Chapter 240: New Group
Auric smiled.
"So, what will we do tonight? Since it’s late, I guess we should take care of the matter tomorrow?"
Ellia shook her head. "Tomorrow, everything is going to start. It’s better to buy everything tonight and head there early in the morning. Originally, we had prepared everything, but because of you, we will need to buy a few more things."
"Well, I guess we should do it right now." Auric nodded.
"Eric, can I trouble you to help us with the hotel check-in?" Ellia asked.
Both Auric and Ellia didn’t have much luggage, so Eric nodded. He extended his hand, asking for their bags, but Ellia and Auric both gave the same answer.
In the end, Eric headed to the hotel with his own luggage.
Meanwhile, Auric and Ellia immediately headed to the supermarket.
"Do you have anything you’d like to eat?" Ellia asked while checking the fruit.
"Something like this?" Auric picked up a cup of noodles. "Since it’s going to be cold, this one should be good, right?"
Ellia put her hands on her waist, staring at him as if she were staring at a kid. "I mean, organic! Do you think I would let you eat something non-organic?"
"Eh?" Auric felt like he was being judged by his mother. She was basically saying the same thing.
"If you want noodles, I can make them for you." Ellia sighed. "There’s no need to bring instant noodles."
"..." Auric looked down. "There’s no need to trouble you then. I will let the chef cook."
"And you are still going to buy that, right? You will convince me that it’s an emergency ration."
Auric scratched the back of his head. "Well..."
"Just buy a few. We’ll also bring some military-grade food. Just don’t eat too much of them. It’s not healthy. If only I had known about your storage, I could have prepared some stew and soup and put it there so we could take it out in the middle of nowhere still piping hot." Ellia went back to look for the fruits.
Auric really couldn’t win an argument against her, not when it came to food and tea.
In the end, they bought quite a lot, which they would put in Auric’s storage.
The next day, Ellia led them to the military base. The military base was located five kilometers away from the city. Despite the location, the road was completely safe. There was no sighting of beasts.
The military base itself had a wall, showing that not only were they serious about maintaining this place but also how long the base had existed.
It wasn’t easy to create a wall. Even all the cities in the country built their walls over the course of several decades. They were prone to attack, which also caused them to slow down.
The fact that this military base had a wall meant they had been stationed here for at least a decade.
The wall itself might not be tall, but it looked sturdy enough to slow down a beast outbreak.
Still, the one that piqued Auric’s interest was not the military base but the towering barrier of the ruins.
Auric couldn’t help but look up. "How many meters is that?"
Lindwurm assessed the ruins. "It’s more important to see how weak the barrier is."
Auric agreed. Judging by the intensity of the elements this barrier had, he realized that a human wouldn’t actually die passing the barrier.
They would at most be lightly injured as long as they passed the barrier fast enough.
Still, as an evolution master, Auric could definitely treat the problem.
As soon as they entered the base, Auric could see a small city. There were some buildings, but none were more than three stories high.
The street was bustling with students who came to this place. The number was so great for the soldiers that they looked like they had a hard time handling it.
The military base had a large field for training, but it wouldn’t be enough to hold all these people. Instead, it looked like they intended to bring everyone to their airfield.
Auric finally reached the plaza. There was a big screen showing what they should do.
[For all participants of the General Hunting Event, please form a team consisting of 5 to 6 people and register yourselves at the booth in the plaza.]
"Should we find some people first?" Auric asked.
"We should." Ellia nodded. "Do you have any preferences?" she asked Auric and Eric
"As long as we can work together, I don’t mind anything. Besides, I’m flexible, so I can adjust my role."
"Hmm..." Ellia thought for a moment.
"Isn’t this Ellia?"
"!!!" Ellia raised her eyebrows and turned around, finding a group of people approaching them. "Jackson?"
"So, you remember me." Jackson smirked.
Auric and Eric couldn’t help but furrow their eyebrows, wondering who they were.
"What do you want?"
Jackson smiled. "Since you’re participating in this event, why don’t you join me? I can carry you."
Ellia glanced at his team. He already had five people in the team. There was one person with a big shield and another person with a sword. The other two seemed to use guns.
With Ellia, the party would become balanced.
Auric couldn’t help but scan their strength. It was no wonder that this guy was confident in carrying Ellia. Jackson, as the leader, was a rank 4 human. He was exceptionally strong. The other four already had adult-form avatars.
Their strength could not be underestimated.
However, Ellia also had her own teams. She shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but I already have my own team."
"Heh? Two pretty boys on your team? You sure you have a team?" A person from Jackson’s team scoffed, clearly looking down on Auric and Eric.
Eric’s eyebrows twitched, while Auric was just confused. He thought he had become quite famous, but it looked like people still didn’t recognize him. But it was actually perfect for him since people would underestimate him.
Ellia just looked at them for a few seconds, as if she were waiting for something. Unfortunately, that something never came.
In the end, she let out a long sigh. "Well, it looks like there is one more reason for me to reject your offer."
"Another reason? So, you have other reasons?" Jackson frowned.
