As the last topic of conversation died out and the council members made their way out, a heavy silence settled over the room. Only seven figures remained inside. The four friends, having abandoned their seats, now stood closer together at the inner section of the round table, their expressions calm but curious. Though Stella had her head held low.

  Lydia stood before them, with her arms crossed and brow furrowed, waiting as she assessed the group. Connor, who remained seated, lightly tapped his fingers on the wooden table, his gaze fixed on his fingers. Meanwhile, Clara stood near the door, opening it slightly and peeking through the narrow crack. She made a clear effort to listen, ensuring that no one remained in the hallway to overhear their discussion.

  “All clear,” Clara said, her tone serious as she turned to face the others. “What’s so important that you wanted us to stay back?”

  Nobody spoke. Everyone except Stella remained silent because they had nothing to say. As the silence stretched on for longer than any of them were comfortable with, they finally turned to Stella, their expressions clearly demanding an answer.

  “So?” Marcus asked, his tone understanding yet firm, noticing that she was struggling to get her words out.

  “I’m getting there, just… just wait…” Stella said, her words heavy. She began to dig her nails into the wooden table, her nervousness clear in everything from her posture to her tone.

  The hard mana enhanced wood tried hard to resist any possible damage, but the pressure that Stella was exerting was beyond its capabilities, creaking under the strain. If it were a normal human, the table would remain intact, but Stella was no longer a normal human.

  Stella had undergone her first evolution, and her nails were more than enough to tear through normal wood, add her enhanced strength to the mix and it was only a matter of time before the table gave in, and gave in it did. With a sudden burst of strength, expertly using her mana to enhance her muscles, she tore off the edge of the table.

  “Wow!” some said in unison, surprised by the sudden snap. However, they all heard an extra voice that didn’t belong to any of those present. Turning to face the door, they saw Romeo, the head of finance, walking in.

  “Am I late?” he asked. The confrontational, and distrustful attitude he had displayed earlier was nowhere to be seen and everyone present found it to be a normal thing.

  Lydia shook her head. “No, we still haven’t begun.”

  Staring at Stella with her lowered head and feeling some concern, Romeo began speaking. “Is something wrong—”

  Stella cut him off with a deep and audible inhale. As she lifted her head, her gaze met those of the people in front of her. With a soft and deliberate movement, she rested the wood scraps atop the table. And as if she hadn’t just been silent for a couple of minutes, her entire demeanor shifted, either having gotten over the issue or ignoring it further

  “There’s a high chance we’ll encounter a military force in the tournament,” she said, her tone devoid of any emotion.

  “What?!” Romeo exclaimed with surprise clear across his face. “How do you know this?”

  “You recognize one of the names, don’t you? It’s why you kept staring at the rankings, even before Eric,” Marcus said, finally getting an answer to a question that had been bugging him for a while.

  Stella gave a small nod, confirming what Marcus had just said.

  “Is it…?” Marcus began, but he didn't have to finish the question.

  “No,” Stella answered with some disgust. “But…” she took a deep breath in, “they might be with them.”

  Everyone except the couple exchanged glances, easily picking up on the troubled emotions that Stella was having. However, these were official matters, and they needed answers, for everyone’s wellbeing.

  “Who then?” Alex asked, clenching his teeth.

  Turning to face Alex, Stella met his gaze and answered. “Eric’s mom.”

  “Huh?” Anna and Alex said in unison, surprise evident on their faces. This was the first time they had heard about Eric’s mom being in the military or heard about his mom at all.

  “Eric? Your friend Eric? Owner of Solace?” Clara asked, already knowing the answer.

  Romeo turned to Clara with a look of disbelief. “Do you know another?”

  “Just getting confirmation,” Clara said, her tone dismissive, not interested in fighting.

  “Who is it? On the ranking, I mean,” Lydia asked, her curiosity piqued as she scrolled to the top of her window.

  “The General,” Stella said simply.

  “Oh! Number 3?” Lydia asked, surprised. She hadn’t seen the rankings that deeply since she had other matters that kept her occupied, and this surprised her somewhat.

  “Isn’t ‘The General’ a sort of common and obvious nickname?” Clara asked, skeptical of it being who Stella said it was.

  “I can’t explain it. Everywhere we went, regardless of who we met, they all called her ‘The General.’” Stella explained. “Also, none of you have met Eric’s family but they all… resemble him…?” she continued, unsure if she said the right words. “It’s almost like they all give a similar… vibe?”

  “Vibe?” Connor asked, remembering the playful young man that he briefly saw playing with his friends and the same young man that essentially told him to kill his enemies.

