The Second Floor

As Adam appeared in the abandoned town, he saw Donald and everyone else staring out towards the valley in the distance. It was around two kilometers away from the town, but they could clearly see something there.

"..." Adam silently looked at the corpse of the Adult Skeleton Centipede that was lying on top of the small valley hill. It had most of the important parts removed because they sell for a lot of money.

The mission reward was not the only way to earn Shinecoin during the mission. It was also possible to earn some by harvesting the creature's body parts that were important.

The Adult Centipede Skeleton had important bones that could be made into powerful weapons and artifacts.

Therefore, the Lose Eye, Keep Smile guild harvested everything and left behind the useless corpse as a reminder of the true horrors that awaited in the deeper dungeon.

"How did they defeat that..." Donald whispered in shock.

However, after remembering what he said, he coughed awkwardly and looked at his new group of players, whom he managed to recruit.

"It's just a big centipede, ain't it, right?"

They nodded awkwardly, but when they looked at the enormous corpse, they could never imagine fighting something that huge, and they knew that there were even more dangerous creatures outside the tutorial.

"Cough, let's go to the black castle!" Donald shouted to them, and they then began running down the dark and winding path. Other players who had finished admiring the centipede skeleton's corpse soon followed them. 

'I don't want others to realize the things I know because they might come to ask questions.' Adam looked away from the skeleton centipede and followed after the group of players.

'At the end of the tutorial, the players have to write down their name on a contract that forbids them from revealing any information about the tutorial.

'However, that contract doesn't apply to the players who died before completing the tutorial. Still, if someone is suspicious of my knowledge, they might deduce some of my points.

'And the members of the Council of Mercenaries are very suspicious individuals. So, let's take this more slowly and make sure that I don't look like someone with excess knowledge.'

After a walk down the dark, winding path, they arrived at the gates of the black castle. Adam walked behind others while they surveyed the dark castle interior with weapons in hand.

"Hey, you're Adam... right?" A voice, followed by the heavy scent of female perfume, came right beside him.

Adam side-glanced at a smiling young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and pearly white teeth. She looked rather lovely, with brown eyes and a bright smile.

'Perfume. She purchased perfume with her Shinecoin in the Safe Area. It means she cares about her looks a great deal.' Adam's eyes narrowed. 'She must be trying to impress others, and it seems to have worked...'

She was with three young men, who looked like they had just graduated from high school and were glaring at him with great intensity.

"My name is Katalina. Nice to meet you." Katalina offered her soft-looking hand, which looked like she had taken good care of her skin routine.

Adam looked at the hand silently.

'Not a single wear on her hand, and it looks like she hadn't even touched a weapon yet. She must've gotten Shinecoin from someone else to purchase her precious perfume.

'It means she is nothing but a leech.'

Adam ignored the handshake and walked past her with an emotionless gaze.

"Ah..." Katalina blinked in surprise and looked at her hand, which was left hanging alone.

"What an arrogant fellow." A young man behind him said with an angry glare. "Just because he managed to kill the first boss and accidentally found the Centipede Skeleton, hmph!"

"He might just be anti-social; who knows?" Katalina smiled gently, but inside her mind, she had different thoughts. 'These fucking nerds. They probably never even leave their basement to touch some grass, yet he dares to ignore me. Ugh, so humiliating.'

"Now, where the fuck is the boss..." Ramon looked across the castle's yard with a narrowed gaze, but then saw Adam walk right past him and enter the castle without a second thought. 

"..." Ramon narrowed his eyes and followed right behind.

"Yo, Ramon, where the hell are you going?" Hannibal quickly followed after him, barely being able to keep up.

"I doubt the fucking boss is outside!" Ramon snapped back and pointed at the castle's interior. "It's somewhere inside. I know it!"

After stepping through the entrance, Adam looked high towards the ceiling and saw many stairs leading up to the top, crisscrossing between each other.

"This time, I'll get the kill!" Ramon appeared beside him and said venomously.

"Do you even know where it is?" Adam looked at him and smirked. "It took the last group a few days to find it."

"I'll tear through the walls and peel off the paint if I need to." Ramon snarled, his eyes blazing with determination. "I ain't losing to you!"

"Good luck, then." Adam crossed his arms and closed his eyes, but then he heard a gentle clicking of the watch. His eyes immediately opened, and he turned towards a bookshelf tucked away in the corner.

While Ramon and every other player started running up the stairs to other floors in search for the boss, Adam approached the bookshelf and found a small pocket watch hidden among the books.

"It's currently... six in the evening." Adam closed the pocket watch and tucked it away in his chest pocket. He then slipped his hands inside his pocket and ran up the stairs, following other players into the search for the boss.

...

In the Safe Area's control room.

The hundreds of holographic cameras showed every part of the castle in high detail. They watched as the players ran down the hallways, searching every room from top to bottom, and after a few hours, they still hadn't found anything.

Muriel sat in the far-away corner, away from other Handlers who were also looking at how their players were doing.

'What are you doing now, Adam?' Muriel tapped her pen against her lips while watching Adam survey the paintings in the hallway, as if he were just sightseeing and not in any hurry.

'Donald and others have already started working together to find any hidden rooms in the castle, and that will net them some extra points within the Council of Mercenaries.

'You and a few others who are working alone will be negatively affected. Every single second in the tutorial is important for the ending result.

'What are you planning, Adam? For others to find the boss so you can kill it? Even if you are the one that kills the boss, you might still not get the highest amount of points among the players. 

'You have to do something that truly shows that you were the 'Key' person for completing the floor. Otherwise, your points will continue to be deduced.'

"How much is the time?" A person managing the control room asked.

A short-haired woman took out a pocket watch and glanced at it briefly.

"20:05, approximately." She replied and tucked away her pocket watch.

"A little bit less than four hours..." The man whispered and nodded. "If you need to eat or rest, now's the time. When the promised time is near, there won't be any rest!"