58. Exploration Battle (1)
“The rules of the Exploration Battle are simple.”
Lorenzo, standing on the podium, looked around at the ten students. As he observed the students, who seemed more excited than nervous, he continued in a calm tone, making an effort to conceal his dissatisfaction.
“We will distribute one map to each group. On that map, there will be a marked location you need to find. At that location, there will be a spell allowing you to escape from the area. The first to escape will be the winner, earning bonus points for their class. However, once you enter this boundary, you won’t know where you’re starting from. So, quickly figure out your location and move. It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it?”
Upon Lorenzo’s explanation, the students exchanged looks with mixed expressions.
It was hard to tell if the rules were truly simple or if the explanation was merely too brief for them to fully grasp.
“That means we won’t know the starting point properly, right? The destination is fixed, but we won’t know where we start.”
Karla jabbed Ivan in the side and muttered.
“Is that so…” Ivan tilted his head.
Isn’t this too easy? Knowing the destination point on the map, if you understand how to read it, shouldn’t that be enough?
“By the way, there’s no guarantee that your starting point will even be on the map once you enter the boundary.”
“What?”
Whispers erupted from different corners of the students.
If the starting point isn’t on the map, how are they supposed to find the destination?
Lorenzo smirked as if he had anticipated the commotion.
“Isn’t it obvious? When you’re stranded on the battlefield, you can’t always rely on your map to reveal your exact position. There could be situations where you need to locate landmarks and start reading your map from there. This was taken into account.”
That wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
“This explanation has been longer than intended. Each group should hurry and enter now. You’ll receive your maps as you enter.”
Lorenzo snapped his fingers.
Behind him, the stone gateway engraved with the four-winged ravens from the entrance exam creaked open.
“This should be a familiar space. Go on in. Although the West group already has an advantage, if they lose in the Exploration Battle, they’ll end up tying with the East group. It’s best to take this seriously. Also, if you encounter each other inside, you’re allowed to fight. If anyone gets seriously injured, you will be automatically removed, so don’t worry.”
Lorenzo wore a deep smile.
With a mischievous grin, he added,
“Good luck.”
The moment they entered the boundary, the space transformed dramatically.
Though it was created for the test, this wasn’t an entirely fabricated space. It was linked to somewhere on the eastern coastline, teleporting them there almost instantly.
Following the winding shoreline, there were endless sandy beaches and rugged rock formations. As you ventured further inland, there were thickets that gradually gave way to dense forests, and deeper still, rocky mountains.
“What a lousy view.”
Lucas, as always, revealed his coarse nature.
Kiara, who had ended up in the same group as him, sighed inwardly.
“Is that so?”
“I prefer the city. I feel nothing for such natural landscapes.”
Lucas said this as he quickly scanned the map given to them upon entry before carelessly tossing it behind him without hesitation.
Their starting point was on the edge of a cliff.
Had they stepped back a little, they would have found themselves on a precipitous cliffside, precariously jagged and steep.
As it was, the map he discarded floated away, fluttering in the air.
“Master Lucas?!”
“There’s no need to be alarmed, Kiara. I’ve prepared something, don’t worry. All you need to do is assist me. Besides, it’s the seashore, isn’t it? Doesn’t that suit someone like you, Kiara?”
Kiara couldn’t help but stare at Lucas in disbelief. What on earth was he planning by tossing the map away? They didn’t even know where they were or where the destination was.
However, her bewilderment deepened when Lucas produced another map.
“Master Lucas, what is that…?”
“It’s a map arranged for me by supporters who recognize my true potential. We don’t need that other map.”
Lucas proudly unfurled the new map.
The map appeared similar to the one officially distributed, except that the destination was marked with a red circle. The terrain features were also clearly depicted. Outside the map, there was a flickering blue dot indicating their current location.
“This is our location, Kiara. Do you understand?”
Kiara glanced at the map, then at Lucas. This was undoubtedly a violation—cheating, even.
And yet, there he was, so smug about it.
“Master Lucas, but this—”
“Aha, and this must be what you’re referring to.”
