Outworld: Awakening

'It seems I'm getting used to this teleportation nonsense.' Adam chuckled as he stared at his new environment.

Over a hundred Awakened from various guilds came into view. They stood on a purple patch of land which emitted heat hazes which rose from the cracks in between the earth; and, it reached several feet in the air. A hundred feet from where Adam stood, he could see thick pitch-black ash clouds being emitted from a raging volcanic mountain.

Despite being a few meters away from the volcano, neither Adam nor the other Awakened felt an intense heat.

'It's volcano this time. The Valar pits. I wonder how the dungeon will look like.'

While in Haider's office, he had purposely chosen the most difficult mission. Unlike the other cities in Targarth which had multiple lesser dungeons, Valar—the military capital of Targarth, had only one dungeon—Valar Pits.

None of the dungeons in Gido, Sandholt and Celsa came close to its level of difficulty. Although considered a rank D dungeon, it had claimed the lives of two C ranked Awakened.

No guild in Targarth could claim monopolize the dungeon nor the treasure trove within, and it was the only dungeon which drew the attention of some larger guilds outside Targarth.

Some Awakened stared at Adam, puzzled why he had appeared alone. However, their curiosity lasted for only a moment. That Adam came to raid a place like the Valar pits alone didn't cross their minds. Some believed he had accepted a mission from his guild, and would join up with his party who had already arrived.

Among the curious observers, Adam noticed some of them held malice in their gaze, and it left him puzzled. He didn't know them, yet they already had nefarious thoughts about him.

"Hey. Are you alone?"

Adam turned his head to the side. It surprised him to hear the familiar voice. Of the four people approaching, he could recognized one of them.

'What a coincidence. Who would have thought this playboy will be here?'

"Hello, friend. My name is Hendrix, this Fien. That's Chadwick, and she's Amara."

Hendrix wore a beaming smile as he introduced his party members. His party members, on the other hand, did not have such a welcoming demeanor. If anything, their demeanor showed they would rather be else where.

With Manipulator active, Hendrix couldn't tell it was Adam who stood before him.

"Us Varidan students have to stick together. What's your name, friend? Where are your party members?"

Hendrix's eyes wandered all over the place. He genuinely did not believe Adam came alone.

"My name is—"

"Hendrix, you can't go around inviting any random person to our party."

Amara, the caramel skinned young lady interjected. Apart from her hair she dyed blue, nothing about her stood out. She didn't even bother to look at Adam; instead, she focused her attention on Hendrix.

"It's just until his group members arrive. We—"

"It doesn't matter. As the party leader, consider how your decision will affect our group. What do you know about him? What if his party members don't show up? Who knows if they even kicked him out for being a liability. Unlike you, the rest of us don't want any difficulties during the mission."

Adam and Hendrix's gaze fell on Chadwick. He donned a shallow smile as his gaze met theirs.

"You don't even know the guy, yet you're calling him rubbish to his face? And, what do you mean? Are you questioning my leadership?" Hendrix asked.

"Of course not. Why would I do such a thing? According to rumors, the only reason your the leader is because your f.u.c.k.i.n.g one of your party members while another one has a crush on you. You—"

"Are you mad? What nonsense are you saying?" Fien barked. Her left hand reached for one of the daggers on her belt.

Amara too, couldn't contain her anger. Her bloodshot eyes fell on Chadwick as she unsheathed her short sword.

"What are you guys getting angry for? I didn't say it... I'm only saying what I heard."

Chadwick also reached for the handle of the whip hanging on his waist. If Amara or Fien attacked, he would respond in kind.

'Are these guys serious? Don't they know where they are?'

Adam could barely contain his urge to laugh. From his brief interaction with Hendrix's party members, that is if one could call it that, he could already determine their personalities to a certain extent.

"Stop it. Do you guys want to turn us to a laughing stock?"

Hendrix stepped in before his party members murdered each other.

Some Awakened couldn't stop themselves from laughing as they watched the comical scene.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adam could see a fifth Varidan student subtly retreating in the laughing crowd.

'Oh? Five of them came here. Staying with this kinda group will be far dangerous than going alone.' Adam chuckled.

"What the f.u.c.k is so funny? This is all your fault. You could... Hey! Listen to me when I'm speaking."

Adam ignored Chadwick's words; instead, he patted Hendrix on his left shoulder.

