Chapter 236: Chapter 236 - Danger Zone
Theo looked at the elderly man in surprise.
’’Another mission?’’ he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Harold nodded with a small smile.
’’A rather special one,’’ he replied.
Seeing the confusion on Theo’s face, he glanced around at the people still gathered near the memorial.
’’This isn’t really the place to discuss it,’’ he said. ’’Would you mind walking with me for a moment?’’
Glancing behind him, Theo was just in time to see Adrian push Owen forward.
As Owen stumbled forward, he waved at Theo.
’’Go have some fun, kids,’’ he shouted mockingly. ’’Maybe that’ll help you do better in training.’’
With that, Adrian turned and walked away.
Having come to a halt beside Theo, Owen scratched the back of his head.
’’Uh, hello,’’ he greeted awkwardly. ’’Hope I’m not interrupting anything.’’
Harold maintained his warm smile.
’’Not at all,’’ he responded with a chuckle. ’’In fact, I was hoping to speak to both of you.’’
Owen exchanged a surprised look with Theo.
’’What’s going on?’’ he asked.
Harold’s smile remained as gentle as ever.
’’Walk with me,’’ he said.
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and slowly headed towards a small path that led through the forest surrounding the memorial grounds.
Theo and Owen quickly followed after him.
For a while, none of them spoke.
The sounds of the ceremony gradually faded into the distance until only the rustling of leaves and birdsong remained.
Only then did Harold finally break the silence.
’’Tell me,’’ he began. ’’Have either of you ever heard of international bounty missions?’’
Theo nodded right away.
’’Yes,’’ he answered. ’’I’ve received the international bounty for the madness disease before.’’
Glancing back for a moment, Harold slowly nodded.
’’Right,’’ he said. ’’Apologies, my old mind had forgotten that.’’
His smile widened slightly.
’’But do you know who actually sets up those bounties?’’
Theo and Owen shook their heads, never having really looked into it.
’’Occasionally, powerful individuals, governments, or even entire royal families encounter problems that no single hunting organization can solve or that require an extremely urgent solution.’’
’’When that happens, they issue an international bounty.’’
Owen raised an eyebrow.
’’That’s got to be expensive,’’ he said, understanding where this was going.
Harold let out a soft chuckle.
’’Expensive is one way to put it,’’ he replied. ’’But yes, larger ones can easily range from hundreds of millions to several billions.’’
Both Theo and Owen’s eyes widened slightly.
Such massive sums almost seemed unreal to them.
Only a moment later, the reason Harold was here finally dawned on them.
’’Where do we need to go? And what do we need to do?’’ Owen asked without hesitation, almost jokingly.
The old man slowed his pace slightly, his expression gradually turning serious.
’’Hear it out carefully first,’’ he said seriously. ’’This isn’t just a normal type of mission.’’
Owen gulped, his smile vanishing.
’’Roughly three months ago, the only son of Sheikh Rashid Al-Naris fell victim to a rare mana disease.’’
’’His mana pathways are slowly sealing shut... but he possesses an SSS-rank fire affinity with a mutation called the Sun Flame.’’
Theo’s eyes narrowed even further.
’’That’s a death sentence,’’ he said slowly. ’’Once his mana pathways shut completely, he’ll burn himself alive.’’
Even Owen’s expression darkened, his body shivering at the thought.
’’Correct,’’ Harold said solemnly. ’’There’s only one known cure for this disease.’’
He paused for a moment.
’’It’s a herb. One that’s only been discovered once in recorded history.’’
Silence settled over the forest path.
’’The Divine Sunflower Lotus,’’ Harold said at last.
’’Nearly sixty years ago, a single mature flower was discovered during an expedition into the danger zone known as Petra.’’
As the words settled in their minds, Theo’s expression grew pale.
There were only a few extreme danger zones across the entire planet. As the name suggested, each one was famous for its insane danger and unpredictability.
Harold noticed the change in Theo’s expression and gave a slow nod.
’’It seems you’ve at least heard of it.’’
Swallowing hard, color slowly returned to Theo’s face.
’’Only the basics,’’ he admitted. ’’Nothing specifically about Petra, though.’’
’’That’s fine and only logical,’’ Harold replied. ’’Jordan, the nation in which Petra resides, has tried to keep the information sealed as much as possible after all.’’
Harold slowed his pace even further, his gaze drifting through the trees.
’’Petra is an ancient city belonging to a previous civilization,’’ he explained. ’’Repeated expeditions have tried to research the place...’’
He paused for a moment.
’’Yet, except for one, they’ve all vanished without leaving a trace behind.’’
Theo and Owen exchanged a glance.
’’Is this truly something we can do then?’’ Owen asked with an awkward smile. ’’I mean, we’re just Silver Cores, you know...’’
A smile appeared on Harold’s face.
’’That’s precisely why,’’ he said. ’’Through decades of expeditions, we’ve discovered that only those below the Platinum Core return alive.’’
Owen’s mouth fell open, no sound coming out.
After a second, he quickly shook his head and came to a stop.
’’Good thing we aren’t Gold Cores yet,’’ he said, raising a thumbs-up. ’’If the bounty is still around once we are, we’ll definitely take it.’’
Harold stared helplessly at Owen.
The old man let out a soft breath, shaking his head.
’’The current bounty,’’ he started innocently, ’’is one billion dollars.’’
Owen’s eyes went wide, the staggering number nearly making him trip.
’’One fucking billion??’’ he repeated loudly.
Harold simply nodded.
’’And that’s only the current amount.’’
’’Every month that passes without the Divine Sunflower Lotus being found, Sheikh Rashid increases the bounty.’’
His expression became solemn once more.
’’By the time you get out of Petra... it may very well have quintupled.’’
Owen’s head immediately snapped toward Theo, his eyes filled with greed.
’’Hey, we’re going, right?’’ he said excitedly. ’’Seems like a good chance to earn money for your equipment and stuff!’’
Theo didn’t answer immediately.
His mind was still churning over everything Harold had said.
Biting down on his lip, he glanced up at the old man once more.
’’Tell us everything,’’ he said. ’’I can’t make a decision based on just this.’’
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