“Indeed. They all have a hobby of teleporting people out of nowhere.” Zyrus grumbled as he crawled out of a dune. Not just Aurora but most of the administrators were like that.

Sssskkk

Golden sand slid past his scales while bright sunlight caused him to squint his eyes. There was nothing other than heaps and mounds of sand as far as his vision went.

‘Did the Sahara desert look like this?’

Zyrus wondered as he recalled the history classes he had as a child. Sahara or not, this wasn’t a place he remembered from his past life. He couldn’t claim to know every nook and cranny of the first ring, but he at least knew about all of the significant places. There was no desert on the first ring.

Technically this should be a ‘compensation’ of sorts as he wouldn't be able to use earth movement in the first ring. While his trait broke the balance of the crown hunt, it wasn’t his fault now, was it? If they didn’t give him any compensation, then it would be hypocritical to block his trait in the name of “balance.”

‘Though they are hypocrites either way, it’s just that their skin isn’t thick enough to accept that,’

Bang

“Ugh,” Zyrus rubbed his forehead as he looked ahead. He was walking at full speed when all of a sudden, an invisible barrier blocked his way.

[Ding! You have discovered an event area!]

He could almost imagine Aurora giggling in the sky after a successful prank.

[Starting time: 00:00:05]

[The event will end when the second phase of the crown hunt starts]

[May the light of Cernunnos guide your way]

…

A brilliant light flashed around him as Zyrus sensed the change in terrain. Stone steles were erupting from the ground as if they were trees in a forest, blanketing the entire desert. The entire region was full of tremors and grating sounds.

This wasn’t what surprised him the most though.

“You’re here too?”

“That spear! I knew you were the same Zyrus!”

In front of him were two players that he didn’t expect to see at the same time. The first was Ria who was supposed to be leading the attack against a human camp. And the other...

“Long time no see, Lauren,”

Indeed, the one accompanying Ria was none other than Lauren.

“Wow! Your voice changed a lot as well.”

“Stop observing me like an exotic pet.”

“More like an extinct species in the prehistoric era. You’re nowhere near cute enough to be considered a ‘pet’.” Ria chimed in as well. From the looks of it she was getting along with Lauren rather well.

“Mhm. He was scary even before this. It’s just that now his outer appearance is more in line with his inner self.”

“Really? I wish I'd met him earlier.”

“Tch..So much for a greeting,” Zyrus clicked his tongue and walked toward the duo. Although he was shocked to see them get along so well, considering their personalities, it wasn’t all that surprising. There was something else that he was more curious about.

“Where are the others?”

“No idea. We were taking a rest after a fight and boom! We’re here in the next second.”

“You’re awfully excited today,” Zyrus eyed Lauren who was explaining with an animated expression.

“Of course. I’m happy to meet you again!”

“Did you think I died or something? That’s why I told you to keep that camp safe. We wouldn’t be separated if we had the same base.”

“Welp, sorry about that. Pouka attacked our camp you see, so we had to run away,”

“Pouka?”

“It’s my new pet! Cool right?”

Zyrus looked at Lauren with strange eyes. As far as he knew there was only one bastard who could control monsters in the first ring.

“How did you guys meet?”

“Well, they were fighting against the group of players we were targeting. I originally planned to attack when they were both a spent force, but when I overheard them mentioning your name, I had no choice but to intervene,” Ria recounted with an awkward face.

"Looks like her blabbering was useful for once."

"Hmph! It's called being cheerful, you should try it."

"As if, by the way, does Kyle have a bronze crown?”

“Yup. Pouka helped us subdue some monsters.”

Although Zyrus was curious about her pet, he didn’t ask any more questions. Since they were summoned here by Aurora, his other subordinates should be here as well. After a bit more chit chat the trio started exploring the ‘event’ area.

As they went closer to the stele, its size became more apparent as well. Each and every one of them was at least ten feet tall.

“Look at this, they’re so beautiful,” Lauren exclaimed as she pointed at the nearby stele.

Zyrus and Ria touched the engravings with curiosity. Birds and animals of all kinds were drawn around the stone steles. Spurned by a sudden thought Zyrus poured a bit of his mana into it. And as expected, another change took place.

