Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 144: The Registration

"There’s still no certainty about that. We actually already suggested several possible locations, but nothing feels final yet because we still need to consider a few things," Dr. Marshal said. "Let’s just hope the next meeting finally settles the location."

"...Dr. Marshal, could you explain the Daemon-hunt rite in more detail?" Nalira asked, her expression curious. "I still don’t really understand it."

"Uhmm... yeah, me too," Chelsie nodded. "What exactly will we do during the Daemon-hunt rite?"

Dr. Marshal walked over to one of the sofas in the living room and sat down next to Mr.Courier. "All right, then I’ll now..."

"Sir Marshal, let me explain it instead," Mr. Courier cut him off. "You already spent a lot of energy explaining Lunaris Revia to them."

"Ah, alright." Dr. Marshal leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "If you don’t mind, go ahead."

"The Daemon-hunt rite, or what many people call an individual contest, requires daemonists to hunt dark creatures within a set time limit. This contest aims to hone the skills of daemonists and has been held for generations."

"But how long is the time limit given to contestants to hunt dark creatures?"

"That’s a good question, Shaan. The timer starts the moment the photomana forms and keeps running until the red moon moves out of alignment with the main moon," the courier explained. "That usually lasts around three hours if calculated based on the human world."

"Oh.... that’s fast."

"Exactly, which is why you must kill any creature of darkness you encounter as quickly as possible. The more you kill, the higher your chances of earning a reward."

"Uhm... a reward?" Chelsie furrowed her brow upon hearing the courier’s words. "What kind of reward will we receive if we win this contest?"

"The reward will be given to the 3 people who have the highest accumulation in killing dark creatures." Mr. Courier blinked his eyes. "The reward itself is a mystery box given to each winner."

"...A mystery box?"

"Yes. The leaders of the Twilight Sanctum prepared special boxes specifically for this event. They usually contain a large amount of dark crystals and one cursed object."

’Interesting. I must win this event! Shaan thought fiercely. ’If I get a cursed object, it could give me a huge advantage in future battles—and I can finally pay Miss Briana for repairing my sword with the dark crystals.’

"But...just don’t think you can get the prize easily." Mr. Courier smiled slyly. "You’re not the only ones aiming for it, so you must figure out how to win this competition." He then glanced toward Dr. Marshal. "Have I missed anything, Sir Marshal?"

"No, I don’t think so." Mr. Marshal shook his head. "You’ve explained it very well, Courier 020. Excellent work."

"I’m glad I could help, Sir Marshal."

"For now, that’s all the information from the first meeting. The second meeting should discuss the technical aspects of this activity in more detail, and I’ll update you when we get new information about this event."

"Uhm... alright. We understand."

"Oh—right, I almost forgot something." Dr. Marshal snapped his fingers. "The leader of the Twilight Sanctum also said that all volunteer activities will pause for the next few days until Lunaris Revia ends."

"R-really?" Chelsie’s eyes widened the moment she heard it. "Is that true?"

"Yes, everyone will focus on preparing for the Lunaris Revia event."

Shaan leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. "Ah, thank goodness. At least we can rest for a bit."

"But that doesn’t mean you can slack off. You still need to stay sharp, just like always."

"Huh?" Shaan immediately opened his eyes and looked at Dr. Marshal in confusion."W-wait, what do you mean by that, Dr. Marshal? I don’t understand at all."

"Even though we haven’t confirmed the location yet, the registration for the Daemon-hunt rite will open tomorrow," Dr. Marshal explained. "You must sign up quickly because the slots are limited and they might run out fast."

"That’s right. Sir Marshal is absolutely correct." Mr. Courier nodded without any hesitation. "I’m sure the line will get ridiculously long, and all of you will probably be shocked when you see it."

’Huh? Is he serious?’ Shaan raised an eyebrow, doubt flickering across his expression. ’I don’t know... but maybe Mr Courier is exaggerating. There’s no way the number of applicants could be that high.’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"I think it’s time for you all to rest now," Dr. Marshal said as he slowly rose from the sofa. "You need to save your energy, because tomorrow will definitely drain you."

"Alright," the three of them replied in unison.

***

Shaan froze. His lips pressed tightly together as he kept shaking his head while staring at what stood before him—

A long line... an unbelievably long one that stretched like a giant serpent. Damn. Mr Courier was right. The line wasn’t a joke at all.

"Oh my... s-so all of these people are daemonists who’ll participate." Chelsie slumped, her shoulders dropping as she looked around. "I don’t know... It feels impossible for us to win this competition."

"...Elsie, don’t give up so easily." Nalira gently patted Chelsie’s shoulder. "Stay focused and trust yourself. They’re not necessarily as strong as you think."

"Umm... O-okay."

"Come on, we should move," Shaan said as he walked along with the line ahead of him. "We shouldn’t hold up the queue."

"... Okay."

After following the line for quite a while, Shaan’s turn finally came. He stepped up to the registration table and picked up the registration form that the staff had laid out.

"Please fill out this form first," the staff member instructed. "Make sure you complete every section accurately."

"Ah, got it."

Shaan grabbed the pen on the table and started filling in his information. "There. I’m done with everything. So, what do I need to do next?"

"After that, place your registration form into the box, and the staff member with the black sunglasses near the box will give you your participant number."

Shaan nodded and followed every instruction. The staff member near the box handed him a sticker about the size of his palm, printed with the number 867.

’867?’ Shaan’s eyes widened. ’Damn... that means around eight hundred people already registered. That’s insane. This event really attracts a huge crowd.’

"When the daemon hunt rite begins, bring this sticker as your identification," the staff member in sunglasses said firmly. "Now come with me, and we’ll move on to the next step."