  “Right. You probably didn’t notice it,” Stella muttered. “Any of you?” she asked, turning to her friends.

  “I’ll try to explain it,” Anna said, her brow furrowing in thought. “You know how certain people are magnetic? Like this guy?” She pointed at Alex. “Well, Eric was the exact same, except to a greater degree. He would always tell people to fuck off and leave him alone,” a slight chuckle escaped her, “he even told that to me. But people always came back.”

  “So, what? He’s super popular? What does that have to do with anything?” Clara asked, still not understanding.

  “No, it’s not popularity,” Stella began. “It’s more like, attraction. Like Anna said, he’s magnetic. And also, that is not what I meant by vibe,” she said, shaking her head at Anna, who only shrugged in response. “By vibe I meant more, like how he always feels like a leader, regardless of what he does or doesn’t do. You know?”

  “Ah! Yeah. That makes sense,” Anna said, nodding slowly. “Yeah, that is true.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Is it like when you guys get angry?” Lydia asked, recalling the few times that they’d done so.

  Stella furrowed her brows; in fact, all four friends did. “What do you mean?” she asked, confusion creeping into her voice.

  Lydia took a step back and rapidly exchanged glances with Connor, Romeo and Clara. “I’m not crazy, am I?”

  “No,” Connor answered dryly,

  “You are correct,” Romeo, a hint of amusement in his tone.

  “Scary bastards,” Clara concluded, her lips twisting into a smirk.

  During the year, everyone that worked closely with them had come to experience at least one situation in which one of the four friends got angry, and the memories rose to the surface. Based on their experience, all of their anger was similar. It had a certain weight and authority to it, clearly marking them as leaders.

  The four friends exchanged looks, baffled at their comments. They themselves had never noticed it, but now that the comment had been made, they would be on the lookout for said behavior.

  “Regardless, when I look at the name on the rankings, I can almost feel her presence,” Stella said, bringing the topic back on track. “I feel both safe and a bit scared, just like whenever I saw her.”

  “And she’s military?” Connor asked. “What branch?”

  “She was in the army,” Stella answered him. “She and her husband left a couple years ago and started their own PMC.”

  “What’s the name?” Connor asked, intrigued.

  “The Hounds.” Stella replied. “It’s also one of the reasons I think that she’s ‘The General.’ The nickname is common, but the affiliation? I don’t think it’s a coincidence. It can’t be.”

  Connor was stunned as soon as he heard the name but tried his best to maintain his composure. So, he only nodded at Stella’s answer.

  “Ok, but how does that involve the military?” Clara asked, her healthy skepticism struggling to stand.

  “They were still connected. My parents were often the ones in charge of communication between the two. My parents were and should still be military, it was their entire life,” Stella answered, finally concluding her explanation.

  “Could they be used as security?” Romeo asked, his mind racing with possibilities.

  “Without Eric here? They’re more likely to take over and run this place themselves,” Stella answered dryly, her eyes darkening with worry. “And now comes the real reason I called you here. We have to make sure that they don’t find out that he isn’t here.”

  “Why would that be a problem?” Clara asked, not sure of the problem.

  “Contrary to how carefree and uninvolved Eric was with his family, they are actually extremely close to each other,” Stella explained, her tone firm. “Eric is the only one who has no problem with leaving them behind and doing his own thing. If they find out he isn’t here, they’ll probably take over to ensure that it remains standing for when he does return. It doesn’t matter how well we run it; they’ll still think they can do better.”

  “Can they?” Romeo asked.

  “It’s definitely possible,” Stella answered.

  “Then is that really a problem?”

  “It is when I tell you that at their core, they are more like Eric than they initially seem. In this new world, I wouldn’t put it past them to kill everyone they have an issue with,” Stella said, her words heavy.

  “They can’t be that bad,” Romeo commented, skeptical.

  “Connor, what did Eric tell you to do the prisoners?” Stella asked.

  Connor was lost in thought and didn’t hear the question.

  “Connor?” Lydia asked, shaking him by the shoulder.

  “Huh?” he said, jolting to attention.

  “What did Eric tell you to do to the prisoners?” Lydia repeated the question.

  “Oh. To kill them,” he answered simply.

  The answer was simple and most of those here already knew what Eric had asked, but not Romeo and Clara. A brief moment of silence took hold as both of them let that sink in.

  When Stella noticed that they had processed the information somewhat, she began to explain more about Eric’s family. In a couple of hours, Anna, Alex and Marcus learned more about Eric and Stella’s life than they had in years of knowing them. Stella went into detail about Eric’s parents, his siblings, and just how unpredictable they tended to be.

