Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

28. Race To Doomsday

After discussing the whole case with the villagers, I turned my attention to the three idiots. I understand that it isn't a major matter, but they could have informed me of the situation about the change in ranks! As far as I'm aware, there are special benefits for the squad that ranks first. If we can get our hands on it, we won't have to be on the watch all of the time.

"How come no one informed me?" I asked, my voice firm and direct.

Freya and Dylan looked away as they cowered in fear. Blake was just pursing his lips as he peered at me as if he was trying to figure out what I was talking about. Obviously, I'm not trying to be scary or anything, but I wanted the three of them to understand that they should have informed me immediately. It's not anything that has to be kept secret from me since I don't have a tendency to overreact in such situations.

"You would have been worried..." they replied with low voices.

I let out a sigh. "Everyone has to be aware of all of the important information. You are aware that the situation has become far more dangerous for us, aren't you?" They nodded as if they were children who were being reprimanded by their parents. "Good. Then we must work together to achieve our goals. Secrets are a big no."

"There are no secrets," they repeated what I said.

"Good. Now is a good time for the rest of you to relax. This evening, I'll be on the lookout."

The three of them shot me a worried look. "But, Ivory, you haven't had any sleep yet-"

"Neither have any of you. I'm capable of doing an all-nighter with no problem," I replied as I sat on the couch.

They had their hesitations about what I wanted and were concerned about me, but they immediately obeyed my orders. Meanwhile, Shiro performed a spell on me, preventing me from falling asleep at any time. Even though I boasted about being completely capable of pulling it off, I needed Shiro's assistance. I'm exhausted...and I'm in desperate need of a good night's sleep...but I also want to watch out for them. Also, I've been getting a strange feeling since earlier in the day. This might be a perfect opportunity to find out if my hunch is right.

Before moving towards the window, I took a quick glance at the other three, who were all sound sleeping. Shiro was fast to catch up with me. He most likely got a sensation that something had been following us since earlier in the day. The four of us are most likely being targeted by an assassin, so I've put up a protective barrier around the three, who are sound asleep right now. I made it strong enough to electrocute any unknown presence, aside from the villagers'. If someone I don't know dares to cross it, it's over for them.

As soon as I got to the top of the building, I heard footsteps coming from the right. I activated my power as fast as possible and pursued it at the speed of sound. The person was taken aback by what I did and accidentally slid down the roof. But just before they were about to fall, I grabbed their hands and carried them up to the balcony with me. Shiro summoned a ball of light, which allowed both of us to glimpse the person's face for the first time.

"The man from the Lunatics team...?" I asked, confused. That guy doesn't seem like someone who would try to do such a thing. And his build isn't this...skinny.

Ah, wait. This person is hiding behind a mask to set us all up for a trap. I shook my head, dismayed as I ripped the mask away, ultimately revealing the assassin's identity. Oh, I know who this person is. Her reputation as one of the most feared assassins in the area is common knowledge among people who had entered the ranks. She was always commissioned to take strong people out. And as far as I know, she's never failed. Of course, this encounter aside. Well, none of these assassins can harm my team anyway.

I chuckled when she looked at me with a scowl on her face. "Well, well. I assume you're the one who goes by the name Scarlet, given your vivid scarlet hair, is that correct?" I asked as I pinned her hands above her head.

"f**k off."

"I will if you tell me who sent you here," I told her as I tightened my grip on her wrists.

She whimpered, but she didn't take her eyes off of me. "That's not something you need to know."

"Oh?" I couldn't help but laugh. "What a bad attitude, considering how you're under me. You know what, all you have to do is spit that person's name out, and I will set you free. Unless you like the situation that you are in."

I was worried about her feet having some sort of weapon, so I cast a binding spell on her whole body to protect myself. She's an assassin, so the fact that she would most likely have weapons all over her body means that we must exercise caution if we don't want her to cause any problems. I also cast a paralyzation spell on her that was powerful enough to keep her immobile for at least two days. Even though we have already seized her, we must remain vigilant. I mean, there is a lot of these kinds of guys in this area! We never know when or if we'll be targeted for an assault.

"Are you sure you're not going to interrogate that woman?" Shiro asked, his voice full of confusion.

I flashed a sinister smile on my face. "Freya can do it on her own."

We awaited the arrival of dawn so that the three of us could finally wake up together. I yawned as I realized that the spell Shiro had cast on me was beginning to wear out. Scarlet grinned at me, thinking that I was going to fall asleep. She probably thought that she could escape once I had dozed off. Heh, she's completely wrong. There is a really solid barrier that we've constructed around the room. It won't go away even if I fall asleep, especially since Shiro never sleeps. He can even make the barrier stronger on his own.

Anyway, I figured the others would wake up any minute now, so I prepared to sleep in the meanwhile. Scarlet undoubtedly feels I'm starting to let my guard down, so she tried to throw a blade at me. In return, I threw an ice dagger towards her, which came close to grazing her ear. I smirked when I saw how surprised she was because of what I had done. She might have tried to avoid it, but my daggers will bend their trajectory if I wanted them to. Scarlet's hair had been chopped off, so she chose to sit still after realizing that we aren't rated top in the world for no reason.

"What the heck is that?" Freya asked, her finger pointing towards Scarlet.

"An assassin, to be precise. I found her walking up the roof, so I took her here," I replied while yawning. "I'll leave the interrogation to you because I'm really sleepy. Please be quiet. I want to sleep for three hours, and then we'll get going after that."

