Blind Box World - SSS-Rank Eye of Truth

Chapter 32: Wild Blind Box

Victor looked at Ethan for a long while.

The energy sword in his hand still hadn’t fully lowered. Nolan also kept his rifle angled down at the ground, but his finger was still near the trigger. Mira stood behind the two of them, her gaze continuously looking back and forth between Ethan and Laira.

An injured young man.

A Dragonkin woman strong enough to have just incinerated an entire pack of corrupted monsters.

The two of them stood side by side.

But their auras were completely different.

Victor asked in a grave voice: "You’re saying she’s your Partner?"

Ethan replied: "Correct."

Nolan looked at Laira, disbelief showing clearly on his face. "You awakened not long ago?"

Ethan didn’t hide it. "Not long."

Nolan fell silent.

Victor didn’t say anything for a few seconds either.

A Partner this strong belonged to someone who had awakened not long ago?

This was too absurd.

But Laira’s attitude was placed right before their eyes. That Dragonkin woman had just been as cold as looking at an ant, but when standing beside Ethan, she actively steadied him, even restraining her aura so as not to affect him.

This didn’t look like a teammate relationship.

Even less like a forced master-servant relationship.

Mira was the first to withdraw her wary gaze. She looked at Ethan’s left arm hidden under his torn shirt and said softly: "I have a healing ability. Your wound... do you want me to take a look?"

Laira immediately looked at Mira.

The surrounding temperature rose.

Mira froze, hurriedly raising both hands. "I don’t mean any harm."

Ethan reached his right hand out to gently place it on Laira’s arm. "Let her try. Just an external check."

Laira looked at Ethan. "If she makes you hurt more, I’ll burn her."

Mira went rigid.

Ethan calmly said: "Laira."

Laira pressed her lips together slightly, and in the end still stepped back half a pace.

Mira carefully stepped forward. A pale white light appeared in her palm, falling near Ethan’s left elbow.

The moment that light touched the burned-black layer, a purple-black spark immediately shot out.

Zzt!

Mira pulled her hand back, her face deathly pale.

Almost simultaneously, Laira held Ethan and pulled him backward. The sun mark on the back of her hand blazed bright, the dark red flame forcing the purple-black spark back into the wound.

Ethan gritted his teeth, cold sweat running down his temples.

But he didn’t cry out.

Mira looked at the wound, her voice turning hoarse: "This thing isn’t an ordinary burn. It’s eating your energy."

Ethan replied: "I know."

Victor frowned. "What injured you?"

Ethan looked at him. "A Bone-Wing Dragon resonating with the Void."

Nolan’s expression immediately changed. "A Bone-Wing Dragon? Near here?"

Laira replied coldly: "It’s left."

Nolan looked at her.

He didn’t ask further.

If this Dragonkin woman had said so, at least the Bone-Wing Dragon wasn’t the immediate problem right now.

Victor sheathed his energy sword halfway, but his wariness still hadn’t vanished. "I’m Victor Hale. This is Nolan Greaves, and she’s Mira Vale. We’re from the Sanctuary Academy."

Ethan nodded. "Ethan."

"Just Ethan?"

"Ethan Ashford."

The three of them had no particular reaction.

They had been stuck in the Anomalous Coordinates since before the awakening ceremony at Aurora Academy took place. The outside information network was cut off. To them, the name Ethan Ashford was just an unfamiliar name.

What drew their attention wasn’t Ethan’s identity.

But Laira.

Nolan glanced at her once more, then chuckled softly. "Your luck really isn’t bad."

Laira looked at him.

Nolan’s smile immediately stiffened.

Victor coughed lightly, changing the subject. "This place can’t be stayed in for long. Those monsters just now were heavily corrupted by the Void. Them suddenly going berserk surely has a cause."

Ethan asked: "What did you enter the Anomalous Coordinates for?"

Victor and Nolan were silent for a brief moment.

Mira looked at the two of them, then said in a low voice: "For a ruin."

Victor frowned. "Mira."