  “If they come here, I trust that you all will help keep them distracted,” Stella said, looking at Romeo, Clara, Lydia and Connor.

  They all nodded, though Connor's response was slower than the others.

  Tournament of the Strong: 28:25:44

  ----------

  The bright light that had shot out from the gate after Eric struck the final blow against the giant mushroom began to recede slowly.

  Eric hit the floor on one knee, as the light had moved him from one space to the other just as he was. The sword he was wielding dug lightly into the dirt floor on which he landed.

  Lifting his gaze to look around, Eric found himself within a small cave. It was barely big enough that it allowed him to stand and completely stretch his arms. Less than a meter from where he landed, sunlight was already hitting the floor, and a few centimeters later was the cave entrance itself.

  Eric stood slowly, feeling some muscle strain from the brief encounter he had with the would-be thief, who suddenly turned into a pseudo-teacher. It wasn’t just muscle strain from the sword movements, or from blocking the heavy strikes, it was also because of the lightning. Every single strike of his opponent’s sword assaulted him with a wave of lightning, causing his muscles to spasm.

  Eric put his sword away and reached to massage his upper right arm. His efforts made little to no physical difference, but they did provide a certain level of mental relief.

  “It’s something at least,” he said as he slowly walked toward the cave’s entrance.

  Taking his first steps into the exterior of the cave, he was momentarily blinded by the sun’s brilliance. The pain he felt in his right eye felt somehow more intense, but it was fleeting and didn’t allow Eric to really notice it.

  Rubbing the discomfort away from his eyes, Eric got a clear view of his surroundings. It was a lightly vegetated piece of land that had trees forming a short path. There were a couple berry shrubs near the cave entrance and a small pond formed near the cave’s exterior wall.

  “It’s like it was designed to be a space for seclusion,” Eric muttered as he reached for the berry bush.

  He reached for the berries on instinct, he hadn’t eaten in the six weeks he was in cultivation.

  “I didn’t really feel the hunger until after I had to run and fight.” He paused as he observed the berry in his hand, turning it one way and the other, trying to find something obvious.

  It was a simple, roundish berry about the size of a ping pong ball, and it was either turning blue or red, as the two colors were present on the berry.

  “I really should’ve have paid more attention when Adrian was making explanations… Wonder how he’s doing now,” he said as he simply put the berry in his mouth without worry.

  Adrian was Eric’s oldest brother and having undergone their parents’ survival training the longest, he always tried to help his siblings in any way possible. He tried to teach them ways to deal with certain stuff and how to skip others.

  One of those teachings was about how to distinguish edible from inedible, it wasn’t perfect, and it couldn’t be applied to everything, but any help was more than enough. The problem was that Eric rarely paid attention to his lectures.

  Feeling no immediate discomfort, Eric began to make his way forward. To his surprise, there really wasn’t anywhere to go. As soon as he cleared the short path, he arrived at the edge of the land on which he stood, another step and he would fall.

  Furrowing his brows and already knowing where he was, he began to rapidly navigate the piece of land by the edges. He quickly arrived at where he had just been, having confirmed what he already knew.

  “Fucking floating island.” He looked up, seeing clouds, then he looked down and saw nothing but blue. “Water? Hmm.” Taking a pause to assess his situation, he began to consider possibilities, while he also waited for the System to give him a hint. “Or it could just give me the answer, straight up.”

  Congratulations on completing the first floor of the Tower of Revelation.

  You have entered the second floor: Trial of Balance.

  New quest!

  Quest: Careful not to fall.

  Objective: Reach the goal

  Rewards: Access to next floor, +2 Reward point.

  Skills will be hindered.

  Concepts will be hindered.

  Storage items will be blocked.

  System windows will be disabled.

  You who has reached a new level in your cultivation, master fine motor control and balance.

  “And there it… is…?” Eric said as his brow began to furrow. “What goal?” he asked as he lifted his gaze to the empty space before him.

  As if being summoned by the System’s announcement, the air around his small island began to shimmer and undulate. Then, like a screen receding downward, hundreds of small islands came into view. Eric rapidly counted nine around his island and hundreds more above and below. They formed circles and in the center of each circle, another island appeared.

  Eric was too far from the other islands to actually see clearly who they were, so he gave up on that and instead rushed back toward the cave and knelt down. He reached for the small water pond and began to drink. He tried to do it steadily, but since he knew that something was about to begin, he failed to do so.

  5

  4

  The System countdown didn’t help his attempts at steady drinking.

  3

  2

  Eric quickly got up and rushed back toward the island’s edge.

  1

  Various platforms began to shimmer into existence.

  Go!