It was pure chance and luck that the young woman next to Kalen was the one he had to save. He already knew the identity of one of his targets, now he just needed to know who Rodhlann Danneir was.
Tearing his gaze away from Talika Bon before it was too long and seemed strange, Kalen looked at the group of people watching him and introduced himself.
"Gavyn Dias, I don't study anything" he replied, making up a random name... it was actually the name of one of the men he had killed a few minutes ago, he was just borrowing it for a while.
The group quickly passed Kalen and the introductions continued.
Following him was a group of six young women who had gathered shortly before receiving their respective scrolls along with their proofs. Although Kalen made sure to learn their names and faces, he didn't really pay much attention to them either, not after meeting Talika.
Right after the group of women, another group of five men, who had also gathered before receiving the scroll, introduced themselves dryly, and compared to the group of women, Kalen paid more attention to their introductions, since Rodhlann Danneir had to be among them.
Also, Kalen couldn't help but notice that they were the group that had teased Jaume Che when he introduced himself.
"Jordan Miller"
"Kristopher Mcley"
"Bert Tay"
"Zayne Vehleim"
"Norvin Stargleid"
With the introduction of the five young men, the full complement of all the men in the test was complete... and not one of them was named Rodhlann Danneir.
'Shit, someone was hiding his name just like me...'
Not being able to identify Rodhlann Danneir made things terribly complicated for Kalen, and it was quite possible that the real Rodhlann Danneir had also hidden his name, as he understood that giving his real name could get him into trouble.
Basically, Rodhlann Danneir had the same thoughts as Kalen about lying about his name, which led Kalen to believe that he would face a similar test to his own.
Without giving Kalen time to think about what to do, the last woman introduced herself.
"Jeanne Siljard"
The young woman introduced herself boredly, as if she saw no point in being part of the group. Her black hair reached to her waist, her brown eyes looked tired, and her gaze was always far away, indifferent.
Since Jeanne was the last to introduce herself, the whole group now knew each other's names... at least the ones they had given.
Elisabeth smiled reassuringly and addressed the group again.
"Well, now that we know everyone's name, we have to organize ourselves to survive. The first thing we need to do--"
Elisabeth was suddenly interrupted by one of the men who belonged to the group of five men who had mocked Jaume during his presentation.
"I disagree, why should we do what you say?"
Kalen remained silent as he remembered the name of the young man who had just spoken.
'If I remember correctly, it should be Zayne Vehleim…'
Since the real Rodhlann Danneir had hidden his name, Kalen was forced to pay more attention to the men than the women in the group. While there was a possibility that Rodhlann Danneir was a woman, the chances were slim... but not slim enough to ignore the possibility.
Elisabeth was unaffected by Zayne's words and instead just smiled slightly.
"No problem if you don't agree with my words, but don't expect us to help you later"
Elisabeth looked at the group of young men standing around Zayne.
"You agree with him too?"
The other young men looked at each other for a few seconds, but it didn't take them long to give their negative answer. They were all on Zayne's side.
'That was to be expected... he is Aston Vehleim's son after all'
Aston Vehleim was a famous challenger who went down in history as one of the most powerful challengers after passing his first test and entering Urasis. Being on the side of the son of such a person was basically a free ticket to enter Urasis.
Suffice it to say that Aston Vehleim was rumored to be one of the few pillars of humanity in the World of Salvation, and to be in the same trial as his firstborn was just bad luck...considering the way Zayne was.
Kalen's gaze rested on Elizabeth for a few seconds.
'Although she's not an ordinary person either...'
Like Zayne Vehleim, Elizabeth Taylor was no ordinary person and was famous enough that even Kalen knew her.
But in the end, the group decided to take sides and split up. Whether it was a good or bad decision, only time would tell.
Before leaving, Zayne looked at Jaume and called out to him, not bothering to remember his name.
"Hey, you, you're coming with us"
Jaume paled at Zayne's call, his intentions were clear to Jaume, and he knew it himself. That was why he knew he was in trouble.
As a nobody, he could not refuse such a request. But it wasn't until Elisabeth intervened that he could breathe again.
"You shouldn't force others to go with you if they don't want to"
Zayne was silent as he looked at Elisabeth with indifference.
"Aren't you forcing others to listen to you?"
Elisabeth looked around at the others before looking back at Zayne.
"If someone doesn't want to listen to me for a while, they can leave themselves"
Everyone was silent for a few seconds until someone moved, drawing everyone else's attention to her.
Jeanne Siljard, the last young woman to introduce herself, turned and walked to a corner of the large cave away from the group.
After her, however, no one moved, making it clear that they would listen to Elisabeth, if only for the moment.
"Tch"
Zayne snapped in annoyance and turned around before calling to his group.
"Let's go"
The group of five men started walking towards one of the cave tunnels before disappearing out of sight.
Everything smelled of trouble, and if it wasn't now, the two groups would definitely clash in the next few days or weeks.
But that was a problem for later, for now Elisabeth turned back to the group.
"To continue where I left off, I think we should split into groups and explore the cave for food and water. When we accepted Urasis' invitation, we were stripped of all our belongings"
Kalen lifted his arm slightly and pulled down his sleeve, only to see that his smartwatch had disappeared from his wrist.
Everyone else nodded and complained about losing their smartphones before Elisa continued.
"But I don't think now is a good time for this, it was night before we came, so I think everyone must be tired"
While Kalen wasn't particularly tired, having been trained to go several days without sleep, the same could not be said for the others. So, after some more small talk among the group, they decided to rest for the rest of the day and explore the caves in the early morning in search of water and food.
Soon the group spread out around the main cavern without getting too far apart, some lying down while others sat and talked quietly.
Kalen also left the group and sat down leaning against one of the cave walls.
'Now I just have to keep an eye on her...'
Kalen watched Talika, who was standing some distance away from him, with an anxious look on her face as she held her knees with her arms. It was clear that the young woman was terrified.
And thanks to her and the test Urasis had given Kalen, he would have to stay up all night to watch over her, not knowing what might happen to her when he wasn't looking.
Kalen settled down as best he could and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Time passed, and although it was impossible to tell exactly what time it was since they were in a cave and their belongings had been removed, Kalen could at least tell that it was about two in the morning.
And it was rather strange for someone to approach him at that hour of the morning.
Kalen stayed awake the whole time, still pretending to be asleep, until the person arrived in front of him.
He didn't know if it was a woman or a man, but Kalen was always alert, ready to defend or attack depending on the actions of the person in front of him. What he never expected, however, was for the person to sit next to him and whisper in his ear.
"I have a question. Why didn't you tell your real name?"
Kalen's heart began to beat fast. He recognized the voice of the person next to him, but her next words were enough to surprise him even more than he already was.
"I know you are awake, Kalen Nohak... or should I say the famous assassin, Nox Caleum"
Kalen opened his eyes abruptly and looked at the woman beside him with hostility.
"How do you know that name, Elisabeth Taylor?"