Krune and the others took their time to rest during the last day. The next morning, all the contestants gathered in the teleportation room. Krune was one of the last to arrive. As soon as he entered the room, everyone looked at him; he thought something was weird. As far as he knew, he didn't make anything that could have caught their attention.
Poor Krune! He didn't know that everyone considered him the strongest contestant of the Yule Continent. That was because of what Ao said after the Duel; he'd easily beat Turi Belane and told him that he wasn't Krune's match. The contestants have already known that they couldn't beat Ao, and if Ao couldn't beat Krune, they would have even less of a chance. So, it was obvious everyone paid especial attention to Krune.
"Do you know what is happening here? Why are they looking at me?"
Ao shook his head and told Krune what had happened that day with Turi. Krune heard and could only give a helpless sigh.
"Even when I'm not doing anything, the world conspires against my wishes."
But since he is already famous, thanks to the Mercenary Guild's plan, some extra attention won't change anything, in the end.
Sometime later, the Yule Continent Mercenary Guild Head, Bary Casfiu, came into the room. Together with him, there were a few elders of the guild as well. They were there to make sure that nothing would happen with the contestants. But there was one person in the middle of those elders who gave Krune a sense of danger. He couldn't see through any of those people's cultivation, but he was sure that the elder was definitely much stronger than the rest.
Shinja was also looking at that, and she was surprised when she saw that elder as well. She knew who he was. The Makui Planet is a weak planet and has very few cultivators above the Divine Soul Realm. However, that elder just so happened to be one of them. His name is Lian Casfiu, Bary's father and the protector of the Mercenary Guild in the Yule Continent, also a Soul Forging Realm cultivator. He wasn't tall and didn't like to use beard either. He gave a sense of carefreeness, putting people at ease, but no one would underestimate this man.
While passing, Lian gave a side glance at Krune. As the person with the highest cultivation in the Mercenary Guild Headquarters, he was obviously privy to some secrets, including Krunes 'Rainbow Core. The only reason he was coming together for this Mercenary Selection was to make sure Krune would be safe.
Bary then went up on a platform and started talking with the contestants.
"The Mercenary Selection will start in a day. So we are teleporting over there now to get ready. However, the Selection will happen inside a Danger Zone so that no one needs to hold back. It will still be done close to the exit, so we don't really need a lot of time to arrive. There is also no need to be afraid of anyone taking the chance to attack you. Several elders of all Mercenary Guilds in the whole world will be there watching over it."
Bary then put a severe expression and continued:
"But remember! Even if you are close to the Danger Zone exit, you will still be considered inside it. It means that no one will show any mercy during the Selection. You might really die there! If you aren't confident in your skills, you might leave right now!"
Bary waited a minute, but no one moved. He then gave a satisfied nod and proceeded.
"Come over the long-distance teleport formation. The Selection this time will happen in the Ice Continent, Ice Hell Danger Zone. We are teleporting over to the Snow City, the closest city to where the Selection will take place."
Everyone then went up to the teleport formation. Krune was surprised to find out that this Formation was using Rank Five Spirit Stones to be charged up. It goes to show how far away the Ice Continent is from the Yule Continent. After a few seconds more, the Formation gathered enough Spiritual Energy, and with a flash of silver light, everyone disappeared.
'Snow City' was a very simple name, but it was really fit too. Because of its location close to the Ice Hell Danger Zone, it snowed all year long. The local cultivators used a gigantic formation that covered the entire city to keep the snow from accumulating.
Although the Danger Zone was called Ice Hell, it wasn't one of the most dangerous of the Ice Continent. The Mercenary Guild World Alliance just wanted a place to test their contestants; it would be one versus one fights. So there was no need to care about the difficulty of the Danger Zone. The place had already been prepared and was just waiting for the Mercenaries of the other continents to arrive.
A teleport formation close to the center of the city started to shine. Just a second later, several people appeared over it. They were the Yule Continent Mercenary Guild contestants and their elders. Bary took a look around, and soon a person came to receive them.
"Hello, I'm your guide this time around. I'm here to show you the way to the arenas where the contestants will fight."
Bary nodded and looked at the people behind him.
"If you have anything you need, say that now; otherwise, we will depart straight away."
