Six days later.
Theo came out of his mansion after getting notified that the car that would bring him to the Star Group had arrived.
However, the moment he entered the car, at least six people were already there.
He recognized three of them. They were none other than Mark, Kain, and Emma.
"…" Theo blinked his eyes a few times. The car was long, and the seats faced each other as if trying to make the atmosphere cozy and friendly. But Theo saw that the only empty seat was the one next to Mark.
"e in." Kain smiled and asked Theo to sit down.
Emma made a wry smile while Mark slightly moved his position to the side as if he was scared of Theo.
"So, he's the fourth S Rank Talent." One of the Mythical Rank Experts said while observing Theo. Everything about him was white to the point it was easy for Theo to know he had albinism. "I can't see your face nor your hair. Even your aura is weak… You are suspicious."
"Patrick. Don't say something like that." Emma tried to lessen the situation again since Bernard had asked them to do so. After that, she turned to Theo and explained, "This is Patrick, one of the S Rank Talent in the pany. He's the leader of the three of us who will escort you to the special region."
Theo nodded and finally sat down while saying, "Sir Bernard and Sir Hendry don't have a problem with me. If you have a problem, why don't we talk about it?"
Patrick furrowed his eyebrows as if feeling challenged by Theo's words. The tension rose as Emma and Kain prepared to de-escalate the situation. After all, they didn't want Mark's incident to repeat.
To their surprise, Patrick chuckled and said, "Haha. I don't have any problem with you, especially since Sir Hendry personally brought you to the pany. I just want to see what kind of person you are… I guess Mark's defeat was justified."
"Ehm, why do you bring me into this conversation?" Mark timidly asked, afraid of trouble. He wasn't a timid guy previously, but what Theo did inflicted good damage to his heart. At the very least, he didn't want to have anything to do with Theo.
Patrick pointed at Mark while saying jokingly, "Do you know that his rank has gone down? He's now 7th in Asda's Younger Generation List. The number 6th is yours now. But because no one can figure out your real fighting prowess, they can't make you higher."
Theo shook his head. "I don't really care about the ranking."
"Right… Seeing your personality and how indifferent you were when replying to me… I can already see that a mere ranking won't bother you. Still, I can't say the same to other people." Patrick smiled, implying something.
"Are you afraid that others will challenge me in this special region?"
"That's why Sir Bernard personally asked me to escort this time participants, you know." Patrick laughed. The previous tension felt like it never existed. In fact, when Patrick started chatting, there was only a cheerful and lively atmosphere.
"I don't really care about their challenge. As long as they don't stand in my way, I won't beat them." Theo shook his head.
"Unfortunately, all I can do is to send all of you three miles away from the special region because we can't really disturb the monsters inside, lest they e out while bringing a King Class Monster if not World Class. Anyway, as long as you're near me, there won't be any challengers."
"Well, I'll just hide inside the crowd this time." Theo shook his head.
"Yep, that's an option as well. Though, you can beat them inside the mist. It's not like anyone can witness the battle… Just make sure you strip their clothes and remove all recordings."
Theo nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, we'll have four small airplanes with fifty people each. We're moving fast so that the King Class Monsters don't attack us." Patrick thought for a moment. "As for the special region, I participated in that once.
"The pany will lend you warm clothes later… it's going to be freezing, you know. The snow is not that thick, but you will certainly have some problems moving around.
"Don't jump too high because the ice that has melted away is trapped in the air. If you jump too high, your lungs will catch that ice.
"As for the monsters, they're quite strong. At the very edge, you will find level 500 monsters. The deeper you go, the stronger the monster is.
"Also, there's another threat other than the monster. The reason why you're forbidden to venture too deep is that the mist can give you hallucinations. The deeper you enter, the stronger the illusion is.
"That's why there's a chance if you enter too deep, you won't be able to find the exit. These are the few pieces of advice I can give you and Mark.
"Remember your limit, and don't be swayed by your greed."
When Patrick mentioned his name, Mark immediately straightened his back and said, "Thank you."
"You're wele."
On the contrary, Theo didn't thank him immediately. Instead, he looked down and pondered Patrick's words. "Hallucination…"
Patrick squinted his eyes and realized Theo seemed calmer than he thought. "Yeah. I mean, when you are freezing and have zero visibility, your mind will gradually bee crazy… The deeper you are, the stronger the effect."
"Well, I'll be careful." Theo nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem. That's all I can say since I only participated once when I was still a Supreme Rank Expert." Patrick shrugged. "I hope that both of you can survive and get stronger. Get all the items you can find."
Theo and Mark nodded as Patrick started talking about his experience there.
The time passed in the blink of an eye.
They had arrived at the Star Group, where two hundred experts had been waiting for them.
It was also the time Bernard came out to see them off personally… After all, this was a big expedition.
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