Charles followed, deadpan.
"So... you knew we were tied up?"
Yuris whistled from the side.
"Nah, believe me when I say this jerk only noticed it after she was gone. Before that, he was far too busy ogling her."
Austin just chuckled darkly.
"I wonder, if we told the princess what just happened here, would she slap someone?"
Skyler’s eyebrow twitched at the disdain in their voices. Even so, seeing that he didn’t feel any shame left everyone speechless.
They struggled for an hour in the ice and finally freed themselves from the chains, only to discover Skyler storing them in his storage ring as if they were some treasure.
At this point, they didn’t even have the energy to be speechless at his actions.
So many bizarre events had happened since they began following this guy that they might as well get used to this too.
The 16th level of the Battle Royale was difficult to traverse, but compared to the time they had been chased by hordes of beasts, it was far more manageable.
In this cold level, their challenge was to defeat an ice wyvern before advancing.
Naturally, they were all sent flying without any big chance of victory. Even Isaac, who had been dragged out of the pocket space, struggled against the angry wyvern. After a grueling battle that lasted through the night, they managed to move on to the next level.
It was just as they were leaving the 16th level that Austin caught a sudden glimpse of a little white rabbit covered in ice, quietly watching them from afar. Its crimson eyes glinted like blood against the snow. Austin was so startled he cursed under his breath.
Knowing the Battle Royale, he was certain that no creature here could be cute and felt relieved that they had avoided the harmless looking rabbit, which could very well have posed a greater danger than the wyvern.
The rabbit’s presence would have gone completely unnoticed, since Austin didn’t mention it. But how could 505 stay silent upon seeing the familiar rabbit again?
A familiar, trembling message screen immediately flashed before Skyler’s eyes.
("Host!! That rabbit you marked with the Emblem of Gratitude was in the 16th level! OMG! How did it make it to the 16th level?! This can’t be... unless it climbed the lower levels like you and your friends...? Gasp!")
Skyler was puzzled. He indeed vaguely remembered a small, red-eyed rabbit that had helped him during the preliminary test of the Battle Royale, but nothing more.
"What Emblem of Gratitude?"
505 went silent. If it remembered correctly, Skyler had unconsciously used the Emblem of Gratitude on the little rabbit without even realizing it. How was it supposed to explain that? Damn, why was system life so hard!
Harder than all other systems!
Was it because Skyler was its host?
Ultimately, 505 did its best to explain the ’Emblem of Gratitude.’ It manifests on its own when a higher being marks someone, serving as repayment for the favor received and helping the bearer grow stronger at an accelerated rate. Every higher being has a distinct mark that sets their identity apart from others. In this case, Skyler had left a white gem mark on the rabbit’s forehead.
It wasn’t recorded anywhere in 505’s vast database, as if such a mark didn’t exist.
Skyler was silent, then asked.
"Are you sure I left such a mark?"
505 immediately replied.
("Yes, yes! You did!")
Skyler’s brows furrowed in worry.
"Well, there’s no use overthinking. I don’t even know if I truly possess the ability you just mentioned. And even if I went back to the 16th level, there’s no guarantee I would find that rabbit. Next time you see it, inform me. I need to see it to confirm something. Hopefully... it will stay safe until then."
505 nodded virtually and began keeping an even more vigilant eye on the surroundings.
It was just a step away from developing a method to bring people from the outside here; once complete, it would notify him.
Then they could finally bring Riruru here.
As for the other tasks Skyler had assigned, it had mostly succeeded—such as severing the links of Austin and the others’ systems from the main system, like it had cut off its own connection, and tracking the locations of those whose systems it had infiltrated.
Sometimes, 505 wondered why it was so talented and damn amazing. Just look at what it was doing—risking everything, even though it knew that once the main system caught wind of it, it would be finished. Hah, truly it was different from all other systems.
Skyler, its host, was right. It had the potential to become the best system.
After hypnotizing its codes with all that nonsense, 505 started working again.
***
After the 16th level, the next three levels were similar, each with similar challenges.
By the morning of the 18th day since entering the Battle Royale, they found themselves stepping into the 20th level.
It was a hellishly hot landscape, filled with towering volcanoes, vast lakes of molten crimson lava, and swarming centipedes.
Yuris unzipped his slightly torn jacket. He didn’t dare throw it away, since most of the clothes he had brought from the outside world had long been ripped or discarded.
His hands were calloused—something he had never developed in his twenty years of life, yet had gained in just seventeen days.
He gazed at the vast, burning landscape, a faint, choked mutter escaping his dry lips.
"Unbelievable. I, Yuris Yu, have cleared 19 levels of the Battle Royale in such a short time. I can finally declare... I am far better than my older brother! Hahahaha!"
He wiped his tears and collapsed, quickly drifting into unconsciousness with a smile. Now, the joy of finally being allowed to faint surpassed even the joy of having surpassed his older brother. He had held himself back from fainting immediately like Austin, Zack, Charles, and Isaac, using sheer willpower to savor the moment of success and declare that he was better than his older brother.