Chương 67: 66. Anubis Hounds

"What do you think?" Marcus asked. I slid my sword along the sand, then pointed forward. Although none of us could see, a trail continued among the dunes. The bigger question was whether we should go after it. The monster was in possession of a fully developed Thief card. That meant it could sneak up on us at any moment. I had seen veterans die to it all too often to know that it wasn't to be trifled with. During my previous run, we had a name for such creatures: toll-snatchers.

Even with all the experience and preparation in the world, one always managed to draw first blood before being killed. By the looks of it, this was no different. Why are you rushing things, Harlequin? I wondered.

"Are you sure there was just one?" Marcus spoke again. There was no way to know for certain, so I gave him the universal gesture for, maybe. Most likely it was one, though—something with the strength and power to kill off ten participants at the blink of an eye and just leave them lying in the desert. It hadn't tried to eat them, nor had it played with their bodies. The creature had merely ripped them up and continued. From what I remembered, there was only one sort of monster that did that.

If I were right, we were in a lot more trouble than I thought. I looked around. Spotting Eleonor, I waved at her to approach. The goth gave me a glance that could shatter glass, but went up to me all the same. A short distance away, Cathy also joined in. Tell me if you feel any more blood in the air, I told Serp as I dragged my foot along the sand, creating a space to draw on. As everyone looked, I made a sketch of a dog's head with sharp, pointy ears.

"Anubis?" Marcus asked. I kept on drawing, doing my best to add a stick figure representation of a four-legged creature next to the dog head.

"Anubis' minion?" Cathy ventured. Diana must have whispered something into her ear, since there was no way she could randomly come up with that guess.

"Anubis hound," Eleonor said. Based on the slight tremble in her voice, it was obvious that she wasn't thrilled with the idea any more than I was. No, it was more than that—she was surprised, as if this wasn't supposed to happen.

"What's an Anubis hound?" Marcus asked.

"What do you think?" Eleonor glared at him, losing her usual cool.

"A twenty-foot dog that loves to kill. It doesn't play with its food, it doesn't eat its prey, it just kills." That sounded about right. The only silver lining was that it was a solitary killer, so it didn't move in packs… most of the time. Given how creative Harlequin had become lately, though, even that wasn't guaranteed. I drew a rectangle beside the dog's head, adding a dagger tilted to the side.

"Tombstone?" Cathy asked. Clearly, my art skills were utter crap without the card.

"Thief," Eleonor corrected her.

"The creature has a Thief."

"How can you be sure?" Marcus tilted his head. There were a few ways of answering this, so I chose the most obvious, pointing at Eleonor's feet. At first, no one seemed to understand what I meant. Given the intelligence level of both, the answer became clear in a few seconds: the goth hadn't left a trail of steps behind her. It was as if she had spontaneously appeared on the sand and never moved.

"A killer thief," Marcus mused.

"Definitely a challenge."

"It mustn't get near." Cathy surprised me with her certainty to the point that I had to check her eyes in case they had turned gold.

"With four people, it'll kill two by the time we get to react." I pointed at my nose and then at the trail. Thankfully, everyone understood. Even better, they understood the implication behind my silent statement: I only had a sense of where it was as long as it still reeked of blood.

"Carl!" Marcus shouted.

"Done marauding?"

"We can't be wasteful!" the manager shouted back. Ever since we had gone to the scheme, he had spent most of the time going through the more preserved remains. It was obvious that he was using the bodies for something. Maybe at some future point that might turn out to be an issue, though there was a lot of time to worry about it later. In the past run, he had never come close to obtaining any significant power. Rather, it was more correct to say that he hadn't openly used it while we had been in the same group.

"Join up. We're going."

"Now?" Carl protested.

"When do we rest?"

"That way?" Marcus turned to me, pointing forward. I shook my head sideways and took the lead. To little surprise. Carl came running after the group ten seconds later. Walking through a desert was no different than walking over an ocean: perfect calm all around without the slightest indication of what might pull you under. I'd keep an eye on the horizon for signs of a sandstorm. If one were to appear, we'd have minutes to dig ourselves into the same and wait for it to blow over.

Usually, that was a death sentence, but one of the four spells I had ensured that I would be able to breathe without issue. The more we walked, the more dead groups we found. The story was always the same, although the creature that had done it was different.

"Our" Anubis hound had probably been attracted by the scent of blood as well and gone there to check for survivors. Based on the state of the corpses, it was safe to assume that there hadn't been. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Five groups dead… That was far too much, even for a rule-master's trial. Part of me felt guilty.

If I hadn't stretched the curve, there was every chance that we would be doing plain trials, fighting for the crumby rewards that most participants got. That wasn't the main reason they had died. Even in a trial such as this, there was a way to survive, be it at the expense of a curse. They could have hidden in a rock formation and waited the trial out, but they were eager to fight for the prize… and it had cost them. Scent's getting weaker, Serp said after a few hours. That was to be expected.

We were slower than the monster. Our hope was that it might waste time with another group, giving us a chance to catch up. Apparently, we were out of luck. I stopped. Another sensation struck me all of a sudden.

"What?" Eleonor asked. Wasting no time, I raised my saber, ready for an attack. Creatures… I could feel several of them a dune or two away. It would have been nice to be able to share this with the rest of the group. Instead, I just pointed. Hopefully, they were ready for a few surprises. Leaving the rest behind, I rushed up the nearest dune. If a hound was waiting, I needed to confirm it before the rest could join in.

