“Jarek, can you hear me?” I opened my eyes to find myself in yet another concrete room.

There were about ten people surrounding me, each one watching me warily.

“Can you tell me why you’re here?” Despite the nasally, raspy tone, the voice came across as incredibly powerful.

I glanced around at the unfamiliar faces around me, until I saw Adia, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing a familiar face.

The room was clearly set up to show the power structure in the room.

The voice was coming from a man on a throne.

Several people stood between myself and the man on the throne, and their weapons were drawn and pointed at me. I noticed that there was a pile of my weapons and equipment at the foot of the throne.

I smiled. “I’m here to join the Crucible.”

“Why do you want to join the Crucible, Jarek?” The man on the throne asked. He wore a magician’s robes, at least E-rank. I couldn’t see any wand, staff, or other focus in his hands, though. He had long, spindly fingers, and on his left hand, every finger had a bejeweled ring. He had a completely bald head—not even any eyebrows or eyelashes. His skin looked pale and stretched. It made me feel like I had absolutely no idea how old this guy was.

“The Crucible is humanity’s best chance for survival,” I responded.

Thinking about everything I’d heard, monsters were just the beginning. It would take a powerful organization like the Crucible to help rebuild humanity.

“I have two questions for you, Jarek, before you join the Crucible. First, I’d like to see your full Status Window. Second, I’d like to know how you think you can best serve the Crucible. We are a multi-faceted organization. You could be a fighter, a professionalist, an administrator, a scout, a diplomat. Think carefully.”

I shared my Status Window with the man on the throne, and said, confidently, “I could be your best fighter—“ there was a discontented murmur around me when I said that, but I continued proudly, “I killed my Region’s Lord—a hydra—on my own. I’m also a Rune Master—“

The man on the throne hummed in excitement. “Your Status Window seems very artfully built for battle. We already have a Rune Master. What blueprints do you know?”

Rather than directly respond, I shared the list along with my Status Window.

Durability Rune Pattern Blueprint (F-rank): Necessary to create a Durability Rune Pattern (F-rank). When complete, the Durability Rune Pattern increases an item’s durability. Equipped items with the Durability Rune Pattern add +2 to the owner’s Physical Defense.

Strength Rune Pattern Blueprint (F-rank): Necessary to create a Strength Rune Pattern (F-rank). When complete and equipped, adds +2 to the owner’s Strength.

Proximity Ward Blueprint (F-rank): Necessary to create a Proximity Ward (F-rank). When complete, alerts the owner of any approaching beings within a 10 yard radius.

Interdimensional Pouch Rune Pattern Blueprint (E-rank): When complete, turns a pouch into an Interdimensional Pouch (E-rank). Creates a weightless interior space of 5x5x5 feet.

Explosion Rune Pattern Blueprint (E-rank): Necessary to complete an Explosion Rune Pattern (E-rank). Causes an intense explosion. Single use.

“It looks like you should split your time,” the man said. “Declan!”

One of the men who had been pointing a knife my direction straightened to attention.

“Yes Lord Ignatius!”

“Jarek, Declan is our requisitions officer. Give Declan a list of the materials you need for the Interdimensional Pouch Rune Pattern and the Explosion Rune Pattern.

“Jarek, I think you already met Adia, the leader of our strongest team of Hard Mode Challengers. You’ll want to share your Status Window with her too.”

“Yes, Lord Ignatius,” I said, thankful that Declan had shown me the appropriate way to address the man on the throne. I shared my Status Window with Adia, who nodded confirmation towards Lord Ignatius.

“The Crucible is always looking for powerful people. Tell me a bit about the forces in your Region.” Lord Ignatius steepled his fingers and stared intently at me.

“Of course, Lord Ignatius,” I replied. “I have one friend and ally, Ryker, who is currently overseeing Reed City. Ryker was a Hard Mode challenger like myself, and he wields an axe. Then there is River, a magician with a fire focus. The armed forces gathered at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, with several Hard Mode challengers: Lieutenant Colonel Bradson, who also uses an axe, Sergeant Wallis, and at least two other Hard Mode challengers.

