[Congratulations on completing the 4th Challenge!

  Reward: Sponsorship Event, Skill]

  The globs of light appeared once again, dancing around various Challengers. This time, there seemed to be more gods than Challengers.

  Rounin was still muttering to himself, staring off into space, even as gods clustered around him.

  I had a total of twenty-one surrounding me, and I could now tell where Icarus was, thanks to him being too bright to look at.

  I looked for Penelope, expecting her to be practically covered in light.

  Not a single one hovered around her.

  “Rounin,” I murmured. “I think…you might have been right.”

  “There’s a lot I’m maybe but not definitely right about, Yule. You’ll have to be a little more specific,” Rounin said absently, frowning at what was probably a window. It was so odd to see everyone staring into space.

  “Penelope. Look. She doesn’t have a single sponsorship, even with all of that.”

  “Oh,” Rounin murmured, glancing over. “Well, I guess it’s to be expected. She’s not from around here, after all, so she probably doesn’t count in a lot of ways. Maybe they can’t even sponsor her. Or, it’s entirely possible she had no problems with the Challenge, so it wasn’t interesting to watch…anyways, what Skill did you get?”

  I wasn’t entirely convinced, but if Rounin thought it was fine when he was already suspicious of her, I could give her the benefit of the doubt. “Uh…Skill Window. No. Status Window.”

  [Challenger Yule

  HP: 47/50

  MP: 203/240

  Title: The Child of Winter

  Skills: Ice Manipulation Lv.10

  Temperature Regulation Lv.20

  Strength: Lv.6

  Stamina: Lv.6

  Agility: Lv.6

  Durability: Lv.6

  Magic: Lv.6

  Perception: Lv.6]

  “Temperature Regulation. Dang, what a waste. These boots already have that,” I complained.

  “Maybe the effects stack?” He guessed, still staring in Penelope’s direction.

  Penelope was holding Valerie like the teenager was still a small child, swinging her back and forth. Both of them were giggling as Icarus watched, a stupid grin on his face.

  [You have been sponsored a total of 2,146p!

  Sponsors:

  Bane of the Archangels

  Scion of the Sea

  The Briar Witch

  Checkmater

  Emperor of Law]

  The list went on. I had no patience to read all of it, so I didn’t.

  [The 5th Challenge will begin momentarily.]

  “Balance.”

  [Balance: 9,316p]

  Hell yes.

  Let’s see, this was Lv.7, so each level would be…

  “What’s three hundred and twenty times six?”

  “Uhhh…” Rounin scrunched up his nose. “…twelve plus one eighty… nineteen twenty. Why?”

  “I’m trying to calculate how much it’d be to get everything up to level seven.”

  “What’s your balance?” Rounin asked. “I’ll just do it for you. I assume all your stats are at six?”

  “Yeah. Balance is nine thousand, three hundred and sixteen.”

  Rounin spent a moment calculating it in his head.

  “You can level everything up to eight and be left with three thousand, five hundred and fifty-six.”

  “Oh, sweet.”

  [Challenger Yule

  HP: 47/50

  MP: 260/260

  Title: The Child of Winter

  Skills: Ice Manipulation Lv.10

  Temperature Regulation Lv.20

  Strength: Lv.8

  Stamina: Lv.8

  Agility: Lv.8

  Durability: Lv.8

  Magic: Lv.8

  Perception: Lv.8]

  “Is your health at full?” Rounin asked.

  I indicated the bruising on my face. “Three points off. Not bad, all things considered. Don’t heal me. Save your MP.”

  [Welcome to the 5th Challenge!

  5th Challenge

  Challenge Objective: Challengers will elect a group of five to solve puzzles and fight various entities. Challengers will not engage in combat against each other within the bounds of this Challenge.

  Challengers in Challenge zone: 0/5

  Time Left: ∞]

  The wall on one side of the room slid aside to reveal a set of doors.

  Odd, but it did the trick.

