Chapter 71 Some Of The Truth, More Questions

Surrounded by a vast forest filled with towering trees and lush greenery, Lucas found a safe spot to take a rest.Exploration was enjoyable and thrilling—until you encountered a beast that can end your life in a heartbeat.

Knowing the danger, Lucas did not hastily move around.

The safe spot he found was even just a few meters away from where he was thrown out by the dungeon earlier.

He had already determined that the area he was in was somewhat safe. His crash earlier must have produced a lot of sounds. If there was any beast around, they should have already arrived awhile ago to finish him off—at least, the risk here was significantly lower than venturing out without a proper plan.

Not to mention that he was injured and had not properly assessed his situation yet, so he decided to just stay in this relatively safe area until he figured everything out.

Staying in the same spot was not viable, as the smell of blood might have attracted some beast. Hence, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he moved a few meters away. It was relatively near the area he crashed out, but not too near that he could easily be discovered by any beasts that decided to check the trail of blood he left behind.

Considering his recent experience, though, Lucas doubted if the safe spot he found was truly a safe spot.

However, having no other choice, Lucas could only make do with this spot for now.

As he settled down, Lucas began to assess his situation and what he must do next.

Getting thrown out of the dungeon was unexpected, even for him. It creates a lot of variables, so even though he made a lot of plans, he did not think that he would be thrown out, as he had never planned on staying inside the dungeon for too long due to the fear of getting thrown out.

Although it still happened in the end and he did not like it even one bit, Lucas was still grateful as it worked out in his favor in the end.

The time that he was thrown out was also a little earlier, though. He knew for a fact that he had not passed the twenty-four-hour limit yet.

He entered the dungeon yesterday at around nine in the morning.

He was discovered by the bird beast around dawn inside the dungeon.

Time inside the school-regulated dungeon and the outside world was the same, so by the time he was forcibly thrown out, it should still be around five to six in the morning, far from the deadline.

There should have been no way for him to get sent out of the dungeon at that moment, as he had not passed the twenty-four-hour limit yet.

The only reason that he could think of that had affected it was the Boundary Fog that had somehow managed to touch him while he was meditating. There was no record about such instances that he had read before, though, so he was not sure about this assumption of his.

This just adds to the many reasons why one should not get close to the Boundary Fog and another reason why it should be feared.

Although it was harrowing, Lucas was still somewhat grateful that it had touched him; otherwise, he would not have been thrown out of the dungeon earlier than expected.

If he had not been thrown out at that exact moment, he would have already died in that dungeon in the hands of that senior... Asher.

Speaking of Asher, Lucas could not help but tremble in fright as he recalled his face.

The cold eyes that spoke murder and the way he ruthlessly attacked and tried to kill Lucas without any kind of explanation sent shivers down Lucas' spine.

He was once again awoken to the fact that he was now in a different world.

The government might have shown a lot of propaganda about humanity branding together to fight the beast, how humanity was extremely united, and how everyone should protect each other in this darkest of times, but the truth of the matter was actually far from the ideals they portrayed.

Though Lucas had some awareness of it, he never imagined that someone like Asher—no, someone like 'them'—could exist in his own school.

The motives behind their actions were still unclear for Lucas.

However, he already had some guesses about their plans, and he was at least eighty percent sure about it.

The strange happenings inside the dungeon, the sudden and frequent deaths of the other students, the sudden rampage of the Ember Ants, the cage he saw in the decaying field, the Cliff Borne Ram, as well as that bottle that he picked up.

All of it makes a lot of sense to Lucas now that he thought about it.

All of it points to the fact that the seniors like Asher were targeting the students, or more precisely, the newly awakened students like Lucas.

Their plan was extremely simple and somewhat crude. It was to capture some strong beast, hide them in selected areas that the second years would eventually venture to, and then let them rampage to kill the students. Continue your saga on empire Sёarᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The areas they selected were a little dangerous for the current second-year students. However, after a week or so, the second-year students would already be strong enough to venture towards those areas.

And it just so happens that around a week from now, the second-year students will have their competition. And that competition would be held inside the dungeon, where they would compete on who would gather more points that depended on the number and strength of the beasts they killed.

The perfect place to get points in that competition was by venturing into deeper areas to slay stronger beasts. The Ember Ant's area, the White Stone Cliff, the Decaying Field, and even the Giant Dark Forest were one of such areas that housed those stronger beasts.

There were still some areas with the same setting, but those four were the ones closest to the Safe Area, and hence, would most likely become the second-year student's target.

There was also that bottle that Lucas found in the cave where the Cliff Borne Ram was hidden and restrained.

He picked up that bottle because he thought that it was a little familiar. And he was indeed right in that regard.

He only recalled it after seeing Asher's face. Seeing Asher's face made him recall Senior Ethan. At that moment, he recalled where he had seen that kind of bottle.

From what he could remember, that bottle was used to store medicine that could help heal beasts' injuries after a long period of consumption.

Asher and his group must have put the same medicine in front of the Cliff Borne Ram so that it could heal its injuries after a week to face the second-year students that will participate in the competition.

At that time, the second-year students and their beasts might have already become much more powerful; however, they should still not be able to face the Cliff Borne Ram should it go into rampage.

And this was just the case in White Stone Cliff.

If the beasts prepared in other areas were stronger... Lucas did not know just how many of his classmates would survive this setup. Perhaps only geniuses like Hector and some others would be able to survive.

If their plan succeeded, they would be able to kill a lot of students without even taking the blame at that, as it would just look like those beasts were on a sudden rampage.

That angle would be investigated for sure, but who was to say if they would be discovered in the end?

Their plan was somewhat crude and seemed to be a little hasty, but if no one was aware of it, the effectiveness would surely shoot up the charts, and they would accomplish their goals without a hitch.

Lucas had already managed to spoil one location, but what if they just set up another one? Lucas wanted to report it to the authorities, but unfortunately, he could not do so at the moment.

His phone was damaged, and he did not even know where he was sent by the dungeon gate.

How far was he exactly from Twilight City? In which direction should he go?

If he was somehow sent to a dangerous area, though, could he even return alive? And even if he did, would he still arrive in time to warn everyone of the upcoming disaster?

Lucas shook his head as there was a lot to think about.

He does not want to play the hero, but the thought of his classmates getting killed just because he had done nothing just doesn't sit right with him.

He, at least, wanted to try and save them, even if they treated him badly these past few days.

It was not even about morality or whatnot; he just doesn't feel right if he does not try.

'Sigh! Am I even in the position to think about such a thing? I should save myself first before I try to save others, right?'

Knowing that he could not do anything about it at the moment, Lucas got rid of those thoughts and decided to check on Spot's situation first.

Right before they were thrown out of the dungeon, he vaguely recalled that Spot had somehow awakened a new skill. He was curious to see what kind of skill it was and if his rank had indeed increased from that incredible feat.