Ethan stayed low behind the two men, keeping his breathing steady as he listened in on their conversation, his attention split between their voices and the faint signals pulsing from his jade token. It sounded like more people were on their way, which gave him just enough time to think.

Blending in with this group was not going to be easy.

These people all knew each other, had grown up together in what was clearly a small, closed community, and that meant any unfamiliar face would stand out immediately. Slipping into their circle unnoticed was practically impossible, so if he wanted information, he would have to approach this carefully.

Brock and Qenty were still talking when several more dots lit up on his token, all heading toward their position. Judging by the way the two glanced at their own tokens, they had noticed it too.

"Must be Hayes and the others," Brock said.

Qenty nodded, his gaze fixed on the distance as if he could already see them approaching.

A gray figure came into view not long after, moving quickly through the terrain before landing lightly nearby.

"Hayes! You made it." Brock stepped forward, arm raised as if to punch his shoulder in greeting.

The newcomer was slimmer, quicker, and far more agile than Brock. He slipped past the gesture effortlessly.

"Just you two?" Hayes said with a relaxed smile. "I thought I’d be the last one here."

"Yeah, the others are taking forever," Qenty replied, pointing at his token. "But they’re close."

Hayes gave a small nod but kept a few paces of distance, something Brock and Qenty didn’t seem to question in the slightest. It was probably normal behavior to them.

Ethan, however, couldn’t help but grin slightly.

’Hayes... so that’s the girl who stole my five-leaf clover.’

From the way Brock and Qenty treated her, it was obvious they had no idea of her real identity. That gave him an idea.

A thin thread of sound slipped from Ethan’s lips, so faint it was almost nonexistent.

Hayes froze.

"Don’t react," Ethan’s voice echoed directly in her ear. "You’ll blow your cover."

Her body tensed for a fraction of a second before she forced herself to relax.

The first message he sent was simple.

’Girl. We meet again.’

That alone was enough.

"Who are you? How do you—" her voice came back, tight and controlled.

"Doesn’t matter," Ethan cut in. "You took my five-leaf clover. Now you’re going to help me out."

"The five-leaf clover? That was you? Why would I—"

"Help me, or I strip you naked and toss you in front of them," Ethan said calmly. "Let’s see how long your disguise lasts."

"You wouldn’t—"

Hayes’ shoulders trembled ever so slightly, anger flashing through her.

"Try me."

He let the silence stretch, giving the threat time to settle. Hayes inhaled deeply, once, then again, forcing herself to regain control.

"You okay, Hayes?" Brock’s face scrunched up in concern, completely oblivious.

"Fine."

The word came out strained, like she was grinding it between her teeth.

Qenty leaned in toward Brock, attempting what he probably thought was a quiet whisper.

"Leave him alone," he said, his voice still loud enough to carry. "You know Hayes gets cranky around that time of the month."

Brock winced and rubbed his ear. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

Hayes heard every word. Ethan’s laughter echoed mercilessly in her mind.

She shot both of them a murderous glare before dragging in another breath.

’Idiots, she thought.’

Finally, she relented.

"...Fine. What do you want?"

"Nothing complicated," Ethan replied. "I just want to tag along to the third layer. Gets boring traveling alone. You introduce me as a friend, say I’m from here, and we’re good."

Hayes frowned slightly.

"Who are you, really? Where are you from?"

"Earth. The Ancestral Star. The four guardians outside let me in."

Her expression shifted at that, suspicion giving way to curiosity.

"Ancestral Star..." she murmured, then nodded. "Fine. Come out. You’re lucky you ran into us. If it had been Zatan’s group, they’d probably skin you alive just to study you."

She paused, then added bluntly, "And that story about being from here sounds terrible. No one would believe it. Even Brock and Qenty aren’t that dumb."

Ethan hesitated for a brief moment. She was being surprisingly cooperative.

Then again, he didn’t really have anything to lose. If things went south, he could always leave and continue on his own. For now, what he needed was information, about the trial, about this place, about everything.

He stepped out from behind the tree, dropping his concealment and letting his presence be known.

Brock and Qenty spun around immediately.

"Holy—who’s this?!"

Their voices hit like a pair of thunderclaps, making Ethan flinch slightly. These two could weaponize their lungs.

"He’s my friend," Hayes said flatly. "A real trial participant from the Ancestral Star. The guardians let him in."

Ethan relaxed slightly. She had kept her word.

"Ethan," he introduced himself, walking forward as if he belonged there.

"Ancestral Star? You mean the Ancestral Star?" Brock’s eyes lit up as he practically bounced toward him. "Holy crap, a live one!"

Ethan didn’t react defensively. There was no hostility in Brock, just pure, unfiltered excitement.

Qenty joined him, and the two of them loomed over Ethan, both at least a head taller, circling him with undisguised curiosity like he was some rare creature they had only heard about in stories.

