After a long, awkward silence, Freya stepped in, her voice breaking the tense air. "Hold up just a moment. Before we follow you to who-knows-where, you mind telling us how this whole thing happened?"


    Jett sighed, gathering his thoughts. He began exining how they got sucked into this world, touching on the prophecy, Alok, and how Finn mistakenly activated the trials. He carefully omitted what happened why they actually got there, leaving out some crucial details.


    "Alright, since you''ve all been brought up to speed, shall we proceed?" Matthew asked, stretching his muscles in preparation.


    "Hold your horses, big guy. We still have one big issue," Aiden said, stopping him in his tracks.


    Matthew, confused, asked, "And what would that be?"


    "Use your head, dummy. We have toplete fourteen trials within three years. If that''s the case, then everything we''ll be asked to do will probably take us the full three years toplete," Elora scoffed, crossing her arms as she exined.


    "Hold on, that means…" Finn''s eyes widened as he quickly understood what they were implying.


    "Exactly, we''re stuck here until it''s all over," Aiden said, his voice heavy with resignation.


    "Maybe time moves differently here, don''t you think?" Morrigan asked, her voice wavering with a mix of hope and anxiety.


    Rosa turned to Alok, pitching the question with a nce.


    Alok shook his head solemnly. "I''m afraid not. Both worlds are connected, and so time flows the same in both."


    "Well, can we leave ande backter? I''m getting kinda hungry," Evelina chipped in, rubbing her tummy, trying to lighten the mood despite the gravity of the situation.


    "My apologies, but you can''t leave until the trial is done," Alok replied, his face a mask of stoic indifference.


    "That can''t be true. There has to be a way, right?" Evelina''s voice trembled with desperation.


    "That''s total BS! First, you threaten us, and then you trap us? I ought to give that master of yours a piece of my mind," Elora fumed, her frustration boiling over.


    "That annoying angel said we''d know more about this world because we''ve encountered it before, but from what I see, the movies and TV shows are nothing like this," Morriganined, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.


    "Damn right you are, and the only useful people here are the ones that yed the game. I don''t even remember there being a light novel; maybe I would have read it," Rosa added, her toneced with sarcasm.


    ''Well, duh… The producers thought that cutting down important details from the original source material would be cheaper and ended up filtering the real story. You basically got served diluted orange juice without realizing it,'' Jett thought as he listened to Morrigan and Rosain.


    ''They did publish the novel but stopped after a year, but the sales were so bad that you had to personally beg the publishingpany to provide you with copies after paying a hefty price because they stopped printing and threw away the source material.


    I almost drained my ount just to get it after stumbling on it by chance,'' Jett sighed internally, his thoughts tinged with a mix of frustration and resignation.


    Jett had always had a soft spot for WAR BOUND. He couldn''t stand when people talked about it like it was trash or tried to badmouth it. It was a world he cherished deeply, a realm where he''d spent countless hours, and hearing it dismissed so casually irked him to no end.


    Rey and Seraphina had been standing in a corner, sharing amused smiles while the others argued about the situation. They found a strangefort in their shared understanding of the game''s mechanics.


    "How are you guys smiling at a time like this?" Marce asked, finally noticing their calm demeanor amidst the chaos.


    "You seem to be enjoying this a bit too much, you two," Freya added, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.


    "Yeah, tell us. Is there something we don''t know?" Aiden pressed, his frustration evident.


    Rey burst intoughter, bold and proud. "You lot look so terrified right now, like we''re really going to spend three whole years here," he said, hisughter.


    "What''s so funny?" Morrigan snapped, irritation coloring her voice.


    Reyposed himself, still chuckling. "Let me exin. In WAR BOUND, there are these things called time-limited dungeons or timed dungeons. Whenever we got a new update with a dungeon like that, they usually onlysted for a week, sometimes a month. They were designed to be cleared faster than their allocated time.


    The allocated time was just a grace period for those who startedte or didn''t have time toplete the dungeons in one go. The only difference between a dungeon like that and where we are now is that we can''t leave until it''s all over."


    Understanding dawned on the group as Rey''s exnation sank in.


    "So, we might not be here for three years?" Evelina asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.


    "Exactly. We just need toplete the trials quickly," Jett added, his voice steady and reassuring.


    "Well damn, you could have said that earlier you know." Finn mussed ''I thought we we''re gooners.''


    The tension in the room eased slightly as the reality of their situation became clearer, and for the first time, the group felt a spark of hope amidst the uncertainty.


    "I know that already, but have you ever seen a dungeon like that where you had to clear it in a year? We''re talking about three," Asher exined to Rey, his tone edged with concern. "Even if we say we won''t be here for that long, it''ll still take a long time. Long enough for us to get into trouble back at the academy."


    "There''s a way to actually leave, though, but we''ll have to at leastplete one trial first to trigger it," Jett said, doing a few squats to warm up. ''A necessary lie. I want to see what kind of trials they kept for us.''