  “Everyone shut up!” Icarus’ voice rang out. “I will be participating, and I will be deciding who goes and who doesn’t. If someone else wants to, they can fight me for it.”

  No one wanted to fight him for it.

  A woman raised her hand reluctantly. “I can participate. I have poison abilities that are fairly failsafe around things with armor or scales, but I’m not always safe around…people. I’m Lilith, by the way.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Penelope stepped forward. “I’m willing, of course.”

  Icarus looked at us. “Yule, Rounin?”

  “Sure,” I said, stepping forward at the same time as Rounin grabbed my shoulder and said, “Absolutely not.”

  We stared at each other for a moment.

  “We should go. We’re pretty good at this,” I suggested.

  “Do you want to die?” Rounin cried, shaking me.

  “Rounin, please. We could really, really use a healer, and I know you’re stronger than your fear,” Icarus pleaded, holding a hand out. “Don’t be a coward, Rounin.”

  Rounin placed a hand on my arm as I bristled and shook his head. “It’s not about fear, Icarus. I’d rather stay with Valerie. Besides, if you’re going, I should stay here and…stamp out any fires that light.”

  Icarus nodded slowly. “You’re right. I’m sorry for insinuating you were a coward.”

  “It’s fine. It’s a fair assumption.”

  “Uh…I’m…good at puzzles,” A guy offered, probably just to break the dead silence. “I’m Janus.”

  Icarus nodded. “Okay! So me, Yule, Lilith, Janus, Penelope. That’s five!”

  “I wanna go!” Valerie protested.

  “Absolutely not, young miss,” Icarus snapped. “You stay here with Rounin.”

  “Wait,” Rounin sighed. “Lilith doesn’t look so good. Is everything alright?”

  Lilith started. “Oh, uh…well…yeah. I, uh. Yeah.”

  “I’ve got endurance potions.” Penelope offered, bringing out a glowing yellow vial.

  We all stared at it.

  “You know, I’m good,” Lilith nodded.

  “I have painkillers!” Valerie said immediately, offering her a little pillbox. “And they don’t glow suspiciously.”

  “Huh? What’s wrong with the glow?” Penelope squinted at it.

  “Our medicine doesn’t usually glow, honey.” Icarus placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Then…how do you know if it works…?”

  “Trial and error…?”

  “So you’re seriously just going to let her participate knowing she’s not feeling well?” Janus asked.

  “It was her choice to volunteer,” Rounin reminded him.

  “Yeah, which is an admirable thing to do. She, an ill woman, is choosing to risk her life for you, a perfectly powerful, healthy man,” Janus pointed out.

  I was going to throttle this bitch.

  The crowd began to murmur. Rounin gripped my wrist in warning.

  A woman leaned over and muttered something to her friend, both of them glaring at him.

  “I already explained my reasoning,” Rounin attempted.

  “They’re really more like excuses,” Someone said snidely.

  “Oh, then why don’t you volunteer?“ I started forward, but Icarus caught my shoulder, muttering something. I didn’t bother listening.

  Damn it, why was he so much stronger than me?

  Rounin analyzed the situation around us, taking in my no doubt unpleasant expression and the crowd’s growing animosity.

  “I can go,” He said reluctantly, stepping forward and taking my hand. “Yule. Chill out. Seriously.”

  “They don’t get to talk about you not going when they’re not going either,” I argued, trying to pry Icarus’ hands off my shoulders.

  “Yule, it’s really, really, really fine.”

  “It’s not fine! Fucking cowards, the lot of…”

  I paused, taking in Rounin’s expression. He looked genuinely…scared.

  Was he scared of me?

  I forced myself to relax, exhaling and methodically releasing each tensed muscle from my head to feet. Icarus released me as he felt my shoulders relax.

  He was right. It was fine if he was willing to go with us. I always felt better having Rounin with me anyway. Sure, we were both in terrible, life-threatening danger, but at least we were in terrible, life-threatening danger together.

  “What’s wrong with Lilith?” Icarus whispered.

  Penelope snickered.

