Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey-Chapter 373: Artifact Frenzy Quest [7]

Meanwhile, Unknown to Chaos that you as happening on 3rd and 4th floor, I was in 6th floor.

I stopped in front of the sixth-floor bathroom.

"Is there an artifact around here...?"

I even pretended to be looking for artifacts to trick the administrators who should be watching me. I double checked the message Ella received on my smartwatch.

[There is an administrative center in the B-3 zone of the lowest floor. The item will be left there. The administrative center will be empty from 11:00 to noon, so take it during that time.]

The lowest floor was floor 7. B-3 zone referred to the seventh floor’s room 3 of sector B.

"Artifact~ are you here~?"

I checked the time as I went into the bathroom. Currently, it was 10:45 A.M. I still had about 15 minutes left.

"...Eh? What’s this?"

However, I found a holographic man carrying something in his arms, hiding in a toilet stall.

I opened the stall’s door. The holographic NPC flinched after seeing me. Startled, I also raised my bow.

"There really was one here?"

The holographic man recoiled, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion as he clutched something wrapped in cloth. My own surprise mirrored his, but I didn’t lower my bow. It was rare to encounter NPCs behaving in such an unusual way, especially during a training exercise like this.

"What are you hiding?" I asked, keeping my tone calm but firm, my arrow still trained on him.

The NPC hesitated, glancing nervously between me and the door, as if weighing his options. Slowly, he unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small, ornate box—similar to the one I had seen in the administrative center. The box glowed faintly, indicating it housed an artifact of significant value.

"So, that’s where it went..." I muttered under my breath. It seemed like the NPC had been tasked with moving the artifact, but something—or someone—had interrupted his schedule. This was a rare stroke of luck. If I could secure this artifact, it would give my team a significant advantage.

"Hand it over," I said, gesturing with my bow.

The NPC hesitated for a moment longer before reluctantly holding out the box. I grabbed it swiftly, tucking it into my bag without breaking eye contact.

"Thank you for your cooperation," I said, though I doubted the NPC had much of a choice. He simply nodded, still visibly shaken, before hurriedly exiting the stall and disappearing down the hall.

I examined the box closely, noting the intricate designs and the faint, almost melodic hum emanating from it.

Of course, this was not an real artifact. It was fake one for the the artifact Frenzy Quest but still look so real.

Anyway, I just obtained the artifact that was important to pass the the quest but this was not an artifact I was looking for.

I have to get the artifact that was Ella about received before her.

I put the artifact in my pocket, then looked below me.

In the tile right below me, in the toilet stall of the seventh-floor bathroom, Ella was still lying in wait.

"Hmm."

I fell into thought. If I wanted to receive this item in place of Ella, I had to eliminate her. But how?

I began to look around for anything that I could use.

Then, I found it.

I was inside the sixth-floor bathroom. There was a vent connecting this bathroom to the seventh-floor bathroom.

"...Perhaps this could work?"

I took small square tube from my pocket and press it hard on its centre button.

Soon enough a gray smoke began to rise from the square tube, It was sleeping smoke.

"With this..."

I should be able to do it.

I sent the smoke down to the seventh-floor bathroom through the vent.

Using my Mana Eyes, I watched the process.

The smoke danced in front of Ella nose. She frowned and tried to wave the smoke away, but the smoke went into her nose, causing her to cough.

Soon, her eyes started to droop and blink. Ella yawned and checked her watch.

’I can’t fall asleep.’ Ella mumbled and tried to get up. However, she collapsed before she could. She had fallen asleep on the toilet.

"Whew."

Perfect. Now that Ella was asleep, I could go to the administrative center instead of her.

I went down to the seventh floor.

The moment I arrived, the time became 11 A.M. I headed to the B-3 zone without hesitation. The pathway to the administrative center was hidden under a decorative flower bed.

I went down the pathway.

"No one’s here."

Just like the message Ella received indicated, no one was inside the administrative center, which had about twenty monitors like a security room. I approached the large desk in the center of the room. A black box was sitting on top

Here’s a replacement for the artifact, giving it a fresh identity while keeping it valuable and relevant to the storyline:

===

[Shadow Veil Pendant] [High rank – Enchant] [Stealth attribute]

*An enchanted pendant that cloaks the wearer in shadows, enhancing stealth and reducing the chance of detection.

*Enchanted with the high-rank magic effect ’Shadow Cloak’.

===

I carefully opened the black box, revealing the [Shadow Veil Pendant] resting inside. The pendant was a dark, polished onyx stone set in a silver frame, exuding a faint aura of mystery. As I picked it up, I could feel the enchantment humming with latent power—a sensation like cool shadows running over my skin.

This was it. The artifact that was supposed to be Ella’s key to completing the quest and securing her advantage. But now, it was mine.

I slipped the pendant into my bag, my mind already calculating the next steps. It wasn’t just about stealing Ella’s advantage; it was about using this artifact to tip the balance in my favor. With the pendant’s stealth capabilities, moving through the rest of the dungeon would be much easier, and I could avoid unnecessary fights or bypass obstacles undetected.

I glanced at the monitors in the administrative center. Most of the screens were displaying feeds from different areas of the underground plaza—empty hallways, deserted rooms, and a few scattered cadets still searching for artifacts. None of them seemed to notice the hidden pathway leading to this place, which gave me a sense of security.

"Time to move," I muttered, closing the box and tidying up the desk to make it seem untouched. The less evidence of my presence, the better.

As I made my way back to the hidden exit, I paused briefly to consider Ella. She’d wake up eventually, but by then, it would be too late.

The thought didn’t bother me.

Once outside, I quickly made my way through the maze-like corridors, and just like that I reached the sixth floor and met Elera.