Chapter 110
The ten team members were as follows.
1. First, me, the Team leader.
Then, in order.
2. Judgement Spear Zhang Wei.
3. Olena Zelenska.
4. James.
5. Capu.
6. Myoi Hana.
7. A middle-aged man whose name I hadn’t even been introduced to yet.
8. Olivia Rodrigo. ( T/N: Yup! That really is her name. I wont be surprised if her abilities are vampire-like lol. )
9. The man next to her who looked like her lackey.
And finally.
10. The Space Mage, Vladimir Rodygin.
From now on.
I had to lead these ten team members.
And make our way through Theme 2.
“First of all.”
I took two pieces of paper out of my pocket.
“Before we get into the main discussion, I’d like to share some information.”
They were the ‘Theme 1 Information Ticket’ and ‘Theme 2 Information Ticket’ I had bought from the shop.
“Some of you may know, and some may not, but this is something you could obtain by paying Trial Points in the previous theme. Everyone, gather around and take a look.”
I combined the two and shared the information with the team members.
Even the middle-aged man and Olivia, who had been in conflict.
Perhaps they realized a mission message had appeared?
“You, I’ll see you later.”
“Hmph, what a load of crap.”
Even while bickering.
They seemed to be following my lead for now.
“Hoh, you must have bought this from the shop?”
“Ooh, is this that information ticket? I couldn’t buy it because I didn’t have enough points.”
The team members started to gather in a circle around me.
“Well, if you’re the number one ranker with that much contribution… I suppose you could have easily bought these two.”
“Shall we take a look?”
#3. The shop appears 30 days after the trial begins.
The shop’s currency is ‘Trial Points,’ and participants must find various hidden ‘Treasures’ to collect ‘Trial Points.’
PS. Each ‘Treasure’ has a ‘Treasure Bonus.’
#4. A special privilege exists.
Participants can find the judges who are watching them from afar.
If found, they can use the ‘shop’ ‘in advance.’
#5. There are two ways to obtain this information ticket.
One, purchase it with ‘Trial Points’ through a discovered examiner.
Two, find the information tickets hidden by the judges throughout the area.
“Hmm, we have to find Treasure?”
Vladimir muttered.
“It seems the Trial Points and the shop are carrying over from the previous theme, just as they were.”
“Hmm, then what should we do? Should we rack up Trial Points before heading to the castle?”
Murmur, murmur.
The team members voiced their thoughts as they read the information.
I slowly looked at each of their faces before opening my mouth.
“We will not be looking for just the regular treasures.”
“……”
“Don’t forget. Our goal isn’t simply to find the ‘Legendary Treasure’ hidden in the giant castle. What’s important is that we find the ‘Legendary Treasure’ before Team 2 and Team 3. Who knows? While we’re doing this, the other teams might have already set off for the castle.”
My words silenced the crowd.
They all looked grim, as if the tension had finally set in.
Right.
This wasn’t a simple treasure hunt.
It was a competition, a first-come, first-served game.
“We don’t have time. For now, we will march to the castle while staying on guard. Everyone, prepare your own survival and security measures, and Capu?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Hoon.”
He raised his hand high.
“You’re the guide, so lead the way from the front. And Zhang Wei?”
“Speak, Skeleton King.”
“From now on, you are the vice-leader. Please take charge of assigning detailed roles, and in my absence, you will be delegated all the authority of the Team leader.”
Zhang Wei was a righteous hunter with clear standards.
Therefore, he would surely handle things more fairly than anyone else.
“Understood. I will do my best.”
Zhang Wei accepted the position.
At the same time, I gave my first order.
To begin preparations for the march.
“Kyah, as expected of number one! So clean!”
Vladimir gave a thumbs up!
“Huhu, I’m starting to have faith in you.”
Myoi Hana also smiled gently.
The moment the vicious atmosphere instantly switched to one of let’s-do-this!
As if she could finally breathe, Olena said.
“You all know, right? I’m in charge of water supply and camping! Let’s all give it our best shot!”
“Oh, water supply? Hah! We have a valuable talent here, I see?”
“Heehee! I saw earlier, Vladimir, you’ve got some skills too?”
“Of course, I’m pretty strong. Hah hah! Look forward to it. The future single-digit ranker will be me.”
“Eh, that’s a bit…”
The team members started moving, joking with each other.
I took a step back and fell into thought.
‘First, the Trial Points.’
[Your current Trial Points.]
[Trial Points: 891,500]
‘They’re still here.’
That was a relief.
I was worried they might just disappear for nothing.
‘This theme will probably be similar, right?’
Just like with the Toxin Mist, they’ll obviously let us use the shop right before we’re about to clear it.
Until then, they’ll have us accumulate Trial Points.
On top of that.
There was a high probability that a VIP shop would also exist.
The one that gifted me a Godslayer-grade weapon…
‘I have to use it, no matter what.’
I had my own way of grabbing everything I needed while still moving quickly.
[Using skill, ‘Skeleton Knight Summon’ (A-Rank).]
By using them!
Clatter! Clatter-clatter!
I summoned a total of six skeletons, excluding Dmir, whom I had left on our workshop.
“My liege.”
“Did you call?”
Creak, creak!
Bones that shot up from the ground swirled around before merging together.
Always so reassuring to see.
My fighting force.
“Everyone.”
I said quietly.
“Go around this entire place, and if you see anything that looks interesting among the hidden things, scrape it all up for me.”
“Things that look interesting, you say?”
“Yes, whether it holds some kind of energy, or seems unusual, whatever. Anything.”
I still didn’t know the true nature of the ‘Treasure.’
So, I decided to just gather everything for now.
“It feels similar to when we were gathering poisonous mushrooms, doesn’t it?”
“We will do our best, my liege!”