Lucas disregarded Kiara’s objection and pointed at another section of the map.
A little distance away from their current position, there were two blinking red dots.
“What… what are those?”
“This,” Lucas curled his lips into a sinister smirk. Kiara instinctively frowned, sensing something unsettling.
“That’s the location of that commoner and Karla.”
Lucas grinned wickedly, licking his lips. The sedative-tipped needles in his pocket and the countermeasures against Ivan provided by Venere would ensure no difficulty in mocking Karla here.
Even if she had feelings for the commoner, it made no difference to him. He had no particular feelings for her either.
Karla, though beautiful, was just that—a flawed woman missing an arm. She’d have to wear a prosthetic if she ever married, making her far from ideal.
There would be no consideration for bringing her into the family as a primary wife.
Lucas had no intention of marrying her for love; he would only marry her to absorb the Cascata family.
Then, after indulging in her body as he pleased…
“She may be quite handsome in the face, but she won’t last long.”
Ultimately, bodies grew tiresome. Once the Cascata family was absorbed, Karla would serve no further purpose.
“Master Lucas, surely you’re not—”
Kiara had guessed Lucas’s intentions. Yet, after moving her lips several times, she closed her mouth.
She couldn’t stop him, nor would it be wise to.
The Serbitor family still needed Shaiskeil’s support.
“So, we’re going there first.”
Unaware of Kiara’s thoughts, Lucas pointed out a location on the map.
It was clearly marked as the Abzetti Cave.
“Where are we?”
Karla looked around. On the right was the beach, and on the left was a forest. Off in the distance stood towering rock mountains, offering no idea of their current location.
“Map… hmm.”
Ivan unfolded the map to examine it. The wind blowing through the mountain ridges made the map flutter, making it difficult to control.
“The destination point… it doesn’t seem to be the rock mountains.”
At first glance of the map, the most logical assumption would be the rock mountains. It was what anyone would expect, the most prominent feature.
However, the location indicated on the map wasn’t the rock mountains. Somewhere beyond the rock mountains, there was a circle marked on the map. The problem was that they had no idea of the starting point.
The map wasn’t particularly large. Given that the area’s topography couldn’t possibly fit entirely within the map, it validated Lorenzo’s claim that the starting point might not be included.
“Don’t you know how to read a map? Quit acting so common.”
Karla’s comment made Ivan chuckle awkwardly. She wasn’t entirely wrong; map reading, or cartography, wasn’t something commoners typically learned. There was no reason Ivan, who had lived as a typical commoner, would know how to do it.
“Let me see.”
Karla extended her hand, and Ivan handed her the map. Struggling to keep it steady amidst the fluttering wind, Ivan held down one corner.
“First, we need to find which way is north. Over here, there should be a notation, like the number 4, indicating the cardinal points. If we can figure out which direction is north from here…”
Karla lifted her gaze from the map to the sky, pointing toward the sun not yet reaching its zenith.
“Since the sun rises in the east, by observing its movement, we can determine west. Knowing east and west should make finding north easier. That’s how you have to interpret the map.”
“Wow, Karla, you’re amazing.”
Karla’s chest swelled with pride at Ivan’s compliment.
Yes, this feeling—this is it.
This sense of triumph she hadn’t felt in such a long time. Even more so, it was the thrill of surpassing Ivan, of knowing something he did not.
Her heart brimmed with gratification.
The exhilaration climbed up her throat.
After continuously losing to this commoner, this was the sweet taste of victory!
A tingling pleasure filled her chest.
“And this…”
As Ivan finally flattened the map, the sudden appearance of some writing made Karla’s eyes widen dramatically.
So wide, in fact, they couldn’t possibly open any further. Her gaze seemed to pierce the map itself.
“Karla, what’s wrong?”
Ivan’s question went unanswered as Karla remained silent. Her eyes were fixed on a name on the map—Abzetti Cave.
The very same cave mentioned in the log of those who had hunted Venere.
The cave where Venere’s remains were supposedly stored had now appeared on this map.
