Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 361: Safe Zone Shenanigans

"Come on, please let us in! We can’t make it to the next safe zone. You already took everything we had!" Siri pleaded. She was a young elf, only seventy years old. The two of them were quite weak for elves, and the humans standing before them didn’t budge in the slightest. They had already been robbed and now, being thrown out meant they would either die or exit the system event, losing fifteen hundred years of their lifespan for nothing."Oh, I’m so sorry, but I think we don’t have enough room here," the human in plate armor said with a grin. He was level one hundred and five, the strongest of the twenty humans. Siri had only evolved at the end of the tutorial, and she was more of an explorer and healer. Her teammate didn’t have a single skill suited for real combat either. They had thought the treasure hunt would fit them perfectly, but now they were forced to seek safety in the few remaining zones and finding one that wasn’t occupied was nearly impossible.

This meant they lost almost all of their gathered items every night. On this stage, they hadn’t had the chance to collect much anyway since it was all about hunting beasts. Now, to not only be robbed but also thrown out, meant their time in this System event was over. They would have to leave and try to progress as quickly as possible to reach D grade, so the loss of life wouldn’t hit as hard. They were elves, so it wasn’t as devastating as for humans due to their longer lifespan, but it was still a harsh blow and it meant serious danger if they couldn’t advance fast enough.

"Hey, who are you?" one of the humans shouted, drawing his weapon. The others followed immediately, releasing their auras to intimidate the newcomer. Siri and her companion quickly jumped to the side, fear flashing in their eyes. They definitely didn’t want to get caught in a fight between two factions.

But when she turned around, there was only one man in armor. The only unusual thing about him were the two glowing crimson eyes that burned like embers in the darkness.

"Quickly, turn around! They’ll just steal your items and then let you die outside!" Siri tried to warn the newcomer, who didn’t seem quite in his right mind. Her eyebrows shot up when she identified the man. He was only F grade. How was that possible? It was clear that he was human, which meant he didn’t have much time left. The man seemed to notice that too.

"Ha, looks like you’re quite screwed. Still, I don’t make the rules. So don’t even think about running, because we want that armor," the leader shouted, grinning widely as his aura rose once more. His followers grinned too, certain they had just caught the prize of their lives.

"See, I was a bit conflicted," the newcomber said calmly. "So far, my experiences with elves haven’t been great, but lately… I’ve also been greatly disappointed by my fellow humans. Now you..."

The last words were spoken with a power an F grade shouldn’t possess. Then the man raised his arm high and suddenly, it looked like a gate to hell opened above the group, radiating hunger and raw force. The shift happened so abruptly that none of them could react in time.

The lances that emerged from the portal tore through the humans in seconds, killing most outright and leaving the rest so badly injured they couldn’t even scream. Those few who survived were drained dry as all their blood flowed toward the man in armor.

He just nodded, as if confirming something, and walked straight into the safe zone. Behind them, the creeping void of annihilation was already drawing closer. Before them sat the man who had just slaughtered twenty armed humans without effort — now calmly meditating in silence.

"Uh, could we… please join you in the safe zone? We won’t say or do anything. We’ll just sit quietly on the side," Siri pleaded as the void crept nearer. It was a dangerous situation. If the man decided to kill them, she wasn’t sure they could dodge him long enough to escape the event.

"Sure," the man said without looking up. In fact, he didn’t move at all, sitting perfectly still.

Siri and her friend hurried inside, trying to stay as far from the armored man as possible. Still, curiosity pulled them closer as they watched eight small blood orbs circling around him. Each one moved independently from the others, floating in a strange rhythm.

"Fascinating. How is he doing that?" Kergo whispered. He had a hybrid mage class himself, and controlling two different things at once was already part of his training plan — but eight? That was insane. To be honest, he had mostly avoided such training, but seeing this in person was truly awe-inspiring.

"I find it far more curious how he’s still F grade," Siri replied softly, her eyes fixed on the rotating orbs. "What do you think he’s planning?"

"Probably getting a nice treasure and then evolving to E grade to obtain a high-rarity class? It kinda feels like wasted time. A good class is important, sure — but not important. Just think about all the levels the E grades will be gaining during this event. A higher rarity can’t be worth falling behind like that. They’ll reach D grade much earlier than he will, and from there the power gap will only grow," Kergo explained, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the armored man.

"You’re right. Falling that far behind in levels means he won’t be able to compete for the real treasures anymore, which also means he’ll likely lose the chance to keep that high-rarity class," Siri said thoughtfully.

"Exactly my thoughts," Kergo replied with a nod.

They continued to watch the armored man as the night reached its zenith. Siri always found it eerie to see the zone of nothingness slowly move past, devouring everything in its path and leaving only emptiness behind. It took some time for them to grow accustomed to the man’s presence, his aura was completely concealed.

Then came the temptation. The looting began. The lifeless husks of the men who had stolen all their belongings lay scattered before them, and the sight was too tempting to ignore.

"Wait. We should ask first. Those are his kills, after all," Kredo said, grabbing Siri by the shoulder before she could take a step forward.

He was right. If the armored man noticed something missing later, her greed could cost them their lives. But asking him could be dangerous too. He didn’t look like someone who wanted to be disturbed. Still, Siri swallowed her fear and forced herself to speak as politely as possible.

"Excuse me… would you mind if we took the loot from those bodies?"

Her heart was pounding like crazy. She just hoped she hadn’t made a fatal mistake.

