It took a few minutes for Gabriel's enhanced eyesight to adapt to the sudden light and paired it with the post teleport retching. He couldn't say that the Challenge had started in the best of ways.

Contrary to his expectations and what the people had told him, the Challenge chambers were bursting with light. It should have been as dark as the previous environment, it wasn't.

The sun burned as bright as possible in the sky; sure, it was only a Mana construct, like everything else, his Mana Sight easily told him that., but that didn't take away from the fact that it shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Liz came out as soon as it was clear that something had gone awry, and now they were walking in a clearing. The wilds were all around him, wherever his eyes could reach, but they were only part of the scenery. Inaccessible, since where the clearing ended, there was just the confine of the Chambers's walls.

In the middle of the clearing were pillars of rock. It reminded him of Stonehenge if it wasn't for the fact that these pillars were exactly similar to the ones in the regular floors of Ant Dungeon, and thus much taller than those at Stonehenge and looked to be properly built by hand.

"I guess the plan goes to shit now."

Liz yapped happily. She didn't like the plan all the same, and to tell the truth, neither did Gabriel.

They would have to face a horde of ants and withstand them for ten minutes, easy peasy. With the help of an air spreading venom of Gilga's production, it would allow every class, even those not owning any proper attack Skill, to beat the Challenge.

It really was absurdly easy, just as it was frustrating that the Dungeons were not bound by any level restriction. They were really open for farming. Gabriel had already dwelled on the subject, but given his ignorance, he had asked the people he trusted, yet nobody saw anything wrong in it. So he started accepting it as it was. However, what had just happened couldn't but be tied to a change in the regular scheme of things.

Anyway, he had to find out, or he would not be leaving the Challenge.

The clearing was entirely uninhabited, just as the eerie silence that dwelled in the place. It was unnatural. No wind, no birds, no insects, no sounds of any type, just his steps and the rustling his boots made as he walked on the grass. By the time they reached the center of the circular formation of pillars, his deafening steps halted.

There was something in there. Gabe couldn't tell what.

Unless…

Gabriel focused on Spirit Sight, then it was clear what waited for him. It was a Goblin, similar to one of those females fused with the ants.

"I guess you must be the real Hidden Boss, aren't you?" Gabriel sighed.

The Goblin took physical form soon after and smiled at him. There was the intelligence of a sentient smile and the harsh kindness of someone who doesn't want to do what he's forced to do.

He could share that thought. If it meant to kill a sentient being, then he wouldn't do it. His only exception had been the Tyrant King, but there was no way out in that. It was either kill him or die. The choice was obvious.

She was about to say something when Gabriel preceded her.

"Let me tell you right now that I won't take your place. I'd sooner die than be trapped in here."

She arched her brow in confusion.

"Herald… it's my most profound pleasure to meet you. I would never ever ask something so outrageous of you. Even if I had the power and abilities to do something such as that, I would never. We've been waiting for your coming for so long...." Longing, acceptance, desperation, happiness. There were so many emotions on that overly expressive face.

The Goblin was half as tall as he, thin, barely dressed, but with a crystal clear dress that reminded him of what an empress might cover her body with. Yet there was no crown on this Goblin's head.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lavti. The last Goblin Matriarch of an extinguished race," the emphasis she put on those last couple of words, resonated with Gabriel more than he expected.

"I'm Gabriel Walker, Lavti. It's a pleasure meeting you. But why are we doing this? What happened to the Challenge."

"The Challenge is just a tool to satisfy the sentient's greed here."

Without even moving a muscle, the Goblin did something, and Gabriel was bestowed with the Challenge's regular rewards, a Skill Token.

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

You have received a one time only free pass for the Challenge of the Ant King. If you accept, you'll immediately leave the Challenge, and you will receive the unique reward.

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

Do you wish to accept the free pass?

Yes/No

Warning. If you choose No, you will not receive the offer one more time, and you’ll have to either complete the Challenge or eliminate the Challenge holder.

"Why are you giving me this now?"

"So that you can escape in case you feel threatened, Herald. I want you to know that what I'm about to tell you is part of the story of my people, the last part of their story, and it will become a heavy burden for you."

"I… I don't understand."

"You will. Now, please listen. Because you are our only hope of salvation. Or, to be more precise, salvation for our souls."

"Wait, Lavti. There's something I need to know first. Why do you call me Herald?"

"You- you don't know? I don't understand… Why don't you know? Who gave you your mission?" She seemed confused.

"My mission? Nobody's given me any mission. They keep calling me Herald here, Herald there. They take the people I love, they profit from my presence; they war over my persona, they kill… but what am I? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?" He finally asked.

