Chapter 58: Chapter58-Invisible Barrier

'Alright, job's done. Now, let's get out of here.'

Just as I was about to move away from Lia, a message popped up in front of me, grabbing my attention.

[Ding, Congratulations, host! Hidden Quest: [Cucked Lia's secret fiance] has been completed!]

[Objective complete: 1/1.]

[Ding, Congratulations, Host! You've acquired 20 Quest Essences from the Hidden Quest, and they have been added to your Character Profile!]

[Ding, Congratulations, host! Normal Quest: [Pussy Lover] has been completed!]

[Objective complete: 1/1.]

[Ding, Congratulations, Host! You've acquired 220 Quest Essences from the Hidden Quest, and they have been added to your Character Profile!]

No way! She was engaged...

I stood there, speechless.

I couldn't believe it.

I never expected her to be engaged to someone in the first place.

Now that I think about it, I did see a white ring on her finger before, but I thought it was just another fancy ring.

Who knew it was her engagement ring?

I really didn't know.

I tried to justify myself even though I knew it was no use.

When my head was getting messed up from all those justifications, I tried to calm myself down.

Calm down, Michael, calm down.

Think carefully.

It's not your fault; you didn't know.

What can you do now?

You've already committed the forbidden act.

The word "secret" from the quest clearly meant the ceremony must have been conducted in secret.

So, how could I have known?

I touched my temples and, after a few minutes of massaging, I muttered, "So, without knowing, I messed with another guy's fiance."

"Urghh..."

After grumbling for a few more minutes, I finally let it go and went to bed to get some sleep.

***

And, just like that, Four more days and nights passed until something mysterious happened on the fifth day.

I was sitting in a chair under the scorching afternoon sun, diligently sharpening my daggers.

For the past four days and nights, I'd been hunting down stray zombies that had escaped my earlier attacks, gathering their essences.

It seemed like another ordinary day until two loud roars broke the silence.

"What the heck?" I muttered. "Those roars, aren't they coming from those abominations?"

Why are they roaring all of a sudden?

In the last four days, I've been up on the rooftop, consistently fighting off zombies.

During that period, these creatures remained silent, wandering the corridors without paying any attention to the zombies I was killing.

I initially thought they were acquaintances, but I guess they're not.

Honestly, for a moment, I thought they were robotic guards programmed to patrol the corridor rather than monsters.

I mean, look at them. What kind of monsters stay quiet and locked in a room while others are fighting all around?

Curious and alert, I quickly stood up, rushed to the rooftop's edge, and peered down to see what was happening.

There, much to my surprise, I saw the two abominations emerging from deep within the building.

Huh? Why are they coming out?

Then, they suddenly dashed to the entrance of the high school and quickly went outside without even glancing at me, even though I was clearly visible from the rooftop.

What's going on?

They didn't even glance in my direction.

The safe zone becomes smaller, leading to a...

Nah, nah..

Doesn't this mean that this barrier will also get smaller?

Given that it suddenly appeared out of a think air, it is hard to predict but, this might be most likely scenario.

If it does, then I'm doomed because in the end, the zone will be very small, causing a large-scale battle with monsters, and these will be high-rank types.

Darn it, what should I do now?

Sitting and waiting is not an option.

Fighting the monsters is an option, but if a monster like an Abomination appears, I can only escape by using a dash kill.

However, if the zone becomes too small by then, I might not be able to escape, leading to a life-and-death situation that could end up in my opponent's favor.

So, I'm not choosing that either.

After thinking for a few seconds, I finally came up with an idea that might help me survive: regroup and hide with others.

Besides me and Lia, there should be many guests who got transported here, and surely at least two or three higher ranks among them.

If I regroup with them and stay low, when they fight the stronger monsters, I can easily escape their battle and shift the pressure onto my team.

They might be mad at me if they survive the battle, but there's also a chance they might get wiped out.

But what if I pretend to be injured and stay out of the fight?

During the battle, I could try to get injured by a low-rank monster and step ou-

Oh, wait!

They might have healing potions like me, so they could heal me, which would ruin my plan...

Forget it...

All these ideas are risky, and if not done correctly, they might fail.

If I keep thinking like this, I won't come up with any ideas.

Let's regroup with the others first and then make a plan.

I immediately turned back and headed toward the previous place. Sometimes I bumped into the invisible walls, but I didn't mind since it was hard to keep track of where they were.

When I got back, I saw Lia waiting for me.

As soon as she saw me, she started to say, "Michael, the wall is"

I cut her off mid-sentence. "I know, I know what you are going to say, so please don't say it. I already know about it."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Do I look like a dumb idiot to you?" I snapped.

"No, no, I was just asking," she replied quickly.

But still, I overheard her part of the conversation to confirm if I was on the right track.

After hearing it, I realized I was correct, as she relayed the same information I had gathered a few minutes earlier, but in less detail.

"Pack your stuff I mean, get ready. We are leaving this place."

"But where should we stay?" she asked, sounding worried.

"There are many places out there, so just do it fast," I said.

She nodded and hurried off to gather her things.

I took a moment to collect my thoughts, making sure I was in a good state of mind.

In the last few days, I hadn't slept much because I wasn't used to sleeping in strange places, especially on a bench instead of a comfortable bed or sofa...

Which is why It was important for me to check my mind...

I didn't have a headache at the moment, and that was a relief.

Then, I turned my attention back to the current situation.

We didn't have much time to waste.

Once we were ready, we moved out together, carefully navigating the maze of invisible walls.

"We need to find the others and regroup," I said. "We'll be safer in a larger group."

She nodded in agreement.

With that, we departed from the school building and headed towards the inner city to find the others.