Twelve Glyph Tokens. That was all that Alnea could create with the materials he had. And since they were made mostly out of the left over materials from his experiments, their quality was a notch lower than the Tokens he had distributed earlier. Still, something was better than nothing. As long as the Tokens could defend against surprise attacks for a moment, that was enough for the Star Seekers to react. Probably.

  With the state that they were in a couple of days ago, even a stronger Glyph Token would not have been enough to let them get an edge over their ambushers. But a day’s rest should have been enough to get them back in shape. If they had listened to his advice, that is. Otherwise, let alone completing their Final Trial, even surviving against the Dark Priests would be an impossible challenge.

  Not that Alnea was afraid of challenges. On the contrary, the more difficult a challenge became, the more it motivated him to work harder. An impossible challenge had an almost irresistible charm… One that he barely managed to overcome with his sense of responsibility. He was not alone. Not anymore. He could not be reckless like he used to. Neither could he let himself indulge in the thrill of risking his life. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Yuri pushed him to become their Captain. To make him more sensible.

  Regardless, rushing headfirst towards danger was out of the question. As was staying still, waiting for the danger to come to him. He had to do what he could, and hope for the best. Then again, Fate had a way of crushing his hope. Especially in Inkah’s month, when it was time for his Curse to flare up. Just in case, he had to prepare for the worst. A few contingencies to ensure that he kept his Oath. That he—

  “Something is odd,” Karl said, as the Star Seekers rushed through the forest, raising his voice a little to ensure that everyone would hear him. Even those who had not unfurled their Spirits.

  “What is it?” Zain said, glancing at his grey robed teammate running beside him.

  “It has been over a day since we have resumed our exploration, but we have yet to encounter any other teams.”

  “Isn’t that because we have defeated over a thousand Wanderers already?”

  “…The number of people who challenged us to the Final Trial was over two thousand.”

  “Most of whom should have been eliminated by the Spatial Storm and infighting.”

  “If so, then we would have seen a decrease in their number before we took a rest. Or before we destroyed those statues.”

  “You are thinking too much,” Zain said, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s probably just a coincidence.”

  “…I hope so,” Karl mumbled, as he glanced at the forest around them.

  “…Stop mumbling back there, and keep your guard up,” Alnea yelled at Karl, mostly to make his voice reach the end of their formation. “Don’t give them—

  Alnea stopped, both in his words, and in his tracks, as he felt the world around him change… felt the world… tremble. There were no loud sounds, no cracks in the air, no terrible winds. Just a simple quake that made the ground—No, not just the ground. The trees, the fog, even the gloomy air… everything in the forest was trembling, almost as if someone was shaking the fabric of existence itself.

  It was no wonder then, that the Star Seekers almost all tripped, and fell, using the support of the trees to balance themselves. Not that they were of much help. After all, the trees were also shaking with the world. The only thing that remained stable was the blood red light erupting somewhere deep in the forest, piercing through the fog, spreading to the Star Seekers and beyond, bringing with it an eerie feeling, and an ear piercing shriek.

  “…What is happening?”

  “These quakes… are they…”

  “Now is not the time to stand around in a daze!” Alnea yelled, this time, to bring the Star Seekers back to their senses. “Fran!”

  “On it,” Fran said, as he deployed his temporary shield, before taking out his Glyph Tool to carve a stronger one. All, without showing any signs of losing control over his Aspects. Maybe the man had indeed listened to his advice, Alnea thought, before quickly shifting his focus back to forest. The quake had subsided a little, but he could still feel the tremors. Especially in the ground. The rhythmic hum… the vibration… It was almost as if…

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  “It finally happened,” Yuri said, narrowing her eyes at the blood red light piercing the fog. “The storm has finally come.”

  “Cretes’ beard.”

  “Already?”

  “We did expect their plan to be completed sometime soon…”

  “This is too soon!”

  “And what in Perdia’s name is that light?”

  “How can we feel the fluctuations of its Mysteries from such a long distance?”

  “You call a quake like this fluctuation?”

  “Even the Spatial Storm was not this strong…”

  “…I knew something was wrong.”