Long seconds of silence ensued.

"Gabriel Walker… I'm sorry for your situation. You carry a heavy burden, but you are the Untethered. Your Spirit," she pointed to Liz, "is proof that you are the Herald… Our Herald. The Herald of Spirits!"

Gabe and Liz shared a look that meant a thousand words, but they both knew that there was nothing they were hiding from each other. They honestly did not know.

"I don't know, Lavti. Maybe you have the wrong person. They call me Herald, yes. The Tethers don't seem to bind me, yes, and although I don't know what that means, there is nothing I can do for you. Or more precisely, I really don't know what I could do for you."

"This is… this is not going how I expected," she admitted, growing mute.

"Why don't we start from the beginning. Tell me what you wanted to tell me. Tell me your story."

The Goblin took a while to answer, but she nodded.

"I- I was born eight thousand years ago. Back then, Yggdrasil had just been planted. The Guardians of the Rapids fed it with its power for years. And while that happened, we prospered like never before," she took a breath, and a smile appeared on her lips.

"You see, I was just a tiny fledgling back then; I wasn't even born with the ability to give birth, a tragedy for my people and me. A female that doesn't give birth was useless for us Goblins. If it were another era, they would have gotten rid of me. But the prosperity brought forth from the Elves' protection and the peace treaty we established had changed us. We were getting better as people, growing, building, expanding. In a little less than twenty years, the time it took for Yggdrasil to be able to stand on its own, we had become a force to be reckoned with. The power of numbers and levels was by or side. We even received an invitation from the local powers. Finally, somebody was treating us like any sentient race deserves," her pride was visible and inspiring.

"Then something happened that changed my life forever," she said, brightening up even more. "Yggdrasil chose me as an ambassador of goodwill. He not only gave me power, bestowing me with a Magic Skill to govern Life, but it also healed me completely. I- I was able to give birth again! I was complete! My life was fantastic! My family was enthusiastic!" Her eyes were shining.

"Then everything evolved so quickly that I don't even remember all the details. I started administering treatment, healing the sick, fixing the poor. In a little less than twenty years, I became a symbol of abundance of my people. I had such a mastery over Yggdrasil's Life magic that the elves came to me for study. They called me the Little Great Mother," she said, chuckling. "At some point, I found myself in power. The very lives of all my people… they were in my hands. Thanks to the Magic Skill I could nudge in the direction I wanted or outright control them if I wanted. But with power comes-"

"Corruption," Gabriel finished.

She nodded, "Mind. I did my best to not be swayed, but we all have strategists, politics. Civilization cannot be called such if it doesn't allow for people of any kind to spread," she said with a low growl, and her teeth showed to be serrated. “And neither was I a tyrant nor bright enough not to let other Goblins persuade me, even though I could use the Skill, I was weak. "In the end, I was convinced that I head to muster our people for war, to join the effort against the Infinite Empire. "

Infinite?

"The Empire… Judging by what I can see from the people coming here, there no more Infinite Empire anymore, but-"

Gabriel interrupted her, "The Infinite Empire, are you by any chance talking about something called, The Alliance? "

She nodded, "Yes. That was its name thousands of years prior, before they joined under only one banner, that of the Infinite Empire."

The Infinite Empire, the Infinite Forest… I see where this is going.

"What happened then?" Gabriel asked.

She closed her eyes, "We were wiped out. It took only one of their envoys; one to wipe out our entire civilization. He was a transcendent being, a Tier 9 Druid And he was just an envoy… His mastery over Life put mine to utter shame. However, that wasn't all. They used their Dungeon-forming mechanism to entrap our souls in this… abhorrent place. And I was the only one given conscience too. Not happy about that, the Empire sent us envoys every time the people I gave what little of intelligence I could, emerged for Dungeon Wars. They wiped us out and enforced the Ants survival," she looked at the ground in disgust.

"Do you know why they placed Ants together with us in their Dungeon devising?"

Gabriel did not answer right away, but he nodded, "Because they compared you to insects."

Lavti closed her eyes, shedding two single tears before continuing her story.

"When the Empire disappeared, the Yggdrasilians took their place. They were disgusted by us, every time we emerged victoriously, they overthrew our growth with ease, and the cycle commenced anew. It's now been two millennia since last I mustered the mental faculties to wage another war. Even when the Dungeon went untouched for a period, and its maximum core level increased, I did not let any forms of resistance muster power any further.

We are entrapped into this vile cycle since almost more than I have memory, Gabriel Walker. And you are the only one that can free us."

"How?" was his answer, "And how do you know?"

She smiled at that, "The Book of Lore, the True Book of Lore. The soul of -------- communicates with us every once in a few centuries. It spoke of your arrival."

