Luc took several steps away from the gap between buildings. Even though they were a good distance away from the edge of the Chasm, Luc still felt a little dizzy looking at it.

“Oi!” said a voice behind them. “What are you doing over there?”

Luc turned to find another black tunic standing behind them, wielding the same spear and dagger as the others.

“Descent isn’t allowed from here,” said the black tunic. “Stay in the Inner Ring if you value your lives.”

“Bugger off,” said Luc, not appreciating the man’s tone one bit. “Going into that hole is the last thing we want to do. All we want to do is talk to someone named Tamia. Tell us where she is.”

The black tunic stared at him for a moment. Then he burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching his stomach. The bald man was terrified, and this guy is laughing, thought Luc. What kind of person is Tamia?

“You guys are new here, right?” said the black tunic. “If you want to talk to Lady Tamia, follow me.”

Lady Tamia? Is she a noble as well? Luc exchanged a glance with Dante, who gave a quick nod. They followed the black tunic as he led them out of the gap. As soon as they were out, the black tunic turned to the temple-like building on the left and began leading them up the stairs. As they climbed, Luc felt the odd sensation that someone was watching them. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that his instincts were right. Dozens of eyes watched them as they made their ascent, spectating with expressions ranging from excitement to sorrow. Turning back to the stairs, Luc hoped that they hadn’t made a mistake.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they were greeted by yet another black tunic, this time a woman. Her brown hair was cropped short and her skin was ghostly pale. She held a parasol over her head, even though she was standing under the shade of the roof’s overhang.

“Good to see you, Sera,” said the man, flashing her a wide smile. “As usual, seeing you always makes my day a little brighter.”

Luc gagged. This guy definitely never learned [Seduce] or even [Flirt].

The woman, Sera, ignored the black tunic, instead glancing over his shoulder at Luc and Dante. “Who are they?"

“Ah,” said the man, seemingly unfazed by Sera’s deflection. “I heard you were a couple people short for the Gauntlet tomorrow. I spent the past couple of days looking, but I just managed to find these two today!”

At this, a smile spread on Sera’s face. “It seems that there are times where you can be competent, Cal.”

“Haha! That means a lot!” said Cal, rubbing the back of his head. Then he frowned. “Wait. What does that - ”

“Hold up,” said Luc, cutting off Cal for the sake of everyone’s ears. “We’re not interested in being part of your Gauntlet thing. All we want to do is talk to Tamia.”

Sera did not laugh. She simply stared at him, as if she was expecting something. Luc’s eyes widened as he realized what he had to do. Walking up to Sera, he glanced around to make sure that no one was looking. Then he lifted up his hand, showing her the silver ring Jad had given him.

Sera clouted him on the head, nearly knocking him down the steps.

“You dare touch me, peasant?” spat Luc, massaging his aching skull. “I’ll have you know, if you - ”

“Shut it,” said Sera. Something about her expression made Luc obey, even though all he wanted to do was run his mouth. “It seems that Cal is trying to take advantage of two unknowledgeable newcomers.”

Cal withered under her glare.

“Listen here,” said Sera, turning her gaze on Luc. “In order to speak to Lady Tamia, you must prove yourself. There are two ways to do that. First, you can prove the importance of your visit by paying the descent fee of ten gold coins. If you do so, we will take you directly to the Lady.”

Luc’s jaw dropped. Ten gold? I could buy the fastest racehorse in Tosa with that much money!

“The second way is to prove your ability as an adventurer,” said Sera. “You can do that by joining the Gauntlet and descending the Chasm until you reach the Lady’s Floor.”

“So you’re basically saying we can’t meet her unless we’re rich or powerful,” said Luc.

“Lady Tamia is a busy woman,” said Sera. “She does not have time to waste with the unworthy.”

“This Gauntlet thing,” said Luc, mind churning. “Tell me more about it.”

“It is a monthly trial where you must work together with a team to complete a designated task,” said Sera. “If you perform in a satisfactory manner, you will be granted access to one of the Floors of the Chasm. If you show enough ability, you may even get directly sent to the Lady’s Floor.”

“Ah,” said Luc. He really didn’t understand this business about Floors, the Gauntlet, and the Chasm, but an idea to bypass all of this trouble was already forming. There was just one more thing he had to make sure of. “If we join the Gauntlet, will my companion and I be able to be on the same team?”

“Since you two are the last ones we need, it is almost certain,” said Sera.

Luc smiled. If he had been by himself, he would’ve been out of this place in an instant. But he just happened to have a secret weapon named Dante. They were certainly not rich, but powerful? One look at those blue flames and they would be sent down to Tamia in no time.

“We’ll take the Gauntlet,” said Luc, flashing a confident smile at Sera.

Sera returned the smile. “It is a pleasure to hear that. Which one of you will join me for evaluation first?”

“Evaluation?” asked Luc.

“Nothing to be nervous of,” said Sera, still smiling. “Just a quick interview to get to know you a little better.”