No one said anything. They all knew the days they would be leaving, so everyone had been long since prepared for it. Whatever they needed was already inside their spatial rings. Noticing that no one said anything, Bary asked the guide to show them the way.
Everyone stopped by the city gate connecting them to the Danger Zone, and signed the death agreement. That was something that everyone was already used. Even so, that time, it felt a little heavier. It would be a lot more dangerous, after all.
After traversing the gate, they immediately moved forward. As mentioned before, the arenas for the Mercenary Selection had already been prepared. They were close to the city itself, so it only took them one hour to get there.
Bary noticed that his guild was the last one to arrive. All the contestants from the other four continents and their higher-ups were waiting. He told his group to get prepared for the next day's battles. He left with his father and a few elders to compliment the other continent's Headquarters' Guild Heads.
Krune looked around and thought that something was weird. He then sent a Divine Sense message to his group.
"Isn't there way too little people here?"
Shinja then explained.
"Those aren't all the participants. The important ones are not here. They are probably gathered together with their elders. Those you see are only the ones who don't have any deep relationship with their guilds higher-ups. Of course, it doesn't mean that they are weak; they just don't have the elders' support."
It was then that Bary called Krune and some of the other people of his continent to come with him. But to Bary's surprise, Krune rejected. He told Bary he didn't want to get involved in the higher-ups' conversation. Bary found it strange since, usually, no one would decline the chance to get acquainted with the strong cultivators of the other continents. But knowing how weird Krune's behavior usually is, he simply left it at that. He then called some other people to make up the appearances and left.
Krune's group didn't have much to do anyway, so Krune decided to make some food. Yusa and the others didn't think anything strange about it and went there to help. They had long since got used to eating Krune's food, not to mention that he is really good at it, but that was only them. The contestants of the other four continents looked at that and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Do they know they might die tomorrow?"
"Who knows! Maybe they think they will die and are having their last meal!"
"They are from the Yule Continent, so it's normal that those countrysides like people to have weird ways of acting."
Soon, everyone started talking about that scene and laughed at Krune's arrangement. Of course, everyone except for the people of the Yule Continent, they wouldn't dare offend him.
They didn't mind, though. Eating well is to be happy. Krune couldn't care less about what they think. He loved eating, so he would eat. That's all.
Slowly, the fragrance of Krune's food started to spread. One must remember that Krune liked to use his own fire element to make the cook. He also used spiritual energy in the food itself, it made his food extremely delicious. That, together with the right seasoning and cooking steps, made his food no worse than any famous restaurant. Ao and the others had long since got used to Krune's food taste. So, even when they weren't together, they would usually go to expensive restaurants anyway. Of course, they still preferred Krune's delicacies.
The cultivators and demon beasts, who were mocking them before, started to salivate. As mercenaries, they got used to staying outside, so fasting pills came to be their main source of aliment. That moment when such a fragrant food was right beside them, they couldn't help but want to taste a little. The problem was that they just talked bad about Krune's group arrangements, so they couldn't simply go back on their words.
Krune wasn't paying attention to them, but Ao, Yusa, and Shinja were. They could see that the bad-mouthing had stopped and several eyes fixed on Krune's food. They couldn't help but smile a bit. That was what they deserved. If there was one thing they knew was not to look down on Krune's cooking skills.
The food was finally ready. Krune put all on the table, and all of them started to enjoy the lunch. Finally, there was one guy shameless enough to throw away his pride and ask for some.
"Err… These brothers and sisters. Sorry for the comments earlier. Would you mind sharing a little?"
Shinja and the others didn't say anything. The chef here was Krune! It was up to him whether he wanted to share or not. Krune just gave him a side glance and then pointed at one of the plates on the table. He usually made a lot of food anyway. And since he got an apology, he had no reason to hold and grudges anymore. Krune's group was already expecting that. They knew very well Krune wasn't the type to care about what people said. To him, an apology could resolve almost anything.
The guy was ecstatic. He immediately sat on one side of the table and started to serve himself.
"By the way, my name is Karl Rabier, I'm from the Borle Continent."
Krune nodded.
"I'm Krune. Those are Shinja, Ao, and Yusa."
The group then started to talk about the Mercenary Selection while eating happily. Soon, a few more cultivators from the other continents came to apologize as well. Krune didn't mind and simply told them to help themselves. But then the situation got a little out of hand. It was because the food disappeared too fast. There were simply too many people.
