Chapter 35: Biding Time
"Why?"
Rohan asked, although he could already guess the answer himself.
"Do you even need to ask? What other reason than for the treasure it guards? You guys were the perfect bait as well, essentially offering yourselves up right as we were considering how to go about things."
Sarah explained calmly. Rohan and Elane noticed that everyone there now assumed a rather calm and unhurried manner to themselves, as if there was no rush to head inside and face the E rank Elite.
’Though that’s even if they plan on showing their faces there at all.’
They had already confirmed that he and Elane were to act as bait to distract the E rank Elite while they attempted to sneak in and snatch the treasure away before it noticed. ’If I were to guess, I’d say they plan on sending Sarah in to do that job as she’s the most nimble and sensitive to any changes thanks to her position as the scout of the team.’
At this point, Rohan was counting down the seconds while he conversed. There wasn’t much time before he and Elane would be kicked out of the Origin Realm, which Rudith and her team didn’t know.
When the duo first encountered Rudith’s team, he told them that they’d only been in the Origin Realm for a little over five days, when in reality they were coming up on the end of their sixth!
Luckily they camped overnight instead of rushing into the beast nest in the darkness; otherwise, they would be in a much more precarious situation.
Elane also understood this, which is why she chose to keep her silence. She wasn’t as confident in concealing the fact that they were quickly approaching the end of their bout in the Origin Realm as Rohan was.
’Just play things out until our time is up...’ Rohan kept reassuring himself. As long as he could make it back from the Origin Realm alive and with his Elite Firestone Skin Gene still in hand, then he could overlook everything that happened between them and Rudith’s group.
...For now.
Rohan didn’t exactly consider himself a vengeful person, but that didn’t mean he’d let something like this go either. ’The moment I come back to the Origin Realm with my Firestone Skin Gene assimilated into my genome, I’m coming back for you fuckers!’
With an Elite tier Spear combined with a level of defence comparable to the Soldier Ant, Rohan had confidence that he could deal with some, if not all, of Rudith’s group if he caught them by surprise.
"So how do we proceed from here?" Rohan asked.
They were still presently at a standstill with each other, Rudith and the others all pointing their weapons at Rohan and Elane, ready to strike the moment either of them tried to make a move.
Rudith shook her head. "For now, you two should lay your weapons down like good little children and wait for further instructions." She looked at Elane in particular.
Elane only possessed ordinary equipment at the current moment, still yet to have acquired a Genetic Armament or Gene of her own. This made her the easiest to disarm of the duo, as the moment she dropped her bow and dagger, she was basically harmless in front of the group.
Elane obliged as asked. Dropping her weapons wasn’t a tough ask for her, as she wasn’t too attached to them anyways. She already planned to buy herself a good Genetic Armament bow and dagger once she returned to the outside universe.
But Rohan...
"I won’t give you my Spear even if you kill me right here." He stood firm, not even batting an eye to the menacing image of the six of them pointing all of their weapons at him.
Rudith and Sarah both frowned at his response, but they expected something like this to happen.
It was impossible to take a Genetic Armament from an Awakened unless they gave it up willingly, which was even more challenging for stubborn Awakened like Rohan.
If this were in the outside universe, where death was a finality, then things might have gone differently. But once he died here, he’d just return to Earth back in his small apartment’s living room.
’I’d rather die right here, losing just my Elite Gene, than give up my Spear. At least by choosing to follow my own choices I get to return with one piece of Elite equipment, rather than risk losing both of them if I give it to them and die anyway.’
Making such a one sided deal would make him the biggest fool in the universe.
But the others were in the dark about the true nature of Rohan’s spear, and the Elite Gene hidden in his pocket, so they didn’t see what the big deal was.
"It’s just a shitty Horned Rabbit Spear, you can get another one anywhere in the markets. Are you really willing to die just for the sake of something so mediocre?" Aron questioned his decision, mocking him in the process.
To them, they couldn’t see the value in keeping such a low value Genetic Armament when he was risking much bigger things, like being severely weakened and unable to enter the Origin Realm for an entire month if he died.
"Money doesn’t grow on trees; I can’t afford to buy another one. Now why don’t you just get the fuck on with things so we can all go home, yeah?" Rohan doubled down.
"Ooo, looks like you’ve got some fiest in you. Is this finally the real Rohan coming out to play?" Rudith exchanged a laugh with the others and openly mocked him.
"Fine then, if you want to get on with things unsummon your Genetic Armament so I can tie your hands together."
This was the solution Rudith came up with to deal with Rohan since he was so unwilling to part with his Horned Rabbit Spear.
"Fine. Do as you wish." Rohan replied, but deep down his anxiety was spiking.
’She can’t discover the Elite Gene!’
The gene lay inside his pocket along with the other Origin Crystals he’d collected over the past few days. If Rudith decided to get a little handsy and inspect his collection, then he’d have no choice but to act against them on the spot.
’Don’t let it come to that, for both our sakes...’
He watched her every movement to pinpoint precision, ready at any moment.