I gaped at the fairy's answer.
"We could run the lobby…by ourselves?"
Seeing she could not take her words back, the fairy sighed and nodded.
[It is possible.]
"How?"
I asked immediately.
This was an important information.
Our survival might depend on this. My mission to save my homeland might depend on this.
No.
Everything certainly depended on this.
[I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Once the Hero Reaction Research reaches level 10, master will be able to appoint a Vice-Master from among the heroes.]
A Vice-Master. Quite a self-implying title.
And there the fairy went again regarding the research.
So master had limitation in governing the forged land? To the point that the research needed to be improved first.
How was master's power limited and why?
Weren't we brought to the forged land through master's power?
Or was it the voice's and we were simply given charge to this 'master' entity?
How were the two figures related to one another?
So many mysteries. Intriguing mysteries.
But they were to be solved at another time.
There were more urgent matters ahead.
"And this Vice-Master could rule the forged land?"
I asked the fairy.
[The Vice-Master could recommend specific instructions to be performed within the lobby. Master might approve the Vice-Master's recommendations or not.]
"That still sounds just like what I've been doing so far."
[But you'll be given greater authority by master, should you be chosen as the Vice-Master. You may tell master how to run the lobby and master would command you to enforce their orders. Everyone in the lobby will have to listen to whatever you say given your role as master's proxy.]
Serving as proxy to master.
If the fairy was telling the truth, I might be able to control the entire preparation for the Quintal Trials, including its duration and the raid team arrangement.
We would not have to worry of having not enough time to prepare. Though master had been quite generous on that front so far.
Nonetheless, the position of Vice-Master would be useful given the growth of our population.
A system needed to be implemented to the forged land in order to manage all the heroes in the lobby.
The trainees, the gatherers, the crafters, the servants, the raid team, and more. Ensuring each faction in the lobby was fulfilling their roles to the fullest.
A visible and vocal figurehead would be needed to manage them all.
Not just some invisible entity who relayed their unforeseen orders through a fairy.
Indeed. The Vice-Master position would be very useful for our climb effort.
"You think master will be granting the proxy role to me?"
I asked once more.
The fairy shrugged.
[Honestly, who else could master choose? You're the one who has been giving the most recommendations. Both in the lobby and in the missions. And all your suggestions have been really helpful. I'd pick you to lead the lobby if I were master.]
Was I truly deserving such role, however?
I tried commanding the raid team on the tenth floor and look what happened.
Seven people died.
I understood it was foolish to expect flawless victory from a Quintal Trial.
But those deaths could have been avoided.
If only I had not…
No.
I promised Jonah. I promised to myself.
I had to focus on what was coming. Focus on what I could do for the present.
No use regretting the past anymore.
Should master choose me to become the Vice-Master, I had to make use of the position to bring us victories on the rest of the trials.
Yes. What matters were what lied ahead. What lied upward.
Dear Goddesses, how was I supposed to lead us if master chose me…
I could not get rid of the thought for the rest of the day.
I barely got an hour of sleep thinking of how wondrous or how disastrous I would lead the lobby.
I somehow regretted pressing those answers from the fairy.
Now I had this sense of dread on the back of my mind on top of the one I already had from anticipating the looming third Quintal Trial.
I was so relieved when the fairy announced my name alongside my party comrades to come to the rift of space time the next morning.
I fixed my black and white magic dress, supplied myself with two vials of mana potion and my vial of advanced health potion I had never spent in the second Quintal Trial and made my way down to the first floor square.
I was so glad to have a trial deployment to distract me that I was the first one to arrive.
My comrades arrived there soon after. All equipped with their weapons, armors, and health potions.
With assuring nods to each other, the five of us entered the rift of space time and poured into the mirrored chamber.
We turned our gazes to the mirror on our furthest left.
[Climb the tower and save the world!]
[Main Dungeon]
[Floor conquered - 10 -]
"The eleventh floor this time, right?"
Shanny asked out loud, drawing the sword sheathed on her back.
I nodded.
"Master had not called us for the past few days. So it is very likely."
"Subjugation, escape, exploration, and defend. I wonder what our mission will be this time."
Darius stated, nocking an arrow. Non-exploding one.
He had a quiver of those on his back, and another of exploding ones on his waist.
"Whatever it is, we'll face it with all our strength. Even if it won't be as difficult as the tenth floor, we can't let our guard down."
Jonah said sternly while gripping his main spear. Five short throwing spears were hanging on his back. Two explosives and three regular ones.
"I will give my best."
Devisha said while extending her curved blades to the sides. Veil hiding the lower half of her face.
Apparently I did not need to give my usual speech.
My comrades knew what they were facing and what needed to be done.
I ran some magic equations in my head, just short of its completion. I would be able to cast my spell instantly when the situation requires it.
The familiar bluish-white light soon enveloped us. Our environment began to shift while we were trapped inside the pure white dimension.
Once the light subsided, we found ourselves standing on top of a hill.
The sky above was dark, glittered with few stars.
But I could see the horizon to our right was brightening with bluish hue. Dawn approaching.
It was thanks to such light I was able to spot the massive body of water extending westward to our left.
A huge walled city was perched at its shore. Darkness was still enveloping the city that I could not identify its appearance further than that it was bigger than even Loro and Seraphold.
But I managed to see quite clearly that the great hill we were on was scattered with tombstones all around.
The ground burst in front of each of the graves.
From beneath emerged decaying arms, followed by rotten head, torso, and legs.
[Undead Lv.9 x80]
Groaning human corpses breathing purplish hot fumes rose from the cemetery ground beneath us. They all started to approach my party on the hill.
The mission window soon appeared in front of each of my comrades and I.
[Floor 11]
[Mission Type – Subjugation]
[Objective – Annihilate the enemies!]