Confused by the situation, Laica observed the curtains. They completely covered her and the throne, spinning at a moderate speed. As the dark violet fabric slowed their spinning, they lifted into the air. At the origin of these curtains was a large eye that stared downward upon all of the candidates. The drapes then spiraled into its pupil and a cube floated in the air, replacing where the previous hosts had stood. Darkness settled in the room, and a bright spotlight shone on the cube, displaying its peerless black surface.

  A second spotlight then beamed onto Laica, blinking from candidate to candidate in a clockwise rotation. Watching this phenomenon, she quickly realized that the Sword Memoralia was no longer seated by her side and was instead sitting a couple thrones more to the left. The new candidate appearing next to her was known as the Monster King. She had beast-like fangs carved into her mask and a makeshift fur outfit.

  The spotlight continued to blink from person to person, exponentially increasing its speed. While the secondary light spun, so did the cube at the centre.

  ‘Dice?’ Laica thought.

  Soon, the light had already done a full lap of the candidates and the die began slowing down. Once it's momentum had halted, a simple diagram glowed golden upon each side. It depicted a rain cloud washing over monsters and beasts.

  “Shit”

  The Monster King had cursed beneath her breath and Laica felt uneasy about what was about to unfold.

  Once the dice had been rolled, the secondary light had also begun losing its speed. The light shone onto the candidate seated right of Laica, then it ticked on her, and finally landed on the Monster King.

  “Hey, Sword Memo, let’s have a ceasefi-”

  “Denied.”

  Laica was shocked by how abruptly the Sword Memoralia had shut down her request.

  ‘I thought he was a kind person, perhaps there is a reason?’

  Flustered, the Monster King quickly looked around and attempted to wrestle a deal with Sweet Tooth.

  “Sweet Tooth, c’mon, let’s make a deal.”

  “And what sort of deal would I want to have with the likes of you?”

  “The monsters under me will stop attacking your beautiful dream.”

  Laica then connected the dots in her head.

  ‘Monsters under her? Does she control the monsters? Then the rain on the dice must signify the blood rain I saw with Wiseman before. But I thought it only affected those who weren't monsters already…’

  As she continued contemplating the matter, the smile on Sweet Tooth’s mask appeared to be growing wider. With her legs crossed and a hand lifted to her cheek, she scornfully looked at the Monster King.

  “That’s it?”

  “How ‘bout a will-infused contract? We don’t even have to meet, I can leave it somewhere for you to pick it up. Please!”

  “No, let’s meet. Alone. You better come to the Dream District soon or you can kiss toodle-oo to those precious monsters of yours.”

  The Monster King sulked into her seat and thought about the deal. No other voices echoed, just the silent frustrations of a defeated beast.

  “... Fine!”

  ‘She sounds like she's crying. I thought she was the Monster King… not an embarrassment. Poor Monster King.’

  “Pffft…hahaha!”

  Sudden laughter then bursted into the court. It stemmed from the Hysterical Serf who had been clutching his stomach.

  “I’d never thought I’d live to see the day that THE Monster King would be such an embarrassment to her title, haha!”

  Soon, more laughter ensued from other candidates.

  However, not everyone was elated by the unfortunate situation of the Monster King. Some were still confused and dazed by what had occurred, including Laica herself.

  ‘What would have happened if the dice had landed on me instead?’

  As she continued to ruminate, the spotlights began widening to fill the entire room with bright light. It became more and more blinding as Laica forcibly shut her eyes in defence against the shining rays.

  Moments later, the light finally faded. Opening her eyes carefully, an unfamiliar ceiling flooded into perspective.

  Laica quickly sat up and surveyed her new surroundings. She appeared to be inside a library of sorts with rows of bookshelves lining the sides of the room. At the centre, was a marble countertop where a librarian would normally be stationed. However, considering that the reception table had cracks in its material, no one had likely worked in this library for years. Recognizing the abandoned state of the building, Laica wondered if Wiseman had discarded her as well.

  Standing up from the bench, she did a few stretches, satisfying her stiff muscles after resting on the uncomfortable wooden seat. Looking past the reception desk, a grand set of stairs could be seen branching into the second floor.

  ‘Hopefully Wiseman hasn't abandoned me already, I have to ask him about what a King’s Court even is! Perhaps he'll be on the upper floor.’

  She quickly made way for the stairs and upon entering the second floor, an overwhelming sensation sprouted within her. Compared to the main floor, the building appeared much larger than Laica had originally thought. Hundreds of bookshelves towering several meters lay in front of her with multiple piles of tomes and books strewn everywhere.

  In the distance, movements could be heard as something shifted erratically within a pile of books. Curious, Laica silently stepped closer toward the source of the noise. As she stealthily approached the small hill of tomes and was about to remove the first layer of books, a whisper pricked her ears.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Hey!”

  Wiseman sharply chirped at Laica and motioned for her to join him behind a different pile of texts nearby.

  “I see you’ve awoken finally, young lady.”

  Nodding in agreement, she then pointed toward the shaking miniature hill questionably.

  “Ah, well, you see, a key infused with my willpower is trapped beneath those pieces of literature.”

  “What?” she spoke innocently.

  He sighs and explains, “I feel the utmost shame in having to tell anyone this, but as of currently, my powers are quite pathetic.”

  Hesitating to explain further, the animated key continued to thump beneath the layers of books. Wiseman looked at the visibly confused young girl and questioned whether he could trust her.

