Although they still hadn't found the street where Elysia had spawned, a side quest had appeared. Elysia, eyeing the staggering 8,000-point reward, couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, that's a lot!"
After all, she had only earned a total of 10,000 points from bombing four locations.
Shi Jun was visibly stunned. "That's a lot!"
Though they said the same words, Elysia's tone was one of wonder, while Shi Jun's was laced with terror.
The greater the reward, the more dangerous the side quest. Just like the Hunter Dark-Robed Mage, who had been scared witless by Elysia's million-point bounty, Shi Jun felt utterly overwhelmed.
He had completed four Trial Missions, earning roughly the same amount in total. Now he was supposed to tackle a single quest worth 8,000 points? This had to be some kind of joke.
His first instinct was to retreat. "Maybe... we should back off and look for another side quest?"
The reward was tempting, but you had to survive to claim it. In any other Trialist squad, Shi Jun's decision would have been perfectly reasonable. But clearly, he hadn't yet adjusted to having a 'Big Boss' on his team.
"But isn't there no penalty for failing this mission?" the soldier asked. "Are we just going to retreat without even taking a look inside?"
"No, no, no!" the athlete protested. "This is clearly suspicious! We might get trapped inside. There's no penalty for failure because failure means death!"
The streamer patted the athlete on the shoulder. "What's there to be afraid of? If any powerful ghosts show up, we'll leave it to you. Just slide tackle them and take them down in one hit!"
The athlete looked bewildered, pointing at himself. "Who... me?!"
The three newcomers continued their animated discussion, while the veterans of the Stone Army Squad remained silent, watching Shi Jun and awaiting their captain's decision. Shi Jun, in turn, looked toward Elysia.
It was clear that the decision to retreat or press on ultimately rested with her.
Elysia immediately puffed out her chest confidently. "Don't worry! Elysia's got this! Reliable Elysia will protect you all~!"
Elysia stepped into the courtyard without hesitation. The moment she crossed the threshold, she distinctly felt as if she had passed through a thin, invisible membrane. She immediately turned back to see the same grand gate, the two stone lions guarding it, and Shi Jun's group standing behind them.
An independent space? Elysia mused inwardly, dismissing the notion that it was a mere illusion.
Once everyone had entered, a deep, rumbling sound filled the air, and the two massive gates at the courtyard's entrance slammed shut with a resounding thud.
The PE student jumped in fright. "I knew it! Once you're inside, getting out is impossible! This is straight out of a horror movie!"
Elysia sensed something more than just a closed door. This space had been sealed off in some fundamental way. The gate now functioned as a spatial barrier—even a rocket launcher wouldn't breach it.
Of course, what couldn't be opened by ordinary means could certainly be opened by extraordinary ones.
Elysia glanced around the courtyard before turning away. After all, they were here for a side quest; there was no need to kick down the door and leave immediately.
As the group continued forward, Shi Jun began analyzing the situation. "The mission requires us to help the Master of this place be laid to rest. This strongly suggests that the Master is likely a Ghost, and a very powerful one at that."
"Normally, we wouldn't stand a chance against an enemy like this in a direct confrontation. Since we're assisting with the burial, there's probably a specific funeral ritual involved—things like mourning, holding a vigil, and carrying the coffin. If we follow the ritual perfectly, we should be able to weaken the Boss, possibly even bury it without triggering a Boss fight."
"But that's precisely the problem: we don't know what this 'ritual' entails. And we can anticipate that even if we adhere to the proper procedures, all sorts of unexpected and terrifying events will inevitably arise to obstruct us along the way."
No wonder he's a Veteran Trial-Taker, Elysia thought. Just from the mission title, he had deduced so much—far more than she had considered.
Hearing this, the streamer beside her said, "So, what we need to do now is tighten our intelligence gathering and figure out exactly what this 'normal process' is."
Elysia, seizing on a key phrase, chimed in, "So, if we could just eliminate the Master directly, would we be able to skip the 'normal process'? If we forcibly kill a ghost that should be dead but isn't and stuff it into a coffin, isn't that still considered a proper burial?"
Shi Jun, "..."
Streamer, "..."
As the group continued talking, a creaking sound suddenly filled the air. Elysia looked up and noticed an old rocking chair, its back to her, swaying gently about two or three meters ahead.
Just a moment ago, there had been nothing there. The rocking chair had materialized out of thin air without any warning.
Creak...
Creak...
The eerie sound echoed in everyone's ears.
The PE student immediately shrieked, "I knew it! There's definitely a terrifying monster lying in that chair! It'll probably attack us the moment we see it! That's how horror games always work!"
Bang!
Before the athlete could finish speaking, Shi Jun had already drawn his pistol and pulled the trigger. The Scholar's custom-made bullet effortlessly pierced a small hole through the rocking chair.
Elysia slowly approached and glanced at the front of the chair. A wizened old man, resembling a desiccated corpse, lay slumped motionless, his head lolling to the side. She stated simply, "Dead."
The athlete fell silent, unsure what to say.
He patted the pistol in his holster, wondering if these bullets really could kill with a single shot. For some reason, he suddenly felt confident he could slide tackle the Boss to death in an instant.
The group continued onward, passing a water well that emitted strange noises at intervals, a monstrous tree with a human face embedded in its trunk that took three people to encircle, and a side hall bathed in eerie green light that reflected a ghostly figure.
Before they could even get close, everyone except Elysia opened fire indiscriminately, earning themselves a tidy sum of Points.
Soon, they reached the main hall of the courtyard.