Death... and me

One might be thinking that Rean would usually help everyone, right? However, this situation was different. It was obvious that everyone was here to pass and get rid of the competition. Given a chance, most of the competitors would kill the opponent if it meant that they could pass the test. That being said, why should Rean feel sorry for those people? He might as well earn something from them.

Rean saw that he had run out of planks except for a pair. "Alright, this pair of planks and ropes is the last one. However, I don't want Divine Stones for this thing. Instead, I want someone who has information about this place. If you know where we are, let me know." Rean then looked at Roan, who was paying attention to everyone. One must remember that it was anything but easy to lie to him. Rean got some of that ability so far, but it was still better for him to count on the original.

"I know!"

"I know as well!"

"Forget them. They definitely don't have as much information as I have!"

"Ha! I live close to this place. I obviously know more than anyone else!"

Sure enough, everyone began to say they had information about this place. No one cared about lying as long as they could get Rean's planks and ropes. So what if he accused them of lying after they escaped this death situation?

Suddenly, Roan found the person who seemed to be telling the truth. Well, in fact, Roan found four of them in the middle of the tens of cultivators running. However, he chose the one who seemed to be the weakest. He couldn't see their cultivation, but he had an idea based on the guys' movements.

'Death Style, First Energy Form, Shadow Bind!'

Roan's shadow binds came out of the shadows, attaching themselves to the cultivator. That immediately made the guy panic, thinking that they would hold him there. However, the binds suddenly made a move that threw the guy much further ahead from the undead army, quickly passing quite a few cultivators in the process.

It was unfortunate that Roan couldn't keep using it nonstop. After all, it did spend a good amount of Divine Soul Power. Let alone that he would need to use it on Rean and himself.

As the cultivator flew ahead, a pair of planks and ropes arrived in front of him. Roan also made sure to throw him in a place where other cultivators wouldn't be able to take the items from him. Without wasting time, the guy also jumped out of the snow for a moment and attached the planks to his feet with the ropes.

Seeing that the guy began to speed up, Roan warned him. "You better come where we are, or I can use the same ability to throw you straight into the undead army."

The guy didn't need a second invitation to immediately dash in the direction of Rean's group. Rean had also used his Light Element on the planks, so this guy was as fast as the first one while running.

"Wait! You can't just leave us behind!"

"You're gonna regret it. I'm from the Ulisval country!"

"I'll do anything, don't go away!"

Rean shook his head as he turned around. "I truly don't have any more planks or ropes to use. What do you want me to do? Head back and hold that undead army for you? Neither of you would do such an idiotic thing, right?"

With that, he sped away with Roan and Milina. As for the others who received the planks, those planks weren't as well-shaped as the ones from Rean's group. Not to mention that they didn't have Rean's Enhancement skill. They could run faster than the undead army now, but not as fast as Rean's group.

The guy Roan called forth finally caught up to their group, which allowed Rean's group to see his cultivation. 'Peak Soul Transformation Realm.' For Rean and Roan, that wasn't a problem at all.

They kept running for half an hour before Roan decided to ask him. "Alright, open your mouth. What is this place? You were one of the few there that really seemed to know where we are at the moment."

The guy looked at Rean, Roan, and Milina and could also see their cultivations. Only Milina was in the Saint Realm, but it was at the Initial Stage. Rean and Roan were a stage below himself. He assessed the situation and pondered whether he should just escape on his own now that the undead army had fallen behind.

How could Roan not know what he was thinking, though? "I'll give you a single warning, and just a single one. If you try to escape, the planks under your feet will burst apart. Or do you think we gave it to you without any countermeasures? Do you think you can deal with the three of us at the same time while you sink in the snow? If that's the case, then, by all means, go ahead. I very much wish to see you try."

The guy was taken aback and used his Divine Sense to check the planks under his feet. He couldn't feel anything inside. Nevertheless, the problem was whether Roan was telling the truth, and he simply couldn't find the problem with the planks. If that was really the case, little is the chance that Roan's group would let him go unscathed. "Fine! Although I do think that what you did was shameless, it doesn't change the fact you saved my life out there."

"Enough bullshit," Roan said in response. "Just tell us what you know, and then you can go on your merry way. We don't need your gratitude, only the information."

Rean sighed in response. "Come on, don't be that harsh. You're scaring him. At least let him introduce himself."

The guy's mouth twitched in response. 'Who the hell is being scared?'

In any case, he didn't say out loud. "Whatever. I'm Julian Gorovo. I came from the Apocal Country, which could be said to be quite close to this place. As for where we are, we're in the Soul Eater Zone."