When Zara's team erged from the crystal, the first surprise was finding Elio waiting for them.
"Zara!" Elio stepped forward. "Is everyone alright? How did it go?"
"Better than we expected," Zara responded.
The second surprise was seeing the crystal behind them disappear, revealing a cave.
"What the hell?" Nessa exclaid, looking at where the crystal had been.
"Is this what happened to your cristal? Is this normal?" Micah asked.
"Nothing in these challenges has been normal," Elio comnted, studying the entrance.
Kai approached the group. "Should we investigate?"
"Could be a trap," Aria warned.
"Or it could be the path to the final challenge," Taron suggested. "Only one way to find out."
The group began advancing through the tunnel, staying alert. A light at the end beca increasingly clear.
The two entrances must be connected.
"Hey!" Kriz's voice echoed from afar. "I think I see soone!"
"It's them!" Brok responded, his voice coming from the distance.
But as they approached the center... They discovered a perpendicular tunnel and a chamber with a new crystal at the end.
"That's the entrance to the next challenge," Lila murmured, studying the crystal from the tunnel's corner, as if hiding from the new challenge.
"Zara!" Kriz greeted effusively. "How did your challenge go? Did you also have a giant monster?"
"Yes, but..." Zara began.
"She faced it hand-to-hand!" Aria interrupted enthusiastically. "You should have seen it!"
"Really?" Brok whistled impressed. "That sounds similar to what I did."
"What did you do?" Micah asked curiously.
"Oh, he just got caught and let the monster almost use him as chewing at," Kriz responded with a smile.
"Let's focus," Elio intervened. "We need to plan our next move. Zara, what exactly did your final ssage say?"
"At least two people with emblems must enter the final challenge," Zara recited. "In our group, only Micah and I have emblems."
"We have five people with emblems," Elio added. "That gives us seven possible participants."
"Seven?" i frowned. "Isn't that an odd number for a team? Ten was much better..."
"Everything in this challenge has been odd," Kriz comnted. "Why stop now?"
"How much mana do you have left?" Elio asked Zara and Micah.
"Little more than half," Micah admitted. "We'll need ti to recover."
"We don't know what we'll face," Elio reflected. "We should be at maximum capacity."
"What if ti runs out while we wait? We're almost at the 24-hour limit," Lila asked, worried.
"The tis synchronized," Zara explained. "We have the sa limit as you now. You should have 24 more hours."
"Then we wait," Elio decided. "There's no point in entering without being fully prepared."
"Who will go?" asked Taron from his position near the entrance.
"The seven with emblems seems obvious," Micah suggested.
"And the rest?" asked Valeria.
"We no longer need soone to watch the new entrance," Elio responded. "I want you to build upward, at least to the cores' limit."
"Great," Kriz joked. "Who else is excited to face the unknown with an odd-numbered group?"
"At least this ti we're more," Lila pointed out with a small smile.
"Yeah, but we could have been even more," i murmured.
"How long will you need to recover?" Elio asked Zara and Micah.
"Eight hours maximum," Zara responded. "Our final challenge was... quick."
"Then let's rest," Elio decided. "We all need to be at our best for whatever awaits us there."
The group dispersed into small circles, so discussing theories about the next challenge, others sharing details of their respective battles. The tension of waiting mixed with anticipation of what was to co.
♢♢♢♢
The waiting ti had ended.
Zara and Micah had finally recovered all their mana, and the group had tried to rest, though not all succeeded.
"Did anyone else not sleep?" Kriz asked, suppressing a yawn. "Nerves had tossing and turning."
"At least you tried," Lila murmured, who had spent the hours anxious.
Brok, who seed more rested, stretched. "I slept like a baby. No point worrying about what we can't control."
"Easy to say," i responded, her eyes showing signs of fatigue.
Elio observed his team. Despite the attempt to rest, the tension was palpable on their faces. There was no reason to wait anymore.
"It's ti," he announced, approaching the crystal. Without hesitation, he extended his hand and touched it.
The words appeared with a soft glow:
"1/10, at least 2 challengers must touch the crystal. Upon doing so, they will have 10 seconds for other challengers to join as well. At the end of the countdown, all emblem bearers in contact with the crystal will be transported."
Elio turned to the other six, his gaze eting each of them. They didn't need words; a simple nod was enough.
"Ready?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"As ever," Zara responded, positioning herself at his side.
One by one, they touched the crystal. The counter began its descent.
"Five..."
"Does anyone else feel this is too dramatic?" Kriz tried to joke, but his voice betrayed his nervousness.
"Four..."
"Stay calm," Micah advised. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together."
"Three..."
i and Lila exchanged looks. They had co too far to doubt now.
"Two..."
"For the city," Brok murmured, his voice loaded with determination.
"One..."
When it finally reached zero, the light enveloped them. The flash faded, transporting them to... another small chamber.
In front of them, a new crystal glowed softly.
But what caught their attention were the statistics on it:
King Locus of Lesser Wind
Skills:
Jump
Frenzy
Lesser Wind
Mana: 100/100
Resistance: 10,000/10,000
Stamina: 100/100
Attack: 100
Magic Damage: 25
Strength: 100
Defense: 100
Magic Defense: 100
Speed: 10
Perception / Agility: 2 (A)
"Those numbers..." Micah whispered, his eyes widening in amazent. "They're impossible."
"Not impossible," Elio corrected, his voice tense. "Just ridiculous."
Below the overwhelming statistics, an additional ssage appeared:
"You can withdraw from the challenge by touching the crystal behind you.
If anyone withdraws...
This challenge will reset in that case and you will have obtained the rewards and information about the final boss. That way you can prepare and level up if the challengers don't feel ready.
But the challenge will be locked for 100 years as a penalty if you choose to retreat.
Sotis it is wise to make a strategic retreat. Signed: Goddess Nala"
The silence that followed was total.
"Goddess... Nala?" i was the first to find her voice.
"One hundred years," Zara murmured, processing the information. "If the city waits that long..."
"But these statistics..." Micah shook his head. "We're not prepared for sothing like this."
"The final boss information would be invaluable," i reasoned. "We could prepare better, level up..."
"In a hundred years," Elio reminded her. "How many would we have to sacrifice?"
Kriz, for the first ti completely serious, observed the statistics carefully. "If we retreat, we condemn future generations. If we advance..."
"We could all die here," Elio completed, his voice calm but firm. "And the city would lose several of its strongest defenders."
"What do we do, Elio?" Lila finally asked, voicing the question everyone had in mind.
"An impossible choice," Zara murmured. "As always."
The group sank into tense silence, each considering the implications of both options. The signature of Goddess Nala added additional weight to the decision.
God kept insisting she was a cheater...
"It's not impossible," Elio said, his voice firm and determined. "We won't retreat. We can't condemn the city... We won't take advice from the enemy, we're going in."
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