Chapter 99: Chapter 99 - The Culprits(Part 1)

"Does everyone have what they need?" Inquired Rosary, as we reached the town exit.

"Mhm, sure do," I nodded in response.

"Yes, I think so."

"I double checked to make certain, no problems here."

"Yeah, me too."

"Good. I better not hear anyone say that they forgot something important once we’re out there," Responded Rosary with a grimace.

Looks like she’s got her game face on, she seems pretty determined to put an end to this. She was carrying the Magic Items with her, it’s clear that she wants to be as involved as possible in resolving this...the fact that she insisted on scouting the spot that’s most likely to be where the next Disastrous Grade Monster appears is further proof.

It was now 6 PM, and we were heading out to take our positions and wait for the culprit to show up. If any team encounters a Disastrous Grade Monster, meaning that we were too late to react, they’re to contact and inform the other teams.

Each team was handed a chunky mobile phone, similar to the one I have in my Pocket Dimension but almost never used so far. And for short to mid range communication, we’ve got earpiece communicators.

Walkie-talkies are too loud and take up space, but these are lightweight, barely noticeable once you get used to wearing them, and they’re nice and quiet to everyone except the wearers.

Only problem is that I can only use Super Hearing with one ear while wearing this. Boosting my hearing while wearing a device that emits sound directly into my ear probably isn’t the smartest move.

On another note, I have to say, this plan seems pretty solid. So long as the culprit isn’t aware of us, it should work. But it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll be expecting to be ambushed.

For starters, while they’ve never released Disastrous Grade Monsters in the same area twice, it doesn’t seem to be a deliberate pattern when it comes to the locations they pick.

It’s more like they’re just trying to avoid all their previous scenes of crime, that’s why six different locations were determined to be possibilities, because there’s no deliberate pattern to base predictions off of.

Instead, it’s multiple possible unconscious patterns of selection and movement that we’re following. For all we know, we could be way off base, and the culprit could appear in an area that’s completely different to the six locations that the Guild narrowed down.

Another reason why the culprit is unlikely to know we’re setting up ambushes is because they’ve been doing this for years, and as far as they know, no one’s aware of it.

Even during the time when Rosary noticed them, they left before she could make a move at all. And considering that she likely has the Stealth Skill, the chances that she was noticed are pretty slim.

"Okay, it’s just a little further up ahead over there. There’s plenty of trees and shrubbery, around, so it’s the ideal spot for an ambush. There’s also a cave behind a waterfall, by a small stream. Not a bad location to release a Disastrous Grade Monster to," Remarked Rosary with a frown.

"By the way, how long will we be scouting this area for, if nothing happens?" Inquired one of the other Adventurers.

"Hm? Well, let’s see...if no one shows up, and the other teams don’t contact us, we’ll stay here till, say...6 AM?" She surmised, after thinking it over.

What?

"H-huh? But that’s almost twelve whole hours!"

"Yeah, uh, there’s no way I can stay alert for that long."

"Not to worry...if need be, we can talk using the comms to keep each other from getting too bored or distracted," Replied Rosary objectively.

"You know, I totally get why we got here so early, but...why’d we get here so early? It’s highly unlikely that the culprit will show up before much later at night," I chimed in warily.

"You’re not wrong, but we can’t take any chances. We’ve lost a number of Adventurers to these Disastrous Grade Monsters, I don’t want even a single further casualty," Stated Rosary firmly.

"Fair enough, I guess," I relented with a sigh.

"Yeah, it’s hard to argue against that."

"Okay fine, twelve hours it is..."

"Alright, then, let’s determine where each of us should hide. Let’s discuss is briefly and then take our agreed upon places," Suggested Rosary, as she added, "And after that...we wait..."

...

Holy crap...I’m so freaking bored! Ahhhh, this sucks, how long have we been here, anyway!? I don’t want to check the time, because I know I’ll be disappointed at how little time has passed since I last checked it.

It does feel like it’s been quite a while since I last looked at the cheap watch I’d bought in town before heading out for this quest, but deep down, I know it’s probably not been more than half an hour.

Ah, fuck it, I can’t hold back...I then glanced at the watch nervously...before letting out a quiet, exasperated groan, as I saw that less than fifteen minutes had passed since the last time I checked the time.

Oh, my God, this is boring. I have my Thought Communication Skill active, as well as Super Hearing, in order to alert us if any Monsters show up within my range. I’m sure Rosary has her Area Detect active too, but she hasn’t said anything, which means that no one’s shown up.

We’ve been here for over six hours now, it’s almost 12:30 AM right now. No one’s said anything for a while, not even Rosary...man, this is rough, we’re only just past halfway through this.

None of the other teams have contacted us, so they’re probably going through the same thing right now too. Yeah, I’m starting to think that we’re just gonna be out here, doing nothing, for the next five and half hours or so.

Also, I’m starting to get sleepy. It’s mostly the boredom, I don’t feel worn out or fatigued, just incredibly bored. Sure, there’s a good chance that it’s a Noble that we’re hunting here, but it’s hard to stay motivated when there’s no guarantee that they’ll show up here.

"Hey, uh...do we really have to stay here until 6 in the morning?" I inquired with a sigh.

"Well...I suppose leaving at 5 AM should be fine too," Replied Rosary wearily, after a brief pause.

Oh, wow, looks like she’s feeling it too, despite how determined and driven she’d looked when we set out.

"That’s a bit of a relief," Muttered one of the others, stifling a yawn.

"Still about four and a half hours to go though."

"Did you really have to say that?"

"It’s true, isn’t it?"

"Uh, maybe we could make it 4 AM instead? Or at least 4:30?"

"No, that’s a bit too early to give up...let’s make it 4:45," Compromised Rosary hesitantly.

Huh, if we keep pushing her, she’ll probably cave and pull it back to around 4 AM...but that’s probably not a good idea, it’ll still be dark out around that time, so the culprit could still appear by then.

Sunrise is a bit after 4:30 AM, so we should probably stay out at least until then. Well, it’s still a pretty long way away. I’m really struggling to stay focused right now, I’m getting drowsy. Maybe I should’ve-...

"Someone’s here! I can sense a person, they appeared out of nowhere and is heading this way," Suddenly came Rosary’s voice urgently, with more than a hint of relief in her tone.

Almost instantly, all my boredom and sleepiness disappeared, as I manifested my Soul Weapon and got ready, increasing the boost of my Super Hearing. I was perched up on a large tree with several branches and a ton of leaves, pretty well hidden.

Hm? Wait, Rosary said she sensed ’a person’, as in singular? But, based on what I’m hearing...

"Okay, I can hear footsteps, coming into sight now. It’s a man, he’s-...huh? Strange, he looks like he’s talking to someone, but he’s on his own. I don’t see an earpiece or anything," One of the other Adventurers informed us in bemusement.

I could hear the footsteps too...two pairs of footsteps, one a lot more faint, as it the person was wearing rubber soles or something...

"I can hear two sets of footsteps, right next to each other!" I whispered into the comms.

"What? Hm...must be the Invisibility Skill, along with the Undetect Skill, which would explain why I’m only sensing one of them," Responded Rosary warily, right as someone came into sight.

Yeah, I can see slight shifts in the ground and little puffs of dust next to him...someone else is walking beside him, no doubt about it.

"Alright, the instant I activate the Skill blocking barrier, we execute the plan, adjust it for two targets instead of one. Larrk, can you restrain two people with your whip?" Inquired Rosary.

"Not sure, but if they’re both stuck to the ground, near each other, I should be able to wrap them both up in one go," I replied affirmatively.

"Okay, good...then, on my signal, we attack."

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