    "Hey Alok, we''re ready for the first trial," Jett called out, prompting a screen to appear for him to ept the invitation on their behalf.


    "Hold on… We''re not ready, at least not mentally… right?" Finn said, looking around as he realized no one else shared his hesitation. ''How did I even get roped into this? I swear, weird things always happen when he''s with us.''


    Finn watched as everyone got their weapons ready and warmed up. Even Marce and Cedric, notorious for always avoiding unnecessary action, were preparing themselves. Marce''s fingers danced over her daggers, checking their sharpness, while Cedric adjusted his gauntlets, his face set in grim determination.


    "Are you guys even listening? We don''t even know what we''re going up against," Finn yelled, frustration coloring his voice, but he was still ignored. ''How did I get reborn with a bunch of idiots?''


    Jett, ignoring Finn''s protests, epted the invitation, setting the stage for the first trial. The air around them shimmered with anticipation, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to pulse with energy.


    *****


    As Jett epted the invitation, the world around them began to shift. The ground trembled slightly, and the air hummed with an otherworldly energy.


    Suddenly, a brilliant light enveloped them, and when it faded, they found themselves standing on one of the floating inds they had seen from below, suspended high above the clouds. The ind was lush and green, with a forest of towering trees and a crystal-clearke at its center.


    "Wee to the first trial," Alok''s voice echoed from above. "Your task is simple: Get to the finish line before the timer runs out. There are no penalties for failing, and you will restart the trial if the timer hits zero."


    Apart from Asher, Elora, Freya, and Jett, the rest of the group paid little attention to what Alok had just said, instead taking in their surroundings and the breathtaking beauty of the floating ind.


    "Wow, I didn''t really notice it earlier, but this ce is amazing," Moriggan said with, her eyes wide with wonder.


    "Yep until it tries to kill us." Marce added.


    "Don''t let the scenery fool you. We need to stay focused," Jett reminded them.


    "Alright, let''s move out," Rey said, his voice steady despite the excitement he was feeling.


    "Why does it always have to be heights?" Finn muttered to himself, clutching his staff tighter.


    "When has it ever been heights?" Jett teased, trying to lighten the mood.


    As the timer started, everyone gathered around for a brief strategy meeting. The clock was ticking, and the stakes were high.


    "Okay, we need a n," Asher said, his voice calm and authoritative. "Jett, you Seraphina, Elora Ray and I take the lead. Rosa, Marce, Morigan and Evelina cover our nks. Aiden, Matthew, and Cedric, keep an eye on the rear. Freya, stick close to the center and be ready to support with magic and Finn, Stay close to her."


    Everyone nodded in agreement, their expressions serious. The urgency of their situation was beginning to sink in.


    But while the nning was going on, Aiden was having a meeting of his own in his head.


    ''No penalties for failing?'' Aiden pondered quietly before making a bold decision. He dashed forward, leaping to the first ind. "Last one there''s a rotten egg!"


    "Stop, Aiden!" the others called out, but Finn smirked, curious to see how this would turn out for Aiden.


    Aiden reached the first ind unscathed,nding smoothly. ''Nothing happened?''


    "This is too easy!" Aiden yelled in excitement, his voice echoing through the serenendscape.


    The others hesitated, contemting joining him, but Jett stepped in, blocking their path. "Wait for it..." he said, his eyes fixed on Aiden.


    "For what?" Elora asked, her worry for her brother evident.


    "Wait for it…" Jett repeated, his tone tense.


    Before they knew what was happening, Aiden was forcibly teleported back to the starting point. Hended with a thud, confusion and fear etched on his face.


    "I''m alive?" Aiden yelled, half-crying. "What the hell? What kind of game is this?"


    "Let me guess, you stepped on a mine?" Asher asked, trying to hide his amusement. "You''re lucky that didn''t kill you."


    ''Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'' Jett wondered, his unease growing.


    "Please be aware," Alok''s voice echoed from above, "that if even one of you loses a life during the trial or the timer runs out, the most used skills and five stat points from each of you will be sacrificed to bring back your deadrades and restart the trial, even if you didn''t participate."


    "The timer will reset automatically if there are no participants." Alok added.


    "You''re telling me that if we fail, we all get stat reductions and lose our favorite skills?" Evelina asked, her disbelief clear despite having already heard Alok''s words.


    "Only until the trial ends," Alok replied, his tone emotionless.


    "You tell us that now? Ugh I don''t know where you and your master came from but in my world. that''s a freaking penalty!!!" Freya said in annoyance.


    Jett quickly checked his status, confirming his fears. [Tactical Mirage] was gone. The others followed suit, discovering their most used skills had vanished, along with some points from each stat.


    "AIDEN!!!" they all yelled in unison, their frustration and anger directed at the cause of their plight.


    *


    *


    *


    Thanks for making it this far


    I really appreciate