Still, she had indeed wanted to keep it hidden. But in this world, what people often needed was the ability to solve trouble, not the ability to avoid it.
Because if you did not go looking for trouble, trouble would come looking for you.
The greatest threat to Transcendents actually came from their own kind. And during trial missions, the ones most likely to lose their balance were often not ordinary people, but those arrogant, ignorant fools who entered with their own abilities and rapidly swelled with ego after losing all restraints.
The masses of weaklings and ordinary people around them would make them think they were the protagonist, becoming emperors in this apocalypse-like world where order had collapsed.
The most terrifying part was that even so, quite a few people would still be willing to follow them.
It had nothing to do with whether they were good or evil, much less with their ideals. As long as someone could offer protection and help others survive in this world, there would always be people willing to follow them. Never mind whether that person's intentions had been impure from the start—the rapid expansion of power in a short period would inevitably bring the corruption of desire.
After Saten Ruiko and the others had struggled through the fifth day, they encountered such a group.
More precisely, the Transcendents of a massive stronghold had set their sights on them as prey.
The main objective in trial worlds was generally survival. But unless an apocalyptic world was advanced enough for even zombies to evolve, so-called survival was difficult only for ordinary people. To Transcendents, it was little more than a vacation spot.
Once survival enough to meet the passing line was secured, naturally one would seek to maximize profits during the remaining time—or find