Sounds easy enough.

“I’ll go first,” said Luc.

“Very well,” said Sera, not wasting any time. “Follow me.”

She turned and headed towards the doors of the large building. As they approached the doors, two black tunics standing on either side of it pulled them open, revealing a large chamber illuminated by sunlight. Before he entered, Luc glanced over his shoulder at Dante, who was still standing by Cal, face without expression as usual. I’ll explain it to him once we meet up inside, thought Luc. Then he followed Sera inside.

The large room he entered was as spectacular as the outside of the building suggested. As large as a theater hall, the roof arched high overhead, supported with pillars decorated with colorful murals. However, besides the walls, there wasn’t a single person or piece of furniture in the room. As they walked, Luc noticed some odd things, like a burn mark here and there, long scrapes on the floor and walls.

Sera stopped in the center of the room and turned to face Luc.

“We’ll keep this quick,” she said. “State any skills and Bloodlines that might be relevant and give a brief demonstration of them if possible.”

That explains the odd marks, thought Luc. He opened his mouth to answer, but he paused. As of now, he had three Bloodlines. He hadn’t thought much about it until now, but he recalled that having more than two Bloodlines was almost unheard of. His immediate urge was to brag about it, but there were two issues with that. First, he didn’t have anything to demonstrate his Bloodlines on. Second, the pendant might act up if he tried. Last thing I want is someone like Yata coming after me. Racking his brains, Luc concluded that he would need to improvise.

“I’m a master of [Flopping],” said Luc. “Level 37, in fact.”

Sera raised an eyebrow.

“I know, it sounds lame,” said Luc. “But hear me out. As soon as an enemy hits me, I flop. They think I’m out, but the second they turn their back on me…bam! I hit them with the killing blow.”

Sera did not seem convinced.

“Come on,” said Luc, confidence growing. “Hit me. I bet that when - ”

Sera bludgeoned him, driving a closed fist into his midsection. For a moment, Luc could feel her knuckles driving deeper and deeper into him, bruising his flesh and compressing his bones. Just as he felt like his ribs were about to crack, his body ricocheted off her hand, tumbling and crashing across the wooden floor. Pain nearly blinding him, Luc slid to a stop against one of the supporting pillars.

Needless to say, Luc didn’t need to fake the damage that had been dealt.

“I have seen all that I need to see,” said Sera. “Come.”

Luc tried to stand, but his body would not move, vision fuzzy from pain.

Sera sighed and walked over to him. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled something out of her pocket and held it up to her nose. Taking a deep breath, she let her hand drop to her side and closed her eyes. After several moments, she opened her eyes and pressed a hand against his midsection. Sudden warmth burst through Luc, washing over his injured body. Blinking several times, his blurred vision cleared, and the aches were no more.

“Whoa,” said Luc, patting the place where he had been hit. Enhanced strength and healing? Two Bloodlines?

“Come,” said Sera.

This time, Luc stood with no issues. He followed Sera to the back of the large room, where there were two doors. Sera walked to the door on the right and opened it. Glancing inside, Luc saw a stairwell leading upwards.

“Stay here and wait for me,” said Sera.

Without waiting for a response, Sera turned and closed the door behind her. Scowling, Luc took a seat on the stairwell. Even though he had loitered among commoners for some time now, being ordered around still didn’t sit well with him. With nothing better to do, Luc leaned back and closed his eyes. Just have to sit back and relax. Dante will take care of the hard stuff.

A few minutes later, the door opened once more, and Sera entered. She was alone.

“Where’s my companion?” asked Luc.

“Come,” said Sera, heading up the staircase.

Maybe she already brought him there, thought Luc, following her. The staircase was a single flight of stairs with no twists or bends. Reaching the top of the steps, Luc found himself staring down a long, carpeted hallway. The walls were decorated with murals and paintings in the same style as the pillars in the large room on the first floor. Wooden doors lined the left side of the hallway, and light streamed in from large windows spaced out along the right side. Sera stopped at the first door in the hallway, turning to face Luc.

“This will be your team for the Gauntlet.”

Sera opened the door to the room, revealing a deceptively large chamber with enough room for five beds to be spaced out around the walls. Sparing a quick glance around the room, Luc found himself staring at the faces of his four teammates.

Dante was nowhere to be seen.

Legs growing a little weak, Luc turned to Sera, opening his mouth to protest.

“We had to make a last-minute adjustment,” said Sera, reading his mind. “Because both you and your friend have no Bloodlines or skills that might be of use in the Chasm, we had to redistribute team members to make things fairer. We understand that descending the Chasm is your decision to make, so we will not turn anyone down who seeks to enter the Gauntlet, regardless of their qualifications.”

“But…you said…”

“Also,” said Sera, raising a finger. “I forgot to mention before. The Gauntlet is judged on an individual basis. Not the team as a whole.”

Luc had no words.

Sera gave him an almost apologetic smile and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good luck.”