Huh-! Is it only me or are we finding way less coins now compared to before?"
Lilianna complained as she kept walking behind Andrew. She held Andrew's hand on one side and Clara's on the other to make sure they did not separate.
The reason such a decision was made was because she was short and the most likely to fall behind.
Besides, Andrew needed one of his hands free to be able to check the map, and Clara had too much strength to waste her potential in the middle. That left Lilianna to be the only one available to take the center spot.
"Hmm, I don't think the amount of coins has decreased. We just have three people to pick them up now. I think we must be close to 100 coins."
Andrew replied as he kept an eye out for the monsters.
Clara checked the stock they had immediately.
"We have around 80 now. We just need more. Should we start heading to the shop now? I am sure we will pick up some coins on the way."
"Yes, let's go."
Andrew agreed and they quickly started to head back toward the shop. They only took a few steps before the ground started to shake and Andrew immediately pulled the trio toward an opening.
"Clara, break the opening down so that we can all fit in."
Clara nodded before she punched the wall. Her strength was very high and the wall immediately broke. But since Clara's body was only human, it caused her hand to get hurt.
"Lilianna, Clara might need medical treatment. Can you help her out while I keep an eye out for the mob monsters?"
Andrew asked and Lilianna nodded. She used her healer skills on Clara's hurt hand while Andrew quickly looked around for the mob markings he could see with his skill's help.
The ground shook a little every time the mob walked and Andrew flinched when he noticed that it was a massive mole-rat that was causing this.
Andrew quickly took out a fragrance spray from his inventory and after marking it with a magic timer, he flung it as far as he could in another direction.
The fragrance bottle exploded as soon as the timer hit zero and the blind mob paused before it ran after the bottle.
"Alright, we can run now. Let's get out of here."
The trio ran as fast as they could before the mob came back. Andrew kept tugging them toward safety as the other two followed.
It felt like they were running for forever, but they did pick up a few coins on the way and only stopped once they hit their required quota of 100 coins.
"W-We made it-! Finally-! Does anyone have any idea how long we have been in this game for?"
Lilianna asked as she collapsed. She was beyond tired but she could not allow herself to relax.
"According to my watch, it has been around 2 days since the game started. God, it sure feels like it has been longer."
Clara joined Lilianna in complaining as she sat down as well. Once she did, she did not want to get up again.
Andrew quickly exchanged the money for the last two pieces of map.
[You have purchased the last two map fragments.]
[You have collected all 5 map fragments.]
[To open the last section, please combine the map fragments.]
"Do you want to rest for some time before we head out?"
Andrew asked the two females who nodded.
"Yeah, that would be good. My legs just need some help…thanks a lot."
Clara immediately turned to look at Lilianna who was using her skill on her legs and other muscles to heal the fatigue in them.
Once Lilianna was done with Clara, she turned to look at Andrew as well.
"Do you want me to heal you as well?"
She asked and Andrew took her offer.
Lilianna's hand roamed his back, pushing more of her healing into him before eventually pulling back and working on her own body.
She looked even more exhausted compared to before, but at least they were physically fine. Lilianna's eyes threatened to drop because she was exhausted and Andrew immediately pushed a potion toward her.
"Here, this will help you replenish your energy."
"But-"
"Just take it. We don't have time to waste. You can sleep properly once we are back home."
He told her and Lilianna sighed before she gulped the potion down. Her body immediately felt energized. But she still felt a little sick.
"This doesn't taste good…or feel good."
She complained and Andrew nodded.
"This is just for emergencies, so we cannot get addicted to this stuff and rely on them all the time. But for now, it should be fine."
He stretched his muscles and the lack of pain made him feel great.
Finally, it was time to put an end to this game.
"Now that we have all the map fragments, I will combine them. Are you both ready to head out?"
Andrew asked and the other two nodded.
"Yeah."
"Let's finish here and head home."
Andrew took a deep breath before he put the fragments to unlock the last two places.
[Underground map has been unlocked]
[A new area will be opened.]
As soon as that message appeared, Andrew put in the Map Marker he had bought.
[You have used a map marker to mark the 'secret item'. It will now appear on the map. Retrieving the secret item will end the game.]
Finally, the end of this game was in sight.
"But it's weird. Is it really going to be this easy? I mean, sure it was hard to survive the hide-and-seek, but it did not feel as hopeless as previous rounds."
Clara commented, feeling hesitant about the whole situation.
"Well, that might be because Andrew is a little too good at these games."
Lilianna complimented, causing Clara to chuckle.
"Maybe you are right. I must be thinking too much about it."
She tried to relax, but a part of her still felt like things were going to get out of control.
"I don't think the games have gotten easier. I have a feeling that the real difficult part of this game has not even started yet."
Andrew commented as he looked at the new area and the map.
It was possible that the real game would start once they entered the final area.
"Let's get going now. There is no time for us to waste."
They took off, heading toward the stairs that would take them to the secret item needed to clear this game.