Awakening: I Ascend As A Legendary Ranked Necromancer-Chapter 30: Three days later

Three days later.

It had been three days since our battles and last-minute saving, and Litha was still scolding me.

"You don’t know? Have you forgotten how much firepower you extracted through the bone back in the cave? And that was from a little piece, how then do you think a whole jaw of a big monster would react?!

"I’m doing things with idiots!" she threw up her hands.

We were still in the hotel we’d rented after being discharged from the hospital the previous day, where the healer had fixed us up. Yesterday had been spent answering questions from the Government who’d gotten wind of the events.

Fortunately, the explosion had destroyed the monster’s body and the paladins, so the officials could just write it off as a normal zone abnormality. But as Litha put it, "unfortunately, there’s no refund from them."

"Calm down, Litha. He saved our lives. Again," Temur said from the couch, his bandaged head resting against a soft pillow.

She paused, gathering her thoughts. "You’re right. And I’ve already thanked you but don’t think that saves you from scolding! And I saved our lives too!"

She explained how she’d woken during the final battle with the paladins, saw me cast the spell, and surrounded herself and Temur in the thickest shield she’d ever made before passing out again.

Luckily, my own magic protected me.

She woke again just before the moon showed and had to drag us out of the zone. The rot monster had scared almost all other monsters out of the zone in the afternoon, which had been a stroke of luck.

I couldn’t count how many times she’d passed out while dragging us, but she took potions, which strengthened her slightly. Eventually, she collapsed unconscious at the edge of the zone, where the Government officials found us.

I smiled. I was just glad we made it.

"Thank you, Litha," I said. For once, someone had been there for me.

She looked at me.

I was already healed, even my monster doing well, but my magic, just like the three of us, had been drained. Enough rest and it was just recovering. "No need to thank me. We all did our parts."

She sighed.

"You’re still thinking about the monster cores." I said with a slight smile.

Litha bit her lips. "All our money has been used on the Ascendant healer in the hospital. Even the few monsters and cores we brought were sold to cover the treatment costs."

Temur winced from the couch. His healing alone had required two Ascendants and one Climber healer to restore him to full health. They’d had to prevent his brain from shutting down.

I cleared my throat. "We did gain a lot of essence from the monsters, especially that big one."

Even now, I could feel the essence accumulating in my Grimoire.

"That’s true," Litha conceded. "But the test is in two days, and we’ll need a lot for the next floor. Not to mention the money to rent a new zone on the upper floor. Although it’s a bit far, the monsters there are many."

Temur cleared his throat. "The Government us another zone as compensation, though."

Litha shook her head. "I’ve thought about that, but we’re not at full health. We can’t risk getting wounded with the test so close."

"But we’re Awakeners. Isn’t this the kind of thing we can handle? I say we grind for the remaining two days without rest. We’ll gain essence and money. We can rest on floor 101," I said.

She looked at Temur, then back at me, and finally smiled. "Whatever you say, Necromancer."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

The day of the test arrived.

And Thayer Argent was already hating it, not the test itself, but the Awakeners surrounding him.

"What do you think it’ll be?"

"I heard the tests on floors 102 and 101 are for reducing the size of Climbers. They’ll shrink everything they can. It’s even called the Bloody Test!"

"Well, you should be okay. You have a powerful Grimoire."

"Huh! Even I, with a common Grimoire, will climb!"

Thayer shook his head with a sigh. He wished there was a way to reduce the size without cramping fifty thousand people into one place. He looked around but didn’t spot who he was looking for, Litha and the others. They must not be close to him.

"Ah. I guess with so many participants and tests happening in five other places, it couldn’t be helped," he shrugged. Even he hadn’t allowed his team to come, since it was a solo test.

Suddenly, a platform floated above, letting out a screeching sound that resonated through the gathering.

"Hellllllo!" a feminine, playful voice shouted. "I’ll be your host today!"

A projection filled the air, of a woman with pink skin and black clothes hugging her curves. She smiled at them. "Oh my! This is the largest climb in a while. It’s going to be sooo fuuuuuuun!"

Thayer watched the projection. "I thought the floor owner would show themselves, but with these numbers, I guess it’s impossible."

"We’ll start in a few seconds. Once the gate closes, no one else will be admitted. But who in their right mind would be late?"

Thayer nodded. Indeed, who would? Everyone had been eagerly waiting.

Suddenly, shocked murmurs spread through the Awakeners, spreading until everyone wanted to know what was happening.

The projection above changed and now showed the gate, where three Awakeners had just walked in, looking almost dazed.

"What the...?" They looked familiar, but Thayer couldn’t immediately tell because it seems as if the three he was looking at had passed through the valley of fire and brimstone. "They must have lost their minds."