Petyr's analysis

Carnage wasn't the word that could justify what Kai had done on the battlefield.

The poison-coated two-handed greatsword had bitten into the armors, nicking the flesh underneath. Whomever Kai had pointed his sword at, died. It wasn't unheard of, a Contestant killing hundreds of Order's Contestants in a single battle. But seeing it happening on the 2nd floor was still unprecedented.

Where did the Baron get such a Contestant? Why haven't they heard of him before? Where was he when the Butcher of the 2nd floor was slaughtering innocents? All questions got answered in two words. Words that Arlen's underlings had meticulously planted into the crowd.

Hidden Weapon.

The Set Lord of the 1st set, Baron Arlen Silvas, had been preparing to unleash this weapon on the battleground for a long time. After getting the Barony, he finally let it out to assist the Thunder Faction, and to show the other organizations his power. It was a brilliant tactic that no one could find fault in.

Every major organization had its hidden cards. Why not the Baron himself? It made perfect sense. Only one person could have been the match of this blue-armored Contestant, and the Baron had killed that person. Within a few nights, Arlen Silvas had not only successfully gained the nobility but had also stabilized his authority.

All that, and the Baron hadn't even lifted a finger against anyone in the open.

Those who realized this shuddered. No. Not seeing what the Baron had already accomplished, but thinking about what other Hidden Weapons he might have in his store. Just waiting to be taken out at the right time.

Arlen had used Kai's brutal nature magnificently for his purposes.

Kai couldn't have cared less.

The blue light abated, and he found himself once again in the White Room.

[

Welcome Kai Stormborn

You seem rather happy about something

]

Chaos greeted him as if their last confrontation had never taken place.

Kai narrowed his eyes but didn't deny it. He was happy. The smile on his face was solid proof of that statement.

Just before going for the battle, Kai had visited the Thunder Faction's Item shop. Arlen had been right about not having a weapon better than the sabers, but the Item shop had other things too. Kai had bought 5 HP capsules at 50 MC each, 5 MP capsules at 100 MC each, and 2 SP capsules at 200 MC each.

The three different capsules were of different colors. The HP capsules were red, MP capsules were blue, and SP capsules were bright yellow, almost gold. Yet, all restored 50 points of their respective Stat.

The exorbitant price of SP capsules had shocked him, but even after spending so much, he still had many Mission Credits left. If it weren't for Petyr's plan, Kai would have spent more on different potions of his liking.

"I am," Kai nodded. "I have some questions to ask first. Petyr, come out."

Petyr Baelish walked out again, leaving behind a bronze hue around Kai's naked figure.

The character from the Book had suggested to Kai that there were two major things about the problem he was facing.

First, the number of missions, not the individual mission's time limit. The roadblock had cracked immediately for Kai, hearing that analysis. Indeed. It wouldn't matter if he would get days or months of the time limit, it was the number of missions that would decide the outcome.

The second was the matter of completing the mission but still not being able to come out before the time limit. This thing even Kai had not thought about. His eyes had shone brilliantly, then. But that brilliance erupted when Petyr proposed the viable solution.

The solution was: Buy your way out.

"As per the privilege given to the 3rd ranked Contestant on the Worth Stat Ranking, my master can opt for a single mission to ascend three floors," Petyr said, smiling slyly. "We can take it as compressing the missions into one. My question is, can the remaining missions of this Set still be compressed into a single mission?"

The Initiation mission was a one-time thing. So a Contestant would only need to complete at least 3 more missions to ascend a single Set. The actual number of missions depended upon if a Contestant would transport to a random world after completing each sub-kill count.

Petyr's question had struck the root of the privilege given to the Contestants.

Chaos' greeting notification flickered as if even the System hadn't thought about this before. But it might as well have been something else. Who could say?

The notification changed.

[Price: 600 Mission Credits]

Kai smiled, seeing that price. 'Petyr was right,' he thought. 'As long as the questions are specifically about me, the System won't spike the prices too much.'

Kai felt a genuine pleasure welling up within him. This was also a form of power. The Book was his Item, and both Cersei and Petyr were characters, born for serving him. How he used them would dictate how far he would go, Kai knew.

When the System got its price, it answered.

[

Yes

But compressing the missions into one would make the Contestant lose his privilege to choose between two missions

]

That was unexpected.

Kai and Petyr looked at each other. "One must compromise where one can," Petyr said. "With no reference, we must learn from our own experience."

Kai agreed. There was another reason to go through with it. They didn't have any other choice.

'Heh!' Kai snickered. 'How ironic!'

"Go on, Petyr," Kai said, anticipation bubbling up within him. "Ask the next question."

The neatly dressed boy bowed at Kai's command.

"Can the time within the random worlds be compressed or stretched compared to the Primordial Tower's time by the 3rd ranked Contestant on the Worth Stat Ranking?"

The questioner vanished after asking the last question he could.

Petyr had put his finger on this when Kai told him about the timeless room he had found himself in. Kai was quite anxious about this question. Not because of the price, but because of its possibility, given other Contestants' presence in the same world. And once again, Kai found Petyr had guessed right that this question would be pricey.

[Price: 3000 Mission Credits]

The corners of Kai's mouth twitched. 'I hope the answer is worth it,' he thought, accepting the transfer. 'Even 30 Mission Credits is not a small sum for me the way I spend them in the White Room, let alone 3000.'

It troubled Kai that every time he found himself wealthy, the moment he entered the White Room, he goes back to being poor.

[

Yes.

If there is no time difference mentioned in the mission itself, the Contestant can compress or stretch time using Mission Credits. The price of such a service will depend on many factors calculated at the time of availing it.

]

Kai beamed ecstatically.

"I think I am ready to see the mission now, Chaos," Kai said. "Compress the remaining missions into one."