing ends then." Arthur raised his fist, and Miko looked at it for a few seconds before bumping it awkwardly. Arthur laughed and stood up, starting to prepare their food. As he did, the two kept talking about their next course of action.

"Since we have created a team now, we need to find a few more members," Arthur said, rotating the meat to cook the other side.

"My goal is to survive this. I came here unknowingly, and I need to get out of here alive. We either pass this trial, or we end it."

"End it?" Miko asked with puzzlement as she took the meat from Arthur's hands.

"Yes, end it. It's a long story, but I think I have a way to end the trial early."

"What about the insignias?" Miko asked, puzzled.

"That… I don't know. Ending the trial doesn't mean passing it, but it's also doesn't mean we'd fail it. Can you tell me how do you specifically pass?"

"That depends on the insignia you're aiming for. There are many types, including The Conqueror, The Slayer, The Saint, The Hero, The Lord, and The Explorer.

"For the Conqueror, you need to conquer the tower. For the Slayer, you need to kill a high-tier monster. For the Saint, you need to heal many but never kill. For the Hero, you need to save others, from humans or monsters alike. For the Lord, you need to lead others toward survival. Lastly, for the Explorer, you need to find the world's cores."

Arthur listened as he munched on his food, processing everything she explained. To be frank, it was more than a lot. He had no idea it required that many conditions and each insignia had a different name. He should've learned these things much earlier, although they wouldn't change much.

"What if everyone escaped the trial grounds, while not receiving an insignia yet?" He said, hoping for an answer.

"That's… I don't know. It never happened before." Miko hesitated as she added some theories. "Usually, you'd pass the trial when you teleport outside and receive your insignia. If teleportation is the key, then it would make sense if everyone received an insignia based on what they did, even if they didn't pass."

Arthur felt ominous hearing this. If nothing similar happened before, why would it happen now? Did Solomon lie to him? That was a possibility. But… if it worked, he would teleport outside while saving everyone, including Kira. To follow the other routes, he would have to leave Kira here, forever waiting to be killed for its mana core. Arthur didn't want that.

"Okay, we need to leave this place." Arthur stood up from his position, startling Miko by his sudden decision.

"Why are we leaving so suddenly?"

"We need to gather our allies," He went into the pub and started to gather his supplies and equipment.

"To do what?" Following after him in a hurry and watching him packing, Miko asked. He turned toward her and grinned for the first since they met.

"End this world."

***

"Do we have a deal?" Yuran asked, looking at the bald monk in front of him. He sat under a waterfall as he closed his eyes. As if he didn't hear him, the monk continued to meditate. Fey almost drew her weapon out but Yuran held her hand.

"You have an impatient friend." The monk opened his eyes. He was a bald young man with three ear piercings in each ear. He stood up from his position, towering over the two people with a height Yuran estimated to be above 190 centimeters. He walked toward them and stood in front of the two.

"She's like my little sister, please excuse her." Yuran wasn't a person who would shy of apologizing. The young monk smiled at him and nodded.

"If you asked me anything else, I doubt I would have helped. But to heal someone, not you even, is a virtuous demand. If I decline, my teacher would spank me three hundred times once he knows."

The youth laughed audibly, even the trees shaking by that laugh. It was hard to believe this man was a healer, as he resembled a fighter than most fighters did.

"Thank you," Yuran sighed in relief. With this, he would have a bit more hope toward accomplishing his dream.

"However, to receive a favor, you must also give one," The monk grinned.

"Anything. Money, artifacts, potions…"

"No, not that." The monk shook his head. "Even being a healer, I have some people I wish to take vengeance of."

"You mean…"

"I want you to help me find and kill someone."

"Okay. Who is it?" Yuran's eyes were the usual, unfazed by the thought of killing someone. The young man in front of him was known as the genius healer, and he wouldn't mind killing someone if it meant gaining his trust.

"His name is…"

The name sounded familiar, but not so familiar. He had read it once before, and the gears in his brain spun looking for the answer. Luckily, it was something he came across only recently while reading the information of someone. However, the identity of this person was related to someone he owed his life to. Someone he met not so long ago.

The name was Seref Silvera.