Reawakened with a Dual Survival System in the Apocalypse.-Chapter 52: Completed group

{Main quest: A new world.

Description: Everyone will be thrown into a world at random, along with multiple other groups from different regions.

Requirements to complete this quest:

- Gather 10 Dila stones lost in your world with your leader alive.

- Each member of the group must have a total of 4 kills.

- Having more stones will qualify you for a massive reward.

Reward: 30,000 coins to be shared among members, and each member will receive a chance to battle for a title.

Penalty: The punishment is being eternally trapped in the world.

Note: Working together as a team is your best bet to survive your world.}

.....

"Do you have any more injured?"

Jayhan asked.

The boy was still standing behind the box, gun aimed.

Jayhan sighed.

"It’s fine if you don’t trust me; I am not asking that of you." He stood to his feet.

"The truth of the matter is, if we want to leave this world, we need each other to find the stones. The more we are, the faster it will take for us to gather them."

The boy responded.

"Who’s to say we can’t find the stones ourselves?"

"Do you know where to start looking?"

Silence held the boy as he quickly looked to the side.

"I don’t. B-but we can—"

"Every second we waste here is another second given to another group to gather the stones before us. There are only 28 stones present as of this moment. In case you didn’t notice, each group needs 10 stones to leave this world."

Silence took over as both the boy and Pinkscarf listened.

"The only reason I need you to stay close for a partnership is because you need all 20 stones captured by two groups for the gate to open."

The boy glared.

"How do I know you’re just not making things up?"

Jayhan stretched out his hand.

[You have pulled out a gem.]

"I have with me one of the gems already; I can find the rest myself because I know exactly where they are. And I can just as quickly find another group as well."

He opened his fist so Pinkscaf and the boy could see the red gem.

"The thing is, I don’t think my girlfriend wants you alive if you’re not with us."

Not even a second after he said that, a man wearing a hat and a suit walked out of the darkness.

"So you are saying, right here, right now, you are capable of finding the rest of the stones hidden away?"

Jayhan turned his gaze to the man.

"With absolute certainty, yes."

"Then it would be a shame if we lost someone of your talents." The suit man looked towards the boy. "Put the gun down; it’s fine."

"But—"

"Put the gun away."

Hesitant, the boy finally lowered the pistol.

Right next to the boy, another slim man stood up, wearing goggles and shirtless in his underwear.

"Hi," he waved.

Jayhan could only nod his head in disgust.

But once he took his mind away, he realized something.

"How come there are only four of you?" Did the last one already die?"

As if Jayhan was interrogating them, they all looked to the ground with a guilty look.

"He is probably badly injured, if saying anything. We got attacked by a monster and had to hide here. During the chase, he...fell off a cliff."

Jayhan scanned their faces.

’Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.’

"I see. If you think he is dead, then there’s not much we can—"

"He’s not dead!" Pinkscarf yelled, "James is not dead; he’ll come back." I know he will."

"He fell down a hill."

"It doesn’t matter; I know he’s alive."

Jayhan once again sighed internally.

’I wouldn’t keep you people close in the first place if it wasn’t for the reward; don’t make things worse.’

With one hand on his waist, he spoke back.

"It’s fine to believe that, but as I said, finding the stones should be our priority."

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him.

"You guys are still in here. Thank goodness you’re safe."

All eyes fell behind Jayhan.

Standing at the entrance of the temple was a dark-skinned man with a low cut, wearing a blue hoodie and joggers.

"James!!!"

Pinkscarf was the first to react, seemingly running towards him as fast as she could.

Jayhan turned around to check, not a single smile on his face.

Getting close to him, Pinkscarf hugged James, crying her heart out in his arms.

"I thought I lost you," she uttered.

James patted her head.

"It’s okay, I am fine; I’m just glad you are alive." He looked in front of him. "Seems like you found some friends soon."

Kara suddenly stood in front of Jayhan and then whispered,

"Something isn’t right. That dude is giving me the creeps."

