“So, are you going to spill?” Corrine asked. “How did you gain those abilities? Did someone give you a treasure?”

  Briefly, he considered the gifts that Eloise had given him. In a way, they counted. Of course, he no longer had them in his possession, as nothing could go in and out of the trial, but they had been a priceless possession at the time. While a tier-three weapon in the greater scheme of things was nothing to humanity, it had been critical on the last day. But it was not why he had the abilities that had let him beat her, or, at least, not directly so. The cause of them was different, and she wasn’t going to like it.

  He scratched his head ruefully. “Nothing so simple. I kind of did something stupid.”

  Her face grew alarmed. “Dangerous?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Why the fuck would you do that? Are you an idiot? You’re sitting on a gold mine of ranking points with your danger sense ritual disks. Why the fuck would you jeopardise that? Out of every reincarnator, you’re the last of us who should be gambling our lives.”

  “There were mitigating circumstances.”

  She cradled her head in her hands in mock despair. “Really, Tom… You’re so fucking thick sometimes. I’m not sure you understand how valuable those disks are going to be.”

  “I do.”

  She snorted. “No, you fucking don’t. I’ve seen it. People get a warning when their time is up. The number of kids who survive for months and months with a cautious strategy and then throw it away in their final weeks is astronomical. They do the maths, discover they need more coins to make a difference, and think they have no choice but to fight without a GOD’s shield. They’re the hope of their civilisation and my friends as well. And, Tom, they die. Almost all of them. Your invention can stop that. Instead of dying, they get the coins they need to transform their species. You’ll be saving fifty-plus people a year. That’s fifty geniuses that will live because of you. The direct contribution just from them will be massive. Then, beyond that, there’s the impact on the diminishing species. No one is guaranteed to succeed, but out of that many potentials, some of them will. That’s the point of this setup. Just think about it. How many ranking points are changing the fate of a dozen species’ worth? It might by itself get us to third.”

  “I know.”

  “That benefit’s too valuable for all of us for you to be taking stupid gambles.”

  “Corrine, I understand.”

  “Then why did you fucking do something dangerous? Are we talking deadly dangerous?”

  “Yes. Some would say suicidal.”

  “Fuck. Why?” Then, in contrast to her anger, she yawned, a massive involuntary expression of her exhaustion. “Fuck, I don’t have the energy for this conversation. I’m seriously struggling here. You have no idea how hard the survival course is, and it’s mostly environmental, so my magic did shit all.”

  “You should have invested more into healing.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s dumb. There’re healing crystals and top-notch healers everywhere. For most circumstances I’m facing, healing is useless. I need abilities to help me win battles in here,” she gestured at their surroundings, but he knew she meant the official duels. “No amount of healing will help me win those fights. Anyway, stop being an evasive and mysterious arsehole. What stupidity did you get up to?”

  “Do you know the darkhole trial has started wandering?”

  She yawned again. “Yeah, our class was told.” Then his words seemed to penetrate, and her gaze snapped to him. “Wait, you didn’t…?”

  “Didn’t what?” he queried innocently.

  “Challenge it.”

  “No. It wandered, and it asked me. Tried to bribe me with an offer to answer any question I wanted. I refused.”

  “It asked you personally?”

  “Appeared right in front of my face. I was walking along and literally ran into it. So, yes it was a personal invite. I think a GOD might have interfered to make it happen, but that’s a different story.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “A GOD. Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Tom had to admit he was enjoying the whiplash of her emotions his words were causing. Corrine had a very expressive face. “Nope. I can’t prove it, but I’m sure it was a GOD. Scout’s honour.”

  Her expression switched back from disbelief to focused intensity. “Wait. Stop playing games. Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “I am. As I said I think one of the GODs of GODDESSs interfered to make the trial offer me a spot.”

  “Stop mucking around and tell the fucking story without the pointless embellishments. We’re in a world where I command the essence of the inferno. I don’t need to listen to made-up shit.”

  “I’m not playing games, Corrine. As I said a GOD.”

  “Tom,” she interrupted warningly.

  “Corrine. I swear on the GODs that I have empirical reasons to believe the trial only approached me because of a GOD interfering.”

  She squawked in horror and threw herself away from him. She paused after she had opened up almost three metres between them and looked anxiously at the sky.

  “Stop being dramatic. I’m not about to be smited” His multiple levels in Known Heretic, and what Adam had implied in their conversation, meant he was pretty confident that his guess was accurate.

  Corrine’s eyes didn’t leave the sky.

  “Look I’m still alive,” he told her. “Guess I was telling the truth.” The GODs had been invoked. He knew that she would have felt it, and, as a result, there was no doubt about the accuracy of his claim.

  Another ten seconds passed, during which time she scanned the environment. Finally, she looked at him. She did not look at all happy. “Tom, that was beyond reckless and dangerous. You should know fucking better.”

  “Maybe I know stuff you don’t.”

