I hurriedly left the magic hall and made my way to the grand mansion at the center of the third floor of the lobby.
As I was walking, I realized how much time was wasted just for my trip from one lobby facility to another.
I could not help but think that way given all the things I needed to do as Vice-Master now.
Previously I was already busy with all my work in the magic hall, making preparations for the climb.
But those workloads could not compare to the ones I now carried as master's proxy.
There were too many important things needed to be done every hour and every minute.
Since I was just starting my position as Vice-Master, there were plenty of tasks to be taken care of.
However, I believed the chores would only increase from this point on.
I simply could not afford to waste any time anymore, even just few minutes.
I had been casting advanced dimensional spells in the fifteenth floor.
Opening up transportation portals and performing teleportation. Covering distances surpassing the forged land's size.
I would need to develop that precious skill of mine further.
There would come a time in the climb where frequent teleporting and forming multiple portals at once would be the basic requirement for survival.
In my current state, despite my levelling up and increase in magic capacity so far, dimensional spells still required plenty of my mana.
Without drinking mana potion, I would drain my whole supply and enter Mana Overflow state after forming six portals and performing eight teleportation.
Those were definitely pathetic numbers given making portals and teleporting heroes were not my only roles in the trial.
If I keep practicing and master my dimensional spells even further, I would be able to find more efficient ways to cast those high-level spells. I would also likely remove their limitations currently imposed on me.
Indeed.
That was what I needed to do.
I had to make a habit of teleporting throughout the lobby, or going through portals to travel around in this forged land.
It would push me to great exhaustion every day given I still needed to conserve sufficient amount of mana for my daily combat training.
But it was for the best.
I would be saving time to perform my Vice-Master duties while also improving my sorcery tremendously, which both would help in our climb effort.
What could not kill me would only make me harder to kill.
With that new commitment in mind, I entered the Raid Team's luxurious lodging and made my way to the main parlor near the front entrance.
It was a large sitting room with soft padded benches, chairs, and a grand marble fireplace.
Members of Party 1, 2, and Arian, Matrias, Vallerynne and Trudy were already there waiting for me.
All the heroes that originated from Tsatu bore troubled look on their faces.
I knew the reason for their slight distress.
"You've all seen what happened on the fifteenth floor, yes?"
I said, opening the discussion.
After I suggested the restriction on the fifteenth floor's record-viewing, I told master to make an exception and let the members of the Raid Team watch the record instead.
These heroes were the ones that would fight in the Quintal Trials and climb the tower.
They needed to see what they were up against in this endeavor.
And I had no worries of the raiders' background. None of them was related to any enemy faction in our list.
"Unbelievable… The Great Houses are our enemies?!"
Vallerynne said with bewildered look.
The Zalostin House the enchanter belonged to was a neural House that collapsed after losing in political wars against stronger noble factions.
The family had lost their noble title and became burdened with huge debts after the skirmish.
Vallerynne had to cancel her plans to attend a magic academy because her family could not afford the tuition, and the girl was not skilled enough yet to obtain scholarship, in comparison to the other scholarship applicants.
That was the reason Vallerynne became a wildling.
Because of her family's circumstances, the girl trained herself in sorcery and proceeded to join mercenary groups and earn money little by little to pay the Zalostin's debts.
I could say for certain the enchanter had no particular friendly inclination toward any of our enemies.
"I know the Quintal Trials are hard. But what happened on the fifteenth floor was just ridiculous! How come the Tower of Circle and the Serpent's Order were fighting against us?!"
Matrias said with a worried frown.
The man was a commoner.
He never bothered to enroll in a magic academy since he managed to make money through mercenary work back when he was still young.
Matrias was sometimes hired by nobles to exterminate monsters. But he never let the relationship lingered beyond their contract.
This middle-aged sub-elementalist would not be inclined to help our enemies, even if they were the most esteemed families in the empire.
"I expected we would face more human enemies as we climb the tower. But I didn't expect to have this much resistance."
Norn said.
She had done mercenary works for nobles before.
But she treated her clients just the way Matrias did with his.
"It's discouraging that we'll have to fight the Temple as well as a big cult to reach the top of the tower."
Zecht added.
He never even worked with a noble during his mercenary days.
Apparently he was too rough-looking for their types.
So I would not worry of him.
"Doesn't this mean we have the entire empire to fight against? On top of the monsters, that is."
Jordane reacted to his party leader.
The noble family he used to serve as a squire was also a neutral House.
It seemed most of the forged land's heroes that had any relation to a noble House had always come from an unbiased faction.
