But Aron wanted to know exactly what had happened to them after they entered the vortex.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he said, “Um…
everyone, I know all of this is pretty shocking.” “But could you tell me what happened after you entered this vortex?” The group exchanged glances before sighing.
They remembered that Aron was still here.
And with him present, his Assistant wouldn’t do anything to them.
Sarah was the first to speak.
“We’re from Dragon Scale City, an S-Rank city.” “Our team is called the Iron Shield Mercenary Group.” Aron’s expression immediately changed.
His eyes widened almost instantly.
If he remembered correctly, after being disqualified from the National Sire Exam in his previous life, he had eventually traveled to Dragon Scale City after spendimg a few days in another city.
There, he had joined a mercenary group.
And while he was working there, he had heard a piece of news.
A B-rank mercenary team known as the ‘Iron Shield Mercenary Group’ had gone missing after entering the Wasteland Forest.
They had vanished without a trace.
Aron’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the group.
So this group had died inside this vortex in his previous life?
Then what about their bodies?
Even if they had been killed by monsters, their bones should have remained.
And if the vortex eventually collapsed, everything inside it should have been expelled into the outside world.
At the very least, some evidence should have been found.
Yet no one had ever discovered anything.
Aron’s frown deepened.
Even if nobody entered the vortex, it should have eventually broken apart.
The monsters inside would have poured into the outside world.
Their bodies, their belongings, some trace of them should have appeared but nothing had ever been found.
His expression turned extremely grim.
That could only mean one thing.
Someone had deliberately hidden the existence of this advancing vortex.
A chill ran through his body.
‘So that was it!
‘ In his previous life, the world hadn’t learned about advancing vortexes for another three years.
Perhaps it wasn’t because nobody had discovered them.
Perhaps someone had been suppressing that information all along.
Aron nodded his head to the group in understanding.
However, his mind was elsewhere.
He kept thinking about the person or organization that had managed to hide the truth about advancing vortices for nearly three whole years.
No matter what, he had to stay away from them for now.
Anyone capable of suppressing information on such a scale couldn’t possibly be simple.
At that moment, Sarah continued.
“We came near Archeon City’s wasteland when we discovered this vortex.” “At first, we didn’t want to enter it as…” She hesitated for a moment.
Aron immediately asked, “As what?” Sarah glanced at everyone before answering.
“My Assistant, the little fairy, warned me not to enter this particular vortex.” Aron frowned.
He could already guess why her Assistant had done that.
He wanted to ask something to the little skeleton beside him, but seeing its bad mood, he decided against it for now.
Instead, he continued, “So you ignored the warning and entered anyway.
Then what happened?” This time, Lisa took over.
“Everything was normal at first.” “Me, Rob, and Gorgon all possess B-rank skills, so we took the lead.” “We killed quite a few C-rank monsters along the way.
Most of them were in the Initial and Middle(proper) stages of C-rank, 1 or 2 were at Peak C-rank.” “As expected from a B-rank vortex.” She paused before her expression darkened.
“Then we encountered a Rainbow-Scaled Lizard, a Giant Iguana, and even a Black Scorpion.” “All of them were Peak B-rank monsters.” “During the fight against the lizard, Cedric was seriously injured.” “Then, before we could recover, we were attacked by a Peak B-rank Sand Hypnotist Viper.” “Our team was already exhausted.” “Sarah was busy healing Cedric, leaving only five of us to fight the monster.” Lisa clenched her fists.
“Then the viper used its tail.” “Sarah and Mika were unknowingly placed under its control.” “We didn’t realize what had happened until Mika was struck by the viper’s poison and…” Her voice trailed off.
Myra and Sarah immediately lowered their heads.
Their hands tightened around their clothes.
The atmosphere became heavy once again.
They had lost a teammate.
A companion who had fought beside them for years.
Gorgon let out a long sigh before continuing.
“All of our savings, food supplies, water, and even our Vortex Stones were stored inside Mika’s personal space.” “He created it using his Space Skill.” “We didn’t know what to do after that.” “This vortex is strange.” “We hadn’t even reached the core yet, but the monsters we encountered were already Peak B-rank.” “So we left a warning message for anyone who might enter after us.” He shook his head bitterly.
“After that, we continued moving toward the center, hoping we could somehow clear the vortex and escape.” “Then the Desert Hyenas attacked us.” “And after that…” His eyes moved toward Aron.
“We already know what happened next.” Aron nodded his head and said, “Collect these things…
They are yours.
I found them accidentally…” Then, with a wave of his hand, countless items appeared from the System Space and landed heavily on the ground.
A pile of Erdalon Coins.
The carcasses of thirty-two C-rank monsters.
Three Peak B-rank monster corpses.
And thirteen Vortex Stones.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The items piled up in front of everyone.
