The group of 5 had been wandering along the corridor for a while now, looking for any object or life form that possessed the same energy as the one Ink Snow had handed the priest.
In other to achieve this, Ink Snow was given a special orb by the Priest Nathel. It could detect that exact energy signal from an object or life form as long as one was within a radius of 10 metres to the object.
Ink's team had already walked more than 300m but they had yet to encounter any living creature. This was even after finding 13 different rooms and exploring them. On the good note though, they managed to find one Mortal rank chest that awarded them a level 15 Mid tier Mortal rank shield and a two Alchemy recipes. The alchemy recipes went to Purple Winter, as she was the only one who registered for the class, though she had yet to attain the title. Sadly, no one could Panda couldn't equip the shield as it was, well level 15 and he was still level 6.
"Are there really any monsters here?" Purple Winter asked after they had inspected another room. She was quite happy with her harvest. With these new recipes, she could test out the different procedures and possibly succeed in finally concocting a potion and becoming an Alchemist.
As unfair as it seems, the way subclass tests are taken could defer from one location to another, especially from one kingdom to another. The heads present, make their own separate rules so in Black Mountain Town, Riverdale Town and all the other towns of Fallen Heart Kingdom, it was easier to become an apprentice alchemist as you just have to read and take a test. But in Reiss Kingdom, you have to concoct a low level drug. This of course, would take time but you can pay for lectures from professionals who would then teach you. The very second a player successfully concocts a potion, he or she becomes an alchemist, directly skipping the rank of Apprentice. There was of course an easier way and that was to register under a certified Alchemist who would then take you as an apprentice. But this method required farming for relationship points and still paying a fee so it was quite tedious and only for the strong-willed and rich.
"I don't know but we haven't gone far enough yet." Gotze answered.
"If we keep spending so much time here without achieving anything, we would get behind of the top pros and even way more behind of those lucky guys." Panda sighed.
Panda was a level 6 player. In places like Lavissen, that wasn't exposed to any grand event, he would be admired by the major populace as a top class player but in those "clover towns", he would just be a bit better than regular players and not as special as he was here. Though it didn't sound so bad, Panda didn't feel that way. He felt it was unfair, the treatment players there got but there was nothing he could do about it except to work harder. So rather than exploring an empty building for a non existent goal, he would rather spend that time grinding monsters and levelling up.
"*Sighs* Let's check a couple more rooms. If we find nothing, then we leave."
Ink Snow too felt the same as Panda but she still hoped to complete this mission.
"Okay." Everyone nodded in accordance.
After they had just taken there steps forward, Gotze suddenly froze.
"What's up?" Herald, who happened to be beside him asked.
"... there's something close." Gotze replied after a while.
Seeing the two that had suddenly stopped moving, Ink Snow asked "What's up?"
"I'm not too sure but I think I spotted something with my [Detect]" Gotze answered her. Since his [Detect] skill could spot any moving object within a specific radius, he was tasked with navigating the path and alerting the team of any ambush. Since they had not yet encountered anything so far, he was a bit lac in concentration but he still used the minimum amount of effort to perform his task.
"!!!"
Immediately, Gotze' eyes widened as he roared " It's coming. Everyone, run! This way quick."
After he alerted his teammates, Gotze dashed forward at high speed without waiting for anyone.
The team was filled with professionals that knew to react first before asking why so they all ran after Gotze.
*Boom*
As Ink Snow got close and was about to ask him what was going on, she heard a loud boom and once she turned her head over to look, she saw the wall some distance away, collapsing. A black humanoid puppet[1] then walked out from the breach and turned to look at the team. It so happened that Ink Snow and the puppet met with their eyes. With a glint in it's eyes, the puppet chased after the team that was way ahead of it.
"What the hell is that?!!" Purple Winter yelled.
"I don't know but it's strong. Very strong. Level 15 strong." Herald replied after he had scanned the puppet with [Sefiris' eye].
"Damn it." Gotze, who was in front, happened to hear this and he cursed. Using [Detect], he only discovered that a creature was heading their way. As for it's strength and looks, he didn't know that. Now finding out that the monster chasing them was a level 15 puppet, he couldn't help but curse.
Puppets were far worse than regular monsters because of one special thing about them; they weren't alive. As objects or machines, they lacked a few features that regular living creatures would have. A good example would be pain sensitivity and stamina. Puppets don't feel pain and they don't get tired. Just this single line had reduced their chances of survival to 0.01%. If they were to have faced a regular monster, they could at least try to hold it back by using their trump cards, like scrolls and explosives, to deal concentrated damage to a weak spot like a joint, and weaken it hence slowing it down and out running the monster. But in the case of a puppet, that wasn't possible as even if they were damaged, unless it was a serious one, they would still be at their peak form. As for dealing heavy damages to it, this wasn't viable because the level difference was too big; not something that could easily be prevailed by just trying their best.
"If we keep running in a straight line like this, it would soon catch up." Panda reminded.
"There are two paths up ahead." Herald stated. As a Ranger, he had better eyesight than the other classes so being able to see a couple of metres ahead more clearly than normal, was a simple thing for him.
"Right." Gotze yelled. Though [Detect] could be used to only spot moving objects, Gotze had managed to use it as a form of sonar radar to scan the layout of an environment. Of course, this method of his wasn't perfect and had a very slim chance of being accurate.
The team of 5 immediately dived towards the right once they reached the junction. In the process of doing so, Ink Snow dropped a few round objects on the ground and threw some at the wall.
2 seconds after they had passed by, the puppet had arrived at the same junction and also went right. As it did so, multiple explosions rang out as the entire area within a radius of 5 metres, was set ablaze.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
The walls also collapsed and buried the puppet in, while blocking the path further ahead.
What Ink Snow had used was an explosive device similar to the [Simple Explosives] Sato had used back when he was level 0 but this one was more powerful than that one. Despite being more powerful, Ink Snow knew it wouldn't be able to kill that puppet but her intention wasn't to do so but to slow it down. Normally, for a Temple as big as this, the walls would be a lot stronger and more resistant to explosions but due to the constant negligence the building had received together with it's old age, the walls became a lot weaker and so, it was vulnerable to explosions.
After the rumbling went on for 4 seconds, the place became quiet. 10 seconds later though...
*Bang*
A hand came out from the pile of rocks.
Meanwhile, Ink's team had been running for awhile now. They had already exited the building and where at the centre area, the place where the 4 smaller temples where housed.
"Where do we go?" Confused after seeing different buildings, Gotze asked Ink Snow.
"This way!" Ink Snow ran to an edifice by her left. It so happened to be that this was the Temple located at the Northern area.
Ink Snow hadn't really randomly chosen a location. Not only where the other buildings far, but her instincts alerted her that going over there would be very dangerous. It felt like there was a very ominous and powerful creature or object there, that would unhesitatingly kill them the very second they got closer. The temple in front of her however, felt much safer compared to those 3 but that didn't mean it was safe.
'I just hope I'm not wrong.'
AN :
Infinite Facts :
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T - where they exited from.
PS : It might look a bit ruined in some phones and different f
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