I supposed those who were opposed to the mission of master's army would not be willing to come to the forged land in the first place. Or, at least, was not chosen by the voice that brought us here.
In this case, it would be those people who were affiliated with the Great Houses and other powerful factions in the empire.
They apparently did not support our cause in saving the world. Else, they would not try to kill us in the trials.
Why?
Were the Great Houses and the others forced to fight against us? Forced by the mysterious power that created this entire strange realm?
Or were they willingly wanted to fail us?
There was something else I noticed in the third Quintal Trial. Something that hinted an answer to my questions.
"Party 1 was tasked to save the imperial prince in the fifteenth floor. Doesn't that mean the Eternal Throne is at least on our side?"
Tarran pointed out.
He was a commoner orphan whose ancestry was actually of Tsahanam origin.
The boy never even saw a noble in his entire life before coming here, except for their carriages that passed on the streets.
"Don't you remember what the dark sorceress said to His Highness? As well as the clerics from the Order?"
Darius said to his young pupil.
The former knight, as expected, served a neutral House before turning into a mercenary.
He went on.
"They seemed to be blaming the prince for something. The Order's cleric even called him a traitor."
Shanny nodded with the 3-star archer.
"Apparently His Highness had done something wrong to the people we fought on the fifteenth floor. I think we should assume he's on his own in this matter."
Jonah was now nodding to her words.
"I agree with Shanny. Isn't one of the Great Houses in charge of protecting the imperial royalty? His Highness wouldn't be in so much danger if he had not lost the favor of the palace. If not, then the Eternal Throne is also in danger."
"The Viulan knights would lay down their lives just to prevent an imperial royalty from being wounded. But they actually raised their swords against His Highness! It's insane!"
Vallerynne said with terror in her eyes.
"Maybe this was just a nasty conspiracy done by certain factions in the empire? Perhaps not the entire Great Houses or all of the Serpent's Order and the Tower of Circle were involved?"
Yuxia suggested.
Since he originated from Tchakra, a land with a myriad of martial arts sects that had their own goals and motivations, he would be familiar to covert underhanded political schemes.
Devisha nodded to him.
"Maybe there is someone in the empire who wishes the young prince dead. They had to be someone with great influence since they could make members of strong factions such as the Great Houses to do their bidding. The leader of the cult that spread the madness disease, perhaps?"
Given her former work as assassin, the Tsahanam mercenary would consider this possibility.
"We were taught that the empire is riddled with conflict. I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone in Tsatu that wants the prince to be hunted like a mountain game."
Arian said while sharpening her ivory spear.
Ever since the First War, Kutub hunters never left the mountains of Puncak.
I would be surprised if Arian was acquainted with any imperial citizens beyond those that lived in the Shalju region.
"When you put it that way, the noble lady I used to serve said many imperial nobles hated each other. It would be hard to find the person behind the prince's assassination plot."
Trudy, the former maid, said.
Although she was no longer part of the Raid Team, her role as a combat instructor was still integral to the climb effort.
Trudy was still a core part of the lobby as she once was as a member of Party 1.
We needed her to be aware of the enemies we would face in the trials since she would be interacting with heroes newly-summoned to the forged land.
Naturally, both Trudy and Shanny once served neutral Houses before arriving to the forged land. Or rather, the minor Houses that could not put themselves in the favor of those major factions.
"Fina, what do you think?"
Jonah said in the middle of the discussion.
Everyone's attention immediately turned to me.
Since I was now officially the leader of all the heroes in the forged land, I supposed whatever I said would matter the most in this room.
"It is a fact that we fought against members of the Great Houses, the Serpent's Order, the Tower of Circle, and the Circle of Kali in the fifteenth floor.
"It is a fact that those factions sought to kill His Highness Radjah.
"It is a fact that the Tower of Trials ordered us to save the targeted prince. Obligating us to fight against the most powerful forces in Dunia."
Everyone's expression turned gloomier at my last sentence.
We all knew we would face those enemies again in the higher floors.
Either sooner or later, it was only a matter of time.
I went on.
"But we still don't have enough information about our enemies, about our circumstances in the trials, and about our missions. All we could come up with right now are conjectures. Speculations."
I produced a Replay Stone from my dress, symbolizing the floor of trials master sent us to overcome.
"If we want to reach the top of the tower, if we want to win this great war, if we want to save our world, then we need to know more."
With strong hand I gripped the Replay Stone, channeling my determination to conquer all the battles waiting for me and my comrades.
"Once we figured out the mysteries surrounding the prince,
"Once we learned the whole challenge that is waiting for us in the tower,
"Then we'll know what we will have to do to save our world."