Jack had a plan— or, at least, the beginnings of one. Thanks to the discussion about Raina’s objective rewards, he had noticed an interesting line in the description of Tartarus which had potentially game-changing implications if his hunch was correct. While he stared out the window pondering the likelihood that his plan would work, Raina sat cross-legged on the nearest bed with her eyes closed, no doubt thinking about which reward she would take.

Jack had recommended the Fractured Logos Key. As the only reward that granted the objective holder an opportunity, the key had the most potential for reward. Jack didn’t know what Tartarus was; however, based on its description, the Shattered Remnant sounded like multiple Remnant Gates in one location. During his work for the Relic Hunter guild, he’d heard rumors of places called “hidden Remnant Gates” or Remnant Gates which appeared because of special circumstances as opposed to being fixed in one location within the Broken Lands. Whether Tartarus was one of these hidden Remnant Gates or not, he couldn’t say, but as a reward for a hidden objective, the key and, by extension, the Tartarus itself had to have incredible worth. That said, he couldn’t deny that the Protector’s Emblem and the Protector of the Blue Heart offered more upfront value. For instance, the Protector’s Emblem was a Relic that any bodyguard with a martial designation would’ve killed for since its skill and attribute bonuses were ideal for defenders and it would grow with the wielder which ensured its usefulness even at the highest levels. At the same time, the Protector of the Blue Heart trait would’ve been an obvious choice if the circumstances were different. In a world where Jack and Raina shared a bond strong enough for him to use his Link on her, a ten percent boost to all of her attributes was amazing, especially for her key attributes. With all that in mind, Jack couldn’t help but wonder what Tartarus held to place it on the same tier as those rewards. His gut told him that the greater risk meant greater rewards.

Aside from the key’s value as a reward, there was one more reason why he’d recommended it to Raina. It provided the group with a potential means of escaping their current situation if things turned south. If the portal opened by the key disappeared after they used it, then they could escape into the upper levels of Tartarus which, though undoubtedly dangerous, were unlikely to be as deadly as an S-rank World Boss and his entourage. Although, if the portal didn’t disappear, then they risked the Twilight King following them since the portal would count as being linked to his world. Question was, was Raina the type of person to risk taking the Fractured Logos Key? Would she take a safer reward and wait for Ciel to rescue her or would she take a more proactive approach despite the hazards? Either way, Jack expected her to take some time before she decided. He had informed her of all the reasons why he felt the key was best but all he could do is wait for now.

As fate would have it, Raina proved more decisive than Jack expected.

“I’m going to choose the Fractured Logos Key,” she said breaking him out of his thoughts.

Despite being pleased, he kept his face neutral as he responded, “Are you sure? If we get out of here, the Protector’s Emblem would be invaluable.”

“True, I bet I’d be able to find a lot of people interested in its ability and since it would disappear if I died, anyone that I worked with would be less likely to kill me off for the Relic,” she said. Jack’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn’t expected such thorough consideration from her. His opinion of her increased and he mentally upgraded her potential as a threat. Coincidentally, her next words justified his caution. “The Protector of the Blue Heart would also be good if I reconnected with Ciel. Even if I can’t get the boosts, I’m sure he’d appreciate it if I could use it to track you.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. Their gazes met and he considered her reasoning for telling him this information. He had thought of both points but had left them out of their discussion to draw more attention to the Fractured Logos Key and for his own sake. From most people, Jack would have taken the words as a threat. Yet, he doubted Raina intended her words to come across that way given their earlier conversation about trust. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, he understood her meaning as twofold. First, she wanted him to know that she realized the personal benefits each of the other rewards offered her. Second, by telling him that she would select the Fractured Logos Key, she was making it clear that she had considered his situation in her choice despite the potential risks.

Slowly, Jack nodded to her. “Alright. Don’t pick the reward now though.”

“I know. If I did it now then the key might get taken by the undead,” she said.

“Mhm. I’ll admit I’d prefer it if you chose now, but it can’t be helped. I don’t want to risk losing the key,” he said. Raina smiled and he frowned. Technically, he was putting quite a bit of faith in her to keep her word, but the faith was tenuous and he’d already come to terms with what he’d have to do if she chose the Protector of the Blue Heart. Before they could talk any further, the door to the room opened revealing Alindal and Cordan.

