Chapter 120: The Fourth Person
I created a Discord server. If you want to talk with me, let’s do it there. It’s not fully functional yet, but it works.
....
At the same moment, inside a hidden safehouse inside the shelter.
A man sat in a dimly lit room, holding a newly delivered report.
He was the contact responsible for accepting Jaden’s commission.
Originally, he hadn’t considered Zich much of a threat.
Troublesome, perhaps. But not worth investing significant resources into.
Now, however, the first operation , which consisted of one of their most promising duos in all of layer one , had failed.
But more importantly, they had confirmed something.
Zich Grave possessed an abnormal defensive system, powerful undead summons, and unknown treasures obtained from the Golden Secret Realm.
After reading the report, the man’s smile slowly disappeared.
"He can no longer be treated like an ordinary rookie."
He found Zich’s name on a list lying on the desk.
Beside it, he wrote:
[High Priority — Do Not Underestimate]
After a moment’s thought, he added another note:
[Cheap probing attempts are forbidden. The next operation must be fully prepared.]
Afterward, he transmitted the message to several hidden nodes within the Failure Network.
From that moment onward, the weight of the name Zich Grave changed completely within their circles.
The next morning.
The human shelter on the First Layer of Ascension Mountain was unusually lively.
The Player Center.
The Guild Hall.
The Quest Board.
The tavern entrances.
Everywhere, people were discussing the same topic.
The Chosen One Tournament.
Different opinions spread throughout the shelter.
Some looked down on summoners. Some believed the Golden Secret Realm rumors. Some thought Zich was simply lucky. Others had begun seriously investigating his background.
On the player forums, Zich’s name had also become a trending topic.
[Does Zich Grave Qualify for the Chosen One Selection?]
[Analysis of the Golden Secret Realm Survivors]
[The Unusual Summoner and the Mastermind Behind the Scenes?]
[Helen, Jaden, or Zich—Who Should Represent Humanity?]
Matthesage: The hype behind this zhvh is funny. What exactly has Zich done besides hide behind summons?
Mithrash: Hide? The guy survived the Golden Secret Realm in layer one. That’s already more than most players here have accomplished.
MultiEye: Survived, sure. Doesn’t mean he’s representative material.
DaoistZer0314: You clearly weren’t there. Half the survivors wouldn’t have made it back without him.
Blue_Norris_9823: Rumors. Nothing but rumors.
Memnoch: Everything starts as a rumor until enough people confirm it.
Chris_Cole_4116: I don’t care who gets chosen as long as they bring back rewards for the shelter.
Veera_raghavan_N: Honestly, the representatives are probably already decided.
Erin_Blankett: What do you mean?
Veera_raghavan_N: Think about it. Every shelter usually sends four representatives. Our shelter only has four obvious candidates anyway.
trey_freeman: We have only three, which is Jayden, Helen, and Zich.
Veera_raghavan_N: Exactly.
trey_freeman: So who’s the fourth person?
Veera_raghavan_N: That... that’s a secret.
Jacob_Obar: Wait, people are putting Zich in the same category as Helen and Jayden now?
trey_freeman: Whether you like him or not, his achievements speak for themselves.
Memnoch: The Golden Secret Realm changed everything.
Russell_Orr: The moment he returned alive from that place, people started paying attention.
MarkedW: I still think he’s overhyped.
MultiEye: Maybe. But lately all anyone talks about is Zich.
DaoistZer0314: Because he’s the only one whose strength keeps jumping every week.
Blue_Norris_9823: Or because people love hyping newcomers.
Mithrash: We’ll find out soon enough.
trey_freeman: Either way, if Lord Arnold follows merit, the top three should be Helen, Jayden, and Zich. As for the last one... that’s the mystery.
Jacob_Obar: For the first time in years, I actually think our shelter has a chance of ranking high.
...
The central arena of the First Human Shelter became lively from early morning.
Normally, player sparring matches were held here, but today was completely different. The elevated stage had been cleaned and prepared anew, while rows upon rows of spectator seats stretched upward, capable of accommodating more than half of the shelter’s players.
A massive holographic screen floated above the arena, displaying several eye-catching words.
[Chosen One Tournament · Human Side Preliminary Selection]
Even before the event officially began, a third of the seats were already occupied.
Players gathered in small groups, discussing the possible participants.
"I heard survivors from the Golden Secret Realm get priority consideration."
"What about Zich?"
The moment that name was mentioned, the crowd briefly fell silent.
Then the discussions became even louder.
"That summoner?"
"A summoner representing humanity? What a joke."
"Are you still living in the past? They say he helped kill the Golden Secret Realm Boss."
"Who knows if that’s true? Maybe he just got lucky."
"But he came back alive."
"And both Helen and Jaden were there. If he still became famous, he can’t be simple."
As they chatted, Zich walked into the arena.
He wore a clean black coat, his expression calm. No summoned creatures accompanied him. The two failures from last night had already been dealt with, and the compensation issue had been settled. Although the process had not been pleasant, the outcome was satisfactory.
At least the Failure Network would not be sending that kind of cheap disposable trash after him for the time being.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that his name had become even more famous.
Zich glanced at the densely packed crowd around him and slightly frowned.
"So noisy."
He neither went to the front rows nor chose a conspicuous seat. Instead, he picked a spot near the middle but slightly off to the side. The view was good, yet it wouldn’t attract too much attention.
As soon as he sat down, he noticed someone already seated beside him.
It was a young girl.
She wore ordinary light-colored clothes and a large farmer’s hat on her head. The brim was pulled down so low that it concealed most of her face. Only a strand of light brown hair could be seen resting on her shoulder.
She sat quietly there, holding a cloth bundle in her arms. She looked like an ordinary person who had come from the countryside.
But after taking a glance at her, Zich’s eyes flickered slightly.
Despite the noisy surroundings, she hadn’t even lifted her head once. More importantly, her breathing was steady — far too steady for an ordinary spectator.
Zich leaned back against his seat and turned his gaze toward the arena once more.
But he had already taken note of her.
A farmer’s hat?
He found it somewhat strange.
Why would someone dress like that in a place like this?
At that moment, the holographic screen above the arena suddenly lit up.
[The Candidate List Will Be Announced Shortly]
The entire audience instantly erupted into excitement.
The girl beside Zich finally raised her head slightly.
Beneath the brim of the hat, a pair of bright, clear eyes turned toward the screen.
