Chương 88: Protect Me

3 minutes and 30 seconds had passed since the Hall Skeleton was sent out for scouting. Sitting at the edge of the vast crater, Arthur scrolled through the search results. The volume of the results was simply enormous. He did not expect the results to be this massive. Looking at the variety of Skeletons listed, it seemed that every Profession could be hired through the Faunite Crystal. This placed another layer of mystery on the Crystal. Why was it so expensive?

Why was the Nether-Realm willing to accept it as a contract payment? Furthermore, it was a payment for a Great Grand Master! One had to know, a Great Grand Master was equal to a human at the Seven Core layer existences that were considered gods within the Ariety world. Even though he had intended to spend the Faunite Crystal out of frustration and dread just a second ago, Arthur was reluctant to spend it after seeing these results. He could not explain it.

The urgency and his dire current situation should have outweighed this reluctance. It did not make any sense at all. Having a Skeleton worthy of the Seven Core layer hunt and protect him from his enemies should have been the absolute priority. Yet, his heart firmly insisted on not spending it. Arthur took his eyes off the translucent screen. He looked at the horizon as the orange sun slowly moved up.

Taking a few long breaths to organize his thoughts, since he had abandoned the idea of taking revenge on his enemies, he had to prepare for what came after the timer hit zero. To do so, he needed to hire some strong Skeletons. This decision would not only help with what came after the timer ended, but a Great Grand Master Skeleton, which was equal to the Omega Standard, would be very useful to kill the Omega monster after reaching the center of the trial. Just thinking about it brought joy to his heart.

After all, this was the biggest obstacle he had to face in order to exit the Trial. With that joyful thought, he continued to check the list to see which one would be best. He had more Crystals now than what he had found in the Ant King Chamber when he was scammed by the Notebook. Back then, it had taken all the Crystals just for a mere Beginner Skeleton. Although he felt a little disappointed, he did not disdain Skeleton Zero. It was a very capable and useful skeleton.

This time, he would not blindly place the Crystal in front of the Notebook for it to take. First, he would choose which skeleton he wanted to hire. Then, he would summon Sheba, the Butcher Skeleton, whom he had specifically assigned to take care of the Crystal. I may have to choose a Swordsman Skeleton, Arthur thought. Of all the combat professions, he bet the Swordsman would be the strongest in combat. This was just his speculation based on the knowledge he possessed; he could not concretely say anything.

Just to be sure, Arthur readjusted the filter to see what other Professions were available. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Sorcerer. That was a good Profession, but did it come under combat professions?

"Sorcerers are similar to the Elementalist Class," Arthur muttered. [Worker Status] Name: Dolby Designation: Sorcerer Specialist: Coin Professional Status: Great Grand Master Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 150, 000 Credits Contract Payment: Faunite Crystal While scrolling down, he noticed a Skeleton with a weird Specialty. Coin Sorcerer? What kind of Sorcerer was that? The Sorcerer profession mostly had Fire, Ice, Wind, and Lightning. These were very standard Elements that anyone received as Mage Class.

But this skeleton was different. As he scrolled down more on the list of Sorcerers, he found more weird Specialist categories like"Reflection Sorcerer", "Rust Sorcerer", and"Rule Sorcerer". Arthur was very much interested in these Skeletons and their Abilities. However, he could not quench his interest right now. Currently, he was in a dire situation to save himself from this trial and, probably, all the people.

However, just when he was about to readjust the filter to change back to Swordsman, Arthur's head turned back. Instinctively, he stood up as his eyes gazed toward the Safe Spot. Arthur looked up. The time showed 32. 7! If he were to calculate the timing from the Hall Skeleton's departure time, it was exactly 5 minutes and 30 seconds. The Skeleton was supposed to be entering into the Safe Spot's main chamber at this time. The question was, why had the skeleton dismissed itself within 30 seconds?

Did it collect all the data within 30 seconds? Surprised, at the same time, a strange feeling started to permeate the bottom of his stomach. Without any thought, he summoned the Hall Skeleton. When the Skeleton came out of the magic circle, the strange feeling in his stomach exploded all over his body! In the next second, he dismissed the skeleton and dashed toward the crater slope. He wanted to run as far as possible! Arthur's legs started to wobble. His heart beat faster than ever before.

He needed to move away before anyone came looking for him! With his improved constitution, his body blurred between the jagged rocks of the crater. However, before he could run half the distance to the center of the crater, Arthur felt a presence in the sky. Arthur's legs gave way. Crashing into the ground, he scrambled to hide behind a big protruding rock. The trembling of his body did not stop; it only increased with every passing second. He could feel this presence in the sky. It was strong!

It was stronger than anything he had ever seen since he awakened. Arthur wanted to dig a hole under the rock and bury himself, but would doing so help him escape this danger? He stayed behind the rock for 30 seconds before he gathered the courage to see what the figure was doing. With trembling teeth, Arthur craned his head to the side of the rock. His eyes landed on the figure suspended in the air. In the dim morning light, he could not make out who it was. All he could see was a shadow. But then, he saw the eyes!

The moment Arthur looked into them, his body froze as an uncontrollable fear permeated his heart. The eyes were glowing red, just like the eyes from his dream! Arthur wanted to escape. With a trembling hand, he opened the marketplace to select the Skeleton on the list. However, before he could do that, he felt a few more presences appear. He did not know how he could tell, but there were multiple figures in the sky! Arthur gasped for air, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm in his chest.

He clutched his chest with one hand. With a single intent, he summoned Sheba and the next second he received a message. [Contract Payment Successful.] At the same time he got the message, all the presences in the sky focused toward a single location. That was where Arthur was currently hiding!,, Arthur felt he was found. He felt the presences that were away from him now starting to come closer. With great effort, he summoned the Skeleton he had hired a second before and gave a single command.

"Protect me!"