’I was thinking the same.’

[You are using the lord of information.]

[Character info:

Name: James Orblen.

Group: Rahi’s group.

Abilities: Running, smart thinking, survival, fighting, and aiming.

Unique abilities: Spearman Lvl 29.

Divine protector: Glitch!* The one who jumped the gun.

Divine blessing: Forced defense.}

’He looks pretty normal.’

Soon, James and Pinkscarf moved towards Jayhan.

"The name is James, and you?"

Jayhan shook his hand.

"Jayhan."

"Jayhan, nice to meet you, man."

Kara glared from the side, her hand tightening around the hilt of her blade.

Jayhan didn’t say anything at first.

His grip was still firm in the handshake, though his gaze didn’t linger long on James.

Instead, he turned to look at Pinkscarf.

"You said he fell off a cliff," Jayhan spoke, his tone flat.

"Y-Yeah, but like I said—"

James interrupted with a light laugh.

"It’s okay, I get the confusion. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d make it out either. The fall was bad, but lucky for me, there were a bunch of trees on the way down. Broke the fall just enough for me to survive."

Jayhan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Trees broke your fall?"

"Yup. Got banged up real bad too. It took me hours just to climb back up the other side. I’ve been tracking this temple for a while now, saw the lights, and figured people would be here."

There was a slight pause.

The boy from earlier stepped forward, his expression a mix of doubt and relief.

"If that’s true, then why didn’t you call out earlier?"

"I didn’t want to attract attention. There was a monster nearby sniffing around. I had to wait it out," James explained, his face still calm.

Jayhan didn’t miss a beat. "And what monster was that?"

James’s lips curled slightly. "Looked like a cross between a deer and a serpent. Yellow eyes, horns that bent backwards. It didn’t notice me, but I sure as hell noticed it."

Jayhan blinked slowly.

That description... didn’t match any of the monsters they had come across in this region. Not exactly.

Kara noticed too. Her grip on the sword hadn’t loosened.

"I don’t buy it," she whispered.

"Me neither."

But Jayhan didn’t voice it yet. Not here, not now.

Instead, he took a single step forward.

"Well, we’re glad you’re safe. That makes five of you now."

James nodded. "That it does."

Jayhan shifted his gaze toward the others. "Everyone here’s got a job to do. If we’re working together, I expect coordination. No solo scouting, no disappearing acts, and no unnecessary noise."

The shirtless guy with goggles scratched his neck. "That include nighttime stuff?"

Jayhan looked at him.

"I don’t want to know what you do at night. Just don’t die."

The group gave small, nervous chuckles. All except James, who only smiled faintly, that same too-perfect look on his face.

Jayhan scanned the room one more time, eyes moving over the cracked temple pillars, the high ceiling with its fading murals, and the strange energy that seemed to pulse lightly from the stone floors.

"This place is safe enough to rest in," he finally said, "but tomorrow, we move."

Pinkscarf blinked. "Move where?"

Jayhan crouched down and pulled a folded parchment from his inventory—another one of his hand-drawn maps. He pressed it flat against a slab of stone, using a small canteen as a paperweight.

"The Dila stones are not scattered randomly. They tend to manifest near energy sources—temples, dungeons, or forgotten relics. I’ve marked five locations within a ten-kilometer radius. We’ll split up in pairs and cover ground fast."

He tapped three spots on the map.

"One here, near the sunken forest. Another in this mountain ridge is marked by a collapsed watchtower. Third is possibly inside an old crypt—likely a dungeon."

Goggles guy raised a hand like he was in school. "And the fourth and fifth?"

Jayhan glanced at him.

"Unconfirmed. They’re likely held by other groups."

Silence.

Then the suited man crossed his arms. "And you expect us to just march up to those groups and ask nicely?"

Jayhan gave a faint smirk.

"No. I expect us to be smart about it. Stealing, bargaining, ambushing—it depends on what kind of group we’re dealing with."