"Do you think three hours is enough?" Blake asked as he prepared my blanket.

I was really sleepy, so I didn't respond. I leaped right into the bed and immediately closed my eyes instead. Shiro separated me from the rest of the group by using a barrier since the questioning was expected to be noisy. I need to make the most of my three hours of sleep since it has been over twenty-four hours since I last slept. I'm grateful that I'm still alive in spite of that...

I opened my eyes because the environment had suddenly become hot, and I was beginning to sweat. My attention was drawn to the clock beside us, which showed that it had been precisely three hours since I had gone to sleep. I got to my feet and walked into the restroom to wash my hands. s**t! Several memories flooded back into my consciousness, causing my head to throb painfully. This is certainly Freya's doing! She anticipated that I would visit the bathroom as soon as I woke up and placed a memory shell inside to inform me of what had happened.

Ah, the Sphinx team did send Scarlet to track us down. I kind of understand since we deprived them of their privilege as the former owner of the first rank. They'd probably try to take it back if they were able to get rid of us in some way. Heh, that's just not possible at this point. After a couple more commissions, we'll be on our way to Stellar town to claim our rewards as soon as possible. We've already been advised that everything has been completed and is ready for us.

"What are we going to do about her?" Freya asked, her finger pointing at Scarlet, who seemed to be completely out of it. What the hell did she do to that poor little girl...?

"Hey," I called when I saw her. Even though she stared at me, she did not seem to comprehend what was going on. "Poor little thing..."

"What?" Freya asked when she saw how I looked at her. "I just dug around her past memories to see what she knew! I didn't give her illusions or anything!"

I let out a sigh as I healed Scarlet. "So, Hiro gave you a million coins? I'll double it if you'll just give us a break."

Her mouth dropped open. "How...do you have so much money?" she asked, trembling as she struggled to speak.

"It's probably enough to let her live on an isolated farm," Freya speculated as she draped her arm around my shoulder. "It's a dream come true for her."

I looked at her as if she were insane. "How in the world did you find out that...?"

"I'll take it!" Scarlet exclaimed as she held onto my hands. "I'm not going to bother anybody else any longer! Please hand it on to me!"

She sounded so desperate, and it tugged my heart a little. I'm sure I'm being naive, but it's clear to me that she really wants to live in peace. When she looked at me, I nodded and transferred two million coins into her. Her face lit up as soon as I handed it to her, then she bowed and dashed out the door as if her life depended on it. I sighed and made my way to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast to bring with me.

"What do you mean, you're going to eat it on the way? Isn't that going to be difficult?" Freya asked me when she saw what I was doing.

"It's fine. We have to go."

I crafted a floating tray out of ice so I could place the plate on it. I walked while eating, so people looked at me, amazed. What the heck about this that is so fantastic...? This is something I actually do if we are running late. They act like everything we do is amazing, and it's kinda cringy. I groaned and kept walking, constantly looking at Freya's map.

At the very least, it seems that the cave is a forty-minute walk away from here. f**k, I would have to resort to using my tiger feet. It was too large for me, and I didn't like it, but I needed it for my long hikes. My human feet aren't going to cut it, that much is certain. Also, if we use them, we can go much more quickly. I mean, this is how felines behave in general. The tigress represents me, Freya represents lynx, Blake represents panther, and Dylan represents puma.

"Should we go now?" I asked as I assumed my position.

"Wanna go for a race?"

"Shut the f**k up. I've just finished my meal."

They showed me a sly smirk. "You're saying you can't?"

I let out a sigh. "I swear, you'll come to regret challenging me."

I'm pretty sure that Freya can assist me if my stomach aches, so I'm going to go ahead with it. One of the locals stood in front of us with a flag in his hand, waving at us. As I prepared to take off, I laughed to myself. My leg strength is on the same level as Blake's, so I can't back down. I'm going to show him that I'm superior to him right now.

"Ready..." the lady began but then trailed off. "Start!"

I used every ounce of my leg strength to gain a jump on the competition. Shiro was continually healing us to keep us from falling out of the race. It's a drag when something like that occurs, after all. As Blake approached, I grinned and used even more of my strength to go past him. This jerk moves quite quickly! Even after everyone called him ridiculed him for always being behind me, he continues to level up at a faster rate than I do!

Dylan and Freya arrived alongside the two of us without any warning. I see...no one has any intention of allowing anyone else to win. As I grinned, I was delighted with the turn of events. Even though we have a strange commission ahead of us, we're having a good time out here. Freya used enchantment power to propel herself forward at a quicker rate. The other two did exactly the same thing!

In disbelief, I shook my head and attempted to run quicker by utilizing greater leg power. Shiro was taken aback since he was on the verge of being swept away. But no one was willing to back down! They keep increasing their speed in order to go past me! I swore as I laughed, irritated that they wouldn't allow me to win. They were also laughing as the trees began to get bigger, making it more difficult for us to navigate our way through the forest.

"Come on! Is this an obstacle?!" I shouted.

"It is!"

Despite my grumbling, I pushed myself even harder, straining my legs to their limits. We had a good time till we eventually reached the cave's entrance. I was the first to arrive, but my legs and stomach were completely exhausted. Shiro was trying to heal all of us until we sensed a handful of powerful presences inside the cave. It was on par with the team that is presently ranked sixth. s**t, this is an awful situation. And what's worse is that there are several dozens of them.

"Why did we go on a race...?" I asked. "We're doomed."