Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Nina was trying to try her luck in the Ellora ruins. Utopias held many secrets within them. In the separate dimensions setup by Sage rankers, there were several ways for rankers to resume their ranking journey, bypassing their bottleneck. If they were lucky or talented enough to acquire them.

Nina wasn't behind her ranking journey in any way. It was just that progressing in the B-Rank was an extremely challenging and time-consuming process. It would make the ranker feel that they were not progressing in their ranks at all.

Forced breakthroughs were spontaneous. They didn't have normal limitations that would be placed on the ranker if they only limited themselves to practising ranking techniques. She believed that she should try her luck at forced breakthroughs instead of just following the standard routine.

"Aunt Nina, you don't need me to tell you that you should be careful in exploring ruins and any potential ranker's utopia if there is indeed one at that place. I'm sure you would take excellent care of yourself. Plus, your job as a healer is always at a relatively safer spot than the rest of your team.

Ranker's Utopia is suitable for those who are prudent enough to look for opportunities. So I won't try to dissuade you from what you are planning to do either.

But will you do something for me if I tell you? Without asking questions, that is?"

Eren suddenly asked with a face that said he was serious. Nina didn't know where the stoic shift came from. But she didn't mind giving in to Eren's simple demands anyway:

"What is it, Erni? Anything serious?"

Eren shook his head before answering:

"First you have to promise that you won't ask questions. Only then will I be able to tell you."

Nina heard this and felt a bit dubious about what Eren was trying to pull here. Yet her affection didn't allow her to say no to the guy:

"*Sigh. Alright, Erni. What is it? I might be needed somewhere else soon. So you need to wrap things up."

Eren nodded before saying what he had intended to say:

"I have a solid lead that says that one will find the entrance to the ranker's utopia right in the middle of a worn-out, dome-shaped construction at the northeastern side of the ruins known as Ajanta's Temple.

I don't have exact information about how to activate the mechanism to make the entrance appear. But this should be enough of a lead for you and your team to find out on your own.

Grab whatever you can from the ranker's utopia and get out of it as soon as you hear temple bells ringing in your ears. You don't wait for a second longer after you hear the bells. Be quick on your feet.

Can you do this for me?"

Nina was about to ask her question right after Eren finished. But by pressing his index finger against his lips, Eren reminded her of the promise she had made.

"I know you have a lot of questions. But let's just say that I have found a reliable backer to help me with a few things. And he doesn't want to make his association known."

Eren used bullshittery to explain what he knew from the past timeline. That's right. He had already known about there being a ranker's utopia being discovered in the Ellora ruins. But that event was bound to happen some years from now on.

The news had spread through the kingdom and beyond. And a lot of high-level rankers had participated in exploring the separate dimension. Some died, while others who survived had brief bursts of fame and success.

Eren had heard that high-levelled rankers who had explored the utopia at that time had come up with an unwritten rule. It was to run for the exit as soon as they heard the bells getting rung throughout the dimension to avoid calamity on themselves.

Apart from this small bit of detail, the only other information that was leaked to the masses was the utopia's entrance. All the other details had been kept away from the low-level rankers of that time. So Eren of that time had limited information.

Ranker's utopia wasn't an ordinary place to wander about. It was mainly explored by rankers of D-Rank prowess and above. Low-levelled rankers could also explore the utopia if it was made by the Sage creator taking them into account. But even in that event, the risks to low-level rankers were just higher.

That was the reason exploration of the ruins and utopias was limited to high-ranked entities. There were always low-ranker daredevils who would gamble on their luck. But most of them would end up missing, dead, or worse– traumatized for life.

"Erni, sometimes the mystique you maintain makes me worry about you. But it also has its charm, I won't lie. Hehe!

It's not that I don't trust your wits. I do. Still, I also hope your backer isn't leading you by the nose.

It seems you want me to explore the utopia in a hush-hush manner. But what should I say to my party?"

Nina didn't take much time to agree with Eren. She only asked how he wanted her to deal with the whole thing:

"Simple. Tell them that someone who has explored the utopia before your visit has tipped you.

Also, don't keep the information to yourself after you are done exploring. Sell it anonymously to multiple parties and earn profits from it. It should also help you cover your tracks after others get involved.

You'll have a week to explore the utopia before the mystical sound of bells spreads across the entire dimension. That should be enough time for you to wrap things up for good."

Eren said while scratching his chin. He also gave Nina a few more details that he could remember about Ellora's utopia. With utmost focus, the healer listened to the butcher's suggestions and was determined to follow them.

"You say you have limited information, Eren. But the kind of information you have, if it's true, is the most crucial one that I and my party could use to our advantage. Although I don't trust your backer, I trust you. So don't worry. I'll follow all your suggestions the way you want me to.

If there's nothing else, I'll be hanging up."

Nina seemed to be in a hurry. Eren guessed her party was about to move from their resting place. He just flashed a sly smile after he heard Nina's reply and asked with lewdness laced in his voice:

"Oh, there's one more thing. What's the colour today?"

It took a while for Nina to understand what Eren was asking her. She blushed a bit before speaking with confidence and tease:

"It's a Shamrock coloured one with white stripes. Imagine that, little rat. I'll cut the call now. Leave you alone for some self-help may be. Hehe!"

Nina cut the call giggling. It was about time she and her party made a move on Ellora's Utopia.

AN: Shamrock is a palate of green colour. Refer to chapter 39 in case you didn't get what Eren was asking Nina about. ;)