The noise in the hall was getting louder. Students were arguing, their voices sharp with fear as they tried to decide who to team up with and who to kick out.
The knowledge that only six would survive had ripped their new friendships apart.
But inside their circle, there was only silence. They had a job to do.
Dante crossed his arms, looking at his team. The plan was working, but he wasn't dumb enough to think they were ready. Not even close.
"Alright," he said, keeping his voice low. "Time for the rest of you to get your answers. We need every piece of information we can get before we go in there."
He pointed to Eric. "Ask her what else is in this forest besides monsters. Traps, poison plants, dangerous ground. I don't want to get killed by a mushroom."
Next, he turned to Juno, the quiet artist. "You ask about skill evolution. Can our powers get stronger? How? Practice? Killing? Almost dying?"
Neil pushed up his glasses, his mind already working. "Your turn. Ask the Goddess about the other worlds. Has she summoned people before? Did any of them survive? What happened to them? I want to know the history."
They nodded, understanding how important their questions were. "Stick to the plan," Dante warned. "Don't ask anything else."
They left.
Dante paced while he waited, his mind sorting through a storm of plans. Necromancer, Pyrokinesis, Cryomancy, Swordsmanship, Appraisal. They were strong, but raw power wasn't enough. They needed a strategy. He pulled out the map Jin had made, tracing paths with his finger, marking the danger zones Erica had described and circling the locations of the special items.
'This is a war,' he thought. 'And wars are won with information.'
Eric came back first. "The forest is a death trap," he said, his face grim. "Sinkholes, acid lakes, cursed fog. It gets worse the deeper you go. She also said monsters move around, so staying in one place is a bad idea."
His own skill, he explained, was Reinforcement, which let him turn his energy into pure physical toughness. A perfect human shield.
Dante cursed under his breath. 'So we have to keep moving. No base camps.'
Juno was next. "Our skills can evolve," he reported. "It happens when we hit big goals, feel intense emotions, or have near-death experiences. She said Pyrokinesis could turn into something explosive, and Cryomancy could even reach Absolute Zero if triggered the right way." His own skill was Soul Etching; he could read their feelings and what they planned to do on the surface, a perfect partner to Edgar's cold facts.
Dante almost smiled. 'Good. So we're not stuck at level one.'
Neil returned last, looking both excited and very disturbed. "There were others. Every fifty years. She said only once in the last five hundred years did all six heroes make it out. Most groups fail halfway through. One time, it ended with everyone turning on each other. A single hero went crazy, hunted down all the others, and claimed multiple kingdoms for himself."
Neil's skill was Lore Archive, a natural connection to the world's history that let him understand any item or creature he focused on.
Dante's eyes narrowed. 'So betrayal is a part of the game here.'
They all nodded, a dark understanding on their faces.
"Alright," Dante said. "Here's the plan."
They moved fast. Using Jin's map and Erica's locations, they picked a path northeast toward an abandoned elf camp the Goddess had mentioned. The leftover magic there was supposed to speed up their training.
As they traveled, Dante noticed something. They were being followed.
Three other teams stayed just far enough away to not seem like a threat, but close enough to watch them. Maybe they were angry with him. Maybe they were just scared. One group was led by a smug-looking guy who seemed to challenge him with every look.
Dante didn't face them. Not yet. But he memorized their faces. 'One of them,' he was almost sure, 'has the Mimicry skill. And that was a problem he'd have to solve later.'
That night, they made camp in the ruins of an old village built in the trees. As Dante sat by the fire, he finally let himself breathe. The wind was cold, and everyone was quiet.
Erica came and sat beside him. "You're not scared, are you?" she asked softly.
He stared into the flames. "I am. I'm terrified."
She looked surprised. "Then why do you act like this?"
He turned to her. "Because being scared doesn't make you weak. It's fuel. I don't ignore it; I make plans because of it. I'm not strong, Erica. I just refuse to die."
She gave him a small, sad smile. "Then I'll survive, too. As long as you're leading."
Dante didn't answer. 'Deep down, I know the time will come when I'll have to leave her, and all the others behind. Only six will make it. And I will be one of them. No matter what it cost.'