Chương 74: 73. The Red and Yellow Crown

"Kill me?" It would be a lie if I said I expected this. Requests of this nature weren't unheard of, though I had never seen one made so early. The first few months, people used to kill without warning. Gripped by fear and envious of those who had everything go their way, it was understandable for some to group together in an attempt to permanently even the odds. Even then, it had taken well over ten trials before the discontent had led to action.

"Did you ask why?" I remained calm, though I was ready to act in case Marcus decided to go through with the request.

"Yeah. He just said that I'll get something out of it. As it turned out, he was right." Definitely a dark way to look at things. Interesting that this was the second run that I had been betrayed. In this case, I had dodged the bullet for now, but someone out there had it in for me. Why, I had no idea.

"When did this happen?" I briefly glanced at the bathroom door. There didn't seem to be any sounds of people outside.

"Shortly after you left. I thought that the guy had something for the chick you were with. He didn't." How could you tell? The question was on the tip of my tongue. Instead, I asked something more practical.

"Why didn't you go along with it?" I looked Marcus in the eye.

"It wouldn't have been a good choice." So, the decision was driven by practicality. His intuition had likely told him that he would have a harder time fighting me compared to someone else. That was temporary, though. The moment he got stronger, he might well take his chances.

"Why tell me?"

"Skill mustn't be wasted." He tapped me on the shoulder.

"Keep an eye out and don't die in the next trial." He left the room. For several seconds, I stayed there. Marcus had always been difficult to read, but I got the impression that he remained on my side. If anything, Eleonor was of greater concern. I still knew very little about her, and I didn't like the whole goth group angle. That made at least three factions that were keeping an eye on me: Hypnos, my own dream deity, and the power behind the demigod.

"The fun never ends," I said, then went to the toilet. My stomach was still empty from the trial. The effects of my curses had also gone. The divine brace, however, had remained. It was pretty much useless at this point, but I chose to leave it on. Sitting on the toilet, I went through the new cards I had acquired from the trial. The Ten of Swords was a trade extra that I could also use as food for the divine blades. The Gravedigger, on the other hand, was a rather nice boost. Merge, I thought.

THE GRAVEDIGGER has been improved Skill 2: DEATH STRAND: (requires corpse) control corpses like puppets Not bad. I had used a Gravedigger card in my past run, though only until I had traded it for something more combat-oriented. While it seemed rather strong now, it was pretty useless later on. The Necromancer achieved that much and more with a lot fewer limitations, not to mention it was a Grand Arcana card. Right now, some undead puppets were a good bonus to my other skills. Finally, there was the new addition.

THE CHAMPION (XVI, MAJOR, SWORD) (Rarity – Exceptional) SKILLS (1/3): 1 CIRCULAR SLASH: (weapon required) perform a spin strike, tripling the strength of the attack 2??? 3??? One more Major Arcana for the collection. Looking at what I had gathered so far, it was almost as much as I had achieved after a full year of my previous run. Then again, there was a cost. Five trials and out of the initial batch of people, only five remained. In the previous run, there had been about ten people during the first merge.

There had been no such thing as a rule-master competition, just a simple joining of groups to fill in the numbers needed for the trials. The same had occurred a few more times before Marcus and Cathy had disappeared. Roughly half a year later, Carl had also died, leaving me as the sole survivor of my initial group. I washed my hands and went to the feasting hall. Harlequin must have been feeling generous, for the table had edible food on it. I ate just enough to trick my body, then went to bed.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. During the night, the first installment of pain swept over me. There was no warning, no gradual preparation, just the sensation of burning iron drilling into my chest. It was so sudden that I fell off the bed, lurching and screaming in agony. No one did a thing. Maybe they were warned, maybe they were afraid my affliction was contagious; they simply remained where they lay. Damn you, golden eyes!

I shouted in my mind. Even now, I was smart enough not to voice my thoughts. I must have fainted several times, as the pain drove me to my limits. When I woke up for the last time, I was alone in the room. The pain, thankfully, was also gone.

"Installments," I muttered as I stood up. I had to go through more than one of these. Now, I see why the merchant had agreed to the deal he'd made. He was probably enjoying watching me. Harlequin made no announcement that day. The remaining participants took turns gambling and exercising in the gym. When I tried to enter the arena, the mannequin didn't let me.

"Apologies," it bowed with fake sincerity.

"The arena hall is not available until further notice." I didn't remember this happening in the past, but I just nodded. Know anything about this, Serp? I asked as I went back to the food table. What do you expect me to know? The serpent blade snapped at me. You always said that you knew more about the Grand Arcana. Enlighten me. You can't enlighten a dim cave. I heard him smirk. Besides, it won't do me any good until I get more treats. Although… A long pause followed. I guess I'm fine with you awakening me.

Now that you have some platinum. Why isn't anyone talking? You serious, old man? Who'd talk with the maniac shouting all night. If I needed sleep, I wouldn't talk to you, either. They aren't just not talking to me. Ever since getting up, I had been using the Listener to find out what was going on. The only thing that I had noticed was utter silence. People didn't talk to me or each other. In fact, they seemed to be avoiding each other altogether.

