Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Second, they specialized in archery, which was not well-suited for use inside a cave.

Going into the cave would mean throwing away their greatest advantage.

Third, while the countless gullies in the West Forest had drained the rainfall, the forest soil itself was a sea of mud. Pools of stagnant water had appeared, making the paths incredibly difficult to navigate. There was also the risk that the underground rivers deep inside the caves had flooded, which would make them impossible to wade through.

And they weren’t professional cavers, nor did they have the proper equipment.

And finally...

"That bounty-style Rune building has appeared once, then twice. It’ll most likely appear a third time, so there’s really no need to rush," said Captain Wang from Jingcheng University of Technology.

Just like that, the number of people heading out had been sharply reduced to eight.

Even the eight-person team from Jingcheng University was splitting up, with only half going and the other four having other arrangements.

During this time, Su Chen finished copying the drone footage that Gong Jun had filmed earlier onto his phone.

"There’s no time to lose. Let’s go." Su Chen was already on his feet. ’If last night’s pattern holds, this Rune building will probably last until dusk, but time waits for no one. We need to leave ourselves plenty of time to explore.’

And with that, the eight-person cave-exploration team set out.

Its members were Su Chen; the siblings Yan Ziqian and Yan Ruoruo from Jingcheng University; Pang Peng and Cao Yutang; and three male members from Jingcheng University of Technology.

After crossing the western boundary line of the base, the forest floor before them was a muddy expanse. The earth was saturated with water; every step sank them half a palm’s depth, and pulling their boots free sent mud splattering.

When they encountered pools of standing water, they had no choice but to go around.

Fortunately, many of the forest trails were covered in a thick layer of humus. This dense carpet of dead leaves, accumulated over years, hadn’t disintegrated under the downpour. Instead, it formed a resilient cushion.

However, perhaps because they couldn’t go to the low-lying forest areas to explore and kill monsters, they noticed quite a few other people traveling in the same direction.

"Looks like other people are heading there too," Pang Peng remarked.

In fact, it was highly likely. The Rune building was completely exposed on the forest surface, its shape strikingly out of place. It was generally visible from a drone’s aerial view, and since the journey wasn’t too long, someone was bound to be tempted to test the waters.

"Here’s a rough map of the cave’s terrain that I drew, a cross-section of what we explored yesterday."

Yan Ziqian handed his phone to Su Chen. On it was a map he had edited himself, along with some pictures and videos taken at the time.

Judging from the cave entrance in the rift, it resembled the mouth of an undeveloped natural limestone cave. The entrance was very wide, leading down a slope, and the light narrowed progressively until it was swallowed by darkness.

"There are three forks inside. We took the one on the far left."

Yan Ziqian swiped the screen and pulled up a dim video. Several flashlight beams crisscrossed in the rocky passage, reflecting off the slick, glistening cave walls where stalactites hung.

As one beam swept across a high ledge on the left, the silhouette of a humanoid creature could be seen clinging upside down to the cave wall. Accompanied by someone’s scream, the video ended abruptly.

"Terrifying. I can’t believe even the great beauty Ruoruo dared to go," Le Yuxuan, the captain from the university of technology, commented wryly.

Yan Ruoruo ignored his teasing and just kept walking. Her face, as cold as frost, was illuminated by the morning light filtering through the trees. It showed no trace of fear, and her eyes were perfectly calm.

Seeing this, Pang Peng stepped in to smooth things over with a smile. "He’s just kidding. Ruoruo is way braver than we are."

As the only woman on the trip, Yan Ruoruo not only had an archery bag slung over her shoulder but also held a crowbar inscribed with a Demon Pattern. The bent tip was covered in bloodstains, a clear sign that it had been thoroughly tested in battle.

When the icy beauty didn’t take the bait, Captain Le changed the subject. "In the international caving community, isn’t there a Rule where whoever discovers a cave gets to name it?"

"Yes."

Su Chen nodded.

He knew a bit about that.

’Though, I’ve only ever explored peculiar ice caves formed by glacial crevasses, and I even accidentally fell into one once.’

He had no experience with regular caving; back on Earth, it was a high-risk, life-threatening sport anyway.