The entire stele glowed in a starry light before a string of text appeared.

[You have discovered an Altar of Vasara!]

[Place your offering at the altar to receive blessings and rewards]

“Offering? Would bronze coins work?”

“Nope. We have to find the things in this area,” Zyrus stopped Lauren who was about to throw a fistful of coins and looked around the desert.

Although the environment was unfamiliar, he was well accustomed with all types of events. This one was no exception.

Unlike the first event he had participated in, this was a non-combat-type event. It was similar to a treasure hunt where they had to find different clues and discover hidden mechanisms to get the rewards.

This was a more light-hearted event compared to everything they had been through since the tutorial. After running around for a while, they found a couple more altars that showed the same message.

“I hate puzzles!”

“I agree. It’s too hot for playing games.”

“Stop whining you two and look aro-”

“Did you find something?” Ria looked at Zyrus who stopped in the middle of his sentence.

“Indeed. Wait a minute,” Zyrus affirmed and started running at full speed.

When he looked behind to talk with Lauren and Ria, he saw something that wasn’t previously in their surroundings.

It was a plant that looked like a mix of cactus and grapevine. The reason why he wasn’t able to find it for so long was very simple; it had the ability to blend into the environment.

It was a walk in the park for Zyrus once he figured that out.

‘Well, more like a sprint in the desert.’

He spread his mana all around him while running to and fro. Sure enough, he found his target despite it trying its best to hide from him.

'Better hurry up now,' It cost a significant amount of mana to find these plants, and Zyrus knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. He had to use a controlled strength to glide through the sand. A moment of carelessness would make his legs sink into the sand, which wasn’t something he could afford.

The desert parted like waves as he chased down the five plants in the vicinity. Ria and Lauren wanted to help, but neither had the reflexes needed to act on time.

Puchuk

‘It’s a great way to train my perception and eye of annihilation,’ Zyrus smiled as he stabbed the plants with his spear.

[You have obtained Acai berries x 16]

[You have found an offering!]

Chikc

[You have obtained Cranberries x 13]

.

.

“You’re faster than me now!”

“That’s natural,” Zyrus panted for breath as he replied to Lauren. It only took him a minute to track down the plants and return.

“Let’s offer them,”

“Sure.” Zyrus nodded and walked towards the stele nearest to them.

[Would you like to offer Cranberries and Acai berries to the altar?]

Zyrus pressed ‘Yes’ without hesitation and placed the 50 or so berries at the base of the altar.

 

[Your offering has been accepted by ######]

[##### is very pleased with the delicious berries]

[Congratulations! You have successfully performed the ritual]

[You can obtain the rewards listed below!]

[Find out more offerings to obtain different types of blessings]

[The one to obtain the most blessings will get a special reward at the end of the event!]

 

Zyrus read the message floating in front of the stele and pressed on the 'reward' with eager eyes.

Cost: Crown holder = 20 blessings (1/1 left), A subordinate = 1 blessing (50/50 left)

Note: You can obtain a portion of the blessing from the ones who were summoned by you

Cost: 10 blessings (5/5 left)

Current Blessings: 57

“That’s a lot of experience,”

“Indeed. But I think the first option is better,” Zyrus stated while rubbing his hands.

“It’s like a pyramid scheme,” Ria’s comparison was on point. It was the best way to accumulate blessings in the long run.

“So, who’re you going to summon?”

“Worrying about Kyle already?”

“No I’m not!”

“You’re not convincing anyone with that face.”

"Shut up Ria!"

“I think he should be here in a different area,” Zyrus spoke as he opened another tab.

“Why?”

“I can’t summon him even if I wanted to. He isn’t ‘officially’ my subordinate. So, he should have entered just like you.”

“Makes sense if this event was triggered by you.”

Zyrus didn’t correct Ria since what she guessed wasn’t far from the truth. He took a deep breath and clicked on the first reward without hesitation. With a flash, 50 burrow rats appeared around the stele.

Squeak

“Eeek!”

Lauren and the rats greeted one another while he discussed the next plan with Ria.

And thus, Zyrus’s journey of improving his skills and farming Exp began with the company of his eccentric followers.

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