Alnea had known about the Final Trial for a long time. As had the rest of the Star Seekers. And most of the Lost City. The news about the Trial had not exactly been a big secret. Everyone in the city knew about it. It was just that a few of them knew more than others. Unfortunately, the Star Seekers were clearly not amongst those few people.

  “…We have not made many enemies recently, have we?” Norren said, breaking the gloomy silence with a nervous laugh, only for it to be defeated by the awkward silence that followed.

  “…Other than the Lotus clan and their allies?”

  “We did not want to make any enemies either, but we cannot do anything if others insist on being our enemies.”

  “That does not make sense… We have not provoked anyone. On the contrary, we have been lying low for the past few months. Except for going to the Arena, and to the canteen, we have barely showed our faces anywhere else. I can understand if it is the Lotus clan and their allies, but when did the others become our enemies?”

  Looking at Norren’s twisted face, Yuri let out a sigh, and said, “You may be right, but that does not mean that everyone has to follow your logic.” After a pause, she added, “Sometimes, just our mere existence is enough for the world to consider us as its enemy.”

  “…What does that mean?”

  “It means, threatening the interests of a clan is the greatest provocation they can receive,” Vestia said. “And clearly, we have threatened the interests of quite a number of clans.”

  “Just because we can enter the inner city?” Karl said, with his brows scrunched together in a frown.

  “…There are a few other reasons, but you are right in a sense.”

  “I still do not understand,” Norren mumbled. “Just because we threatened the interests of a few clans, they cannot just all band together and come after us. Even if they use the Final Trial’s special clause, they cannot just make up some random grudges out of thin air, right? There must be some rules. Surely, the city must check if their grudges are valid or not.”

  “…If only things were that simple,” Vestia said. “Like you said, the city will indeed not allow chaos to spread within its walls. Neither will it condone to Wanderers maliciously creating grudges out of thin air, just to drag the enemies of their clan into the Final Trial, or that might defeat the whole purpose of why the city introduced a new set of rules. And yes, there are indeed rules in place to tackle this issue.

  “Along with introducing the Final Trial, the city’s council has also created a separate team, whose sole purpose will be to review the applications of Final Trial, and check whether the grudges are valid or not. Or at least that is what it is supposed to do. But if the council itself is made of people from the clans who do not want to see Alnea reach the inner city, then do you think that they will care if the grudges that our enemies use are valid or not?”

  “But… That is abuse of power…”

  “And when have Wanderers ever shied away from using their power to further their interests?” Alnea said. “If I am not wrong, then next, clans from all over the city will send their official challenge to us, asking us to clear their grievances in the Final Trial. Maybe they will send only one or two Wanderers from each clan, but if all those Wanderers add up…”

  “…That is just your guess,” Karl said, with his voice being tainted with a mix of hesitation and anticipation. Unfortunately for him, his anticipation was going to go unanswered.

  “I am not guessing,” Alnea said, sighing in helplessness. “I am certain.”

  “…Nothing can be certain. Like you said, this is the Final Trial. People should not take risks unless they are absolutely sure.”

  “In my case, it is exactly because that they are nor absolutely sure that they will have to take the risk,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “Even if some Wanderers do not want to take the risk, their clans will force them to.”

  “…Your case?” Ralph said, before quickly shifting his attention to the rest of his words. “Although some Orthodoxies can indeed be a little difficult and domineering, not all of them are like that. At the very least, they should not force their Wanderers to make such a choice…”

  “Maybe some Orthodoxies will indeed be righteous enough to not force their Wanderers, but those Orthodoxies will surely be in a minority. And even if that had not been the case, we cannot leave our lives in the hand of others. Besides, have you forgotten the rumours that have been going around for the past two months? Do you think that the Orthodoxies with interests in the Lost City’s legacy will let me enter the inner city?”

  “…If you say it like that…”

  “But those rumours have been going around for quite a long time. Does anyone still pay them any attention?”

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  “More than you think,” Alnea said. “I knew that something was wrong with those rumours the moment I first heard them. The way they spread was just too deliberate. Even after we took a step back, and decided to lie low, the rumours never stopped spreading. It was as if someone was deliberately arranging people to repeat those rumours every once in a while, just to make sure that no one forgot me, and what I represent.”

  “…Are you sure?”

  “Why do you think the rumours began just after we learned about the Final Trial?”

  “…So, we fell into their trap before the city could even roll out the Final Trial?”

  “To be precise, they have been guiding us into their trap, ensuring that we stay in the city until the Final Trial came out, so that they can force us to fight them head on.”

  “The Lotus clan?”

