Chapter 57: Lootbox

"Lootbox?"

"They’re a reward for accomplishing a task set by either the Prominent Families or the Awakener Organizations," Ormann replied.

"See, the License Exam isn’t just an event to inaugurate new Awakeners into the world. It’s also a way to recruit talented examinees who have a lot of potential.

And to find those who are worthy, these organizations have created specialized problems or obstacles here in the License Exams. If examinees complete this mission, they would get a reward at the end. A lootbox.

These rewards are nothing game breaking. Most of them contain food or other consumable resources that will only give a marginal advantage. Like these slices of meat.

But what’s really important is the reputation.

Right now, the Organization who designed this Burrow will be notified of its completion. They’ll know our names. Meaning, our faces will be the first ones they think of when recruiting Awakeners at the end of the License Exam!

There were even times when examinees would get recruited even if they didn’t pass the License Exam, simply because they completed the obstacle!"

Sierra and the others stared blankly at the box of meat, stunned. Then, an excited smile crept on their faces.

"You mean... our jobs will be secured," Henry uttered in disbelief.

"That’s amazing! We really just stumbled on a good fortune just like that?!" Sky screamed in glee.

"What Organization did we find?" Sierra asked, excitement bubbling in her tone.

Ormann showed them the embossed logo of entangled thorns on the box. "It’s the Thorn Crusaders. I think they’re a C-tier Awakener organization."

It was better than nothing. According to what Geister told Eren, operating independently in Awakener missions was extremely hard.

Completing portal missions required paperwork, which was, as Geister told him, ’a pain in the ass’. Having an organization behind you would drastically make that process easier, as they would process it for their own Awakeners.

Not only that, but organizations had a lot of resources, which would benefit a newly minted Licensed Awakener who may not have the necessary wealth to arm themselves with proper equipment.

"This makes the wagyu beef taste all the more sweeter." Abe rubbed his stomach with hunger.

"Thank you, Thorn Crusaders! I hope to see you at the end of the License Exam," Bernadette screamed to the ceiling. The only response was her own words echoing back to her.

"We better return now. I’m getting hungry!" Ormann said, smiling.

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They walked back the way they came from, crawling through the tunnel until they found themselves back on the winding tunnels of the Burrows.

Their pace was quick, with excitement pushing them forwards like an actual gust of wind. There was a good mood all around. Even Eren couldn’t help but feel the positive buzz in the air.

For the others, it was the lootbox. But for him, it was the scores of sunspores he just obtained.

They harvested 400 sunspores from the hidden cavern. Split amongst all ten of them, Eren gained 40 from that.

But his true take-away was the sunspores they expended during the entirety of the mission. They spent 50 minutes in total from when they left the campfire till they returned and basked in its light.

They used three sunspores simultaneously because of the size of their party, meaning they used 150 sunspores for their mission.

Added with the 129 broken sunspores he scavenged from the ground, Eren gained a grand total of 319 sunspores!

Thankfully, he had pockets all over his black body suit. Otherwise, his supply would bulge out unnaturally from his waist. Now, they just made the armor padding in his suit look a little bit bigger.

"I think we’re ready to challenge a Burrow," said Abe. "We have enough sunspores. What do you think, Ormann?"

"It depends on if we find a suitable Burrow. It should be something doable and has enough Concrete Blocks for all of us."

According to Sierra, the Concrete Blocks had been found in some of the Burrows. They appeared at the end of the tunnel, perched atop pedestals like a prized artifact from a museum. Some only had one, while some had up to ten Concrete Blocks.

The only reason why they had not yet been conquered was because of its difficulty. The traps and obstacles were numerous and unrelenting.

Rushing through them would do no good. Most of those openly visible Burrows had dangerous pitfalls that could spell certain doom. In fact, they had already claimed their victims earlier.

The only way to go through them safely was to take their time, which required a lot of sunspores. It was the reason why everyone was racing to obtain more sunspores.

The faster they acquired enough light, the faster they could challenge those Burrows and obtain those coveted Concrete Blocks.

As they walked back to the campfire, Eren noticed a strange energy within the examinees.

They looked a bit... rattled. Nervous foot tapping. Back and forth pacing. Glances at the Burrows.

It seemed something happened while they were gone.

They walked to the campfire, its wooden log looking more ashy than before. Black soot surrounded its perimeter. It was a constant reminder that time was running out.

Eren approached one of the nervous foot tappers sitting on the log. "Why does everyone look so gloomy?"

The bespectacled man turned to him. "You didn’t hear? Magnus completed another Burrow."

Sierra, overhearing their conversation, covered her gasp. "What? I thought he already passed the test."

"He did. But he’s still challenging the Burrows. He’s already completed three now."

The positivity within the group quickly fizzled out. With Magnus completing Burrow after Burrow, there were now less Concrete Blocks still left untouched in the Subterranean Burrows.

Magnus basically deprived two examinees from their chances of passing the First Test.

For what reason, no one knew.

"That’s unfair! Why is he conquering Burrows even after he passed?!" Sky complained.

Ormann looked back into the tiered cliff faces of the Burrows, his eyes glistening. "That’s because he’s a Lindberg."