The Otherworldly Adventures of a Super Naive Girl

471: Three Modes

Algernon was still in the game and was unaware of Pamela’s situation. He had the good luck to escape disaster but his two followers weren’t as lucky and had died under the wolves’ claws.

Feng Wu and her group slept in the stone quarry. It was uncomfortable because it was stuffy and hot during the day, but it was safer to sleep during the day than at night.

Melis had a lot of energy and was like a whole new person after getting some rest.

Ink learned Melis could identify plants and refine medicine after chatting with her. In fact, Melis made most of the medicine she had on her. She was definitely a genius when it came to refining pharmaceutical components. But pharmacists needed a lot of money to start up and her family’s situation wasn’t optimal for learning a field that required so much funding.

Melis was a hunter’s daughter. It took her family ten years just to save for her tuition. Where would they have had money to spend on learning something as expensive as pharmacy?

But she really did have a natural talent for it. Just by using the knowledge she got from being a hunter, she was able to tweak basic prescriptions and make them better. She chose a pharmacy elective course when she entered Xingguang Holy academy and became stronger at drug refinement than most of her peers. Of course, there was also a lot of effort on her part, but raw talent helped tremendously.

She spent a lot of time practicing swordsmanship. Had she entered the Pharmacy division from the start, the division would have had another genius in their class.

Ink didn’t object to her joining their group because Melis was skilled at refining medicine. Besides, Feng Wu knew Melis, so it wasn’t an issue for her join them.

It was easier with her around.

Whenever Melis spotted a useful herb, she would grab it and process it into powder later that night for future use. She knew perfectly well why Ink had agreed to let her join the group.

She hadn’t refined any medicinal potions before because she didn’t have the special instruments needed for the process. This set of alchemical tools was a set she picked up at the beginning of the group challenge earlier.

Because she was in a lower grade, she had wanted to prove her value to the team and show she wouldn’t hold them back on the team challenge. It was a pity her team got wiped out before she got to use any of the items she picked.

The current Feng Wu alliance was a slow-moving group of three people. It was clear from the broadcast screen they were far behind the lead group.

The contestants didn’t know their three days of peace was about to be shattered with new challenges that would eliminate many.

“Vice Principal, may I ask if there is a significance to the vote we are about to take? Between Sandstorm mode, Great Escape mode, Quicksand Trap mode, is there a difference?”

Tamansha turned her head to look at the vice principal. Everyone was confused by the options that appeared in front of them in the large square. The options listed were: Sandstorm mode, Great Escape mode, Quicksand Trap mode.

The vice principal cleared his throat then plastered a smile on his face, but it was impossible to tell if it was a kind smile or not because of his fluffy, white beard that obscured parts of his face.

“The three modes are tests our contestants will encounter in the desert level. Going forward, they will encounter a new test at each new map, with each test being more difficult than the last.”

“So will they have to go through all three modes?”

The vice principal shook his head as a hint of joy tinted is voice. “Only one will be selected as the challenge mode. Those who fail will be eliminated immediately. The other two modes not selected will be discarded and won’t appear again.”

So Vice Principal, are you looking forward to the contestants’ bad luck?

How could the crowd not be excited to chose what challenge the contestants would go through?

Tamansha asked the vice principal to introduce the three modes, but unfortunately the vice principal was tightlipped and refused to share any information.

The audience had to chose based on their feelings. All three surely had their own levels of difficulties, so no matter which they picked, the challengers would face difficulties.

“OK, the numbers have been tallied and the final result is in, the mode the contestants must face is. . . ” Tamansha opened the envelope with the results. “Great Escape with 40% of the total votes!”

Tamansha’s excited announcement from on stage surprised the audience.

“What did you choose buddy?” asked someone from offstage.

“It goes without saying, of course I picked Quicksand Trap.”

“I chose Great Escape. Just the name alone sounds difficult.”

“Me too.”

“I chose Sandstorm. I didn’t understand what the other two were about, so I picked the one I understood.”

Of course the people who voted didn’t know. . . 

It was night time, the most dangerous time, in the arena. The temperature plummeted and all kinds of monsters came out to hunt. Any contestant not careful would be bitten to death.

The wound on Melis’s body healed after a few days rest in part because her medicine was effective and in part because wounds healed faster in the virtual world.

It was really strange how they hadn’t encountered anyone else on the road. Ink took out his map and studied it carefully for a long time. There were several routes they could take to get to the next area, and though the one they took was the shortest and fastest, he never expected it would be so untraveled. How could they be they only ones to use it?

If Ink had come from a different generation he may have called it out for being unrealistic!

472: Great Escape

Ink didn’t have time to wonder why they weren’t running into anyone else because an unfamiliar voice rang out from the sky.

