Chapter 88: Escape

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Escape

Seraphina Sinclair carefully swallowed. Even as she complained internally, her eyes never left the monsters.

’I have to at least try.’

Danger and opportunity had always gone hand in hand.

’Besides...’

’And isn’t that line in the Description—"it’s best not to provoke these guys"—a kind of hint?’ The sentence subtly corroborated Seraphina Sinclair’s thinking.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze on the monsters growing more intent.

Seraphina Sinclair’s fingertips tapped silently against the dirt. Her eyes were fixed, unblinking, on the nearest Corrupted Sentinel.

The damp mist clung to her eyelashes, forming tiny droplets, but she was so cautious she barely even blinked.

’Seven steps left, pause for three seconds, turn right, two steps forward...’

She repeated this silently, sketching out the monster’s exact patrol route in her mind.

As time passed, the movement patterns of the dozen or so skeletal monsters gradually formed a transparent grid in her mind.

Not only that, but she had even deduced a few possible locations where treasure might be hidden.

The most suspicious spot, of course, was the very center.

The reason was simple: all the monsters were moving in a circle around it.

Besides that area, there were a few slightly raised mounds of earth, one of which was covered by several half-rotted corpses.

On this flat plain, these few spots seemed particularly conspicuous.

’The paths of the third and seventh sentinels will intersect in the central area. The interval is about two minutes...’

Seraphina Sinclair bit her lower lip, quickly calculating the safe windows and trying to plan a viable route that would pass by all the potential treasure spots.

Once everything was ready, she took a deep breath and held her dagger in a reverse grip.

She had to cross the first line of defense within the twelve-second window when the three main patrolling sentinels had their backs turned. Otherwise, the rest of the plan was pointless.

Sweat trickled down from her temples. She gently wiped it away, afraid that the slightest movement would attract the monsters’ attention.

She glanced at the time again. Only fifteen minutes remained on the special island.

’If I’m going to make a move, I have to do it now!’

’Even if something goes wrong, I still have Auric Young to bail me out!’

This was the source of her courage.

’It’s just one risk, and I can afford to take it!’

’Five, four, three...’

She counted down in her mind. On "one," she shot out like a nimble cat.

The damp earth absorbed the sound of her footsteps, but her heartbeat was so loud it felt like it could shatter her eardrums.

She passed the first line of defense smoothly.

Seraphina Sinclair pressed herself flat against a protruding rock, waiting for the second group of patrolling sentinels to pass each other.

The rotting flesh on the skeletal monsters emitted a nauseating stench. She had to hold her breath, and perhaps due to the tension, her lungs began to burn.

Seraphina Sinclair calculated the time silently. Afraid her internal clock was off, she even glanced at the system’s timer.

At that moment, she was incredibly grateful the system displayed the time down to the second.

Another fleeting opening appeared. Seraphina Sinclair immediately seized it, ducking down and moving quickly to the next piece of cover.

But because she wasn’t practiced in these movements, she was a little slow this time. A Corrupted Sentinel suddenly stopped and turned its empty eye sockets in the direction of her hiding spot.

The blood in Seraphina Sinclair’s veins seemed to freeze.

She remained motionless, pressed against the ground, not even daring to blink.

The monster tilted its head, its jawbone making a CLICK-CLACK sound, as if sniffing for something unusual in the air.

After a full ten seconds, it finally turned its head back and resumed its designated patrol route.

But those ten unplanned seconds clearly made a bad situation worse for Seraphina Sinclair. She activated [Water Stopping], using the cheat-like ability to force herself to calm down.

’I’ve already come this far. Retreating is just as dangerous as advancing.’

’Giving up now wouldn’t just be stupid, it would be museum-exhibit-level stupid!’

Hooo... Seraphina Sinclair silently exhaled the breath she had been holding for so long. She found a new opening, changed her position, and got her route back on track!

The hardest part was over. Everything went smoothly from then on.

Unfortunately, she checked the several suspicious locations and found nothing.

Seraphina Sinclair was a little disappointed, but only a little. Next up was the spot in the very center.

As Seraphina Sinclair cautiously approached the center, her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Suppressing her nausea, she pushed aside the topmost corpse, revealing a Supply Box covered in blue runes.

Most importantly... it was a B-level box!

B-level! And it had runes!

’This isn’t an ordinary Supply Box! It’s definitely something good!’

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes lit up. She stared at the Supply Box for a moment, but a bad premonition crept into her heart. ’Don’t tell me these monsters are like that Talisman Master—the moment I take the item, they’ll be alerted, right?’

’Last time, there was only one Talisman Master, and it was slow!’

’But these sentinels...’

Seraphina Sinclair visually estimated the distance between herself and the mobile cabin, as well as the seven or eight sentinels wandering in between.

’What’s the difference between this and an impassable chasm?’

’Haha...’

’If they’re really alerted, they won’t even need to attack.’

Seraphina Sinclair would die right here on the spot.

That’s what she thought, but she still had to find an escape route.

She scanned her surroundings and found that there seemed to be no escape route at all.

’Besides, the box is right here. Not taking it would be like winning five million on a lottery ticket and not cashing it in. What’s the difference?’

Seraphina Sinclair braced herself to run. She reached out, stored the box in her Silver Moon Earrings, and was about to sneak back the way she came when a harsh, grating sound of bone scraping against bone came from behind her.

She whipped her head around and saw that a Corrupted Sentinel that should have been twenty paces away had, at some point, turned around and was now "staring" straight at her!

’No...’

’Are you serious?!’

The surrounding mist churned violently. All the Corrupted Sentinels stopped moving at once, turning in unison toward the center.

More accurately, they all turned to look at Seraphina Sinclair!

The rotting flesh between their bones expanded rapidly, nearly doubling their size in a matter of seconds!

’Is this their alerted state?’

’This is so unfair!!’

’Why do they get to gang up on me *and* get bigger?’

While Seraphina Sinclair was just one small person—weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Her gaze swept across the monsters. Torn between using Auric Young and... using Auric Young, she chose to use Insight instead!

A wave of Mental Pressure washed over her instantly. Seraphina Sinclair’s vision blurred for a moment before quickly clearing. She immediately checked the weaknesses she had obtained.

[Weaknesses: 1. Dull Sense of Smell: Corrupted Sentinels can only perceive enemy locations through scent, but their rotten nasal cavities are particularly insensitive to smells. 2. Corroded Joints: The rotting flesh connecting their bones is key to their flexibility, but it is also a fatal flaw.]

’Smell?’

Seraphina Sinclair paused, then made a decision that was almost suicidal.

Instead of retreating, she rolled forward, diving right into the pile of rotting corpses.

The foul-smelling carrion smeared all over her, but she had no time to be disgusted. She quickly covered herself with the bodies, held her breath, and remained perfectly still.