Mia blinked a few times, picking up on a few implications.
"The promotion mission? So is the diamonds door the right answer, or could you still go through the other doors?"
Anna tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips together.
"It's a little complicated. The other doors aren't the wrong way to go, but they will lead to different problems that aren't as clear as the ones in the diamonds section. Also, this promotion mission is a little bit special, since it also determines the kind of power that is given to you."
Mia's eyes lit up when she heard that. After having already gotten a tiny taste of power through her increased senses and essentially telekinesis, she was longing for more.
"What kind of power will I get from the different doors?"
Anna didn't immediately answer her question, instead thinking about it for a while. Her finger was on her chin as she tilted her head back and forth several times.
"It's a little bit hard to say because everyone gets their own kind of power depending on who they are. For you, I would highly recommend that you simply go to the diamonds one, since it would support you the most."
She shrugged her shoulders with a smile.
"But if you want to know about all of them, clubs are generally known for their brute strength. Usually, a person who chooses the clubs path will have strength that can overwhelm people, brute forcing others by willingly taking hits to get hits of their own in. However, even if they are significantly stronger than others, it's rare they ever get out of a fight without taking some hits themselves. Obviously, it's much worse when evenly matched or outmatched. If you are willing to get hit a lot, then you can try that test."
Then she tapped her chin a few times.
"As for the Spades, they are known for their technique. It's not just the technique itself, or their intelligence by itself. There are also things like their agility, reaction speed, and simply intuition that make them adaptable to many scenarios very quickly. While they may not be all that physically strong themselves, their ability and knowledge can artificially inflate that weak strength to ridiculous degrees. However, their body is generally still weak. For some people, the spades option can improve their power significantly, but there are also those that have gotten barely any benefit from it since their base level was bad."
This time, Anna waited a while. Her hesitance in describing the next one was clear, but soon enough, she continued anyway.
"While all of them are pretty vague and have plenty of exceptions, it's really hard to understand the hearts. Most of this is because a lot of them end up dying early on before they really get to develop. However, that doesn't mean that they are all weak. Their power seems to focus on the mind, but more specifically the emotional state, both their own and other people's. The ones that have the most notoriety, are the ones that make you willing to die for their sake before you even understand why. Overall, it's a very unreliable way to go, and has a test that is considered quite hard by most people."
She then clapped her hands.
"The final one is diamonds! This is the one that I actually am, and the one I think is probably the best for you. Most of these people are known for their high intelligence. The kind of people that may be disadvantaged, but have different strategies and tools to overcome or circumvent them. They are also known for having the highest power out of all the suits, though it does come at a cost, most commonly being cards. Usually, they want to avoid fights when possible, instead opting to participate in games, using their intelligence to win. However, if they are forced into a fight, they can usually take on people they normally wouldn't be able to if they were other suits. Their main weaknesses are only extended fights and poor resource management, but you can avoid those easily!"
Anna tapped her nose twice with a smirk.
"You may not notice it now, but you can already smell some danger with your nose because you solved all those puzzles. Diamonds have really strong senses, which let you smell the amount of things that a person has killed. Before it's developed, it will be really hard to smell, unless the person has killed many, and is close to you. However, as you progress, you should be able to sense many people before they even get close as well as their relative danger level."
Mia went into a slight daze hearing all of that. She couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by everything but was also very attracted to the diamonds option. Although she acknowledged that Anna might've been a bit biased, she still really did like how it sounded.
"This... is so different to how the first two floors are. It's so much more complicated."
Anna nodded vigorously, flapping her wings and raising a finger high.
"Many people refer to this part as where The House of Cards actually starts. It also will be much harder to promote from now on, so it's very good you got the benefits from some of the hardest games before going there!"
Mia thought about her paltry rewards from the first game compared to the others but didn't get too hung up about it. They weren't bad, and there was also the benefit she got from this game which was quite nice. Both the knowledge and ability.
That reminded her of how much Anna had helped her.
"Thank you so much for telling me all this and helping me."
Anna giggled rather brightly before diving into Mia for a hug.
"Thank you for listening so attentively and playing my game. It made me really happy."
Mia was a tad bit shocked by the sudden display of affection but didn't mind it. Unfortunately, she was a bit too hesitant to reciprocate properly. After a few minutes, Anna separated before waving.
"Goodbye... and stay strong!"
Mia nodded with a small smile.
"I will, thank you, and see you soon."
Anna pointed at her, after which Mia disappeared in a flash of light. Afterwards, Anna remained staring at the empty space for a while before turning away and flying off into the distance.
As for Mia, immediately upon returning, she smelled a very strong smell of blood. She couldn't see anything, as her eyes hadn't adjusted at all, going from a really bright white place to an almost pitch-black one.
Mia quickly recalled Anna's words, that she would only be able to smell someone if they were not only close but also a very big threat. Danger signals blared in her mind as she hurriedly reached for her black, willing out the warp crystal and immediately crushing it.
The last thing she felt as she disappeared was a strong gust of wind that blew by her face.
Suddenly, she found herself near the middle of the hub, while cold sweat had formed on her back. Mia took a deep breath before affirming to herself that she wanted to go with the diamonds route.
After taking a quick look around, she found that Mia and Jack appeared to be missing. However, Emma was pretty close by. After noticing her appearance, Emma turned to look at her with a smile, waving rather gracefully.
Mia gave an awkward wave back before taking a few steps towards her.
"Um, do you know where the others went?"
Emma put a hand up to her lips and chuckled.
"Don't worry, they are simply taking the promotion mission. I suppose you should join them soon."
Mia gave a nod, fully intending to do that. However, she couldn't help but feel curious as to why Emma was still here. As to why she decided to remain on this floor long before they met them when she was already so strong.
"Why haven't you gone to take the promotion mission yet?"
Emma let out a small sigh and waved her hand dismissively.
"I still have some business to tend to. I'm just killing time for now."
Mia tilted her head to the side, still not really understanding. Though she simply let it go, not minding enough to ask further.
"Alright then, I'm going to go take the promotion mission. See you again?"
Emma let out a laugh with her mouth closed, waving.
"Goodbye."
Mia turned her focus to the store, giving the other items a brief once over before getting to the promotion test by using a 7. She was promptly transferred into an awfully familiar room with four doors. Although she hesitated briefly, she still decided to go with the choice of diamonds.
Though she couldn't help but worry if Jessica and Jack would be alright.