The group stared at the scene in complete shock.
Rob and Cedric were the first to notice something unbelievable.
Those items…They were exactly the things Mika had stored inside his Space Particle.
Their eyes widened as they looked toward Aron.
How had he managed to retrieve them?
Lisa, Gorgon, Myra, and Sarah also turned toward him.
Everyone’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
Aron let out a helpless sigh.
“Uh…
I have dual skills.” “One of them is related to my eyes.” “I discovered a Space Particle near Mika’s grave and managed to take it with me.” Naturally, he had no intention of explaining how he had actually opened the Space Particle.
Then he immediately found a perfect scapegoat.
Pointing at the little skeleton on his shoulder, he added, “He helped me open it.” The skeleton instantly froze.
Then it pointed a shaky bony finger at Aron.
“You…!” “Ummm…
Hmmm…!” Before it could expose him, Aron grabbed the skeleton and covered its mouth.
The little skeleton struggled desperately, but not a single word came out of it’s mouth.
Aron smiled awkwardly at the group while holding the skeleton in place.
Lisa and the others exchanged glances.
Then they nodded their heads together.
They didn’t ask any further questions.
Deep down, they knew Aron was hiding something.
Everyone had secrets.
As long as he had no ill intentions toward them, there was no reason to pry any further.
The group stepped forward and began collecting their belongings…
The food, the water, the Vortex Stones, the monster corpses.
Everything except the pile of money.
After they finished, Rob suddenly turned toward Aron.
“Sir.” Aron looked up.
Rob continued seriously, “You already saved our lives.” “And those medicines you gave us…” He glanced at Sarah and the others.
“We know medicines with effects like that must be extremely valuable.” “Please accept this money.” Cedric, Gorgon, Lisa, Myra, and Sarah all nodded in agreement.
Aron was about to refuse…
” No no, how could I accept this?
This is your hard earned mon…
” Then suddenly…
CRUNCH!
“Aaaah!” A sharp pain shot through his hand.
The little skeleton had bitten him, in his hand.
Aron immediately released it and started shaking his hand wildly.
The skeleton flew back onto his shoulder.
Then it folded its arms and looked away with a huff.
“A money-grubber refusing money?
Now that’s something incredible to see.” Lisa and others chuckled.
Lisa looked at Aron still chuckling, covered her face and told aron, ” Sir, please accept it….
You saved our lives and even retrieved our belongings, You deserve it.” Aron couldn’t say anything to the skeleton.
After all, he still hadn’t revealed his secret.
Then he looked at lisa and others, who was waiting for him to accept the money.
He sighed and simply walked toward the pile of money still shaking his hand.
In truth, he was extremely happy…
A few moments ago, he had only been acting polite.
But as a poor orphan who had struggled for most of his life, there wasn’t much he loved more than money.
He cleared his throat and said, “Then…
thank you for your kindness.” The moment he finished speaking, he waved his hand.
Whoosh!
The entire pile of Erdalon Coins disappeared into his Space Ring.
Everyone shook their heads.
Lisa smiled, “No, Sir.
If you hadn’t appeared today, we would have died here.” “In front of your kindness, this little bit of money is nothing.” Aron smiled awkwardly, “You don’t have to call me sir.” “My name is Aron.
Aron Argentine.
You can just call me by my name.” Everyone nodded and introduced themselves properly one by one.
After the introductions were over, Aron’s expression became serious again.
Looking at the group, he said, “I’m planning to clear this vortex.” “You should leave as soon as possible.” “And be careful.” His tone grew solemn.
“Something is very wrong with this vortex.” “If possible, report everything directly to the Sire Association in Dragon Scale City.” Sarah hesitated before speaking.
“But Aron…” “You said you’re staying here.” “This vortex is strange.” “What if there are even stronger monsters inside?” The others also looked at him.
Aron nodded, “I know.” “The strongest monster inside should be A-rank.” “A-rank?!” Gorgon’s eyes widened.
Everyone else was equally shocked.
“Why would an A-rank monster be inside a B-rank vortex?” Rob asked.
Aron sighed.
Then he lowered his voice, “Don’t spread this information around carelessly.” “Just remember it.” “Whenever you discover a vortex in the future, inspect its color carefully before entering.” “If you notice another color appearing around its perimeter, don’t enter.” The group immediately became attentive.
Aron continued, “Those are called Advancing Vortices.” “Any Advancing Vortex contains monsters stronger than its displayed rank.” “And as time passes, the monsters inside continue evolving.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Sovereign_Dark Hey guys!
I decided to post 5 chapters today!
Starting Wednesday, I’ll be uploading one chapter every day, so stay tuned!
I hope you enjoy the story.
Don’t forget to leave a comment with your review, add the novel to your library for more exciting chapters.