Draven woke up very early the next morning, with the sun slowly peeking from the clouds, took a quick bath and donned the attire he bought. It was a dull-black bodycon attire with a pair of gloves and boots.
Strapping the single hand of his small bag across his chest, with his stuff packed inside, Draven left for the Plane.
He took a cab that stopped him a distance from the Blue Plane, as the driver feared for his life, not wanting to go anywhere near the Blue Plane, even though there had been no record of monsters straying from the valley.
Draven walked the remaining distance, stopping at the boundary of an ethereal, glowing blue sea that reflected in his eyes.
Standing at the edge, Draven stared at the bottom in a short entrancement.
The Blue Plane was a deep basin, except it wasn't filled with water but a soft, ethereal, blue glow that originated from behind the mountain in the center, like a blocked sun. Its floor was covered with jumbles of long, wide, and deep ravines that stretched and branched all over the place.
Draven squatted and dipped his hand into the ethereal sea, shuddering as a penetrating chill bypassed his gloves. His eyes never left the serene scape.
Retracting his hand, Draven stood up and retrieved the map from his pocket. Then he walked by the border, searching for the ravine highlighted red in the map. Of course, he knew it without the map, as he had come here many times, but for a hundred percent verification, he still held the map. It didn't take long to find it, and he sat down now, waiting for other Elites to come.
An hour later, a few young adults and teenagers began strolling to the vicinity. They wore various armors, with different weapons. However, they all stood at the edge, not daring to enter the basin.
'I need a powerful group to battle the monster in case of attack, but not too powerful.'
Draven studied each group intently.
'Too experienced. They might see through my lies.'
'Looks tough.'
'Too weak. They might not survive long enough to be useful.'
…
Finally, his eyes landed on a group that seemed just right: a young man, a short boy, and an average-height teenage girl. Draven stood and approached them with a confident smile.
"Good morning," he greeted.
The young man, presumably the leader, nodded. "Morning."
"I guess you're here for the legacy, right?" Draven questioned.
They stared at him for a second before the man answered, "If there's a way to get to it, then yes. But now, we're just here for sightseeing."
Draven's smile widened. He leaned forward and whispered, "Then congratulations! I have a safe path to the legacy."
The trio looked at him like he had gone mad.
He was about to proceed to his next plan to convince them when the girl asked, "Do you know what this place is?"
"The Blue Plane. It is a place with ravines teeming with monsters, and a selective barrier that allows the entry of only unawakened humans, and Transient rank Elite, which is the lowest rank. The ethereal blue glow becomes a barrier that obstructs humans of the higher rank," Draven said.
The girl clacked her tongue. "Textbook definition. But do you know the monsters inside aren't just restricted to the Transient rank? I'm a hundred percent sure there are Primal rank monsters hiding in the depths. Just one is enough to finish us all. Just because Hara got a legacy and rose to the top doesn't mean it's for everybody."
Draven mused for a moment, then brought out a paper from his pocket and passed it to them.
The young man collected it and opened it.
The boy and the girl stretched their heads to read it.
A few seconds later, they raised their heads and stared at Draven with slack jaws. The boy's eyes even held pity.
The young man finally broke the silence. "So, you are taking a risk to lead Elites to the legacy in order to get paid five million credit units for your treatment, or die in 200 days?"
Draven nodded. 'Except I tweaked the details in cash and omitted the awakening part.'
"I'm sorry, but I can't trust you. Who knows what reckless and desperate plan you came up with?" The man arched an eyebrow.
The girl nodded, while the boy mused.
Draven knew this was the chance.
He scanned around, making sure nobody was near. Then he began explaining in a very low voice, "Here's the thing: I went for the test, and the doctor told me the result, with an instruction to return the next day. I was in despair already, but I had a glimmer of hope that they would have something the next day. When I got there the next day, just as I was about to knock, I heard the doctor talking about a map of the Blue Plane to the legacy. So, when I entered, she merely offered a short counseling session. However, after she went out, I got a picture of the map."
"Where?" The man asked.
"Don't worry, I already destroyed it. All you have to do is follow my lead," said Draven.
He stared at Draven for a while before asking,
The boy broke the silence, "Then how are we going to share it?"
"Because there are three legacies from the map."
Their eyes widened.
"Give me a second."
With that, the man pulled the boy and girl to the side.
Draven thought worriedly. 'They will fall for the three legacies scheme, right? When we get there, I need to be sharp to snatch it before them… since there's only one.'
They soon returned.
"We will follow you, but you will lead." The man's voice deepened with a sharpened gaze. "Remember, we will kill and escape first if anything is wrong."
Draven nodded. "Of course, I will lead. After all, you will lose your way in these branching ravines without me."
"Don't worry. We will give you the money for your treatment if we get the legacy." The man assured him.
"Great. And don't think of playing me. I have the evidence." Draven pointed at a button on his chest and smiled. "A micro camera that sends it to my device at home. Although electronic devices don't work inside the Plane, this proof is already enough."
"Sure. So, what's the plan?"
Draven gestured for them to follow him, leading them away from people.
Then he beckoned for them to come closer.
Standing in a close circle, Draven began explaining:
Draven nodded. "You should know that walking on the surface is tantamount to suicide. However, from the information I got from that doctor's map, there is one ravine that has mud snakes. These snakes have acute hearing but very poor vision to the point of blindness."
Unzipping his bag, Draven retrieved three sealed gloves from inside and passed them to them.
"The ravine is about 100 meters deep. We will descend about 20 meters, then carefully tread forward across the steep wall with the adhesive gloves anchoring us to the wall. Don't worry. I've personally tested it too. You guys are Elites, so you should be able to do that in silence, right?"
They contemplated in silence.
"We will do it," the girl agreed before the young man could voice his thoughts.
They finally agreed.
"I'm Reece," the young man introduced himself, followed by pointing at the girl and boy respectively, "Sera and John."
"Hello, I'm Draven." He smiled.
Just as they were about to leave, John asked aggressively, "Don't you want the legacy? I know everybody wants it. Nobody will miss the opportunity to be like Hara!"