When Jumble brings out the body, Ward screams the most wretched and pained shriek I think I've ever heard. He rushes to Euro's side and holds their hand from atop the soft carpet Jumble laid them upon. Compared to Jumble's soft, tearful, and hate-filled grief, Ward's is much more visceral. Sobs fill the room. Tears stain the floor. And… it finally hits me.

I'm responsible for this. It isn't my fault, but Euro died under my watch. My command. Whether I asked for it or not, these people look to me as their impromptu leader. So it's my responsibility to help them through this. I step forward and place a gentle hand on Ward's shoulder. Jumble joins me and wraps her hands around his shaking fingers.

"Ward… I need you to think. Long and hard." I say softly. "We're very sure that Dani did this. But it also looks like he has Gnash and Rina with him. Was there anything–anything at all–that might've made you think Rina would go along with this?"

He doesn't even look up at me. Hell, with how much the colour's drained from his face, I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't hear anything at all. His input isn't necessary to act on a pretty damn safe assumption, so I'll just give him all the time he needs to grieve.

I pat him one last time, then turn to everyone else. Clutter. Wojkmi. Shatterhand. Sawyer. And Llaliu. Each and every one of them has a different way of taking in the death of our friend. Yet at this very moment, they all look to me for guidance as Jumble whispers magic into Ward's ears.

"We're not clearing this quest."

Murmurs instantly spread. None of outright disbelief, though I catch a few questions in there that I've asked myself before. I hold up a hand for silence, and they all die out. Nobody questions for even a millisecond how damn serious this is.

"Euro died because of this quest. We've been stuck here for months because of this quest. And if we do clear it, we give the system exactly what it wants; this place reintroduced to the world with who-the-hell knows for consequences. So we're not going to play its game. We're going to break it."

I hold up my hand and summon the wreath-sphere. Right now, there's nothing on it since we've already cleared this district's subquests. I swipe my fingers over it until a new hexagon pops into view–the only other district we're directly connected to. The one with no subquests within the amusement part blast radius.

"Right here, we're surrounded on all sides. The system is sending those people here to try and lock us in, while also sending us as far away as possible to keep us from progressing the main quest on our terms. Does anyone else see the flaw in its logic here?"

Wojkmi raises his hand. "We have an escape."

I snap my fingers at him. "Exactly. We might not be able to progress the main quest, but we can power up our tower from that place. And since the system can't just change up the rewards, there has to be some more end-quest upgrades that'll actually have a huge impact. Along the way, I'll swoop in and free the construct in charge of that uplifting trial just like I did with Click and the liquid one–until we have an army of constructs on our side to help us fight."

Llaliu grimaces. "Why do we need an army?"

"Because the system will try to get rid of us more directly soon." I say with grim certainty. "Think about it; the last major update summoned all the constructs. But we haven't seen any that are violent–what we have seen are the twisted paindne. My gut tells me that the next main quest progress update is going to up the danger level of this quest by a lot."

"Except the zones connected to our towers are safe zones." Clutter mutters in thought. "So the horizonguard is going to be safer than anyone. Heck, maybe the next step is only possible in a tower district surrounded by six other districts–and everywhere else becomes completely inhospitable."

Shatterhand frowns. "That would be extremely unpleasant. And it would, indeed, require an army to fight through. Have we figured out where the horizonguard's tower is?"

"Someone on our side has." I confirm. "He's working with them right now, but he'll betray them the second he physically can. Or at least he won't fight with them."

Everyone but Clutter shoots me varying degrees of uncertain looks. I understand them all–but I'm still not sure I want to explain everything about Worth Classes to them. Definitely before everything comes to a head, just… not now. I can't trust anyone enough right now.

"I'll vouch for him." Clutter pipes up. "And I'll be the only one that tries to make contact–and in the process, give him a relocation coin. That way we'll have a way in if the main quest does end up only working in a surrounded district."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The mood's not… great, but it doesn't look like anyone's going to disagree. I look around one more time just in case, then nod to myself.

"So we're on a quest for uplifting trials. We're splitting into groups of two, and I'll be going on my own–once you complete your trial, send me a message and come right back. Hopefully I can free the construct in charge through the meditation chamber, or else we'll have to shift up our plan."

Llaliu locks eyes with Shatterhand. Wojkmi does the same to Sawyer, and the teams are set. Something twitches in the back of my brain about 'highlifted districts'; a thing Click said a few months ago, but I can't remember clearly. I'll have to talk to it about that before I set out. Which leaves one last thing.

