Chapter 89. Entrance Exam (11)

The masked man did not answer Lilith’s question. He just watched her.

Did he pretend he didn’t remember her?

Or did he really have no memories of Lilith in his mind?

She couldn’t tell if he had no social skills, or nothing mattered to him in this world.

If Lilith stayed at the base for another day or two, she could easily join a group, but now this masked man was her only option.

“Don’t worry if you can’t remember. I’ve seen you fight on Rigveda.”

At least he seemed to hear her words, that was good enough for her.

“You don’t have any intention of looking for a partner, right?”

“……”

“I don’t want to look for a partner either.”

She felt like she was talking to a stone statue.

Does he really listen to me?

He nodded when Cecil spoke, but he didn’t even nod to Lilith.

She felt her pride crushed, but she restrained herself.

“Can I follow you?”

She didn’t have to team up with him to accomplish her goal.

Besides, he had rejected Cecil’s proposal.

The man looked away in silence.

Well, she didn’t think she needed the man’s permission either.

Lilith stopped talking, he wouldn’t even listen to her.

She sat at a reasonable distance from the man.

She hugged her knees because the night air was cold. She was so hungry that she felt her belly skin touch her back.

It looked as if it was a noble fall.

She curled up like a winter squirrel and stayed that way all night.

***

Trisha woke Cecil early in the morning.

“Sister, sister! Wake up!”

Cecil lifted her upper body.

“…What’s wrong?”

She replied as she yawned.

“Yes, he is a friend.”

“That man is in the canyon. Shouldn’t you stop him?”

“…What?”

Cecil regained consciousness.

She wondered if he had any plans against the Guardians.

“Where is he now?”

Trisha pointed to a spot with her hand.

“He’s there.”

The masked man had advanced quite far into the canyon, he was so far away that he could be seen as a dot. The woman she saw the night before was following him.

Cecil had predicted that they would accompany each other.

But there were no other people in sight.

Cecil felt frustrated.

She lay back down and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Sister?”

“I wanted him to join our team because he’s so strong. He can do it on his own.”

“Sister….”

Trisha wanted to say something else.

“Now what do you want to tell me?”

“Abel’s and Luna’s teams gave up, so they took a detour.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Maybe it’s because the canyon road is the fastest, the Planteras are much stronger there…”

“Huh? Why are you telling me that now?”

“I barely noticed… no one has gone that way before….. what do we do?”

The man was too far away, she could no longer catch up.

“It’s his decision.”

The man must have had information about that route.

“Do you really think it’s right?”

“I don’t know…”

But she had a feeling he would.

***

“Couldn’t you have chosen another road?”

She shut her mouth when she remembered that she had no relationship with this man.

Lilith opened the map, this was the shortest route. However, no applicant had ever set foot in this canyon while she was on base.

She had a bad hunch.

The man walked the dark canyon without hesitation.

On both sides were large rock walls. It was wide enough for four or five carriages to pass, so she didn’t feel suffocated.

Her anxiety gradually increased, she believed that something might suddenly appear.

She even thought about turning back.

They advanced in silence for about an hour.

Although the morning sun had risen, the canyon was still gloomy.

Suddenly, a strange sound echoed.

“Ahh!”

Lilith immediately covered her ears with her hands.

The earth trembled. It looked like something huge was moving.

Something was approaching them.

The man unsheathed his wooden sword.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was getting closer and closer.

The first thing they saw was a large hand grasping a wall.

It was so big that it could crush a bull.

Soon, a Plantera appeared beyond the bend.

Its wooden joints rubbed against each other.

Its feet blocked the canyon.

“……!”

Lilith was horrified at the huge figure.

It appeared the man had not anticipated such a massive Plantera either.

The Plantera showed hostility as soon as it saw the man.

“Why are you so dazed? Run away!”

Lilith shouted behind him.

A long arm rushed towards the man.

Immediately, he ducked to avoid Plantera’s palm.

The palm created a strong wind like a huge fan.

Lilith’s instincts sent her many alarm signals.

This could not be defeated.

She slowly backed away.

“Stupid! Run!”

Lilith thought the man was crazy. He didn’t want to back down.

She couldn’t understand how he planned to defeat it.