Whisper of Fortune. Rings of Fate. Fate and Fortune… An unlikely pair. Especially if the Fortune in question was Good Fortune. But a pair, nonetheless. If Fate was really to come in a pair, then—

  “Finally,” Yuri said, bringing Alnea out of his daze. “Everyone has been waiting for you.”

  “…Then I should not make them wait any longer,” Alnea said, forcing a smile onto his face, while subduing his errant thoughts into the depths of his Heart, as he walked down the stairs, before taking his seat.

  “Everyone is quite early today.”

  “Unlike someone, who has kept everyone waiting,” Cecilia grumbled, but did not show any dissatisfaction on her face.

  “Did you get enough rest?”

  “Rest?” Yuri said, with the edges of her lips rising slightly in amusement. “That question does sound very authentic when coming from you.”

  “…I have learnt how to rest from time to time now,” Alnea mumbled, prompting both Vestia and Cecilia to burst out into giggles.

  “Really?” Vestia said. “You do not sound very confident though.”

  “…It is probably your misunderstanding,” Alnea said. “Rest is a very important part of my daily schedule now. As it should be yours. Only if you get enough rest, will you be able to do your other tasks with greatest efficiency.”

  “…Though I understand your concerns, I do not think that rest is exactly what we have on our mind right now,” Karl said, trying not to let his emotions flow into his voice.

  “Exactly,” Norren said, laughing nervously. “How could we rest knowing that we will have to face the Final Trial today?”

  “I could not even mediate properly.”

  “Me too. I spent the whole night thinking about what kind of Trial we are going to face today.”

  “Probably an achievement mission, right?”

  “Searching for items would also be good.”

  “To be honest, I am fine with anything. As long as the Trial does not ask us to defend a territory against other Wanderers…”

  “…You know, there is a saying that the more we wish for something to not happen, the more the chances for it to happen increases.”

  “…You should have told us about it sooner!”

  “Is it too late to change our wish?”

  “Then what if we get our wish fulfilled?”

  “…Someone, please shut him up.”

  “…I do not want to get cursed by Goddess Ilea by touching him early in the morning.”

  “What do you mean? Am I cursed by Goddess Ilea?”

  “…I did not say that, but if you insist…”

  “…Will you two stop shouting? It is beginning to make me feel nervous.”

  “What is there to be nervous about?” Zain said with a scoff. “It is just a Final Trial.”

  “That will have nearly two thousand Wanderers who are after our lives,” Karl said, rolling his eyes at Zain.

  “If you are afraid, then you can just hide behind me.”

  “…I would rather face the enemy head on.”

  “What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?”

  “Do you want me to say the truth in front of everyone?”

  “…Do not come begging to me later to save you.”

  “If that time comes, then we would probably already be dead.”

  “…Since you are going to die anyway, how about I kill you right now?”

  “…Try and see what happens,” Karl said, glaring back at Zain, as everyone laughed at their antics.

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  “…Everyone is looking so energetic,” Alnea said, glancing at his teammates with a smile. “It looks like I was worried for nothing.”

  “…No, I think you were right to worry,” Ralph mumbled, prompting everyone to laugh out once again. Though only those who laughed knew whether they were laughing at others, or at their own nervousness.

  “Let me ask this once again,” Alnea said after a few moments, when everyone had calmed down a little. “Is everyone ready?”

  “…Do we have any other option?”

  “You can say no. But then, you will have an hour long session with Zain in learning how to regain your confidence.”

  “Finally, someone recognizes—

  “We are ready!”

  “Good,” Alnea said, letting out a light laugh, before putting on a solemn face. “Alright, that’s enough fooling around for now. Vestia, how is our preparation?”

  “Half a month’s worth of dry food, hundred Advanced Stage Healing and Recovery Potions, ten Peak Stage Healing and Recovery Potions, and some common materials, enough to lay down five hundred Advanced Stage Glyphs and fifty Peak Stage Glyphs. This is just our basic logistic. Everyone has also prepared a bunch of their own preferred materials and potions.”

  “…That should be enough to handle most situations,” Alnea said, nodding to himself, before glancing at the rest of his teammates. “Let’s just go through a quick review of our plans. Zain, what should be our first priority when we enter the Final World?”

  “Confirming our environment, and clearing it of any immediate dangers.”

