Others gasped and recoiled upon seeing it. They immediately discussed it with their accompanying teachers and classmates.

“For those who don’t know, this is a dimensional tear that suddenly appeared in our sect. We had explored it previously, and we want you to gather these,” Alwan showed a red pearl the size of his palm.

“Lumetrax Orb?” said one of the students.

He nodded. “Yes, these precious materials for crafting and alchemy are ubiquitous in that realm. Your task is very simple: gather as many as you can. The winner is the one who has the most orbs in their possession. Though, I’m not saying that everyone cannot get benefits too. In exchange for the materials, we’ll give you appropriate rewards for the trouble. That’s all from me. Any questions?”

“Is there any rule?” asked a random female student.

“Rule?” Alwan sneered. “I don’t care whatever happens there as long as you successfully bring them back and don’t try to hide anything.”

The implication was obvious and most likely others knew that too. He had to even be more careful when he encountered people. Still, there was one thing he didn’t understand.

“Why are we, mage apprentices, must be the ones who gather the orbs? Wouldn’t more experienced people be more effective at that task?” asked Kane.

“He’s right!”

“The sect should’ve investigated it by themselves, shouldn’t they?

Many students agreed with Kane and began to discuss among themselves.

Alwan cracked a smile. “Good question! That’s because everyone may only enter the portal once. There’s a violent force to prevent people from going there for a second time. You’d get hacked into pieces when you tried to force your way through. Trust me; we’ve tried it. If not for this ridiculous limitation, I would not even consider—” He paused mid sentence before coughing. “Ahem! That’s all for me. Anything else?”

Kane narrowed his eyes. How suspicious. It seemed he almost said something he shouldn’t have. Some plausible reasons were that the mage apprentices were merely fodders for the sect and a much cheaper alternative compared to hiring actual competent people. No, it even generated profits. Despite knowing this, he itched to venture inside; he hadn’t been battling monsters or anyone lately.

Alwan continued speaking, “If you’re concerned with your safety, y’all free to turn back and have your refund. The realm is heavily concentrated with mana. In other words, your mana regeneration is amplified several times than normal. Do you understand me?”

Of course, they did as their excitement rose. The competition was also the chance for them to expand their mana capacity and improve their spell proficiency. This aspect was far more interesting than the reward, though Kane still needed them for financial reasons.

“This is what I like to see! Don’t let this golden chance pass by, especially when y’all are still young! And now, my personal assistant, Failwei, will go into further details. Until next time!”

Alwan stepped down as a girl in a white robe took over. She brought a large rolled paper with her. The other members placed a board before scurrying away.

Unrolling the map, Failwei proceeded to explain about the environment, dangers, and monsters. Beyond the portal lie a humongous, oversized castle built for ancient people that sank underground. The place was gigantic and complicated, estimated twice as larger than his school. The teleported location would be random, but the exit point was fixed and located on the center of the map. It happened to be the place with the most concentrated mana.

The mobs — or rather, the guards — were big red bug-like monsters that could cast spells called Lumetrax Sorcerer. They were equivalent to high Rank 2 monsters. The sect hadn’t encountered other monsters beside them, but they most likely existed.

The place had layers within, but it was unknown how many floors existed. She warned everyone to not explore them because there were too many monsters inside for the students to fight — even the sect had suffered heavy casualties.

After the briefing was over, the crowd were required to sign a contract before entering the competition. Their lives might be at risk, so the participants had to consent to not blame the sect. When they had given their form, they were allowed to rest in a longhouse and sleep in a villa later. The competition began tomorrow.

Kane tried to find Maur, but he was nowhere to be seen or felt. Seemed like he had to compete by himself — not that he had expected otherwise. Ah, it had been a long time since the last time he was alone amid groups of strangers.

---

The longhouse was spacious but lacking furniture. The participants were sitting on nothing but one massive rug. Many of them complained about the asceticism of the place, though most of them rested in silence. Some went outside to find fresh air or take a stroll. They were all divided into groups categorized by the school they went to.

In the center, the Niflenia group huddled together, uttering no words. Leonard sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes, Hymar formed water bubbles and juggled them as if they were solid balls, and Lamille fiddled with her black teddy bear doll. Some people stole a few glances at the three, but none dared to approach them.

“So, what’s the plan, Leader?” asked Lamille with her high-pitched voice, still playing with her doll.

“Information is power. We should gather info… of potential threats… both our competitors and the monsters inside. Could you not think… that by yourself?” mocked Hymar.

“I asked the Leader, not you.” Lamille glared at him. “And, you sounded as if you’re scared.”

“Scared? Silly girl… your hands occasionally twitch ever since we arrived here. That means you are anxious… aren’t you?”

“That’s creepy, frogman!”

“Enough!” shouted Leonard. “We’re competing against other schools unlike our usual exercises. You two need to take this more seriously as our behaviors reflect our school’s image.”

“Indeed…”

“Sorry.”