“My friend! You are awake!” Alindal explained upon seeing him. Jack couldn’t help but smile as the elf crossed the room and embraced him. He returned the hug patting his old friend on the back. Alindal pulled away looking him over with concern in his eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Jack answered. He knew his friend was concerned about the progression of the metallic flesh across his body, so he tried to alleviate those concerns. “Better than good actually. I can feel again on my left side.” He squeezed Alindal’s shoulder with his left hand and they both laughed. As a bit of obfuscation, Jack pulled him into another hug. While surprised at the act of affection, Alindal didn’t resist. Jack counted on his friend’s superior hearing as he softly whispered something else. “I have a designation, Al. There’s a lot more I have to tell you, but not now. I’ve got a plan, so bear with me.”

Alindal patted on the back twice and, nearly inaudible, said, “Asientel os savorn. Our thread is strong, my friend.”

Jack gave his old friend a slight squeeze to let him know the value of his words. He didn’t allow himself the same emotional freedom he had once had but he wanted Alindal to understand the appreciation he felt at that moment. As he was about to end the embrace, something snapped inside of him throwing his mind into shock as a familiar voice spoke.

“In his journey, the bonds of The Fool are his strength yet the true value of a bond is only revealed once it has withstood the fires of fate. This is one such bond.”

Is that my voice? He thought as he tried to collect himself. Unfortunately, he was sabotaged by a notification since he’d switched the mode back to mental display before leaving the Well of Souls.

[Your Status has been updated.]

1 New Skill added from The Fool…

1 New Trait added from The Fool…

[Open Status?]

Accepting the prompt, he opened his Skills menu from his Status. In his Skills menu, he didn’t find a new Skill, but he noticed that his Wildcard Slots listed one unassigned Skill. He pressed his will against the listing and another notification appeared.

[Unassigned Wildcard Skills]

Magician’s Manipulation (The Fool Skill)

The user may manipulate the elements of the world. The strength and capability of this skill are dependent on the level and rank of the user.

Available Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air

Range: 10 meters

Cost: 10 Mana per second

Assign Magician’s Manipulation to a Wildcard Slot? Y/N

He selected yes without hesitation then opened his Traits menu. Upon seeing that the new Traits, he pulled up its information.

Magician’s Intuition

Advantages

-The Fool gains increased insight when acting toward his goals.

-The Fool gains 50% increased mana and vigor regeneration.

-The Fool’s Willpower is increased by 10%.

Wha… Someone shook him as he read the Trait’s advantages starting him out of his stupor. He blinked at Alindal who was watching him with a worried expression.

“Are you alright?” his friend asked. Jack saw Raina favoring him with a curious expression while Cordan had a slight frown.

Jack shook his head clear deciding that he would think about his new Skill and Trait later. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I just sort of spaced out, I guess.” Although he appeared skeptical, Alindal didn’t push the subject. Turning to the others in the room, Jack got straight to business before anyone asked any unnecessary questions. “Anyway, now that we are all here, I wanted to put forward a proposition.” Alindal sat down next to Raina while Cordan leaned forward, elbows on his knees and fingers steepled. Jack leaned against the window and took a deep breath. “Alright, I have a plan that might potentially get us out of here and put us all in a better position. It’s obviously not a guarantee, but it’s the best I’ve got for now and it’s better than just sitting around wondering if we’ll all be killed.”

“Fine, let’s hear it,” Cordan said, a slight frown still on his face.

“Before that, I want to set something straight,” Jack said meeting Cordan’s eyes. Of everyone present, he expected the relic hunter to be the most contentious. He pointed to Alindal. “He’s the only person I trust here. I don’t have anything against you or Raina, but given my situation, I can’t trust either of you. That said, I want to form a truce. I’ll share my plan with you as well as any necessary information, but in exchange, I want us all to work together until the plan is complete.”

Jack and Cordan had a stare down for a few seconds. Eventually, Cordan shook his head sighing and leaning back. After a moment, he said, “Fine.”

“Really?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy.

“Yes,” Cordan answered. “Since you’re all connected with Celestials, the less I know, the better for me. Quite frankly, I don’t want anything to do with you or the Celestials but I have no choice at this point. The Twilight King clearly has some kind of interest in you specifically, so working with you and being seen as your ally is probably best for the moment. Even so, my number one priority is to make it out of here alive and get back to the people I care about. If you understand that, then we can work together.”

“I understand,” Jack said. He looked to Raina who was quick to answer.

