"Urgh.."
A groan escaped my lips when I tried to stand using the nine tails fox statue as support.
Unsurprisingly, I had only been acting tough in front of Ryan and Lark.
My fingers were broken from when I had punched the spear. Even slightly moving my hand sent jolts of pain across my body.
My body was also not in any better shape.
To catch up to Lark and Ryan, I had no choice but to use almost all the status points I gained from killing Iota-rank boar into agility.
I had only allotted a single stat point into the constitution for temporary pain relief.
Looking at the sword in my hand, I rembered Ryan and Lark's faces as I left.
I bet they were thinking, 'If only we hadn't co in this direction.'
But the mont they had ignored Lark's unusually long sleep, their fates had been sealed.
During my night shift, I had gone towards the guardian cliff as close as possible and dumped the corpse of the shadow fox I had.
I had asked for my shift to be last because at the daybreak the shadow foxes would be gathered at the guardian cliff's base.
But it wouldn't be the sa when night ca again. The shadow foxes would find the corpse and venture out to find the culprit.
This was the real reason I had given Ryan the shadow fox core.
No matter where they ran, they would be chased until the end of the exam.
To make sure they were asleep, I had wrung the blue berries from this guardian cliff into their water canteen.
Using them was a gamble. But I had nothing to lose. Either I bet everything to get those manuals or escaped empty-handed.
This was why they were already trapped when they ignored Lark's prolonged sleep.
As for Ryan, I knew that he didn't have any ans to locate . Slipping away was difficult only because of Lark's stigma.
Yes, I knew about their stigmas. After all, they were characters that had so relevance in 'Saga of Heroes', especially Ryan.
This was the real reason I knew they would backstab .
And so I also knew how dangerous deceiving Ryan was. He was a genuine threat if he decided to co after .
This made one think, couldn't I have left shadow foxes to deal with them and they would never know my involvent?
Originally, that was the plan. I had no interest in making them I was behind their upcoming misery.
But I had to improvise when I saw Ryan's greatsword. If they were eliminated, a shield would be ford around them until they were brought back.
So, I had to take the sword before that, which I did.
Then another question arises.
Lark had his thigh pierced while Ryan had absorbed the shadow fox core. One couldn't move, while another would be targeted by shadow foxes even if the sll of blood vanished.
This ant that they couldn't co after now but what about future? Wasn't I planning to not deal with them because of how dangerous it was?
The answer was to this surprisingly easy.
I just had to break their will. And make them think I could easily see through their plans.
Why did I act all edgy while hinting that I was behind everything?
I had to make them think that they were dancing on my palms and shake their ntality. They needed to think I had been controlling them since the beginning.
For this, I needed to make them aware of my plan, but I couldn't explain it myself.
The impact they would feel after concluding on their own would be a thousand tis more than telling it myself.
This was why I only hinted of my involvent with the ambush and let them continue their thoughts.
From here I didn't need to do anything.
After all, when soone is backed into the corner they would always think of worst case scenario.
And I was sure I had succeeded.
How so?
Ryan never once asked how did I deal with Iota-rank boar or how I escaped shadow foxes after killing them.
This ans that he now unconsciously saw as soone who was hiding his strength and always scheming.
I had made sure that both of them were physically and ntally incapable of coming after , neither now nor in the future.
"Sigh…."
Ryan's sword had caused too much trouble.
=======
Greatsword [Common-rank]
A greatsword made by an unknown apprentice blacksmith. It has good durability. It has barely qualified as an artifact.
-Increases in weight proportional to Aura supplied.
=======
This sword itself wasn't anything special, but with its ability, I had found a way to get the manuals.
[Ti remaining: 35:13:55]
"It's ti."
I was lying near the fox statue on the cliff where I had landed on the first day. I climbed here using chains that had appeared in the morning.
"Cough..cough"
My whole body shook from pain when I stood up.
Still, I tried to focus and stood a little away from the platform upon which the nine tails status stood.
Placing the sword on the platform, I placed my hand above it and started supplying my Aura.
The sword sucked my Aura at an alarming pace, making feel dizzy.
No matter how much it weighed, nothing changed when suddenly….
BOOOM-!
A large explosion happened in the direction of the volcano.
"About the ti the protagonist did it."
Of course, the explosion had nothing to do with .
GRRRR-!
The platform finally began sinking.
It kept sinking when it suddenly fell into the cliff.
BANG-!
A loud noise indicating that the platform had collided with the ground rang.
Looking inside the hole created by the platform, I waved my hand at the Enma-rank Shadow fox and shouted.
"There, I opened the gate for you. I also took the liberty of inviting a few guests for the inauguration ceremony."
Saying so, I ran for the snake guardian cliff.
What did I just do?
