The Alliance

Both, Sophia and Flint, encountered no roadblocks on their way, which came as quite a relief for both of them, and eventually, they were getting closer to where Bryan is situated at.

Not a moment later, Sophia, who was in the front row, noticed Bryan conversing with an unfamiliar individual, and surprisingly his appearance had returned to normal, with the exception of a few red little holes covering his body, which is pretty strange. Nonetheless, it's a lot better than being the blood-soaked person he used to be.

Bryan with his change of outfit and new look spotted the duo from afar and, upon which, gestured for them to approach him.

"What's all this about? Who is he?" Sophia upon arriving inquired about the current situation.

"He's from the government, but he's from another island, Bohol; have you ever heard of the place, Carmen?" Bryan replied, at the same time, taking a discreet glance at Flint, and was left contemplating to himself.

"You've got to be kidding; that's at least tens of kilometers away, and the only way to get there is by boat. Wait a minute. You're telling me he got sucked in here from that far away? Doesn't that imply that there would be a large number of people here, not only from Cebu but from other locations as well?"

"That's right, not long before you left, I asked to join the organization, "The Alliance," Though, we had planned before in making a team. I disregarded it cause it's much better to join an already established organization. And while I'm at it. I got myself some new clothes." Bryan said.

"You're not wrong young lady, and you're quite the quick thinker. Seeing that you're in Luke's company then you must be Hana. Luke told me a couple of things about you. Though he did tell me a few details about why his partner was gone, Initially, I was left wondering who this mystery person is, but to my surprise, she was a gorgeous young lady. "The middle-aged man finished with a smile after extending his hand for a handshake.

Sophia, upon hearing his comments, is no slouch either, as she comprehended Bryan's intentions in having a name change, unwittingly slowly but surely, she had no inkling that she was gradually transitioning, from a normally timid and shy person to a slightly confident lady. Experiencing these games empower her in changing her outlook on life, hence why such a shift occurred.

"Well thank you for having me, I bet you already know, as to why I was gone for a few minutes, so that result of that absence, I brought another additional member to the team, Flint. Yet of course, if you guys don't have any slots left for another individual, we don't mind either."

"No problem at all, I'm welcome to have the both of you to The Alliance, but, it looks like, this person is not fond of me, as he has that mildly irritated tone on his face." After stating so, the middle-aged guy smiled wryly.

Hearing that response, Sophia is confused by his statement and shoots Flint a questionable look.

Seeing that all of them are looking at him, Flint decided to speak,

"I'm sure you're aware that I'm the man that travels around looking for help, as I was pretty loud in doing so. But, before doing that. I had previously gone to the largest group nearby, and aside from the fact that it was the government, I was slightly relieved that my problem would soon be resolved. However, after hearing my predicament, these inconsiderate people did a lackadaisical search, and after a short period of time, claimed that my daughter was not present." Flint said irritatedly.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Sir, but our people have their hands tied right now, and having no choice, but to offer the people in our group the option of either relaxing or helping with the persons as were short on manpower. So, it seems that what you just encountered was only an unlucky break. So I do apologize, for their actions." The middle-aged man said.

Upon realizing his mistake, Flint momentarily hesitated but decided to forgive them and soon exchanged a handshake with the middle-aged man to leave no hard feelings.

"Now that we've gotten it out of the way, how about we talk as we walk? Or, Is there anyone else we're still waiting for?"

"it's only the three of us, let's go," Sophia responded.

"Wonderful..." The middle-aged man smiles and motions for the others to follow him.

On the way there, Flint sighed inwardly, thinking,

"These youngsters are very cautious when it comes to handing out a fake identity. But what the hell is Hana? I heard you talking with that scoundrel Christian earlier, and if my ears weren't deceiving me, your name would be Sophia. Though, both of them were aware that they were giving out a fake identity. And not a second later, Sophia, on the other hand, gave my genuine one." After his pondering, Flint lamented at his misfortune.

....

When the trio arrived, they were well received by the bigshot there, Bernard, with whom they conversed for a time before concluding quickly after the customary questions.

Bryan, on the other hand, was presented with the choice of leaving his present group to entering a small group, composed of able-bodied individuals.

The perks of it consisted of being educated in the tactics of hand-to-hand combat by a well-trained instructor, as well as learning the systematic ways of signaling.

Bryan, upon getting that lucrative offer, requested the opportunity to learn while remaining on his current team.

However, after finding out that it would not be permitted, as Bernard informed him, since teaching a person face to face is already stretching the time thin, and paired with the fact that any random person would be taught, when knowing that they have their hands full as it is, is impossible. Yet, they can watch from a distance as long as it doesn't bother them, then that would be fine.

Looking at Bryan, Bernard noticed that didn't want to accept his offer, therefore he advised him to take his time, perhaps he'll change his mind. Afterward, he left after making an immediate response to the trio and placed them, on some random team consisting of 5, as a way to defend themselves in case of a crisis arises.

...

Unbeknownst to everyone, time flew by in the blink of an eye.

During the course of all of this, the trio conversed with their new team members for a short period of time, but given that they are not the kind to communicate, their communication is regarded as minimal.

Meanwhile, Bryan and Sophia hung aside and studied the selected members from a respectable distance, and learning from them in whatever way they could.

Flint, on the other hand, established some contacts with the other teams. As a means of preventing them from injuring one other, as well as having a large number of people assisting him with locating his daughter.

In that period of time, the new batch of players emerged from their own human-faced door and was having the typical terrifying expressions, and from then on, suddenly all of them heard that familiar ringing sound on their heads, willing their willing books altogether, they all saw the big red number counting down.

Upon seeing that change, Bryan's face grimaced as he readied himself to the best of his abilities for the upcoming battle, and soon, the timer is observed to be one minute before the combat begins.

"Did you bring what I've requested you to bring, Flint?" Looking at his timer, Bryan said to Flint beside him.

"I've got what you need here, Luke,"

Hovering his hand out, Flint shoved a bunch of objects in Bryan's hand.

"Good... This seems to be enough." Feeling the weight of the objects, Bryan nodded and placed them secretly.

Not only learning from the instructors, but Bryan also made for the five of them, some makeshift covers in the hands, by using his bloodied uniform from earlier, which was already ripped apart.

For his remaining pants and his white shirt underneath his uniform. He fashioned a bag out of it to carry any necessary items.

"Now, hold the person next to you, imagine if we're to suddenly split again after teleporting in the game. It's best to be careful about it by establishing contact, as this will keep us safe." Bryan said.

Hearing such words, they immediately held the person next to them tightly, as Bryan continued to look at his Hidden Book, as he read the following."

[Game: Trial by Blood and Fire]

[Time Remaining: 10 seconds]

After seeing, that the timer is already in the one digits, Bryan took a deep breath, and suddenly a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

[Time Remaining: 3...]

[Time Remaining: 2...]

[Time Remaining: 1...]

[Game: Trial by Blood and Fire]

[Begins]

All of a sudden a blue screen popped out of Bryan's view, as he saw a rapid flash of white light all around him, to which his eyes grew blurry, and when it gradually adjusted, he stared at the new world in front of him.