“Well, that’s the first team to find the river-” Professor Maven muttered to himself as he secretly tracked Rocky’s squad from a distance and graded them.

Principal Liam had specially dispatched him to look after Rocky and Sophia from a distance as although the two were supposed to be safe in this forest area that was isolated from the outside world using a magic barrier, Liam wanted to take no risks whatsoever.

Since he was looking after them, he was also supposed to grade them as he relayed his findings to the evaluation team via a communication device.

“Students, Erin, Buhara, Rocky and Sophia have found the river.

I repeat, they have found the river” Professor Maven said, as the evaluation officials acknowledged the message and graded them accordingly.

*******

While Sophia refilled her water canteen and Buhara tried to catch fish, Rocky pulled Erin to a side for a private talk.

“What happened Sir Rocky, why are you pulling me aside?” Erin asked as he noticed the seriousness in Rocky’s eyes and understood that something was amiss.

“The story about me being in a Shaolin palace that I told before, it’s all a lie-” Rocky said in a hushed voice as he judged Erin’s reaction to this revelation.

Erin seemed surprised by this revelation but not by too much as he nodded his head and signalled for Rocky to go on.

” I don’t trust Sophia, Erin, but I don’t want her to know that I don’t trust her. My intention was never to deceive you or Buhara but due to the circumstances I had to lie to you both as well” Rocky said, as Erin immediately understood the gravity of this situation and began speaking in a hushed voice as well.

“I don’t have a good feeling about that girl either, Sir Rocky, don’t worry, I fully understand your reasons” Erin said, as he expressed his support for Rocky.

“From now on, if you ever hear me accidentally *sneeze* during a conversation, know that I’m lying….” Rocky said, as he set-up a code language between himself and Erin to make sure that the other party knew when he was lying.

“Alright, I’ll do the same when needed then” Erin said as Rocky nodded his head.

He had expected Erin to grow closer to Sophia in his absence however, after returning he realised that while Buhara had warmed up nicely to Sophia, Erin had not, which was why Rocky decided to let him in on his plan.

Just as he had expected, Erin did not question Rocky much on why he did not trust Sophia and immediately agreed to his schemes.

“For obvious reasons I won’t be telling this to Buhara yet….. it’s not because I don’t trust him, it’s just because it will break his heart and it’s hard for him to behave deceitfully” Rocky said as Erin nodded his head in understanding.

Unlike himself and Rocky, Buhara was a genuine orc, who wore his heart on his chest and spoke only what he meant.

Buhara did not mince his words and did not aim at deceiving others.

While Erin and Rocky could continue pretending like nothing happened, if they told Buhara that they suspected Sophia of being a traitor, his behaviour towards her would immediately shift and Sophia would suspect that something was amiss.

“What are you two humans talking about in private? Are you talking about how handsome Buhara looks while catching fish?” Buhara asked as he shouted loudly towards Erin and Rocky.

“Hahaha, no Sir Buhara, we were talking about where to set up camp and whether to set it up on the ground or on tree branches….” Erin said, lying through his teeth as both Sophia and Buhara seemed to have bought his lie.

Nodding his head Rocky placed his hand over Erin’s shoulder in a show of support.

This was exactly the kind of lying Erin would need to do from now on, in order to keep Sophia in the dark about their true intentions.

************

( Meanwhile Neatwit )

Neatwit was on floor 55 of the tower, which was controlled by the Angels.

The angels were a unique race within the tower who were considered to be one of the strongest races in existence with some of the most unique powers.

Amongst the angel race, the most unique power had to be that of the ‘Prophet’ , who was an angel that could peer through the fog of fate and look into the future.

Individuals from all across the tower came to seek her counsel, however, the price for her counselling was not cheap at all.

“I have brought the payment you requested…. Can I receive the prophets revelation now?” Neatwit asked, as he handed over a significant sum of tower gold and mana stones to the angel cashier.

“You have requested information on when the monster outbreak would begin on planet Earth….. is that correct?” The angel cashier asked, as she verified the question that Neatwit wanted to ask the prophet after verifying the fees that were paid.

“Yes” Neatwit confirmed as the cashier wrote his question on a slip, stamped it and passed it to another angel behind her.

“Please wait for 15 minutes-” She said politely, as Neatwit took a seat in the waiting area.

It was the end of June already on Earth and there were no signs of the monster outbreak taking place which was why the Climber Association tasked Neatwit with the request of approaching the angel prophet.

15 minutes later, the angel helper returned with an answer written on a stamped paper, as opening it Neatwit felt his eyes ready to pop out.

“7-9 days” the answer said, as immediately Neatwit began hurriedly making his way back to Earth.

Usually, before a monster outbreak began, the tower began giving off signs of an upcoming attack such as trembling, or a few weaker monsters surfacing, as these signs usually started showing 15-20 days before the actual attack.

Once these signs started to show, all climbers of Earth were recalled to fight for their planet and all guild missions were temporarily paused.

With only 7-9 days left, Earth was already behind on its schedule to prepare for this year’s outbreak, which was why Neatwit hurried back home with the utmost urgency.

————-

/// A/N – Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep