The Gate we stepped into was eerily quiet. I cast detection magic, but nothing showed up. Expanding the range didn’t help either—still nothing.

"Let’s keep moving."

We continued forward until we reached a point where we had to stop.@@novelbin@@

"It’s a crossroads."

"A four-way split."

Before us were four branching paths. It seemed a bit too obvious, so I checked, but communication devices and even the necklace Elisier had given me weren’t working. In short, unless the paths merged later, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other.

"So, what do we do? Do we pick a path and all go together, or split up?"

"We should split up. I’ve seen this kind of setup in Gates before on Earth, and sticking together is just a waste of time. This Gate isn’t so tough that we couldn’t handle it separately."

"Got it. You guys pair up then. I’ll go on my own. Just be careful once we split—there won’t be any way to communicate."

"Understood."

For a brief moment, there was a flicker of disappointment on their faces—maybe some of them had hoped to pair up with me. But no one was truly disheartened; they knew I preferred to go solo rather than send someone else off on their own.

The disappointment passed quickly. They had gotten used to this from their time as guild leaders. Without a word, they quickly paired up: Priscilla with Nika, Rosaria with Leona, and Elisier with Latina. Latina, who was the least experienced in this sort of thing, stood awkwardly for a moment before Elisier pulled her to her side.

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