Hidden quest! Labyrinth!

It had been two weeks, but Nicole was still unconcious. Adam usually checked up on her and today, he also did the same. But today was a lucky day.

Cough...cough!

Nicole, woke up from her coma. Her face was still pale and her body was weak. She suffered poisoning from beasts like giant pythons. She was lucky to be alive after encountering elite grade beasts.

Adam walked up to her and held her dainty hand. Nicole exhaled in relief after feeling some warmth from Adam's touch.

"It's good to have you awake. Your body is still weak, so you better rest a bit" Adam said as he helped Nicole cover up in a duvet. It was better she remained in bed. He didn't want her to disturb herself since they were in the safest place in the entire planet.

"How long did I sleep? I feel like I died in my sleep and being reborn!" Nicole's question was tricky. Nicole was in a dire situation two weeks ago and needed surgery. Because of this, Adam spent his last points to buy the knowledge and skill for everything in medicine and engineering. Good thing system knowledge were more like memories and not books. That was how Nicole survived. Adam's heart ached for his points, but that sacrifice made him vow to stay close to her and protect her. How could he spend and not gain any profit?

Adam wasn't the type to exaggerate or show off, so he summed everything that happened the past two weeks. "Well...You were chased by the Elves of the Valkyrian order. They have infiltrated the slayers of Black Star faction, causing unrepairable damage to the federation."

Adam's little talk was enough for Nicole to analyze the rest of what had happened, and what may happen sooner or later. But Nicole didn't have time to worry. There was something important that must happen.

"I don't know what will happen after now, but I know the second years must have perished. The second year were not special ops Cadet. They were normal Cadets." Nicole wasn't one to feel broken by sudden deaths as long as her loved ones were alive and kicking, but she felt the horror when she was helpless without a weapon to protect herself.

Adam stared at Nicole's pristine fair skin. Her face was flawless like an angel, and her dark hair was silly to the touch. Her eyes shone with two emerald ring in her dark iris. She was more gorgeous than the ever moody Hailey.

Adam didn't space out by looking at her. He just thought of their similarities in characteristics and behavior. After a while of silence in the room, Adam stood up from the bed and said:"We will be leaving this place. We cannot stay here any longer. If we do, those aliens might find us anytime soon."

Adam left the room immediately to announce to his unit, whose members were already basking in the life of luxury.

An hour later, the unit started parking up a lot of things they could use. It was still hard for them to forget about their short vacation away from battles.

"C'mon man! We could wait longer before those Valkyrian bastards reach our camp. I don't like the idea of leaving here one bit!" Carla tried her best in convincing the unit and it's captain to stay a bit longer, but no one had the time to start the game of talking gods at the moment.

"We are setting out to hunt down beasts and all other enemies. There are things we won't be needing. but for safety purposes, I have decided to hand out hoverboards to all of you. Skyriders are very conspicuous to satellite surveillance."

After three hours, the now seven...eight people walked through the dense forest, hunting down beasts and collecting beast crystals. Hailey, Dyanna, and Koman were super quiet. The first being cautious, the second being scared and the last feeling standoffish to the situation.

[Congratulations! You have killed 20 level 24 awakened beasts]

[Your strength grows]

[Your system store has been updated to fit better purchase options]

[+10 to all starts]

[You've earned +2000 points]

[New stat block has been added]

[Soul fragments:20/1000]

[Vanquished foes:20/6000]

[User info]

[Name: Adam Lebron]

[Age: 18]

[Bloodline: none]

[Race: Human]

[Awakening:lightning(mutated)]

[Grade: Rare (increaseable)]

[Rank: C]

[Level: 22]

[Furnace mastery:1/7]

[Soul fragments:20/1000]

[Vanquished foes: 20/6000]

[EXP: 2675/6500]

[HP: 2000/2500]

[Energy: 3700/5000]

[Strength: 100]

[Speed: 100]

[Agility: 100]

[Perception: 100]

[Regeneration: 100]

[Inteligence: 112]

[Charisma: 150]

[Free potential points: 1750]

[Notification]

[System advises Host to participate in the glory Dreamland event]

[To play this event, be at the peak of C rank and a status level of 50]

[You must grind harder. Your thirst is insatiable]

...

Adam had seen the same thing a month ago. This same dialogue box appeared on the interface when ever he opened it. Was his system bugged? That was a question hard to answer.

"Captain! We are 2km away from our planned camping spot." Dianna's voice broke out all of a sudden. She held a navigator containing a digital map of the entire planet. Adam wasn't the type to talk during his fight. His karinn daggers slices through air. Adam was still focused on the barbaric horde of beasts coming his way. These beasts were of course not annoying like on planet earth. His movements were fluid, but unique. It carried a graceful but dangerous intent behind the mask of sweet delight. Adam paused after finishing of forty more beasts, thus clearing the area for advancement further in.

"Let's kill as much Advanced stage beasts and avoid the elite stage around here. They are going to be a pain in the neck." Adam was a little tired, but nothing to be worried about. Koman was still on top of a tree twelve meters high above ground level. His upgraded rifle was silent and more efficient. His marksmanship was top notch. His method of killing beasts with precise shots of charged bullets made of special metal alloys bored through the carapace of these beasts was unique to the touch. Hailey was more like a machine of war. The more blood she spilled, the more vigor she felt. Her double edged sword sliced through the beasts with relative ease. The blade were silver with its mirror like properties. The cross guard was large and its grip was especially long, which allowed wielding with both hands. The pummel was pointed, which allowed stabbing attacks possible for emergencies, especially during passive state.

