Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 182 - The Augury Tower (9)

182: The Augury Tower (9) freewёbnoνel.com

182: The Augury Tower (9)

It was inside a closed-off compartment of the tent and guarded by two Gremlin watchguards, but taking care of them quietly was no problem, particularly with the noise reduction from Sneak.

I had already confirmed it over the past days, but these guys’ instincts and senses were nothing like the Protagonist’s harem from the Beast Tamer Contract, or even mine now that I had Heightened Senses, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing.

Swiftly after dispatching the guards, I entered the room and took the relic, depositing it in Storage without hesitation.

‘Finally…’

Letting out a deep sigh of relief, I had successfully completed the first part of the Objective, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.

There was the rest of the Objective to go, and I had less than two days to complete it.

Fortunately, I had been making sure to update the map every time I let a Gremlin lead me closer to their settlement, meaning I knew roughly how far away I was from the starting temple, and more importantly, in what direction.

‘They ended up taking me in a different direction from before, so it shouldn’t take as long to get back if I just go in a straight line.’

Because I had wasted so much time just exploring aimlessly and dealing with the constant harassment squads sent after me, I now had to move faster than I would have liked, but there wasn’t anything I could do but deal with it.

At the very least, I figured if I ignore all distractions and head right back to the temple as soon as possible, I should still be able to make it before the Time Limit runs out.

‘I’m not sure if the relic would stay in Storage even after I failed the Objective, but I don’t really want to risk finding out.’

That was another thing that occurred to me, but because I already knew spatial storage magic like the Storage system wasn’t something unique to me even on Earth, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the case.

What’s more, although I personally didn’t believe it to be the case, it’s true that there was certainly a chance for the layout of the whole jungle to shift and change once the Objective was failed.

In that case, then not only would I lose the relic in my possession, but I would also need to spend over a day trailing Gremlins to locate their camp again before returning.

It wasn’t a super long time, but now that my goal was to ascend the Tower as fast as possible to catch up with the Frontliners, any unnecessarily wasted time was a hindrance.

‘With that said, I should probably get going quickly.’

Sneaking back out the way I came, I successfully managed to exit the camp without alerting any Gremlins of my presence.

‘Good…

This stealth really is powerful.’

Recalling back to when I wanted to purchase some armour, eventually landing on the Draconic Shadow with the Librarian’s recommendation, I remembered focusing primarily on the protective aspect of the set, but now that enough time has passed, I was truly beginning to appreciate just how useful the other aspects were proving, too.

Physical Regeneration Enhancement and Superior Presence Concealment were two properties I was relieved to have access to, and not only that, but the Weight Reduction Enhancement property I forgot about was also great, allowing me to move and act without draining as much stamina and energy.

They were all boons that allowed me to get away with things ordinary Challengers wouldn’t, at least those who didn’t possess similar abilities from their Awakening.

I was only belatedly realising it, but I was already far stronger, and infinitely more capable than I was when I first killed the Hero, not to mention the fact I hadn’t even been able to raise my physical standards beyond a regular human level yet.

‘And it’ll only get better from here…’

Feeling a smirk arise on my face behind the Villain’s Vizard, I ducked my head and booked it the moment I escaped the Gremlins’ base.

On my way back to the ancient temple, I was actually able to travel a bit faster now that there was no need to moderate my speed, meaning I was able to return quicker than I first imagined.

Or well, I thought so―until I realised there was more of a need to take frequent breaks than I expected.

Travelling faster meant running out of stamina faster, and that meant I needed to rest more to recover.

Fortunately, because I knew roughly where I was going, I could pace myself without the worry that I might not make it in time, and not only that, but I needn’t concern myself with the possibility of Gremlins chasing after me―even if they did, there was nothing they could do to stop me.

Incidentally, the reason I wouldn’t use Sneak was the same for why I didn’t use it to wait them out instead of hunting them down until now.

In short, because I still needed to go around and find the relic anyway, they would quickly locate me no matter what I did, so waiting for them to give up finding me was a waste of time.

However, now that it didn’t matter even if they did find me, I could move as I pleased.

I managed to arrive at the ancient temple by the end of the day.

My pace must have been faster than I thought even with the occasional breaks, perhaps a result of being invigorated by the idea that I’d be able to finally be done with this damn jungle.

Promptly diving through the temple’s top entrance the moment I arrived, I rushed through the various corridors and down multiple sets of broken stairs, brushing past the many old statues that were weathered away by time and nature, soon arriving at the lowest level, the room I first spawned in.

As the altar at the end of the room appeared in my eyes, I clenched my fists, briskly approaching it.

Without hesitation, I summoned the stone orb from Storage, placing it carefully atop the altar right away.

Because the top of the altar possessed an indent in the shape of the bowl, the relic fit perfectly, as if it was always meant to be there from the beginning.

As expected, a notification appeared.

[Objective Complete]

However, rather than celebrating, my first thought was that something was strange.

‘Usually, doesn’t it say ‘Floor Cleared’…?’

Before I had time to even question the sudden change, more popped up.

[New Objective: Escape the ancient temple]

[Time Limit: 5 Minutes]

“…What?”

At that moment, the world around me began to shake.