Chapter 68 Thorn Of Rose

"Alright, the emails have been sent to Rumia and Elizabeth's groups, as well as to Samantha and Han Jiho's group. Remember, the rewards that are stated in your email mainly came from me as your professor, the only thing that the Obelisk Academy Management itself said to be given as a reward was the Data Copy of the Dungeon Map you were randomly thrown into, as well as the weapons..."

Professor Murak's voice sounded in everyone's ears just a few minutes after Samantha Hall's and Han Jiho's group came out of the Virtual Capsules.

He indirectly told the students that complaining was absolutely not an option.

'How rich is he..?'

Freya thought, recalling the content of the email she received.

She then looked at the group of people approaching the Virtual Capsules. It was the last two groups led by Amelie Rose Merveil and Bailey Clarkson.

Before Amelie left her seat, Freya heard her mutter something, 'how boring...', indicating that she wanted to finish this quickly.

Freya knew about the existence of the Chaos Training Grounds from her older brother's words, maybe she wanted to train there more and not waste time on an activity like this.

'Oppa said I should just wait...'

It's been weeks since Freya dreamed about something strange where she was floating in endless pure darkness then she was transferred into the front of races kneeling, waiting for their execution. She remained patient because of his older brother's words and her trust in him, if she didn't know the situation, she would feel haunted by some unknown.

Freya reined in her thoughts as she looked at the holographic screen in front of every student where the last two groups were shown appearing in the virtual world.

...

[You have arrived at the 'Forest of the Dark Mist]

[Warning: Pain Reduction is NOT available]

[There will be NO Pain Tolerance]

[Every stat, rank, and skill was retained in the Virtual World as per the Virtual Capsules settings]

Amelie Rose's mouth curled up upon reading the Virtual System Messages. It was specifically because of the Pain Reduction that doesn't exist in the virtual world.

'A bonus... but it's a pity.'

She lampooned inwardly as she considered it a bonus that the virtual battleground randomly assigned to them felt harmonious with her profession and skills, but she soon discovered that her skills were something she couldn't use even against monsters because the Virtual System didn't have the records of the corresponding skill rank. Although there were dark element users among players, especially some that were caught due to committing crimes, the dark attribute of Amelie's skills felt somewhat different.

'I guess it can't be helped... I need to end this quickly... This is just a virtual world, so punishing those bullies...'

She thought that it was the wrong place for light punishment as she clearly remembered that Bailey Clarkson indirectly called Freya and Amery prostitutes.

She glanced at her side where Amery Blight was looking at her without a hint of showing what she was thinking.

'Hey, I didn't want to be a leader, you know.'

Amelie randomly thought as she felt like Amery couldn't believe that she was the leader of this group.

After some time of organizing themselves, Amelie, Amery, and company began their exploration of the virtual world.

...

After at least an hour in the real world which was equivalent to twenty-four hours in the virtual world, the lids of the ten Virtual Capsules, five on the right, and the remaining on the left opened at the same time.

Amelie Rose, Amery, and company stood up almost at the same time.

Then after a few seconds, she took a glance on the other side where Bailey Clarkson came out. At that moment, Bailey instinctively looked at Amelie's side, veins almost popped out of his forehead with anger as his anger was soaring up, reaching the limit of his tolerance.

'She cheated...!!!'

Bailey convinced himself of that fact, remembering what happened in the virtual world.

For a moment, he saw Amelie's mouth curled up, turning into a sinister and sarcastic smile as she looked at him as if he was a doll to be played with.

Bailey forgot to rein in his thoughts as his body moved on its own, lunging forward towards Amelie with his right fist clenched.

His group members, the other students, as well as Professor Murak saw the situation.

Professor Murak, who knew in his heart the Unwritten Obelisk Academy Mantra, let the situation at that moment unfold.

He could stop Bailey's attack instantly but chose not to for various reasons.

First, although it was illegal for a fight to break out inside the Academy, it was only if one get caught. He would bestow punishment on the act, especially after it unfolded in his eyes.

Second, the Unwritten Obelisk Academy Mantra stated that the one who felt fear in minor situations will not be able to handle the reality of the 'Player Career' after they graduated from the academy. As an experienced professor and player, he knew that the future of Bailey Clarkson was a bleak one considering his temperament.

Third, he wanted to confirm the strength of the woman with pink hair and red eyes who 'played' with the opposing group during the virtual war to see if he could sense something because no matter what skills a person used in the virtual world, the aura pressure emitted by it cannot be felt in the real world.

At that moment, Amelie cocked her head to the right as she dodge Bailey's fist, then in that split second, her right fist was about to reach Bailey's abdomen when everyone heard an authoritative voice.

"Stop!"