  “…Should we—

  “Shut up!” Alnea said, a bit forcefully, jolting his teammates back to their senses once again. “If you have time to panic, then you better use it to prepare yourself for battle.”

  “…Are we going to fight right away?”

  “…I don’t know, but it never hurts to prepare. We can’t continue our exploration in this quake anyway. Might as well make some use of our time,” Alnea said, and paused for a few moments, before finishing his words. “Besides, I have a hunch that we might have to face… that red light in a while.”

  “…In that case, how about we lay some traps first?” Aren said, staring at the red light, but was met with rejection from both, Yuri and Vestia.

  “Do you know what that red light is? Is it released by Wanderers, or is it just the aftereffects of some ritual?”

  “Does that matter? Regardless of what that red light is, in the end, the ones we will have to face will be a bunch of Heterodox Wanderers.”

  “Of course, it matters,” Vestia said. “If the light is the aftereffect of some ritual, then unless we know what kind of ritual they have used, any traps would be meaningless. And if it is released by Wanderers, then they must have a purpose. An objective. And assuming that they have come to the Final World to search for something, it might be a means to aid their search. Maybe they are watching us even as we speak. And if that is true, then no traps you lay will escape their sight.”

  “…That is a lot of ifs,” Aren said. “We cannot give up laying traps entirely just because of the possibility that they might be watching us, which is not even that great in the first place.”

  “You may be right about the possibility of what Yuri said not being high, but I think you are also forgetting something,” Yuri added. “Maybe, if these quakes had been natural, and not induced by Mysteries, then laying traps would indeed have been our best option. But these quakes are not natural. Neither are they just an aftermath of some ritual.

  “They are, in a sense, an extension of the Mysteries that our enemies have summoned. And just like any Mysteries, they also have their own unique fluctuations. Ones, that would intersect and interact with any other fluctuations that they come in contact with. Including the ones you will create when laying down your traps. And compared to the fluctuations that you will release, the intensity of these quakes… You do not need me to tell you what will happen next, do you?”

  “…I was—

  “Or do you think you can isolate these fluctuations, and keep them away from your traps?”

  “That’s enough,” Alnea said, saving Aren from further embarrassment, without even glancing at his teammates, still staring into the distance, where the red light was coming from. “You have made your point, Yuri. There is no need to take it any further.”

  “…You can keep him, or even the rest of our team, from making mistakes while you are with us, but what will they do when they are on their own?”

  “…I don’t know, and I don’t care. Till the time they are with me, I am their Captain. It is my duty to keep them safe. And to correct their mistakes.”

  “…Stubborn,” Yuri mumbled, but did not refute him. On the contrary, she could not help raising the corner of her lips ever so slightly. Alnea though, was too preoccupied by the troubles lying ahead of them to notice the changes on her face.

  “I would have liked to wait a couple more days for everyone to readjust themselves before facing the Dark Priests, but it looks like we don’t have much time,” Alnea said, turning back towards his teammates. “Are you ready?”

  “Don’t worry, Captain,” Norren said with a grin. “We have been ready for quite a long time.”

  “That’s right,” Zain said, cracking his knuckles. Even though he was going stay at the back, and support with Arcana for most of the time. “I was almost starting to feel a little rusty. These bastards came just in time.”

  “…I would have preferred not dealing with them at all, but since they are coming anyway, I would not mind giving them a bloody welcome.”

  “…Why did I not think of that line?”

  “…It’s not a line. That’s how I truly feel.”

  “Right, and I have learned to fly.”

  “…It looks like I was worrying for nothing,” Alnea said, finally letting out a smile, only for Ralph to vehemently shake his head.

  “No, no, you were right to worry, Captain. I am definitely not ready. I—

  “Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Norren said, laughing awkwardly, as he wrapped his hand around Ralph’s neck, before using it to cover the latter’s mouth. “He is just a little excited.”

  “…Speaking of excited,” Alnea said, as he glanced at Fran. “Don’t try to run off on your own, like you did last time, or even if we defeat the Dark Priests without any injuries, I will still kick you out of the team.”

  “…I understand.”

  “…I hope you really do understand,” Alnea mumbled, as he glanced at Aren, who nodded back, before turning towards the girls. “Are you ready?”

  “Always.”

  “…Then—