  “Never make an oath like that again!” She almost shouted over his protestations. “That was fucking dumb, a moronic risk.”

  “Would you have believed me otherwise?”

  “Does it fucking matter if I believe you? What I think doesn’t change a fucking thing! Don’t swear oaths of that kind. It’s fucking dumb.”

  He winced. When he looked at it like that, even if the chance of it backfiring was only one in a million, that was not a worthwhile trade.

  “Good point.” He conceded.

  She calmed slightly, but he could tell she was determined to hear his whole story. “So, the darkhole trial approached you, proposed an incentive, and you rejected it.” She prompted. “And, then let me guess. It returned with a better offer.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “In a way. But how did you…?”

  “I don’t need to be fucking Nostradamus to work that out. It’s pretty damn obvious, don’t you think? So, it came back with a different bargain, and that made you challenge the fucking darkhole trial of all fucking terrors out there.” She covered her eyes in despair. “You’re a loose cannon, aren’t you?”

  “I challenged the Explosive Growth Trial,” he corrected with a grin.

  “Who cares what it calls itself. I still don’t get why. Your disks are going to make you millions of ranking points, and that is not to mention the coins you’ll get to shape your build. Why risk that?”

  “Briana.”

  Exasperation flashed across her face. “You risked everyone for her? For one stupid child?”

  “Corrine,” he snarled and glared at her. She registered what she had said, and her cheeks flushed red.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Fuck. I’m guessing she got sucked in and you felt obliged to rescue her.”

  “Basically. But I didn’t just jump in blind. I knew it wasn’t a guaranteed death sentence. The trial made certain representations guaranteed by an oath on the GODS. I had a greater than twenty-five percent chance of winning. Its rules prevented it from quoting a higher percentage. Victory could have even been a certainty.”

  “Was it?” she shot back.

  Tom shook his head as he remembered what they had done to win. It could have easily gone bad.

  “So, Briana accepted an invitation.”

  “She was approached because of me, and she agreed because of my actions. I couldn’t walk away. She’s just a child.”

  Corrine looked pained. “That’s a shitty situation.”

  “It wanted me, so it found a lever and exploited it.”

  “And an easy one too,” she agreed. “Fucking kids. They’re fucking crazy and simple to manipulate. What a fucking cunt of a trial.”

  “I felt I had no choice.”

  “Oh, I understand, and I’m sorry for what I said earlier about Briana. If I were put in that situation, I would have done the same thing. Logic be damned, right?” While she was talking, she was picking up little clumps of sand and flicking them away in agitation. “So, long story short, you beat the darkhole trial?”

  “I did. As did Kang, Eloise and Briana.”

  Corrine whistled softly. “Eloise?”

  Tom rolled his eyes. “She was a surprise. She joined up to save Briana too.”

  “So, the four of you won. Were the rewards good? Did it teach you those skills? Is that where your Lightning Javelin came from?”

  “Not directly so. I’ve earned that with hard work and practice. The darkhole trial has perfect time dilation. For me, two months has passed, and that’s what my training got me.”

  She whistled. “Two months is significant.”

  “It is, but you won’t get that long.” He hesitated. “I have certain advantages that extended the duration.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean. I have similar bonuses that apply elsewhere.”

  “As for the actual rewards, they were incredible. You should aim to get them.”

  “Maybe after I have some sleep.”

  “No, no, too soon.” Tom shook his head vigorously. “No, don’t rush. If I’ve been in your position, I’d have spent a couple of months using fate to shape the trial.” He had half expected his throat to choke up, but Corrine obviously already knew that function of fate, so his geas didn’t stop him from speaking the truth.

  “I guess that makes sense. But you’ve beaten it without preparation?”

  “It was close and if I could do it again, I would spend more time preparing,” he interrupted, then quickly explained the escalating nature of the threat.

  Corrine nodded thoughtfully. “That’s why every person who challenges this, dies.” Then she frowned. “I’m almost too old, am I not?”

  Tom shrugged. “You’ve got a better feel for your capabilities than I do. But too old… no. Worse case scenario, once you hit fifteen, you spend a few months farming experience to buy spells and skills to boost your combat readiness.”

  “True. And I can use the weekly trial to prepare,” she mused. “I can get it to test me against rank twelves and improve my strengths to beat them. That’s some synergy between the weekly trial capabilities and preparing for the darkhole trial. Almost like it’s been planned.”

  “Very suspicious.” Tom agreed.

  “Do you think I can cross that sort of ranking gap? After all, the higher-rank monsters that I’m facing are all going to have multiple abilities.”

  “Kang and I carried two non-combatants, so it’s definitely doable. What rank are you?”

  “Two and a half, well, closer to three, to be honest.”

  “So, that means you’ll be facing rank-elevens?”

