I opened my eyes with extremely numbing headache.
It felt as if I just spun around in place for a hundred time and someone beat my head for a thousand time right after.
Thankfully the nausea and pain only lasted for several seconds before it rapidly dissipated.
Once the room stopped spinning and my vision became clear, I found Jonah kneeling by the fireplace.
He was adding woods into the greatly burning hearth.
Did he want to turn this room into a furnace?
I was already drenched in sweat beneath my blanket.
"That's enough fire, shepherd. You've made me feel quite warm already."
I spoke up as I sat right up on the bed.
"Fina!"
Jonah shouted.
He ran and embraced me tightly like he never done before.
"I knew you would wake up. Djhotti and the healer said you were recovering and would wake up soon. I never doubted you would."
He said with that sweet voice of his.
The man then embraced me tighter.
"Oh but it still pained me, Fina. Seeing you lying unconsciously like that all the time. It was just too hard for me."
Goodness this man really missed me!
How long was I asleep?
I caressed his cheek gently and gave it a smooth kiss.
"Well, here I am, shepherd. Wide awake. And I don't plan on getting back to sleep anytime soon either."
"Are you really okay, now? I mean, don't you feel any pain still?"
Jonah asked while releasing me from his embrace and took a good look at me.
I shook my head as I stood up from the bed.
"A little stiff, but I'm feeling generally fine. It is as if I just rested for many days at once."
To reassure him, I stably walked over the room to grab a towel and dried my sweat with it.
It was then that I realized the whole place was unfamiliar to me.
The furniture, the decorations, and the entire layout of the room was different from my room in the third floor lodging.
Even the view outside the window was unlike I had ever seen in the lobby before.
"This isn't my bedroom. Where are we?"
Jonah smiled and nodded at me.
"We're in the new residence for Party 1. It's located on the fourth floor of the lobby."
The fourth floor?
I must had been unconscious for a while for that much change to happen.
"Master couldn't build the entire section overnight, could they?"
Jonah shook his head.
"No. Even with Master's help, it took a while before the Chief Builder and I could get everything set up as Master intended. The entire fourth floor just finished construction three days ago."
"Three days ago? How long was I asleep exactly?"
I asked him.
Jonah replied while somberly staring at the large bed I used to slumber in just earlier.
"You were unconscious for fifteen days, Fina."
Fifteen days?!
I did sleep for many days at once.
That stunt I performed with my seal at the end of the fourth Quintal Trial.
To think it would affect me this severely.
"Many things must had happened while I was asleep. I don't even know where to begin to find out."
Jonah smiled again at my words.
"Why don't you look at my status window to start?"
I frowned at the shepherd and observed his status window like he said.
[Jonah Brohm (★★★) Lv.20 (Exp 12/160)]
[Class: Warrior]
[Strength: 44/44]
[Intelligence: 10/10]
[Stamina: 36/36]
[Agility: 35/35]
[Skills: Basic Spearmanship Lv.10, Composure Lv.6, Fire Resistance Lv.3, Spear Throwing Lv.7, Pain Resistance Lv.4, Projectile Defense Lv.7, Insight Lv.6, Thrust Charge Lv.5, Indomitability Lv.1]
Jonah was a 3-star hero now!
A lot of things had surely happened while I was asleep.
"Level 20 is the requirement for the 3-star promotion. So after we cleared the 20th floor, Master immediately worked on to promote the qualified heroes."
Jonah explained.
He continued.
"There is also a new place called the Class Promotion Facility. It allowed the Novice class heroes like me to obtain a new one suited for our skills. Some of my skills levelled up due to the class promotion."
It seemed there was a lot I needed to catch up on.
But I was liking with what I was hearing so far.
"This is great. Now that you've become a 3-star and gained a proper class, you are now on par with the other advanced heroes like--"
Everything suddenly came back to me.
What happened on the 20th floor, what we went through, and what we lost.
I just now realized everything.
"Darius is dead, isn't he?"
I asked Jonah.
My comrade looked at me straight in the eye and nodded with heavy expression.
"Yes. He didn't make it."
Damn.
That was one memory I wished were false.
"Who else did we lose?"
I asked as I turned to the fireplace. Suddenly I felt the need to warm myself.
"Norn and Jordane in Party 2. As well as all the 2-star raiders in Party 3, 4, and 5."
Goodness…
I could not imagine how Zecht must be feeling right now.
And I knew Ulrica and the other 4-stars were growing fond of their party members.
The 20th floor, the fourth Quintal Trial, had greatly wounded us.
