Free Web NovelChapter 23: My wife is a highly desirable prey
I carried my wife and gently placed her inside a virtual reality pod.
She looked at me uneasily. It seemed she wanted to say something, but she hesitated.
I spoke in a calm voice.
’’Don’t worry. Just hold on until I find you. I promise.’’
My wife paused for a moment before asking,
’’How can you be so sure? We’ll be sent to completely different locations. Finding each other won’t be easy. Besides, I can protect myself. You should focus on earning enough points to pass the examination first. I don’t want to be a burden to you.’’
I simply replied in a calm voice.
’’Because you’re my precious tool. That’s why I can be sure.’’
My wife bit her lower lip and looked away.
’’You’ll probably kill me the moment we meet. .’’
Perhaps she didn’t believe me, but I was telling the truth.
Because she was my tool, the system granted by God would surely help me find her.
Moreover, the rules of the examination practically encouraged weak candidates to eliminate high-potential candidates. My wife was, without a doubt, the highly desirable prey in the entire examination – even in my eyes.
If I killed her, I would instantly earn 100 points, enough to pass the examination and obtain a ticket to join Class S.
I could tell that if I didn’t help her, she would be killed in the very first stage of the examination.
’’I will protect you.’’
Then, I turned around, and headed to my virtual reality pod. When the outer shell of the pod closed, a virtual screen appeared in front of my eyes.
—
Candidate: Henry Albert
Examination Number: DTY2749292
Date of Birth: XX/XX/XXXX
Simulation Location: Primeval Forest
Simulation Time: 12:00 A.M. (Full Moon)
Starting Budget: 1,000 Gold
Available Equipment:
D-Rank Katana — 1,000 Gold
D-Rank Ironwood Bow (30 Arrows) — 1,000 Gold
E-Rank Silver Shield — 500 Gold
E-Rank Spear — 400 Gold
..
..
I stared at the virtual screen, considering which weapon to purchase with my 1,000 gold. My eyes scanned the list from top to bottom.
A minute later, just as I was about to choose a sword, my eyes widened when I noticed several unusual weapons among the options.
..
F-Rank Standard Bow (50 Arrows) — 100 Gold
F-Rank Dagger — 100 Gold
F-Rank Rope — 100 Gold
F-Rank Bear Traps ×10 — 300 Gold
F-Rank Shovel — 100 Gold
...
I frowned. Why would these items appear on the list?
But when I remembered the location of the examination, I began to understand.
They were meant for setting traps in the Primeval Forest.
However, I knew that strategy wouldn’t work for me. Traps could only be effective within a fixed area. It wasn’t a good idea to spend time setting them up and then wait for candidates to wander into them.
I didn’t have anything to lure them in my trap.
All I needed was bait...
A tempting bait that could draw anyone into my trap.
But I didn’t have it
No...
I already had one.
My wife.
I nodded to myself and purchased them without hesitation.
Soon, my vision began to blur, followed by my consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in the middle of a forest.
Despite the darkness, I could see everything clearly thanks to [Enhanced Eyes]. Then, I heard the eerie screech of a barn owl somewhere in the forest.
Ting!
[Warning: You are too far away from your wife. A married couple should always stay together.]
[Your wife is located 500 meters to the northeast. Please remain by her side at all times.]
This was quite annoying.
The system would always send me these notifications whenever I left my wife alone at home and went out for a jog around the city.
But I never expected that one day, it would actually prove useful.
I jumped off a rock and pushed through the green bushes, heading northeast.
[300 meters left.]
...
[203 meters left.]
...
[74 meters left.]
A few minutes passed, and I eventually found my wife leaning against a rock about 20 meters away from me.
She was fighting against some candidates.
I didn’t expect them to find my wife so damn quickly. They probably teamed up with each other to increase their chances of taking on high-ranked candidates.
The weak often tended to gather in herds.
[POV]: Arthea.
I manipulated the sewing needles, tearing through the air and thrusting into a candidate’s temple, killing him in a single blow. The candidate staggered before collapsing and vanishing into the void.
[Current score: 2 points]
"Watch out, everyone. Seems she has some tricks. Keep your distance from her," a black-haired candidate yelled to his fellows, trying to avoid my ranged attack.
Damn!
I literally couldn’t attack them if they kept that distance, it was completely outside my range. If only my mana core had recovered 50%, I could increase my range to 50 meters and kill all of these scumbags.
The black-haired candidate frowned, then a smirk spread across his face. He started to realize my weakness when I stopped attacking them.
He yelled out,
"Everyone! Use arrows to attack her. We’ll drain her mana."
The candidates nodded in understanding and used their bows to shoot arrows at me.
I managed to use ten sewing needles to deflect the arrows, but I knew it was just a temporary solution.
Once my mana ran out, I would be done.
During the hard times, for some reason, I suddenly missed my husband.
Pathetic! Why must I miss that scum husband who always treated me like a tool and was so harsh to me?
Maybe, deep down, I had indeed accepted him as my husband, no matter how cruel and heartless he was.
My heart could never belong to another man except him.
I was angry.
Why was I even focused on him at a time like this? I should just focus on fighting like I always did in the past.
When I was about to run out of mana, I thought I was already done. But, my pupils widened as I saw a familiar figure.
My husband.
