Chapter 249: Through the Mountain’s Spine (1)
Once they had all rested and recovered, they continued moving once again.
Previously, the place where they had set up camp had been situated along the border between Sector B6 and B5.
Now, they were heading northeast.
Along the way, they stumbled upon a flag.
It was impossible to miss, standing conspicuously in the middle of an open field. It was honestly surprising that no one had claimed it yet. Either they had gotten incredibly lucky, or no squad had passed through this stretch of terrain so far.
Without wasting any time, Ruvian approached the flag.
He placed a hand against the pole before channeling his mana into his bracelet. A faint stream of mana flowed from the bracelet and into the flag itself. Moments later, the flag’s dull color gradually shifted, changing into purple. (+100PP)
"...We actually have one," Horren muttered, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
Yerin let out a relieved smile.
"Yeah, this would contribute a lot to our progress."
Arlok grinned as he looked at the fluttering flag before his expression quickly turned uneasy.
"Uh... now how exactly are we supposed to hide this?" he asked, scratching his cheek. "It’s sitting right in the middle of an open field. I bet it won’t even last a few hours before another squad comes along and steals it."
Shima remained silent, merely watching the flag without saying a word.
Ruvian simply smiled.
"Don’t worry," he said. "I’ve got this covered."
Ruvian then took out the [Shroudcloth] and draped it over the flag. Within seconds, the fabric seamlessly camouflaged itself, causing both the cloth and the flag beneath it to blend perfectly with the surrounding terrain. (+100PP)
The entire squad stared in astonishment.
"Whoa, whoa... what the hell is that cloth?" Arlok blurted out before his eyes suddenly widened in realization. "No, wait... is this why you wanted to pick the [Flag Bearer] card?"
Then Horren spoke up.
"...Ruvian, how did you even have something like this with you?" he asked, visibly puzzled. "I mean... did you already know beforehand that the exam would have a Capture and Protect Flag format?"
’Well, I expected them to ask that.’
Ruvian merely shook his head.
"Ah, actually, I have five of these. I prepared them in case we needed to camouflage ourselves while exploring the island. But after reading the exam format, I figured it’d be a much better use to hide our flag instead," he replied proudly, nodding to himself. (+100PP)
Of course, that explanation was nothing more than a blatant lie. He had known about the exam format from the very beginning.
"So that’s why you suggested moving through sectors with open terrain," Yerin said, resting a hand beneath her chin. "It makes spotting Capture Flags much easier, and once we claim one, we don’t have to worry about anyone finding it."
"Yes. Exactly." Ruvian nodded.
"HAHAHA! Now that’s what I’m talking about!" Arlok burst into laughter. "We’re going to earn points while doing absolutely nothing."
Ruvian merely smiled in agreement.
With the flag successfully secured, the squad spent the next hour sweeping through the surrounding area of Sector B5. They searched every promising location they came across, hoping to uncover another flag or perhaps stumble upon one of the hidden Dungeon Prototypes.
Unfortunately, despite thoroughly combing the sector, they found nothing of value. Having exhausted the area, they continued their journey, heading northeast toward Sector C5.
As they crossed the sector boundary, the scenery gradually began to change.
The vast grasslands slowly faded behind them, replaced by increasingly rugged terrain. The gentle slopes gave way to rocky hills, which steadily rose higher until they became towering cliffs flanking both sides of their path.
Before long, the landscape narrowed into a solitary mountain pass, the towering walls of stone leaving them with only a single route forward.
The squad continued forward, following the only path that stretched between the towering cliffs.
Then Horren suddenly slowed to a stop.
"...Wait."
Everyone instinctively turned toward him.
"What is it?" Yerin asked.
Horren narrowed his eyes and pointed toward the base of the northern rocky hillside.
"I think... I see something over there."
The others followed his finger.
At first, they saw nothing but scattered rocks of different sizes. However, after looking more carefully, a faint silver glimmer caught their attention. It blended so naturally with the surrounding stone that it was almost impossible to notice unless someone deliberately searched for it.
Nestled among the rocks was a silver crystal nearly as tall as a person.
The moment Ruvian saw it, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
’Great... I knew it was here.’
Back in the original novel, after Zian’s teammates had all been eliminated from the examination, he had continued exploring the island alone.
During Zian’s search, he eventually arrived at this very mountain pass and discovered the Dungeon Prototype hidden beside the rocky hillside.
Unfortunately, by the time he found it, another squad had already conquered the dungeon.
"That’s a Dungeon Prototype!" Arlok exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. Without thinking, he immediately stepped forward.
"Wait."
But Ruvian’s calm voice stopped him. At the same time, he raised an arm, gently blocking Arlok’s path.
Arlok blinked in confusion before looking back at him.
"...Hey, what’s wrong?"
Ruvian did not answer right away, instead he bent down and picked up a stone about the size of his head. Without another word, he twisted his waist and threw it with all his strength.
The stone flew high across the sky, then crashed onto the gravel path inside the narrow passage between the two hills. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet valley, then everything became still.
Everyone stared at the passage without saying a word, their eyes fixed on the place where the stone had landed. A cold silence spread through the air, making even their breathing sound loud.
Rumble. Rumble.
Then, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, making loose pebbles jump across the dirt. Ruvian’s eyes narrowed, the shaking was not coming from under them, it was coming from deep inside the passage ahead.
More rocks rolled down the hillsides as the shaking grew stronger, then a massive shape slowly pushed itself out of the ground. At first, everyone thought it was nothing more than a huge boulder rising from the earth.
Then the boulder moved.
Cracks spread across its rocky body as chunks of stone broke away one after another, revealing thick arms bigger than tree trunks. Its massive shoulders rose next, followed by a broad chest covered in rough black rock that looked like layers of stacked stone.
The creature kept rising until its entire body stood above the hills, towering nearly fifteen meters into the air. Its legs were as thick as ancient pillars, while long stone spikes jutted from its back and shoulders like broken cliffs.
Its head was small compared to its body, yet two deep eye sockets suddenly lit up with a dull crimson glow.
A heavy grinding sound echoed from its body as it slowly turned its head toward the open passage, then its crimson eyes locked onto Ruvian’s group.
"Because of that." (+100PP)
Ruvian finally said, a sly smile slowly spreading across his face.
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[Chapter 249: Through the Mountain’s Spine (1)]
Plot Points= 11,600