Chapter 77 A Variable

At another part of the forest, multiple blurs could be seen as they chased after a black blur.

"Hey liberator! Grant me acknowledgement and stop running away like a coward!"

It was the entourage of Rowan and fourteen adventurers moving at high speeds as they chased after Fredrick's tail.

More than ten minutes had passed since the chase began, and with it, a total of nine adventurers had gotten lost along the way or had given up because speed wasn't their forte. And well, one had his head cut off.

Those that remained were starting to feel the hunt as Fredrick kept taking multiple twists and turns while dodging weapons thrown from behind him.

Rowan was the only one still in peak condition as he gulped down mana recovery potions over and over again from within a spatial ring on his finger. This showed he wasn't an Admiral for nothing.

But even he was frustrated at his current predicament. The bastard in front of him had some really perverted stamina.

How else was he supposed to explain how Fredrick was able to keep a constant distance even after Rowan had tripled his speed since the chase began?

It was why the adventurers were beginning to feel the hunt.

They were running extremely fast, which forced them to maintain peak concentration to avoid all sorts of things from swampy and slippery areas to twisted vines. At the speed they were currently moving, a single delay meant they would be left behind in a flash.

The eyes of the adventurers shone with greed at the sight of Rowan's spatial ring, but when the first attacker had his head cut off in a flash, they quickly suppressed such thoughts and focused on each other instead.

Of course, to make sure the adventurers kept following after him, Fredrick had engineered a series of 'close calls' which he survived by a hair's breadth while also not forgetting to puke blood from time to time, thereby reinforcing the illusion of him being weakened.

As Fredrick led them to the final stage, he looked at the two rings on his fingers.

The first one was white with rune marking etched all over it, while the other was light blue.

The light blue one was a limiter.

As its name implied, its function was to reduce the level of mana one could use.

It was used by people to practice their mana proficiency by giving them a handicap, or sometimes as a trump card.

Using this ring, Fredrick limited his mana to that of an Advanced Knight, and it was very uncomfortable to say the least.

He released it to that of a mid-tier Expert when fighting Rowan, which was why his aura suddenly shot up at set intervals.

The white ring was the second spatial ring Cabrera later bought and handed to Fredrick. The space was four times bigger than Cabrera's and was filled with a multitude of items ranging from food rations to alchemic potions.

It was from here that Fredrick removed small sacks of monster blood, which he then poured in his mouth before puking it out.

This would make sure no one could trace the blood back to him. And because it took a while for monster blood to permeate any odor, Rowan and the rest passed it by without noticing any difference.

It was the same thing with Cabrera and Motavu.

Rowan hadn't noticed, but Fredrick was leading them towards the inner part of the forest, the part that connected to the mountain.

But as Rowan and the rest chased after Fredrick, and Motavu chased Cabrera, another team of players had entered the game and they were hot on Cabrera's tail.

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-Within a large building pack to brim with people in armor-

Among them was one man in blue armor with a sword strapped to his side as he looked at the man kneeling before him.

"Is this true?!" the man in blue asked, obviously alarmed.

"Yes, guild master. I saw it with my own eyes. Mr. Asmund killed Arvin before running off"

"Then, where are the others?!"

"They chased after Mr. Asmund to get revenge, but they sent me here to relay the information and send back up as it seems the Red Wolf guild also has issues with Mr. Asmund"

"Hoh…" The man breathed out as his mind whirred with possibilities.

This was the guild master of the Windless Peaks branch of the White Iron guild.

The man currently kneeling is Lazar, the member of the original team of thirteen with the fastest speed, which was why he was tasked with informing the guild master of what had transpired.

"Arvin…" The man in blue said with a deep sadness in his voice. It was obvious from such a reaction that Arvin and the guild master had history together.

In the next moment, the guild master's face became fierce as he clenched his fist before saying…

"Tell everyone to get prepared in ten minutes. We're going hunting"

"Yes sir" Lazar replied before hastily moving to inform others of the guild master's orders while  also clenching his fists.

'You killed Arvin of all people, so now you're sure to die'

Like so, the members of the White Iron guild all got geared up in armor, much to their confusion.

The guild master had told them to pack their things. They had abandoned the outpost, which was why none of them went out to assist with the snake wave, yet now, the guild leader was going hunting?

It was baffling, but they didn't question orders.

Before long, the guild master appeared in front of the now geared members with another blue armor, one whose quality was a notch higher than the last.

"I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but Arvin is dead"

The guild master paused as he looked at the reactions of his members, which ranged from shock to sadness to grief, as he continued without any room for questions.

"He was killed"

A fuse set off within the hearts of the guild members as they heard such words.

"Now we're going to get payback! With added interest!"

"Teams one to four will follow my lead to hunt down the bastard. Lazar, you will lead us with haste. We cannot let such a man escape"

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"Teams five to seven are to join in repelling the snakes and protecting our property"

"YES SIR!" the guild members hailed.

"Good, now let's move out. We have a target to catch"

Without waiting for a response, he ran out of the building and into the forest with the others running right behind him.

Lazar gave pointers as they moved across the forest with extreme haste, their eyes filled with the light of vengeance.

A variable that neither Fredrick nor Cabrera accounted for had occurred.

The effect of such a variable on the plan is yet to be seen.