Even Samantha who was watching from afar had her hair stood on end due to the miniscule amount of pressure let out by Professor Murak.

'What was that just now??'

In that split second, he seemed confused as though he hallucinated and saw a dark blue aura emitted on Amelie's right fist, then it vanished instantly as if it doesn't exist in this world.

"Everyone go back to your seats! This will end the activity today, please prepare for the upcoming event this Wednesday. That's all, dismiss!

And you, Bailey Clarkson, come with me to Disciplinary Office, right now!"

As if the soul of everyone distorted by Professor Murak's voice, everyone reined in their thoughts and quickly left the room for A-1 students in the Obelisk of Virtual Technology Building.

But before everyone left, a man with black hair and black eyes looked at Amelie with scrutinizing gaze, then he tapped on his smartwatch as he began typing, texting a message to someone.

"I've confirmed her strength. Should I send an invitation letter?"

...

"You're cruel."

It was Amery's voice, she recalled what happened earlier.

Amelie just smiled as she walked beside Freya.

After some time, Freya spoke with a curious tone.

"That's a weird Main Quest you received."

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be like that. Haha"

The content of their Main Quest in the Forest of the Dark Mist is summarized into two words:

Psychological Death.

The fog with black color was so thick that everyone's visibility at that time was less than two meters, and the clear conditions of the Main Quest to either kill the Boss Monster lurking in the dark mist or made way for the monsters to hunt the opposing party.

For some reason, Amelie's vision was crystal clear in that environment, she led the monsters of the dark mist towards Bailey's group using sounds as her group maintained their distance. It was a flawless act as they evaded every monster.

The monsters have skills related to psychological corruption that let Bailey and his group members killed each other, and during their last moments, they saw Amelie and her group walked towards them before they turned into pixels, ending the virtual war.

...

Afternoon, a few hours after the end of the Virtual War Activity of Freya and company.

​ They sat on the couch and brought out from the Dimensional Inventory the food they bought in the Obelisk Cafeteria One.

"By the way, you know there are two ways to access the Black Market, right?"

Amelie still asked even though she knew that Russell knew it from the start.

"Yes, but it's troublesome to make an account, and it's better if I use your account... You know... to fish them out."

Russell said, hinting at something that Amelie would understand.

"You mean..."

Her expression turned solemn combined with resolve.

Russell nodded at her words.

Freya, who was sitting on the far end of the couch beside Amelie didn't understand a single thing about what they were talking about, then she curiously asked.

"Oppa, what will you use the Black Market for?"

"To make money."

Russell said as his lips curled up.

Freya knew that Black Market wasn't entirely illegal as it has tacit cooperation with official authorities as long as the conflict didn't emerge due to intersecting interests. At least that was what her older brother said.

After a few seconds, he said as he looked at Amelie...

"I just need your account, I won't go there personally."

"Alright..."

Amelie said as she tapped on her smartwatch, texting the details of her Black Market account to Russell.

Russell then read it as soon as he received the message.

"Black Market: Thorn of Rose"

Account Name: Amelie Rose Merveil

Account Password: ********

Thorn of Rose Access Code:

Accessing the Thorny Path

Red Rose blooms

Pink Rose's Thorns

Black Rose's Blood

White Rose is Death

Transparent Rose is Salvation

...

After confirming the account name and password of Amelie's Black Market named Thorn of Rose account, he asked Amelie who just munched her seemingly favorite bacon sandwich.

"Do you have a laptop? Ah... by the way, the money, too."

Laptops, PCs, and cellphones still exist in this world despite the existence of smartwatches because of their different usage and convenience.

'I guess I'm still used to using a keyboard than tapping in the air.' Russell thought inwardly.

Amelie took out a laptop as if she had expected this because even though the smartwatch had multiple uses, sometimes it was not convenient enough. It just became the best because one could bring it anywhere they go without exerting extra effort except inside the dungeon where the signal was cut off.

As he opened the laptop and checked his Personal Obelisk Account, he saw the money sent to him by Amelie and Freya. He said earlier that he needed them for the Black Market.

'Oppa is so poor, what is he gonna do?'

Freya trusts her older brother, but she couldn't help but lampoon him inwardly, especially when it comes to money.

...

"Welcome to Thorn of Rose"

Access Code: Accessing the Thorny Path...

Account Name: Amelie...

Account Password: ********

After logging in the Thorn of Rose, Russell, Freya, and the familiar Amelie saw the contents of the front page as they read it inwardly starting from the headline.

[Trusted, Verified, and instant delivery upon payment!

What do our esteemed customers need?]

1. Information

2. Auction

3. Artifacts

4. Treasure Herbs

5. Skillbooks

6. Potions

After a minute or two of browsing the page, he finally saw what he was looking for.

33. Stocks