  Then suddenly, Laica cheered and sprung both arms upward.

  “It's okay old man, I think your powers are neat!”

  For the first time in decades, perhaps even centuries, Wiseman felt a warmth in his core. A signal that let him know,

  ‘I can trust this young one.’

  With a warm smile, he calmly began explaining what the key truly was.

  “As you may know, my concept is knowledge. It is capable of imparting pieces of information to me using my willpower. What do you think happens when I request knowledge outside of what I can handle?”

  ‘He says that his powers are pathetic and now he's asking what happens when he overdoes it? Did his concept absorb too much willpower from poor Wiseman?’

  While Laica connected the pieces of information, the old man continued.

  “I’m sure you can assume, my concept has indeed taken something away from me. What that exactly is… lies with the key stuck beneath that pile of tomes.”

  “Let's quickly grab it then!” said Laica in a somewhat cheerful manner.

  “If only it were that easy, the little bugger can fly. In fact, it's been evading me this whole time and I was only able to get it stuck under there through sheer luck.”

  As the two quietly stared at the books trapping their objective, Laica suddenly recalled an important detail.

  “Ah! What about my ability?”

  With a dumbfounded expression, Wiseman looked back at her and began laughing.

  “Ha ha! How did I not think of that? Go on, try it out.”

  “But Wiseman… how do I even use it?”

  Recalling that he hadn't taught her under the best circumstances, he reevaluated what needed to be understood about activating conceptual abilities.

  “Now that you have created an ability from your concept, you must figure out its activation method. For example, thirsting for knowledge allows me to activate one of my abilities. Everyone has a different activation for each ability they possess, try to recall what you felt when you had paralyzed those two monsters.”

  As Laica perused her memories, she could remember an overwhelming sense of dread pouring into her being and the need to expunge it to something else. However, alongside this feeling was also a desperation so strong that it had felt like she would have died if she hadn't used her ability.

  Slowly, she attempted to reenact these feelings. The dreadful emotion of feeling nonexistent washed over her with ease, however, there was a lack of desperation. Her ability had partially activated, causing only a mere tingly feeling in her body.

  “Old man… I'm not sure I can do it again… I don't feel desperate enough?”

  Her head hung gloomily.

  “Desperation? Ah, I see. You had automatically used your ability due to a fight or flight response. Here, try using this to substitute that desperation requirement.”

  Understanding the issue at hand, he handed her the cane that was previously owned by the egg monster. Wiseman had been temporarily using it as a walking stick for himself.

  “My cane!!” she said while gleaming at the walking aid.

  “Ohoho, I didn't realize you had taken such a liking to the stick young lady. In any case, it's a good thing that you favour the cane, most conceptualizers have a medium of sorts alongside activation methods.”

  “Then don't you need this cane too, old man?”

  Hugging it tightly, it was clear that she did not want to give it up.

  Chuckling, he replied, “I said ‘most’ have one, I do not require it as my entire body is a medium for activating abilities.”

  Relieved that she wouldn't have to give up her beloved cane, she began the second attempt at using her ability. Pointing the cane at the literature stacked onto the key, a wave of numbing static oozed into the air. As it enveloped the messy stack of books, the erratic thumping paused.

  “Aha! It appears that you've succeeded! Once this is over, let's come up with a name for your ability together.”

  Laica nodded in agreement with a blank expression.

  Concerned, Wiseman mentally took note of her emotions for later and moved forward with the plan. He closed in on his target, believing that the key was experiencing a similar reaction as the monsters they previously encountered. Stretching an arm out, a faint blue glow wrapped around it. In order to protect himself from the girl’s power, he had to use his willpower as a shield against the numbingness.

  Pushing his hand into the distorted air, he could feel his will being drained the longer he was exposed. Surprisingly, the young girl’s ability had potential to permeate or shred through one’s willpower. Adapting to this, he quickly reinforced the faint blue aura with more energy and rummaged through the pieces of literature. He soon uncovered the key, it was limp and bronze coloured. A wave of relief washed over him as he finally reunited with the key.

  Laica lowered her cane and rushed beside Wiseman.

  “So what happens now that you have the key?” she spoke like a curious child.

  “This.”

  Next to the pair, a door framed with a blue aura suddenly appeared with a large keyhole at its centre.

  “Woah…”

  Wiseman stared at the odd door nostalgically and spoke softly,

  “I must pass this trial presented to me now.”

  “Can I come with you?”

  “Unfortunately, you cannot.”

  Laica paused and pondered on why he had rejected her request.

  “... Are you abandoning me?”

  Looking at the girl’s frightened expression, he promptly reassured her.

  “Oh heavens no. I’ll be back very shortly, however, if this door disappears… then you should leave as well.”

  As he stepped in closer to the door, he looked back at the young girl that he had survived through a life or death experience with. An awry smile was plastered onto his face, still hesitating to insert the key into the door. She had a worried expression, tears bubbling into her eyes and a large frown.

  Seeing this, Wiseman was determined to return as soon as possible.

  “Don't worry lass, I shall certainly return!”

  Twisting the key into the door, it opened and rapid winds pulled at the hem of his clothing and roared throughout the library. However, before he entered the frame, one last shout could be heard.

  “Come back fast! I have a lot of questions! I also found out my name is Laica!!”

  The elderly man grinned.

  “Found…? I suppose we have much to discuss when I am back, see you soon Laica!”

  And with that, the old man allowed the vicious winds to propel himself into the door.