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"Alright, since you\'ve all been brought up to speed, shall we proceed?" Matthew asked, stretching his muscles in preparation.

"Hold your horses, big guy. We still have one big issue," Aiden said, stopping him in his tracks.

Matthew, confused, asked, "And what would that be?"

"Use your head, dummy. We have to complete fourteen trials within three years. If that\'s the case, then everything we\'ll be asked to do will probably take us the full three years to complete," Elora scoffed, crossing her arms as she explained.

"Hold on, that means…" Finn\'s eyes widened as he quickly understood what they were implying.

"Exactly, we\'re stuck here until it\'s all over," Aiden said, his voice heavy with resignation.

"Maybe time moves differently here, don\'t you think?" Morrigan asked, her voice wavering with a mix of hope and anxiety.

Rosa turned to Alok, pitching the question with a glance.

Alok shook his head solemnly. "I\'m afraid not. Both worlds are connected, and so time flows the same in both."

"Well, can we leave and come back later? I\'m getting kinda hungry," Evelina chipped in, rubbing her tummy, trying to lighten the mood despite the gravity of the situation.

"My apologies, but you can\'t leave until the trial is done," Alok replied, his face a mask of stoic indifference.

"That can\'t be true. There has to be a way, right?" Evelina\'s voice trembled with desperation.

"That\'s total BS! First, you threaten us, and then you trap us? I ought to give that master of yours a piece of my mind," Elora fumed, her frustration boiling over.

"That annoying angel said we\'d know more about this world because we\'ve encountered it before, but from what I see, the movies and TV shows are nothing like this," Morrigan complained, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Damn right you are, and the only useful people here are the ones that played the game. I don\'t even remember there being a light novel; maybe I would have read it," Rosa added, her tone laced with sarcasm.

\'Well, duh… The producers thought that cutting down important details from the original source material would be cheaper and ended up filtering the real story. You basically got served diluted orange juice without realizing it,\' Jett thought as he listened to Morrigan and Rosa complain.

\'They did publish the novel but stopped after a year, but the sales were so bad that you had to personally beg the publishing company to provide you with copies after paying a hefty price because they stopped printing and threw away the source material.

I almost drained my account just to get it after stumbling on it by chance,\' Jett sighed internally, his thoughts tinged with a mix of frustration and resignation.

Jett had always had a soft spot for WAR BOUND. He couldn\'t stand when people talked about it like it was trash or tried to badmouth it. It was a world he cherished deeply, a realm where he\'d spent countless hours, and hearing it dismissed so casually irked him to no end.

Rey and Seraphina had been standing in a corner, sharing amused smiles while the others argued about the situation. They found a strange comfort in their shared understanding of the game\'s mechanics.

"How are you guys smiling at a time like this?" Marcella asked, finally noticing their calm demeanor amidst the chaos.

"You seem to be enjoying this a bit too much, you two," Freya added, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Yeah, tell us. Is there something we don\'t know?" Aiden pressed, his frustration evident.

Rey burst into laughter, bold and proud. "You lot look so terrified right now, like we\'re really going to spend three whole years here," he said, his laughter.

"What\'s so funny?" Morrigan snapped, irritation coloring her voice.

Rey composed himself, still chuckling. "Let me explain. In WAR BOUND, there are these things called time-limited dungeons or timed dungeons. Whenever we got a new update with a dungeon like that, they usually only lasted for a week, sometimes a month. They were designed to be cleared faster than their allocated time.

The allocated time was just a grace period for those who started late or didn\'t have time to complete the dungeons in one go. The only difference between a dungeon like that and where we are now is that we can\'t leave until it\'s all over."

Understanding dawned on the group as Rey\'s explanation sank in.

"So, we might not be here for three years?" Evelina asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Exactly. We just need to complete the trials quickly," Jett added, his voice steady and reassuring.

"Well damn, you could have said that earlier you know." Finn mussed \'I thought we we\'re gooners.\'

The tension in the room eased slightly as the reality of their situation became clearer, and for the first time, the group felt a spark of hope amidst the uncertainty.

"I know that already, but have you ever seen a dungeon like that where you had to clear it in a year? We\'re talking about three," Asher explained to Rey, his tone edged with concern. "Even if we say we won\'t be here for that long, it\'ll still take a long time. Long enough for us to get into trouble back at the academy."

"There\'s a way to actually leave, though, but we\'ll have to at least complete one trial first to trigger it," Jett said, doing a few squats to warm up. \'A necessary lie. I want to see what kind of trials they kept for us.\'

"Hey Alok, we\'re ready for the first trial," Jett called out, prompting a screen to appear for him to accept the invitation on their behalf.

