Familiar Face

With a flash of light, Jessica was the first to suddenly appear on the third floor. Almost immediately, she was quite astounded by the sight before her. The hub on the second floor was about the size of a plaza, but the third floor's hub would be on par with an entire town.

There were a rather large amount of people walking to and fro like it was an actual peaceful town. The only difference was that everyone looked somewhat intimidating.

For a moment, she felt like she wasn't even in The House of Cards, and back in the town that she had lived in. Though the many clear differences made her snap out of it practically immediately.

The place almost seemed to be an amalgamation of a city and a suburban town with a skyscraper, apartments, and smaller houses. There were also seemingly stores, with what appeared to be shopping malls around the place.

While there were roads, they were very minimal, with four roads coming out from the center stretching out as far as the eye could see. Other than that, it was just a checkered white and gray marble floor. High up above, there was a dome that had a black and red checkered design that it tended to.

The original shop was still at the center, though the surroundings had become far more interesting comparatively. While Jess was still dazzled by her surroundings, a passerby woman had walked up to her.

"Congratulations on making it to the third floor. This is the real place, so to speak."

As she was speaking, Mia had formed with a flash of light nearby. However the woman continued on unperturbed, holding up five 3's.

"I am looking for some 2's. If you have some, I will trade each for a 3, up to five total. How do you feel about that?"

Jess blinked a few times. That sounded like quite the good deal to her, as a 3 was naturally higher than 2, meaning it presumably had more value by how it was ranked. She nodded.

"Sure, I'll-"

"Wait."

Mia was previously in awe of the new place they were in, but had snapped out of it upon overhearing the conversation. The woman raised an eyebrow and turned to her.

"Oh, if you want to make the deal as well, I suppose I can offer you the same trade. I have spare 3's lying around."

Mia shook her head.

"No, I'm not talking to you."

She then turned to Jessica.

"There is something wrong with the deal she offered. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something off."

The woman furrowed her brows, clearly quite annoyed.

"If you don't believe I will go through with the trade, then we can go to the Trade Center that is sanctioned by The House of Cards itself. Nobody is able to scam there."

Mia let out a small sigh before crossing her arms.

"I don't know what it is, but I can tell that you're trying to get an unfair deal. While the method isn't clear, that much I am sure of."

The woman noticed that Jessica had lost all interest, walking next to Mia and giving a guarded look. She clicked her tongue and turned away.

"Fucking diamonds."

Mia was slightly taken aback, wondering if it really was that obvious. For a moment, the two of them watched as the woman left in silence. Jessica turned to Mia and grabbed onto her hands with a small smile, bringing them closer to her.

"I'm glad that you made it back safely."

Mia couldn't help but laugh. She spoke back softly.

"You too."

After basking in their reunion for a short while, Mia let out an awkward laugh.

"Did I keep you two waiting long? I don't remember how long it took, but it probably wasn't a short amount of time."

Jessica quickly shook her head.

"Ah, no no. I actually only just got here, you appeared just a few seconds after I did."

Mia raised her eyebrows in shock, pulling back slightly. 

"Eh? But I remember taking quite a while. I guess I went through the actual promotion mission quickly, but there was a rather lengthy segment before then."

Jessica let out an awkward laugh while narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Um... It took quite a while for mine. It definitely wasn't the fastest way to go about things. But I was able to do it in the end."

She took out her katana and twirled it around rather deftly. For a moment, she looked at the glittering edge fondly before putting it away.

Mia then gave a quick look around.

"Ah, then where is Jack? Surely he should've passed pretty easily. Maybe he already started to explore things since we took a while."

Jessica also looked to the left and right, trying to see if she could make out Jack in the distance. Though there didn't appear to be any clear clue.

"Hm... it's not going to be easy to find him in a place as big as this. He could've gone anywhere."

Mia nodded a few times looking off into the distance at the various buildings around her.

"Yeah. This is also how much closer to how I originally envisioned what this place would be like, from all the stories I heard. If this is how the third floor is, then I can't imagine how the fourth floor would be, or even further than that if there is such a thing."

Jess smiled bitterly, placing a hand onto the side of her head.

"Hah... I don't really want to think about that right now. Let's just go see if Jack's around. Surely wherever he is, he's making a big ruckus."

After taking only a few steps, they noticed that there was a man in a tattered cloak walking towards them. Although the person in question wasn't making a particularly loud footstep, there appeared to be a strong weight behind his steps.

Although they were in the hub, there was still a sense of intimidation the two of them felt. Mia narrowed her eyes slightly and focused on her sense of smell. However, she wasn't able to smell anything coming from the man, or even Jessica for that matter.

The only blood she could sense was the faint amount that was on herself.

"...He doesn't appear to be someone particularly dangerous."

As the man got closer and closer, his face was discernible. For a moment, both Jessica and Mia felt a sense of familiarity. Mia was the first one to recognize the connection.

"Kenji?..."

The man in question nodded his head.

"I'm surprised you recognized me."

It was quite a different look he had compared to the last time. When they first met, he had an outfit that was almost a suit, along with hair that matched that same vibe. However, now, what hair was visible was a wild mess, with black smudge marks on his face. The clothes he had on were what the average homeless person would have.

The same dead look was on his face as the one he had when they first met him.

No, it was even worse.

Before, it was as though he had been wondering, but now it appeared as though he accepted a cold hard truth.

"I see you guys were able to make it."

Though his voice was the same neutral tone it always had been.

Jessica let out a gasp when she realized who it was. After a short moment of awkward silence she nodded.

"Um, yeah. Have you seen Jack? We took a while in our promotion tests and other business, so he is probably already here somewhere."

Kenji stared at them dead on for a few moments.

"I do not recall any new members in recent times, unless I am misunderstanding and he has been here a day or so ago. As of now, I've been on this floor for roughly two days."

Jessica shook her head.

"Well... no, I imagine we've only spent a few hours or so since we first took the test together."

Kenji turned his head to look off in the distance for three seconds before turning back to them.

"Then he either has not finished his test, or he has failed it."

Both Jessica and Mia furrowed their brows, looking at each other for a moment. After a bit of thought, Mia raised a finger.

"Perhaps he is stuck. If he chose the diamonds test, then he might still be trying to solve the puzzle, but can't figure it out."

Jessica nodded a few times.

"I suppose so... if he had taken my test, the spades, then he probably would've been able to clear it, but I guess he didn't."

Mia blinked a few times before posing a question.

"What test did you have to go through? The both of you. Mine was just some puzzles and a riddle."

Jessica scratched the back of her head.

"Um... I had to kill someone to prove my cruelty, there was also a crowd of people I scared off and I fought off some crows. What about you, Kenji?"

Kenji looked down at the ground.