Ethan sighed inwardly. At least they had enough restraint not to start poking him.

Barely.

Hayes’ earlier comment about Zatan’s group echoed in his mind. If those people were the type to dissect him on sight, then this group was comparatively harmless.

From what he had overheard earlier, their plans involved ambushes, roughing people up, maybe tying them up and throwing them aside, but nothing that suggested actual killing intent.

It sounded more like grudges between rivals than life-and-death conflict.

Two more figures dropped in not long after. Ethan recognized one of them immediately.

The woman with the sword from earlier.

She must have come from the south as well, just at a slower pace.

The moment her eyes landed on him, her body tensed, her hand twitching toward her weapon before she stopped herself. She remembered what had happened earlier. She knew she wouldn’t win.

Brock and Qenty, completely oblivious to the tension, stood on either side of Ethan, grinning.

Ethan gave her a small, calm smile, making it clear he had no intention of causing trouble.

"Ginger, Onyx, come look!" Brock called out, waving them over enthusiastically. "A real Ancestral Star guy!"

Ethan couldn’t help the slight grimace that crossed his face. At least Brock’s enthusiasm was genuine.

"Ancestral Star... so you really are a participant," Ginger said as she approached more cautiously, stopping beside Hayes and giving her a questioning look.

Hayes leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Ginger’s eyebrow twitched, and she murmured something back.

Ethan watched closely. ’They’re close’, he noted. ’And Ginger knows.’

Onyx, the other newcomer, moved to stand beside Brock and Qenty. He looked at Ethan with curiosity, but there was something about him that stood out immediately.

His presence was calm. Too calm. Like still water with no ripples. Ethan stored that observation away without comment.

’Friendly face and quiet soul. That’s the type you watch carefully.’

He returned the look with an easy smile.

"I’m Valeran. Everyone calls me Vale."

Ethan blinked once. Valeran? That’s... an unusual name.

"My turn," Brock said proudly. "I’m Saber. Like the blade. Everyone calls me Brock."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. ’Saber? That’s not any better.’

Still, he kept the thought to himself. Naming conventions here were clearly... different.

"I’m Onyx. Just Onyx."

Short. Simple. Finally something normal, though Ethan couldn’t help but wonder if it was short for something equally strange.

Vale gestured toward the red-haired girl. "That’s Ginger. And Hayes is... well, Hayes. Sounds like a girl’s name, right?"

Ethan’s lip twitched. ’Because she is one.’

He said nothing.

Apparently, Onyx didn’t know either, which was honestly impressive. There were signs, subtle but obvious if you knew what to look for, but these people had likely never seen a woman dressed as anything other than a woman. They had no frame of reference.

Men’s clothes, masculine behavior, therefore a man. Simple.

Ginger, however, clearly knew. Whether she was Hayes’ closest friend or something more, Ethan couldn’t tell yet.

"You think Ginger likes Hayes?" Brock whispered to Vale, not nearly as quietly as he thought.

"Nah," Vale replied. "Hayes likes Ginger. When’s Hayes ever let anyone else get that close?"

"You’re wrong," Brock argued. "When’s Ginger ever let a guy get that close? Even Onyx, and they’re betrothed. Onyx, can you even get within two steps of her? Didn’t she almost neuter you last time?"

For a brief moment, Onyx’s expression flickered. There was something sharp behind his eyes, something cold and restrained.

He glanced at Hayes with a trace of something darker before smoothing it over and turning back to Ethan with a casual shrug.

Ethan noticed. ’So he knows... and he doesn’t like it.’

He filed that away as well. Then his gaze shifted to Brock.

’This guy wouldn’t last five minutes back home with that mouth of his.’

No filter whatsoever.

And yet, strangely, Ethan found himself liking him. There was something refreshingly straightforward about Brock, the kind of person who probably only existed in isolated environments like this.

Ginger and Hayes finished their quiet exchange and walked over.

"You can come with us," Hayes said without preamble. "But you’re helping with something."

"An ambush?" Ethan replied easily. "I’m in. But you tell me about the trial."

"Deal," Hayes said after a brief pause. "But don’t expect much. Our records are incomplete. Our ancestors all failed. What we know might help... or it might not."

"At least it’s something," Ethan said.

She snorted softly, clearly unimpressed by his confidence.

"Turn off your token," she instructed. "We don’t want Zatan’s group tracking us. We’re going to teach them a lesson. They think having the clan leader as a grandfather means they can push everyone around."

With that, she turned and started moving, taking the lead without hesitation.

Brock and Vale exchanged grins, rubbing their hands together in anticipation as they followed.

Ginger shot Ethan a brief, assessing look before falling in line. Onyx lingered just a step behind her, close, but not quite at her side.

And just like that, Ethan found himself part of the group, heading straight toward whatever trouble they had planned.