Chapter 188: Ch 188: Task 10
[Rookie, it’s time. Are you ready for the next task?]
The system asked Rin while he was returning to his room.
Rin had been ready for the next task, but the fact that it was happening so suddenly still took him by surprise. But there was not much he could do other than take a deep breath and accept reality.
[Task ten will start now. The ones chosen by the settlement will be transported to their destination. If the settlement has not chosen anyone, the top six will automatically be transported to the task destination.]
The instructions were clear, and Rin saw a bright light heading his way next. He closed his eyes to protect them from the brightness, and when he opened them again, he found himself in an empty white room.
He was not alone. The others he had selected as representatives were in the room as well, and Shelly immediately headed toward his side to check up on him.
"Rin, are you alright? What is this place? Should we try to get out of here?"
Shelly asked as she looked around at the endless white space that seemed to stretch on forever.
Rin also checked his system map for any information, but there was none.
[Don’t try to cheat here, Rookie. You have to play on even ground with the others. This system wishes you the best of luck.]
Rin let out a sigh at the clear warning from the system before deciding to look around as well.
Both Albus and Serena had already started inspecting the area. Teressa stood cautiously nearby before eventually approaching Rin as well, while Amelia remained frozen in shock.
Out of everyone there, Amelia was the person Rin worried about the most since she did not have much experience in situations like this. She was someone they needed to keep an eye on.
"Albus, stay close to Amelia and keep an eye on her. This is her first time, and I want her to be as comfortable as possible."
Rin instructed, and Albus immediately flashed him a smile before heading toward Amelia’s side.
Amelia gave Albus a shaky smile, though she still looked nervous. But there was no time to comfort her properly. At least, not until they understood their situation better.
"This white space seems endless. I can try blasting it apart, but I don’t even know where the boundaries of this place are."
Serena pointed out as she tightly gripped her sword. She was scanning the surroundings with a vigilant expression, but her face also looked slightly pained.
Rin had a feeling Serena was dealing with a headache, but she was staying silent because she did not want to worry the others.
’I would rather have Serena tell us when she’s not feeling well instead of pushing herself. At least then, we would be prepared to help her.’
But Rin already knew Serena’s personality. She would hide her discomfort until the very end because she did not want to appear weak in front of anyone else.
They did not have time for this, but just as Rin was about to call her out, something lit up in front of them.
At first, it looked like a system screen, and everyone stared at it eagerly, waiting for a new message.
But then the screen expanded more and more until it became a large display, and a silhouette appeared on it.
[Welcome to my show of hide-and-seek. Today, I am your host. You may all call me Bro. I will now explain today’s task. Are you all ready?]
The silhouette asked in a bubbly voice. The static covering the screen made it nearly impossible to distinguish the figure on the other side, and Rin immediately tried asking the system about this person.
But the system was too busy fangirling to even notice Rin’s question.
[Oh my! No way~ Is that really Brother? The super-famous host of the ’Hide-and-Kill’ show that has been topping the ratings recently? Rookie, you are so lucky. People spend their entire lives dreaming of meeting Mr. Bro, only to end up meeting impostors.]
[૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა]
[Ah, this system is so jealous of you. This senior also wanted to meet Mr. Bro and play a game with him.]
The system was clearly useless right now, so Rin decided to focus on Mr. Bro instead.
The screen cleared slightly, but the silhouette was still blurry. Mr. Bro did not wait for the signal to improve before explaining the rules.
[Welcome to Task 10, my show. I am the host of ’Hide-and-Kill.’ The task is simple — you need to find me in this space. If you succeed, I will allow you to return home. But the task will not be easy. The clues leading to me are scattered everywhere. Moreover, monsters roam this place. If they find you, they will attack you.]
[The only way to safely reach me is to ’hide,’ and once you are discovered, you must prevent yourself from being ’killed.’ Now then, good luck, my dear guests.]
Those instructions were followed by loud cheering before the screen suddenly went blank, leaving the group behind in silence.
"So, does anyone have any idea where we should start?"
Teressa asked as she looked around the empty white space. But there was nothing there, and Mr. Bro had not left behind any obvious clues.
"The most effective strategy would be to split up. But I have a feeling we should not separate under any circumstances. Otherwise, we might become easy prey."
Rin pointed out, and everyone nodded in agreement.
The group stayed close to him as they headed toward the screen first.
If that creature had really left them a clue, then it would likely be somewhere near the screen.
Rin searched carefully, but it was Amelia who eventually found a small shard and clutched it tightly in her hand.
"I-Is this a clue? I don’t see anything else around."
She handed the shard over to Rin, and he held it near his system interface to inspect it. But the shard suddenly melted into the system, and a map appeared in front of him.
[You have unlocked the first function — Area Map.]