Mira looked at him. "They just saved us."

Nolan sneered. "Saving us once doesn’t mean they can be trusted."

Ethan paid no attention to that jab. "What ruin?"

Mira took out a small compass-shaped device. The glass face on top was covered in cracks, but the silver indicator needle was still trembling faintly.

Mira said: "In the Anomalous Coordinates, some stable areas occasionally appear. Inside those areas there may exist old ruins, special items, or..."

She paused slightly.

"Wild Blind Boxes."

Ethan’s gaze stirred slightly.

Mira continued: "Wild Blind Boxes are very rare. Unlike the Blind Boxes in the coming-of-age ceremony, they appear randomly in ruins, dungeons, or special spatial regions. If a ruin can be activated, each person present will sometimes receive one box opening."

Nolan curled his lip. "In short, it’s worth risking your life for." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Victor didn’t refute it.

If not for a single Wild Blind Box opening, three Gold students like them wouldn’t have stayed in this cursed place for so long.

Ethan looked at the compass in Mira’s hand. "That device finds stable coordinates?"

Mira nodded. "Yeah. But it’s being interfered with. The distance isn’t far, it’s just that we got held back by the monster pack."

Victor looked at Laira, then looked at Ethan. "If you also want to leave here, the stable coordinates are the best chance. Our transfer device needs to sync there before it can open a gate back to the real world."

Nolan added: "But let me say first, we found the ruin first. If there’s a chance to open a Blind Box, everyone relies on their own luck. No one takes what’s another’s."

Ethan calmly replied: "Alright."

Laira tilted her head slightly to look at him. "You want to go?"

Ethan replied softly: "Stable coordinates. Possibly open a Blind Box. Also possibly find a way out of here."

Laira was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Then let’s go."

The group quickly left the plaza.

Victor walked in front, his energy shield open at a low level.

Nolan walked on the left, his rifle always in a ready state.

Mira held the compass, occasionally stopping to adjust the direction.

Ethan walked half a step behind. Laira stood close beside him, one hand steadying his right arm, her cold gaze sweeping over every dark corner.

The space around them kept changing.

At times the road ahead was cracked asphalt.

At times it turned into a moss-covered stone bridge.

At times both sides were ruined concrete buildings.

Just a few steps later, one wall turned into a row of black pillars of an ancient palace.

Mira looked at the compass and said quickly: "Almost there. The fluctuation is more stable."

Victor said in a low voice: "Everyone be careful. Stable areas usually have something guarding them."

Nolan chuckled softly. "If there is, just let that Dragonkin woman handle it."

Laira glanced at him.

Nolan immediately shut his mouth.

Ethan gave him a look, but didn’t say anything.

A while later, the group stepped through a thin layer of mist.

The space before them suddenly turned quiet.

It was a small plaza sitting between the forest and the city ruins. At the center of the plaza was a black stone pillar over three meters tall. Half the body of the pillar was tightly wrapped in vines, its surface carved with patterns that had faded. The air around this place warped noticeably less, like an invisible hand was fixing the entire area in place.

The indicator needle on Mira’s compass finally stopped.

Mira let out a breath. "That’s it. This is the place."

Victor immediately took out a silver cube-shaped device. "I’ll begin syncing the transfer device."

Mira shook her head. "Wait. The ruin has to be activated first."

She took out from her pocket a black fragment, shaped like part of an ancient medallion. When the fragment drew near the stone pillar, the patterns on the pillar began to light up segment by segment.

Boom.

The ground trembled faintly.

Four faint rings of light appeared around the stone pillar.

A hoarse voice rang out in everyone’s heads.

[Living beings detected.]

[Activation conditions met.]

[Wild Blind Box opening right: 1 time per person.]

Nolan’s eyes immediately lit up.

Victor couldn’t hide his delight either.

Even Mira let out a sigh of relief.

Their risking their lives to stay so long in the Anomalous Coordinates was precisely for this moment.

A small screen of light appeared before each person.