"Hold on… We\'re not ready, at least not mentally… right?" Finn said, looking around as he realized no one else shared his hesitation. \'How did I even get roped into this? I swear, weird things always happen when he\'s with us.\'

Finn watched as everyone got their weapons ready and warmed up. Even Marcella and Cedric, notorious for always avoiding unnecessary action, were preparing themselves. Marcella\'s fingers danced over her daggers, checking their sharpness, while Cedric adjusted his gauntlets, his face set in grim determination.

"Are you guys even listening? We don\'t even know what we\'re going up against," Finn yelled, frustration coloring his voice, but he was still ignored. \'How did I get reborn with a bunch of idiots?\'

Jett, ignoring Finn\'s protests, accepted the invitation, setting the stage for the first trial. The air around them shimmered with anticipation, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to pulse with energy.

*****

As Jett accepted the invitation, the world around them began to shift. The ground trembled slightly, and the air hummed with an otherworldly energy.

Suddenly, a brilliant light enveloped them, and when it faded, they found themselves standing on one of the floating islands they had seen from below, suspended high above the clouds. The island was lush and green, with a forest of towering trees and a crystal-clear lake at its center.

"Welcome to the first trial," Alok\'s voice echoed from above. "Your task is simple: Get to the finish line before the timer runs out. There are no penalties for failing, and you will restart the trial if the timer hits zero."

Apart from Asher, Elora, Freya, and Jett, the rest of the group paid little attention to what Alok had just said, instead taking in their surroundings and the breathtaking beauty of the floating island.

"Wow, I didn\'t really notice it earlier, but this place is amazing," Moriggan said with, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Yep until it tries to kill us." Marcella added.

"Don\'t let the scenery fool you. We need to stay focused," Jett reminded them.

"Alright, let\'s move out," Rey said, his voice steady despite the excitement he was feeling.

"Why does it always have to be heights?" Finn muttered to himself, clutching his staff tighter.

"When has it ever been heights?" Jett teased, trying to lighten the mood.

As the timer started, everyone gathered around for a brief strategy meeting. The clock was ticking, and the stakes were high.

"Okay, we need a plan," Asher said, his voice calm and authoritative. "Jett, you Seraphina, Elora Ray and I take the lead. Rosa, Marcella, Morigan and Evelina cover our flanks. Aiden, Matthew, and Cedric, keep an eye on the rear. Freya, stick close to the center and be ready to support with magic and Finn, Stay close to her."

Everyone nodded in agreement, their expressions serious. The urgency of their situation was beginning to sink in.

But while the planning was going on, Aiden was having a meeting of his own in his head.

\'No penalties for failing?\' Aiden pondered quietly before making a bold decision. He dashed forward, leaping to the first island. "Last one there\'s a rotten egg!"

"Stop, Aiden!" the others called out, but Finn smirked, curious to see how this would turn out for Aiden.

Aiden reached the first island unscathed, landing smoothly. \'Nothing happened?\'

"This is too easy!" Aiden yelled in excitement, his voice echoing through the serene landscape.

The others hesitated, contemplating joining him, but Jett stepped in, blocking their path. "Wait for it..." he said, his eyes fixed on Aiden.

"For what?" Elora asked, her worry for her brother evident.

"Wait for it…" Jett repeated, his tone tense.

Before they knew what was happening, Aiden was forcibly teleported back to the starting point. He landed with a thud, confusion and fear etched on his face.

"I\'m alive?" Aiden yelled, half-crying. "What the hell? What kind of game is this?"

"Let me guess, you stepped on a mine?" Asher asked, trying to hide his amusement. "You\'re lucky that didn\'t kill you."

\'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?\' Jett wondered, his unease growing.

"Please be aware," Alok\'s voice echoed from above, "that if even one of you loses a life during the trial or the timer runs out, the most used skills and five stat points from each of you will be sacrificed to bring back your dead comrades and restart the trial, even if you didn\'t participate."

"The timer will reset automatically if there are no participants." Alok added.

"You\'re telling me that if we fail, we all get stat reductions and lose our favorite skills?" Evelina asked, her disbelief clear despite having already heard Alok\'s words.

"Only until the trial ends," Alok replied, his tone emotionless.

"You tell us that now? Ugh I don\'t know where you and your master came from but in my world. that\'s a freaking penalty!!!" Freya said in annoyance.

Jett quickly checked his status, confirming his fears. [Tactical Mirage] was gone. The others followed suit, discovering their most used skills had vanished, along with some points from each stat.

"AIDEN!!!" they all yelled in unison, their frustration and anger directed at the cause of their plight.

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