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"Good work. That old man thought he could shield that place from me, but the day of reckoning is near." The man on the other side of the crystal ball let out a free laugh, his amusement clear.

The elf\'s face remained expressionless, though a flicker of something unspoken passed through her eyes. "Master…" she began.

"Speak, Gwendolyn. What troubles you?" the man responded, his impatience evident.

"You only ordered me to infiltrate the academy, but you haven\'t told me why," Gwen explained, her voice calm despite the underlying tension.

"And why do I have to tell you, my dear puppet? Just be a good girl and get accustomed to the school. I\'ll contact you when I\'m ready," the voice said with annoyance.

\'Tch, fucking pig,\' Gwen sighed silently, feeling a wave of annoyance, though she kept her composure. "Yes, Master. If that will be all, I…"

"Hold on, I\'m not done yet," he interrupted, his tone sharp. "Do tell me, how are they doing?"

"The children you asked to be kept under special supervision?" Gwen clarified, noting how he never seemed to pay obvious attention to them.

"Yes, the ones I told you to monitor while you\'re at Clarendon for personal reasons," he replied, the sound of sipping indicating he had some wine with him. \'I keep having the feeling that those children, including the priestess, will one day become a thorn in my side. It\'s better to take them out before that happens. But that\'s by the way.\'

"They\'re already strong enough to take the top spot in their set, you could say they live up to their titles. All except the fourteenth one," Gwen reported.

"That didn\'t sound right to him. "Fourteen? Hold on, that bastard\'s child is still alive!?" he exclaimed.

"Jett Grift? Yes, although he doesn\'t seem to be as strong as the others," Gwen confirmed.

"Good. I guess Cormac was powerful enough to thwart my plan. I honestly feel embarrassed that a lowly spear knight could discomfort me this much," the man sighed. "Gwen, I order you to kill that child, but do it quietly."

\'He lost his composure? This is a first,\' Gwen thought before replying, "Yes, Master. You can leave it to me."

*****

"AIDEN!!!" Panic surged through the group, threatening to overwhelm them.

Jett took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. \'Calm down, Jett, you\'re supposed to be lucky.\' He reminded himself, mentally reviewing their stats. \'Everyone here has at least 250 stat points, while Rey has up to 320. Mine is about 1,900. Yeah, we can win this.\' He did the quick math in his head. \'It\'ll take 50 tries to render the others completely useless.

So we need to end this within 25 attempts.\'

Rey stepped up, his presence commanding attention. "Hey, you guys, calm down. We\'ll stick to Asher\'s original strategy." His voice was steady and reassuring.

He pointed at them with confidence, "Asher and I will use our detection skills to scout ahead as we move. Evelina, you\'ll switch with Cedric so you can use your detection while he covers Freya." He turned to face the goal they had to reach, his gaze firm. "We still don\'t know what to expect on this obstacle course, so let\'s keep our guard up."

Jett\'s mind raced. \'Obstacle course? That\'s right, it\'s an obstacle course, and that means the setting will remain the same from start to finish no matter how many times we attempt it. If one can memorize the attack pattern, we can avoid the traps and beat the trial.\' Excitement bubbled up inside him. \'As long as one of us can make it to the last island, we\'ll have a better chance at winning.\'

*****

Jett dragged Freya to a secluded corner, away from the others, for a brief chat. He didn\'t want anyone else to hear what he was about to say.

"I need you to do something. This might be the most important thing to note during this trial," Jett said quietly.

"And…? What could that be?" Freya asked, still eager to start the trial.

"You\'re not allowed to use any skill that can temporarily boost our stats until I give the order," Jett said with utmost seriousness.

"Huh? Why? And more importantly, how do you know I have a skill like that?" Freya\'s curiosity was piqued.

"Skills," Jett corrected before asking, "Do you trust me?"

Without hesitation, Freya answered, "I sure as hell don\'t."

"Well, that was harsh," Jett muttered, clearly hurt by her blunt response.

After some convincing from Jett, Frey reluctantly agreed and they rejoined the group.

Thanks to Rey and Asher\'s sharp detection skills, they managed to avoid all the mines hidden along their path. But then, out of nowhere, stray arrows came flying at them.

Everyone reacted instantly, blocking the arrows with their weapons and shields. Cedric quickly cast [Iron Cage], covering both Freya and himself from the barrage.

Freya sighed in frustration. \'I\'m not some kind of damsel in distress, though. This is really frustrating. My skills are just too inconvenient to use since they all have longer cool down times.\'

They pressed on and reached the third floating island. Suddenly, a hidden trap was triggered. Marcella and Finn didn\'t stand a chance: they were eliminated instantly, falling victim to the cunning snare.

"Keep going!!!" Rey yelled, trying to keep everyone focused despite the loss of their teammates.