“We will ignore the soldiers for now,” Lord Ignatius said. “Ryker and River—do they have any other powerful, close allies?”

“Ryker does not,” I responded. “I don’t believe River does either.”

“Then your first mission will be to bring them to me.”

“Yes, Lord Ignatius.” I felt a thrill of excitement, at the thought of being able to share the Crucible's purpose with Ryker. It was invigorating, now that Lord Ignatius had offered meaning to the insanity around me. And maybe River would treat me better, once it was clear we were on the same team.

“Then that concludes our business,” the Crucible’s leader said from his throne. “Unless there is anything else I need to know?”

“Yes, Lord Ignatius,” I started. "I have a—“

Samantha said. She had been quiet this whole time, surprisingly.

You didn’t want this for me, I thought back. You’ll try to make me leave the Crucible.

Samantha responded.

Do you expect me to believe that after all the lies you’ve told me? You’ve controlled my mind before, how do I know you won’t take over again and have me backstab Lord Ignatius?

I had paused mid-sentence, and Lord Ignatius was starting to stare at me with some concern in his sunken eyes.

“I have a debt,” I continued, “But I don’t know if it is my place to burden you with it. If I can gain about 24 million coins, I can buy a +1 Luck Potion from the Merchants’ Faction. With my build, it would be extremely beneficial for me.”

The people around me laughed softly, and Declan spoke up first. “Kid, coins don’t grow on trees. You can’t just—“ Declan cut himself off as Lord Ignatius raised a thin, almost skeletal hand placatingly.

“If you can help us kill a few Region Lords, I can have Declan write up a loan,” the bald man said. “Anything else?” He asked, somewhat sarcastically.

“I also have a sister and brother who live in Boston. Petra and Justin Novak. I wish for their safety as well,” I said.

“There is a city in Pennsylvania,” Ignatius said. “Massachusetts is a different Region, unfortunately. I will tell the nearby field team to prioritize finding the Region Lord in Massachusetts’ Region. Once we build a city in the Region, I’m sure we will be able to find your family.” He stood from the throne and smiled at me. “Welcome to the Crucible,” he said, before turning around and leaving through an exit behind his throne.

As he left, I heard his voice echo in my head.

I was accustomed enough to hearing Samantha’s voice that I knew how to respond. Of course, Lord Ignatius.

It wasn’t until Lord Ignatius had left the room that everyone else put their weapons away.

“Grab your stuff and meet me in the gym. I’m looking forward to seeing the Crucible’s best fighter in action,” Adia said, sliding two knives into their sheathes with a nearly inaudible hiss.

Adia left before I could even ask her where the gym was.

Declan left with Adia—I could hear him muttering something about 20 million coins.

I collected my pouch, items, and weapons, glad to see that nothing was missing.

By the time I had finished, only one man was left.

“Hello Jarek, it’s nice to see you again.” I stared blankly at the man in front of me. “Uman,” the man said, reintroducing himself. He had a slight Arabic accent and a calm, warm smile that partially hid behind a neatly trimmed beard. “We met in the Auction, briefly. Ah, well. I’m in charge of personnel. The Human Resources side to things. I know pretty much everybody here, and I help send people where they need to go. I’m also in charge of communicating with teams out in the field, and onboarding new members.”

Uman reached out a hand and as I shook it, he continued talking. “You could say I’m something of a people person,” he said. “For most of us Hard-mode challengers, it’s fair to say there’s something under the surface. So, let me just suggest, if at all possible, try not to question Adia’s authority until you’re confident you could hold the position of party leader.”

“Really?” I asked. “I didn’t want to lie to Lord Ignatius.”

Uman shrugged and sighed. “Nevermind. You’ll understand soon enough. Follow me, I’ll take you to the gym.”