Chapter 15: Sand Monster
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There were staff members from the Hunter Association already waiting at the entrance to the desert.
When all the members who joined the assessment arrived, the head examiner, Yi Yeyu followed through behind them all.
"Now please conform to the checking of your space storage facilities with our staff," Yi Yeyu said and then nodded to the 12 staff who were there waiting for her instructions.
The 12 staff started to check each and every storage compartments.
"All weapons, combat, defense and other assistance equipment that are above iron-level are prohibited. Aside from healing-related medication, all medicines including septic divisor that have poisonous effects on the human body are prohibited as well. Equipment that has been poisoned must be cleaned. Those who refused to clean them will have your equipment confiscated," she continued.
"Also, all food and water are prohibited. Climbing equipment is prohibited too…"
Yi Yequ announced loudly while walking back and forth in front of everyone.
Soon, the 12 staff members had done their job.
Most of the things that were confiscated were food and water. Some of them brought bronze-level equipment and some of the weapons were soaked in septic divisor. They were asked to clean their weapons on the spot.
The same happened to Lin Huang when they checked his storage space. His food and water were confiscated. The military water bottle that he bought was almost taken away too but he poured out all the water in front of the staff before they did.
They found Lin Huang’s armored bullets too. The staff confirmed the item with Yi Yeyu before returning the bullets to him.
Yi Yeyu thought it would not make a difference if he had them or not since the bullets were meant for normal guns. Even at a short-distance, the impact would hardly be of any significance against bronze-level weapons. Moreover, there were only 10 bullets, so the bullets were returned to him.
When the staff returned the bullets, Lin Huang was relieved as it was one of the few ways he had to protect himself.
When the inspection was completed, it was already past 9 a.m.
After all the staff had confirmed that nothing had been missed out, a communication device was given to every one of them.
Yi Yeyu then spoke again, "The stuff that was confiscated will be kept safely with our authorities. When the assessment is over, we will return them to you."
"The time is now 9:23 a.m., I’m giving you guys an extra seven minutes. Those of you who arrive at the destination within 15 days before 9:30 a.m. will pass the assessment."
"Before the assessment officially begins, I have some bad news for the lot of you. During the assessment, the internet connection, communication and map positioning guidance functions on your Emperor’s Heart Ring will not be available. The only thing that you can use will be the storage system," Yi Yeyu said, with a hearty laugh once she finished. Her breasts jiggled vigorously, distracting the participants for a few moments, before drawing them back to the harsh truth she had revealed.
What Yi Yeyu said caused the crowd to groan again. Even Lin Huang did not expect her to be that sneaky.
On the other hand, Yi Yeyu as the head examiner seemed to enjoy the torture she inflicted. With a grin, she said, "Now, let the assessment, BEGIN!" she shouted.
Just when she was finished speaking, some of them ran well ahead of the rest. Those who were groaning followed too.
Lin Huang who was the weakest among them all was the slowest. Instead of running like everybody else, he walked at his normal pace. The fatty greeted him and sprinted away following the people ahead.
Soon, Lin Huang was left behind. However, he did not accelerate. He continued walking at his own pace, studying his surroundings as he went.
Watching Lin Huang getting further and further away, the head examiner Yi Yeyu shook her head and said, "I thought there was something special about that kid. It seems like he’s just an ordinary person. At this speed, it would be amazing if he could walk 40 kilometers in a day. I don’t think he can even finish half of the journey within the given 15 days."
In truth, it was not that he did not want to follow the other’s pace as they ran off in the wilderness. The fact was that he was not able to keep up anyway.
He was just an ordinary person. His physique and body structure were completely different from those who were at an iron-level.
If he was to run like those fellas who were iron-level, he would collapse within half a day. The environment in the desert was so harsh, that if he pushed himself too hard, he would have to give up the assessment if he even planned on surviving it.
Lin Huang had been researching the Pure Gold Desert on his Heart Network since the head examiner Yi Yeyu gave out the assessment area and content that morning. He had a plan in mind to survive the desert.
Within the 15 days, he needed at least two days to climb the alps so he had 13 days to cross the 1,500 kilometers desert. That said, he needed to walk more than 115 kilometers per day. That did not include the time he spent searching for food and a source of water.
Lin Huang knew very well that the desert was not a simple flatland.
When he was on earth, he had traveled to a desert before. The fastest an ordinary person could walk in the desert would be four kilometers per hour. A few well trained others could walk five kilometers per hour. Moreover, he would need to rest at night.
He would be pushing his limits if he was to walk 50 kilometers per day.
Within 15 days, no matter how he pushed himself, he could only finish half the journey.
An iron-level person had a body that was a few times stronger than ordinary people.
Their strength and tolerance were better than ordinary people and they could even run up to a 100 kilometers per day. That would be impossible for Lin Huang.
Therefore, he had a plan that involved monsters in the desert. Especially those that moved fast which he could use as a vehicle.
With his ability to obtain Skill Card pieces and his skill of summoning monsters, he had memorized the locations of the footholds where the monsters he needed would reside.
Although the accumulation of Skill Card pieces would take time, the native creatures that resided in the desert could move much faster than humans. The time that he spent on accumulating Skill Card pieces would be made up by the monsters’ high-speed movements through the desert.
Lin Huang’s headed in a very different direction from those who were ahead of him. His goal was not the destination, but the foothold with a Sand Monster that he had seen on the map.
The Sand Monster belonged to a branch of human giants. They were huge, very fat and they consumed a diet consisting of a variety of flesh and meat very regularly. They looked similar to humans as they walked with two legs. They were more like a deformed human with some of them having two or three heads and some with only one head with additional mouths or eyes.
Iron-level Sand Monsters were at least five meters tall and the tallest one could be up to 10 meters. They were easily a few times stronger than iron-level humans.
Lin Huang had his eye on an iron-level Sand Monster, and as they lived in groups, the monstrosity of that sort would not be hard to find. What he needed to do at the moment was accumulate a complete Monster Card from killing many monsters at once. Another reason that aided his plan was that the Sand Monster's foothold was very near the A-entrance of the Pure Gold Desert.
Lin Huang followed the planned route for half a day without water. Finally, when the sky was dark, he arrived at the foothold where the Sand Monsters lurked. Lin Huang knew earlier that there was a source of water at the location, but didn't see it upon his arrival. Soon after, he thanked his lucky star when he saw a freshwater lake not far from the foothold.