"That’s great! Brother Zi Qian, you guys were the first to find it, so you have the naming rights," Captain Le said.

Yan Ziqian shook his head. "There were other people there at the time, they just took different forks. Look over there. Someone’s already arrived."

Following his finger, they could see figures gathered in a gap in the trees in the distance.

After walking another two hundred meters or so, the view ahead suddenly opened up. An abrupt cliff cut through the forest, as if the earth had been split by a giant axe. Looking down into the rift, vines hung from the cliff face like curtains, and the bottom was plunged into a thick, ashen gloom that not even light could penetrate.

Not far away, about six meters below the clifftop, there was a protruding platform.

This was where the dark, deep entrance to the cave was hidden.

From the drone’s previous bird’s-eye view, there were many such cliffs and ravines in this part of the West Forest.

Crisscrossing the landscape, they looked like a thousand scars left on the festering earth.

"This mission looks intense."

A voice carried from nearby.

A group of people was talking in front of the structure. Judging by their full-face coverings and gear, they were probably the doomsday enthusiasts from the Zongguanxian Club.

A peculiar Rune building stood at the edge of the cliff. It resembled a stone platform, its base etched with numerous complex, glowing Runes.

When Su Chen and his group drew near, he reached out and touched it. A stream of information instantly flooded his mind without any pain, eventually flowing into his vision and unfolding into a translucent interface.

[Bounty Altar・Limited Time Opening: 5:51:03]

Task 1: Collect the Ashen Bud Flowers growing on the rift’s cliff faces and in the cave.

Objective: Ashen Bud Flower x2

Reward: One random Spirit Element Lv1 Rune.

...

Task 2: Kill the humanoid monsters hiding in the cave.

Objective: No limit

Reward: Random essence, Spirit Element Runes, Spiritual Dust Sand, limited-edition Potions, special Rune Equipment, Spirit Marrow Crystals, and a hidden class Authority.

(Note: Tasks 1 and 2 can be repeated. Larger quantities will result in stacked rewards. When submitting the task, please be sure to place the collected items or humanoid corpses on the altar.)

"This is clearly a sacrifice," Su Chen muttered, frowning.

Yan Ziqian said, "Yesterday, we only brought one corpse out of the cave. Based on the situation then, it did seem like a sacrifice."

Yan Ruoruo walked up beside Su Chen, tilted her head slightly, and spoke—a rare occurrence. "According to your theory, this world’s operating mechanism really is using us to analyze the source of its Power in order to understand and crack an alternate evolutionary system."

"It does have that feel to it," Su Chen said thoughtfully.

’Looking at it just from the perspective of Task 2, if this were really a kill quest in an online game, it wouldn’t be this much trouble. You wouldn’t have to carry the corpses out and place them on this altar.’

The "world’s operating mechanism" that Yan Ruoruo mentioned could also be interpreted as ’It,’ or some kind of supreme being, a world consciousness, and so on.

In any case, it did point to one thing: Besides wielding authority over rune magic, this being was not omniscient or omnipotent. It seemed to be completely ignorant of the other evolutionary path of flesh and blood, and it was unable to extend its own vast power into this rift.

According to what Yan Ziqian had said earlier, killing the humanoid creatures in the cave didn’t drop any rewards directly. The only way to get them was by sacrificing the materials.

"This altar doesn’t have an option to accept quests."

Pang Peng added, "Right. You just have to place the required items on the altar, and the corresponding rewards will pop out."

"I can understand most of the rewards, but here’s the question: what the hell is a ’hidden class’? It’s not what I think it is, is it?" one of the members from the university of technology asked curiously.

"Not sure. Being listed last, it must be the grand prize. Literally, mine says ’class Authority.’ Your translation is more straightforward, so it does seem to be related to a class system," Yan Ziqian replied. "After all, the Rune’s information is translated based on one’s personal understanding and cognition."

In reality, with the altar structure being so openly accessible, there was a risk that any rewards that appeared could be snatched by others.

The risk factor, from every angle, was not low.

And today, whether because of the environmental conditions or because someone had spread the word, there were surprisingly more people around than expected.

Perhaps realizing this, many of them fell silent, the thought of backing out faintly crossing their minds.