Like water vanishing as it evaporates, the mysterious species disappeared without a trace, leaving the frozen Alab in the desolated dungeon.
Alab felt his heart miss a beat when his eyes met the endless void eyes of the bizarre species.
During his wandering in the barracks, he didn't see such a species. But, he was certain that the species he just saw was a participant as well.
Pressing his hand into his chest, Alab attempted to feel his heartbeat. He couldn't figure out the foreign feelings he felt earlier.
However, no matter how much he tried to deny it, the beads of sweat forming on his forehead betrayed his thoughts.
The sweats bore witness to the fear he felt earlier.
*boom*
The dungeon carried on with devastation as cracks jerked the rubbles into the depths of the ground. The escaping [Fiery Lions] were eaten by the crevices, wailing as they plunged helplessly into the profound pits.
Before the cracks could reach Alab, he called out for Misery which flew right away. Alab witnessed the dungeon meet its demise.
In a while, as if the pit had satiated its hunger, the ground restored itself and what came was a flat surface brimming with verdant soil.
The endless stretch of greeneries emerged along with a serene air, concealing the catastrophe that transpired just minutes ago.
*swoosh*
Gliding in the air, Misery left the area with Alab on its back. Indifferent expressed on their faces as they flew back to the barracks.
----
After a quarter of an hour, Misery reached the barracks with [Planet Earth] signage atop its door. Alab hopped off its back as Misery disintegrated into lights sucked into a black token held by Alab.
Having placed the [Griffin Summoning Token (E)] back into his inventory, Alab pushed open the door of the barracks.
Anastasia hastily pulled herself from the ground as she greeted Alab. Han Seo Yeon followed suit as he eyed the latter.
Aside from dotted burns on his attire, Alab had no apparent injuries which made Han Seo Yeon feel that something was amiss.
They definitely saw Alab plunged into the deepest part of the [Fiery Lion Dungeon (D)]. Han Seo Yeon didn't anticipate Alab going back in good condition.
Even them have suffered minor injuries from the [Fiery Lion] which were instantly restored as they level up. However, this method had its limit. Only minor injuries and fatigue could be recovered through such a method.
Alab saw Anastasia with quivering eyes and Han Seo Yeon squinting as he scanned his body.
"How are you? Why did you go back just now? Did you prepare well? Are you confident? You can ask for our help if you want", Anastasia bombarded him with questions as her callused hand checked Alab's body, climbing from his face down to his limbs.
*sigh*
Having seen that there were no lethal injuries, Anastasia heaved a sigh of relief.
She gazed at Alab whose eyes were pinned on a mountain of items laying in the center of the room.
Anastasia couldn't help but find it adorable to see Alab getting interested in something. She had always thought that Alab didn't give a single care to anything.
It came as a surprise that something managed to pique his interest.
Disregarding her questions earlier, Anastasia pushed Alab slightly toward the pile of items, holding his shoulders as she dragged him.
"There you go, you can have whatever item you want", Anastasia proudly stated as she tapped on her chest. Her head held high as she tapped Han Seo Yeon to say a word.
*cough*
"As you can see, we managed to get 50 items from our hunt these past 7 days. It was all thanks to Girth's A-grade skill that increases the drop rate of items by 20%.", Han Seo Yeom stated, reluctance evident in his voice at the mention of Girth's name.
Alab tilted his head at what he heard. Apparently, the A-grade skill had only a 20% increment in drop rate. Compared with his [Luck (D)] skill with 0.1% increased luck, the former was incompetent in effects.
Anastasia proceeded.
"We have equipped 10 items in total, you can choose whatever item you want", she was thrilled to introduce the items to Alab.
"Do you want this one? Or this one? Or maybe this one?"
Anastasia rummaged through the pile in search of the best item. However, Alab would never settle on a single or a couple of items.
Alab spared no scrutiny against grades. While others scribbled for quality, Alab preferred quantity over quality.
Of course, the items with outstanding potential were an exemption. He could upgrade such items to further their effects, however, he had seen no items that bore such attraction so far.
At this thought, Alab halted the thrilled Anastasia.
"I want all these items", Alab muttered.
"Huh?"
Anastasia was confused at what she just heard. Even Han Seo Yeon furrowed his brows at Alab's remarks.
A person could equip 10 items at most. Alab couldn't possibly equip many items.
"You mean, you want ALL this item?", Anastasia was skeptical.
Nodding his head, Alab opened his mouth discretely.
"Yes. Is something wrong? I have some use for these items. I can buy all these if you want. Though it may take time before I pay it in full", Alab muttered. He didn't care about concealing his dire need for items.
Anastasia was skeptical about its use but decided to just brush it off. They had no use for the items anyways and helping Alab would be in their delight.
Anastasia glanced at Han Seo Yeon to inquire about his opinions.
Han Seo Yeon was dubious as well but having seen that Anastasia made up her mind, he just nodded his head in agreement. With that, Anastasia plastered a smile as she exclaimed.
"Alright! You can have all these items but on one condition", Anastasia inched into Alab.
"What condition?"
"A condition that you will join us in our hunt when we ask you", Anastasia stated.
Opening her mouth, she teased for more.
"Of course, that is if you are free at that time. In return, we will sell all of our leftover acquired items to you", Anastasia added as she reached out her hand.
Alab assessed her proposal. There were no cons to it and occasionally joint hunts wouldn't harm him anyways. Through this, he also secured a regular source of items.
Alab agreed. He then extended his hand, meeting Anastasia's as they shook it and solidified their agreement.
Han Seo Yeon was satisfied with Anastasia's proposal. He couldn't help but feel that Alab was hiding something.
'Maybe he is strong, stronger than we know...', he thought
Having finished the agreement, Alab shortly placed the items into his inventory. He couldn't convert them at the moment as he was still lacking mana and there were eyes fixated on him.
Whilst touching the items, Anastasia's voiced out her worries.
"About the last member of our team, I'm afraid there is no one. He was probably among the participants who died at the hands of the dean during our first day here.", Anastasia expressed her solemnity.
They had been waiting for the 5th member to arrive for days now until 7 days had passed and no one came. They speculated that the 5th member was dead now.
"That is why I hope you will join us in our hunt so we can get strong together and not lose another member. But I won't force you if you don't want to just please if you need help, tell us. It is only each other that we can trust.", Anastasia recounted her worries.
And as usual, she got no response from Alab. She could only sunken her face and shut her mouth.
It was not that Alab didn't agree with her claims. But, he just couldn't make promises. It was true that they were the only ones that he could trust in this other world the most but similar to other species, Alab just met them.
He just couldn't trust them yet.
Placing the last item into his inventory, Alab stood up and then dusted his pants. Empathizing with the solemn mood, a system notification resounded with a translucent holographic screen unfolding before their eyes.
[The day of the examination has come. In an hour, the participants will proceed with their knowledge assessment. Please ensure to be at their respective barracks to take their exams.]
[Direction: The knowledge test will be conducted through your system. The participants will have to answer 100 questions within the timeframe of three hours.]
[The knowledge assessment will commence in an hour]