I used the platform to destroy the magic circle which was holding the Aether-rich air of Aether orb from escaping outside.
The falling platform had forced the Shadow fox to remove the orb from the stump, cutting the magic circle's energy supply.
The thing that had bugged most in that do was the weird black ceiling. After thinking for a while, I concluded that it was the base of the platform.
Why?
Because the way to go inside the snake guardian cliff was through the statue on the cliff.
Although the fox statue didn't have a way to go down, I was sure that the black plate was its base.
Now all the beasts which were at least peak Iota-rank would rush here. Naturally, the Sky Viper would also leave its cliff!
I just had to keep moving on the chains until I found the right cliff while the beast would fight over the Aether orb!
As I crawled on the chain, the pain made rember the Iota-rank blood boar.
I knew it wasn't my fault, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
The reason I never considered such a possibility wasn't that it never occurred to . But because the chances were impossibly small.
In the novel, it was heavily pointed out that every strong awakener in the first year had never tead up with anybody during this exam. This fact had forced their first mission to beco a team mission from solo.
Anyway, I was sure that only a handful of first years could cause the stampede alone. How unlucky was I to have one of them just near ?
On top of that, none of them should have any reason to hunt such weak boars when they could hunt beasts stronger than them to level up quickly!
"Forget it. I should be happy that I will be able to take those manuals and….."
For a mont I doubted my eyes, but shortly I sat on the chain and started laughing.
"Seriously? I know it has 'Sky' in its na, but couldn't it have gone through the ground?"
An enormous three-headed snake with bat-like wings was flying over the chains and coming in my direction.
The Sky Viper was gliding over the chain!
I closed my eyes and waited for it to co.
I had given up and was just waiting for the outco.
There was nothing I could do now. My body was in pathetic condition because I fought an injured beginner Iota-rank beast and this thing was leagues above that.
Suddenly, a strong gale that almost threw off blew.
I opened my eyes and looked around. Only to find Sky Viper far behind !
It was already too far away and moving at an incredible pace.
"Haaah…"
I had thought this might be possible, but it still felt shocking.
The Sky Viper probably ignored because, for it, Aether Orb was more important than dealing with a small fry.
With a deep sigh, I hurriedly began moving while trying to calm my heart.
***
I was standing in a dark cave.
It took an hour to rember the correct pattern of rocks near the Snake statue to press and enter here.
The tunnel's altitude kept decreasing as I walked until it finally opened in a large chamber.
It was similar to the do in the previous cliff.
Ignoring everything, I walked to the center and stood before the stump made of roots. It was similar to the shadow fox's one, but there was no Aether orb or magic circle.
I placed my hands above the stump and recited the words that I had painstakingly recalled.
"The only things left in this ruined world are the sorrows of past and the present that has devoured the future."
Then I looked down and saw my body turning into dust until it neared my eyes and I lost my vision.
***
VUPP-!
I regained my vision inside a dimly lit room.
There was a door behind . It should teleport to the edge of the island.
The room wasn't very big. I could move from one corner to another in 7 strides.
In the middle of the room, three orbs of light were floating.
These three orbs were the reason I had gone through so much struggle.
"I finally got all thre-wait, three?"
Wasn't it supposed to be two?
My hands, which were moving towards the orbs, stopped.
"Whatever. I'll think about it later."
At this point, I was too tired to react to every new stimulus.
As my hands touched the orbs, they vanished, and three things dropped to the ground.
I picked the two books.
[You have obtained Ether manual. Would you like to use it?]
[You have obtained Legacy Art of the First King. Would you like to learn it?]
Looking at the two notifications, I sucked in cold air and then shouted in joy.
"I got them. Yes, finally got them!"
As I was crying tears of joy, I learned a new lesson 'Look before you Speak'.
[Confirmation affird. Beginning the process…..]
"No, wait I never said Ye-ARGHH!AFJASJKFBAJ!"
I kept shouting incomprehensible words before I lost consciousness due to overwhelming pain.
****
BEEP-! BEEP-!
"Argh.."
I groggily sat and looked around. I was in a small, dimly lit room.
BEEP-! BEEP-!
Then I looked at myself. I was covered with red paint and there was a large patch of dried paint of the sa color under .
"This sll. Is it bloo…"
My body shuddered as I rembered the pain I felt before losing consciousness.
BEEP-! BEEP-!
I was thankful that I had lost consciousness or I would have gone insane from the pain.
"sigh.. The mory was too weird."
BEEP-! BEEP-!
"Where is this sound coming from?"
I irritably muttered.
The constant beeping was getting on my nerves.
[Ti Remaining: 00:00:00]
"…."
SHIT!
The test had ended while I was unconscious.
I hurriedly picked the object from the ground and ran towards the doors.
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