Aaron on the rooftop opposite spent the entire night frowning, trying to guess which god Sincere followed, while Sincere slept soundly.
The next morning, as soon as Sincere opened his eyes, a notification about the trial match appeared before him.
[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire - WAR) has started]
[Matching teammates (1/6)]
[Trial Objective: Endure the torture of blood and fire (24-hour limit)]
Sincere looked at the word WAR on the game description, and his forehead throbbed.
This was going to be a tough battle.
WAR, although a god of the Civilization Path, certainly didn't bring a civilized trial.
Almost every one of these trials involved real combat, there was no need to pay attention to the clues given by the trial. All one had to do was defeat every enemy around them to pass.
But the problem was, that surviving for 24 hours was a true test of endurance and mental fortitude.
The enemies wouldn't give you a break, nor would they ease off just because you needed rest.
In such a scenario, the more powerful the teammates, the better.
"Please, give me more warriors, one weakling like me is enough, just please!"
[Match success (6/6), entering trial]
A blood-red notification flashed, and the scene before Sincere's eyes began to distort. Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his original spot.
******
The sky was dim, and the air was thick with smoke.
Sincere opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of ruins. He looked around—there was nothing left but broken walls and debris.
This had clearly been a small town, but now, it had been erased from the map by the brutal hand of war.
A few seconds later, beams of light descended around him, followed by the sound of exclamations.
His teammates had arrived for this trial.
Sincere immediately scanned them. Among the three men and two women, only one person was carrying a large sword. The others, like him, were unarmed.
"Hiss..." Sincere inhaled sharply, thinking to himself, "Could it be another group of weaklings?"
In Faith Game, there were only six professions: warrior, mage, priest, assassin, hunter, and bard.
In theory, there was no such thing as a high or low profession—only weak players had weak professions.
But in reality, due to the nature of the trials, certain professions had advantages in different trials.
Just like today's WAR trial, warriors, mages, and priests were clearly stronger than assassins, hunters, and bards.
The six teammates sized each other up. When the large man with the great sword noticed that no one else had visible weapons, he seemed a bit annoyed and spoke up, "Same as always, let's not waste time. Start by giving your class and score. I'll go first. Baldwin, Civilization Path, warrior, ladder score 1647."
Each Path of Fate had 2 to 3 gods. The reason players only mentioned their path and not the name of their god was to avoid matching with players of opposing beliefs.
Although everyone in a trial was supposed to be in it together and help one another, when paired with players from opposing beliefs, some gods would bestow additional Divine Will, possibly encouraging their followers to do dirty things before completing the task.
It was a painful lesson learned the hard way.
Since the game began six months ago, the number of players who had died in such ways was countless, so players now were cautious.
Still, at the start of a trial, cooperation was necessary.
"Harriet, Life Path, assassin, ladder score 1636. Buddy, are you an 'Order Knight'? I think I've seen that sword in the hands of other warriors who followed the God of ORDER. Is it a sword and shield?"
The second to speak was a tall, slender young man wearing sportswear and glasses. After speaking, he carefully observed the large sword in Baldwin's hands, seemingly comparing it to a memory of a similar sword.
Since he had been recognized, Baldwin didn't hide it and nodded.
Upon his acknowledgment, the others visibly relaxed.
Followers of ORDER were among the few trustworthy strangers in the game.
They followed the will of ORDER, respected rules, and were self-disciplined. They were the most popular companions in the game, almost without exception.
And a warrior who followed the God of ORDER in a WAR trial could become a top-tier player, reliable and useful.
"Camille, Life Path, hunter, ladder score 1519."
The order of introductions seemed to have turned clockwise for some reason, and the beautiful woman wearing a military green short-sleeve top on Harriet's left spoke with a cold tone.
She was tall but not slim, her muscles firm and defined, and you could feel her strength even through her clothes.
Harriet smiled and nodded in acknowledgment when he realized he had a fellow believer in Life Path.
Next to Camille, there was another woman, smaller in stature with long black hair like a waterfall. She wore a black turtleneck, covering her entire body except for her face.
