“…Now that everyone is here, let’s start our meeting,” Alnea said, glancing at his teammates sitting in a circle. “I am sure that everyone has read the message that suddenly popped up on our Blood Cards last night.”

  “…I did not know that Blood Cards could do that.”

  “Me neither.”

  “…This just shows how we know nothing about the Lost City.”

  “…We can discuss our ignorance about the Lost City later. For now, let’s focus on what that message meant.”

  “…Infighting amongst the Blood Soldiers is banned,” Karl said. “Those rumours actually turned out to be true.”

  “You did not believe the news that I gathered?” Vestia said, raising her brows at Kar’s words.

  “…Of course, I believed you. I am just a little shocked to see those rumours coming true.”

  “If that is enough to shock you, then I do not know what will happen to you when you hear rest of the new rules.”

  “There are more rules?”

  “Of course, there are more rules. Why else the city would have to take so much time to implement them?”

  “…That does make sense,” Norren mumbled. “It has been nearly two months since we first heard rumours about the city implementing new rules.”

  “But if there are more rules, then why did they not appear on our Blood Cards last night?”

  “The message said it all. We are Trialists of the city, not its children. It is not going to lead our way by holding our hands,” Vestia said. “Besides, our Blood Cards is our identification certificate in the city, not a message board. It is already good enough that it can alert us of the changes in the city’s rules. Not to mention how small it is. How many rules can you expect it to show?”

  “…Where did you get the rest of the new rules?”

  “The Blood Hall, of course. You can get it at the counter for identity registration.”

  “That’s it?” Zain said, blinking in confusion. “You can get the new rules by just walking into the Blood Hall?”

  “Or else? How did you think the Lost City will expect us to follow its rules, if it does not even tell us what they are?”

  “Why not just give them to us then?”

  “Because we will never value what is just given to us,” Alnea said, still maintaining his solemness. “That is just how humans are. We never value anything that is too easy to get. Only when we have to work for it, do we truly understand how valuable something is. That, or when we lose something. So, we either work to get the new rules, or we break the rules and then the city tells us about them as it punishes us. In either case, it will make sure that we never forget the rules.”

  “…That is a twisted way of getting a message across.”

  “…The whole city is twisted,” Alnea mumbled to himself, before turning towards Vestia. “Vestia, I will leave the rest to you.”

  “Got it,” Vestia said, nodding in acknowledgement, before glancing at the rest of their teammates. “We have been expecting the city to implement its new rules for quite some time, so when we saw the message flash on our Blood Cards last night, we—Alnea, Yuri, Cecilia, and I— went to the Blood Hall to check if there was any other news regarding the new rules. And as we expected, we found Wanderers in charge of registering Blood Cards giving out memory crystals to those who went to them. Even to those who have been living in the city for a long time.

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  “Coupled with the message we had received on our Blood Cards, it was easy to guess what those memory crystals were. So, we went ahead and collected our share. And yes, we asked if we could collect them for you, but they said that everyone can receive only one memory crystal. You can go collect your share when you go to the Blood Hall later. For now, I will tell you the gist of the new rules.

  “The first, and most important rule has already been spread by the city. Infighting amongst the Trialist is banned. But that is an oversimplification of the rule, made to fit the size of our Blood Card. The real rule states that no casualties are allowed to happen outside of the Arena and the Trials. That is to say, Wanderers can still fight, they just have to make sure that no one dies. Or else, they will have to face severe punishment of the city.”

  “…So, we do not have to worry about the Lotus clan’s ambush anymore?”

  “Not exactly,” Vestia said with a hint of hesitation. “It is a little complicated. Let me explain the rules first.”

  “Alright.”

  “…As I was saying, the most important part of the new rule is that Wanderers are not allowed to kill each other outside of the Arena and the Trials. This brings us to the next rule, introduction of Death Battles in the Arena. A new form of challenge in the Arena, which allows Wanderers to kill each other. It sounds a little similar to Blood Challenge, but unlike a Blood Challenge, every time a Death Battle happens, at least one of the participants have to die before the battle can be declared as over.

  “Of course, Wanderers cannot be forced to partake in the Death Battle. As of now, there are two forms of Death Battles. Random Death Battles and Death Challenge. In either case, only when both the participants agree to join the Death Battle voluntarily, can they be allowed to fight to their deaths. Still, I can think of a few ways to go around that regulation, so expect deaths in the Arena to increase.”

  “…So, instead of killing each other out in the desert, Wanderers will now kill each other right in the city, with everyone watching their battles?”

  “That’s another way to put it,” Alnea said, nodding at Karl, before glancing at the rest of his teammates. “Which is why everyone should be careful when you go to the Arena. Our enemies might try to lure or provoke us into accepting their challenge for Death Battles. Be careful to not fall for their tricks. Because once you do, we will not be able to save you even if we want to.”

  “…We are not that weak,” Norren mumbled. “You can believe in us a little.”

  “That’s right,” Ralph added, with a confident look on his face. “We are not the same as we used to be.”

  “I believe in you. But I do not want to take any risks. What if they have something that you value? Or what if they try to disturb your Heart? Are you confident that you will be able to take down your opponents with your Heart in shambles?”

  “…Let us just do as the Captain says, and be careful for now.”

  “…You can continue, Vestia.”

  “…I have already told you about the most important changes in the Arena. If you still want to know more it, you can go through the rules on your own when you get the memory crystal. For now, let us move on to the second part of the new change in rules, Trials. Unlike the Arena, Trials are the core part of the city, and also the most important and direct way that the city nurtures new generations, so it has not introduced any changes in the Trials that already exists. At least not for the Trials in the Blood Hall.

  “There have been some changes in the Black Desert Trials, the foremost of which, as you can guess already, is that Wanderers are not allowed to kill each other. They can still fight in the desert, but if their battle causes the losing side to get too injured to defend against the Oren Beasts, leading to their death, then the attackers will have to bear the consequences on their own.

  “Of course, if Wanderers can find their way into the desert without registering themselves for the Black Desert Trials, then they will be exempt from this rule, but then, they will be facing charges for breaking a whole another set of rules, so we will not talk about that possibility. If Wanderers want to leave the city to explore the Black Desert, then they must follow its rules.

  “However, technically, the Black Desert Trials are also a kind of Trial. So, if the battles between Wanderers are a part of the Trials, then the city will not pay any heed to injuries and casualties of the parties involved. To this end, they also introduced a new kind of mission in the Black Desert Trials. And this is, I think, what the Lotus clan is aiming for. So, to your question of whether or not we have to worry about the Lotus clan’s ambush, yes, we still have to be careful when exploring the desert… if we explore it again, that is.”

  “…What do you mean by that?” Aren said, furrowing his brows. “Although our ranks in the Arena have met the standard, we are still behind in the Black Desert Trials if we want to qualify for the battle to enter the inner city.”

  “…That is what I was going to explain next,” Vestia said, pausing for a moment, before continuing. “The Final Trial.”