"Thanks. Unfortunately, I can't accept your offer. I wish you success in your mission. Goodbye."

A wry smile donned Hendrix's face as he watched Adam walk towards the crowd.

'If I were him, I too, wouldn't want to join such a party.'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Hendrix felt a sharp pain on his left arm. He lowered his head, only to see Fien pinching him. Meanwhile, Amara and Chadwick still quarrelled with each other.

'Where the hell is Mavis? How long does it take to take a piss?' Hendrix thought.

* * *

[Student Profile]

[Student 009]

Name: Adam.

Year: One.

Blessing: Weapon Manipulation.

Level: E.

Class: Attack (Manipulator).

Supporters: None!

Rank in solo category: 490/490

Current Location: Targarth.

{Mission}

- Eliminate a baccarra queen.

- Obtain the heart of the baccarra queen to complete the mission.

'Unlike the goblins, eliminating a baccarra queen will be far more difficult. If I'm not careful, I might actually suffer some injuries this time.'

Adam stopped exerting pressure on the amulet, it no long displayed his student profile and the map. Even if it remained, no one would see it. Varidan Towers designed the amulets in a way that only the current user could see its contents.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Adam's brows creased as he saw the new arrivals.

Two identical bald headed men smiled at him. However, Adam could tell their smile were obviously forced. All manner of tattoos covered their arms and neck, and they wore a sleeveless upper garment, coupled with a gray pants and leather boots.

"I'm Cale, he's Curtis. And, we have an interesting deal for you. How much—"

"Not interested."

Adam turned around to leave. However, Curtis blocked his path.

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

"You have five seconds leave. I won't ask twice."

"Don't be in a haste. Listen to what we have to say. We will offer you one hundred thousand gold's coins for that amulet of yours. So, what do you say?" Cale said.

Curtis and Cale donned smiles on their faces. They didn't take Adam's words seriously.

Leaders of a small guild in Celsa, they had heard rumors of Varidan giving her students strange maps which could depict a dungeon as soon as it emerges.

They believed that if they had something like that, they wouldn't have to pay a huge amount of money to information guilds to find dungeons. Until today, however, they had been unsuccessful in meeting a Varidan student.

That they could meet five at ago left the duo thrilled. However, their joy was short lived. Hendrix's groups fiercely rejected them and Chadwick even threatened them.

When they saw Adam emerging from the portal, it rekindled their hopes. They vowed they would everything within their power to convince him to sell. They believed everything had a price.

Adam sighed as he slowly shook his head.

'Hahaha... it's seems he's tempted. Let's up the offer a little bit.'

"How about one hundred and fifty—"

"Are you guys idiots?" Adam interjected.

A scowl flashed across Curtis and Cale's faces, but it quickly returned to normal.

"Friend, why would—?"

"I don't know where you got your information from, but you should really get your money back. Let's say I sell it to you. Do you think Varidan wouldn't ask about its whereabouts? Do you honestly think they would allow two nobodies to profit from their possession? This is the first time I'm encountering someone who would pay to bring about his destruction. Isn't that what a moron would do?"

The duo's mouths opened, however, they said nothing.

"Don't bother me again. Go convince some else. Better still, if you're looking for a quick death, you could always trespass into Varidan territory."

Adam walked passed the stupefied duo. He had no time to waste on them.

"Wait, let's..."

A thunderous explosion muffled Cale's words. The ground shook, and all the Awakened diverted their gazes to the origin— the volcano. A sign the Dungeon was opening.

"Friend, let's... huh? Where did he go?"

The duo's eyes bulged. They couldn't find Adam anywhere.

"Brother... look." Cale pointed at a masked youth sprinting towards the vent of the volcano.

'When did he get there? Is he able to move that fast because of his Blessing?' Curtis mused.

Since they could identify everyone in Hendrix's party, the only other Varidan student had to be Adam. In less than five seconds, he had covered a staggering distance already.

"Brother, what do we do now?"

"What do you mean what do we do? If those bastards won't accept our goodwill, then we'll take it by force. Round up the boys. We are going on a hunt."

Curtis licked his lips as he stared at the Varidan students. Since they had refused his offers, his only other option was to take the amulet by force.

He didn't care about Adam said. He believed Varidan wouldn't lower themselves to find trouble with a small guild like theirs, and since death and theft was a common thing in the dungeons, not all the amulets could be accounted for.