Hearing the commanding tone of a man opposite them who was wearing a compression shirt and baggy dark pants, Jerome and Hans' expressions slightly turned dissatisfied—only to conceal it in the next second as they nodded toward the group.
As for Naib, who was slightly behind the two, his face remained emotionless as he carefully observed the 4 in the distance.
Hmm...
"A man at the age of 19 or 20, with skin slightly pale, and his height easily reaches 178 cm. Despite wearing a jacket, I can still see traces of muscles within. He's probably an athlete or even hits the gym frequently. Moreover, he also emanates a strong aura... it's good to let him in the front later.
"As for the other three, although their build is also good, their aura seems lacking compared to the first one. But still... it would be best if they took the argoo later.'
Already measuring the worth of the 4, Naib's group stopped a meter away from the four.
Without even showing it on their face, their stance already shows that they don't trust the people opposite them.
Although their action seems exaggerated, in fact, people who have survived the great darkness in the past have already engraved their distrust of strangers whom they have just met.
It could be said that the pain 5 years ago wasn't something that could be easily erased by time. Especially when some people at that time resort to killing just to survive.
"I think it would be best for us if we gathered all the players to discuss our plan, right? Although the Low-F Grade trial has the lowest threat, it still contained risk."
Not waiting for the 4 to start, Jerome, who was supporting himself with a crutch, suggested.
"Heh, don't you think we haven't tried that earlier? People who have come here already have groups on their own; they would rather risk their lives than trust other players.
"Although we talked about the trial earlier, we knew that no one would follow the plan."
Hearing Jerome's words, a woman in her early twenties, wearing denim shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt, speaks with irritation.
Seemingly remembering something, her dark eyes showed anger before she stamped her feet on the ground.
"Since you're aware of it, why are you still wasting time talking to us?" Falling into deep thought, Hans couldn't help but ask, unable to understand why the other party still wanted to discuss things with them despite knowing that they wouldn't group up or listen to them.
It could be said that, with the rewards that came from the panel, people's ways suddenly became more diverse. Who knows, they might even become the other party's pawn without them noticing? Hence, it's normal that people are really not willing to listen to them.
"Hmmp, although it's uncertain if you guys are going to listen, it's still good to discuss things regarding the trial. At least, it would increase our competition rate later. If we managed to eliminate the abomination without any participants dying, then the rewards that we will get might reach D or C Grade?
"Do you know what I meant, right?"
Finally understanding why the four were putting effort into conversing with them, the three eventually nodded their heads before asking about the plans...
Of course, if they found their plans suspicious, then the three would surely not be going to follow them.
Basically, it's all about getting an advantage; if the three think that they wouldn't gain anything, then listening to the other group's words will be futile.
***
Soon, time passed by. After finishing talking with the other group, the three began roaming the second floor of the store.
Unfortunately, other than vaguely remembering the grocery store's floor plan. Embedding every food and item section into their minds, the group couldn't find the thing they were looking for.
As for what they were looking for, it's the shrine that contained the statue of the abomination!
Indeed, based on their understanding, trials should contain a shine in them! Hence, the group discussed earlier that in order to lower the risk, the first thing they needed to do was to find the shrine that contained the abomination!
If they managed to pinpoint the origin of the abomination, then killing it when it came back to life would be much easier.
In fact, the group of four had managed to kill the abomination on their first trial without much bloodshed because one of them knew the origin of the entity!
...
However...
Unfortunately, after searching every nook of the second floor for an hour, they hadn't seen even the corner of the shine.
"The shine was probably on the first floor or in the parking lot. We still have an hour; we might be able to find it before the trial starts."
Speaking of which, other than Naib's group and the four that they had met earlier, the other participants were also looking for the shrine on the first floor and the parking lot of the store.
Unfortunately, despite scouring the place, the other players were unable to find even the shadow of the shrine.
"Ok, let's go."
Descending from the first floor, the three, who were about to head toward the parking lot to look for the shrine, suddenly met Vincent and Melissa, who were talking to another group of players in the distance.
Not hurried to go to the parking lot, the three approached the two, wanting to ask if they had already found the shrine.
"No, we didn't find the shrine in either place... Probably there's no shrine at all."
Uttering with tiredness, Melissa then asked Jerome, only to become disappointed afterward upon learning that there's also no trace of a shrine on the second floor.
"I see, the shine was probably unique to the first trial...'
Muttering those words deep within him, Naib could only wait for the trial to start, hoping that everything would go well.
...
Unbeknownst to them, while they were discussing plans related to the trial, in the bathroom in the corner of the second floor, the lights above suddenly flickered...
The shadows beneath, cast from the dim light, twisted eerily as they suddenly formed into a silhouette of a small shrine!
As if existing between reality and the unreal, a faint incoherent voice suddenly echoed from the shrine!
Silently echoing in the encompassing bathroom.