  “Women’s problems, if I had to guess.” Rounin shrugged.

  Icarus’ brow furrowed. “Boys?”

  “How many times were you dropped on your head as a child?” Rounin groaned.

  “No, no, he’s got a point.” Penelope nodded.

  Some part of me registered that it was unusual that Rounin was being so mean. The rest of me just accepted it as ordinary.

  Penelope tapped his shoulder and leaned in and whispered something. His mouth opened in a silent ‘ohhh’.

  “Top ten worst timings,” Valerie mumbled.

  “Hey, Lilith, do you mind watching Val for me?” Icarus asked, both hands on her shoulders.

  “Yeah, sure,” Lilith nodded. “Oh, I love your hair. Is that red color natural?”

  Valerie brightened. “Yeah.”

  “Cute! I wanted to dye my hair that color so badly when I was your age, but my mom just refused to let me dye it. And my hair will not hold waves!”

  “Kick her ass if she’s a weirdo, Val,” Icarus said cheerily, but he was twitchy all over.

  “Geez, no mercy.” Lilith raised an eyebrow, running fingers through Valerie’s hair. “Didn’t Mommy ever tell you not to hit women?”

  “Look here. I don’t care what’s between your legs. If one hair on her head is harmed, I swear to God…” Icarus trailed off, letting the threat hang in the air. I could almost see the sparks flying.

  Why were they even fighting?

  “Okay,” Rounin interrupted with a forced laugh. “That’s, um, enough? Let’s go. Do Challenges and stuff.”

  “Sorry about him,” I muttered.

  Lilith shrugged. “Oh, don’t worry about it. He’s cute.”

  “Yeah, we should get going,” Penelope agreed, grabbing the back of Icarus’ coat and dragging him away. “There’s no time limit, but that doesn’t mean whatever's in there won’t get worse the longer we wait.”

  On that cheerful note, Icarus pushed open the double doors and was immediately blinded by the sudden shock of light.

  I couldn’t blame him. It was as if lightning had struck as we opened the door.

  I heard Penelope sigh impatiently, and then someone shoved me forward.

  “Ugh! Whose idea was this?” Icarus groaned, hitting his temple with the heel of his hand like he was trying to reset his brain.

  I opened my eyes, blinking away spots. Janus was squinting but otherwise fine. Icarus already seemed recovered.

  Rounin giggled awkwardly, rubbing his eyes. Given that his eyes were the next darkest after mine, it probably hurt most for us.

  Penelope didn’t even seem affected.

  “Careful,” She warned. “This type of Challenge is a new one for everyone.”

  I paused, taking in the newest Dungeon. It seemed…peaceful. And it was quite pretty. However, it also felt like a liminal space.

  “It’s, uh…pretty…empty,” Janus noted, squinting.

  The space around us was a white expanse of nothingness, with no apparent beginning or end. We had stepped out of a set of doors onto a floating island of white marble. There were other floating structures too, but most of them weren’t islands. I could see a cube splattered in color, a Mobius Strip, and other various possible and impossible geometric shapes.

  “Whoa,” Icarus mumbled.

  “Uh, where do we…go?” Janus asked.

  Penelope and Icarus exchanged glances.

  “We’ll scout. Then Rounin can figure out some kind of bridge to where we need to go.” Penelope offered.

  “How are you going to scout?” Janus questioned.

  Wings sprouted out of Icarus’ back.

  Penelope frowned.

  The air crackled, and suddenly she was on the Mobius strip.

  “Oh, cool,” I mumbled, realizing I’d never actually seen her use any of her skills until now.

  “We’ll be back. I’ll tell her to check back every five minutes, and to just get me if she finds anything.” Icarus nodded and sprang into the air.

  Janus, Rounin, and I were left to awkwardly stare at each other.

  I still wanted to strangle the guy. Maybe I could push him off while Rounin’s back was turned…

  Penelope crackled back into existence next to me, Icarus a couple of moments behind. “Found something. Three doors and a riddle.”

