Chapter 267: Spies
"We are back!" Auric waved his hand, finally returning to the group after Katarina’s evolution.
Ellia glanced at them and couldn’t help but furrow her brow. For some reason, Katarina’s gaze felt different.
She felt familiar with this kind of gaze. After all, she had encountered this gaze many times whenever she had to meet with business partners.
"..." Ellia wanted to say something, but she realized it would be better not to say anything. Since Auric felt happy about it, she didn’t become nosy, lest Auric disliked her instead.
"Congratulations!" The others focused on congratulating Katarina for evolving her avatar.
Her advancement would definitely make the group safer.
Now that he had returned, Auric opened the map and explained, "Anyway, before we retire for the night, I’d like you guys to take a look at the map. Right now, we should be somewhere around this area. Tomorrow, we will have to go back to the previous ravine and continue onward.
"However, the problem will be whether to push through and reach the Unique Valley in a day or camp at the end of the ravine, like our original intention. This time, I’d like to ask your opinion."
"Hmm..." Vera contemplated. She pointed to the end of the ravine. "I think it will be good for us to stay at the ravine first. This way, we can hunt some beasts so that Katarina can familiarize herself with her new powers."
"That’s something I can agree with. According to the theory, evolving her avatar to the mature form will allow her to gain transformation. However, she can’t transform yet, right? The avatar has sent a signal to her, but she won’t be able to use it yet. She has to master it first." Eric nodded in agreement.
"I think differently. We should head to the Unique Valley right away. Our current strength is more than enough, so she can familiarize herself with it on the way or after Ellia evolves. We will probably reach the Unique Valley at night if we push hard, so we will be able to stay at the establishment." Eva shook her head, showing a different opinion.
"I think it’s best to let me evolve first. Right now, the higher our strength, the safer we will be. So, it’s better to focus on me first. After that, we can slow down and continue with our original plan, which is to hunt beasts and search for artifacts." Ellia supported Eva.
Since Auric was the one asking, he didn’t give any opinions, leaving Katarina to make the decision.
Katarina was the one who had evolved this time, so her opinion mattered a lot.
After some contemplation, Katarina pointed to the Unique Valley. "I think going to this place will be our priority. Yes, it’s fine to slow down, but it’s better to slow down after everyone gets what they want."
Auric nodded. "Three to two, the decision has been made. In that case, we will head to the Unique Valley early in the morning. Considering the beasts as well as the terrain, hopefully we can reach that place before nine. For now, thank you for today. Let’s get some rest."
Katarina couldn’t help but think about Auric’s request. It was certainly something she didn’t expect, but this kind of challenge made her look forward to what kind of secret Auric had been hiding all this time.
The next day.
They immediately headed toward the Unique Valley. With their current strength, encountering a rank 4 beast wasn’t exactly a problem. Even though Katarina hadn’t been able to form her avatar yet, she had become much stronger than before. Her bullets could cause catastrophic damage to the beasts.
As long as they were careful enough, they would be able to overcome almost everything in the Alps ruins.
In a way, their group was actually better than the first-ranked group. Jackson was a rank 4 human, while the rest of his group were one rank below him.
However, Auric’s group had two rank 4 humans. Auric and Ellia could beat a rank 3 human in one way or another. In addition, Eric wasn’t someone that was easy to defeat.
As long as they worked together, they would be able to defeat Jackson’s group.
Unfortunately, their goal had changed from killing beasts to treasure-seeking. Yes, they killed beasts just so that Auric could find more artifacts.
Hence, their group never actually had a lot of points. They never overtook the first group.
The best they could do was fourth place, and that was because they eliminated a huge beast horde with two rank 4 beasts among it.
Nevertheless, the group managed to reach the Unique Valley with enough time to spare.
"Haa..."
"I’m tired..."
"We have been constantly running and fighting."
Vera kept muttering.
"Why are you complaining?" Eric tilted his head in confusion.
"Because I won’t be able to complain at home." Vera shrugged.
"Sounds like a strict person. Let me guess, your favorite place is that anger room, where you can just smash things to release your inner frustration and anger."
Eric acted as usual with his sharp words, but Vera looked dumbfounded. "Now that I think about it, I have never tried that. Will that kind of room be expensive?"
"I don’t know. I never have any anger."
"But you still have frustration, right?" Vera glanced at Auric. "I mean, because of your best friend."
"He’s not my friend." Eric harrumphed. "But no, I am not frustrated or angry anymore. Although that face is very punchable, I’m no longer frustrated or angry. He said a pretty useful thing in the past. I’m just using my blood element to control my blood pressure to calm myself down."
