Chapter 3: Trial

Beep! Beep!

The airship finally took off, and I leaned on the railings, taking in the fresh air and exhaling. Before long, we flew over the clouds, and I reached out, trying to touch the clouds, but they were intangible, just gas.

"First time?" a voice sounded beside me, and I looked up to see a woman smoking. She had dark skin and black hair like mine, but hers was slightly curled. She was dressed like the crew on board, so I knew she worked here.

Out of politeness, I smiled and hummed in reply. The woman extinguished her cigarette and said, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I blinked and turned my head to look at the scenery. My lips curled up, and I said, "Yeah."

…..

Going back inside my cabin I sat down on the bed and heaved a sigh of relief. The view was truly refreshing that I've felt my soul cleansed just by staring at it.

Remembering something my face turned serious and I opened my bag to get a notebook.

[January 12, 19XX

----Today I finally boarded an airship and left the city. My next destination is the country Steam where one of my characters reside. There are only a year left until the invasion of the Outer Gods descends upon us, before the world gets destroyed]

After I finished writing, i hid it back inside my bag and sighed. I only have a short amount of time to prepare…

In the game [Arcana: Online], on March 20, 19XX, a prophet from the capital will have a vision. She will spread the prophecy she saw about the invasion of the Outer Gods to the Theos world. On the day the Outer Gods invade, a stone tower will appear where the tournament of the battle of the gods will take place. This will cause ruckus to the world

Before all of this happens I need to collect my characters and grab as much support as I can in order to make sure that the world won't end.

The world of "Theos" is comprised of five nations: Steam, Engine, Witchcraft, Steel, and the central country, Arcane, which is the largest and most powerful of them all. To represent each nation, I created five characters, each residing in their respective country. Additionally, each capital city shares the same name as its corresponding country. And in each country, there are academies that test the people in their own unique way which is also the representative of their nation.

After transmigrating into the game, I've recently found that I was in the country 'Steam' so as to no further trouble myself, my first destination will be the Steam City.

But the problem is though, is that I'll have to somehow get into the academy and became a 'Guide'. A 'Guide' simply means an instructor but unlike the ordinary instructors in the academy, a Guide can roam around the world and collect more students from another country

To be a Guide the person has to complete the trial given. Though it sounds simple enough, you can actually die during the trial and no one will care which made a lot of people hesitant about joining the trial.

And the reason why I need to be a Guide? It's simple, because my characters are students of the academy.

"Ugh" Groaning in annoyance I covered my eyes and shook my head helplessly. Judging by my status and experience, I have a very weak body and my stamina is also not that good. Fortunately I have knowledge about the trial but still, it is not enough

I furrowed my eyebrows and pondered what I can do. If only I have a strong companion, which is possible but cannot be done, I cannot be certain if that companion can be trusted or not. I need, someone who I can control…

"Ah!" Suddenly I snapped, there is a person who I have information of! And with that information there is an 89.1% chance that I can control them! With that thought I couldn't help grinning, it's time to make some use of the knowledge I have.

Arcana: Online is an exciting adventure and survival game that combines elements of dungeon novels with escape games. In this immersive virtual world, guilds from all corners of Theos send their members to compete in these challenging escape games, aiming to increase their power and reputation. This is also one of the reasons why I enjoyed the game, you can feel the emotions thrill, fear, joy, and pleasure while playing the escape game known as, "Trial"

And the Guide Examination I'm going to is escape game as well…

Thump! Thump!

My heart thumped wildly with excitement as I thought I'm going to be able to participate in it but at the same time sweat dripped down from my forehead, feeling the fear of death. With a smile I murmured "I wonder how this game will go"