Leonard kneaded his temple, staring at the ceiling. “In addition to Hymar’s suggestion, we must be aware that we’re severely lacking in numbers. The competition stated no limitation for the participating members, after all.”

“If only Sharon was here…” said Hymar.

“Ugh, I hate saying this, but you’re right. Where is she, anyway? I want to brag about my new doll collection to her.”

“Family issues. I don’t know for how long she’ll be gone.” Leonard clasped his palms together. “Any other suggestions?”

“We should cooperate with other participants! Especially from strong schools,” said Lamille.

“Dumb and naive,” Hymar remarked.

“Mind explaining, smartass?”

“Even if they agreed to cooperate… they would backstab us later. Additionally… by proposing the suggestion means showing weakness to others.”

“Aren’t you being too paranoid?”

“It’s common sense, girl.”

“Ahem!” Leonard cleared his throat, interrupting the two. “Both of your inputs have merits. To reduce the risk of backstabbing, we should recruit loners instead. We can easily overpower them when that happens.”

“A solid idea,” praised Hymar.

“Hey, that was mine, to begin with. As expected from the Leader to further improve my awesome suggestion.”

“We might have to offer precious gifts… to persuade them besides promises. Do you currently possess… something materially important, Leonard?” asked Hymar, ignoring Lamille and causing her to squeeze her doll and clench her teeth.

“I brought spare money, don’t worry. More importantly, who should be the one to recruit them? They have to be charismatic and convincing enough to—”

Before he could finish explaining, he realized both Lamille and Hymar blankly stared at Leonard, pointing at him.

“Of all times, you both are on the same page on this matter.” He stood up, shaking his head. “Hymar, try to gather every information regarding everything inside the portal. Lamille, do the same for the participants. We’ll return here after we’re done. Understand?”

“On it!”

“I shall do my best…”

---

Kane stayed inside the longhouse, resting against the walls and observing others. Most participants were carefree as they chatted with their friends and lie on the carpet. Some visited each group to negotiate for working together — a logical course of action but naive. Trusting strangers to fully cooperate from start until finish? That merely happened in fairy tale land.

Moreover, unpredictable enemies are better than unpredictable allies. While strength in numbers was attractive, there was no point in that when they couldn’t be controlled and brought harm to their friends, especially in critical situations. It had happened several times during Kane’s early years as an adventurer. Quite a harsh lesson for him. Since then, he would first evaluate the other party’s reputation and achievement before joining.

“Hey, you! You’re alone right? Join our Azure Herald group and tackle the competition together!” A tall and fat man approached Kane. He looked him down from his superior height.

“Who are you? How many members do you have?” asked Kane back.

“I am Robert Greenfingers of House Greenfingers. My father is an adept mage for—”

“How many members?”

“You dare interrupt me? Fine, I’ll let this transgression pass since I am magnanimous. We have quite a large number: 20 people, combined with other loners such as yourself. Obviously, we’ll fairly split the reward—”

“Nah, pass. Go bother other people,” rejected Kane.

Robert’s face contorted. “Tch! You’ll regret this in the future. Don’t come crawling back to me!” He spat and turned around before leaving.

“Pfft!” Kane could barely contain his laughter. Twenty people? That’s basically asking for chaos to happen. The more people you had, the more familiarity and charisma were required. There was no way an insufferable guy like Robert could handle that many… unless he had similar ability to Sharon’s Tempting Gaze.

If anyone who approached him was the same as Robert, Kane would reject them no matter how enticing the offer was.

“Hello there. Do you have time to talk?” A long-haired man approached him.

“Leonard?” uttered Kane. Oh, crap. It was an accident!

“How do you know my name?” He squinted his eyes.

“Err, I hail from Rabrond too. You’re famous.”

“Is that so? That makes things easier, then.” Leonard’s smile faded as his eyes turned solemn. “I’ll get straight to the point: please lend me your strength.”

Kane raised his brows. “How many members do you have?”

“Currently, we have three including me. We plan to raise that number, though.”

Actually, Kane preferred to join groups with fewer numbers, but he hadn’t decided yet. While he liked going solo, he often tagged along with people when fighting against troublesome foes and hostile environments. Also, in this case, he happened to know Leonard well much longer than anyone here.

However, Kane hadn’t known Hymar nor Lamille yet, so there might be some distrust between them. It was nothing but a trivial concern.

“I accept.”

“Don’t you want to negotiate first?”

“I do. My conditions are: I keep my freedom all the time, don’t recruit other people, and lastly I get at least 25 percent of the collected resources.”

“I can agree with your terms, but what’s the reason behind your second condition?”

“I’m not too comfortable with many strangers.”

“Hm, I understand. But, you need to prove yourself first to receive your reward.”

“Of course.” Kane nodded.

“Very well.” Leonard offered a handshake. “Welcome to the Niflenia team.”

Kane blinked twice. Why was it so easy? Eh, whatever. It wasn’t as if there was a trap. With a smile, he shook it before standing up.

While walking together, Leonard said, “What brings you here, Kane Foxsnove?

“Huh?”