Chapter 96: Sponsor

This bright spot came from the ray of light above, where the pit led to the outside world.

And right now, there were a few people in the middle of that bright spot, looking up at something in the blue clouds above.

It was at this moment that a red box descended from the ceiling, seemingly lowered down from the skies above.

Immediately, Eren recognized this red box.

It was very similar to the loot box he saw before. Even Sierra and the others were able to remember that distinct red color.

"A loot box?" Sierra asked. "Someone’s getting sponsored!"

This assumption was verified by the rest of the crowd as they began to whisper to themselves about the red box descending from up above.

"Already?!"

"Our group hasn’t even found a Territory yet, and someone was already able to impress the Sponsors?"

"I wonder who it is..."

Eren’s attention was put towards a certain individual in the center of the bright spot.

It was a young man with blonde hair and sharp features. He looked to be of European descent.

"Who is he?" Eren asked Pang Cai.

The Scion of the Cai family looked at him askance. "You don’t know? He’s only like one of the front-runners for this License Exam. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.

His name is Dantes Evergreen. And he’s an immigrant who came here in Los Medes for the License Exam.

From what my goons tell me, it seems that Dantes has been sponsored by the Oloch Family. And you see those two other people beside him?"

Pang Cai pointed towards the other two people standing behind Dantes. He narrowed his eyes. He recognized them.

One of them was the woman who approached Ms. Calliope before he left. Meaning, she must be a Chosen Leader from the Academic Sector.

"He’s slowly gaining infamy within the Second Test because he was able to get an alliance with a leader from the Medical Sector and the Academic Sector," said Pang Cai. "They’re a force to be reckoned with. With their diverse group of skills, there’s no Territory that they won’t be able to conquer."

It was a very smart move, Eren thought. With the help of the Academic Sector, Dantes and his group would be able to go through the traps and the puzzles of the Array Formations faster than his peers.

And with the Medical Sector backing him as well, this meant that his group would be able to continue conquering Territories without stopping to rest. They would be healed by the examinees from the Medical Sector.

"They’ve just come back from conquering their Fifth territory," said Pang Cai. "That’s probably why they’re being rewarded by his sponsor."

Eren looked at the loot box that now landed in Dantes’ feet. It was as big as a suit-case. And if one were to look closely, one would see the emblem of the Oloch Family on its side.

"It’s from the Olochs!"

"He’s getting sponsored by them... this means it’s basically guaranteed that he’s getting recruited after the exam."

"I wonder what kind of food he’ll get—"

The examinees watching from the side were all silenced upon watching Dantes open the loot box right in front of everybody.

It contained a stack of yellow, weathered pages.

Dantes bent down and picked up one of the pages, revealing the red circuitry of symbols imprinted onto the page.

Eren’s eyes widened. It was a Martial Manual.

Gasps and groans of shocks erupted from the rest of the examinees. They couldn’t believe that the loot box contained Martial Manuals!

After receiving this gift, Dantes looked up at the skies and bowed in thanks. Then, he closed the box back up and returned to his place back in his group.

Everyone could tell they were all in high spirits. All hundreds of their members were enthusiastic and excited upon seeing their leader come back with a box filled with stacks and stacks of Martial Manuals.

Once he had returned to their sides, Dantes opened the box back up and began distributing the Martial Manuals to his group members.

Soon, shouts of excitement bursted out of them.

"[Lightning Step]! It’s actually the [Lightning Step]!"

Those watching from the side were filled with envy.

"This is a 7-star Movement Martial Manual..."

"Is that Martial Manual... actually from the Oloch family?!"

"Lucky! I should have joined Dantes’ group!"

The conservative group of examinees, those who had chosen not to join a group early in the Test, were now motivated to join Dantes’ group more than ever.

In fact, Eren saw a few people approach Dantes in the hopes of being accepted into their group. About twenty people were added to his entourage, with more people waiting on the sidelines.

"Is the [Lightning Step] really that good?" Sky asked.

"It’s a Martial Manual that has the potential to be an 8-star Martial Manual. But even those who have a 5-star Lower Body talent can practice it," Bernadette said.

"I can’t believe the Oloch family is giving away their precious Martial Manuals as a lootbox!" said Sierra.

"Yeah... they won’t even sell those things," Abe muttered.

"It’s a recruitment tactic," said Celeste. "The more people that join Dantes, the more people will eventually become inclined to join the Oloch family. Even after this exam ends, the examinees who had received these Martial Manuals would become indebted to the Oloch family. They’re basically printing more loyal soldiers."

It was an accurate assessment that Eren agreed with. He wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming days, more Prominent Families and Elite Awakener Organizations would send down Martial Manuals as their loot boxes.

Of course, Eren wasn’t that excited like the others.

The [Lightning Step], he admitted, was a pretty good Martial Manual. It was a good technique taught to inner disciples as their primary movement Martial Manual in the Thundrous Realm.

But Eren knew that the technique had a lot of flaws, since it used electric energy from the world to be used.