That's how I knew that Eleonor wasn't exaggerating when she had told me that everything would change after the fifth trial. The only time I had seen something similar was during my college exams a long time ago: everyone had kept to themselves, stressing what would follow. The big question was, were we expecting an exam, or had it already taken place? Using this as an excuse, I went up to Sparta. If there was a chance I could recreate what we had in the previous run, I didn't have time to lose.

She was in the gym, sprinting on a treadmill. Back on Earth, the device would have given up after ten seconds at her pace. Here, equipment followed different laws of nature.

"Hey," I said casually as I walked up.

"Thanks for the assist." I waited for a few seconds, hoping for an answer.

"I never got to say that up to now," I added after it was obvious I wouldn't be getting one. The woman glanced at me, then looked forward, before turning head my way again.

"You really are something." She slammed the stop button. Everything in her intonation suggested that it wasn't a compliment. The treadmill bucked, instantly coming to a halt. The massive built-up inertia didn't manage to move Sparta by an inch.

"Just wanted to get to know you," I resorted to pickup lines so rusty that they had turned to dust.

"We're in the same group, so…" Every fiber of my being screamed that this was a mistake, only for me to ignore it. There was too much history between us for me to let this go. Besides, if she really had betrayed me, this was the best way to find out. I was no longer the person I was back then.

"You really don't know?" she asked.

"If—""Hello, participants!" Harlequin's voice boomed. Several people rushed out of the gym, heading for the main section of the preparation hall. The timing was irritating, though there wasn't anything I could do about it. Trials started whenever the rule-masters chose. There was no morning, day, or night. Sometimes, when Harlequin was in a really bad mood, he'd make a point of waking us up half an hour after everyone had gone to sleep. Sparta walked past me at a hurried pace. I gave myself a second, then followed.

By the time I got to the main hall, everyone was already there. Harlequin was also present, sitting on a large throne padded with red and yellow cushions.

"It is such a pleasure to see you are keeping yourselves in form," he said, leaning forward like a maniacal emperor.

"As the cream of the crop, the deities are expecting great things from you. No longer will you be compared to the trash that came before. All the junk has been discarded, and now is your turn to shine or sink." Shine or sink? That was a peculiar phrase.

"Most of you know what to expect, but I will explain it all for the one person who doesn't." The porcelain mask turned around. To my surprise, I wasn't the target of Harlequin's attention; Marcus was.

"The trial that you just completed wasn't just the means to separate the wheat from the chaff," Harlequin explained as if he were talking to a toddler. It suddenly dawned on me. Marcus was the only other person who hadn't formed a pact. Unlike me, he didn't know things he wasn't supposed to.

"It was also a friendly competition to determine which rule-master goes where. Thanks to my generous incentive structure, the participants under my care have proven to be superior to those of my other so-called equals. Therefore, I have been granted authority over the top crop of achievers." He started clapping to himself. On cue, several people joined in. I didn't know what to think. All this was completely new to me.

I knew a thing or two about elite groups, but never did I suspect that rule-master rankings were a thing. No wonder Harlequin hated us so much in the previous run. We had proved to be so hopeless that he was stuck at the bottom of the barrel.

"Normally, those of you with potential would have been split off from the rest of the trash, but it seems that the trial did most of the work for me." The porcelain mask spun around on Harlequin's head.

"Almost. There still are a few who have no place here, but due to unforeseen circumstances, you are all given a pass." Harlequin brought his hands tougher, the tips of his fingers constantly tapping one another. The jester cap on his head had also transformed into a crown of sorts.

"As all except Marcus know, someone has broken the rules." The jester's voice changed.

"A power matching that of a deity intervened in the final trial, engaging in unsanctioned slaughter of participants. The Grand Arcana cannot stand for that! It has therefore been decided that you will join several more groups of prominent hopefuls and investigate on our behalf!" The walls around us vanished, transformed into thick red fog. Pup? I thought uncertain whether this was a dream. My dream beast barked in response, though only in my mind.

"This will be a very special trial," Harlequin said.

"You will be bestowed powers that few participants have had before. In return, your goal is to find the pesky deity that has made a mockery of things and destroy it!" He had to be kidding! It took great strength for me not to react. Sending us against a deity was beyond absurd. He might as well kill us now and get it over with.

"Now, now." The monster extended its hands forward.

"There's no need to concern yourselves. Our oracle has determined that the deity in question is hiding within a trial. That ensures that its powers are severely limited." Harlequin leaned back against the cushions of the throne.

"Furthermore, you could also rely on our assistance. While we cannot interfere at a whim, we could always lend a hand. All you need to do is call." The red mist engulfed everything. I could no longer see anything or anyone. Only the white porcelain mask remained visible, staring at me through the redness.

"What about the prize?" I shouted.

"Who wins the prize?"

"Kill the meddler and you get to keep their Grand Arcana."