"What a coincidence..."
Skyler mused with a scoff, hiding himself and watching the familiar silver-eyed man. He couldn't believe Zack would be the first person he would meet in this place.
("Host, isn't that the person who left you after asking you to join his team...! I can tell he has grown stronger from his aura!")
He tsked at 505's words.
"Indeed, it's him. The person who asked me to join his team as a healer. But if Zack had discovered the cave first, he probably wants to rest there too. So, I can't stay here."
That's what Skyler thought. He would have turned and left to find another place to rest.
But he halted as he saw something before Zack. Skyler's eyes glowed a dark hue.
"505, what's that? A status screen?"
("What??")
The system was perplexed. It followed its host's gaze, but couldn't see anything.
("Host, are you sure you aren't imagining things? What status screen? In no way, a contender of Battle Royal can see another contender's system notifications or status screen. Not even 505 can do it. It's a rule to give them the utmost privacy. No one, not even the higher beings, can pry into one's status screen or linked systems here.")
Skyler read what 505 told him. His eyes narrowed, the dark hue deepening into a stormy abyss as he fixed his gaze on the gray screen before Zack.
"No, no, no! I'm not imagining this! I'm seeing it, clear as day! That gray screen before him! Wait, it's not a status screen. Not a notification as well... It's shorter, more like a message prompt!"
505 panicked, hearing him. A chilling premonition dawned at its core. A message prompt? There is only one kind of message prompt that exists in the Battle Royal! The messages from the higher beings!
505 blurted out in panic.
("Host, how could you see it?!")
"I have no idea. Also, I can't see the words on the screen because Zack is in front of it. Wait... You know what that is?"
Skyler caught 505's previous words and his focus shifted to them. The system did not have a physical form, but if it did, it would have been sweating buckets of water.
("I don't know what you are saying. Haha")
A look of regret washed over Skyler's face, but his eyes still twinkled with mischief. He had to uncover the truth about the screen in front of Zack. If even his system was acting weirdly, then the screen was something he wasn't supposed to see. At least, not yet.
He pressed a hand to his chest, a sigh escaping his lips as he gazed into the air, his expression clouded with melancholy.
"It pains me, 505, that you are keeping something from me when you can tell me. I thought we would be companions, that we would rise together, you becoming the best system, me reaching the top. I suppose this is where you draw the line. I shouldn't have expected anything less from the system of the Battle Royal. Are we even friends...?"
505 gasped, taken aback by his words. It couldn't believe it had saddened its host!
("505 is sorry host! We are friends, of course! I will tell you everything!")
And just like that, a once innocent system, naive to the world, already teetering on the edge of corruption, was pushed further by a wave of emotional manipulation.
Skyler hid the lower half of his face with his hand, a grin playing on his lips. One look at that smile, and people would be scared.
'Damn, it worked again, hehe!'
He quickly masked his smile.
"Then tell me. What you know."
505, eager to lift the mood of its forlorn host, divulged everything it knew about the message prompt. Skyler listened with rapt attention, soaking in every detail.
"I see... So, Zack has the blessing of a higher being who is helping him? A sponsor, of sorts, who can talk to him and gives him points. Thus, if he becomes useful one day, they can benefit by making him their heir or servant, depending on his worth."
("Yes, host!")
Skyler rubbed his chin with a smirk.
"Interesting. I was about to leave, but I've changed my mind. I need to know what this higher being is talking to Zack about."
He glanced out from the trees toward the dark-haired man standing in the distance.
"Moreover, he's been pacing outside the cave entrance for a while now, but he's not going in. Something's surely off about his behavior. Did his sponsor tell him there's a hidden treasure in there or something? I can't leave without figuring this out."
505 disagreed with him on this matter.
("No, host. No matter how strong a higher being is, they cannot know the location of the treasures scattered in the Battle Royal. They might know if they use their strength, but higher beings don't like to waste their power on the lower levels of Battle Royal.")
Skyler's lips curled into a smirk.
"Who knows, maybe Zack found a rich higher being as a sponsor who is willing to spend even their power to help him..."
Regardless, his interest was piqued. No matter what, he was going to follow Zack. He just had to make sure the latter wouldn't sense him. With that in mind, he slowly tiptoed closer to Zack's location.
The dark hue in his eyes faded as the screen in front of Zack disappeared.
505 wanted to refute Skyler's words, wondering which higher being would be foolish enough to waste so much power on the first level, but decided to just go along for now. It had already been overwhelmed by too much information in a day. That's why it just wanted to rest for a while.
("Be careful, host. That person is powerful. Also, if you really can see that he is talking with a higher being, then if that higher being sensed you, it wouldn't be good.")
Skyler hid behind a tree trunk when Zack whipped his head in his direction suddenly. His heart raced as he clenched his jaw.
"I know. We will just follow him from a distance for a while. Tsk, I wanted to rest, but I guess I will do that after I am done."
Simultaneously, in the distance, standing before the cave, Zack's eyes narrowed.
"Is someone there?"
He whispered, his voice sharp.
Extending his senses, he searched for any sign of a living presence, but sensed no one. Not even the presence of a monster.
A frown creased his brows.
"Did I imagine it?"
Zack turned away, a scowl etched on his face. Today had been a complete disaster.
First, two random side characters—one a minor villain and one a paragraph cannon fodder—who were supposed to die outside the main story, had entered the academy.
Second, they had drawn too much attention to themselves in the academy. Third, he had arrived at this place too early, leaving him plenty of time to stew in his frustration.
"Where is that good-for-nothing? Why isn't he here yet? I'm sure he would have already noticed that his master Moore gave him a more detailed map than the others. So he could find the best treasures here."
A message flickered before him.
#Keeper of Time: Relax. Everything is unfolding as intended. A few minor deviations won't derail the narrative.
Zack glared at the screen.
"Just tell me why is the protagonist of this story such an idiot? There is a reason I did not like him when I read the novel. He is too emotional and always sides with his friends, even when they are in the wrong. If he hadn't sacrificed himself in the end, I wouldn't have given him a second thought."
He rubbed his temples. He was already frustrated, and the waiting only amplified it. With a deep breath, he tried to calm himself.
There was too much he needed to do.
Keeper of Time was right. He shouldn't be too worried about some minor characters. The story was still the same. A few small changes wouldn't change anything.
When Zack finally opened his eyes, they were very calm, devoid of any emotion.
"Let's wait patiently. He will be here soon. He likely went to locate and gather his friends first, using the tracking device he has."
He quickly settled down near the cave entrance, deciding to meditate until the protagonist and his team arrived. The Evol within his body was a bit chaotic. After all, he had grown too strong in a short time after arriving in this world.
Zack could have gone into the cave alone. But he didn't possess the protagonist's luck and plot armor, so even if he discovered the treasure chamber he was looking for in the cave, he wouldn't be able to open the door.
So, it was best to let Max and his team go into the cave first, dismantle the traps, open the entrance, and get the treasures they were supposed to, like in the story.
"Then, from the remaining treasures, I will take the item I am here for. As for the rest, it's a pity, but I can't touch them."