Suddenly, Stark turned around and went to sit back on his chair again, “I may be interested,” he said, which brought a smile to Arthur, and a shocked expression to Lana’s face.
Stark didn’t want to be used for money or to get items, but oh boy he wouldn’t let go of a chance to fight a godless demon apostle.
After all he still had 13 more to defeat before completing his ApostleDex.
And honestly, he REALLY wanted to complete it.
‘I can kill an apostle, get experience, money, and prove myself, this is a deluxe combo!’
His ego had been too big to accept it previously as it was straight up disrespectful, but now adding something that TRULY benefited him because it was unique meant he could go in without issues.
“Tell me all the information, old man,” he sighed.
“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, kid,” Arthur smirked, seemingly thinking that money truly could buy anyone.
Meanwhile, Lana just sighed, “I really can’t understand how you guys think…”
She hadn’t expected Stark to change his opinion after acting so offended, but maybe something interested him in her dad’s speech.
In the end, she just stayed quiet and looked at Stark and her dad.
The latter clicked on the watch again, and another row of holographic images and text appeared.
“This watch has everything you need to know about your mission, bring us the arrows as proof that you completed it and we will respect our promises,” Arthur slid the watch on the table, and Stark grabbed it with a swift motion.
“…” he looked at the object for a few seconds.
Maybe this was a trap, maybe he was making a mistake, but honestly, it was up to him to judge whether he wanted to go or not, so he accepted it.
“I guess that is all for now, the next time we meet is when you bring us those arrows,” Arthur smiled and he pointed at the exit door.
‘Or never…’ Stark thought as he smiled back, it was visible in the family’s expression that there was a huge chance Stark wouldn’t come back, yet they didn’t seem to care.
“See ya…” Stark waved from behind as he opened the diner room’s door and left.
“O-oh, let me accompany him,” Lana wanted to follow after him to talk, she honestly didn’t like whatever was happening.
But…
“Sit down, dear,” Louise, her mother, stopped her, “It’s rare we eat with the entire family present, let’s take advantage of such a situation shall we not?”
It was now clear that they didn’t want her to approach him for now, so she just complied, and instead just hoped Stark would come out on top, like he always did until now.
***
Stark found himself outside the mansion with the giant flickering moon at the entrance.
‘Of course they didn’t even bother to hire someone to bring me back home, but oh well, i’m banned from the hotel so it’s fine…’
He would need to find an apartment or somewhere else to stay, but he just wanted to read about the information he had gotten from Arthur for now.
Public places were out of the question since the watch’s images and texts were displayed for anyone to see.
And so he just decided to go in an empty alley in an empty street, then summoned one of his clones to watch the nearby surroundings, as there was only one way people could come in from.
Luckily, there was nobody, and he was able to place the watch on the ground and activate it using a button on the side.
And suddenly… all the information he needed appeared.
…
[Mission Rift:] Sierra’s Death Path
[Type:] One-Classifier Run
[Difficulty:] Level 50-75 Nightmare-Level Rift
[Note:] There is no information for this rift other than that it is a ‘One-Classifier Run’ type, meaning that only one classifier at a time can enter to attempt and beat it, seven people have been sent already, but none have come back since.
We have also been sent small messages by those inside before their demise, and they all usually said two sentences: “Avoid the traps” and “Don’t get hit by the arrows”.
…
This was pretty much all, and the only other image Stark could see was the one with the cave, where the closed rift was in.
But he understood that it wasn’t because it was closed that people couldn’t enter, but because there was already someone inside (though they had died since obviously).
“One-Classifier Run” are one of the most hated types of rifts ever, and most people don’t even attempt to go through them if they didn’t already know they had the level to beat them (and even that couldn’t guarantee success).
This was harsh for Stark, but when he thought about it… it didn’t change much.
Since the beginning, even inside the Domination Trial, there were always people beside him, but when he tried to conquer the [City Ruins] and [Shadow Valley], he had done it completely alone.
Meaning that such a rift wouldn’t change his strategy much.
Of course, the fact that the recommended level was 60-75, as well as the fact that it was Nightmare-Level meant it would be harder than anything else Stark attempted.
But somehow… he was still excited.
His training had helped him improve his movements, as well as unlock new perks for his abilities, but strangely enough, he felt confident.
Plus he had gotten the ‘Alchemist’ class, meaning that he could use his potions to gain small advantages.
‘I need to stock up on ingredients…’ he believed, already setting up his strategy.
But as soon as he did that…
Another giant panel came from the watch.
[To the person reading this, this rift is set up in the mid-point to Olympia, which is the country next to Fellarburg, we have already reserved your train ticket, so you have until tomorrow to prepare!]
‘That means that… I’ll be entering this rift by tomorrow night…’ Stark let out a quick laugh, they had just told him and expected him to go do it so quickly?
But that also meant that by tomorrow night… he would enter his hardest rift yet.
…
(Back at the dining room of the Moonless Mansion)
“Father,” Aoki spoke while grabbing a piece of meat, “Do you believe that the boy will be able to bring the arrows and defeat the boss?”
They had given him this mission since they believed he had a chance to complete it, but it was the same for the seven others, yet they had all failed.
Arthur didn’t speak for a few seconds, then looked at his son with a smile on his face, “It depends on the boy’s skills…”
“But if you were to gauge his chances, what survival rate would you give him,” Aoki smiled back, seemingly just as sadistic as his father.
“Hm~” Arthur scratched his chin, “Although I do believe there is no such thing as luck in rifts… I think…”
He kept thinking every few seconds, actively trying to analyze Stark’s chance of survival.
And once the entire family was looking at the head with their eyebrows raised.
He finally said it.
“I would give him a 6% chance of completing that rift…” Arthur smiled before looking back at the plates before him.
“…?!” hearing that, Lana was astonished, doesn’t that mean they sent Stark to his death?
After all… a 6% chance of survival was nothing!
“But oh well… you never know, he might surprise us…” the Archer King shrugged before continuing to eat, his expression showing that he truly believed Stark would not come back, “The ClassiTop event of Fellarburg is also happening in 3 weeks, so we might as well just forget about him if he doesn’t come back in a week…”
And so just like that, the Moonless Family kept enjoying their meal (except for Lana).
