------

”I see you found some company," Karna commented as she landed next to Arjuna. She had flown here from the site of her little altercation earlier. As she landed, she looked pointedly at the camp made by Leonid a short distance away.

“Karna! I’m so glad to see you’re ok!” Arjuna grabbed her into a hug and gave her a big squeeze. “I was worried about you.” He whispered into her ear more quietly.

“I appreciate your concern, and it’s good to be back. I’m fine as you can see.” Karna returned the hug happily.

“She’s not fine. She lost an arm, and it took a long time to regenerate.” Gem snitched on her immediately.

“You lost an arm?” Arjuna asked while holding her at arm’s length, inspecting her up and down. He noted that while she had used her magic to fix her attire, it was still frayed at places because the damage had been too much. “How, who, and why?”

“Don’t mind it. That’s something I’ll take care of. It’s my business.” Karna waved him off. “I’d rather hear about them.” She nodded towards the approaching duo of Shaheera, and who she assumed to be Ashanti.

“Well. That’s a long story that I’ll leave to them.” Arjuna kept his arm thrown around Karna’s shoulders while turning towards the two Leonid.

“Karna!” Shaheera greeted with a wide grin and a cheerful wave. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yes. Fancy that indeed.” Karna rather pointedly raised her eyebrow to match her tone.

“Hahaha. She caught you this soon.” The large Leonid man at the peak of the ninth rank mocked Shaheera. “My disciple here knew that with your penchant for trouble, you’d probably get mixed up in something potentially extremely dangerous but profitable.”

"A fair assumption," Gem muttered her agreement, not all that quietly.

“Yes, well, we snuck a tracking spell on Arjuna’s ship once it became clear you would be traveling with him. It’s a wonder what you can accomplish with a bit of alcohol and a pretty woman batting their eyelashes at a random crew member.” Shaheera explained a little shamefully.

“And you used that tracking spell to follow us here.” Karna finished for him. “Bold. Very stupid, but also bold. You do realize that just because you tailed us, that doesn’t mean you can avoid all the dangers just like us, right?”

“It was a calculated risk. Our ships are the best though, and we had both Master and a very capable spatial mage on our ship. Our crew is also extremely well trained and disciplined. We were as prepared to deal with any issues as can be reasonably expected. And no matter which direction we decided to go to, it would still be dangerous. At least you were showing a generally safe one.” Shaheera explained his thought process.

“And most importantly it worked. You really found a great place.” Ashanti laughed while observing Karna carefully. “We left the north side of the storm for you while we went to loot the southern side. We knew you wouldn’t be able to loot everything by yourself anyway. And we were right. This place is filled to the brim with goodies. Now, you can blame my disciple for us using you, which is fair, but also keep in mind that it’s handy to have some friendly competition with you in case you run into something really bad. We might not be working together exactly, but we could help each other.”

"Uh-huh." Karna listened to what Ashanti was saying but she was focused on observing Shaheera's reaction. She wanted to know how he felt about using their friendship like this. With her countless lives, she'd had countless friends and as someone as old as she was, she had some trouble forming meaningful connections anyway. Thus, she wasn't afraid of the thought of losing a friend, but she was observing him in order to find out if it would be necessary to cut their relationship here or retain it for the future.

Shaheera had never been a fanatic supporter of the Empire he was a member of, but he had also never hidden his aspirations about joining the military and his pride about being a Leonid. That showed in his reaction. Karna could read from his expression that he felt a little bad about abusing their friendship like this, but he wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done. He’d done what he thought was best for both himself and his people. Karna could respect that even if she didn’t approve. If he’d been ashamed and sorry but had done it anyway, or if he’d just been proud and hadn’t felt bad at all, then Karna would’ve cut their friendship here, as she didn’t like being used. As it was though, she wouldn’t throw away the friendship, but things would inevitably be different. That was also part of growing up, and part of what made deep connections so hard. Once you became old enough you realized that most friendships would be transient, and as situations changed, so did friendships. It was a little sad, but it was also part of life.

“Be that as it may, I do expect a finder’s fee.” She finally turned towards Ashanti.

The wily Leonid could tell the girl had reached some kind of decision. With the kind of haul they'd managed to gather, he wasn't too averse to parting with a bit of it to maintain peace. “What kind of fee are you talking about? Just to note, I’m not going to let go of whatever we’ll find at the end of all these tests. Judging by the required effort alone, there has to be something really precious at the end. maybe even something that will shake the balance of major powers. Don’t think I haven’t sensed the divine energy in this world. We discovered that as soon as we tried replenishing our powers after the first battle. The reward will likely be something divine as well. I’ve gone through too much effort to let go of it now.”

