Standing not far away from Cynrik, scattered about in irregular intervals inside the cave, were over 50 unmoving hulking humanoid white-furred creatures.

“Fifty by the mouth of the cave,” Cynrik mused aloud as he calmly walked past the frozen-in-time creatures. Coming to a stop before the biggest one of the batch, Cynrik used his Analyze skill on them and learned they were called Artic Mountain Primates. Even more impressive, most of the creatures he looked at all had a power of Peak Tier-3, with the largest being Initial Tier-4.

Nodding his head, Cynrik continued down the vast expansive cave, traveling deep into the bowels of the rock formation, making his way down hundreds of meters. Every so often, he would encounter small groups of Artic Mountain Primates, unmoving yet going about their daily lives, indicating they had both intelligence and culture, something Cynrik found astounding.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, the cave system opened up into a massive cavern, not unlike the Cavern of Dorms back at VSFA, except it was filled to the brim with glowing ice crystals and Mana Gems of every variation of Water Mana.

Narrowing his eyes and approaching what appeared to be a small village of large huts, Cynrik walked toward the largest one and, since there were no doors, could locate a colossal boulder made of the purest Ice Mana he had ever laid eyes on.

“Well, **, this makes things difficult.” Opening the notification he had received upon entering the SRD event, Cynrik compared the Gem in front of him to a picture in the notification window, confirming that this massive Gem was the Retrieval Object.

“It has to be way over a ton…” walking up and giving it a swift kick, Cynrik quickly determined there was no plausible way for him to move the boulder-sized Mana Gem. At a loss, he quickly sat down in front of it, falling into thought as he examined his surroundings for any potential retrieval route.

By the time he felt the world around him collapsing, a sign that he had reached the limit of his Mindscape Skill, Cynrik still hadn’t come up with a “good” option to complete the mission and sighed heavily, before closing his eyes and feeling his world shift.

Cyn…Cyn…CYNRIK, It’s been an hour and a half; you need to wake up.

Seconds later, Brance’s voice came into his head, causing Cynrik to open his eyes groggily.

Yeah…I’m up, Brance; we’ve got a problem. Cynrik replied while shaking his head to clear the cobwebs and stretching out his back, which was sore from lying on the ground for over an hour. His eyes were then drawn to the campfire, where he noticed that the group had stored all their gear and sat around it, staring at him for answers.

With a wave of his hand toward Gabby, Cynrik had the younger girl set up a psychic link, tethering him to every member of MyrkLys, the two ravens nestled on Selene’s lap, and Milo.

‘Well, I’ve got good and bad news, guys.’ Cynrik started as everyone’s attention fell on him.

‘The good news is that I’ve located the target location and our retrieval object. Two hundred eighty clicks (1 click = 1 kilometer), Nnw, is an extensive cave network carved into the side of a mountain. It is easy to miss from the outside; however, we won’t have that problem.’ Crossing his legs and leaning forward by propping his elbows on his knees, Cynrik explained the enemy’s position, numbers, and strength, earning him a curt nod from everyone except Kurza.

When the topic of Peak Tier-3 and Initial Tier-4 creatures was mentioned, Kurza’s face turned pale, unlike the rest of MyrkLys, who had been training against stronger opponents for some time.

‘It doesn’t seem too terrible, most of our battle formations work against larger groups, and we can use one or two of the War formations. But Cyn, what is the “Bad” news you mentioned?’ Brance asked curiously. Having just come off the Swarm Event and unbothered by Peak Tier-3 or even Initial Tier-4 creatures, he was more interested in what Cynrik considered bad news.

‘Sigh, well…it can’t be me that goes in for the objective. Using my recreation skill, Mindscape, I was able to recreate everything I saw in those couple of minutes using my Dynamic Lens…’ Cynrik paused when he noticed the confused looks the other members of MyrkLys were giving him.

‘Mindscape allows me to create a virtualized world based on my memory. While Dynamic Lens allows me to zoom my vision in up to 12 times the normal distance. Using my ocular skill, I scanned our surroundings while increasing the zoom on my eyesight until I located the enemy encampment, then using the information, I rebuilt it to explore.’

After explaining, the confused looks turned into those of admiration, but Cynrik ignored them and looked at Brance and Benny.

‘The object is too heavy for someone like me, who has a DEX-based combat potential to lift. So instead of our usual method of extraction, you two will need to infiltrate the base, a small village buried deep in the center of the mountain, and work together to retrieve a well over one ton Mana Gem.’

‘Fuck…you said over a ton…Cyn, not only is it problematic sending Benny and me down when my stealth skill is easily broken, but even if we do make it down there, we will need to lift something that heavy together. The walk back up to the surface will take ages, especially if we have to fend off enemies.’ Leaning back on his hands, Brance looked at the stone sled covering the makeshift shelter and tried to find the best course of action.

‘Yeah…I know; that’s why it won’t be only you two going down there. Selene, I am tasking you with providing them cover and combining your Shadow-based stealth skills with Brance’s Light-based ones. Getting down is easy, but on the way back up, it will be up to you to keep them safe.’

‘Worst case scenario, Brance can slot in as the pocket healer for your squad, but even then, he and Benny will be forced to drop the object long enough for him to render medical assistance.’

‘Meanwhile, while the team is split in half, Gabby, Melody, Kurza, and I will enter ranged combat with the fifty-plus Yetis. Kurza, you will be in charge of keeping our MP topped off, and if, for some reason, anyone gets hurt, well, I don’t need to tell you what to do in the scenario.’ Shrugging his shoulders before getting back to his feet, Cynrik clicked his tongue, causing Sie and Vii to look up at him from Selene’s lap.

Hehe, it looks like they love Mommy more than Daddy now. Selene teased while scratching the two ravens under their chins, which they clearly enjoyed due to how they squinted their eyes in pleasure before pushing against her hand.

Oh, piss off Cyn; Milo isn’t spoiled…he just likes the finer things in life. Brance tried to defend his girlfriend’s cat, but even he felt the opposite of his words upon looking at Milo munching away on a bowl of snacks while wearing a knitted hat and a tiny sweater vest. When Gabby noticed Brance’s gaze, she smiled warmly at him, making Brance feel incredibly guilty.

Ok, fine, Milo’s spoiled rotten… Brance conceded without fighting back.

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