A red building appeared in the distance. There were a fourteen Abyssals patrolling the perimeter.
One of the patrollers spotted them, but before he could make a sound, Olivia pointed her finger at him and
"Scchh"
An earth spike shot from under him and pierced through his head.
The other Abyssals on patrol were alerted by the sound and were about to turn.
"Shaa"
Before they could, the earth spikes under them reaped their lives. Olivia's earth powers proved themselves.
Their bodies slowly collapsed, but they didn't crash onto the ground but smoothly landed with minimal sound. Crimson's telekinetic power was handy.
A water film covered the area of patrollers, ensuring the sound inside didn't go out. Sarah's water powers were versatile. `
All this was done in a second.
'Hiss!' Varian sucked in a cold breath.
The seamless cooperation between them and their individual strength showed him how high and higher he could go.
If only Level 5s and 6s were this strong, how strong would a Level 9 be?
How strong would the Sovereign be?
Sarah signalled to them, and the next second, everyone except Varian and Ivy disappeared into the building.
Ivy said, "Captain said they'll check out the hideout. I'll stay out to keep watch."
Varian nodded. He knew she was lying.
She stayed out to protect him. But she didn't reveal it. Perhaps she was trying not to make it sound like he was a burden.
'Mr. Seth...you know some nice people.'
He kept the gratitude in his heart and observed the Abyssals.
They were only Level 2.
"Huh?" He was confused for a moment before clapping in realization.
"Hm?" Ivy tilted her head and looked at him in curiosity, her twin tails bouncing with her.
"I entered the Dungeon 3 weeks ago. Then I encountered Abyssals. They were all Level 2." Varian explained.
"I think the majority of hideouts will have only weaker Abyssals. The ones that tried to assassinate you guys, they must have come here only for the task."
Ivy thought for a moment. "But it'll be different for CTF."
Varian nodded. "Maybe you can expect a Level 6 guarding it. Level 7 is too rare for that, right?"
He didn't know how common they were. Ivy did.
She looked amused at his question and said. "Varian, a Level 7 Abyssal is either a new Abyss Prince or Princess. They're only below veteran princes, Abyss Archdukes and Abyss King. They're only a few dozen of them for each Abyss."
Varian was a bit embarrassed.
Earth had many low level Dungeons. Even if only one per Dungeon, Demon Abyss simply wouldn't have enough Abyss Princes and princesses to send out.
Besides, how could a Prince be assigned to guard a low level dungeon?
Varian and Ivy waited, even though it was barely a minute.
"Advance to Level 3 and, if possible, Level 4 by the end of the year." Ivy suddenly said.
Varian looked at her in confusion.
"Charles will graduate in a year. Captain and we will be in our final year." She explained.
"Captain...is in Level 6 currently. But she hasn't reached the peak of the level yet. Once she does, she is set for the throne."
Varian was surprised.
"So, like they said, unless you find ambrosia, you can't take the throne in your first two years. But...you can do it in your third year." She gave him a thumbs up.
"Yeah." Varian nodded awkwardly, a bit new to this 'encouragement'.
She tiptoed and patted his shoulder. "Work hard, junior. I'll be watching you after I graduate."
Ivy somehow reminded him of Sia.
'But Sia would say... I believe you can do it this year, right?' He wondered.
"Cleared." Sarah and others appeared in front of them in the next second.
"Ivy, are you really the one encouraging?" Crimson looked at her with a surprised expression.
"S-shut up!" Ivy yelled at him. Her face was flushed.
"What did you find?" Varian asked, ignoring the banter.
Instead of answering him, Sarah snapped her fingers.
Boom!
Bang!
The building collapsed as each of the walls unfolded like a blooming flower.
Varian went ahead and observed the so called hide out.
Other than the low fortifications, there were around twenty Abyssal corpses.
'One peak level 2, rest are all level normal 2.' He concluded and observed the ruins.
He found nothing of interest except for a cuboidal device. It was similar to 'TV' of old earth.
However, its screen was broken.
Sarah appeared beside him and pointed to the cuboidal device. "This is for communication. They'll know their targets and act accordingly."
It made sense. The prime objective of the hideouts was to assassinate geniuses. For a low dungeon, level 2s were good enough assassins.
A bracelet appeared in Sarah's hand. "The leader tried to inform with this at the final moment, but I cut him off."
"Anything about the headquarters?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Nope."
Then she added, "I have to conclude one thing about hideouts. One more test will do."
In a few minutes, the second hideout was cleared.
Varian looked at the collapsed building and sighed. The Deja vu hit him hard.
It too had only Level 2 Abyssals.
The only reason they took several minutes was to search the entire building. As expected, they found nothing.
"Since we interrupted the heads of hideouts from sending final message, the headquarters might not know about our actions yet." Sarah said to the team.
"When they tried to send the final message, these Abyssals looked like they wanted revenge. That also confirms the headquarters exist."
Indeed, if every hideout was like this one, then no revenge was possible. So there must be a stronger hideout.
"Even though we covered it up till now, we don't know when the headquarters will be alerted. We haven't found its traces either. So our plan is—"
She pointed to the map. "Take down as many hideouts as possible."
Two hideouts were marked off. But that was only a drop in the bucket.
Ivy gave everyone a few bracelets. Unlike the rings, these bracelets could be activated by them and they'd be able to enter the hideouts with ease.
"Ivy, Luca, you take this part." Sarah allocated them a section of the map.
"Olivia, you... and Crimson, cover this area." She finished and pointed to the final section. "I'll take this."
"Alright." Everyone said. Except Varian.
"I want to hunt a hideout by myself."
They turned to him in surprise. Obviously, they didn't expect him to say that.
Sarah said. "You're still only a Level 2. Take it easy."
"It's Level 2s. I can manage. Besides, even if I can't win, I can always escape. I just want to do it alone." He insisted.
She thought for a moment and nodded. "Fine. You can pick a nearby hideout. I'll takeaway their bracelets and leave."
This way, they'd not be able to send the emergency signal.
"Inform us if you're in trouble." Olivia said.
"Thanks." Varian said.
After a few minutes, he found himself in front of a hideout, alone.
Sarah just left, taking away the bracelets. This provoked the Abyssals, and they rushed out of the building.
{Body path Level 2: 120/200
Space Path Level 1: 100/100}
"Now then, how strong did I get?"