Diana on the other hand was not a professional killer like the others. Her abilities were related to healing, which also blessed her with great knowledge of medicine. Her mode of combat was long-ranged, thus the use of specially designed pistol guns. Her plasma handguns were her lifesaver everywhere she went, but nothing was special about her.

Carla was...is...Well... Carla is sort of a complicated person. She was one of those who never awakened abilities, instead she went through genetic augmentation in childbirth. Her abilities were tied to physical strength, which amplified her willpower in form of combat prowess. Her body parts moved like they were natural weapons of war, responding to insticts and senses. She wasn't someone special, but she was frightening when furious.

Ck was more of a support character in battle. He was very experienced in combat, but his awakened ability limited his combat strength. His abilities amplifies the physical and mental strength of his teammates, thus the upgrade in combat prowess of the unit. His major shortcoming was his inefficiency and vulnerability to attacks during battle.

Nicole was one of a kind. Despite he slender figure and gentle aura, her ability to control it precisely was topnotch. Her affinity with earth was abnormally low, but her control over earth as well as manipulation techniques were what made her exceptional. How did this girl not become a special operative unit cadet?

Hailey and Adam were already charging into the other territory of beasts to avoid confrontation when unprepared. Hailey, who had not said anything for a month was rather confused as she advanced into the next territory. "Why are we attacking another territorial beast? You know quite well that this would definitely hinder our plans." Hailey questioned with a frown on her face. Nobody knew what went on in Adam's mind everytime he thought of something.

"You can return. I don't need help anyway. I just need to test something out for a few minutes before we begin our advancement on this planet." Adam, who was running at a speed of 40km/hr, which was the speed of a civilian transport of the past. Adam ran past Hailey immediately and earned himself some kills.

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10 points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10 points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10 points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

[You have slain an Advanced tier beast:+10points]

...

[Your strength grows]

[Soul fragments:50/1000]

[Vanquished foes:50/6000]

'What is this soul fragment and Vanquished foes stuff. The more lives I take, the more it counts. And it is the same with the number of beasts I've killed today. Or does it have anything to do with the Aries furnace technique I'm using?' Adam was quite confused after killing thirty beasts while leaving the rest for Hailey. Since he began using the first step of the Aries furnace, which he mastered to the initial stage, also called the foundation stage, this counter appeared on his system interface.

"User status!" Adam called out while standing upright with his right hand on his chin.

[User info]

[Name: Adam Lebron]

[Age: 18]

[Bloodline: none]

[Race: Human]

[Awakening: lightning(mutated)]

[Grade: Rare (increaseable)]

[Rank: C]

[Level: 22]

[Furnace mastery:1/7]

[Soul fragments:20/1000]

[Vanquished foes: 20/6000]

[EXP: 2675/6500]

[HP: 2000/2500]

[Energy: 3700/5000]

[Strength: 100]

[Speed: 100]

[Agility: 100]

[Perception: 100]

[Regeneration: 100]

[Inteligence: 112]

[Charisma: 150]

[Free potential points: 1750]

Adam looked at his stats very carefully and only noticed the addition of the furnace to his status. "This means the counter has something to do with the furnace. I'll have to kill more, but the required amount for maximum is absurd." Adam kept analyzing his situation before he stopped in defeat. There was no way he'd kill up to such crazy amount , but all that was a topic for next time.

[Notification]

[Hidden quest]

[Quest: Blood mantle]

[Grade: Master]

[Description: In the depth of the Tolan forest, little Aries and his lover stepped into the labyrinth of Genoa. In this labyrinth, the corpse of keeper of the shard of secrets guarded by the guardian and his followers. Their nest is built on the keeper's tomb and the guardian protects its last and only belongings]

[Instruction:Steal the belongings of the keeper of the shard of secrets fro mhis tomb]

[Reward:???]

[Punishment:???]

Adam was shocked about this new update. He wasn't sure of what he was doing and now this? 'Hey! Who's this system trying to pull? I don't know what made me come here and now this? C'mon!' Adam wasn't having it good at all. Who knew he would end up with a new mission.

"What's up Adam? Are we going to continue our journey or what?" The rest of the unit cohort arrived at Adam's area. It was strange that he and Hailey moved to another direction which set them of the planned route to their destination.

Adam looked at the members his cohort with an expressionless face. His eyes were void of any predictability. He was like a lost person right now. After thinking for a few seconds, he said: "I want you all to continue your journey without me. Ihave something important to handle, so we will go different ways. From Dianna's routing system and further analysis, I'll rendezvous with the unit at the south-eastern point 500km away. No arguments... I'm not allowing anybody to come with me." Adam didn't wait a second and disappeared. He knew his cohort would try to talk him out of 'doing' what he wanted, which was only known to him alone.

...

Two hours passed and Adam was still very far from his target. He had entered the labyrinth, which was a place with no normal plants growing within. There were only flesh devouring plants of the Advanced tier and some of the elite level. There were also beasts of the Advanced tier in here. They were quite a lot to be in one place to think of it. The Elite tier beasts were very territorial in nature. It was almost impossible to find an Elite tier beasts wandering around. They were either alone resting or guarding their territories like vigilant guards. It was going to be hard if Adam wants to carry on this quest.

"I don't have a choice. I must get that thing in three days at most. I have plans for the weekend. And the Valkyrian spies are going around, killing any human around them." Adam clenched his fists befor summoning his karinn daggers. They were his favourite side weapons.

Grunt! Grunt!

A giant warthog-like beast grunted after noticing Adam. This was going to be fun!