Chapter 56: Lizardmen and Lost Skills

—Thump-thump-thump….

The helicopter descended slowly into the crater. Kim Jiyeon looked down, listening to the report coming through her radio. Most of the participants, driven into a frenzy by the Inyong Weed smoke spreading across the island, had fought recklessly and were now incapacitated.

‘A blessing in disguise, perhaps?’ Kim Jiyeon thought.

She had been quite flustered by the fire, but it had actually made things easier.

They had secured the eliminated participants.

“Here’s the list of eliminated participants. They’re all being transported here.”

A guild member handed Kim Jiyeon a list of the scholarship selection camp participants. Those secured after elimination were marked in red.

“Everyone except two teams.”

“Two teams?”

Kim Jiyeon’s eyes scanned the unmarked names: Emma, and Yoo Juju. Their instructors were Shin Hwayeon and Han Ruah.

‘Juju wasn’t affected…?’

“Should we capture the remaining students?”

“No, this is enough. Are they all sedated?”

“Yes, including the instructors.”

The inside of the crater was a wide, open space covered in black volcanic rock, with patches of grass here and there. The opening of the crater was smaller than the space within, so sunlight didn’t reach the bottom. It was shaped like a bottle gourd.

—Thump-thump-thump….

Once the helicopter landed, Kim Jiyeon bent down and stepped out.

A group of figures approached her.

“Welcome…”

The leader of the group greeted Kim Jiyeon.

He wore a black hood that covered him from head to toe, and in one hand, he carried a staff, a symbol of his leadership.

“Nick, it’s been a while.”

Nick chuckled from within the depths of his hood.

“You said you would begin the ritual immediately?”

“That’s right. We can’t postpone it any longer.”

Nick replied in his usual hissing voice.

“We will receive the remaining mana… from you.”

“No, it’s not lacking. Fortunately, we’re right on schedule.”

Kim Jiyeon gestured behind her.

Guild helicopters landed one after another, and guild members unloaded the eliminated participants.

The unconscious participants and instructors were carried away like baggage without resistance.

“48 teams, 96 people. This should be enough for the ritual, right?”

“Hmm.”

Nick seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded.

“Good… you kept your promise, Kim Jiyeon.”

Kim Jiyeon breathed a sigh of relief.

“The promise we made ten years ago… a token of trust.”

Nick opened his palm. A sprig of Inyong Weed lay on it.

“Ten years ago, when you wandered here lost… we too were lost and wandering. Meeting you was truly a blessing.”

“…Is that so?”

Kim Jiyeon took the Inyong Weed and inhaled its scent. It was the same familiar aroma she had grown accustomed to over the past decade.

“Only we… can cultivate this weed.”

“I know. You offered me Inyong Weed in exchange for the mana you needed for your ritual.”

It was the agreement they made ten years ago.

Kim Jiyeon, lost and suffering from phantom pain after losing her arm, and Nick’s group, who had lost their home. Kim Jiyeon agreed to turn a blind eye to their activities and cooperate with their ritual ten years later, in exchange for an unlimited supply of Inyong Weed.

At first, she used it to alleviate the phantom pain, but now, fully addicted, she couldn’t even walk, talk, or think without it.

“I expected to receive mana directly from you… I didn’t expect you to use others as substitutes.”

“…You asked for too much. I would die if I gave you all that.”

Nick required mana, the substance used to activate skills, automatically generated within individuals with Hunter aptitude.

However, Kim Jiyeon couldn’t provide the amount he demanded. It was more than she could handle.

“Kukuk, truly the actions of a villain with no room for excuses.”

Nick chuckled.

“By the way… you are specially invited to the ritual. Would you like to witness it yourself?”

After a moment’s consideration, Kim Jiyeon followed Nick. Nick’s group, all wearing similar black hoods, and the guild members with their prosthetics followed behind them.

Nick ordered his subordinates to move a large rock aside, revealing a hole with a ladder leading down. Heat emanated from the opening.

“It’s… a little warm down there.”

Kim Jiyeon descended the ladder first. As Nick had warned, the heat intensified as she went deeper.

However, the heat was soon forgotten in the face of the astonishing sight that greeted her.

A vast cavern, with lava flowing along the sides, housed the ritual site. Students and instructors were laid out in rows, mana flowing from their bodies along designated paths, illuminating a large magic circle drawn beneath the altar in a vibrant blue.

“Still… insufficient. Only about 30% full.”

On the altar, above the magic circle, were the remains of a massive monster.

A gigantic skeleton, its head almost touching the cavern ceiling.

Even Kim Jiyeon, a veteran of countless Gates, couldn’t help but gasp.

‘What is that?’

Nick had never explained the exact nature of the ritual. Kim Jiyeon was speechless, stunned by the shocking sight.

“What do you think… of our ancestor?”

Nick, who had approached her unnoticed, hissed.

“The scholarship selection camp… a convenient excuse, Kim Jiyeon. Thanks to you, we have gathered high-quality mana.”

Kim Jiyeon flinched involuntarily as Nick’s hand rested on her shoulder.

“Once those who went to retrieve the most important ‘core’ arrive, the ritual will begin.”

“…….”

“Our ancestor… will awaken.”

