Chapter 689 - Glacier Keep

As the spatial energy faded, Jack and his party found themselves in an empty room. The walls and floor were made of the same roxite from the previous room while the ceiling was covered in the same glowing ice that made up Glacier Reef. There was only one way out of the room but there was a thin, metallic barrier blocking the hallway.

'I guess it's time to get serious,' Moranti chuckled telepathically.

Jack was busy checking something else. He immediately opened his system menu to verify what worked and what didn't. The hero sighed and drooped his head upon learning that his map was useless, as was his god's eye mini-map cheat. There was an update to his language function, which now had tabs created per planet thanks to his system overhearing conversations of the zone's cosmicians. Kartonia's main language was also changed, no longer being labeled as [Humanian] but as [Uncommon].

But that didn't ease the disappointment that Jack felt. Jack mentally mumbled, 'I guess we do this the hard way…'

'I guess the armbands kept us together,' commented Moranti, getting the others' attention. 'I can sense a shared spatial signature in our armbands, so the keep must've kept us together during the shuffling rift.'

'And that's why Daruun warned us of groups of four…' Lunara agreed and nodded.

Jack mentioned, 'My map skill is useless down here so we'll be handling things like everyone else, without any cheats.'

A distorted chuckling voice was heard in their heads. 'Leave it to a player to keep looking for cheats…'

Laughing, Jack looked back to Rynheart. 'Yeah, yeah… you know you'd do the same.'

'True, if we were able.'

While Jack and joked with the helmed man, Moranti stepped toward the barrier in the hallway. After knocking on it, he was astounded by its flexible yet resilient structure. 'I don't know what this is but we won't be breaking it, that's for sure.'

'Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's test a few things.' Jack then blinked away in a flash of purple light, reappearing a few meters ahead beside Moranti. 'Okay… so local teleportation is still a thing. I think we'll be able to teleport to each other within the keep, so splitting up may not be a terrible option.'

Oli's voice then resonated through the room, "Before I let you all loose, let me state something that should've been obvious. For the privileged few trying to get a leg on the competition through unfair means, I recommend you put away your two-star items now before I disqualify your entire team."

Those in Jack's party shrugged as they were clearly not part of that group, but they were glad to hear that Oli kept people from using such weapons. It also let them understand that they weren't the most privileged or prominent of the challengers. Though they were technically endorsed by Daruun, Daruun was also well known for letting his people grow naturally with little to no interference. Or as Jack would joking put it, Daruun was a cheapskate that struggled to believe in taking shortcuts.

"I'll repeat myself once more. Put your two-star equipment away now or I'll remove your team and you'll face the consequences of tarnishing Glacier Keep's reputation. Three, two… Good. Thank you for your inconsiderate cooperation, Halmut. I look forward to seeing how everyone else will punish you for nearly disrupting the challenge. Good luck, everyone!"

Just like that, the metallic barrier suddenly faded out of existence like Jack's card had during the earlier demonstration.

But Jack's party was focused on something else. They were hung up on the person Oli had called out.

'Everyone…' Jack took a deep breath and shook his head. 'I think I should remind you that Halmut has been in contact with an organization outside of Kartonia. That was how he managed to seal Skaryn in the first place and I assume he's been keeping some of his best items hidden this whole time. Keep that in mind and be careful of him. If any of us confront him, tell everyone immediately so we can act accordingly. Got it?'

Once everyone nodded, steeling themselves and forcing out all fears of Halmut, the party moved forward.

The passage was well-lit thanks to the luminescent ice lining the keep's ceilings. It also made seeing the next room very clear. As soon as the room came into view and the party noticed what was waiting for them, the four mannequin-like constructs came to life.

'Can everyone see their levels?' Jack asked, getting a unified reply. 'Good… we'll need to secure and share as much intel as possible. Now let's break them.'

All four gods leaped into action, each attacking a lv. 93 mannequin in their own way. The victory was earned immediately and each mannequin dropped a core that was dark grey with a slight shine. They smashed their respective cores and found themselves with their first keys.

Curious, Jack turned to the helmed man and held out his hand. 'Do you mind?'

Rynheart handed his card over and allowed Jack to test a few things. Jack didn't bother breaking attacking the card. Instead, he wanted to see if there was a means of transferring points without breaking cards. A few seconds later Jack found his answer.

'Look…'

The party watched as Jack placed his card beneath Rynhearts. Nothing happened at first but after three seconds the display on Rynheart's card changed from "1" to "2". Looking back to Jack's card there was only a "0" displayed.

'So transferring keys is possible without breaking cards… But why didn't Oli mention that before?' Jack asked in thought.

Rynheart was the one to answer first, 'Perhaps it's only possible with teammates. We'll have to try it with someone else to verify, but it may be safe to assume as such considering some of the key parts of the cards' inscriptions are also on the armband.'

'Really?' Jack and the others then removed their armbands and looked on the side that faced their arm. 'I hadn't noticed… Nice catch.'

Moranti chuckled, enjoying the little show that Jack was putting on for Lunara and him. 'Now that you two agree on something, shouldn't we get moving?'