novelraw Chapter 142: Preparing for the Tenth Scenario
Chapter 142: Preparing for the Tenth Scenario
Now, challenging the tenth scenario wasn’t as simple as the previous nine. For one thing, the scenario required ten people to work together to challenge it. No exceptions. Counting Erika, there were only six of us. Well, Erika did mention during training that she had two people she could invite to join the scenario with us… so that left two more.
Since Boris was the most adept at getting close to people, I communicated this to him. Perhaps he knew two people who could join.
“Two people, eh? There are a couple of my drinking buddies who just cleared the ninth scenario not too long ago. I could ask them if they want to join later.”
“Great!”
Speaking of which, while I was incredibly exhausted from the battle against Kaela, it was barely noon. As such, we had lunch first before I excused myself to my bedroom, telling them I wanted to take a nap and rest.
I wasn’t lying when I said that, as I immediately lay on the bed. However, after ten minutes, I sat up. There was something I had to address immediately.
“Raphael,” I called out. “Come out.”
A ripple of golden light shimmered in the corner of the room. Moments later, Raphael appeared—a tiny, chibi angel wearing an annoyed pout, as though I had woken her from a pleasant nap.
“What is it now? I’m not some servant you can summon whenever you feel like it,” she huffed, wings twitching. “This better not be more of your nonsense.”
Ignoring her theatrics, I spoke calmly: “Let’s void the weekly mandatory new scenario challenge.”
Immediately, her wings froze mid-flap. “…What do you mean by that?” she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
“It means exactly what it sounds like.” I shrugged.
Raphael crossed her arms and scowled. “Maximillian Anderson, you were the one who suggested this rule in the first place. Explain yourself!”
“Now, hear me out for a sec.” I raised my hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not asking you to stop it entirely. I just want you to void the weekly mandatory new scenario challenge for scenario eleven and onward. As Lady Istellia said herself, ‘The Battle of Divine Will is coming.’ Most divine warriors need time to prepare for it, and they’ll be hard-pressed if they have to tackle difficult scenarios at the same time.”
To begin with, divine warriors who challenged scenarios as quickly as we did were rare exceptions. Most divine warriors used the entire week to prepare for the next scenario and increase their chances of survival. After all, no one was as extraordinary as Boris, as talented as Michelle and Lucian, as resourceful as Tuilë, and as incredible and amazing as me. Indeed, I called myself amazing because of my past life.
Raphael’s eye twitched. “You really have no shame, do you?”
“Confidence,” I corrected. “It’s called confidence.”
“Uh-huh,” she muttered, clearly unconvinced.
I continued, “Point is, pushing mandatory scenario progression at this stage is inefficient. Stronger divine warriors will be needed for the Battle of Divine Will. Forcing them into high-risk scenarios every week will weaken Fantasia’s overall strength than vice versa. Furthermore, high-level scenarios require more than a week to clear safely for most divine warriors, unlike the first ten. Am I right?”
Raphael floated closer until she was nearly poking my forehead with her tiny finger. “Look, I know I said Fantasia needs every advantage for the Battle of Divine Will, but do you think rearranging the System is as simple as moving furniture?”
“You’re the administrator. Of course it’s simple.”
Raphael puffed up like an angry marshmallow, glaring daggers at me. “Hmph. You just like giving me extra work when it isn’t needed.”
“So, can you do it?”
Raphael tapped her chin with a small finger in silence. After a moment, she let out a weary sigh. “Fine. I’ll bring this to Lady Istellia. There’s no guarantee it will be approved, but temporarily suspending the mandatory challenge for scenarios eleven and above until the Battle of Divine Will shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Excellent. That’s my chibi angel Raphael for you.” I gave her a thumbs-up.
“Who are you calling your chibi angel?!” she snapped, cheeks puffing and arms crossing in irritation. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
“Actually, there’s one more thing…” I interjected quickly and leaned in to whisper something into her ear. As she heard what I said, her expression turned from annoyed to intrigued in mere moments.
“I see. That makes sense. I will inform Lady Istellia about this as well.” Then she vanished in a soft flash of golden light.
I leaned back on the bed, exhaling. “Phew. That’s one problem handled…”
What I had whispered into Raphael’s ear concerned something crucial about the Battle of Divine Will. I had a strong feeling it would give me a significant advantage when the time came, so I made sure to tell her early.
In any case, it was time to tackle the tenth scenario… by taking a long nap.
With that thought, I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to pull me under.
***
Two days passed in a blink.
I had spent the time preparing for the tenth scenario—training relentlessly and gathering everything I needed, including the plausibility drawn from the two statues in the Genesis Order and in the totems of the frogmen villages in the Great Wilderness. I’d also concocted ten more Elixirs of Mana Concentrate after purchasing the missing ingredients on the night of my fight with Kaela, leveling up Basic Alchemy skill once in the process. I kept five of them: giving two each to Boris and Michelle and consuming one myself that day.
Due to all of these expenses, the remaining soul coins I had in hand were exactly 13,485, which was still a sizable sum.
Regardless, today was the day we challenged the tenth scenario. By early morning, we gathered in the Rift Square—me, Boris, Michelle, Lucian, and Tuilë—waiting for Erika and the other four members to arrive. The place was unusually lively as divine warriors milled about, preparing for their own challenges.
Instead of our missing party members, the first to approach were divine warriors in silver-plated armor that gleamed obnoxiously in the morning light, each of them walking with stiff, knightly postures. These people were the Silver Heralds. The same faction that once tried to recruit Kaela, only to get thrashed so violently they were lucky to crawl away with their limbs intact.
