BXBX NOVEL Chapter 140: Chapter 140:Conditions [2]
There were slight indications of activity as some areas of the ground were slightly more elevated than others.
Manifesting a crow, I sent it flying up ahead of me and towards the tree to scout the area for any other abnormalities.
I had already discovered there were no animals in the forest...so was it one of the main cast?
Had the abnormality with the tree yesterday also been caused by the main cast...?
As my hope slowly faded away, I continued on my way to the tree from yesterday, occasionally switching bodies with my crow for a slight second.
I had actually gotten quite used to the feeling.
For the split second I entered the crow\'s body, my body would become lifeless and start falling to the floor, but after a while, I had gotten so fast at it that I could return and catch my body before it hit the floor.
The same kind of thing also happened with my one dragon wing as when I first started using it, I was always imbalanced, but after while, I adjusted and adapted to the point where I didn\'t even feel off balance.
It wasn\'t practice that made me able to adjust so perfectly.
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
Through my dozens of battles with opponents such as the corrupted figure, I had gotten the perfect practice and experience, so I was able to adapt easily.
Simply training against AI dummies, practicing alone in a room, or sparring with others would not yield the results I had achieved.
A true experience where you and thousands of others\' lives were on the line was the perfect practice in this case.
Catching myself before I hit the floor as I returned to my body, I discovered that in other areas, the forest was completely fine.
It was only this subsection that coincidentally contained the abnormal tree that I had marked in it.
Was this a sign of good fortune?
I sure as hell wasn\'t getting my hopes up, but it was something, at least...
*CRACKLE*
Hearing the sound of leaves being crushed in front of me, I immediately activated the grace period of dash before slowing my pace to a stop, hiding myself in the shade of the nearby trees.
Attempting to see the source, I peered through the dense trees; however, when I saw the seven familiar figures in front of me, I almost sighed out loud.
Lily, Alya, Zach, Kevin, Liam, Irene, and Ruby were all searching the area right next to my marked tree, now only a couple of seconds away from discovering it.
My G- luck stat was not only not helping me find the end condition... but it was also hurting me.
Well, if they found the tree I had marked, they would probably assume it was me as they knew I was also in this forest with them.
The only problem was how messed up they had in the area.
Now, I couldn\'t tell what was abnormal and what wasn\'t... as they had completely changed the area around the tree.
Leaves were spread all around the floor, flowers were stepped on, and rocks were being moved around.
What if one of the leaves were in the end condition...?
I guess we\'ll never know... until tomorrow when the forest resets again.
Keeping a faint bit of hope, I looked at the tree, which hadn\'t yet been messed up by the main cast, Ruby, and Irene\'s tampering.
Scaling the tree next to me, I used a dash, instantly appearing on the branch of another tree ten meters away.
Not making a single sound or any signs, I pounced from branch to branch until, finally, I was only a couple of trees away from the marked one.
Right below me stood Ruby and Lily, who were seconds away from discovering my marked tree.
I had two options here.
Either risk having the area messed up and go for the tree to quickly check it before the main cast arrives... or just expose myself.
If I didn\'t do something now... I would have to wait until tomorrow to check on the tree, wasting a lot of time in the process.
And those children would have to gather water during that wasted time, caused purely by my stubbornness.
"...86,400 seconds or one day divided by 30 seconds."
2880 times.
That was the amount of times they would have to gather water if I waited until tomorrow to do something.
Still tired from the creation of the map, I didn\'t bother to manifest a hat or sunglasses as I descended the tree.
Placing my right foot on the tree\'s trunk, I slid down the tree like I was on a skateboard, arriving right in front of Ruby and Lily.
As the two had their backs faced the other way, they didn\'t notice me at first, so I patiently waited.
As the two slowly turned to face me, I didn\'t give them any time to react as I waved my right hand with a smile and said.
"Fancy seeing you two here!"
Looking at me with the same confused expression, Lily was the first to break the silence as she muttered.
"y-yeah, it is. how exactly di- Oh... never mind."
...she didn\'t forget I was here with them too, right?
Giving Lily a nod, I turned to Ruby, who had a more animated expression as she replied.
"Finally came to your senses and realized it\'s useless working alone?"
Shaking my head, I said nothing as I walked between them and towards the tree.
"Just gonna slip by you guys here!"
Not waiting for their reaction, I slowly walked towards the tree, ensuring that I wasn\'t making any chances.
A dagger mark.
It was there.
A deep dagger cut was imprinted in the trunk of the tree.