"Yeah, sure," the man replied casually, not even looking up.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Siri exclaimed, bowing deeply several times before hurrying over to the corpses. Just as she was about to start collecting, the armored man’s voice sounded again.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I wonder... Why are you so polite? Until now, my experiences with elves weren’t exactly pleasant. In fact, most treated us humans as if we were far beneath them."

That was dangerous territory, and Siri hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she could tell him the truth. What had happened to the humans back on their homeworld wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

"I would guess… you encountered soldiers or nobles. Under the rule of our belo... our King, we purged the world of humans. They multiplied too fast, and if the nobles had left them unchecked, we would’ve been the ones wiped out. I never took part in it. I was just a farmer," Siri stammered, praying she hadn’t said something wrong.

The armored man simply nodded, saying nothing more.

After a long silence, Kredo couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer and spoke up.

"Why aren’t you taking any of the treasures? For an F grade, having good placement should be even more important than for us."

The man didn’t seem to mind the question and answered in a calm tone.

"The treasures on the higher stages will matter far more. Taking these won’t change anything. I do have a question, though — you know you’re going to die in the later stages if you don’t leave, right?"

The words came so suddenly that they all froze. None of them had really thought about how the System event might progress from here.

"Why wouldn’t we be able to survive?" Siri asked, fear creeping into her voice. Was this the moment the man stood up and killed them?

He must have sensed her unease, because his voice softened.

"Relax. I’m not going to harm you. What I meant is that every stage will get harder and not just that. You’ll need to enter a safe zone every single night, and I’d bet there will be fewer of them as the event continues. So if you don’t find a group to join, you’re pretty much screwed, in my opinion. And even if you do, the price for using their safe zones will probably be steep."

Siri had to admit the human had a point. The future of this System event wasn’t looking good for them. Their only real hope was to find other elves and pray they wouldn’t take everything from them.

These cursed safe zones… without them, the treasure hunt would actually be enjoyable. Why hadn’t the System shared such vital information before they entered?

And as if responding to her thoughts, a new message suddenly appeared before their eyes.

Congratulations

You have survived the first stage of the System Event

Now to our next rule

A rule all my dear hunters must have eagerly awaited

From now on, you will gain additional points for killing other trial takers

Good luck on Stage Two

Siri’s face turned pale after reading the new message. Before her, the second stage unfolded — vast mountains surrounded by wide open plains. At the top of each mountain stood a majestic palace, gleaming like a beacon. Those would likely be the next objectives, the places everyone would flock to.

But what truly made her stomach sink was the emptiness between them. There were no forests, no ruins, nowhere to hide. No treasures seemed concealed anywhere either. This was a nightmare. Their only hope was to use the open terrain to locate an elven group that might accept them before someone stronger found them first.

"What are you going to do now?" Siri asked, glancing at the armored man, who was standing motionless, his gaze locked onto one of the distant palaces.

"I’ve been lying low for far too long," he replied calmly. "It’s time for slaughter. Good luck, you two."

With that, his body dissolved into a swirl of crimson mist that shot through the air like a comet. Within seconds, he had vanished — only a faint red streak remained where he’d gone.

Siri and Kredo exchanged uneasy looks before heading in the opposite direction. They kept to the open fields, deliberately avoiding the mountains — those peaks were where the real powerhouses would gather. Their only advantage was speed; with their agile classes, they should at least be able to outrun most pursuers.

Along the way, they encountered humans and orcs who tried to chase them, forcing them to flee repeatedly. Siri and Kredo were close to giving up hope when they finally spotted a large group of elves. They decided to take the risk. Even if these elves turned out to be hostile, there was no way to escape and their scouts were already closing in.

Siri’s heart pounded in her chest as several elven scouts dashed forward, stopping directly in front of them.

"Names and purpose," one demanded curtly. "Also, state which safe zone you used last night and who accompanied you." His tone was sharp, military, and emotionless. Siri immediately disliked him and feared what would come next.

"I’m Siri, and this is Kredo," she replied, forcing her voice to stay steady. "We spent the night in a safe zone quite far from here. We’re searching for a group to join..."

She didn’t get to finish.

"Direction and distance?" the scout interrupted coldly. "Were you alone or with others? If not alone, name every individual present and their leaderboard rankings."

This guy was seriously insufferable. Siri had to swallow her irritation before answering.

"We spent the night with one human. His name was Thalion. His leaderboard rank was somewhere in the millions. I don’t remember the exact number."

The reaction was immediate. The scouts’ expressions shifted, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Follow us. Immediately," one ordered, and without another word, they escorted Siri and Kredo toward the main elven force. The entire convoy was advancing toward one of the palaces, but as the scouts rushed ahead, the group gradually slowed and came to a halt.

The lead scout approached a tall male elf with long, flaming hair. His upper body was bare, revealing perfectly defined muscles etched with glowing runes that shimmered like flowing fire. The aura radiating from him was suffocating.

"Honored Kaelir, Chosen of Pyrael," the scout said, bowing respectfully. "These two claim to have shared a safe zone with a human named Thalion. Their description matches the one you provided."

"Isn’t that interesting," Kaelir said with a smooth, almost pleasant tone. But his eyes burned like twin suns, and the overwhelming pressure of his aura betrayed the calmness in his voice.

Siri felt her knees weaken under the sheer power radiating from him. Just hours ago, she had believed that human — Thalion — to be the strongest being she had ever encountered.

But compared to this elf, he felt like nothing at all.