The moment my knuckles met his face, golden winds exploded again—violent, radiant, powerful. It was like a detonation–that’s how it felt to me. The boom shook the world before the winds caught up.

  The vines, thick and tight like steel cords of emerald mana, were torn aparti n a whirl of light and force. Shreds of glowing green spiraled outward like shredded paper, celebrating my strike.

  The impact launched him once more into the hedges as the accompanying winds blew leaves in all directions. The entire section of hedge wall almost threatened to collapse from the impact but stayed strong.

  The mummy was still alive, but was coughing. His bandages were falling away like they were stone and dust–not cloth. It was at that moment that I realized he might have been wearing vestments–like my own cloak.

  I exhaled and straightened up.

  The mummy slumped in the hedge wall like a forgotten scarecrow—half-hung by his remaining bandages and cloak, only barely catching himself before he slumped further. His pitchfork had vanished. His body twitched once, then twice, eyes dazed. His mouth opened, cracked, no words yet. He had healed, but that Smite was still doing something.

  Me too–the Smite still had my hand trembling and my body buzzing.

  “You were right, you know,” I said, voice level.

  He finally managed to raise his head.

  “About information being a weapon.” I showed him a grin. “I want you to know that you helped arm me.”

  He let out a broken chuckle. “Well, damn me to the pits of defeat, I suppose.”

  The bandages fell from his face. He was an older man with sunken cheeks and eyes. He definitely looked malnourished–or maybe ‘ill’ was a better word. I could see Raster becoming like this if he ate too many poisonous shrooms.

  I grabbed him by the tendrils of coarse hair falling over his face and lifted his head up, New Arm cocked.

  “Good game.”

  “I’ll see you next round,” he replied.

  “Set! Wait!”

  I froze.

  It was Noah. His voice cracked with urgency.

  “Set! ” Noah yelled. The poor guy was panting. “Bring him over here! I need to touch him.”

  A strange request, but I allowed it. I grabbed the mummy by his collar and tossed him over with a flicker. He landed with a thud and groan.

  “Haa… Can’t you be kinder?” the mummy groaned.

  “Quickly, Noah,” I said, dropping a fast and heavy knee on the mummy’s head. To this guy’s credit, his HP was really holding up.

  Noah slapped his hand onto the mummy’s face and roared dramatically. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but then a dim aura surrounded him. The petrification disappeared from his chest. The mummy groaned. Stone spread from the center of his chest, outward, matching what Noah had accumulated just a second ago.

  My eyes widened. It could have been a power like my glaives, but no. This sort of thing–I was willing to bet that it was something else–a Deific Trump Card.

  My smile broadened.

  Being able to transfer an ailment to another person? That sounded like something Trump Card worthy. If so, this was the first Trump Card I had encountered, outside of my own.

  “Set,” Noah said, panting. “Go for it.”

  I lifted my foot–

  “Don’t mind if I do.”

  –and brought it down on the mummy’s mouth repeatedly, flickering each time for that extra bit of power. My foot went through after the third stomp.

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  “Just how much HP did that prick have?” I asked, noting the glass card by my toes. “Noah,” I said, kicking the card over to his face. “Take that.”

  He lifted his body up, still stroking the spot that had once been petrified. He was probably still feeling the echoes.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I want you to do well here, too.”

  I reached down, offering my hand.

  “You showed me something worthwhile, too, Noah. Thank you.”

  Noah smiled and thanked me before picking up the card and taking my hand. On two feet once more, he let out a breath of relief.

  “That… That was–I could never imagine something like that,” he said, allowing himself to be astounded.

  I gestured to him that we should keep walking. “I didn’t imagine something like your ability. Where did that come from? I’d love to know how you learned you could do that–anything you’re willing to tell me.”

  Noah let me know everything without hesitation. He started by divulging the truth of how he and Nico became lost. Initially, it was a group of five who had gotten lost. Slowly, people became sick and died. Two friends died that way, one after the other. Noah initially thought it was a cavern illness until he fell ill and the other surviving person revealed themselves to be a poisoner. Apparently, the person wanted to be left alone with Nico, though Noah expressed that they sounded and acted like a raving madman. It was at that moment that something snapped in Noah and he grabbed the woman, aiming to kill her to prevent her from harming Nico. That was when it happened. The poison transferred from Noah to her.

  “I just felt like I could do something, but didn’t know what. I just went for it, and it happened, and I understood immediately,” Noah said, concluding his story.

  I nodded and accepted the story. But, I was thrown off by one detail. Noah said he discovered he had the regen after touching the terminal. It was possible he didn’t notice he had it sooner… I just wasn’t willing to say the Trump Card would come before a person’s first Level… I’d need more data points.

  “How many times can you use it?” I asked.

  “I’m pretty sure only once a phase cycle,” he said, looking at his hand. “When I think about it after using it, I feel hollow. But it goes away after sleeping.”

  “I see…”

  “Set, what about your arm? How did you end up with an arm that can vanish and reappear.”

  “Well, it’s a long story that first begins with a Mauler ripping off my arm.”

  “Damn… I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah. So, I drank some fresh water–”

  “No way.”

  “--and this portal opened up that sucked me into this weird place. That’s where I got my weapon.”

  “And you were able to replace your arm?”

  “Yup. When I got there, I had a whole cycle’s worth of time to figure out my weapon. There’s a trick, Noah.”

  “Really? Can I know it?”

  “It’s going to try to overwhelm you with information while also presenting you with easy choices. I took my time to learn as much as I could. I recommend you try to absorb as much as you can if you get there. It’s like that guy said–information is our weapon.”

  Noah's expression darkened. “Set… Can I share this information with my brother?

  I sighed. “Listen, Noah… Take this as the opinion of a guy thankful that you didn’t screw him over. You do what’s best for you. We don’t know what’s going to happen after this Trial, but we’re most likely going to be returned to where we were taken from. That means that you and your brother are turning up in a cave. I’m not going to tell you what to do when you’re in that shit of a situation. I’ll tell you this, though: getting a good Signature Weapon will make your life easier.”

  Noah nodded a few times and tried not to smile. “Thank you. You’re really saving me.”

  “Don’t thank me. I want to know what happens if we help each other.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No one’s helping each other. Maybe they’re playing a big game and it’s all of them against us… But if not, then I want to know why it’s better not to cooperate. And the best way to figure that out, is to play it through.”

  “Do you think we’re going to be penalized?”

  “We’ll see,” I said with a grin. “I’m going to tell you something. After getting four cards, the victory conditions became clear. There’s a brown ball with stubby legs and the sort of mouth that could chomp you running around. Catching that thing will end the round.”

  Noah gasped. “Are you serious?!”

  “Yup. That’s what we’re going to catch—all without you having the cards for it.”

  “T-Thank you…”

  “There are also spider-like balls with eight legs running around. Getting those will be good for us too. I think it helps the final score. Think of them like secondary targets.”

  Noah pumped his fists. “Understood! So, we just have to catch those things! How do we find them?”

  I pointed at my eyes. “Just like with the hidden traps, I’m seeing a trail now. To be more specific, I’m seeing a very distinct trail plus a few other small ones.”

  “Because of the cards…”

  “Yup,” I said, following the purple, sparkling trail. “Here’s the thing though, Noah. There’s only one of the game-enders. And if we’re all following the one…”

  “Then we’re going to meet.”

  I was ready for what we were walking into.

  “It’s going to be a mad dash for the little chomper, against people who have most likely defeated a bunch of others.”