Kill The Old Ones!

--

Diana slept for only four or five hours...

She went back to her tent last night but didn’t sleep immediately; instead, she meditated and thought things through. Only after she was done planning out the next days did she finally sleep.

It was still very quiet and dark outside when she came out of her tent. The air was chilly, and the camp was surrounded with a thin layer of mist—the kind that dissipates when the first rays of sunlight arrive.

Diana sighed subconsciously.

For the simplicity and primitiveness of their environment, she will admit that it was quite peaceful here. There is much to be desired when it comes to lifestyle, but the atmosphere wasn’t all that bad.

She may even prefer this rather than spending all day exchanging fake pleasantries and trying to outmaneuver the old foxes in the imperial palace.

"Hmm?"

She then noticed something. She heard a rhythmic sound not too far away. It’s coming from the center of the camp. Frowning and feeling slightly apprehensive, she became alert and slowly made her way there, prepared to wake up the whole camp if she needed to.

But when she finally arrived there, her worries turned out to be for nothing.

There are no monsters there, just a man erecting another board at the center of the camp and nailing another diagram.

The man was none other than Soren Marek Vire. And she could just tell that he had already sensed her presence before she even came close, so she didn’t bother hiding at all.

By the time she got close enough, he already finished nailing what he wanted everybody to see on the new board.

Diana took a closer look, and surprise filled her eyes.

It was a map. This man just drew a large map of their surrounding area and populated it with as much detail as he could.

Diana greedily feasted on the information. She didn’t hesitate, as she knew that the man beside her wouldn’t mind; he wouldn’t have made this and posted it here if he didn’t want it to be seen.

"A thousand miles with the camp at the center..." she muttered.

This was no guess from her. Ren wrote this detail at the bottom of the map, along with him saying that nobody should think that the details are static—that the environment might shift depending on numerous factors he couldn’t consider or was unaware of.

After inspecting the whole map once, she looked at him in confusion and asked,

"The west is that foggy?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "well, to me, at least. I don’t know what’s going on out there completely just yet. All I know is that the fog seems to be contained in that area. Like there’s an invisible separation line that prevents it from creeping further out."

"However, the fog was dense and heavy. My senses are having a difficult time because of it. I also feel killing intent somewhere in there, not the territorial kind—the bad kind. I’m starting to think that it’s a monster who’s doing it, and it’s most likely using a facet of Water Laws."

Ren didn’t hold back information from her; that much she can tell. But that doesn’t make his assumptions any better. If anything, it confirms that there is, possibly, an unknown threat close to their camp.

"Have you considered turning this temporary camp into a permanent one?" she asked.

And this was a valid concern. Because with their efforts so far, they could’ve done so much more. But because it was implied that they are here only temporarily, most people held back from improving the camp to a higher degree. They didn’t want to waste time and effort on it when they would just leave it behind anyway.

"I don’t really think I alone should decide that." Ren sighed. "Though, I am saving my vote until I’ve mapped out at least 5,000 miles around us. 10,000 would be better of course; that way, I’ll be more sure. If I could discover a better spot, I’ll mark it on the map and present the idea before everybody."

"But...if the terrain is following the pattern I am seeing beyond what I’ve already seen...I think we’re going to need fortifications soon because we might’ve lucked out in our landing."

Diana analyzed Ren’s expression when he said that, and then she looked back at the map.

She wasn’t an expert on terrain analysis or anything, but she had some education about it. Although she couldn’t fully see what Ren was talking about, she could tell that he wasn’t bluffing, and there are indeed some patterns showing in the terrain.

"How long would it take for your senses to scan 5000 miles?" she asked.

She didn’t even bother asking just what kind of method he’s using to analyze the terrain so absurdly in detail without actually going there. She knew that everybody has their own secrets and methods that they guard closely with their life, and she didn’t want to give him a wrong and negative lasting impression.

"By the end of the fifth day or very early on the sixth day. By the end of the second week, it should cross beyond the 10,000-mile radius," he replied.

"I think we should tell everybody to stock up on basic supplies and gather a minimum of 200 merit points before the week ends," she offered. "Just in case you discover a more viable spot. That’ll make it easier for us to move places."

"...yeah, that works." He nodded before taking out another piece of paper. He wrote a message to everybody who’s going to see it and nailed it next to the map.

"Right, that should suffice." He sighed in brief satisfaction. "Here’s to hoping that our teammates have a good sense of direction."

He then looked at her and said, "I’ll return to my tent and catch up on sleep. I stayed up all night making that."

He didn’t wait for her response or her permission to leave. He simply just walked away.

Diana wasn’t offended by this, of course. She is not that petty. This isn’t the imperial court; her imperial title is meaningless here. Like him, she’s here as a participant, and she’s not even the sole leader of this team.

To be honest, Ren’s prestige was much higher than hers right now. If they were to follow authority, it’s her that should be polite to him, not the other way around.

But from her experience, she could tell that the man never cared for empty titles or excessive formalities. He prefers everything casual.

He has the power to take control of everybody here, and nobody could’ve stopped him, yet he didn’t do so. This tells her that he just wants to do things the way he likes them and doesn’t want to bother with all the formalities.

She didn’t linger her thoughts on him. She returned her attention to the map and studied it again. Diana was wide awake now, and even if she felt like sleeping, there’s no way she could do so after seeing this.

The map was really detailed.

It includes lairs, zones, markings, etc. There is a list of legends written below that informs the readers of what the signs mean on the map.

This map had everything of value within a thousand-mile radius of the camp. Not just at eye level, he included the hills, cliffs, the nearest mountain range, and also some underground deposits.

Everything that they could gather and use to fortify the camp and earn merit points for the camp was in here. Which adds another stream of options for people to focus on instead of rotting in place.

The plan Diana made last night—the one she meticulously formed that will span for the next couple of days—had been ruined with the appearance of this map.

She needs to revise it ASAP and form the most ideal and optimal route to maximize the team’s gains.

Aside from that, she also wondered shortly how many merit points Ren earned after making this map. She refused to believe that the system will ignore this kind of achievement when it has a solid impact on the team’s performance.

Well, if Ren were still here, he’d tell her directly that he earned a haul of 5000 merit points from this, directly inflating the total score of the team.

And since he finished the map before the daily point settlement, it was directly credited to the changes that happened to the leaderboard.

Right now, the Heavenly Bronze Empire’s merit points have accumulated to a little over 17,000 points, while the second place only managed to accumulate a little over 7,000 points.

The point gap was massive. A heaven and earth difference, if you will.

And soon, when the sun rises a few hours later and everybody begins rising from their restful sleep, some of them will discover this and will be dumbfounded by the sheer difference.

’It’s decided.’ Diana’s eyes shone with determination. ’I’m leading a team to explore. I need more merit points. I can’t be left behind, and I can’t let him outshine me too much, else, my father would be disappointed.’