After long hours, I slowly woke up. When I woke up, I checked my phone and looked at the time. It was morning hours, but as always, this region was dark when I looked through the window. I yawned and slowly stood up. I had slept too much; I must have been well-rested.
I was wearing the pajamas I had bought from the market. I went into the bathroom, took care of my needs, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I was planning to visit the Superiority Club. After leaving the bathroom, I changed my clothes, yawned once more, then opened the wooden door and stepped out of my room.
Before leaving the hotel, while walking, I bought coffee and a small sandwich from the hotel's shop to eat. We could also earn game coins from the games we won; my situation was good, and I didn't need to work. After leaving the shop, I continued walking down the corridor.
When I stepped outside the hotel, I looked at the dark sky again for a short while, then let my eyes roam around. My eyes were searching for Gyoma, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I could guess that I might run into him at the club. I set out to head to the club.
Within thirty minutes, I arrived at the club's garden. As I expected, Gyoma was sitting alone on the wooden platform, watching outside. When he saw me, he changed his sitting position; he seemed happy to see me. He showed me his gentle smile again.
"Rei, you won."
"I won. It looks like you won too."
"Yes, I won too."
"What kind of game was it?"
"It's forbidden for people like me to give information about the game, so I can't say."
"Is that so? Alright, I understand."
"Itsuki went inside last; you can talk to him if you want."
"Alright, thanks for letting me know. By the way, the girl I mentioned is safe, right?"
"I assume you're talking about Alice. Yes, she was last sitting on her bed upstairs; she ate her meal. She's safe now. But why do you care about the others so much? Doesn't it cause you trouble in a place like this?"
"That's just how I am. My heart isn't buried in darkness for now."
"You say for now. I understand. I hope it never gets buried in darkness, Rei."
"I hope so too."
After talking, I stepped inside. I was becoming more and more suspicious of Gyoma. He was acting mysteriously, winning games, and it wasn't clear who or what he was. At the same time, he wasn't confronting me. I thought he was hiding something.
After I entered, everyone looked at me. I was no longer much of a stranger here; what I had done was clear. There were about twenty people inside, the majority were men. Everyone was playing specific card games or small games they had set up themselves in their own spots. At one of the tables, I saw Itsuki playing a card game. When he heard the sound, he turned his head back and saw me. When he saw me, he put on a spoiled smile; he seemed happy to see me.
"Rei, come on! Join the game too!"
"We just got out of a game; when did you start loving games this much?"
"I just love them; they're fun. And there's no penalty. Come on, play with me."
"No, I didn't come here to play games."
"Fine, suit yourself. If you came for the girl, she's upstairs."
"Alright."
I moved up the wooden stairs and headed toward the room on the left. There were multiple rooms; I would try them all in order. On the first try, I entered the room where the girl was. When I entered the room, Alice was sitting on the bed. When she saw me, her eyes became more lively.
"Rei! You came as I expected!"
"Hello, Alice. You're doing well, right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. That old man couldn't catch me."
"Good, I'm glad for you. You can stay here for a while; I'll give you some pocket money later."
"Thank you, Rei."
"After a while, if you want, you can play card games with the others and walk around. But the old man might come looking for you, so don't go too far, alright?"
"Alright, Rei. Thank you again."
"Okay, if there's no problem, I'm leaving. I came to check on you."
"You came to check on me? You're so kind; thank you."
A sincere smile formed on the girl's face. When there was no problem left, I turned around and gently closed the wooden door. Alice would continue resting. I had kept my promise; after all, my friends would want me to be like this. Even if they were destroyed, they would want me to be like this. But could I do it then? I didn't know.
I couldn't fully understand why I attached so much meaning to my friends. I could understand that the reason stemmed from my mother, but I couldn't control these things I felt. Since childhood, deep down, I had desired to be loved, to be valued. Even though they tried to tear me away from humanity, that humane side of me hadn't disappeared thanks to my mother.
Maybe if it weren't for Lie, I would have detonated those mines. What still kept me human was my friends, the ones I valued. I was aware that I was slowly going insane; it was truly happening slowly. Nothing was happening suddenly, but I could still notice it. My situation was risky. Even if there wasn't a direct death penalty when I lost games, there was actually death for me in an indirect way. After all, those people desired my talent. If I became inadequate, if I lost, they would think there was no point in keeping my friends anymore. They would decide I was worthless. Then they would either kill my friends or very terrible continuation paths would await them. I had no more right to lose. Every game was actually lethal for me.
I didn't know how many people were left in the tournament. On top of that, I had to kill the king. There was a lot for me to do. In forced situations, even if my friends didn't want me to, I could expand my ethical boundaries; I was aware of this. I was neither a good nor a bad person. I went down the stairs and stepped outside. I saw Gyoma again; he continued to sit silently.