Inside the screen were dozens of dim glowing blocks floating.

The insides couldn’t be seen clearly.

Their quality couldn’t be sensed.

They could only be chosen by luck.

Victor didn’t hesitate too long. He chose a pale yellow glowing block.

The light dispersed.

[Received: Life Skill — Armor-Sharpening Acceleration.]

[Rarity: D.]

Victor’s expression immediately darkened.

Nolan nearly burst out laughing, but right after it was his turn.

He chose a blue glowing block.

[Received: Custom-Made Energy Rounds — Ice Element.]

[Rarity: C.]

[Not compatible with current weapon.]

The smile on Nolan’s face vanished.

Mira chose very carefully.

The result appeared.

[Received: Moonlight Herb Seed.]

[Rarity: C.]

[Cultivation conditions: Stable natural environment, pure moonlight, 180-day growth cycle.]

Mira looked at the Anomalous Coordinates around her.

Then fell silent.

Nolan gritted his teeth. "We risked our lives coming in here for these things?"

Victor said nothing, but his hand was already clenched tight.

At that moment, Ethan looked at the screen of light before him.

[The Eye of Truth] quietly activated.

The sharp pain shot through his eyes.

But this time, he could bear it.

Each dim glowing block revealed lines of text.

[Rarity: E.]

[Rarity: D.]

[Rarity: C.]

[Rarity: B.]

Ethan didn’t stop.

His gaze swept over each option.

Finally, at the farthest corner of the screen, a dark red glowing block nearly obscured from view appeared.

[Wild Blind Box.]

[Item inside: Partner Resonance Power.]

[Rarity: Epic.]

[Effect: For 180 seconds, the user can temporarily borrow a portion of the Partner’s current power.]

[Warning: A body that isn’t strong enough will suffer severe backlash.]

[Cooldown: 48 hours.]

Ethan fell silent.

Epic.

Not the strongest thing in terms of the long run.

But the most suitable thing for him right now.

He was injured.

Laira was sealed.

The Void Fire hadn’t vanished.

If he ran into a situation where Laira was held back, Ethan needed a card that could help him save his own life.

Without hesitating any longer, Ethan reached out to choose the dark red glowing block.

The light fell into his palm, turning into a small black-red talisman.

The notification appeared.

[Received: Partner Resonance Power.]

[Rarity: Epic.]

Nolan saw the color of the light, and his expression immediately changed.

"Epic?"

Victor also whipped around.

His gaze rested on the talisman in Ethan’s hand.

In the blink of an eye, the air around the stone pillar turned quiet.

The three of them had risked their lives coming here.

One received a rank D life skill.

One received incompatible rounds.

One received a seed that couldn’t be used right away.

Only Ethan, who had joined them not long ago, opened an Epic item.

Nolan looked at Ethan.

Then looked at Laira. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

A gloomy emotion slowly rose in his eyes.

Victor was silent too.

But his gaze on Ethan was no longer like before.

Mira noticed the atmosphere change.

She unconsciously said: "This was a chance for each person to choose on their own. No one takes what’s another’s."

Nolan chuckled softly.

"That’s right."

He put his rifle away, but the smile didn’t reach the bottom of his eyes.

"It’s just that his luck is a little too good."

Ethan tucked the talisman into his pocket.

His expression was still calm.

But his right hand didn’t leave that spot.

Laira looked at Nolan.

The amber-red firelight in her eyes quietly blazed up.

Ethan said in a low voice: "Laira, not yet."

Laira didn’t look away from Nolan, but replied softly: "I know."

Victor turned toward the transfer device.

"Beginning sync."

The silver cube-shaped device was placed on the ground.

A ring of blue light opened around the stone pillar.

[Syncing coordinates.]

[Progress: 3%.]

[Space stable.]

[Estimated time: 12 minutes.]

Twelve minutes.

Ethan looked at that line of text.

Then looked at Victor and Nolan again.

In the Anomalous Coordinates, twelve minutes could see a lot happen.

Especially when greed had already appeared.