"Doreen, Downfall Path, priest, ladder score 1396."
When the name Downfall was spoken, the faces of the two Life followers turned serious.
Life and Downfall were opposing paths of fate.
Harriet looked at Doreen with a suspicious gaze, his expression not friendly.
Camille, however, remained motionless, her face still cold, but there was a slight scrutiny in her eyes as she looked at Doreen.
Doreen didn't feel any better either. Two followers of opposing paths of fate were in front of her, and she had to survive the trial for an entire day. She could only hope that the gods of these two wouldn't be opposed to her own.
Path opposition already created unease, but if the faiths were opposed, that could mean death.
Next was Sincere's turn. He looked at Doreen on his right and suddenly gave a knowing smile. "Sincere, Life Path, priest, ladder score 1501."
"?"
The moment he finished speaking, the expressions of those present varied between joy and concern.
The two Life Path followers were, of course, happy, while Doreen alone wore an unusually grim expression.
As a righteous deity path, Life Path was associated with gods whose followers generally upheld moral values. Regardless of their private virtues, publicly, they were seen as "good" people.
But the gods of Downfall were each "bad" in their own way.
Baldwin, the Order Knight, noticed the shift in atmosphere and frowned, offering a reminder, "Conflicts over paths of fate should be dealt with last. 24 hours is a long time. Let's focus on surviving first, then worry about everything else."
Harriet, with his many teammates, just smiled. Camille, as always, kept a cold expression, while Sincere seemed to enjoy the drama. Doreen lowered her head, lost in thought.
Only the player next to Sincere on his left, dressed like Doctor Strange, glanced at him with a slightly odd expression, his demeanor hard to read. "Frank, Existence, mage, ladder score 1906."
"Wait, what??"
As soon as the score appeared, everyone gasped in surprise.
The others felt like they'd hit the jackpot, but Sincere, sucking his teeth, looked displeased.
"Tch, Existence Path, huh..." Baldwin's expression improved considerably, raising an eyebrow and smiling as he asked, "Are you a Memory Traveler or a Time Walker?"
Memory Traveler was a mage who followed the God of MEMORY, and Time Walker followed the God of TIME. Baldwin was asking which god Frank followed.
After all, among the six people on the field, there was no one whose Path of Fate opposed his. He could openly state his identity to help everyone understand him, making it easier to cooperate with others.
In the Existence Path, only these two gods existed--MEMORY and TIME
Frank didn't answer immediately, instead hesitating for a moment. His gaze kept flicking over to Sincere, but after he couldn't discern anything, he sighed and said, "Time slips through the cracks, and I am like the wind."
This was the prayer of a Follower of TIME.
Frank was a Time Walker.
This combination of profession and faith was a top-tier existence in the game.
As the name implied, Time Walkers could control time.
Upon hearing that Frank was a Time Walker, Baldwin's smile grew even wider, and Sincere cracked a genuine smile.
"Frank, you're amazing!" Harriet's reaction was nothing like the quiet, reserved nature of an assassin. He kept giving thumbs up, and if they weren't still getting to know each other, he might have even tried to give Frank a hug.
"With Baldwin leading the team and Frank holding the fort, comrades, we were sure to clear the stage smoothly!" Harriet's gaze swept over everyone, but he deliberately skipped over Doreen.
Doreen's smile was somewhat awkward, but she had no choice—her situation was truly terrible.
Seeing that the team was about to isolate one person right from the start, Sincere shook his head inwardly.
Losing a member of the team just because of path conflict was the least rational choice, especially so early in the trial.
To ease the tension among the team, Sincere thought for a moment, then spoke up, "A double priest system is perfect for the WAR trial. My instincts tell me that Doreen is not our enemy."
Everyone stared at him in disbelief, even Doreen herself couldn't believe that a fellow competitor from an opposing Path of Fate was speaking up for her.
He was actually defending her?
"You..." Doreen began, but Sincere tilted his head and flashed a bright smile.
"Let me reintroduce myself. Sincere, Follower of BIRTH, priest."
"???"
"What the hell? You're a guy, and you're actually the Goddess of Childbearing?!"