"Do you know how many people are left in the tournament?"
"Fifteen."
"I understand."
"Oh, by the way, I forgot. I was going to give you some news."
"What news?"
"Rei, the tournament is partially being canceled. I mean, there are winners, but the king's hidden purpose has been revealed."
"What?"
"The king apparently doesn't desire men for his palace. He wants to arrange students for the academy in the second sphere. The people approved by him in the tournament will be sent to the second sphere and will enroll in the academy there."
"Academy? What the hell kind of academy?"
"There's a huge academy in the second area; it's considered a training ground. The system aims to further develop strong players; they say this academy exists for that. The king wants to send us there."
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"What's the academy for? What's the system's goal?"
"You must know it's connected to the other planet; maybe they want to train soldiers for there. I'm just reasoning. It's clear the system wants to develop players."
"So is it mandatory to listen to the king?"
"Probably not, but everyone would want to go. The higher your level, the more your value as a player increases. Players become more dangerous, but reaching other spheres is something every player desires. Besides, we'll even receive a salary just for being citizens there."
"So we're really going to be students? What about the club?"
"For the club, our presence there is advantageous as advertising, so the leader didn't say anything."
"I understand. So you're coming too?"
"Yes, I'm coming too. Like I said, we don't have to come, but it would definitely be to our benefit. By the way, magic there is intense, especially in games. In fact, I believe the magic spheres here are bought from there, but we can only get the low-quality ones. They're much richer than us."
"So it might be getting progressively stronger?"
"If you're talking about the layers, it could be. But I think we should accept, Rei."
"Is Itsuki coming too?"
"When he learns you're coming, he'll come. Ayame will also be there at the time the king called; you can talk to her too. From what I've heard, the king and the academy might have already made a deal from the very beginning."
"So the king is bowing to the academy then?"
"You could partially say that. Since it's the second sphere, they're superior to this region. They made more deals; they wanted him to send potential individuals here in exchange for spoils."
"So the king has a connection for passing to the second sphere?"
"Yes, that's how it seems. The academy will even arrange rooms for us. I'm saying it again; don't forget, Rei, magic is very widespread there. Your opponents might use unexpected spells."
"Can't we use them?"
"They started being born there, so they learned at a young age. We, on the other hand, have to learn later; we're at quite a disadvantage. But from what I've heard, rules can naturally be set before playing games to prohibit certain spells. But no one rejects magic; magic has a divine symbol there. So if you reject magic, you'll probably be hated."
"I understand. Thanks for the information."
"Come to the king's palace at six o'clock; he summoned all of us there."
"Alright, I'll be there."
Gyoma got up and began walking through the deserts to go to the area the king had summoned. An opportunity had presented itself to me. I actually didn't have to kill the king; that man had lied to me. He must have deceived me to develop me. I was now more aware of the truth. I would literally be passing to the second sphere for free. But it was clear that opponents would gradually become more and more talented. At the same time, this magic issue seemed like it would challenge me a lot, but I would definitely advance to the second sphere.
There were a few things I needed to do before this. First, I walked toward the back of the mountain, thinking maybe I could get information from that dragon. After a while, I arrived at the area where I had previously met the dragon. By coincidence, he was with his child again, training him. His child was kicking a tree. When he saw me, he quickly came next to me.
"What brings you here, Rei? You won the game, I heard?"
"Yes, I won. You must have heard the king's ideas. I was going to ask if you could give me information about this."
"What information?"
"Do you have any information about why the system founded the academy or what they're aiming for?"
"I don't have complete information, but I've heard that the academy's purpose is to create superior talents. And I've heard that in the third sphere, there's a rocket that allows passage to the other planet. If you're going to ask where I heard it, we dragons can pass between the first and second spheres. We have wings; we're a respected race."
"A rocket? So passage to the other planet is made from there. And the academy exists to create superior talents. What Gyoma said is consistent..."
"What did Gyoma say?"
"He said it might be to create soldiers."
"I understand; that makes sense. Maybe the system's goal is to create super-intelligent super soldiers and send them to the other planet. They might also be using it as a production system just for their own planet. But as far as I know, there's no coercion on the players about this. If there were, no one would be at the academy anyway. But from what I've heard, everyone wants to enroll there and be in a better position."
"Maybe they're rewarding them in a way that makes it worth it even though they're soldiers; I'm not sure. Maybe I'll learn later. But thanks for the information."
"You're welcome; no problem. I wish you ease there, Rei."
"Thank you."
After talking, I quickly left the area. The dragon's information had been very useful to me. I had learned that the academy was founded to produce superior talents and that there was a rocket in the third sphere for passage to the other planet. But there was one important thing I hadn't learned: Why had humans gotten involved in this? I wanted to learn that in the future too. For now, this much information was enough. I wasn't not questioning why the dragon was helping me this much. Maybe everything he said was a lie; I couldn't know. But it seemed consistent; still, I shouldn't fully believe it. While thinking about these things, I continued moving forward on my path for a while longer. I entered the company building. I wanted to say goodbye to X.
