—So you’re telling me someone managed to infiltrate the raid, and as a result, the difficulty of the scenario went up? Now that you’ve cleared the first scenario, you think there’s a hidden one, and you want to explore it?
A certain voice echoed from the speaker of Tom’s device.
Following the situation, he immediately contacted his team leader and explained the situation.
Because the gate had already been cleared, the gate was set to dissipate in a few hours.
As a result, nobody could enter.
They could only go out from this point.
As a result, Tom could only decide whether to take on the hidden mission now.
“There’s a chance that the rewards are high. If you allow me to go, I have confidence in retrieving at least a few fragments with high purity.”
—But didn’t you fail to clear the main scenario…?
“I didn’t fail. That… intruder messed everything up. I was still able to somewhat impress the host. If not for the difficulty going up, I would’ve definitely impressed him.
—Yes, but you still failed.
“And I can do better.”
Tom mumbled, his grip over the device tightened.
“If I had known the difficulty had risen, I would’ve played something else. You know very well that I’m overqualified for this job. Give me your permission and I’ll come back triumphant. Those from Crownfall are also about to do this. We can’t lose out to them!”
—…..
The line fell silent.
The silence seemed to last for an eternity before the voice spoke again.
—Give me a bit of time. I’ll talk this out with the Section Chief.
“What? Why wait? If we delay the situation any longer, those bastards from Crownfall will start the hidden scenario. If that’s the case, then—huh?”
Looking at the communication device, Tom’s teeth clenched tightly as he saw that the communication had cut off.
“Damn it!”
He silently cursed while looking at those from Crownfall.
His heart sank when he saw them starting to get ready.
’Fuck, damn it…’
This wasn’t an opportunity that they could afford to miss. If they missed it and the reward ended up being extremely good, then it would be a massive blow to them.
Especially since Crownfall was their main competitor.
He could accept anyone but them.
“Screw it.”
As such, looking at the communication device in his hand, he placed it in his pocket and turned towards his members.
“Get ready. We’ll start the raid in a bit.”
Oblivious to the conversation between him and the team leader, the Ivory members started to get ready. To them, Tom’s words meant approval from the higher-ups.
…It was just a pity that he was acting on his own.
But regardless, he was confident in clearing the scenario; therefore, he wasn’t worried about the consequences of his actions.
Results mattered more than anything else within the Guild.
He understood that more than anyone, and this was exactly what he was planning on doing.
He was planning on bringing results.
“Make sure you stay focused and follow my lead. I can’t guarantee that any of you will be able to live if you don’t follow my lead.”
Fully equipped and well-rested, Tom guided his team toward the mansion’s entrance.
Following right behind him were the members of Crownfall, who took a little longer to get ready.
Tensions seemed to be at an all-time high as the two groups got ready to tackle the hidden scenario.
However….
Craaaack!
Right as they were about to get in, a subtle cracking sound echoed in the air.
It was subtle, but it was enough to make everyone stop dead in their tracks as they all looked towards the mansion.
“Did you hear that…?” One of them asked, looking around.
The recruit’s words were met with similar words as they all looked towards the mansion.
“Was that my imagination?”
“No, I heard it too…”
Tom’s eyes narrowed as he looked towards the mansion. He, too, had heard the noise.
However, he couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact direction he heard it.
’Is something happening?’
It was just as he started to ponder the noise that another cracking sound echoed.
Craaaack!
“What the hell?”
This time, the noise was impossible to ignore. Eyes widened, and a few of the team members exchanged uneasy glances.
“Wait, look!”
Someone suddenly shouted.
A few immediately pointed at the source.
It was the large crack that appeared by the sides of the mansion, gradually expanding with each second that passed.
By now, it had become obvious that something was wrong, and the feeling only grew when the mansion started to shake.
Rumble! Rumble!
“The building is collapsing!”
“Quickly move back!”
Everyone quickly moved back upon seeing the structure shake, and even Tom moved back.
’Why is it collapsing? What’s happening to the hidden scenario? This doesn’t make sense…’
Tom could only stare in utter disbelief as the building continued to shake.
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
Cra Crack—
But even though he couldn’t believe the scene, the building continued to rattle, the cracks expanding before growing larger and larger. The windows shook before shattering, the glass shards falling onto the grass beneath.
Rumble!
The rumbling continued, and soon… The mansion’s left side crumbled under its own weight. Dust billowed up into the air, and the building fell apart.
“Shit!”
Everyone panicked at the sight, and staring at the scene, many moved back towards the gate.
“Wait, look!”
To make matters worse, the mansion wasn’t the only thing that was collapsing.
Far from it.
“The fountain!”
Everything was starting to collapse.
Be it fountain, garden, or even ground… Everything was collapsing.
“Quickly go back!”
“The gate is closing! Rush back! Rush back!”
It soon became clear to them that the gate was starting to close.
Everyone rushed back towards the portal that led them away. Everyone but Tom who looked in the direction of the mansion with a lost expression.
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
How could this happen?
This made no sense… What about the hidden scenario?
How could the gate clear like this? There was still the hidden scenario. It shouldn’t collapse so quickly unless—
And then, it clicked.
A certain image appeared in his mind as his teeth clenched tightly.
A scenario wouldn’t immediately collapse unless the hidden scenario was completed.
And for the gate to collapse like this, it only meant one thing.
The hidden scenario…
It had been completeled.
“It’s him.”
Tom’s teeth clenched tightly.
It had to be. The Jester.
***
Thud—!
“Ukh!”
I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my back. Groaning, I pushed myself up and glanced around.
“…I’m back.”
Seeing the familiar environment, I slumped to the ground in relief.
“I really… haa… am back.”
Through ragged breaths, I stared at the empty white ceiling above me.
Never before did I feel so happy seeing a ceiling.
But most importantly, I raised my hand and stared at my wrist, my gaze lingering on the white mark that circled around my wrist like the black one.
’White, huh…’
“I wonder if there’s a reason for the color change.”
My mind drifted back to the message I’d received before reappearing in my office. This was… Mirelle.
The little girl.
I could feel the connection with my mind, and with that, I also felt like I could summon her with just a thought.
I held off on that as I took in the events from moments prior.
There was quite a lot to take in.
From Mirelle’s past to her connection with the strange cult. There was quite a lot that I needed to figure out, but just as I started to ponder over such matters, a notification appeared in my vision.
[Congratulations on clearing the scenario!]
It was the system.
[Rewards calculating…]
[Rewards calculating…]
Ding!
[System update available. Do you wish to upgrade?]
▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]
“Eh?”!