The trial takers found themselves back in the Quantum Main Hub. The Path of Paradise resort still stood out like a sore thumb in the distance. What welcomed them was the ranking list plastered in the air, big and bold.

Anne - 33,990 spark shards. Rank 1

Blade of Justice - 33,210 spark shards. Rank 2

Daystar - 24,860 spark shards. Rank 3

Divine Punishment - 24,800 spark shards. Rank 4

Oscar Regisea - 24,530 spark shards. Rank 5

Tanael - 21,010 spark shards. Rank 6

Noble Tiger - 20,700 spark shards. Rank 7

Airmaster - 20,520 spark shards. Rank 8

Green Scorpion - 20,440 spark shards. Rank 9

Backlasher - 20,290 spark shards. Rank 10

Viers smiled when seeing his alias’ name in sixth place but it turned to a frown after seeing how significant the difference was between him and the first rank.

The top 10 changed quite a bit. Anne is still in the first place. Oscar fell to fifth? Who are these Daystar and Divine Punishment? And Backlasher, that super serious guy got tenth place…

He shut out the yells of ‘yeeeah’ and the groans of ‘noooo’ to concentrate on the other listed information.

In the water world, from 63 people, 28 qualified for Stage 3. I thought I squeezed them hard enough but more than two dozen still passed the 3000 spark shards minimum, huh? On the other hand… in the fire world, 59 people got in and all are qualified? Weird… was there no conflict between the players there?

“Out of 382 of you,” both Aletro showed up as giant phantoms. “247 fulfilled the condition to enter Stage 3, congratulations,” The white-clothed Aletro said.

“While I want to begin the exciting deathmatch immediately, this softie here won't budge on giving you some rest time,” black-robed Aletro scoffed. “So you got six hours of free time. Use it wisely, little chicks.”

Hearing the word ‘deathmatch’, the bloodthirsty ones were like sharks who caught a whiff of blood.

The compassionate half of Aletro continued without minding his twin. “You can use this opportunity to heal up in the infirmary, gather intel, make alliances, buy what you need in the shop, or simply rest. Five minutes before your departure, we will give an explanation about Stage 3. We will not disclose anything before that time except this: Stage 3 will last for one month.”

Amidst the murmurs, the orientation continued.

“Feel free to use your shards in the store to buy supplies, techniques, and things you feel you lack. The rankings are already fixed so your ranking will not drop no matter how many shards you used. Remember, preparation is vital. Losing some shards now is better than losing your life later. Be prudent.”

“To those who did not make the cut for Stage 3 or the jelly-willed boys and girls that already lost the will to continue or are too afraid about the upcoming deathmatch, this will be your last six hours in this place. Any treasures and material you've gained you will keep but your shards will go up in smoke. For your own good, buy something in the store before they expire.”

In a glimpse, Viers could see in the face of dozens of players that what Sinister Aletro just said resonated with them.

“I can see what some of you are thinking. Too baaaad~” Black-clothed Aletro showed his tongue. “As of now, no shard exchanges are permitted with other trial takers, and the items you buy will become dust if you give it to another person. Same as before, this place forbids all forms of violence. Dismissed.”

Before Viers left, he examined the names in the ranking list further.

Ivory Flame - 11

Dark Zero - Rank 12

Fithel - Rank 13

Squire - Rank 18

Night Bloom - Rank 26

Emperor of Storms - Rank 30

Black Cat - Rank 74

Boram - Rank 98

And then, there’s still quite a lot of silly names plaguing the list… Get ready people, I’m gonna harvest you.

***

In the top room of the Path of Paradise resort, two trial takers had just finished talking. In the real world, one was the boss of another.

A youth with the alias Dodoronomcho showed Oscar his arm that had scales growing on it. Needless to say, he was now regretting his choice of accepting the evil god’s offer. His power came with a price.

Oscar examined them closely before letting him continue.

“And that’s all I know about Tanael. After getting the boost from the Deep Dweller God, Tanael knocked me out using some sort of soul method then I became collateral damage when Pyke fought for real. I didn't witness the final part of the water world.”

“You’ve done well. Retire from the trial. Stage 3 will be a bloodbath and you will die if you participate.”

“Sir?”

“Tanael will hunt you down. His aggression against people with… unique names is no joke. The matters of your curse will be attended to in the real world.”

The relief on the youth’s face spoke clearer than any shout. The youth recalled the time when Tanael prodded his soul like a child playing with clay and how he got bound to the ghost ship afterward to become shark bait. The bottom half of his torso was gone before Aletro teleported him to safety.

Oscar read that the underling would have asked to retire even if he didn't order it. Dodoronomcho bowed in gratitude.

“One last thing, Young Master… When he starts addressing you as ‘meatbag’, expect the most brutal kind of violence to ensue.”

At this moment, this was not the only conversation with Tanael as the topic.

***

“Situation report,” Viers said telepathically. The recipient was not the usual three.

Izabella and Tanael were exchanging information. They pretended to be browsing the list of items in the shop but they were actually using telepathic communication. In Stage 1, Izabella gave Viers a magical item that allowed them to do just that.

“The six different worlds in Stage 2 each had a divine weapon. All the six worlds, although with different stories, centered around gaining the weapon. Only two people got the divine weapon, Anne in the fire world and Troy, alias Blade of Justice, in the dark world.”

“Anne kept the weapon but Troy turned his into shards. That’s why there’s such a big gap from second to third place.”

Viers felt something was off.

“If Anne kept her divine weapon, how the hell did that Level 1 girl managed to topple Troy?”

“That’s the thing… Anne was very, very lucky. They said she stumbled upon treasures left and right. Somehow, things seem to be always going her way… The girl could hold her own in a fight but from the info I gathered, she’s not some powerhouse juggernaut. And yet, she could triumph against opponents outside her league. She also had a lot of allies in the top 50 and even top 10.”

