"This is the correct answer! Congratulations candidate!"
"Wow, answering with such confidence! Is it strange for a fairy to develop a crush on a human?"
"Sister! We have a job to do! Don't fall for the candidate!"
Liam let out a light sigh. Perhaps he should feel flattered by the fairies' words, but he just wanted them to continue the challenge. Every second was precious.
What Liam didn't know was that after this fourth question he firmly took the lead. Others were obviously hesitating to answer the question, afraid of being wrong. After a while Liam already received the fifth question while the others had only completed the fourth one.
Easily answering the fifth and sixth questions Liam only increased his lead. If nothing went wrong, he would easily be able to push Dream Avenue to first place. He was confident that after this challenge the guild was on track to win the guild war. However, sometimes even Liam had to suffer a setback…
"Candidate, you are rushing through this quiz! If I didn't know better, I would have thought you created the questions yourself. Luckily, I was there when my sister wrote them."
"Haha. Perhaps I misjudged the intelligence of our candidates. I should have made the questions more difficult. Well, now we can't change it anymore. Here is the seventh question: How much HP does Demon Lancer Trovracs have?"
Hearing this question, Liam raised his brows. Despite what the fairies said, the question was actually quite difficult. What could you do if you never heard about Demon Lancer Trovracs? You had to wait for the fairies to give you hints like his background, location, etc.
But in order to have even a slight chance of solving the question there was one thing one had to know! Demon Lancer Trovracs was a world boss.
Liam could imagine how others were struggling at this point. To his knowledge Trovracs had not been killed by any guild yet. Thus, it was unlikely that others possessed the necessary information. Fortunately, Liam had the knowledge from his past life. He swiftly answered with confidence:
"400.000HP!"
Suddenly the library fell silent. The fairies stared at Liam with wide open eyes. Liam was taken aback for a moment but then the scales fell from his eyes. Drops of sweat ran down his back and he admonished himself. He wasn't surprised by what the fairies said next:
"Candidate. This is… not… the correct answer!"
"How could this be! Candidate, you were so strong before. How did you suddenly get this simple question wrong?"
"I'm glad you can also make mistakes. I already started to think if we were talking to a golem here."
"Such a pity…"
While the fairies spoke, Liam took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions. He knew where his mistake laid. In his past life the answer would have been correct but as most monsters, especially bosses, were affected by [Hell] difficulty, they usually had higher HP. This was a rare oversight on Liam's part.
The veteran didn't harp on his mistake though. He didn't wait for the fairies to start giving him hints and instead rushed towards the bookshelves. They were neatly labelled, making it easy for Liam to find what he was searching for. He swiftly pulled out a book about powerful monsters within the Holy Kingdom of Druunz.
Liam blew away the dust gathered on the old book as he opened it. Although the paper appeared as if would crumble upon the slightest touch, Liam wasn't worried about that as he browsed through the book.
He was amazed to realize how much valuable information this book actually contained. If a guild could take out the entire library, they would have an enormous advantage in the future. It would almost be similar to having their own Bleary Mirage…
As Liam searched for information on the Demon Lancer, the fairies finally revealed the first hint:
"Demon Lancer Trovracs is not located in hell currently."
Liam lightly shook his head. If this was the kind of hints the fairies were giving out, it would probably take minutes until one would be able to narrow everything down enough so one wouldn't waste time searching the wrong books.
Fortunately, other than the world boss's HP, nothing about it had diverted from Liam's knowledge. Soon, he found it in the book, where its HP were clearly stated.
"480.000HP!"
"Correct! Good job, candidate you are back on track!"
"Now you know how nice we sisters are to provide you with this library, right?"
The fairies chuckled and joked around while Liam went back to the desk. Soon, the challenge continued. Liam proceeded in a stable manner, doublechecking his answers before he voiced them. He didn't repeat his previous blunder as he swiftly advanced.
Gradually the trend could also be observed from the outside. While Liam remained seated with a neutral expression, the other candidates frequently had to approach the bookshelves. Their foreheads were deeply wrinkled. They scratched their hair or sunk their heads into their hands.
Worried voices spread through all the guilds except for Dream Avenue.
"What is he doing reading these books for so long? Isn't it a quiz?"
"Damn, why does it look like she is struggling so much?"
"Ahh, I knew it. The boss should have sent me! At least when it comes to alchemy no one in the guild knows more than me!"
"You and your alchemy! You don't even know if there are questions about alchemy. I would have been the most suitable candidate! I am the monster expert!"
While the common guild members were arguing, the guild leaders watched the development in the arenas with worry. Especially Fat Tiger showed a deep frown. He had noticed a while ago that Glorious Sunrise didn't even go back to the desk. He was enthralled in the books, almost as if those were more interesting than the challenge. Fat Tiger didn't understand what his fellow guild leader was thinking.
The candidates didn't know what was going on outside. Still, Liam was certain that he was comfortably in the lead. If someone managed to beat him in this challenge, he would have really lived two lifetimes in vain.
Yet Liam remained calm. He didn't dare to repeat his earlier mistake as the fairies presented the next question:
"Candidate, you are incredible! We are already at question number sixteen. Listen closely!"
"Out of the following materials, which one can be used to craft equipment above level 50? Profound Star Iron, Copper Vein of Life, Red Gras, Heavenly Grace Steel, Salvia of the Celestial Beast!"
Liam listened until the end although he was already certain about the answer. He smiled lightly noticing the pattern of this question. Four of these materials had incredibly high-sounding names making one think they had to be rare and powerful.
But in reality, this was just a marketing trick. A few clever merchants, mostly belonging to the dwarves or goblins, loved to give common materials special names in an attempt to trick some ignorant costumers.
Thus, out of the five named materials, four were quite common and cheap while only a single one was actually rare and could be used for equipment between level 50 to 70 and it was…
"Red Gras!"
"Great! Great! Candidate, you are correct again!"
"Wow, even this question couldn't stump you!"
"Blacksmithing, alchemy, history. Is there anything our candidate doesn't know? I am amazed!"
As the atmosphere was light on Liam's side, the same couldn't be said about TwinThieves. Their candidate was facing the ninth question.
"Candidate, although you made a mistake during the eighth question, the challenge is not lost yet! Focus and answer the ninth question correctly."
"Please tell us the recipe for the Guiding Nightvision Potion!"
TwinThieves's candidate, a petite elf clad in black, had an anxious expression after just making a mistake. But when he heard the ninth question, his eyes lit up with relief. He had some basic knowledge about alchemy and could create some practical potions. And as a scout a Nightvision Potion was something he used often. He confidently answered, reiterating the recipe.
However, when the man was done, the fairies didn't continue immediately. They looked at each other, their small faces betraying deep disappointment. Suddenly one of the fairies sighed as she looked at the candidate:
"I am very sorry, candidate, but this answer is incorrect. And with this being your second mistake I am sadly forced to disqualify you!"
The player's eyes first were filled with disbelief before it was replaced by anger. The man slammed his fist on the deck, shouting:
"You tiny bastards, what do you mean incorrect?! I am one hundred percent certain that I made no mistake! Are you f*cking with me?"
"Please calm down, candidate. Your answer was indeed wrong. There is nothing we can do."
"No! You… you are biased! What is this sh*t?!"
Suddenly the man jumped up, pulling out his weapons. In a flash his body disappeared, and he rushed towards the fairies. But before he reached them, he was forcefully kicked out of the guild war, reappearing in Crunaboul.
"Hah, such bad manners. How is it our fault that he made a mistake?"
"Exactly. It's his fault he didn't listen to the question. Why else would he give us the recipe for a Nightvision Potion instead of a Guiding Nightvision Potion?"