“I wouldn’t ask something that’s already mine.” Karna jabbed at the Leonid man. “No, may the best person win on that front. What I require is something else. I need your help for something in the future.”

“A-ha. I think I already know what it is. Your little friend that’s still missing, right? Yes, we do have our own ways of gathering intelligence. Yes, Shaheera snitched. I’m not going to attack Wei-Jin for you, but I don’t mind lending a bit of diplomatic pressure.” In fact, Ashanti had already made some arrangements in secret. Win-win deals were great for just this kind of situation. He’d offered the Wei-Jin a deal as well in hopes of having Arjuna’s daughter owe him a favor.

"I also want to see Mayumi return safely," Shaheera added his own reassurance.

“Good. With all the diplomatic pressure we’ve managed to gather so far, I think we can finally force them to react.” Karna nodded. Tsumi had not been idle the last couple of years. While Wei-Jin was famous for their stubborn disregard for other powers, even they had to pay some respect to the level of power they had managed to gather.

“Right. With that dealt with, can we finally get back to this test?” Ashanti asked, changing the subject. “One other group already went ahead to the next test while we were dithering around, and at least two more are getting close.”

“What does this test require?” Karna asked curiously.

“It’s relatively simple really. This test was designed to allow the formations running this place to gather power. We have to literally fill up a magical container with enough power to pass. The trick is, if you waste too much power you will leave yourself vulnerable to attack from others. We’ve been taking turns filling the container for days now, and we’re getting close. The problem is, the required amount of power is directly proportional to the number of people moving forward.” Shaheera explained eagerly.

“And you’ve brought along a large chunk of your crew, which makes this take time.” Karna noticed the problem right away.

“Right. And because we can’t be sure of what will happen to those that choose to retire from the tests, we haven’t wanted to risk it.” Shaheera added.

“Father, where’s our container?” Karna asked, knowing Arjuna well enough to figure out that he had his own container and had not been helping the Leonid this entire time.

“Here.” Arjuna pulled out a brightly glowing orb.

"Now wait just a-…" Ashanti noticed where this was going and tried to stop the two.

"Well, this has been a pleasure. And like I said, may the best person win." Karna grabbed the orb, figured out how to register herself with the orb in less than a second, and then pushed her mana and Aura inside. She might not have as much power as the others, but this was a test designed for divines and hers was the only mana pure enough to really count properly, so she and Arjuna vanished in a flash of light almost as soon as she started.

“Should’ve seen that coming.” Ashanti shook his head wryly.

"Yup. There was no way they'd help us with the situation being what it is." Shaheera confirmed happily. He had seen it coming but had decided not to say anything as there wasn't really much they could do about it.

------

“Who the heck designs these challenges?” Arjuna asked angrily as he read the instructions. They’d just made a stylish exit and now this test was going to ruin it.

“Someone obviously sick and twisted.” Karna couldn’t help but smile a little. She’d already noted that the tests seemed to have a sense of humor to them. She’d expected that humor to surface again, but this one had caught her by surprise.

"We can't proceed except by teaming up with people from other groups aside from the ones we left the previous test with?" Arjuna read the test instructions again. "And two other people at that, so just teaming up with Ashanti and Shaheera isn't enough."

"I believe this test is hammering home a point that should've been picked up on in the previous test already," Karna suggested.

“Which is…?” Arjuna asked.

"Large groups are a no-go from this point forward. Think about it. In the last test you were punished for having a large group, and in this test, it's practically impossible to proceed if your group is larger than the others taking part in the test." Karna already had several ideas in mind for this test. "This is also a test of diplomacy and karma. If you attacked all other groups indiscriminately and became hated by everyone, then it's going to be impossible to proceed forward.”

“What would happen if there was only a single group or even a single person taking the test?” Arjuna asked a rather important question.

“Then this test would likely be skipped. Or the number would be modified. Haven’t you noticed? Very few of these tests are actual tests of strength or even necessarily skill. Many of these seem designed to be tests of your mind or personality. It’s almost like they were designed to be taken by several different groups at the same time.” Karna speculated.

“Why though?” Arjuna seemed confused. “Why would someone design a test series like this?”

“Well, first of all, you have to remember that no one actually designed them. It was all created by the Expansion. Secondly, probably because the tests are “designed” to screen for and against certain things. Indiscriminate killing being one of those things that would get you eliminated. On that note, you mentioned that one group had arrived here before us. What are the chances they’re feeling cooperative?” Karna had a suspicion but wanted to confirm just in case.

“Not very high. They ambushed us during the same test I warned you about. Ashanti lost one of his crew, and he didn’t take it well. He took revenge any and every chance possible. I’m almost a bit surprised they haven’t already tried to find us to make trouble.” Arjuna shook his head. Too much bad blood had been created with that group.