Despite their skills, they were still lacking in the experience department, and this wasn't a fight that would let them learn from their mistakes. Ever killed a hound? I asked Serp. If you let me keep the treat, I'll kill anything, the saber replied with a chuckle. Actually, I'll slash anything, either way. There was something very wrong when I found comfort knowing that my weapon was a maniac. Such was the reality of the Grand Arcana. One had to be willing to do anything in order to get strong.

Once there, they would have the privilege of making a choice. Tell me if you need blood, I kept running The release of a bolt sounded. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed, but thanks to the Listener card, I knew that someone had shot an arrow in my direction. Five of Charms! I spun the saber in the direction I had heard the sound. On cue, a metal bolt bounced off. Had I been a moment slower, the run would have ended for me right there. Shit! I so much wanted to sing.

If I could only use that card, the fight might already have been over. Thinking back, I tried to remember what sort of monster used crossbows in this trial world. The tomb guardians were equipped with all sorts of weapons, so that was a possibility. We must have stumbled upon a hidden ruin while pursuing Anubis' hound. Reaching the top of the dune, I performed a wide thread strike, aiming to suppress—hopefully kill—any enemy in the area. My attack was effortlessly blocked.

To my further surprise, the person who had blocked it was someone I knew quite well. Sparta? I lowered my weapon. What are you doing? Serp shouted. Get a grip, old man! She's the enemy! Yes, there was a fifty percent chance that she might have been the one to betray me, but I still couldn't get myself to fight her; not until I was absolutely certain. The woman looked at me for several seconds. I could see it in her eyes. Gone were all the times we had been together.

From her perspective, I was nothing more than a stranger who had just tried to kill her.

"You're one of Harlequin's." She lowered her hand. Most wouldn't have noticed the weapon attached to her wrist, but I could see it as bright as day. It was glowing bright cyan—an indication that it combined aether and divine power. I nodded, then pointed to my mouth.

"Right, you were the one who got all the curses." A smile appeared on her face. Even when mocking me, she had a certain charm that was difficult to ignore. Thankfully, thanks to my Bard card, right now so did I.

"You here alone?" I shook my head and pointed down the dune. Marcus was a second away from reaching the top. The women were further behind. As for Carl, he had conveniently remained a fair distance away. Sparta put her fingers to her mouth and let out a whistle.

"Impressive that you managed to survive with five red curses," she said while waiting for the rest of my group to arrive.

"You must be quite skilled." Getting praised by her was weird. The vanity within me hoped that she was hitting on me, but that was not the case. Her actions were calculated. It was never smart to attack until getting a feel for one's opponent. The only reason I created the impression of doing so was because I had faced most of them before.

"Yeah, it's not like I'm expecting you to say anything," she added.

"Though maybe once it's over we could continue our chat." Despite myself, I gave her a thumbs-up.

"Thanks," there was a note of surprise in her voice.

"I'd like that." That sentence, sadly, was forced. Still, I could view it as a half-win.

"What's up?" Marcus asked once he saw Sparta. His blood dagger was held low, indicating he was giving her the benefit of the doubt.

"A blood weapon?" Sparta asked in the same seductively flattering voice she had used on me.

"I didn't think anyone had one of those."

"I'm special," Marcus countered with his own blend of stoicism. He was smart enough to know that the woman was probing and indicated he didn't wish to waste his time playing that game.

"I'm sure." Sparta's attention turned to the other two arrivals. The moment she saw Cathy and Eleonor, her attitude completely changed. It was as if she had been chatting at a bar only to notice several people from her corporation walk in. When it came to the pact, one could well say that they were all part of one giant corporation, just working for different divisions.

"Hey," she addressed Eleonor.

"All of you survived?"

"Pretty much," the goth replied.

"Last one will join us in a bit. You?"

"A few scratches here and there, but yes. We've made camp nearby. You're welcome to join. We've got food." Offering food on a first meeting? Only a fool would do that, and only a bigger fool would accept it.

"Gladly. Just give us a minute." Eleonor turned around, nonverbally urging Carl to hurry up. Inexplicably, he got the message and rushed up the dune. I glanced at Cathy. If anyone would follow up with a question, it had to be here. For whatever reason, she had remained quiet, indicating she was part of the pact clique. Despite all my efforts, some things were not subject to change. Even when they hated each other, the chosen stuck together.

The skilled were tolerated, and everyone else was viewed as shit, annoyances, or playthings. In my previous run, I had been all three until I had earned an honorable position thanks to my Divine Page card. Not a word was said as we went down the dune. The best way to describe the relationship between the women was polite disdain. Marcus was still trying to make up his mind whether it was better to use Sparta or kill her at the first opportunity, while Carl had reverted back to his usual slimy self.

"You were hunting a hound, right?" Sparta asked as we made our way up a second dune.

"Maybe," Eleonor said.

"Why?"

"I just wanted to know whether I should apologize or not." A new sight opened before us. The sand was drenched in a thick tar-like liquid, although it clearly wasn't blood. Several participants were there, but unlike the last few groups, none of them were dead. The only corpse was that of a giant black dog, riddled full of holes. The competition had officially begun.