“Attention all contestants! Great Escape mode will start in half an hour. Contestants need only survive until morning to pass to the next map area. The top ten will be entered into a lottery drawing.

The drawing is very important for the next area, so all students are encouraged to try their best to enter the top ten. Announcement end!”

The voice fell to silence.

Were all the contestants enemies now? Great Escape mode? What hell was that?!

“Pack up and prepare for battle!” Ink yelled out.

The challenge was crazy so this new mode wouldn’t be anything easy to deal with.

Everyone readied their weapons as soon as they finished packing away their tents.

Ink led the two girls to the remains of a large nearby beast. Who knew how long it had been there, but it was so old that only the skeletal remains where left. They quickly hid inside.

The giant white bones were huge and gave them adequate cover so they couldn’t be seen from the outside.

The half hour passed by quickly. Everyone wondered what the mode entailed when it finally activated.

“Kill. . . ”

“Roar!”

“Hoowooo!”

“Kill, kill, kill. . . ”

Fierce murderous aura filled the arena and the entire desert came alive with activity. A great number of zombies and low-level monsters rushed out from out of nowhere and ran rampant across the desert. Their eyes were red and their mouths looked ferocious.

It was terrifying!

“Crap!” Ink took a deep fortifying breath and stayed silent after that.

“That’s insane!” Melis was scared. She clapped her hands over her mouth and didn’t dare make another sound for fear they would be discovered.

“So many.” Feng Wu frowned. There were so many monsters. What should she do?

It was a good thing they thought ahead and found a good place to hide inside the skeleton. The original monster’s aura still clung to the carcass, so the advancing monsters outside wouldn’t be able to detect them for a while. They didn’t dare make a sound and risk discovery.

Feng Wu hid obediently with her mouth shut. She couldn’t feel any sentience from the monsters.

The monsters outside appeared in groups and acted on instincts alone so it didn’t look like they had any sense of self. Feng Wu was disappointed. If she could have talked to them, then they could have been friends and she wouldn’t be as afraid.

Virtual Space God: In your dreams! They’re specifically guarded against you!

Sister Alpaca stood beside Feng Wu and peeked out through the gaps in the bones at the scene in the desert.

So many monsters! Poor baby girl was going to be scared half to death! Terrifying! Terrifying! Woo. . .  woo! Baby girl was so scared she wedged her body tight into Feng Wu.

The display screen outside showed the entire desert area. The audience could see the contestants desperately running away from the large amount of monsters on the map, but it was no use. Those standing in the open were quickly chased and killed.

Had Feng Wu’s group been unlucky and not found a place to shelter, they would have been out there now, targeted by the siege and surely dying a horrible death!

Ming Xi and Tian Ya were among the few people at the forefront of the group. Without exception, everyone picked the more dangerous, narrow path.

Powerful monsters came out even in the day time to block their way. But unfortunately for the monsters, Ming Xi and Tian Ya were so ridiculously strong, the monsters faced a guaranteed death.

Both Ming Xi and Tian Ya hid in the desert before the Great Escape mode was activated. On top of that, Ming Xi sprinkled both of them with powder to cover their smell so they remained hidden from the first wave of monsters.

Ai Lin hid inside a box. The box was something she found in one of the chests she opened. It gave complete immunity to all dangers and could even hide a person’s smell.

It was a unique item, but Ai Lin had been disappointed at its uselessness. Such a box wasn’t for her. She would have appreciated something to increase her attack of magical abilities more. What was she supposed to use the box for? Hiding away when someone said mean things to her?

She had refused to hide in the box initially, but when the announcement about the Great Escape was made, she knew what was going to happen.

It was when she looked around and failed to find anything to hide in that she remembered the box. She took it out and went inside without hesitation.

She was certain the challenge mode would be terrifying so hiding was the safer action to take.

Zi Cheng and Yifu hid in between two large rocks and carefully eliminated their smell. The demon wolf was a magical beast, but for the sake safety, she used some on the beast as well.

Once the mode was activated and the two girls saw the scene outside, they were quite grateful for their quick wits and action. Had they been foolish enough to hold their weapons and wait to fight, they would have been completely overwhelmed.

Zhu En, the girl who recently held a grudge against Feng Wu, was wearing a red cloak. It was a unique item that made the user invisible, however, the stealth function ceased the moment the user attacked or suffered an attack. So unlike Ai Lin’s box that was immune to all attacks, the cloak made Zhu En invisible, but it did not protect her.

Zhu En was careful to not touch anything as she tried her best to avoid the monsters.

Those who didn’t get special items, couldn’t find a place to hide, or didn’t think to hide were in poor shape. The display screen showed a large number of contestants being killed. Only a few managed to escape. But even with a successful escape, they still had to be careful, lest they get killed by other roaming monsters.