“We're running out of food…”

  In the midst of a cave connected to a half-destroyed temple, a young man with short ashen-blond hair, tattoos of the Aegis system's runes, and wounds all over his body couldn't help but comment in a grave tone as he looked at his companions. Eight youths from different factions, with varying degrees of injuries—four from the Boreal League, two from the Meridian Federation, and two from the Arcane Order—exchanged solemn glances.

  “What are the chances of us going out to find food and coming back alive?”

  One of the youths from the Arcane Order asked in a heavy voice, looking at the sealed cave entrance, to which the others shook their heads gravely, but no one answered. The reason they had sealed the cave was the hell unfolding outside the temple. From the half-destroyed temple, they could see a colossal serpent moving slowly through the garden in the distance, and wherever the serpent passed, everything lost its vitality and withered away into piles of ash.

  “Let's face it, we have no other choice. We brought them here and preserved them because we knew this might happen…” One of the youths from the Boreal League commented with an ashen expression, looking at six black-clad corpses piled and frozen in a corner of the cave.

  “There has to be another way…”

  A youth from the Meridian Federation muttered through gritted teeth, his fists clenched, visibly reluctant. Another youth from the Boreal League, a dark-haired one, shook his head and replied in a heavy tone, laden with defeat.

  “There isn't. We all know it. It's 'that' or starve.”

  A heavy sigh escaped from the depths of the youths. At that moment, the ashen-blond-haired youth, the strongest in the group, looked at the cave ceiling and spoke with a resigned voice.

  “If we avoid moving and only take the bare minimum, the food we have should last us another week. But that would mean losing practically all our combat potential, which would be a death sentence in this situation. Whether we like it or not, after three days, we have to do it.”

  “…”

  A heavy silence fell over the cave as everyone present began to reflect deeply. But just then, one of the youths from the Boreal League, who held a twisted wooden staff, turned to look at the strange well with black water in the cave. It seemed to show subtle ripples.

  “Something's odd with the well!”

  Noticing this, the youth focused his gaze on the well, tightened his grip on his staff, and announced loudly. This caused all the youths to jump from their spots, grip their weapons tightly, and focus their full attention on the strange well.

  After the pillars of light had appeared and they had suddenly found themselves in that strange temple along with the others and the now-dead, frozen 'hunters,' the group had explored the place and discovered the cave and the well. Initially, they had excitedly thought it was an exit, but after entering the well and trying various things, they realized it was utterly useless; even the water was a mere illusion.

  This had led them to believe it was a damaged exit or something similar, but now that idea seemed completely wrong. After all, as the seconds passed, the ripples in the illusion of dark liquid in the well became more pronounced until, after a few seconds, the liquid rose to form a strange door.

  “Prepare to attack with everything at my signal!”

  The ashen-blond-haired youth announced in a grave voice as the axe in his hand and his runic tattoos began to glow brightly. But just as his words ended, they all saw copper spheres fly out of the door at high speed and position themselves in various spots, followed by several dark Golems that looked like balls with legs. They agilely jumped through the door, and the door slammed shut.

  “Atta—” The ashen-blond youth tried to give the attack order, but just before he could, a soft female voice echoed throughout the cave.

  “This is Zoe Laverne of the Arcane Order. Do not attack the Golems; they are programmed to respond lethally to any attack.”

  ““Direct Disciple Laverne!””

  The youths from the Arcane Order announced in unison, filled with hope, as they looked at the 12 Golems, which quickly adopted a defensive formation but showed no intent to attack. At that moment, while the ashen-blond youth analyzed the Golems with high alert, ready to attack, Zoe's voice resonated once more.

  “This is a pre-recorded message for all youths from the different factions. Currently, thanks to our leader, Direct Disciple Erik, we have managed to take control of the golems and portals and are conducting initial reconnaissance of various locations. If you have any urgent needs, please write them in a visible place in Galactic language. We will try to provide assistance as quickly as possible. More instructions will follow, but be assured, we will do everything possible to get as many people out of these ruins as we can.”

  Once the pre-recorded message ended, the cave fell into heavy silence again. The ashen-blond youth looked at the Golems cautiously. But after a few minutes, the excited youths from the Arcane Order glanced at each other, then nodded. One of them turned to look at the leader of their small group and announced, full of hope.

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  “Revealed Alvar, Direct Disciple Laverne is the granddaughter and disciple of Master-level Ryoma Sakuraba, a recognized genius and brave soul. And Direct Disciple Erik is the shared disciple of the two youngest Master-levels in history. We are willing to vouch for their words.”

  Hearing the youth, Alvar, the blond, tattooed young man, shook his head and spoke in a serious tone, with no intention of lowering his axe.

  “Although I am aware of Ascended Laverne's and Ascended Erik's reputations, we cannot be sure if it is really them. This could well be a trap.”

  Upon hearing Alvar, one of the youths from the Meridian Federation, holding a sword in his right hand, commented seriously.

  “I don't think they need to set a trap for us. I've faced those Golems before; they are extremely resistant to magic and very tough, so one alone is comparable to a fifth- or sixth-rank Revealed, and now they seem more agile and stronger. If they wanted to do something to us, those Golems would be more than enough; they don't need extra plans.”