I recognized several of them from before as their armors still bore the same dents Kaela had left on them five days ago. They had tried polishing the damage out, but the warped plating around the ribs and shoulders made it painfully obvious who they’d tried to mess with.
The Silver Heralds slowed their pace as they neared us. Their leader—a tall, knightly man with flowing blond hair and a permanent “I’m-so-polite” smile—came toward us.
“Good morning, esteemed warriors,” he greeted, puffing out his chest. “We could not help but notice your gathering. Are you the rumored Maximillian and his comrades? The legend who defeated Graham in a duel to the death, and the one who challenged that savage Kaela? It is my honor to make your acquaintance.” He extended his hand toward us.
Even though I was wearing the cursed coat to mask my presence, my party members weren’t hiding theirs, and their faces were fairly well-known by this point. Consequently, I was quite easily spotted.
Michelle leaned toward me and whispered, “No way… they’re not actually…”
Well, they were.
The leader spread his arms in an overly dramatic flourish. “If you are in need of a strong faction to support you, we of the Silver Heralds would be open to recruiting you all.”
“So… are your friends coming?” I asked Boris, not even bother responding to them.
“Hah! Of course,” Boris said with a confident grin, arms crossed like a proud chieftain. “They’d never turn down a good fight… or a good drink.”
The others also pretended as though they hadn’t heard a word. Michelle was looking up at the sky, Lucian had turned to face the opposite direction, and Tuilë was busy checking her equipment.
Their leader’s face twitched at our collective silence, glancing back at his men for support.
“Ahem. As I was saying, the Silver Heralds stand ready to—”
Boris took a single step forward. His massive frame blocked out half the sunlight as he loomed over them like a muscular mountain. He crossed his arms, veins bulging, muscles looking as though they had been sculpted purely for intimidating weaker life forms.
Every member of the Silver Heralds visibly paled, perhaps traumatized by Kaela and her subordinates from the past incident and terrified of receiving another round of beating.
“A-Ah…”
“M-Maybe they already have a faction backing them…”
“Yes, yes, let us not impose!”
They bowed several times before hastily backing away, armor clinking as they scrambled to put distance between us. However, they barely made it a few steps before crashing straight into two broad-shouldered, well-muscled men. Both wore sleeveless armor that showed off bodies built entirely for wrestling bears—or each other.
“Eep…”
The members of the Silver Heralds scrambled away even faster.
“There they are!” Boris suddenly waved, beaming.
The two well-muscled men walked toward us with the same swagger Boris had, though their presence didn’t carry nearly the same overwhelming pressure. Wait, so these guys were the ones Boris recruited?
The first man, sporting a thick brown mustache and braided hair, grinned widely. “Boris! You big slab of muscle! Still alive, I see!” He shook hands with Boris and then bumped their muscled shoulders at each other.
The second, bald with a scar over one eye and a thick black beard, let out a hearty laugh. “So this is the guy who beat Graham and challenged the ferocious wolf girl? Looks a bit small, doesn’t he?”
Small? I’m over six feet tall…
I raised an eyebrow. “And you must be the drinking buddies.”
“Name’s Korr Armstrong,” the mustached one said, thumping his chest. “Shieldbreaker specialist.”
“Grun Beardman,” the bald one added. “Berserker class.”
Without hesitation, I used Inspect Eye on them.
Korr Armstrong Lv. 60/60 (EXP 574)
HP: 100%
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Shieldbreaker
Total Attribute Points: 2,207
Grun Beardman Lv. 60/60 (EXP 292)
HP: 100%
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Berserker
Total Attribute Points: 2,231
Not bad at all! Boris really did have good eyes for people. These two were probably the best recruits we could get who weren’t affiliated with any faction in Fantasia.
Before I could say more, Erika finally arrived, striding toward us with her usual calm, sharp gaze. Following behind her were two unfamiliar faces: one female, one male. The woman had orange hair and was lean, agile, and lightly armored. Her eyes were sharp and alert, and two daggers hung at her hips. Even her steps were silent.
“Veteran Thief class,” Michelle whispered beside me, recognizing the stance instantly. It was natural—her class was common among divine warriors, and Michelle had sparred against plenty of them in the training hall.
The male was tall, carrying a polished longsword sheathed at his waist. He wore sturdy, earth-toned armor, his posture steady and grounded. A Veteran Swordsman? No, the presence around him feels heavier. He must be an Earth Swordsman…
To prove my suspicion, their status screens revealed just that.
Liora Lv. 58/60 (EXP 2,480/4,720)
HP: 100%
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Veteran Thief
Total Attribute Points: 2,065
Arlen Lv. 59/60 (EXP 4,094/4,760)
HP: 100%
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Earth Swordsman
Total Attribute Points: 2,144
Erika gestured to them. “These are the two I mentioned. They’ll be joining the tenth scenario with us.”
“Name’s Liora,” the woman said. “If you need locks picked or traps disabled, I’m the expert.”
“I’m Arlen. Earth Swordsman,” the man added with a respectful nod. “I specialize in defense and battlefield control.”
They both introduced themselves succinctly. In return, we each introduced ourselves.
Once that was done, Boris clapped his hands together. “Hah! Good! Ten of us now. Time to crush whatever the scenario throws at us!”
I nodded, scanning all their faces. “Alright. We have our full team. Everyone ready?”
They each nodded in turn, wearing different expressions: determination, excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.
“Then let’s go!”