It was the worst blow the Raid Team had ever taken in our entire climb effort so far.
But this was the fate of the heroes of the forged land.
Considering the truth behind everything, losing some heroes while still progressing the climb was the best scenario we could get.
The fallen could still be remembered.
But Dunia still needed to be saved.
The heroes of the forged land were the only hope the world had.
It was our absolute duty to recover from our wounds and keep on challenging the trials.
We would lose many more heroes before we would reach the top of the tower and save Dunia.
But that was the sacrifice we must be willing to make for this great mission.
Grief would not stop us.
Not when there were worse things to be wary about.
"I could never figure it out, Fina."
Jonah said with a puzzled face.
He went on.
"I have seen the Quintal Trial's record twice already with the Replay Stone. But I don't know how everything went wrong.
"We've done everything as we were supposed to do. The other parties managed to secure the statues and provided the weakening effects on the monsters while also empowering us.
"We almost killed the chimera at one point. You almost killed the creature and won the Quintal Trial for us.
"But somehow…everything suddenly turned for the worse."
It was understandable that he would be confused.
I did not think anyone but me saw what that mysterious entity did to our trial.
Frankly, I was still trying to wrap my head around the phenomenon.
"We have more enemies than we thought, Jonah."
He furrowed his brows.
"You mentioned something similar while we were in the 20th floor. What did you mean by that?"
"I'll speak to everyone about it once I'm more certain. But just know that there is more to the forged land than what it seems so far."
I told him.
There were many mysteries shown to me after the fourth Quintal Trial.
I needed time to investigate them all. Every single thing I witnessed in that vision.
And I just happened to know where to begin.
[SERAFINA, MY ANGEL!]
Alam suddenly burst out from thin air.
I had been expecting for her to come.
But this was not how I pictured she would present herself.
Instead of her usual black dress, Alam was now wearing a poorly-stitched frilly black and white gown.
Attached on her back with strings, on top of her own translucent fairy wings, there was a pair of hand-painted white wings made out of cardboard.
What made the warden change her appearance?
[KYAAA! I REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GONNA LOSE YOU ON THE 20TH FLOOR!
[BUT NO! AS THE CHIMERA WAS ABOUT TO KILL YOU, YOUR SEAL AWAKENED AND YOU TRANSFORMED INTO THIS BEAUTIFUL ANGELIC CREATURE!
[AND THEN YOU WERE LIKE, 'Get down, you mutt!' AND THE STAGE BOSS IMMEDIATELY GOT DOWN JUST LIKE YOU SAID AND IT WAS SO COOL! KYAAAA!
[AFTER THAT YOU FLEW UP AND STARTED WHIPPING OUT ALL THIS COOL MAGIC LIKE PEPEPEW! AND KA-POW! BABOOM! TRATATA! WHOOSH! ZA-ZING! MY EYES COULD BARELY KEEP UP IT WAS SO AWESOME, KYAAAA!]
Alam continued recounting each second of the fourth Quintal Trial with exaggerated hand gestures and weird sound from her mouth.
"She was also quite worried while you were unconscious."
Jonah said to me.
I raised my eyebrow.
"Did she?"
"Of course. I think it's you she likes the most. Probably only you out of all the heroes in the lobby."
"Is that so?"
I observed the winged creature blabbering endlessly in front of me.
That vision I saw while I was unconscious.
It could not be a dream.
Everything I witnessed in that vision was likely the truth.
"Jonah, would you leave me for a moment? I would like to have a word with the warden."
The things I would talk about with the fairy were secrets that would trouble any creature.
I was not certain if I should share it with my comrades. Not even Jonah.
Not yet, at least.
"Sure. I think I should go and let the others know you're awake, anyway. And you must be hungry, so I'll tell the cooks to prepare you some food."
"Please do that. And make sure they triple my dessert portion than usual. I'll see you later."
Once Jonah left the room and I made sure he was truly away with my detection magic, I turned back to the fairy that was still recounting the Quintal Trial.
[AND THEN YOU LOOKED DOWN ON THE CHIMERA AND--]
"Alam."
[Y-YES?! What is it, Serafina?]
My word immediately made her stop and looked at me with attentive yearning eyes.
Good.
I needed her full attention in this conversation.
"Were the missions just a game to Master?"
I asked the fairy directly.
Alam raised her eyebrows innocently.
[What was that?]
"Were the missions just a game to Master?"
I repeated to her.
This was one question I would not mind repeating a thousand time.
I intended to receive a clear answer from the fairy. I would.