Ascension: Online

"Wait… you two are from the same team?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah," Kaze and Ming Yi said, nodding.

"…" I narrowed my eyes, falling silent.

Did that bastard, Elder Zhang… purposely teleport me beside two people who were already in the same team, hoping I would be killed immediately?

I clenched my fists. How sinister indeed… too bad they didn't predict that I held Koroth's secret in my hands, and they severely underrated my strength as well. Even if these two wanted to kill me, they wouldn't be able to.

"… We were supposed to be separated from our teammates, were we not?" Ming Yi asked, rubbing his chin. "Did we just get lucky…?"

Seeing no reason to tell him the truth, I just went along with what he said.

"Yeah, probably. You two could try and kill me right now though, if you are from the same team," I taunted, testing them.

But Ming Yi shook his head.

"If possible, I would like to avoid bloodshed as well. Besides… even if the two of us teamed up, there is no guarantee we can win against you."

"Hm. Wise choice," I replied, chuckling. "Now then… I would say we should head to one of the four zones first, but… where are the maps they said they were going to give us?"

As if on cue, a scroll suddenly materialized in Koroth and Ming Yi's hands, much to their surprise. One appeared in my hands as well, along with a message from my System that read [Obtained Forest Map x1]. We also each received a wristwatch of some sort, which my System just identified as 'Tallying Watch'.

I quickly pulled the map out from my inventory and equipped the wristwatch I just got. It was a digital one, and the number on it currently read 0. I decided that rather than investigating the watch to see what it did, inspecting the map was a better choice.

"Oh… this place is bigger than I expected," I murmured in thought. "Alright… thankfully, there's a little arrow telling us where we are right now…"

To be honest, it would be great if I could just use my System's minimap here, but that would undoubtedly cause these two to be suspicious, so I refrained from doing that.

"Okay, the closest Zone is Zone C, about a kilometer northeast from us," I concluded, rolling my map back up and sticking it in my pocket rather than my inventory for quick access. "According to the map, that's right this way. Let's go."

Saying this, I began walking through the forest, Koroth and Ming Yi following after me. The three of us stuck close together, careful of any signs of Magic Beasts and Monsters roaming nearby. On the way, we came across several, and managed to get the jump on them every time. We split the final blows between the three of us so that we each received the roughly same amount of points in the end, in order to keep things fair. If I wanted to, I could've just forced them to let me take everything, but even a cornered rat would bite a cat — I didn't want to push them too far.

I wasn't confident I couldn't beat them 1v2, but it would be problematic if they attacked me from behind while I was dealing with a Magic Beast or Monster from my front. In order to avoid a situation like that, I still had to somewhat keep them happy or at least satisfied.

By the time we arrived at our destination, the three of us had gathered 26 points in total — I held 10, while they each held 8. I said I didn't want to push them too far, but sneaking in a little advantage like this was still okay. I just had to be careful not to break their bottom line.

All the Magic Beasts and Monsters we've encountered so far have just been Tier Is through Tier IIIs, nothing too strong. With all three of us working together, this was hardly a challenge, and overall, our voyage was successful.

"I think… that is roughly one kilometer," Koroth said quietly, stopping in his tracks and looking around.

"Hm… I don't see anyone else or even any indication that this is a Zone, though…" I murmured, surveying our surroundings.

"There," Ming Yi said, pointing directly ahead of us, causing Koroth and I to both follow his finger with our gazes.

There, a cave of some sort lay with two closed stone doors as an entrance, but rather than being highly-mechanical like the Vault of Corruption, it seemed like a normal cave… a normal cave with doors, anyway. It was well-camouflaged behind some bushes, which was why we hadn't initially noticed it when getting here.

"… Huh," I muttered, before pushing the bushes aside and stepping straight through. The other two followed. Scratching my head as I looked at the cave, I raised an eyebrow and placed my hands on my hips.

"Now, the only question is… how do we get in?"

*****

- Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Forest -

(Hina's Perspective)

Zone C — here we were. I was lucky to have been teleported to a location near this Zone, which was in the southwestern area of the map. I was also quite fortunate to have been paired with a group of friendly female disciples who seemed to want to remain peaceful and form alliances. Naturally, I accepted, though whether the alliance would really be formed would be up to Kaze-kun.

Speaking of… I wonder if he's doing okay…

No, he definitely is. I have confidence.

We appeared to be the first group here, but since there were members from more than one team within the zone, none of us received any points. That could be confirmed by glancing down at my wristwatch, which currently read 7 — from slaying various Magic Beasts and Monsters on the way here. Unfortunately, we didn't run into too many, so I wasn't able to secure too many points for our team.

Currently, the three girls who were grouped up with me, all from different teams, were negotiating who gets to stay here, but I made the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom and withdrew from the discussion. Rather than listening to them argue, finding some Magic Beasts and Monsters to kill was a far better course of action. When they came up with a solution, I could just return and ask to hear it — that's all.

The girls seemed nice, so I doubted they would resolve things using violence or leave me out, but I should still return soon after getting a few points, just in case. It would be a while before they finished their discussion, no doubt, so I had some time.

With my mind set, I set out of the safe Zone in search of some enemies to kill.

*****

"Okay, Koroth, go for it!" I yelled, standing back with Ming Yi as we watched the cave's doors anxiously.

Koroth stepped back a few meters, then suddenly ran forward, building up momentum for his attack.

Right as he reached the doors, he smashed his fist into the solid rock with all his strength, sending a shockwave of air all around him. Ming Yi and I covered our faces in defense.

However, as the dust settled and we blinked our eyes open again, we saw that the door was completely unharmed.

"… What the hell… how strong is that rock?"

"I've broken normal rocks with ease before," Koroth replied. "Chances are… this material has been enchanted."

As if to demonstrate, he picked up a random piece of pebble on the ground and crushed it to pieces in his hand.

As Ming Yi and I walked up closer to him to inspect it closer, a loud clanking sound suddenly signaled the doors opening, one rising up and one sinking down.

"… Well then," I muttered, utterly ashamed of myself. "Now I feel stupid."

"…" Koroth and Ming Yi both were left speechless.

To trigger the door opening… all we had to do was stand in front of it, together.

The most obvious thing to do, yet the one strategy we never tried.

Sighing, I just shook my head and stepped through the entrance. "C'mon… let's forget that ever happened."

The two nodded in agreement and followed me into the stone corridor inside, lit by white lights on the wall, powered by electricity. They definitely did not fit the theme of nature and the forest, but I suppose electricity was a nice thing to have inside a safe Zone.

But right as all three of us stepped inside in relief… we suddenly heard a familiar clanking noise from behind us.

"Wha-!"

Immediately spinning around, I rushed towards the slowly-closing entrance, but the two doors slammed shut tightly before I could make it.

"Damn!" I yelled in anger, punching the rock. It hurt my fist, but that was nothing compared to the dreadful realization I've come to.

Koroth and Ming Yi were still confused as they looked around, but they soon realized as well after hearing the low-pitched growls of hungry, carnivorous beasts. Various holes suddenly opened up in the ceiling and walls around us, and out came small crocodile-like beasts, jaws snapping in anticipation at their prey. Their eyes shone blood red, as if controlled by some eerie power, and the hunger held within them was unimaginable.

I grit my teeth and prepared to run.

"It was a trap... all along."