Chapter 26: Treasure Box Drops

The events section of the Origin System consists of the current Trial theme ’Feast For The Ages’, highlighted in bold, glowing in red runic characters— and right next to it was a timer counting down, set for twenty-nine days and some remaining hours.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what that meant, and that this current trial was probably going to run for exactly thirty days. What happens after then was anyone’s guess, with discussions and analysis about it common in the chat channels.

Aside from that event, right below it, there were three other listed events; two of them were greyed out, and the immediate next one had always had a timer set to go off at exactly 5 PM UTC. It set the channels abuzz when this discovery began to spark discussions and speculation. No one would have guessed this new event was something like this~

[The Origin Announces The Commencement Of The Treasure Hunt Event!]

[EventGuidelines:

Locate Random Treasure Box Drops In Your Region, Marked On The Event Map, every day at 5 PM UTC.

Treasure Boxes will only last a short duration depending on their rarity. Rarity Is Also Random.

Inside, Trialists can obtain precious items or resources, ranging from Origin Crystals to rare Supplies and even Bluebrints ]

[Good Luck. And Happy Hunting.]

Right when everyone thought that was it, and the chat channels were ready to explode, another series of notifications was announced throughout everyone’s systems, taking the already excited masses by even more surprise—

[Item Listing And Trade Exchange Now Open In Channels!]

"...."

[Regional Chat (#058-34)

Peter Parker43: "HOLLY SHIT!! IS THIS FOR REAL"

Olivia Parker: "Sigh. Lower your voice, Pete. I can hear your scream through the screen."

CelestialGoddess92: "This is good news, right?. Treasure boxes that contain exciting items."

AllSeeingEyes: "@CelestialGoddess92, Yeah, but I mean... who would dare go out to get them?"

LagLord69: "lol. Unless it randomly appears in my dormitory where I am currently hiding. I am not risking my life. But I guess they wouldn’t make it that easy now, would they?"

Orion Blackridge: "Wow!. It’s appeared on the event map just like they said, and there are five. Sadly none of them are close to my location."

RockHard69: "Hahahaha.... Big Daddy here is currently heading to one. Hide in your little holes, you peasants."

Rachel Adams: "Big Daddy @RockHard69. This pure maiden is still waiting for you."

Liora Ashen: "Hey, the item listing is actually more exciting to me. But as expected, you have to pay to list on the channels. Private is free though. YAY for commerce."

SlimShadi: "@Liora Ashen. Lol. Seems convenient."

CryMorePls: "It’s all useless to the lot of you at the end of the day; you all can’t even leave your holes. Bunch of whiny pussies. Low intellectuals."

TrustWorthyGuy: "We run a private shelter for those in need, with a growing team of powerful awakeners to protect you. Dm me for details."

SirCumAlot: "@CryMorePls can I please know your location?. Just curious, is all.

GrampsOtaku: "@AllSeeingEyes. The strong ones would. Not saying I am one, but I too am currently heading in the direction of a treasure drop close to my hideout. Stay safe out there, guys"

CryMorePls: "At the end of the day, all you all can do is whine, you mongreals. You guys can’t do shit to me. Only a fool would paste their hideout in this ridiculous channel lolol."

BaldSaint: "@CryMorePls why are you so fucking annoying, dude."

SlimShadi: "@BaldSaint Ignore him, mate. He’s an attention-seeking whore. Don’t fall for it." ]

Just as described on the chat channels, right there on the event maps of Damon, Hazel, and Sage, a map had been added to the Events menu, showcasing their current region as well as five glowing purple beacons, each one brighter than the next, spaced randomly on the floating digital-like map.

The glowing points also had a countdown timer attached to them with different times. Some had as long as five hours, while others had as short as five minutes. This was presumably the duration left before the treasure drop would disappear.

The closest treasure drop to their location was a full kilometer away. Given their circumstance, they weren’t sure how to approach this. And as they watched, all of a sudden, one of the glowing beacons close to their location suddenly went out and completely disappeared from the map. And since it still had a lot of time on the clock, there was only one conclusion—

"What the heck?!. Someone already grabbed it?!"

Sage exclaimed. It was surprising that anyone would even dare to move around in the city of Redmont, one of the hottest mutant regions in the state. Redmont is the state capital with a very large population. At the moment, one couldn’t even throw a stone without hitting a wandering mutant outside.

There were only a few possible explanations for such a quick grab; one was that there was a very powerful awakened close by in the area, or the person was very lucky to have the treasure drop spawn next to them. Either way, people were very active, and especially in a place like Redmont, it might even be safer to hunt the mutants around you than to take the risk of going after a treasure drop that appeared to be strategically spawned in dangerous places, even though the system claims it’s random.

"What do we do?.... This is a big opportunity?. And the coming days won’t be easy." Hazel muttered somberly.

"Opportunity my ass. Look where we are, Prez. We’re trapped thirty stories in the sky, with twenty-nine floors of who knows what below us—"

"Not to mention going out there to hunt for those treasure drops; we have to first find a way to reach the lower floors."

"Need I remind you, none of us three are awakened. And those two... sigh." Sage remarked as he stared grimly through the tempered windows. One could feel the frustration oozing through him. The penthouse can be seen as both a safe spot and a trap.

While the two of them were discussing the current situation, Damon was actually getting excited inside. Not because of the treasure drops, but because of the second announcement. The Item listing and trade exchange....

This had just solved his biggest concerns in one go.

’This is quite convenient.’