The later come people noticed that it was almost over and regretted not coming to offer an apology earlier. If just their pride hadn't got the best of them, now it was too late. But then Krune stood up and simply said.
"The food was over faster than I thought. I will make some more. Wait a little bit."
Although there was a lot of food, the ingredients used were all common ones that could be bought with copper and silver. So it made no difference in Krune's pocket, not to mention that he liked it when people eat his food happily. It was one more reason other than being friends. He never complained about Shinja, Ao, and Yusa always eating his food.
Not too long after, the fragrant smell appeared again. It wasn't long before a lot more food appeared on the table. That time the latecomers didn't care anymore and apologized, as well. And, just like that, all Mercenaries from All Continents were eating Krune's food while chatting happily. No one noticed, but the heavy air around the participants of the Selection disappeared without a trace.
Unfortunately, there would always be those who are too proud to admit their mistakes. One of them went out to call an elder of his guild Headquarters. He said Krune might have poisoned all the food of the contestants. It wouldn't be fair to fight the other day. Hearing that, all the higher-ups of the various guilds became alarmed and immediately came to check.
"Sky Fall Continent Mercenaries, what the hell are you doing?"
The Mercenaries of the Sky Fall Continent immediately stopped eating and looked over. The one calling them out was none other than the Guild Head of the Sky Fall Continent Mercenary Headquarters, Yulie Forgon.
He wasn't the only one. The other guild heads also came forward to rebuke their contestants, saying the same thing, what if the food was poisoned?
Krune heard that and felt like beating all of them. He hated when people talked bad about his food. He knew that it wasn't his place to speak back to those guys. They were all several times stronger than him, not to mention that he knew that his food was perfectly fine, and that was what mattered.
Of course, saying the food was poisoned was just an excuse to stop their members from embarrassing them. There was no way someone would try to poison the other contestants right under their nose. Not to mention that only those without support were eating Krune's food. They simply didn't care whether they got poisoned or not. After they left, Krune just sighed. There was quite some food still. He, the team members, and the cultivators of his continent went back to eat again. Krune couldn't bear to waste food after all.
There was a group of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment among the various elders. They saw everything that had happened and just laughed. They were none other than those who were seen as the favorites to get the five slots available for the martial Gathering. Among them, a woman said:
"That's quite an interesting guy! Did you notice that before the elders intervened, everyone was happily chatting and eating? It seems like he does have some charisma."
Her name was Lina Jue, a peak 9th-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Makui Continent, the continent, the cultivators first colonized when they arrived at the Makui Planet. In the end, the Planet got the same name as the continent.
"What use is there in being able to cook? It has no use in the Selection anyway. He is doing nothing more than wasting his time. I can't understand how he convinced the Ice Block Shinja to join his group, though."
The one who talked that time was Rog Werer, peak 9th-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Sky Fall Continent. It was a tropical place where it rained a lot, thus the name Sky Fall.
"To think that even a 7th-Stage Foundation Cultivator like him came for the Mercenary Selection this time! The Yule Continent is fragile, as the rumors say."
Said Tasier, peak 9th-stage Foundation Establishment Thunder Hawk Demon Beast from the Borle continent. The stronger and rarer the race, the higher their cultivation needs to be to change into human form. But the Mercenary Guild or any other power couldn't simply ignore a talent just because they haven't got a human form yet. So, there were special rules in place, where the powers would take responsibility for the demon beasts' actions until they got their human forms. Of course, they would also offer the necessary protection against some idiots trying to kill them for their body materials. Like that, they could also participate in the competitions. That Thunder Hawk just so happened to be one of those who needed to go beyond the Foundation Establishment to get his human form. And he wasn't the only one in this Selection!
A few other people and demon beasts also commented about what had happened but paid little attention to Krune or his friends. Except for one person, Arlan Rosier, another peak 9th Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He was also from Makui Continent, and all Guild Heads believe that he would definitely get one of the five slots.
"Interesting!"
His friend, by his side, heard that and was surprised. He has rarely heard Arlan complimenting another cultivator, and a demon beast one at that.
"Did you see anything good about that Krune guy?"
Arlan didn't answer and went back to his seat among the elders of his continent. No one noticed, but a faint smile appeared on his face while he thought.
'This Mercenary Selection won't be as boring as I thought it seems.'