“They know the terms of this test just as well as us. They don’t want to make any more enemies, just in case they can force us or others into making groups.” Karna speculated.

“Well, as unlikely as it would be for us to group with them, I don’t see much choice. Shaheera and Ashanti will join up with us, but we need three.” Arjuna wasn’t all that pleased by the idea either.

“Well, as to that, I may have another idea.” Karna gave a small chuckle. As it happened, she did know another group that could be useful. And this might provide her a further opportunity for some ‘justice’. “But for now we’re stuck. Seeing the Leonid again will be a bit awkward.”

-------

“Who the hell came up with these shitty tests?!” Heng’e raged. She’d been angry ever since Hou Yi had lost his arm and this didn’t help.

"Calm down. The situation isn't as bad as it might seem." Yao took the role of calming the situation. As the nominal leader of their group, he wasn't chosen just for his ruggedly handsome looks but for his clear head and quick judgment. "We know at least three groups have already advanced, and we haven't attacked the other groups, even if we've had trouble with them. Well, except one, but she already took her revenge."

“The large group of Leonid is probably desperate for people to group with to advance, and we know for sure they don’t get along with the shady group with masks. We’ve seen them fight and actually draw blood.” Zhao Yun pointed out. As the group’s strategist, he was often the voice of reason, but his lack of passion also made him bad at encouraging and rousing the passions of others. He knew the logical best course of action but had trouble relating to people and taking their emotional reactions into consideration. That was why he deferred to Yao.

“There’s also the shadow mage. He’s the biggest threat but also the most obvious possibility. He’s been working with the Leonid, but they’re not the same group. I scried him leaving together with the woman who attacked Hou Yi.” Lakshmi pointed out. “They will obviously pick two of the Leonid to group with, likely including the big and powerful one, but they’ll need a third.”

"No." Heng'e shook her head firmly. "Nuh-uh. No way. We're not grouping with that thieving cat and her boy-toy!"

"Ok, now you're just being illogical. First you call her a thieving cat, despite there being no reason for it, and now you call the shadow mage her boy-toy? Which is it then?" Hou Yi pointed out the lack of consistent logic, knowing he was wasting his time.

“Oh, so now you’re defending her? Great! Wonderful! I didn’t think you’d grown so close at some point!” Heng’e stomped off again.

“And this is why I keep going on solo missions whenever I can.” Hou Yi pointed towards the direction Heng’e had disappeared towards. “I’m seriously starting to reach my limit, and it’s been getting worse these last few days.”

"Fair enough. Yet she's the best healer around. Who else do you think could've gotten that dark stuff out of your wound and then manage to regrow it in a matter of days?" Yao pointed out reasonably, trying to placate his friend. He knew Heng'e had been getting out of hand, but he also knew it was mostly due to the situation. The stress and continuous wariness were getting on her nerves, and she was taking it out on Hou Yi, using the latest development as an excuse. He knew she'd calm down if they got through this and managed to return to safety. Or if she got laid, but that seemed unlikely.

“Whether she likes it or not, the situation is what it is, and there’s an opportunity to be had here.” Zhao Yun interrupted. “The others will have real trouble forming groups, but I believe two of us will be able to get ahead quickly if we act now. We should approach the shadow mage and the Leonid to make the deal. If we get there first before others will start making deals, we might be able to stir the pot up so that only the six people we choose will be able to advance.”

“We should also seriously consider who goes. The two of us that will be among those six might be the only ones to proceed for a while.” Lakshmi said. “As much as I loathe to admit it, the shadow mage is better than me, and he outclasses me completely, even if he’s not like us. If this turns into a battle, he will be able to render my abilities quite useless.”

“We also can’t send Heng’e. She’s a great healer, but she’s still mostly a healer. I would suggest myself and Hou Yi. Yao might be the leader and better in a straight-up fight, but I have healing and supporting abilities as well, to help if things go wrong. And Hou Yi is Hou Yi.” Zhao Yun made a tactical suggestion.

“You do know how Heng’e will react if you split her from her darling, right?” Yao asked, almost admiring the bold suggestion.

“I do. And that’s also partly why I made the suggestion. We can’t have her group up with him, as the two are going to come to blows if this continues. She’ll need this opportunity to calm down.” Zhao Yun was well aware of the fallout of his choices.

“Should we go and make the proposal before she returns?” Yao asked, hoping to avoid the argument.

“I think that might be too late.” Lakshmi suddenly said. “I can’t be sure, but I’m fairly confident the direction Heng’e just disappeared to is the same direction as their camp.”

“She wouldn’t…” Yao covered his face with his hands and hoped against all hope.

“Oh yes she would.” Hou Yi dashed those hopes mercilessly.

“Aww crud.” They picked up their stuff and ran into the direction Heng’e had disappeared to.