Kim Jiyeon looked at Nick with fear in her eyes.

Beneath his black hood, his vertically slitted yellow pupils glowed intensely.

“Mmm!”

“She’s asking where you’re going.”

“I said you don’t have to follow me.”

Ruah and her group made their way through the undergrowth, circling the mountainside. Ruah led the way, followed by Juju, Emma, and Hwayeon.

Their destination was, of course, the location of the hidden skill. Even if the camp wasn’t progressing as it did in the original story, the skill’s location, being a developer Easter egg, should remain unchanged.

‘I need to give Juju the skill first, just in case something happens.’ Ruah thought.

There was a chance the camp could be abruptly stopped or that they might be surrounded by a large group.

Anxious, Ruah quickened her pace.

“Teacher, where are we going? Shouldn’t we go to the crater and see what’s happening?”

Juju asked, but Ruah shook her head.

“They wouldn’t leave us behind, would they? So we need to… Heave-ho! We need to get what we need.”

“……?”

After walking for a while, they reached an area filled with rocks and few trees. Ruah scanned her surroundings intently.

‘The marker was a rock split into three parts.’

Even in the game, it had been difficult to find, blending in with the surrounding scenery.

However, luck seemed to be on her side this time, as she quickly spotted the distinctive rock.

Just as she was about to approach it, she stopped.

Hwayeon and Emma were following close behind.

‘What should I do?’

The alliance had held without issue so far, but if they had ulterior motives, they could steal the skill. Especially now, with Ruah practically baggage and Juju at a disadvantage against mages.

‘I feel guilty about this….’ Ruah thought.

She didn’t want to doubt them, but greed could change people. There was no telling how they would react when confronted with a hidden skill.

―Ruah decided to prioritize safety.

“Gosh, I can’t seem to find it.”

“What… what are you looking for?”

Emma, catching up, asked breathlessly.

“Actually, before we started, I heard a rumor that the guild would be airdropping supplies.”

“Really?”

“Mmm?”

The three of them looked at her with wide eyes.

“I think it was dropped around here, but I can’t find it. How about we split up and search?”

“Mmm!”

Hwayeon’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly. She must have been tired of eating only fish skewers.

“Let’s tell each other if we find anything.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Hwayeon and Emma wandered off, scanning the area. Ruah silently apologized to them as they walked away.

“Juju, come here for a second.”

“?Okay.”

Ruah called Juju to the rock split into three.

“Can you break this?”

“The rock?”

“Yeah, I have a feeling there’s something good inside.”

“……?”

Tilting her head, Juju assumed a fighting stance.

She thrust her spiked gauntlet forward.

—Boom!

Another perfectly executed [Wolf Assault].

The rock shattered, revealing a hidden cave entrance.

“Whoa! There was a space here.”

“Let’s go inside.”

The cave curved inward, making it dark. Ruah and Juju navigated the narrow passage, just wide enough for the two of them to pass through.

‘Yes, just as I remembered. If we turn this corner… ’ Ruah thought.

A glowing skill orb, hidden on an ancient altar was missing.

“…Huh?”

The altar was there, just as Ruah remembered, but the skill orb, which should have been resting on top, was gone.

It was a luminous orb, so there was no way she could have missed it.

“Huh? Whaaat?!”

Ruah examined the altar in astonishment.

“This can’t be… Did someone already take it?”

“Teacher, what are you looking for?”

Juju asked, bewildered. Ruah hesitated, unsure how to respond.

She couldn’t exactly say, “I played the original game, and I know the developers hid a skill here.”

“Well, that is…”

“But who made this place? Judging by the dust, it doesn’t seem like it was built for this camp…”

It was a question Ruah had never considered. She assumed the developers had just added some leftover data. But that wasn’t the issue now.

“ I came all the way here for this…”

She felt like crying. Following the athletic meet, things weren’t going according to plan again.

What was the problem? Where did causality go wrong? What snowball effect led to the hidden skill disappearing?

But Ruah didn’t have time to despair.

—Boom!

—Crash!

“?!”

Loud explosions echoed from outside the cave.

Ruah and Juju exchanged glances, then ran back the way they came without a word.

The explosions seemed to be coming from a short distance from the cave entrance.

“Let me go!”

“Mmm!”

It was Emma and Hwayeon screaming. Ruah’s heart sank, and she ran towards the sound, but Juju grabbed her arm.

“Shh.”

Juju pushed Ruah down, gesturing for her to hide behind a rock.

Peeking out from behind the rock, they saw Emma and Hwayeon being restrained by figures in black hoods.

“Who are they?”

They were unfamiliar. They didn’t look like guild members or camp participants.

More importantly—they didn’t look human.

“Tie them up!”

One of the black-hooded figures barked an order in a raspy voice. One of them sprayed smoke at Emma and Hwayeon, rendering them unconscious.

“Shaman, we have the core and two mana vessels.”

Speaking into his phone, he removed his hood.

“……!”

Ruah and Juju gasped simultaneously.

Underneath the hood was the face of a large lizard.

“Teacher, isn’t that a monster…?”

“Y-Yes.”

Ruah nodded, her voice trailing off.

“What is a Lizardman doing here?”