There were ten islands in total. As they moved to the next one, the ground erupted beneath them before anyone could use a protective skill. The force sent them all flying back to the starting point.

Everyone groaned in disappointment. They had lost another five stat points each and another skill.

"Well, that was fun," Rey said in pain as they returned to the starting point.

Rosa, clearly pissed off, threw a rock at him. "How the hell are you still cheerful?"

"Calm down already, that was just the first trial. Remember, the timer\'s already started, so we need to switch up our plan and quickly," Rey said, dodging the rock.

"Before that…" Marcella quietly walked up to Aiden. Before anyone knew what was happening, she punched Aiden right in the gut, nearly incapacitating him. She smiled, "That\'s for using me as a cushion after tripping."

"That\'s not the kind of raw power an alchemist should have," Seraphina said, utterly surprised. Everyone was equally astonished.

"Strengthening potion," Marcella explained. "So, what now?"

"Let\'s go again," Rey said, his determination undeterred.

*****

They attempted the course seven more times, but each effort ended in failure. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn\'t advance past the fourth island.

Frustrated but not defeated, they gathered to discuss their next move. "We need to change our strategy based on what we know," Jett said, his eyes sharp with focus. "We know the patterns now. We can use that to our advantage."

"Right," Rey agreed. "We need to stay ahead of the traps and be quicker with our reactions. Asher and I will focus on detection. Everyone else, be ready to defend and counterattack at a moment\'s notice."

They nodded in agreement, ready to give it another shot.

*****

As they moved through the course again, the tension was palpable. They avoided the mines thanks to Rey and Asher\'s detection skills. Stray arrows flew at them, but they were prepared this time. Cedric cast [Iron Cage] to protect Freya and himself while the others blocked and deflected the arrows with swift precision.

They reached the seventh island, but the challenge intensified. The gravitational pull doubled, making every step feel like they were wading through thick mud. The familiar traps from previous islands activated in rapid succession.

"Keep moving!" Rey shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

Arrows whizzed past them, and they dodged and blocked with all their might. Jett led the charge, his movements a blur as he memorized the attack patterns.

"We\'ve got this!" Jett yelled, his excitement fueling his determination.

But just as they neared the edge of the island, the ground erupted again, sending shockwaves through their ranks. They struggled to stay on their feet, fighting against the intense gravity and the relentless traps.

"We\'re almost there!" Rey urged, pushing them forward.

With one final push, they made it to the eighth island, panting and exhausted but victorious.

"Great job, everyone," Jett said, a triumphant smile on his face. "We\'re getting closer."

"We just need to keep this up," Rey added. "We can do this."

They nodded, ready to face whatever challenges awaited them on the remaining islands.

Due to the new variables, the team struggled to adapt immediately, causing them to fail the trial once again. They were sent back to the starting point, frustration mounting with each setback.

"I\'m definitely going to feel that one tomorrow," Matthew groaned as he tried to massage his calf.

"For crying out loud!" Evelina sighed. "I\'m exhausted."

"They say what doesn\'t kill you will only make you stronger," Seraphina remarked, half out of breath.

"Well, they never got stuck in a reincarnation torture chamber like this, now did they?" Finn said sarcastically.

*****

After five more attempts, they finally made it to the eighth and ninth islands, each presenting its own unexpected surprises. They both had random low-level monsters spawned in addition to previous traps, forcing them to fight their way through.

"No more… please…" Morrigan gasped for air.

"C\'mon short cake, let\'s keep moving," Aiden said, trying to encourage her.

"Dude? Who the hell are you even calling short? We\'re almost the same height," Morrigan murmured, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

Aiden jokingly patted Morrigan on the head. "And yet I\'m still taller."

"Why you…" Morrigan started, but was cut off.

"Quit it, we need to go again," Asher said, dashing right through them, pushing them forward.

*****

When they finally reached the last island, they were met with two large Ogres guarding the goal. These creatures didn\'t pose a threat to Jett, but for the rest of the team, their average stats made it a significant challenge. Jett had to match their pace for the time being.

"[Area Heal]," Jett called out, using his skill to get everyone back to top condition, though the skill couldn\'t affect him.

"[Vitalize]," Freya added, using her skill to compensate for the shortcomings of [Area Heal], bringing Jett back to tip-top shape.

\'We\'ve done this sixteen times already and I\'ve finally figured out what the last island is like,\' Jett thought. \'Everyone has lost roughly 25% to 31% of their stats, but now that I know we can win, it\'s time to pull out all the stops. The preparations are complete; it\'s time to end this.\'

Jett smirked as he looked at the goal from afar. "Alright, everyone, listen up…"

*

*

*

Seems like he\'s really got a plan this time.