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Since the description of the three modes wasn't very detailed, and Emilia's suggestions so far had only led to good results, everyone quickly agreed.
The guide lady smiled. "Well then, which one of you would like to go first?"
"I'll go!" Robin grinned in excitement as she handed over one gold coin. "Adventure sounds like fun!"
The poor girl completely failed to spot the amusement in the guide lady's smile as she was led to what appeared to be the entrance of a cave.
"Your score in the [Adventurer's Challenge] will depend on how many treasures you can find inside, as well as how many traps you can avoid. Of course, if you die or take too much damage, the challenge will fail immediately." The guide lady giggled, and before Robin could respond, she was directly pushed in.
Nico couldn't help but be a little worried. "Uh… will she be okay?"
The entrance of the cave was too dark and mysterious, and it seemed like no light or sound could make its way through it. Of course, only Emilia knew that this was actually a simulated dungeon.
Every 'instance' inside was completely isolated, and only the 'team' that entered could know what happened inside. Even the streaming function wouldn't work anymore, though people could still 'record' videos if they so wished, and share them later, after exiting the dungeon.
But what made the 'dungeons' really amazing was the fact that people could spend days or even months inside, and realize that only a few minutes might have passed after they leave.
Not everyone could cope with it, and Emilia knew that some might even completely lose their minds if they spent too much time inside a dungeon. But by the time such things started happening, people's greed for power had already been stoked, and such 'minor details' simply didn't matter anymore.
Compared to the [Ranger's Challenge] and the [Warrior's Challenge], the [Adventurer's Challenge] was definitely much more difficult, but there was a reason Emilia picked it for Robin and Nico.
As their dedicated 'Scout', the experience of discovering traps and treasures that Robin would be able to gain from this simulated dungeon would definitely help them a lot, after all. As for Nico… well, she simply wasn't suitable for either of the other challenges, so Emilia thought sending her to this one would at least help fortify her mind.
The guide lady coughed. "It might take a few minutes for her to come out. Are you all sure you would like to wait?"
Of course, Danielle and the others were a bit skeptical of her words.
Although Robin was a bit reckless sometimes, there was no way she would be stupid enough to just rush in and get destroyed even after she'd been told there might be traps inside.
But all their doubts were cleared when the big display above the entrance of the mysterious cave suddenly lit up.
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[New Adventurer 'Robin' has scored 411 points!]
—Score Breakdown:
-Treasures Found: 3 [300 Points]
-Traps Disarmed: 0 [0 Points]
-Traps Avoided: 12 [120 Points]
-Damage Taken: 97 [-9 Points]
[Adventurer 'Robin' (Rogue, Demon) has been ranked 84,512th based on her results!]
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Of course, since she failed to get to the rank required to get a 'refund' or a prize, the one gold admission fee was lost, and Robin couldn't help but be a little down.
"The treasure chests I got inside were empty too… what a loss." She sighed. "Sorry."
Emilia patted her shoulder with a comforting smile. "Don't worry. Didn't each of us gain almost two gold coins from farming those tentacle demons? Just think of it as a necessary learning expense."
Despite her encouraging words, though, the morale of the party had clearly taken a hit, and Nico even refused to waste any gold attempting the same challenge.
"Since Robin can only get that kind of rank right now, I'll definitely do worse." She coughed. "Anyway, I, Nico, am a healer. Not a fighter. Going in alone doesn't suit me."
Crystal knew that Emilia only wanted them to learn, and didn't mean to discourage the team at all, so she quickly stepped forward to help out. "Let me give that [Ranger Challenge] a try, then. Maybe it'll be easier?"
Of course, the guide lady was more than happy to take her fee and lead them to the 'Shooting Range'. Unlike the [Adventurer's Challenge], it was obvious that everyone could see the 'progress' of the challengers here, which made both the Crimson Witches and the audience watching them very happy.
"The rules are simple. Just shoot down as many elemental birds in front of you as you can. And if you fail to down one for ten seconds straight, the challenge ends."
Crystal quickly took out her [Starlit Bow], her expression determined.
She wasn't quite sure how far she could go, but in order to restore the team's confidence, the blonde girl knew that she had to at least get within the top thousand.
The first few 'birds' that appeared in front of her were large and easy to shoot, and they couldn't even fly. Waddling around at just a few meters of distance, Crystal felt like she could shoot them down with her eyes closed.
[Earthen Target Bird (Large)] Killed, +1 point
[Earthen Target Bird (Large)] Killed, +1 point
.
.
.
[Earthen Target Bird (Medium)] Killed, +2 points
[Earthen Target Bird (Small)] Killed, +3 points
Crystal didn't have much trouble shooting the birds down even when they grew wings and started to fly around, but the rest of the team couldn't help but be nervous.
"They seem to be getting smaller and smaller, and faster too…" Danielle frowned. "And the increasing difficulty doesn't feel linear at all."
What worried them the most was the fact that all of these birds seemed to have some secret 'hitpoint' value that Crystal needed to empty before they could be considered killed, and the amount of damage taken varied based on where they were hit, too.
Although her aim had improved a lot through practice, and Crystal was definitely talented, she still had to take multiple shots whenever she missed, and there was rarely enough time for her to use her ranger skill 'Focus Shot'.
To make matters worse, the earth element birds were incredibly resistant to Crystal's 'Light' element, so infusing it into her arrows also didn't help.
Emilia could only cheer her on from the side. "You're doing well, Crystal! Keep it up!"
"Yeah!"
"You can do it!"
Unfortunately, despite all their cheering, Crystal's final rank was even worse than Robin's, but that was no surprise.
After all, since the amount of damage dealt mattered in this challenge, taking it at only level thirteen inherently meant that Crystal wouldn't be able to get too far.
The blonde girl was obviously disappointed and sad, but Emilia was able to easily cheer her up with a hug.
"You did amazing! If your arrows had been dealing more damage, getting into the top ranks would have been easy." She grinned.
Of course, the whispered thank you in Crystal's ears made her happier than all her praise, which she knew was meant mostly for the rest of the team to hear.
Crystal's actions were clearly far from fruitless.
"I'll go next, then." Sylvia nodded, her expression determined.
She knew that getting into the top thousand or the like was impossible, but that wasn't really her goal.
All Sylvia wanted to know at the moment was how she compared with Crystal, after all.
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