Infinite Realm

"Where are they?"

At the top of the basin that led to the Exit gate, Black Tempest stood at the edge and surveyed the entire area. Slightly behind him were the others of his team but Black Tempest's words were said with a somewhat absent-minded tone.

"I don't know, captain." The [Druid] in the team spoke up. He then looked forward as if looking for something before replying.

"They mysteriously disappeared. They had gone forward, towards the centre of this basin, but had suddenly disappeared."

Black Tempest had a look of frustration on his face but there was nothing he could about it. He knew that the opponent had now escaped and would probably not encounter them again, anytime soon.

The players behind him all felt his fury but they dropped their heads low.

It should be known that after the death of the team's [Assassin], Black Tempest became one of the top 3 fastest individuals in the team. If he wanted to leave everyone else and chase after the other party, he could have done so, but instead, Black Tempest moved at a speed slightly above the others, staying at an appropriate distance that wouldn't leave any of them behind. While it was true that the closer they got to the Exit gate, the lower the chance of suffering an ambush, Black Tempest remained with the team because sometimes, things might not go as usually expected.

"How long do you think it's been? How long have they been gone?" Black Tempest asked the [Druid].

"It's been at least 10 seconds." The [Druid] replied with a low voice.

While it took more than 10 seconds for the Exit gate to refresh, it would take Black Tempest and his team more than 20 seconds to get to the Exit gate's location. That added with the previous 10 seconds was more than enough for the Exit gate to refresh.

"So, they have escaped us, huh?" Black Tempest asked out loud, though the tone of voice implied that it was a rhetorical question.

"Let's keep going. We're here now so there's no use idling around." Black Tempest began to descend the basin.

The rest glanced at each other before they followed him with a sigh. Having spent quite some time with Black Tempest as the captain, almost all of them have gotten the hang of reading his state of mind. While it seemed like Black Tempest was calm right now, he was most likely fuming inside and was just putting up a pretentious front. The very second he encounters a monster or an opponent, only the heavens would be able to save that single soul from his fury.

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Let's keep going. It's safer to leave this spot." Sato said to the group.

No one refuted his statement as it was indeed true. Even though the Exit gate is said to refresh the destination after a certain amount of time, the 'refreshing' might not change the destination. It was like how random number generators would issue the same number once twice in a row or how mystery boxes in some games would give out the same reward two or more times in a row even after a gamer opens them at different time intervals. However, unlike those money-grubbing scammer games, the possibility of this happening with the Exit gates was extremely low.

"Hey, Old Lu. What took you so long back then?" Yato asked Lu Zhen.

During the time Sato and Xue Yan had spent in the Main Trials, the other 5 had worked together a lot so they were quite close with each other. 'Old Lu' was the nickname Yato gave to Lu Zhen as he felt it might be slightly disrespectful to call him by his full name, even though it was also his IGN.

"Nothing much. I just explored the other areas before you guys came in. He." Lu Zhen smirked eerily.

"Oi, Old Lu. It looks like you got something nice. Come on, man. Ain't I your close buddy? Come on, show me." Yato's eyes glistened.

"Don't force him, Yato. What any one of us gets in this journey belongs to that person alone." Sato commented.

"Don't worry about it. How can I be selfish over such a little thing after all you guys have done for me and my cousin. Once we reach a suitable junction, I will show it to everyone." Lu Zhen said.

Even though he and Xue Yan had come to an agreement a long time ago with Sato over the distribution of loot, Lu Zhen felt that it wasn't right to hide whatever he gained from them. Sato had even exposed the knowledge of the Caventry's Hall to them at no cost. Because of that, Xue Yan had become the second highest levelled player and also improved her skills and increased her knowledge. The same went for Lu Zhen, even though his gains weren't as much as Xue Yan's. Apart from that, his teammates had helped him and Xue Yan increase their levels and get new equipment. It would be unfair of him to still treat them as strangers after all of this.

Sato smiled faintly but didn't say anything. Truthfully, he had spoken up as a way to test Lu Zhen's reaction. Sato had plans of starting a club and he would need a lot of manpower for that. If Lu Zhen had agreed with his words, then it would mean that Lu Zhen was an unscrupulous human being that could abandon one in the face of profit. However, if he did otherwise, then it would mean that he was trustworthy and worth making a friend out of.

"Tch. Now I don't feel like it's something good if you're so willing to bring it out." Yato grumbled.

"Haha. If I were you, I wouldn't say that so soon." Lu Zhen chuckled mysteriously.

Some minutes later, the team had finally managed to find a good reclusive spot that suited for a hideout. While their experience on the previous flooring wasn't physically stressful, it was mentally taxing so everyone voted for a break.

"Alright then.. Let's see it."