“I’m in,” she said. Next to her, Alindal nodded, more for the benefit of the others than Jack.

“Let’s get down to business then,” he said. With everyone on board, he set about detailing his plan. “My plan has two primary components: Build a rapport with the Twilight King and secure our release from this Remnant Gate. Additionally, assuming things go well, we may all be able to gain quite a bit of Eidos; this is an S-rank Gate after all.”

The last line got everyone’s attention which was the reaction Jack expected. Most people would jump at the opportunity to acquire power especially the kind of power an S-rank Gate could provide. In that way, he was no different from them.

Jack continued, “I think everyone here has noticed the Twilight King’s interest in me. Due to the circumstances, I have a unique position among the four of us which along with some information I have about the Twilight King, may allow me to approach him on a personal level. However, sentiment will only go so far with the undead, so I’ve thought of a potential bargaining chip. Are any of you familiar with Remnant Restoration?”

Alindal and Raina exchanged confused looks while Cordan rubbed the bit of stubble forming on his chin. He held Jack’s gaze for a moment as though he were looking for something before saying, “Yeah, I’ve heard of it. The term is used in guild records that mention rare occurrences wherein Remnant Gates disappeared without collapsing in the past, but they don’t detail how it happened. There also haven’t been any instances of it in recent history, so the phenomenon has been widely dismissed.”

Nodding, Jack said, “I read about it during my research into Remnant Gates at the guild. I have reason to believe that not only can it be done, but that it can be done here. Although undead don’t feel emotions like we do, my interaction with Kafkë showed me that these undead care about the fate of their world; maybe even enough to strike a deal if they can save it from collapse. If I’m right, then we may be able to do it if we enlist the Twilight King’s assistance. If I’m wrong, I have a backup plan.” He glanced at Raina who gave a thumbs up drawing a raised eyebrow from Cordan and a smile from Alindal.

“And I suppose why you think we can pull this off and the details of the backup plan are need to know?” Cordan asked. Jack nodded eliciting another sigh from the man. He cracked his neck from side to side then stood up facing Jack. “Fine, but when you go talk with the king, I’m going with you.”

Jack frowned, “I can handle—”

“No,” Cordan said with more authority than Jack liked. “One, I don’t trust you to look after my interests. Two, the Twilight King and his subordinates already know I’m the most powerful among us, so if I go with you, you’ll have a stronger stance in any negotiations and our group will come across as more unified. Third, since the two of us did all of the talking in the audience, the Twilight King is already used to dealing with us which may come in handy when trying to build a rapport.”

“Wait, you’re the most powerful? What rank are you?” Raina suddenly asked.

“I’m B-rank,” he answered without missing a beat

Jack barely stopped the surprise from showing on his face. He’d expected Cordan to be the highest level among them as the raid’s overseer, but not that much higher. He had figured Cordan was low to high C-rank at most.

“Oh,” Raina said, blinking a few times in surprise. Her shoulders sank a little. “I’m barely D-rank.”

“I’m D-rank as well,” Alindal said giving her a reassuring smile. “Oh, and since we’ll be working together, I should properly introduce myself. My name is Alindal, not Julian.”

Cordan grunted, unsurprised by the revelation of a fake name, while Raina said, “Well, I look forward to working with you, Alindal.”

The two of them smiled at each other and shook hands which made Jack want to roll his eyes. Afterward, everyone looked at Jack expectantly which made his eye twitch. Reluctantly, he said, “E-rank.”

Each person had a different reaction to his answer. Raina looked relieved like she was glad not to be the lowest level in the group. Cordan appeared understandably skeptical since he had had access to Jack’s guild record as overseer which listed him as a D-rank Appraiser. Meanwhile, Alindal was all smiles. Jack sighed and pushed himself away from the window sill.

“Fine, Cordan. You can come along, but we’re leaving now,” he said walking toward the door. Raina and Alindal struck up a conversation as Cordan fell in behind Jack. Opening the door, Jack leaned forward, careful not step outside the room, to see the cowled man from the Remnant Gate and the throne room. The undead glanced at him sending a cold shiver down Jack’s spine. As he was about to speak, someone’s stomach grumbled loudly inside the room prompting Jack and Cordan to look backward at Raina and Alindal, both of whom were holding their stomachs. Cordan chuckled. Jack turned back to the robed man and said, “We wish to speak with His Majesty, Twilight King about a very important matter. Also, we need food.”