  “Oh, I love riddles,” Rounin said brightly, mini-fist-pumping.

  Janus wrinkled his nose. “I thought the Challenge description said puzzles.”

  The woman shrugged. “It is what it is. You see that structure over there? The wonky-looking one?”

  “They’re all wonky,” Rounin protested.

  “Ah…fair enough. Uh…the purple one.”

  “Yes. Oh, I see what you mean by wonky.”

  Icarus squinted at it, calculating. “Can you teleport more than yourself, Penelope?”

  “I can,” She admitted. “But it takes a lot of MP, and I’d like to save it. I’m already kind of low. I’d prefer other methods, especially since we don’t have a time limit.”

  Rounin looked at Janus and me. “Are you two good at tightropes?”

  “No,” Janus said immediately.

  “Never tried.” I shrugged.

  “Better not risk it.”

  Icarus squinted at Janus. “I think I could carry you, but Yule’s kind of heavy for someone so slender…”

  “That’s fine. I can teleport him.” Penelope shrugged. “Can you carry Rounin?”

  “Yeah, definitely.” Icarus nodded. “Look at him. He probably weighs less than you do, and you’re shorter.”

  Rounin frowned at that.

  “I told you to eat more,” I muttered.

  “Oh, quit it.”

  Penelope offered her hand to me, and as soon as my skin met hers, we were somewhere else.

  “Are you good? Do you need to throw up?” Penelope asked.

  “Uh…no?”

  “Oh, good. Last time I teleported someone, she threw up her entire stomach content and then some.”

  Icarus dropped Janus on the ground, who promptly ran to the side and vomited.

  I snickered quietly.

  Rounin landed a moment later, practically glowing. “I’d forgotten how much fun that was!”

  Icarus blinked in confusion, tilting his head. “Have you done something like this before?”

  Rounin hesitated, smile freezing. “Uh…paragliding?”

  “Without me?” I asked. “With whom?”

  “…uh…my…college friends.” Rounin nodded. “I didn’t think you’d want to go…?”

  “Well, you’re right.” I shrugged, patting his back to reassure him.

  Rounin relaxed somewhat. “Okay. So, the riddle…”

  Janus nodded, already staring at the door. “Two doors hold monsters, and one holds the next puzzle.”

  “Okay, well, Door 1?” Icarus suggested. Penelope nodded.

  I shrugged. “One in three.”

  “Hang on. There’s a peephole.” Rounin pointed out.

  Janus stepped up to it, closing one eye. “…yeah, there’s a really large bear in there.”

  Icarus cracked his knuckles. “I could take the bear.”

  “No, like, it’s the size of an elephant.”

  He stopped. “I cannot take the bear.”

  “Okay, so Door 1,” Penelope gestured.

  “No, Door 2.” Janus shook his head.

  I scowled at him. “Must you really be argumentative for the sake of being argumentative—“

  “No, no, no, because if you change doors after that one is opened, there’s a two in three chance of it being the correct one as opposed to the other one, which is one in three—“ Rounin argued.

  “What the heck are you talking about?” Icarus asked, baffled.

  “It’s the Monty Hall problem!” Janus attempted.

  “There are two doors! So it’s fifty-fifty!” Penelope argued.

  “No, no, we already decided we were going to pick one—“ Rounin tried again.

  Icarus groaned. “That doesn’t make any sense! Why would it change—”

  “Just pick a fucking door!” I yelled.

  “Oh, for God’s sake—“ Icarus mumbled, pushing open Door 1.

  It was safe. A Rubik’s Cube sat on the ground.

  “Fuck y’all and your math.” Icarus flipped them both off, one hand for each of them.

  Under any other circumstance, I probably would have throttled him. However, this was Icarus, and he also happened to be right.

  “We did say one out of three,” Janus mumbled.

  Icarus picked up the cube. “No problem, I know how to solve these. My record is ten seconds.”

  “Cool,” Janus said, turning the side.

  The world suddenly went black.