Elisabeth Taylor, a beautiful young woman who was well known in her circle, even to Kalen. The only thing he hadn't expected was that she knew him, and not just his name, but his identity as an assassin, Nox Caelum.
Earlier, when Kalen had introduced himself as Gavyn Dias, he had lied not only about his name, but also about not being a student. In reality, Kalen studied at the same university as Elisabeth, which is why he knew her.
It was through his classmates that he discovered Elisabeth's social media profile, where the young woman had more than 3 million followers... quite a lot, to say least.
Smart, money, good personality, beautiful. Elisabeth had it all, but the mere fact that she knew him as Nox Caelum completely destroyed her image in Kalen's mind.
After all, only a few people knew him by that pseudonym... and most of them were people of high power in society.
Elisabeth smiled faintly, as she had been smiling all the time since they had received their proof.
"Well, I have my sources" she replied mockingly.
Kalen was not intimidated by the young woman, and without giving her time to react, he moved his arm quickly and gripped Elisabeth's neck tightly, just enough to make her uncomfortable but not to cut off her breathing.
"Speak, I have neither the time nor the inclination to play your little games"
Being identified as Nox Caelum brought trouble to Kalen; after all, it was a secret, and for someone like Elisabeth to know that secret jeopardized the successful completion of his test.
Not only his identity as an assassin, but as far as Kalen knew, she was the only one who knew his real name and therefore the only one who knew that he had lied when he introduced himself.
Elisabeth's smile faded and she began to pale, feeling short of breath. The young woman grabbed Kalen's arm with both hands and touched it several times, begging him to let go.
If she was not in the Urasis test, Kalen would make sure that Elisabeth did not reveal her name, but on the condition that she could not kill anyone but Rodhlann Danneir, he could not hurt her, or he would risk not only exposing himself but also failing the test.
Kalen loosened his grip enough to let her speak but did not let go.
"I-I know the Circle of Atlas... my father introduced me"
The Circle of Atlas was the association Kalen worked for, where the most influential people in society were the ones who almost completely controlled the association... not to mention the government.
Also, since Elisabeth mentioned that her father was the one who introduced her, Kalen had enough evidence to know it was true.
Elisabeth's father, Connor Taylor, was still a big businessman and above all a big partner in the government. Even if Kalen didn't know all of the Atlas Circle's backers, it wasn't hard to imagine that Connor Taylor was one of them.
Kalen let go of Elisabeth, who held her neck and massaged it, coughing softly and trying not to wake the others in the cave.
"You shouldn't--" Elisabeth wanted to make a small joke, but seeing Kalen's serious look, she preferred to remain silent and get to the point.
"I want to propose a deal"
Kalen frowned slightly.
"Speak"
In Atlas' circle, everything was done through deals, be it favors, money, etc. That's why Elisabeth was proposing a deal. Kalen simply had no idea what she could offer, but at least he could listen.
"I want you to protect me until the end of the Urasis Test... and above all to follow my orders"
Kalen said nothing but scoffed inwardly. Elisabeth's offer was anything but realistic.
"What's in it for me?"
Elisabeth smiled again, but this time it was playful.
"I'm willing to do whatever you want"
Kalen frowned again, this time more seriously.
"You're willing to sell your body for security?"
Elisabeth stopped smiling and said no.
"No, it's not protection... it's power. I'm willing to do anything to be more powerful than others, even if I have to sacrifice my dignity"
Kalen crossed his arms and looked at Elisabeth for a few seconds in silence.
"Unfortunately, I don't want your body, so if you have nothing else to offer, you'd better leave... and keep your mouth shut"
They both fell silent and only their breathing could be heard. Shortly after, Elisabeth broke the silence for the last time.
"Don't worry, I know the rules of the circle. Still, I'm not ready to let this deal go"
Elisabeth reached into her khaki jacket and pulled out a white scroll, handing it to Kalen.
"I'm offering you information... not just my scroll, but the others as well"
Kalen didn't know what to say for a moment, it was clear that the young woman wasn't lying. She really was willing to reveal her evidence and betray the others.
'...Definitely not a normal person'
In the Urasis Test, information was simply vital, not strength.
Kalen was already limited to not killing anyone, and although he had no restrictions on injuring or incapacitating someone, it was better not to have a physical confrontation for the time being. The more information he had, the better chance he had of finding Rodhlann Danneir and passing his test.
Kalen went to take the parchment from Elisabeth, but before he could grab it, the young woman took it from him and looked at Kalen.
"I understand you accept my offer"
Kalen withdrew his hand, sighed, and recited:
"I, Nox Caelum, in exchange for protecting you for the entire duration of the Urasis Test and following your instructions, Elisabeth Taylor will provide me with her own scroll, including any others she manages to obtain during the same test... in addition to her information screen"
Kalen had no doubt that Elisabeth would manage to influence the others to show them the contents of their scrolls, and even if she didn't manage to get them all, knowing the test of some people would be very helpful.
This time it was Elisabeth's turn to frown... she didn't like the last part, but she didn't have much of a problem with it either, so she turned the scroll over and recited her part of the bargain.
"I, Elisabeth Taylor, in exchange for my own scroll and any others I manage to obtain during the Urasis test... and the contents of my information screen, Nox Caelum will provide security during the same test and follow my instructions as long as they do not interfere with his own security or the contents of his tests"
After hearing Elisabeth's agreement, Kalen had no problem with it; he even liked that the young woman had his goals in mind.
Kalen took the scroll from Elisabeth as a sign of the agreement and opened it before reading it carefully.
[Welcome to all challengers to the firefly cave]
[In this place, you will have to pass your first test, where only those who...]
As Kalen had sensed earlier, the first part of what was written on the scroll was the same for all.
Then it was the content of Elisabeth's tests that made him understand how much his tests differed from hers.
[First test: Get ten or more challengers to follow you unconditionally until the end of the test]
[Conditions: Those who follow you must do so of their own free will]
[Second Test: Create a safe environment for the challengers who follow you]
[Conditions: None of your followers must die due to your fault]
[Third Test: Determine the cause of the strange occurrences in Firefly Cavern]
[Conditions: No conditions]
To say the least, Elisabeth's tests were completely different from Kalen's, they had nothing in common except that their conditions seemed to be somewhat ambiguous.
It was also strange that Elisabeth's third test had no conditions, but at the same time, it revealed too much information to be overlooked.
'...Strange events... meant that something bad was going to happen'
Indirectly, his thoughts turned to Talika Bon; if something strange was happening in the cave, then Kalen would have to protect Talika at all costs.
The rest of the scroll's content was the same as his, so after memorizing Elisabeth's tests and their conditions, he handed the scroll back to her.
Elisabeth took her scroll and tucked it into her jacket, then looked at Kalen and held out her hand.
"Happy?"
Kalen shook Elisabeth's hand.
"I will be after I see your information screen"
Elisabeth smiled tiredly and remained silent as she called up her information screen.
Through physical contact, someone was able to share her information screen... which could be dangerous in some cases.
Kalen looked forward and a black screen with white letters began to appear in the air in front of him.
[Name: Elisabeth Taylor]
[Rank: Challenger]
[Trait: Leader]
[Trait Ability: Captivating Voice]
[Description: Your words have the power to affect the subconscious of others]