Sunny and Eldrin answered reliably.
Swoosh!
Simultaneously, they each disappeared in the four cardinal directions.
They would probably summon the skeletons under their command and search like a spiderweb.
Then, using their own experiences, they would find something by any means necessary.
‘Reassuring.’
This was the broken advantage of a necromancer.
The ability to command numerous minions from afar while staying put.
I felt them getting farther and farther away and smiled with satisfaction.
* * *
Pitter, patter!
The rain began to pour.
Treading on the muddy ground, we continued to advance.
Our goal was the giant castle rising before our eyes.
Of course, just because it looked big didn’t mean we would arrive soon.
Even after a full day had passed, we still hadn’t reached our destination.
“Hoo, well. It feels like there’s no end to this walking. Ugh, it’s hot.”
“The rain keeps falling, so it’s all damp. It dries, then it rains, then it dries, then it rains again.”
“I know. Right. A trial can’t be this simple, can it?”
“Doesn’t that castle feel like looking at the sun? The sun that stays the same size no matter how much you walk.”
Just as someone said.
The size of the castle was exactly the same as it was a day ago.
What could be the reason?
Is the land truly that vast?
Or is there some kind of trap?
In short, something like magic that makes you run in place like a hamster on a wheel.
“Unfortunately, there is no trap.”
Capu shook his head firmly.
“The distance is definitely closing. According to the information from my skill, ‘Clairvoyance,’ it’s shrinking by several meters even at this very moment.”
“Hah, really?”
“Literally, that castle is just… incredibly huge and incredibly far away.”
“No way.”
The hunters shook their heads.
Olena grumbled.
“Hmph, if it’s this wide, we probably don’t even need to stand guard, do we?”
In fact, since yesterday.
Everyone had been on guard because of Team 2.
Team 2, led by Chris Larsen, was a team composed entirely of murderers.
They were, in effect, the most threatening team to us.
“A pity.”
Zhang Wei muttered.
“I need to meet them all and pass judgment.”
Of course, his murmur was so quiet.
It was barely audible even to my ears.
“Let’s just keep going for now.”
“Olena, give me some water here. I’m thirsty.”
“Yes, yes, anyone who needs water, speak up. If you tell me, I’ll fill your canteens!”
There wasn’t a single team member who didn’t look exhausted.
It wasn’t a long time for ranker candidates, but.
Performing an endlessly repetitive action wears a person out.
“……”
I walked on without a word.
Of course, even in the midst of it all.
[There is a Treasure Bonus.]
[‘Useless Medieval Relic’ is an F-Rank Treasure.]
[You have acquired 10 Trial Points.]
…….
[There is a Treasure Bonus.]
[‘Bird of Prey Statue’ is a C-Rank Treasure.]
[You have acquired 300 Trial Points.]
Status windows like this continuously popped up.
Because the points were awarded the moment a ‘Treasure’ was found, with no distance limit!
The skeletons were working hard.
‘This is a sweet deal for me.’
I chuckled happily.
All I had to do was.
Re-summon them at daily intervals to reset their locations.
Just by doing that, my points were snowballing, so how could I not be happy?
The ‘Treasure Bonus’ was similar to the ‘Toxin Bonus’ from Theme 1.
[F-Rank Treasure – 10 Points]
[E-Rank Treasure – 50 Points]
[D-Rank Treasure – 100 Points]
[C-Rank Treasure – 300 Points]
[B-Rank Treasure – 500 Points]
[A-Rank Treasure – 1,000 Points]
Points were awarded according to the rank of the discovered Treasure.
While we were walking like that for a while.
“Hey.”
Someone spoke to me.
It was Olivia, who had been following silently until now.
“Yes?”
“But, fuck. Do we have to just keep walking like this? Shouldn’t we be doing something?”
“Hmm?”
“Walking is one thing for a few hours. At this rate, we might just end up only walking, right?”
“……”
I gave a bitter smile.
I understood her anxiety.
The fact that the team was walking aimlessly was all because of my orders.
“Please wait just a little longer. I’ll try to figure something out by the end of today.”
“By the end of today? Do you have a method or something?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of method?”
“……”
“What, are you using some shady method behind our backs? Don’t tell me you got to number one in Theme 1 using a method like that too?”
Her words were strangely grating.
Of course, I couldn’t deny it.
I was indeed accumulating points behind their backs.
‘But.’
Who knows?
Maybe these accumulated points.
Will become the breakthrough in this frustrating situation.
“Hmm, but why is that wench chattering away at you? It’s not like she seems to have a proper method herself.”
The elder, whom I had summoned earlier, tilted his head as he floated in the air.
I answered inwardly.
‘I don’t know. Just ignore her. I think her personality is just really weird.’
“Hoho, for a disciple of mine, you are truly remarkable. Absolutely remarkable! A true saint has appeared. If she had done that in front of me, she would have broken a bone somewhere by now.”
‘She’s not even worth it.’
If I get swayed by every little word like that.
I’d become no different from the middle-aged man who got worked up yesterday.
What’s important to me right now.
Is finding a solution.
‘Elder.’
“Hm?”
‘By any chance, is that girl we saw back then around us?’
“Girl? Who?”
‘That examiner girl who was throwing lightning. The one called Thunderstrike.’
“Ah, you mean that dazed-looking one?”
‘…Yes.’
“Well, she’s been trailing you from the very beginning. Though it seems she’s keeping a bit more distance than last time…”
‘Oh, really?’
My eyes lit up.
When there’s no answer.
It’s better to try everything you can possibly do.
‘Elder.’
“What.”
‘By any chance, that girl. Can you tell me where she is in real-time?’
This time, too.
I planned to use the elder’s power to find the examiner.
Premium Access is now at Chapter 125!