My prediction was, unfortunately, correct.
It had been a week since Master left after the failed scouting attempt by the Fourth Advanced Scouts.
And they had not returned since.
This was the longest Sigyn had ever let us unattended.
They normally would appear at least once a day to relay orders and respond our requests.
But it had been seven days since Sigyn last made contact with us.
The sky of the forged land remained in its pale gray state, signifying Master's absence in the lobby.
[Serafina, what are we gonna do?!!]
Alam shouted at me in frustration and panic.
I was currently strolling through the second floor of the lobby, inspecting the supporting stations as I made my way back to the third floor.
"You've been acting like this for a week now. Can't you settle down just for a day?"
[But what if Master never came back? I've told you it would be bad for us if they never returned.]
Master was basically the beating heart of the forged land.
The lobby would not fully function without Master's presence.
All the heroes would not even be here if Master did not summon us through the summoning chamber.
There had been no new summoning ever since Sigyn left. Because heroes did not have the authority to summon other heroes.
Alam said Master could arrange so that new heroes could keep being summoned even in their absence.
But Sigyn had not made such order.
Everything the heroes did, in essence, was to carry out what Master instructed.
The reason we could climb the tower and began our mission to save our world was because Master sent us to those trials.
We would not be able to challenge the tower if it were not for Master's order.
A while back, Sigyn had actually transferred some authoritative rights to me, their Vice-Master.
I could now authorize any Main Dungeon visitation from the fourteenth floor and below.
Heroes who wished to challenge those trial floors would not need to wait for Master's approval. They could go to those floors as long as I approved the deployment.
Master made this arrangement since there were now too many combatant trainees residing on the first and the second floor of the lobby.
Sigyn no longer had the time to manage every single hero outside the Raid Team, which had been requiring more attention as we climbed higher in the tower.
So we were still able to develop our trainees till they became a level 14 2-star hero, even in Master's absence.
That being said, we still needed Master in order to further our climb effort.
We could not challenge the twentieth floor and continued our climb without Master's order.
The Quintal Trials would not be cleared and Dunia would not be saved.
So it would be bad if Sigyn never returned.
Moreover, according to Alam, apparently the forged land was powered by Master's presence.
She did not clearly explain how and what would happen if the forged land loses its power completely.
But I assumed nothing good from that scenario.
"Is there anything we can do to summon Master? Can we contact Sigyn so they would return?"
I asked the fairy.
She shook her head regretfully.
[It can't be done. There are strict rules to these things.]
I figured.
Alam might had the power to communicate with Master and influence the forged land according to their orders.
But there were still limitations to what she could do.
I certainly would like to figure out the entire truth of this forged land.
After what happened with the Fourth Advanced Scouts, I could not help but be more curious than ever.
That mysterious wave and those peculiar terms.
Foreign power… Interference…
Server error… My seal's resonance…
So many puzzles to solve.
But more urgent matters must come first.
"Since we can't do anything to expedite Master's return, then we shall focus on what we can do."
[What is it?]
"Preparing for the climb."
I finally arrived at the third floor of the lobby.
To be precise, I had come to the training ground reserved for Party 1. Its dueling chamber, to be more specific.
Clang! Clang!
My party comrades were currently sparring against Ulrica, Djhotti, and Graihan.
The four of them against the three 4-stars all at once.
It was Party 1's special training.
We knew Master would likely choose our group as vanguard on the twentieth floor.
In terms of experience alone, Party 1 triumphed over all the other parties in the Main Forces.
Our group was composed of one 4-star, two 3-stars, and two 2-stars that had survived three Quintal Trials.
Even disregarding my weak seal, Party 1 as a whole would be suitable to serve the vanguard role in the fourth Quintal Trial.
It was for that reason my comrades had been training very hard each day.
They had understood that my spells would not always save them in the trial.
There would come the time when they would have to rely on their own strength.
The twentieth floor would definitely present many such instances.
Swoosh!
Darius launched a series of arrows toward the 4-stars.
Graihan dashed ahead of his peers and parried the projectiles away.
Devisha suddenly emerged from the lycanthrope's flank. Her dagger was poised to slash his throat.
Clang!
The lycanthrope parried the veiled woman's underhanded assault.
As Graihan was about to deliver a follow-up strike, Darius's arrow flew at him.
Clang!
The half-beast deflected the projectile with his claw.
That was when Devisha took another aim at Graihan's neck.
The lycanthrope then sprinted across the room toward Darius. Devisha gave chase.
Darius tried to maintain their distance, but Graihan was simply too fast.
He managed to draw the archer into a close-ranged fight.
Devisha came to Darius's aid and the two fought against the lycanthrope together.
But Darius could not utilize his full potential as an archer in immediate confrontation. And Devisha could not occupy Graihan long enough so Darius could retreat.
So the three engaged in a fierce exchange of blows, with my comrades being on the overwhelmed side.
"You have good eyes, old daywalker. But you must be prepared to face your prey head on."
The lycanthrope said to Darius mid battle.
He turned to Devisha.
"Your reflexes and speed are excellent for a human. But your claws aren't sharp enough. They won't be able to tear your prey's throat properly."
Meanwhile, Shanny unwaveringly blocked Ulrica's axe swing with her shield.
The former maid countered the move by thrusting her sword toward the Near-Kin's torso.
Ulrica saw the assault coming and slightly bent her body to dodge the blade.
She proceeded to swing her axe on Shanny's flank which was left open because of her counterattack.
Clang!
Shanny managed to quickly draw her sword back and deflected the strike in time.
She countered that move by unleashing intense barrage of sword slashes against Ulrica, with each stroke stronger and faster than before, leaving no chance for her opponent to strike back.
The Near-Kin did not seem overwhelmed however.
Ulrica managed to block, parry, and deflect every assault with precision and calmness.
As Shanny was about to reach the peak of her normal strength, a flash of lightning appeared from Ulrica's feet.
The Near-Kin vanished and emerged right behind Shanny. Her giant axe was poised to strike my comrade.
Shanny immediately broke her momentum and turned to anticipate the ambush.
Clang!
Ulrica's axe forcefully clashed against Shanny's shield like a charging battering ram.
The impact pushed the former maid several steps back.
"You have exceptional power, southlander. But having tremendous strength isn't enough."
The Near-Kin said to Shanny.
She continued while pointing to her head.
"A true warrior plans her battle. She visualizes her opponent's defeat and work to realize it."
Next to the two women, Jonah was charging fast toward Djhotti.
The shepherd poised his spear to strike the dwarf.
Djhotti responded by swinging his great halberd downward, right at his opponent's trajectory.
Jonah maintained his dash until the dwarf's weapon had swung halfway toward him.
The shepherd suddenly halted his charge and sidestepped.
Crash!
Djhotti's halberd missed Jonah.
The dwarf proceeded to rotate the halberd's blade and swung the polearm horizontally.
Jonah saw the attack coming.
No. He expected it.
The man then leaped to the air and dodged the deadly arc Djhotti just made.
As soon as the shepherd landed back on the ground, the dwarf's halberd had swung to the far side of the arc and leaving him wide open.
Jonah then thrusted his spear right toward Djhotti's head.
But the dwarf swiftly pulled his halberd to his center and parried the assault with ease.
Clang!
"You think like a true warrior, shepherd."
The dwarf told Jonah.
He pointed his halberd toward my comrade's spear.
"But your brilliant strategy is useless if your own power can't overcome your foe's. Overwhelm them to the point of defeat. Tactics are simply the means to achieve that outcome."
After hearing the 4-stars' advices, my comrades began fighting differently.
They committed the lessons to heart and implemented them directly in combat.