Besides Alisa, three other girls had become Princesses in this Trial. Their portraits hovered around the mechanical sphere in the center of the square. Under each girl was her card as well as her suit.
"Well, well... I supposed some of them might be important, but not all of them at once..." Ethan muttered, looking at the portraits of the other three girls.
It was Maris with Queen of Clubs, Nitra with Queen of Spades, and Freda with Queen of Diamonds. Alisa with Queen of Hearths was also here.
[Four Princesses were chosen: Alisa - For being Victim in Third Trial. Maris - For having the best result in the Fourth Trial among women. Nitra - For her vile and evil behavior throughout Zero Epos. Freda - For endless attempts and failures]
"What... I became a Princess?" Alisa muttered in a disbelief.
"Yeah... Queen of Hearth, that card fits you. Hehehe." Ethan said, chuckling.
Alisa felt a little weird about Ethan's reaction, but he decided to just ignore it. Whether Ethan was weird or not, she didn't want to leave him, she had nowhere else to go and Ethan understood that better than she did.
[Prepare to defend your Kingdom, your Area, from waves of monsters. Choose which Princess you want to join.]
At the same moment, four cards appeared in front of each person, clear, with only the suit marks, nothing more.
The participants had to make a choice not only because of their personal preference for one of the girls, as each Princess had her own bonuses.
[Hearth Suit
1) For the duration of the Fifth Trial, you will receive permanent regeneration, enough to heal minor cuts in minutes rather than hours.
2) You will gain a sword to fight against monsters.
More bonuses will be gained depending on what position you have under that Princess]
[Club Suit
1) For the duration of the Fifth Trial, you will receive a permanent increase in speed as well as sharper vision.
2) You will gain a spear to fight against monsters.
More bonuses will be gained depending on what position you have under that Princess]
[Spade Suit
1) For the duration of the Fifth Trial, you will receive a permanent increase in strength, making your attacks powerful and crushing.
2) You will gain axes to fight against monsters.
More bonuses will be gained depending on what position you have under that Princess]
[Diamond Suit
1) For the duration of the Fifth Trial, you will receive a permanent defense boost. Normal claws and insufficiently sharp objects are unlikely to damage your skin.
2) You will receive a wooden shield and a club to fight against monsters.
More bonuses will be gained depending on what position you have under that Princess].
The choice was difficult as each Princess had its own pros and cons, and there were also hidden advantages that could not be known in advance.
However, the participants had to decide. A timer appeared above the mechanical sphere and the countdown immediately began - 5:00.
'Regeneration and sword... Hmm, that's not a bad combination, but most likely due to the fear of monsters, most will head towards Freda... The extra defense and shield sounds too good, though, in fact, it's an expectation trap.' Ethan pondered watching the puzzled faces of the people.
Alisa awkwardly approached Ethan, nervously pressing her palm to her chest, "Ethan... Who are you going to choose?"
She didn't bother asking Ethan to join her, but it was obvious that was all she was hoping for.
At the same moment, numbers began to appear on the portraits of the girls. With each second they increased as people made their choices.
As Ethan expected, a large number of people decided to join Freda, she already had 30 people, while the other girls had 10 each.
Then, Ethan turned to Alisa and smiled sincerely, "No need to worry. In fact, I made my decision a few Trials ago."
"Agh...?" Alisa gasped, baffled.
Click.
Ethan selected a Hearth Card and quickly took Alisa's hand. Together with her, he stood on the frame of the broken window.
Because of the mechanical sphere, almost all the people were in the main square, so this was a great opportunity to draw attention to himself.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Ethan began to clap his hands, slowly and weakly at first, gradually accelerating and intensifying. After a few seconds, hundreds of stares were directed his way.
Given that Alisa was standing next to him, everyone realized which side Ethan had chosen.
He had enemies and detractors, but most wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be on the same team as someone who had already accomplished a lot.
He didn't need to say anything, the members quickly began to join Alisa, soon they would be catching up with Freda.
"Stop!" Ethan said majestically, as his voice echoed throughout the academy.
The participants froze, waiting for Ethan to say something important.
"Go to another team if you think I'm going to help you pass this Trial." Ethan's gaze turned cold, "My Princess doesn't need useless pieces of crap, I need warriors that will slash monsters apart, taking wounds and quickly healing them thanks to the regeneration effect. Just pain, blood, and results."
Then, the number on Alisa's portrait became much lower. The contestants could change their choices while they still had time to do so.
"Ethan! What are you doing!" Alisa exclaimed. She figured Ethan had decided to interrupt her and ruined everything.
"Calm down." Ethan said quietly, "Trials aren't easy enough to get through just by having more people on your team. I'm sure of it."
Ethan sighed, "So if quantity isn't the main factor for winning, I've decided to choose quality."
Alisa gulped, she hadn't thought about it at all on that side.
"Hey!" An excited voice came from outside, causing Ethan and Alisa to turn around.
Moving down the hallway, with a confident stride was Magnus, followed by Hilo and Loto hesitantly.
Magnus smirked, "Isn't quantity already a quality in itself? What do you think of that?"
Ethan frowned, "Yeah, maybe you'd be right if it weren't for the presence of superpowers."
Magnus glanced at his veins and shook his head, "Looks like this Trial is going to be bigger than the previous ones. It immediately feels like we've moved on."
Ethan looked up, "Did you come here for small talk? If so, leave."
"Oh, no. I came to win, and the best way to do that is to side with the strongest!" Magnus said confidently while choosing a Hearth Card.
Hilo and Loto looked at each other, shrugged, and did the same.
Magnus swung his hammer, pointing at Ethan, "Killing monsters is something I'm willing to do all day long! Pain, blood, and results!"