"Hello, X."
"Ah, Rei! You came? We haven't been able to see each other for a while; welcome."
"Thank you. But I came to say goodbye."
"That's right; the king's words reached me. Are you going?"
"Yes, I have to go because of my past. That's why I wanted to see you."
"I understand; you're very kind. But don't worry; maybe you'll have return or passage rights here. At worst, I can visit you."
"I hope there's something like what you said."
"Would you like to hug to say goodbye, Rei?"
"Sure."
We gently hugged each other. He seemed to feel good because I cared about him. I had stopped by here because I wanted to maintain my respect for him; on the other hand, I also wanted to get information from him. The kindnesses I did were generally both strategic and emotional.
"By the way, do you have any information about magic?"
"No, not really. From what I've heard, magic is more famous there. Be careful, alright?"
"Alright, I'll be careful."
"Okay then, see you later, Rei."
"See you later."
After the conversation ended, I turned around and left the company building within a few minutes. I couldn't leave immediately because I had been looking for him for a short while. Then, using my teleportation, I came toward the village area. I wanted to climb the volcano and summon him again.
I climbed the volcano and shouted his name with all my strength. Shortly after, the volcano began to tremble, and the mountain started to shake. From within the lava, Zepktrum Speleus emerged again, hovering in the air. He seemed to have special powers. As always, he looked down at me with a calm yet arrogant expression; he had fixed his brown eyes on me.
"What do you want, Rei?"
"You lied. I didn't need to kill the king after all. You must have heard what happened?"
"Hahaha! So you learned. I was expecting you to eventually notice. I said it before in case you might throw yourself into a difficult situation. Of course it was a lie. A king couldn't be a problem for a being like me; if I wanted to destroy him, I could do it myself immediately."
"I understand."
"So what do you want?"
"Show me my friends. If I don't see them, I'll jump into the lava."
"I can tell from your face that you're serious. Fine, don't worry. As long as you continue to show your worth, your friends will be safe."
A digital screen appeared. I could see that my friends were in a safe area. I began talking to them. Their faces weren't too bad; it was clear they weren't being treated poorly. They said they were receiving small training here and spending time. They told me not to worry about them and to continue on my path. They also stated that they trusted me. They didn't really want to smile, but they had smiled for me. When I talked to them, I felt good. I didn't need to throw myself into the lava.
"You understand, right? They're safe. Continue on your path."
"Alright."
When I turned around, the man entered the lava again. I descended from the mountain. There was a short time left until the time the king had specified. I teleported back in front of the company building. By coincidence, I ran into X again; after we waved at each other, I continued on my way. He could understand that I needed to go somewhere.
I moved toward the king's palace. The time had come. Two guards took me inside. The surroundings were full of guards. The king was standing before us in his armor. We were fifteen people in total. Ayame, Gyoma, Itsuki... I could see familiar faces. There were also some other strong-looking individuals; they all looked at me. The speech seemed to be starting. The king began to speak.
"You must have heard what happened. The situation is like this; I'll keep it short. Does anyone have an objection to the situation?"
A silence formed in the air; it seemed like no one had an objection. I went next to Ayame and stood there. While the king was speaking, I was looking at the king. When I stood next to Ayame, she momentarily looked into my eyes, then turned her face toward the king and continued listening.
"It seems like there are none. Then you'll need to proceed through the back door; I'll arrange your passage key. I assume you've obtained basic information about the region, so I won't give any further explanation. The academy will arrange private rooms for you like the other students. Game coins are valid there in the same way. You will all enroll in the school. You'll learn detailed information there."
We confirmed what the king said with our silence. We all moved in order toward the door at the back. Behind the door, there were a few hooded entities resembling wizards. We couldn't be sure whether they were women or men because of their clothes. One by one, they gave us each a small magical yellow key. There was a portal in front of us. They said that if we entered this portal while holding the key in our hands, we would be teleported to the second sphere. So I needed to pass through this portal while holding the key in my hand. We were making the passage to the second sphere. One by one, everyone entered the portal silently without objecting. I was saying goodbye to the first sphere. During this time, it unrelatedly occurred to me that I hadn't paid the hotel's monthly room fee, but there was nothing to be done. After shaking my head lightly left and right, I pushed these thoughts away from myself. Finally, I myself entered the portal. I suddenly felt like I had been teleported in the previous game; my head suddenly spun. My eyes closed on their own; I couldn't see. A few seconds later, I was hearing other sounds, breathing a different air. I had arrived at the second sphere; I was now in a different area. I could hear the conversation sounds of the players. I slowly began to open my eyes.