Preparations

While waiting around, Jack decided to play a solitaire game, gaining three 2's as a reward. Though he quickly used two on food now, and food for tomorrow. Jessica and Mia did wake up at some point, but other than checking up on Jack and Emma to make sure nothing bad was happening, they didn't do too much else.

Once a day had passed, Jessica was mostly just sore. It wasn't as though her injuries healed, but it was still a favorable condition if you considered how much worse it could've been.

As for Mia, she wasn't able to move her maimed hand properly. The splint was still on to make sure it healed properly, but that would only come after a few days at the earliest.

The next morning, Jack asked Emma an offhanded question.

"Why couldn't you join us the first time? I'm sure it would've been really fun!"

Emma let out a laugh.

"Unfortunately, I have a rather irritating duty that my family tasked me to do. Although I am adverse to it, they have made sure that the consequences are even worse."

Mia raised an eyebrow as a slightly sympathetic expression formed on her face.

"Your... family made you come here and forced you to do their bidding on top of that?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders, not responding further. Jessica spoke up slowly.

"What did they make you do?"

She let out a giggle after hearing that.

"It's nothing particularly difficult. We just have to scout out the area, and prepare to report to another member after they advance to this level. Though if they don't show up in a week, then we no longer have that responsibility. As it just so happens, a week has passed."

Jack put a finger on his chin.

"Is that what you call inheriting the business?"

Emma turned to him as the corner of her lips turned up.

"Not exactly inheriting. More so being employed to support it."

Jack scratched the side of his head while pouting.

"Oh... I don't really get it. But I guess it's a little bit different."

Emma held up a hand and pinched the air a few times.

"Only a little bit."

She then shook her hand, before revealing a rather sparkly blue gem in her hand like she was a magician.

"To start, we can use one of these to begin our adventure."

Jack walked up closer to it and looked at it with wide eyes.

"Woah! What is that?"

Emma let out a giggle while slowly moving the gem around .

"If we throw it into one of the exits to the hub, it will instead turn into a warp gate that takes us to the edges of this cavern."

Mia furrowed her brows upon hearing that.

"Why would we want to do that? Wouldn't it just be harder to get back?"

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly and stared her down.

"Because there are special games out there that give special rewards. The first time you succeed in one of them, this gem is given as a complimentary prize. If you don't really want to use it, then there should be some other people that would like to buy it for a 4 or 5. Though keep in mind you'll probably only find them near the edge as well."

Mia pursed her lips together.

"...Is it dangerous?"

Emma laughed and partially covered her mouth with a hand.

"It's not safe, but there should be no problems should you be strong enough. I doubt there would be much trouble for Jack over here, at least. If you lot are too afraid, then the two of you could stay here to heal while we go."

Jessica's expression hardened somewhat.

"I'm not afraid. There's no problem for me."

Once Mia heard that she also nodded. She had no plans of leaving Jessica alone, if nothing else.

"I will come too then."

They seemed to have forgotten about protesting going there in the first place because of Emma's provocation. The corner of her lip turned up ever so slightly, though nobody actually noticed it.

"Well then, get any supplies you may need and we shall be heading out."

Jessica and Mia did exactly that, going to the hub to get some spare food. Though Mia lingered at the screen for a little longer, looking at a particular item offered.

[Pair of Sixes - Modified Steroids]

She couldn't help but remember how powerless she was the moment that Jack had grabbed onto her wrist. Although Mia was still rather befuddled and incredibly curious about the strange power he held, she was also a bit afraid of it.

Perhaps if she was a bit stronger, then she wouldn't need to worry so much about it.

While Mia was hesitating, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder that made her jump.

"Want me to tell you about its effects?"

Mia turned around to see Emma, still smiling as she had always been.

"It might be easier to make a decision if you already understand what it does, no?"

Mia was speechless for a moment. She was honestly quite uncomfortable because of how chummy Emma was acting, and the fact she was trying to help all the time. It made it hard to continue treating her rudely, though Mia's guard was still very much up.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to know... Have you already used it yourself?"

Emma let out a laugh and waved her hand dismissively.

"I have no need for such things. I'm not even sure if it will truly have an effect on me."

Before Mia could ask any further about those vague words, Emma continued on.

"These steroids are rather special, as they modify your body down to the very genes. It shifts the focus of your body to force it to increase muscle mass as well as retain it. Because of that, taking any more after the first one has little to no effect. There are quite a few people that depended on this increased strength to survive."

She let out a small hum.

"But naturally, there is a disadvantage of needing to consume more food in order to survive. There are those out there that have starved to death while their entire body was covered in muscles after using them."

Mia gained interest in the item after hearing Emma's description of it. The pros and cons were clearly listed out, though the pros appear to outweigh the cons by a decent amount.

Although starving was definitely a real threat, having more strength could easily save her life.

Though before she could act on any of it, Jessica reached over to grab her hand. Mia was a tad bit startled, and looked over. Jessica was staring her dead in the eyes.

"Don't do it."

Mia saw how clear her eyes were, showing her pure intentions. Although she did still want to get them, Mia would rather listen to her. Even if that decision would only come to regret later.

"Alright, alright. I won't get it. Why did you have such a reaction anyway?"

Jessica swallowed hard while tightening her grip slightly. If it was on Mia's injured hand, it would've hurt quite a bit.

"...I just don't have a good feeling about it."

Mia let out an awkward laugh and took a step back.

"Then I'll trust you on that."

She let out a long and somewhat discouraged hum while looking at her choices. In the end, she fixated on a final option.

[Pair of Fives - Round Shield]

Though it wasn't cheap, it also wasn't terribly expensive. With that in mind, she decided to buy it. After putting a pair of fives in, Mia suddenly found herself with said round shield. It was straight out of the medieval times. However, Mia found it was actually quite heavy.

After inspecting it for a while, she noticed that the surface of the shield appeared to be wooden with metal edges, but the wood was actually just a thin decorative layer. It was a full on metal shield.

It would be too hard for her to use it while fighting, especially not while one hand was holding onto a katana. And even that was assuming she had no injuries. However, she was still quite happy with it, as she could use it while stationary if something like an explosion happened nearby.

Jessica didn't buy anything extra, instead opting to call it a day after getting some food. On the other hand, Jack fooled around while the others were doing their own thing, putting in a full set of 3's into the shop out of plain curiosity.

And he got what looked like a poker chip. One that was a bit familiar.

[Challenge Chip]

[Flick towards another Player and initiate a special duel game.]

Jack remembered that he played Old Maid with someone that looked like a delinquent. Although he enjoyed the game itself, he felt a tad bitter about how long it took for him to accept his punishment.

After scratching the side of his head, he silently put it away.

With that, all of them seemed to be ready. After calling them all over, Emma threw the blue gem into one of the exits. The originally blue portal suddenly began crackling, going as far as to emit bolts of lightning, though none of them actually fully discharged. The color itself became far deeper, almost turning black.

Emma looked behind her with the same smile as always. But for some reason, it looked a little strange.

"It will only last ten seconds, so be quick."