“Nooooo. Leave me alone! Don’t do this… please.”

The long hallway was filled the echoes of one particular human. His throes were loud, and they rang of desperation, but they had no power in them.

The owner of this voice was, of course, Ivan.

“Edward, you traitor. Don’t let they fiend deceive you. Let me gooooo!!!” The young man cried, kicking his feet in the air as he was overpowered by his hulky friend.

“Ivan, just calm down. Didn’t you say you trusted Lemi too? She has a plan, so just—”

“Nooo! Let me gooooo!!!” The red haired boy kept throwing his tantrums.

His throes almost made Edward give in and release him, but a glance in Lemi’s location made him reconsider that idea.

Her serious gaze, and the very dangerous glint in her eyes that promised a harsh punishment if he failed, made Edward keep going.

He carried Ivan to the suspected Arcana, and then threw the young boy toward the card.

>BBBZZZZTTTZZZ<

Once more, the Arcana changed color, sizzling with orange electricity as Ivan was launched back.

“Garrghhhh! It hurrrtts!” His screams echoed as he flew backward.

Fortunately, Edward caught him. Still, his body sparked with orange electricity, making him make funny faces that only served to depict his pain.

“Y-you bastards…” He gritted his teeth as he looked at Edward and Lemi.

They were traitorous friends who betrayed him, and—

“Oh, please, Ivan. It wasn’t that bad. Besides, you could have just used Magic to escape Edwards grasp whenever you wanted. Stop making a big deal out of it.”

The red haired young man gulped, realizing he had been found out. He was truthfully curious about the results… though he was also sort of unwilling to take the risk.

The fact that they forced him was perfect since he could blame them for mishandling him.

‘How did things end up this way?!’ Ivan’s thoughts rang… though he was unwilling to accept defeat.

“W-well, it hurts! You wouldn’t understand since you didn’t feel it!” He barked.

“You’re right. Fortunately, it seems I won’t have to.”

Lemi snickered, approaching the glowing card, picking it with her delicate fingers.

Ivan and Edward winced, expecting some sort of ‘buzz’ or negative reaction. Personally, the former wished for a scream as well.

However…

“Oh? Looks like I was correct, after all. See?” Lemi’s grin was yet to fade, and there was no scream.

Rather, locked between her fingers was the card that gave them so much trouble. It flickered with yellow lightning, resonating with the Half Elf holding it.

“H-how…?” Ivan’s jaw was slack with surprise.

His planned revenge had failed!

“I suspected as much when it flickered purple in reaction to Edward, and then orange when it was your turn.” The girl explained, drawing closer to the boys.

“You both picked the wrong answers in the test, and the colors that the wheel landed on was displayed in the sparks of electricity.”

The reason Lemi wasn’t affected was because she was the one who got the answers right. In essence, she was the chosen one!

The Arcana was rightfully hers.

“Oh? Looks like it’s The Wheel Of Fortune. Nice. I have such good luck!”

It took a while for the boys to realize this—perhaps they never got the full picture on what happened—but they had just gotten played by Lemi.

“Muahahaha!” She gave a mock evil laugh as the defeated men hung their heads in shame.

At this point, the zeal to fight or argue had long faded.

“Let’s just go home…” Ivan’s voice unenthusiastically echoed.

“Y-yeah…” Edward responded.

Lemi shrugged. She felt a little bad for the boys, but every course of action she made way the most optimal.

Sure, she used them, and they arrived at a conclusion where the Arcana Of Fortune chose only her. However, one could argue that she contributed most to their mission.

In essence, no one deserved the power more than she did.

‘Though I don’t even know what this does…’ She looked at the warbling card.

In the end, she would still have to consult with Jared and train to master whatever ability was waiting in store for her.

‘Sweet! Something nice to experiment with.’

Now that their business within the hallway was complete, it was time to leave. The boys were long ready to depart, but Lemi was still enjoying herself a bit.

“Alright. Let’s go.” She finally agreed after watching their unmotivated faces.

Jared had given each them Spell Cards so they could return, though one was enough for all three of them.

Lemi decided to use the one in her possession, and it glowed blue as soon as she activated the Spell.

“Goodbye, hallway. I enjoyed myself!”

>VWUUUUSSSHHH<

The blue portal appeared before them, and they were able to leave in one piece. It truly was a fun time—though open to interpretation, depending on which member was asked.

They could all agree on one thing, however.

‘Mission complete.’

*****************

The Glacier Dungeon

“Tch… this is unexpected.” A gruffy tone sounded, and misty breaths escaped the lips of the man who spoke.

“Yeah. I agree.” A feminine voice replied.

“W-what should we do?” This time, it was the tone of a child.

The group of three had troubled expressions on their face, and as they exhaled, visible evidence of their breaths leaked out.

Maro Smith, Aloe Vida, and Asa were in quite the pinch, and they knew it.

Their mission was to recover an Arcana suspected to be in this location, so of course they had tried their hardest.

They were able to navigate their way through the harsh climate of eternal frost that surrounded the Dungeon.

Once they entered the extremely dangerous structure, they were greeted with countless opponents, most of which were frosty statues. With their intelligence and abilities, they somehow managed to get by.

The journey got more difficult the further they ventured into the Dungeon, but they endured. Until finally… they arrived at the heart of the most dangerous place they had ever experienced.

Now this was where things got a bit tricky.

“This is… a bit too much, don’t you think?”