Chapter 179
Italy's Castellana Cave used to be a place famous for its beautiful scenery, but it looked a bit different that day. Lava boiled within the cave.
That meant that Sardonyx's raid had begun. The rank 7 boss had created some sort of mana field.
Hunters usually used artifacts to block such fields from being deployed by bosses, but it didnt work against Sardonyx.
The only way to return things to normal was to defeat the boss.
The person in charge and a rank 7 hunter, Rosa, shouted to everyone, "I said it before, but I'll repeat myself for the students. The Incarnations head is at 1pm. The rest of the locations are based on that in a clockwise direction."
Aventino, the other rank 7 hunter, said to the rest, "Once you defeat the Incarnation, please come back here. This is the middle of the field. Once everyone defeats their Incarnation, Sardonyx will descend here."
"We can't relax then, but... that's when the real subjugation will begin!" Ju HimChan shouted.
"I'll say it again, but if you cannot take down your Incarnation in time, you'll just become a burden. The longer it takes to catch the Incarnations, the stronger Sardonyx will become."
Mei Lin was telling them that it wasnt practice anymore.
"If we fall behind and fail, Italy's civilians are the ones who'll be harmed. Everyone, please be serious and give it your best. Any errors will bring consequences that cannot be reversed."
After saying that, Mei Lin began moving with Wei Lin.
Rosa and Aventino went in the direction of 12:00, Shin YuSung and Ju HimChan 14:00, Adela and Reina 15:00, Mei Lin and Wei Lin 17:00, Ultra and Colt 21:00, and Shoichi and Isshin 23:00.
Although it looked like they were in a volcanic area, the story changed once they moved to where each Incarnation had appeared. The fields changed based on the characteristics of each Incarnation.
The mentees had brought hunter equipment based on the characteristics of their designated Incarnation and the field surrounding it, which is why they had to move fast before their Incarnation appeared.
As soon as the explanation ended, the hunters began moving.
Before moving, Ju HimChan spoke to YuSung in a serious tone.
"Student YuSung, if you have any thoughts on this, please mention them at any time!"
Most mentees were told that, after eliminating the Incarnation, they should use a portal and return to the Association, but YuSung and Adela had managed to pass the Tower Records and were allowed to participate in Sardonyx's subjugation.
That meant that YuSung and Adela were at a similar level to their mentors.
HimChan didn't think of YuSung as a mentee but as a hunter partner in the subjugation.
"Yes, understood." YuSung smiled at HimChan.
To think that he could recognize a student as a partner. HimChan is truly reliable. The only thing that bothers me is...'
YuSung, who had Super Senses, sensed something that was bothering him, but for the moment, it was just an uneasy feeling. He wasn't sure of it yet.
YuSung looked at Rosa and Aventi.
'I must focus on the subjugation for the moment...'
* * *
* * *
12:00 was where the Incarnation of Fire would appear. Aventino and Rosa were heading through a volcano road toward it.
Even though they were running at an incredible pace, they stayed at a similar speed because theyd been partners for a long time.
"To think that two people would pass the test. The rookies are quite impressive," Aventino said to Rosa.
"To think you'd show interest in students. How strange. A few days ago, you were against bringing students here."
"Ive changed my opinion. After all, they're geniuses who passed the Tower's test."
Aventino slowed down and stopped before bringing out a scroll from his Pocket and tearing it apart.
The scroll Aventino used was one that gave the user a water-type shield.
Due to how rare such scrolls were, each cost quite a lot of money.
Rosa laughed at Aventino. "Are you coveting them? I don't think they'll become priests."
"Well, you never know..." Aventino quietly mumbled at Rosa's playful words.
As always, he smiled. Although it was a familiar smile for Rosa, it felt unpleasant for some reason.
* * * *
The stage they would get in the Tower was random, but according to hunters, the difficulty changed every 10 floors.
"But even so"
A blue hologram floated in front of them, and EunAh made a troubled expression as she looked at the Tower's message.
[On the 10th Floor, you must do a party quest.]
[Quest Name: World of Innocence! Protect the Toy Kingdom!]
[Minimum number of members required: 6]
[Penalty: Everyone will become 10 years younger.]
"How are we supposed to beat a quest while were 10 years younger?" EunAh complained.
Sumire nodded as if agreeing. "You're right... It will be hard! On top of that, it feels like a weird penalty."
On the other hand, Amy seemed to be in a good mood.
"EunAh! Based on the name, doesn't it sound easy? The name's Toy Kingdom, after all. Since there's a penalty, I'm sure that the difficulty will be low as well."
"Hey, even if the difficulty is low, if our bodies turn 10 years younger, we'll be seven. What can a group of seven-year-old kids do?"
"Well..." Amy ended up easily accepting her argument.
Sumire started laughing as if shed thought of something funny. "But it will be quite cute if we all become seven years old!"
'Everyone being seven years old...'
EunAh fell into thought and imagined all of her party members as children.
'YuSung would look like a dummy who likes to eat, Sumire would look like a shy but good kid, and Amy would look like a very active child.'
EunAh also wanted to see how they would look. She especially wanted to see how YuSung looked as a kid.
'It would be cute indeed...'
As EunAh was thinking about that, strangely, it was Amy who proposed their next course of action.
"Then, EunAh, let's go back to the academy for now and think about the 10th floor once the party leader returns!"
To think that she'd get so excited at the word academy. It seemed like they'd struggled quite a bit while going up through the Tower.
"To think that we'd return so fast... We made it to the 9th floor pretty quickly."
Just as Sumire said, reaching the 9th floor without experiencing trouble on their first try was impressive.
EunAh nodded. "Fu, indeed..."
YuSung's goal was to reach floor 20 before the 1st year was over, but it was hard to believe that they were already on the 10th floor. EunAh shouted in excitement at the thought that they were already halfway.
"Honestly, there aren't many parties as good as us!"
EunAh was good at fighting. Not only that, but she could support the party with an almost unlimited amount of money.
Sumire was a necromancer who could control an army of undead and familiar spirits, and she also cooked delicious food for them.
On top of that, there was Amy, who talked a lot.
Their skills were worthy of praise.
"Yes! Yes! We did our best!" Amy shouted excitedly.
EunAh smirked and opened a blue portal that shone as if it were welcoming a group of victors.
SWOOSH!
'I wonder if YuSung is doing well...' Sumire worried.
'You've made us go through all of this. YuSung, prepare yourself!' EunAh was thinking about what she wanted to do with YuSung.
'I... when I go back, I want to eat cheesecake!' Then there was Amy, who was thinking about food.
The three returned safely to Gaon after successfully completing their adventure.
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