Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: General Quest (2)
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Wooden pillars embedded widely around the rift at its center.
Originally, Yuri hadn't intended to escalate things to this level of a massive construction project.
The reason he'd chosen this place as his base was precisely because it was an ideal environment for hiding quietly.
If the construction got noisy, it'd be like shouting, "Hey, I'm right here!"—essentially abandoning its function as a hideout.
So he'd planned to do the work discreetly enough not to cause a fuss, in a way that no one could tell if it was happening or not.
That had been Yuri's intention.
But his thinking changed once Arin, Poppi, and Teresa joined him.
"Wait? Then why am I... no, why are we even thinking about hiding?"
The thought suddenly struck him, and Yuri assessed their group's strength.
He, Arin, and Poppi alone had once coordinated to take on Black Sword Soldiers.
Sure, those soldiers playing the bear role had limitations, but it still proved they could handle Black Sword Soldiers just fine.
And now they even had Teresa, the top graduate of the 49th Cohort.
Yuri knew her skills better than anyone.
"With this much firepower?"
It was more than enough to deal with the entire 50th Cohort, or even a dozen from the 49th charging in.
That's when it hit Yuri.
"Ah, I see... I've still been thinking like I'm on my own when it comes to the construction."
Of course, that was the standard he'd used for picking bases.
Most of his actions had been gauged by "what I can handle solo."
It stemmed from never having any sense of camaraderie before.
But after teaming up with Teresa, Arin, and Poppi, that "solo standard" had started to shift a bit.
Realizing this, Yuri changed his mindset.
"I shouldn't have been aiming for some puny little hideout from the start."
That would waste the rare powerhouse lineup they'd assembled.
Not just a mere hideout—it needed to surpass that, turning into a fortress suited for battling even overwhelming foes.
A structure that fully leveraged the abilities of their current members.
"Overwhelming enemies charging in..."
At that point, Yuri grinned.
Conveniently, didn't they have the perfect guinea pig?
That geezer who'd barged in like it was his own home and vanished like the wind.
"Heh heh heh, you're toast, old man!"
Of course, a fortress at this level couldn't do much against Yohan, who leaped through the skies.
"But if I make it just right... I can at least startle him."
And anything that could startle Yohan would snap the necks of other intruders before they knew what hit them.
That was the first reason he'd expanded the construction scale.
The second reason also tied back to Arin, Poppi, and Teresa.
"Learning martial body arts has made them all so tough."
Not just him—even Arin, who focused on archery, had stamina beyond normal humans.
Arin alone had strength and endurance several times that of an ordinary person.
Especially Poppi, specialized in power and stamina, was handling the work of dozens or hundreds in tasks like this.
As a result, the four of them—Yuri, Teresa, Arin, and Poppi—had accomplished in three days what would take hundreds of normal people over a week.
In other words, those who'd mastered martial body arts were top-tier labor for construction.
So how could Yuri resist expanding the project?
"This might finish faster than I thought."
It was still just laying foundations, but at this pace, they'd wrap up in under ten days.
All he had to do was keep these premium workers fueled and moving smoothly.
Gazing at the steadily growing forest of massive wooden pillars, Yuri called out loudly.
"Let's eat and get back to it!"
Seeing three pairs of ears perk up at his voice, Yuri beamed.
"Eat plenty and work hard, my... friends!"
Thanks to the efforts of those slaves—no, friends.
Exactly six days later.
A bizarre space enclosed by towering trees emerged in the northern sector of the North District.
* * *
The day they finished the fortress foundations.
Yuri headed out after a long while.
His sole aim: grinding points.
Seeing this, Arin and Poppi marveled, "He has tons of points but won't even rest."
But they didn't know the half of it.
"Where do I have points left?"
Yuri's point balance was already drained dry from those luckbox gambles.
February was short to begin with.
And with ten days sunk into foundations, only 18 days remained.
The end-of-month evaluation and next month's special sale were closing in.
"It's gonna be tight."
So Yuri had to jump into quests right after finishing the foundations.
He'd suggested Arin and Poppi join, but...
[I'm hungry!]
[You have plenty of points, so why bother? We're resting! Don't interrupt—scram!]
They recoiled, waving him off frantically.
Instead, an unexpected companion flanked Yuri: Teresa.
The reason they moved together stemmed from Teresa's morning proposal.
[If you're doing general quests, there's one perfect for you. Pays more points than most generals. I was heading there anyway... wanna come?]
Yuri had no reason to refuse.
That's how they'd set out together for the quest.
But as he noted their direction, Yuri tilted his head and asked.
"Where are we going? Don't we need the circular arena for quests?"
Teresa shook her head slightly.
"Not all general quests work that way. The one we're doing can be picked up on-site."
