Michael was not Brian, so he had no idea that Mira had just peeked at him using her skill.
Even if he did know, he wouldnât care too much, as {Detect} wouldnât reveal anything overly sensitive about him.
That said, if he were aware, he might feel a little uncomfortableâand perhaps even understand why Brian hated his âeyes.â
From an offhanded point of view, {Detect} seemed like the kind of skill a pervert might use to snoop into someone elseâs personal information.
It was undeniably an unsettling skill from the perspective of the one being observed.
After revealing and saying a few more things, Mira decided it was time for them to head to the crack.
Even with the time difference between a crack and the real world, time was still valuable. Anything else that needed to be said could be discussed once they arrived.
Michael was more than happy with this decision.
The location of the Level 2 crack was even closer than the Level 1 goblin world corrupted crack.
At his current speedâten times faster than the average humanâMichael could get there in seconds if he ran at full speed.
This proximity made Michael suspect that the placement of the Association branch was deliberate, given how close it was to the Level 2 crack.
A Level 1 crack, even if an accident occurred, was manageable. Monsters like goblins could be resisted by ordinary people, and with supervisors as strong as Old Man Liu, the chances of a disaster were slim.
Of course, casualties might still happen, but if the situation was favorable and the people in the area were prepared, the threat could be controlled. This was part of the reason humanity had survived the first wave of monsters on Auroraâbecause the monsters, like goblins, were relatively weak.
The same couldnât be said for Level 2 cracks, which were filled with Rank 1 monsters. Even among Rank 2 cultivators, few would willingly risk their lives entering one alone.
With the Association so close to such a crack, it ensured that, in the event of an emergency, the strong cultivators stationed there would be able to respond in time.
Since running wasnât an option for everyone, Michael and the other two chose between walking or taking a ride. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire
They naturally opted for the obvious choice.
A ride.
Life wasnât a place to make unnecessarily hard decisions.
The location of the Level 2 crack, unlike the Level 1 crack, was not a place Michael was very familiar with. However, familiarity with the area wasnât necessary to enter the crack.
Unlike the goblin world corrupted crack, which had hospitals nearby, the only notable feature of this area was the No. 9 Public School of Woodstone City.
Judging by the schoolâs number, it was clear that either the quantity of students was extremely high or the quality varied significantly.
Schools ranked No. 1 were comparable to private institutions with abundant resources, while No. 9 had the largest student body but far fewer resources.
âWell, technically, a school is a pretty good place to harvest negative emotions. Forget the studentsâ even the teachers are depressed.â
The location of the crack was even more absurd than Old Man Liuâs pharmacyâit was in a hotel.
âIs this the positive balance for the crack?â Michael thought, his expression turning odd as the idea crossed his mind.
Of course, the crack wasnât within the hotel building itself but inside the âVIPâ mansion at the back. This was where Michael and the two girls headed immediately upon arrival.
When they approached the mansion, guards at the gates stopped them. They asked to see the person in charge, and soon, a relatively old woman appeared.
What followed was exactly the kind of covert behavior one would expect from a secret association.
Michael couldnât help but wonder as he observed the old woman leading them toward the crackâs entrance.
Why are all the strong people Iâve met from the association so old?
And why were they still working?
Did the word âretirementâ make them sick?
While these thoughts ran through his head, he tuned in to what the old female supervisor was saying.
âSince youâll be entering the crack now, I canât show you around the mansion. However, once youâre out, we offer basic amenities for your convenienceâplaces to bathe, food, and clothes if you donât have any. Additionally, we provide advanced benefits, like buying your corpses here instead of transporting them to the Association, and selling certain items. However, these options arenât as advanced as what the Associationâs trade center can offer.â
The old woman continued, listing a few more features that left Michael impressed. Compared to the services near this Level 2 crack, Old Man Liuâs offerings seemed like they were made for poor people.
Or perhaps it had something to do with the nature of cracks and the type of people who visited them.
A person capable of clearing a Level 2 crack was already an elite, and perhaps certain benefits came with that status.
Soon, they arrived at the crackâs location. Like the entrance to the corrupted goblin world crack, this one also looked like a tear in the void. However, it was much largerâat least a whole round biggerâand the chaotic energy it emitted was far more intense.
At first glance, anyone could tell it was bad news, but the sight of it only made Michael excited.
Michael didnât know what awaited him inside, but what he did know was that everything in there would translate to money for him.
âOkay, itâs currently 11:53 AM, and you have until 3 PM to be out. The time difference is 1:8, so you have a full day inside, which equals three hours here. I donât need to explain what happens if you exceed the time, do I?â
âNo. Thank you for leading the way,â Mira, the groupâs assigned leader, replied.
As for what would happen if they exceeded the time, the answer was simple.
Someone strong from the outside world would enter the crack to drag them out.
If there wasnât a good reason for the delayâlike a sudden appearance of a powerful monsterâtheyâd face punishment from the Association.
This was another duty of a crack supervisor: to monitor and provide assistance to those inside the crack.