"Is that why you’re able to keep your composure at all times?"
"Yes."
"That’s pretty sick. Can you do that on others?"
"I don’t know. I’m not an evolution master." Eric shook his head.
"That’s too bad." Vera sighed. "Well, at least we’ve arrived. I want to get a hot shower."
Auric was walking in front, but Lindwurm was definitely enjoying himself.
"Auric, look at this!"
Auric glanced to the back, almost bursting into laughter.
There was a big heart symbol that was only visible to him and Lindwurm. It captured both Vera and Eric.
The biggest problem was that Lindwurm didn’t stop there. He even made it look like they were wearing suits and a wedding dress.
’Are you fine using your power? We still can’t leave this place for another few weeks.’
"Don’t worry. I’ve eaten my fill, remember? As long as I don’t excessively use my power, it will be just fine." Lindwurm smiled. "I’ll recover this portion of energy from the buffet and play around with the rest."
Auric could only sigh inwardly. Lindwurm had a lot of knowledge, but he was definitely simple and acted like a child.
Auric just turned back so that he didn’t laugh and destroy the atmosphere.
’Maybe I should give Eric the artificial heart method.’
"You’re going to give him that?" Lindwurm covered his mouth in surprise.
’He will know about the Moon Store because of my writing anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Besides, it’s what brothers do. I’m sure that a family as strict as hers will create a lot of hardship for him.’
"She did mention her family arranging her marriage or something."
’I’m not going to help him destroy whatever that is. After all, if he is able to get someone because of outside help, he will be seen as incompetent. Instead, I’ll support him from behind. To avoid scrutiny, I’m going to push him to S-grade affinity. This way, there will be fewer problems. It won’t be now.’
"If you think that’s fine, then okay. Besides, we haven’t gotten any customers for the Moon Store. Don’t you think we need some special promotions?"
’No, that’s fine for now.’
"Fine, you’re the boss." Lindwurm shrugged. "However, I need to give you a warning."
’A warning?’
"Yes. There are more people here, including some groups. It looks like they’re also helping their friends to find unique element artifacts. However, there are people with weird gazes... I feel like they have a different intention."
’Can you figure them out? And how many are they?’
"Let me fly around and take a look."
Auric acknowledged it and continued to act as if he wasn’t aware of everything.
While Ellia was exchanging the points for their room, Katarina came to Auric and whispered, "I feel that something is off about this place. How do I say this? People are looking at us? It’s not the usual stares."
Auric raised his eyebrows. It looked like Katarina noticed the same thing. He said, "I’ll tell you about it once we get into our room."
Katarina nodded and smoothly grabbed a bottle of water as though she was thirsty, transitioning herself back to normal.
Not long after, Ellia brought back the key. The room seemed similar to the one in the Wind Temple.
So, the room arrangement didn’t have to change. Once they had put down their luggage, Auric waved his hand. "Sorry, I’m going to make a call for a bit."
Two minutes later, Katarina made an excuse to leave as well before going to Auric.
Auric glanced at her and asked, "I couldn’t exactly tell you everything because it was classified information for an ongoing investigation."
"Investigation?"
"Adjudicators got involved. That’s all I can tell you."
"Ah!" Katarina looked down, contemplating. "Is this related to the kidnapping incident?"
Auric didn’t say anything, but that silence meant a lot.
"Okay, I get the gist of the situation. I won’t pry anymore." Katarina pondered for a minute before saying, "What are we going to do now? Do you want me to eliminate them? Looking at the situation, there are plenty of rank 3 and rank 4 humans."
"Yeah, that’s why we need to be careful." Auric nodded. "For now, we should be safe within the Unique Valley. They won’t do anything so soon. For now, we should just monitor them and see if there’s anything suspicious."
"Sure." Katarina narrowed her eyes.
...
On the other side, a person took a peek at Auric and Katarina, who were strolling around like a couple.
He reported, "Sir, we’ve confirmed Auric Elfe’s position. He has entered the Unique Valley. Looking at the situation, he will be entering the ruins tomorrow."
"Good work. We will begin our preparations. Maintain your position and inform me again once Auric Elfe returns to the Alps ruins."
"Yes, sir." The man hung up and immediately put down everything, acting as though he were just a normal person. However, when he returned to his room, he smiled at his comrade as he said, "Get ready. They will probably leave this place in two to three days."
All of them turned serious, knowing that the time for them to make a move was near.
Little did they know, there was a chubby dragon hovering above them. It wasn’t that Auric was strolling around. He was walking in a way that allowed Lindwurm to fly over.