  “Probably. There must be other clans too. I am not sure. At this point though, it does not really matter who our enemies are. Even if the Lotus clan had not played any tricks, we probably still would not have reached the standards of the Black Desert Trials before the Final Trial replaced the qualifying battles. And there was the restriction on our ranks in the Arena too.

  “Regardless, to enter the inner city, we would have had to go through the Final Trial anyway. And rumours or no rumours, there would still have been many people challenging me, trying to stop me from reaching the inner city. At best, the number of people challenging us would have been a little less, but it would still have been much more than just a hundred. Once the number of enemies reach that point, adding or removing a few of them would not make much difference.”

  “…Then what do we do now?”

  “Let’s just prepare for the worst,” Alnea said in a solemn voice, and paused for a few moments, before continuing. “There are three choices in front of us right now. The first, and the safest choice would be to give up the Final Trial, leave the Lost City, and head back to our homes.”

  “I cannot leave the Lost City,” Aren said in a firm voice. “Not yet.”

  “…It is not just you,” Zain said, taking an uncharacteristically solemn tone. “I am sure that no one in our team wants to give up after coming this far… Let us talk about the other two choices.”

  “Our—Or more precisely, your second option would be to leave this team. Those clans are coming after me. The only person they do not want to see entering the inner city is me. They do not have any problems with you. So long as you leave my team, and stop having any connections with me, they should not come after you. Of course, you might still face the Lotus clan’s pursuit, but it would be better than facing the entire city.”

  “…Are you serious?” Zain said. “Is everything right with your head?”

  “I know it may sound a little absurd—

  “A little? Did you even hear yourself?”

  “—but if you do not want to give up the Final Trial, then this is the best option for you.”

  “Inkah take your best option! This is not just your team. This is our team. Ours. We are the Star Seekers. We. Not just you. So, if you want to kick us out of this team, then all I have got to say to you is get lost. We are not going anywhere.”

  “…I know everyone has strong emotions in regards to the team we have built, but this is not the time to think with our emotions. Let us be rational here. The only reason we came together as a team was because we have a common goal. Although that goal still has not changed, the existence of our team itself may become a hindrance to your goal. Logically, the best option at this point is for you to discard the team, and—

  “I think Zain made it loud and clear,” Karl said in a hoarse voice. “We are not going anywhere.”

  “…This bastard finally agreed with me.”

  “…But—

  “There is no but,” Fran said, staring at Alnea with an indifferent gaze. “I have already run away once, and regretted it ever since. I am not going to run away again. Even if that means facing death.”

  “…As your Captain, it is my responsibility to—

  “I do not care if you are our Captain. If you say one more word about us leaving this team, then I will punch you in the face.”

  “…And what about the rest? Do you feel the same?”

  “About punching you in the face?”

  “…About leaving the team.”

  “Although I want to enter the inner city at any cost, if I abandon my friends for it, then I do not think she will ever forgive me,” Aren said in a low voice, before staring intently at Alnea. “My answer is the same as theirs. I will not leave the team.”

  “…As a Warrior, how can I back away from a fight?” Norren said, laughing heartily, before turning towards Ralph with the rest.

  “…Why are you all looking at me like that?” Ralph grumbled. “At least you people still have a choice. If I want to enter the inner city, then I can only do it with this team. And I have to enter the inner city, no matter what. So, no, I am not going to leave this team either.”

  “Now, you have your answer, Captain. We are not going anywhere.”

  “…Very well then,” Alnea said, with the gloom and solemness finally fading away from his face, making way for a wide grin. “As expected of the partners I chose. You are all worthy enough to bear the name of Star Seekers.”

  “…Were you testing us?”

  “Sort of,” Alnea said. “I apologize to everyone for forcing you to make that choice, but it was necessary. The battle that we are going to face next will be more dangerous than anything we have ever faced. I had to make sure that you were all ready to face that danger, even if it meant certain death. Only then, would we have a chance at success.”

  “…We still have a chance at clearing the Final Trial?”

  “Of course we do,” Alnea said. “We are Star Seekers. And nothing can stop us from chasing after the Stars we seek. We still need to be careful though. Everything I said earlier was true. We may indeed have to face the entire city if we want to clear the Final Trial. And that is the third, and the only option left for us. But worry not. For your choice alone, I promise you that I will lead everyone to the inner city.”

  “…Do not think that you can tide this over with just a promise…”

  “Of course not,” Alnea said, laughing at the dissatisfied look on the faces of his teammates. “You can decide how you want to deal with me later. For now, let us first discuss how we are going to deal with the Final Trial.”