The Mage of Primordial Chaos

With the addition of Kun's puzzle pieces, we now had 7 map pieces in total. With some quick arranging, I put them together with ease.

None of the pieces marked where the endpoint was, but there were only two pieces remaining - in other words, only two areas on the map were still possible locations for our destination. That was still narrowing it down by a lot. Fortunately, none of the map pieces we had obtained thus far have been duplicates - otherwise, that could've been troublesome.

"How does it look, Xuan Kai?" Feng Mian asked, walking over and peeking over my shoulder.

"I pieced them all together, but… this could suck," I replied, showing her what I meant.

The two still-missing map pieces were the bottom left and top right respectfully - two areas that were the furthest away from each other compared to any other pair of locations. If we chose to go to one and it turned out to not have the endpoint there, we would essentially have to travel across the entire map to reach the real endpoint.

"Hm… completely opposite locations, huh?" Feng Mian murmured. "What if we split up again, like last time?"

Yu An Yan, overhearing our conversation, walked over. "That's hardly effective. We've both seen just how big this place is - do any of us know a spell that could allow us to communicate from so far away? All ten members of the group have to arrive at the endpoint, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Mei Gui…"

"Yes, Master?"

"Would our telepathic connection work?"

"… Most likely not. I do not know the full dimensions of this space, but the maximum distance for our telepathic communication ability at the Origin Chaos stage is roughly 1,000 kilometers, Master."

"Yeah… this place is definitely bigger than 1,000 kilometers squared," I muttered.

"Looks like we have no choice but to move as a group then," Lan Xiao Su concluded, joining the discussion.

"I myean, I pyobably kyould use Spyace Magic to try and teleport several times…" Amane suggested thoughtfully.

"How far can you travel with one teleport?" I asked.

"Erm… a nyandred kilometers?"

"Yeah… I doubt that's going to work," Feng Mian sighed. "You'll run out of mana."

"Um… I have an artifact that might work," Leena interrupted gently.

We all turned to look at her. "Artifact?"

She nodded. "It's an item my mother gave to me before I left Elven territory."

Saying this, she took out what looked like two metal tablets of some kind. each was small enough to be held in one hand.

"When a person uses one of these tablets, their voice will be transmitted across the heavens - or so my mother used to say," Leena explained. "No matter where the other party is, they'll be able to hear."

I frowned. "Have you… tested this before?"

She shook her head sadly. "This Magic Artifact only has one use - once used, it will self-destruct."

"That is hardly… reliable," Xiang Peng muttered. "We still have two days left, y'know? Might as well just check out both uncharted areas as a group."

I shook my head. "I'm willing to take this gamble."

"Huh?" the girls looked at me in confusion and surprise.

"We already have seven map pieces - while I'm fairly certain we're ahead of most other groups, who's to say no one else has already figured out where the endpoint is? It shouldn't be impossible, given how we were able to get seven."

"I concur," Obsidia added. "We cannot determine the other groups' progress. It is better to get to the endpoint as soon as possible, even if it means taking a risk to do so. Only the first place team will be able to enter Fragment, after all."

I nodded in agreement. "The stakes are high. And besides… I believe Leena. Or rather, I believe that Artifact in her hand."

After a short silence, the girls gave in and agreed.

"Alright. If that's what you've decided, then that's what we'll do," Yu An Yan said.

"I'm in Big Brother Xuan Kai's group this time!" Qing Yue immediately spoke up, grabbing my arm and sending Mei Gui a look of disdain.

"Master-"

"Fine, fine… both of you can come with me. As for the other team…"

"How about this? We were two separate groups to begin with - you ten can travel together, while the seven of us will go to the other side," Leena suggested.

"… I don't trust you to that extent," I replied after a short hesitation. "Who knows if you'll  just leave us behind once you get there?"

"… In that case, I shall remain with your team," Leena decided determinedly.

I see… if she stays with us, even if her team wants to just ditch us, they can't. All members of the group must be there in order for them to successfully complete this mission.

"… If it's like that, then fine. We'll do it your way," I said. "But what about the artifact? You said it will transmit the user's voice across the heavens, correct? But…"

Leena nodded, having understood what I was planning on saying. "I understand your concern. How about we create a special code… like a random number, maybe? That way, no one will be able to tell what the message means. They may still investigate in the direction of the voice, but not as urgently."

"I like that idea," Xiang Peng raised her hand in agreement. "But better yet… why don't we pretend it's an announcement from the IMF?"

"Huh?" the rest of the girls tilted their head in confusion. I was puzzled as well.

"I mean, like this:"

She cleared her voice, then continued in a loud, announcer-like voice.

"Warning: 2 Days Remaining."

"Hm… would that really work?" Feng Mian pursed her lips and thought deeply.

"Sure it will," Xiang Peng chuckled then turned to me. "Hey, Xuan Kai, ever notice your voice sounds like some kind of radio announcer? It's pretty sexy, not gonna lie."

"It… does?"

This was the first time I was hearing such a thing.

"Now that you mention it…" Qing Yue murmured. "It's true! I can't believe I didn't even notice after so many years by your side!"

"Uh… sure, but what about the other end?" I asked, deciding to just ignore their remarks.

"Silva can put up a pretty monotone, robot-like voice. That could work," Leena said, then turned around. "Silva! Can you come here for a second?"

We waited as the wolf girl walked over, giving all of us a glare full of hatred except for Amane.

"… What do you want?"

"See? Perfect for an AI!"

"Uh, actually, I think most AIs are supposed to be gentle, but…" I trailed off.

In any case, with our plan settled, we decided to just rest for now and then take off first thing next morning. I ended up taking Qing Yue up to the cabin we found in the forest earlier to sleep, since she was sensitive to the cold. I couldn't just leave her there either, so I slept outside, leaning against the walls, keeping watch. Mei Gui was also here with me since she didn't need sleep.

Everyone else just slept in the snow, taking turns with night shift. We hadn't eaten or drank anything all day, but all of us beared with it with the hopes of finishing this damned competition tomorrow.

*****

The next morning.

Mei Gui woke me up gently, and the two of us then woke Qing Yue up in turn. Then, after descending the mountain, we saw that everyone else had already gotten ready.

"We're currently in the dead center of the map," I explained, then pointed behind me, about 90 degrees away from where the mountains were. "In that direction is the one the six of you will go to. Silva, you're taking the lead."

"We only have six people…" I heard some of them murmur.

"If you end up in a fight, your top priority is to run. Give them whatever they ask for. The actual map pieces will be staying with me, so even if they encounter you they will gain nothing from you."

"If the map is with you, then what if we lose our way?" one guy questioned.

I pulled a sheet of paper out of my cloak pocket and tossed it at him. "Mei Gui spent last night making a copy of the map by hand. Take it. If you run into anyone, however, quickly dispose of it. I don't care how."

Slowly, they all nodded.

"Good. That's all. Keep the artifact safe."

With that, the six of them set out in the other direction, while the eleven of us headed forward, towards the other uncharted territory.

"I'm… a bit worried about them," Leena murmured quietly as she walked beside me.

"Your group is comprised of people who no other group wanted. They are practically sacrifices," I said. "It's cold, but the harsh truth."

"… I know that. But still…"

I sighed. "Just consider yourself lucky you're the one with us right now."

"Right. I will."

And with that, we picked up our pace.