"I do have three reasons, now four. First, do you think I don’t know that you want me on your team so that I can carry your baggage? I don’t intend to work like that.
"The second reason is you. Your team is good, but it’s simply not good enough, at least for this trip.
"The third reason is your attitude. You ask someone to join you, but you keep looking down on that person. Do you think I’m so desperate that I’m willing to throw away my pride just to get carried by someone?
"Last but not least, there’s that guy." Ellia snorted, looking down on the one who ran his mouth earlier.
"Hah?" The guy gritted his teeth, glaring at Ellia.
"See? Even right now, he’s doing his best to antagonize me or the people with me. The fact that he can run his mouth like that while his captain is speaking shows your lack of ability as a captain. You can’t even control your team, or maybe your team doesn’t even respect you." Ellia snorted.
"You..." The guy wanted to snap, but Jackson raised his hand, stopping him. He continued, "That—"
Before Jackson continued, Ellia stopped him by saying, "It’s too late. Don’t you know that first impressions matter? No need to explain yourself. I don’t intend to hear it anyway."
Ellia immediately walked away, not caring about his response.
"Who is he?" Auric asked.
"You know the second-best university in this country? He’s one of the two aces of that university. He came from a humble family, similar to your family and Eric’s, but his talent is quite good to the point where he’s made quite a name for himself. They say he can become a rank 6 human in the future, which means whoever recruits him will eventually have a family head with that ability."
Auric nodded in understanding. "Fair point."
"Do you think that rejecting me like this is okay, Ellia? You can reject me, but there’s no need to humiliate me." Jackson suddenly turned cold. "You may be able to flaunt your wealth, but you yourself don’t have the ability to become someone like your grandfather."
Ellia just wanted to laugh. With Auric here, becoming rank 6 was just a matter of time.
However, she turned back and said, "You shouldn’t humiliate others if you don’t want to be humiliated. If you have nothing else, I plan to leave."
"Do you think someone wants to team up with you, especially bringing those two people with you? You think too highly of yourself."
"It looks like you have nothing else to say. Then, I—" When Ellia was about to leave, Katarina’s voice suddenly interrupted her.
"There are people who are willing to join her group. For example, I am."
"!!!" Jackson couldn’t help but turn to the side, finding an unusual combination.
Katarina came with another person. Even Auric didn’t expect that Vera would actually come.
"Katarina Vasilyevna." Jackson narrowed his eyes.
"You claim to be the ace of your university, but don’t you know that second means the first loser?" Katarina smirked. "What? Do you want a fight? You may have reached rank 4, but I wonder if you can beat me, who is one rank lower than you. Are you willing to try, Ace? I have crushed plenty of people from Geford University, so I don’t mind adding you to the list."
"You..." Jackson gritted his teeth.
"What? Maybe I should pay a visit to Geford University after I become the student council president. Let’s see, crushing all those talents from your university to the point of becoming their nightmare?"
Jackson’s body shook. "Hmph. You are making a mistake. By joining hands with these people, you will end up staining your own name."
"The student council president once doubted my judgment, and he’s now in trouble. This feels like deja vu."
Auric was a bit surprised. He never thought that Katarina would have such a tongue.
When she worked with him, she sounded casual and calm.
Jackson snorted and turned around. "In that case, I will just prove it. I’m going to prepare a banner for your defeat in advance. I will remind the students of Kallarnos University that they’ve truly fallen."
"I’m looking forward to it." Katarina smiled, not feeling pressured.
Once Jackson left, Katarina waved her hand. "Hi again."
"Katarina." Auric nodded. "You’re here as well?"
"I originally intended to participate in this hunt with a randomly assembled party, but I happened to bump into Vera, so I paired up with her. What about you guys? Do you want to team up?"
Ellia thought for a moment. Katarina and Vera were excellent fighters. Besides, Katarina and Vera might be aiming for Auric’s ability. After all, Auric wasn’t just good at battle, but he was an exceptional evolution master.
So, this was a win-win situation.
Ellia turned to Auric, giving him the chance to make the decision.
"We already have three people. If you can accept that, then okay." Auric nodded.
"That’s good. In that case, we’re looking forward to working with you." Katarina shook Auric’s hand. "Once again, I’ll be in your care, Auric."
"Likewise." Auric nodded. "So, are we going to be in the group of five? Or do we want another person?"
Ellia thought for a moment. "Vera and I will be the vanguards. Eric will be flexible. I guess we can find another vanguard first. If we can’t find anyone in an hour, we can register with what we have now."
"Sure. I don’t mind that." Katarina agreed. "Surely, you don’t have any problem with this arrangement, right, Vera?"
"Although I don’t like her, I can still work together with her." Vera nodded. "Besides, I know their skills, so I don’t have any problem."
"Good. The group is set, then. We just need one more—" Katarina suddenly noticed something and turned to the right.
"Hmm?" Auric and the others wondered why she turned her head. To their surprise, they saw a woman running toward them while waving her hands.
"Hi! I saw you guys just formed a group of five. Are you in need of a vanguard? I’m alone."
Auric couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows, not because the person suddenly approached them but because of her strength.
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