  “Even so, we can't let our guard down.” One of the youths from the Boreal League commented seriously, to which Alvar nodded in agreement. At that moment, the other youth from the Arcane Order, who hadn't spoken, said in a serious tone.

  “Direct Disciple Laverne said we could write our urgent needs to receive assistance. We have nothing to lose by trying.”

  “…Let's try it. But don't let your guard down.” Alvar nodded to the Arcane Order youth after a few seconds, tightening his grip on his axe.

  Using his improvised staff, the Arcane Order youth mobilized his mana to deform the stone on the ground and write that they needed food and healing potions. Once the message was written, Alvar nodded to one of the youths from the Boreal League, who conjured a rune over the message, causing it to glow.

  Gradually, time passed with no apparent change, visibly diminishing the enthusiasm of the youths, especially the two from the Arcane Order. But just as they were about to lose all hope and were growing tired of maintaining high alert against the spheres and Golems, the illusory black liquid in the well began to fluctuate and soon formed the door again.

  Through the door came a Golem carrying two leather bags with embroidered runes, along with two rune-covered spheres slightly larger than the previous ones—one copper and one silver. The moment the Golem passed through the door, it slammed shut again, giving no one a chance to do anything.

  While doubt and hope swirled in the hearts of all present, the new copper sphere glowed subtly. Soon a low-quality bluish hologram materialized in front of it, showing a beautiful young woman with short hair dressed in light mage armor.

  “This is Elara Belmonte, Direct Disciple of the Arcane Order. The hologram you are seeing is an experimental communication system developed to avoid the golden chains. Due to urgency and limitations, the communication has delays and some errors, so please keep that in mind.

  “Currently, we are providing assistance to surviving groups based on their requests while we are attempting to recover the bodies of those who fell to the 'hunters.' The Golem before you has a rudimentary storage bag with your requests, though please note our resources are limited, so it's not much.

  “Those belonging to the Arcane Order may step forward and place your hand on the silver sphere the Golem is holding and emit your identity proof. If recognized, you will receive assistance immediately. Meanwhile, since we have no way to verify the identities of anyone outside our faction, in places without Arcane Order members, you will have to answer some questions before receiving aid.”

  Hearing Elara's message, the youths looked at each other. Alvar then turned to look at the pair from the Arcane Order and nodded solemnly. The two Arcane Order youths glanced at each other, then at the hologram of the famous Direct Disciple Belmonte, before taking a deep breath and stepping forward.

  “Direct Disciple Belmonte, I am Alphonse McLister, disciple of Arcane-level Pierre Laurent.”

  The first youth, visibly nervous, placed his hand on the silver sphere and emitted a small, complex, almost illusory rune, which disappeared as the silver sphere emitted a hologram that simply read [Approved]. At the same time, the Golems opened their defensive formation to let the youth through. He let out a sigh and, somewhat nervously, entered the center of the formation.

  “I am Tobias Becker, disciple of Sage-level Lukas Schneider.” Soon, the second youth performed the same procedure, though this time he emitted a tiny magical circle, with the same effect.

  Soon, the pair of youths were under the protection of the Golems. The Golem then took one of the leather bags it was carrying and handed it to them, leaving the pair slightly confused. Cautiously, Alphonse, the stronger of the two, studied the bag for a few seconds before reaching in and using his mana to 'see' what was inside. He found equipment, weapons, food packaged as wartime supplies, and at least a dozen potions.

  With great excitement, Alphonse pulled two healing potions from the bag, drank one in one go after handing the other to Tobias, who quickly did the same. Under the cautious and somewhat envious gazes of the others, Alphonse and Tobias recovered almost completely from their injuries and quickly began distributing weapons, equipment, and food among themselves. At that moment, Elara's voice echoed again.

  “To expedite the process, I will cut communication in locations with Arcane Order members. You, compatriots, will be responsible for distributing the assistance and maintaining order until further instructions. I trust all of you; demonstrate the values of our Arcane Order and rise to the occasion.

  “If we do not contain this tragedy, the consequences will be disastrous later, and the other species in our galactic neighborhood will not miss the opportunity to attack us if we show weakness. Therefore, we must now be united as a species and save as many as we can.”

  ““Understood, Direct Disciple Belmonte!””

  The two Arcane Order youths replied in unison, filled with pride and a sense of duty. Instantly, Elara's hologram vanished. Immediately after donning the fully functional equipment—setting aside the armor taken from the 'hunters,' as it was worse—the Order youths quickly took the second bag and began distributing the food and potions inside, one potion each.

  “…Your Arcane Order is truly impressive.”

  While receiving his food and healing potion from Alphonse, a youth from the Boreal League couldn't help but comment in a somewhat bitter tone. Alphonse also couldn't help but show a proud smile but quickly replied seriously.

  “We are all part of the human race. Now we must be united and overcome this crisis together. We cannot form divisions or harbor separatist thoughts at this time.”

  “You're right. We must do everything we can to get out of here alive.”

  The youth nodded seriously, soon drank the recovery potion, and was almost completely healed. Soon, everyone, now recovered and with full stomachs, focused on recuperating and reaching their peak condition.

  ***

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