  “Yeah. But that’s not necessarily a problem if we get them tailored. If fate makes them vulnerable to fire, I guess I could beat them. Besides, Dimitri has pointedly refused to let me see the community prayers, so I’m sure there’s something in there helping me too.” Her fingers tapped on her thigh. “With the right preparation, some treasures from Dim… I can do it. When I am successful, what amazing abilities can I expect?” she grinned at him.

  He explained both of the traits he had received. “There’s other stuff too, of course.”

  “I’m sure there was.” She agreed. “So, in that first duel with me, you’ve only used the equaliser trait?”

  “Yes; it doubled my speed and perception, which allowed me to dodge the fire whip.”

  “Then, in the second, you’ve used a burst to sprint away…”

  “Exactly.”

  “Your build is definitely coming along, but you still need magic shielding,” she waved her hand, and a pane of glowing light appeared, attached to her palm. It was the size of a small buckler. Then she flicked it again, and another more opaque version materialised, doubling up the protection. “Your problem is, your tool kit is offensive-only.”

  “And crafting,” he said with a grin.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yes, and I agree with you completely. Now that the first layer of my offense is sorted, I’m going to get some magic shielding.”

  Abruptly, she stood. “Now that you’ve confessed your secrets, do you feel up for another round?”

  Mentally, he went over the abilities that he knew she had. Her wider area of effect spells and some of the instant cast ones could definitely counter his mobility. Now that she understood how fast he could move she would be able to stop him and then there was the double layered shield. It would take two spears to get through that. Basically, without the element of surprise, he was screwed, and that was just based on the bits of the build he knew of. She was bound to have other stuff in reserve.

  He pretended to look at his non-existent watch:

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have the time now.”

  “Come on, Tom. Don’t be a pussy. It’ll be fun.”

  He looked sheepish. “Yeah, well. I know you’re exhausted from training, and it’ll be unfair to take advantage.”

  “No, I’m fine. You won’t be taking advantage. I’m up for another round.”

  He sensed magic forming around her. He hastily cancelled the session, and, a moment later, he was back in the study hall, with Corrine next to him. Throm had already left.

  Corrine was laughing at him. “That was the worst excuse ever. Did you really pretend to check your watch?”

  “The key takeaway from this is that sometimes I can show good judgement. I’m not always reckless.”

  She frowned slightly. “Tom, I know what I said at the start, but you have to be true to yourself. Well done keeping her alive.”

  “I still feel like shit for prioritising her.” he admitted, even while acknowledging internally that he would take similar risks again, if it was needed.

  “She’s a part of humanity’s future, too. There’s nothing wrong with looking after her.” Then she yawned again. “I really have to crash.”

  There was no flash or anything like that, but, between one instant and the next, she was just no longer there.

  It was dinnertime. Tom settled into the evening routine and, apart from his hidden spell practice he allowed himself a few hours without training.

  All too soon, he was lying in bed ready to sleep. However, his brain wouldn’t let him to fall asleep. His thoughts kept going through not the events of the darkhole trial, but those that had happened immediately before. The memory of himself repeatedly flipping the coin, and then, after that, the things that DEUS had allowed him to see.

  A monumental event that had come from nothing. Just a tiny bit of curiosity, and shaping fate in a direction it wasn’t meant to. The flipping of the disk, a failure of his discipline, and the improbable run of results that had followed.

  A trick that every other Divine Champions’ human competitor had discovered independently and applied to various levels of success.

  A way to allow fate to see the future.

  A substitute for a divination ability.

  If his hunch was right, it meant the innate human racial trait could duplicate a skill that would otherwise have cost one millions of experience.

  To be honest, it didn’t feel quite kosher, but the truth was there to be observed. It might feel wrong, but the technique worked - well, not for him yet, but for the others certainly. Corrine had success with it, and the historical results of the other humans confirmed the technique’s validity.

  Used properly, the method was potentially even stronger than the DEUS Chosen trait, and he knew from personal experience how powerful being able to ask yes or no questions and have them be answered truthfully was.

  He was almost salivating at the thought of what he could investigate. There were so many questions he could profit from getting answered.

  Should my focus be on killing the dragon?

  Should I concentrate on genociding the terror races?

  Once I’m an adult, is my time best spent uplifting other species?

  Should I prioritise buying the divine fruit even at the cost of everything else?

  There were so many lines of inquiry he could pursue to shape the future. He knew he was going to get a much-reduced version of DEUS’s Chosen due to his title, but, if fate let him ask a question daily instead of monthly, that was a massive difference.

  He grew almost giddy from imagining it, and he realised there was no way he could sleep without testing this. The idea was too huge to not investigate immediately.

  When he strained his ears, he found there were no noises that suggested others were awake, so he slipped out. The hallways with the illusions that made them terrifying for everyone else did not bother him, and, a short time later, he entered one of the isolation rooms.

  The usual barrage of tests took place to ensure there were no unwelcome presences within, and his Danger Sense, likewise, picked nothing up.

  It was time to do the test.