"Oh? Huh, fair enough. But can Tetsha-senpai and I do a quest together?"
"Strictly speaking, we're not doing the quest together."
"Then?"
"It's just that the place we're heading has a quest facility for 1st- and 2nd-years jointly."
"So we're travel buddies. How far?"
"Not far. Be there soon."
With that, Teresa picked up her pace again.
Yuri scurried alongside and prodded.
"So what's this quest we're picking up?"
"It's about 15 years old, difficulty from two stars to seven..."
"Two stars? Seven stars?"
"...That's the general quest rating. Figure out details later. And if you keep interrupting, I won't tell."
"Got it, zipping it."
Yuri playfully sealed his lips, drawing a small sigh from Teresa before she continued.
"The quest we're going for is called Mechanism Breakthrough. It measures how fast you clear a 50-meter trap mechanism."
Quest name: Mechanism Breakthrough.
To accept it, head to the designated spot by year; four facilities dotted east, west, south, and north from the circular arena.
Teresa explained theirs—the one shared by 1st- and 2nd-years—was to the north.
Yuri's eyes lit up in understanding.
"So that's why you said it was perfect for me."
"Right."
Teresa nodded.
From what she'd seen, Yuri trained in high-agility martial body arts like her.
And for such arts, trap mechanism quests were a natural fit.
Just as they were for her.
"You'll rank high no problem."
"Rank?"
Teresa paused as Yuri cocked his head, about to explain further.
"Almost there. You'll get the details on-site."
"Fine by me! But hey..."
"......?"
"Why the sudden generosity?"
"Huh?"
"Normally you'd charge sparring fees for this info? Today you're spilling freely."
"...Just because. Gotta have days like this sometimes."
That was Teresa's answer to Yuri's question.
But her real motive was different.
'I want to know.'
Teresa, sparring with him daily, knew better than anyone how fast Yuri was.
But until now, it'd just been a vague sense of speed.
She wanted specifics.
How fast was Yuri exactly?
How much faster than her?
That's why she'd brought him here.
This quest would let her gauge it intuitively—his speed, the gap between them.
Brushing off such inner thoughts vaguely.
Teresa and Yuri finally arrived at the Mechanism Breakthrough site.
Yuri's lips pursed in mild awe at the sight.
"Whoa."
A massive cliff filled his view.
Twenty-one holes pocked its face, with intricate staircases leading to each.
About thirty people clustered at its base.
Yuri pointed and asked.
"Those the trap entrances?"
"Yeah. See the clock button by each? Press to start, clear it, press again on exit—your time gets recorded."
As if on cue, a man at one cave mouth hit the button and dashed in.
Teresa and Yuri halted to watch.
Some two minutes later.
He burst out and stopped the clock.
Panting hard as he checked it, Teresa jabbed a finger his way.
"Like that."
"Doesn't look tough."
"Nope, not really."
"Then what's that? That entrance."
Yuri indicated the cliff's peak.
One entrance stood out from the rest.
The other twenty were green, but this one was solo red.
And sealed behind an iron door, no less.
Teresa knew exactly what he meant.
"That's..."
She was about to explain when.
"Go for it!"
"You can do it!"
"We believe in you!"
Cheers erupted chaotically from below.
A boy, fueled by them, started climbing the stairs boldly.
Layer by layer.
Up relentlessly until he reached the red cave mouth Yuri had spotted.
Teresa's brow furrowed faintly.
"50th Cohort?"
"Seems like."
"...No wonder it's extra crowded today."
Smoothing her frown, Teresa let out a faint, regret-tinged sigh.
Meanwhile, the boy at the red cave pressed the clock button solemnly.
Then.
Grgrgrgr—.
The iron door rose, revealing a dark passage.
Gripping his sword, the boy charged bravely inside.
That's when Teresa spoke.
"Remember what I said earlier?"
"What?"
"The difficulty jumps from two to seven stars."
"Yeah."
"The reason it spikes like that... is that."
"That?"
Yuri kept his eyes on the red entrance as he asked.
Teresa continued without fuss.
"The green caves are risky too, but stay calm and focused—you can clear them. Bad luck might mean serious injury, but usually it's minor stuff. But..."
She trailed off.
Grgrgrgr—thud!
At the cliff's summit.
The red cave's iron door slammed down abruptly, sealing the entrance in a flash.
Onlookers below stirred in shock.
"W-What's that? Why'd it close?"
"Charlie? Charlie hasn't come out!"
Those who'd come to cheer Charlie exchanged panicked glances.
But the entrance stayed shut no matter how long they waited.
"No way... Charlie..."
Someone realized and yelled.
"H-He died?!"
Teresa's explanation followed the scream.
"...That red entrance cave—you might survive if you're lucky."