“...She’s even younger than me, isn't she? Perhaps sixteen years old or less. How the hell could she do this in less than one year walking the Path of Power?”

Twice now Anne had snagged the top spot. Viers had an ugly worry that the girl might be something beyond his ability to handle. It was still just a slight suspicion but it was there.

“...This Anne must be very special. Now's not the time to poke the unknown. Keep observing her but don't clash with her no matter what.”

Viers gave Izabella the only sensible direction.

“I have some suspicions about the Green Scorpion. I suspect he and his group are...”

“Well now, that’s interesting.”

“Here’s the info about Daystar and Divine Punishment.”

“Knowing your enemy is important.”

“Boram is fine. He grew quite a bit.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“You escaped Devadom Orca? Impressive. The guy that encountered Devagi Roc only managed not to become bird food thanks to Aletro.”

They touched on many other topics according to their importance.

While they were conversing, Viers finished buying 3000 spark shards worth of supplies in the shop. So what if he spent 3000 spark shards? He would gain much more when the killing spree started.

“My brain is starting to get warm from all the info… Is there anything else you want to talk about, Black Cat?” Viers asked.

“Yes. Tanael, I want to kill Dorren. He has leeched off my shards long enough. It is time for him to pay me back with interest. With your help, the success rate will go up significantly.”

“Rank 15, Lord Ultimate? Hehehe. Just because of his name alone I will break his nose.”

He’d heard about this Lord Ultimate’s true identity from Izabella. The most promising youth in the Regidana branch Blood Church and he wanted to get inside Izabella’s skirt. If he was gone, Izabella’s goal of rising to the top of the devil cult would be one step closer.

“Well, we got a license to kill. The big guy upstairs said so himself. Let's put it to good use. I’ll need a favor from you though.”

“Our relationship is give and take. Speak your price,” Izabella replied resolutely.

***

Meanwhile, many people bought items or methods for defending against soul attacks, shards be damned.

They were still young and relatively new as Pathseekers, barring special reasons, the soul was a curriculum from far above their capability but they had to study it now.

They had no choice.

Those who chose to participate in Stage 3 were basically trapped in a limited space with a murderous grim reaper. Anyone with half a brain would think that without any soul defense whatsoever, Tanael would eat them to the bone. And they were damn right.

“Shit… I blew 2000 shards for this. I hope it's worth it.”

“You’ll need this too. Take it.”

“Another 2000 shards? What the fuck for? It’s hella expensive!”

“For guarding your mind. Don't you know? Green Scorpion is a mind user and he’s no less vicious than Tanael. He dominated the earth world. You wanna let someone like that get inside your brain?”

“Fuck me… Trapped in a cage with a Mind and Soul Pathseeker. I hope they both die soon.”

***

“Those who choose to participate in Stage 3, summon your spark.”

Viers took out his spark with a thought. The originally tiny speck of black light was now a dark sphere the size of a watermelon. There were tiny motes of light in the center of the spark. The size of the spark indicated how many shards the owner possessed.

“Hmn… Of 247 qualified people, 226 chose to continue the trial. I’ll address the retirees later.” Aletro swiped his hand and only those who took out their spark remained. The other disappeared like dust in the wind. “Now, the time you’ve been waiting for… Stage 3’s reveal.”

The air was tense and silent, Viers heard the person next to him gulp.

“Stage 3 is a barren land. Water and food are scarce, the terrain is unforgiving. You’ll directly face the harsh face of mother nature. And then there will be loads and loads of enemies that want to have you for lunch.”

“All 226 of you’ll be teleported to the same dimension, not separated like in Stage 2.”

“The first thing you need to do is to find your settlement. There you’ll find precisely 100 people. These people will look up to you for leadership and they will be your responsibility. Your objective is… to survive.”

“There will be no other avenue of gaining spark shards except from your fellow trial takers. Defeat other people and you'll gain all of their shards. If multiple of you gang up on a person to defeat them, you’ll gain shards based on your contribution to their defeat.”

“How you manage your settlement will be crucial. The people under your charge won't be your burden if you’re smart. You can utilize their skills to improve your settlement. The more prosperous your settlement is, the more likely new people will migrate to your place. Should you choose to, you can merge your settlement with other players. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. You can consult further with your ‘assistant’ on the ground.”

“Against the harsh world and enemies that want you dead, you can modify your settlement with a variety of options to keep you and the people under your charge alive. Also, you’ll gain various ability boosts while you’re inside the border of your settlement. Theoretically, improving your power tenfold is possible. Do it right and even the most bloodthirsty players here will think twice before invading your base. Remember, you no longer enjoy the perks of my protection. Death is a very real possibility.”

“Should you find yourself in a hopeless situation, shout ‘I surrender’ while crushing your spark and you’ll be teleported out. You’ll lose the qualification to progress further in the trials and your spark shards will go to your opponent but you’ll suffer no more harm. Know that you’ll gain nothing. No benefit whatsoever if you surrender midway.”

“The ranking this time won't be based on the number of shards you gathered but the number of survivors under your charge at the final clock. To pass Stage 3, your settlement must have at least one person alive at that time. Should the number of people under your responsibility become zero at any point during the trial, you will be disqualified and your shards will be shared evenly among the still active participants.”

“Lastly, your choice of choosing white or black spark and the action you’ve done ever since now will show its effect during this trial. Look forward to it.”

“I wish you the best of luck. Don't die.”

A very motivational speech as always, Aletro. Viers replied in his mind.

So Stage 1 had MMORPG’s unending quests theme. Stage 2 was an adventure game, Uncharted with a pirates theme. And the theme for Stage 3 is… Base-building survival!