  “What should we do next, Ralph?”

  “Confirming the objectives of our Trial.”

  “…Aren?”

  “Confirming our base camp, adapting our plans according to our situation, and dividing our roles.”

  “…Fran?”

  “Scouting for any dangers around our base camp, while following our plan, and complying with our roles.”

  “…Karl?”

  “…Adapting our plans once again while completing our objective to ensure our safety.”

  “…Norren?”

  “…Keeping clear of enemies that are gathered in large groups, while taking care of scattered enemies.”

  “…What if our objectives do not overlap with objectives of other Wanderers, Cecilia?”

  “…We should not go out of our way to take care of our enemies, but we should always be aware of their movements, and be ready to respond to any changes in our environment…”

  “…And what if our objectives overlap with objectives of other Wanderers, Vestia?”

  “…If the group our objectives overlaps with is small, then we can just take them out, but if it is large, then we have to create conditions to scatter them, and then take them out one by one…”

  “…What do we do if we are surrounded by enemies, Yuri?”

  “…Use the Glyph Tokens you have prepared for us to rush out of the encirclement in different directions to confuse and scatter our enemies. If possible, look for opportunities to take out the enemies pursuing us. If not, just ensure our safety. We can also use the secret signals we have prepared to regroup and seek each other’s help in getting rid of the pursuit of our enemies. Once we are all back together, we can then discuss how to proceed with the Trial.”

  “…And what if we cannot get rid of our enemies, or if we are in fatal danger, with no other recourse?”

  “…Give up the Trial, and save our lives.”

  “Did everyone hear that?” Alnea said, glancing solemnly at his teammates. “If you face an impossible situation, just give up the Trial, and save your lives. There is no need to act like a fool and fight to your death. I know that for some of you, clearing the Trial and entering the inner city is a very important part of fulfilling your goals, but nothing can be more important than your lives.

  “I have said it before, and I will say it again. We are Star Seekers. What we seek are the Stars themselves. Though they may become dim at times, they will not go out with just one failure. Sure, our path may become more difficult than before, but as long as we are alive, we will have a chance to accomplish our goals. Do not let momentary gains and your emotions cloud your judgement.”

  Alnea paused, allowing his words sink in, while observing the reactions of his teammates. Some were wearing tangled expressions, struggling within themselves, while others seemed dazed, probably lost in thoughts of their Stars. Maybe they listened to his words, maybe they did not. Only Time could tell. And their Fate, of course. The problem was, he could not wait for their Fate to reveal itself before making contingencies.

  If only Fate could whisper him its secrets, Alnea thought, brushing his fingers over the Whisper of Fortune hanging behind his ear. Should he consider dabbling in the lineage of Fate? Probably not. Fate was not kind to him as it was. If he tried delving into her secrets, she probably would become even more annoyed with him. It was better to let experts like Yuri ride the tempestuous winds of Fate. A brute like him could only ever be good for a fight.

  “Since everyone is already on high nerves, just sitting around is not going to help us out,” Alnea said after a few moments of silence.

  “…And whose fault do you think that is?” Cecilia mumbled, causing a hint of guilt to rise within his Heart. He quickly subdued it though, before extinguishing it, Clearing his Heart of all the guilt. What he had said was for the good of the team. And if his words could save even one more life, it would be worth it.

  Still, it was true that he was the cause of the gloomy atmosphere in the mansion, so he did not say anything to Cecilia. Instead, he glanced around at his teammates with a grin, and said, “How about we just head to the Blood Hall? I know there is still some time before the Final Trial starts, but rather than staring at each other with gloomy eyes, it would be better if we direct our gloominess at other Wanderers. Who knows, we might even scare a few of them to quit the Trial directly.”

  “…If we are going with that plan, then we might as well let Karl and Aren stand in the front. You can practically see gloominess dripping from their eyes.”

  “…Or we can also try putting Zain in front. Who knows, our enemies might just laugh themselves to death.”

  “Huh? Are you trying to pick a fight?

  “I am indeed feeling a little sore. How about we have a little discussion between us before the Final Trial?”

  “Who is afraid of you? Come on!”

  “Come—

  “It is decided then,” Alnea said, interrupting his two overly excited teammates. “Let’s go to the Blood Hall.”