"The what?"

"The soul of --------."

"I don't understand… is that a sound you are making?"

"Gabriel Walker. Are you trying to make a fool out of me? After all, we've been through? After what I told you? I-"

"Wait! I really can't hear anything; your words… blur after the article. I'm not trying to take you for a fool."

"You can't hear it? The name? ---------?"

"Yes, I… just can't. I don't know why that is. I never experienced anything like that? Can you hear it, Liz?"

Wonderingly, Liz nodded.

"You can? Really? What is it?"

Liz put her hands under her chin to think, then started mimicking something with huge movements of the arms. But it was so confusing that Gabriel had no idea what it is she was trying to say."

"I guess… we should really find a way to make you talk or write."

"This is preposterous. You cannot hear the name… You are no Herald then… What are you? But why is the Great Spirit with you then?" The Goblin seemed barely stable; Gabriel could see her hands twitch.

He looked at Liz. Do you have any idea what it is that she's talking about?

Liz seemed lost for words; she did really have no idea.

"You came here… after all these years… and you… Lier…" she whispered, "Usurper… you are just like the envoy. Just like N'arr…" her eyes opened up wide. She had lost the bridle on her rage. "Die!" She screamed. Her explosiveness shattered the entire circle of pillars as she threw herself at Gabriel.

Fuck.

***

Varcivald was sitting on the floor in meditation. He had been trying to force his Aura reading to return to its prime. The fact that a shadow stood so close to him and he couldn't feel it was… insulting to his past, to all that he had been before changing his way to that of a Magician.

He was starting to grasp her essence, her presence. It was definitely a she. That much was clear. An exceedingly gorgeous she, or at least that's what the vague form of her body communicated through the almost indistinguishable amount of Aura she emanated.

His trance was interrupted as the woman in question appeared in her full form. And she raised her voice to get their attention.

"Something is wrong," she said. "I can feel them coming. There are Champions, and Paragons too in the midst."

"What!?" Said Gilga.

"This doesn't normally happen, right?" Fang asked.

"No, it doesn't!"

"Then what is going on?" He asked.

"What is going on? Who even are you?" Gilga asked Harper.

"Reevers. And this is not a joke. What happened? You are the expert," she answered.

"How would I know!? And even if they were coming, how would you-"

"She's not lying," said Varcivald with his eyes closed. "They are coming, and they are coming here. Master Gilga, do you have any idea if this could be connected?"

"I-! No, this does not happen. Never!"

"Then it's because he's the Herald. Something must have gone terribly wrong…" Greta's hands were trembling.

"You live If you want. I need to get inside the Challenge," Harper said.

"You want to enter the Challenge? There's no entering the Challenge!", Gilga turned toward Varcivald, "What's she on about? Is this woman crazy? We need to get out now!"

"You may go, Master Gilga. I don't know if entering an already occupied Challenge is possible, but I can't leave Gabriel in danger."

"You are crazy. Herald or not, I'm out of here," before he even finished the sentence, the Dwarf ran away with all his might.

Varcivald didn't expect any different. The Dwarf had no obligation whatsoever toward Gabriel.

"What should we do? Is it possible to enter? Do we need to live? Will he be okay if he comes out?"

Harper did not answer. She started hammering her fists against the runes-covered walls.

That's not gonna cut it.

"I really don't think that's ever the right answer," Vald said.

"Why, Master Elf? Do you have any idea about the correct course of action to take? Have your twenty years of experience as a Summer operative taught you about how to handle situations such as this, Varcivald Shurrien?"

Varcivald had left that name behind almost eighty years ago. That was enough to put him slightly on the defensive.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use that name, Mr.s Reevers."

"Oh, it's Ms. No one has ever managed to tie me down. I'm not that foolish," she answered with a smirk.

"Why not leave the pleasantries and flirting for later and try focusing on how to get Gabriel out here!?" Greta.

"Ms. Wagner is right, Master Harpers Ma'am, what should we do?" Fang.

"We may only force an entrance. There's no other way."

"But how?" Asked Vald, "Even if you broke through, what if the entrance is not through this place. What if we waste all our time here?"

"There's nothing else I can do about there is no space magic expert in Yggdrasil capable of solving this, I can only hope to-" Harper.

"That's not necessarily true," Varcivald interrupted. "I need to check; I'll be back. And I think you should find help in addressing the monsters. I believe that's not something you could exactly handle on your own."

Harper studied him for a few seconds, "Fang, Wagner, we need to leave the place. Master Varicivald, I'm counting on you."

Varcivald nodded, buffed them and himself with all he had, and they all left at their maximum speed.