I turn to Ward and kneel down next to him. He doesn't look like he's getting any better. "Ward? Can you hear me, buddy?"

He blinks–which is progress, and slowly turns to me.

"I need you to stay here and research the library." I say softly. "There's a non-paindne construct forge somewhere in this city, and we'll need to find it if we keep going through anchors at this pace. Can you try to find that for me?"

Ward nods ever so slightly. "I… eurgh… I-I…"

Jumble pulls him into a hug. "I know, Ward. I know."

His eyes widen, and he wails in grief as he returns Jumble's embrace. She looks at me–and I expect to see insistence that I leave–but instead there's an invitation to join them. I hesitate for a second, then lean in to sandwich Ward between myself and Jumble. He wails even harder, but now, there's a hint of catharsis in it. Like he's really letting it out now.

I turn to Clutter and nod for him to take charge. He nods, then motions for everyone else to follow him out of the room–stopping only for me to toss him the wreath-sphere so they'll know where to go. The damn thing that started the whole hate-on Dani has for me. It'll be a relief when the thing's useless again.

Clutter raises his chin to say a silent 'you can count on me', then follows the others out into the hallway. Leaving me and Jumble here with Ward–who in any other situation would be more than allowed a long time to mourn. But right now… all I can give him is an hour or so.

Minutes pass. He goes from wailing to shaking to still and weak. It isn't enough time. But it looks like he, too, knows what has to be done. He wipes his eyes, hugs Jumble one last weak time, then turns around and wraps his arms around my midsection. I awkwardly pat him on the back until he decides to break it off.

He takes a deep breath, then nods. "I'll find all the information you need. My skills aren't… great… but they're perfect for this. I promise, every time you come back, I'll have something new for you."

"I know you will." I say seriously. "And just so you know… we'll have a proper wake for Euro when we're done with this. Give them the burial they deserve."

Ward's eyes widen and he vigorously shakes his head. "No, no, no! Not a burial! Definitely not a burial."

What? Why… oh, shit, the trees. Right. "Okay, no burial then. Do you know what they'd want?"

"I… no." He says dejectedly. "We never even talked about that. But… knowing them… they'd want to go out in the flashiest way possible. They always had fantasies about standing out, you know?"

Jumble smiles sadly. "And what better way to be known than something an entire city can see?"

Ward nods in agreement. "Exactly. Jumble… take good care of them."

"I will." She assures him. "And don't you worry; I'll make sure Dani gets what's coming to him."

Uncertainty once more flashes over Ward's face. It's only for a second, but it doesn't escape my notice. He's still holding onto hope that it isn't Dani. Poor thing. That's only going to hurt even more when the truth is laid bare.

I watch Ward stumble away, sit himself down in a chair, and wave a hand that just barely sparkles with magic. A book floats out of the shelf and lazily bobs its way over to him, then lands in his lap with a dull thud. Leaving Ward to huff and puff like he just sprinted a mile. I wipe my knees and stand up as Jumble sends Euro's body back to her inventory.

She looks over at me and forces a smile. "You don't mind if I take a few relocations with me, do you?"

I shake my head and hand her a few coins. "Just message me when you want to come back for a while. And don't forget to leave a coin where you are–or else that's a huge waste of time."

"Don't worry; I won't forget." She giggles and takes the coins, then looks me dead in the eyes. "Thanks, Shelby. For everything."

"It's nothing. Just… good luck." I lean in and wrap her in a quick hug. "Please don't get hurt."

Jumble giggles again as we walk out of the library and make our way to the room with doors. But she doesn't promise anything. That's… well… I hate it. My stomach twists at the mere thought of her not answering a message at some point, and I just have to… not know what's happening. I scratch my neck, ignoring the pain, and keep my mouth shut.

This is too important to her for me to get in the way of.

So we walk into the room with doors. Jumble says a quick goodbye, pulls me into an equally quick hug, then hurries through the door that leads to the amusement park district. I put on a smile and watch her go, then once the door closes behind her, I turn to Click as my expression becomes something deadly serious.

It stands up straight and gives me its full attention. I breathe calmly through my nose, then just… say it.

"Three months ago you said only certain districts had uplifting trials. Now we know every single district has one. Why did you make this mistake?"

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