Death... and me

Unfortunately for Kubli, that one hour was gone without the searching groups ever being able to find Rafatia and Luan. However, they weren't the only ones. There was one other kid that wasn't found either, candidate 1854. His name was Brao, a Late Stage Foundation Establishment kid at seven years of age.

"Time is up, Kubli. You can tell your searching part to return. Tell them to bring the kids back on the way. Two of them are in the center of the forest, in the territory of the Dragon Hippos. There is one Dragon Hippo who's alone in a separated mud pond. The two kids are inside its mouth," Latros told him.

"Inside a Dragon Hippo's mouth?!" Kubli was taken aback to hear that. "They killed it?"

However, Kublin immediately understood it shouldn't be the case. "No, that wouldn't make sense. We did get some bold kids in the past who killed demon beasts and hid inside their bodies. If there was any dead demon beast, my searching groups would have found them already."

Latros nodded, saying, "Indeed, the hippo is very alive and has no injuries whatsoever. Anyways, it was forced to swallow some weird pill, so it became very docile. No, to be more specific, it became absent-minded. In any case, it's there. Just bring the kids back."

Latros continued, "As for the last kid, he's underground, inside a hole he dug and covered himself."

That only made Kubli more confused. If that was the case, this kid should have been one of the first ones his team found. How come he avoided it? Of course, he would find out soon.

Sometime later, Luan and Rafatia appeared in the arm of the mercenaries. From the looks of it, they didn't like their stay inside the Dragon Hippo's mouth at all.

"Mommy!" Rafatia quickly ran to Falangia and hugged her.

Falangia was happy about that at first. However, as soon as she took a whiff, she pushed Rafatia away. "Holy shit! Rafatia, you stink!"

"It's big brother Roan's fault! That Dragon Hippo's mouth smelled terrible! Mommy, I wanna take a bath!"

Luan obviously didn't like the smell on him, but as a boy, he didn't put much thought into it. "Dad, I did it."

Roan nodded before he waved his hand. Soon after, a sphere of warm water appeared in the air, which he used to throw Luan inside. Yep, Roan gave the boy a wash right there and then. He might not care about the smell, but that didn't mean he liked it. Well, Luan was also satisfied to get rid of the smell.

Falangia and Rafatia looked at Luan and obviously had the same idea. "Ahem... big brother Roan, can you give Rafatia a quick wash too?"

Roan nodded and threw Rafatia inside another sphere of warm water. He didn't remove the kids' clothes, though. "Once we're back at the inn, you two should take a proper bath."

Rafatia and Luan nodded in response.

Meanwhile, the last kid took a few extra minutes to arrive, as he had moved to the other side of the demon beast forest. When Kubli saw the kid, he immediately understood why he didn't find him. "No wonder. A member of the Rock Dweller Race."

The Rock Dwellers were quite similar to the Cosgles Race. Their entire race was inclined towards the Earth Element. However, they wouldn't die if they ran out of Earth Element, unlike the Cosgles. Also, they had a very special ability. They could change their bodies to match the ground around them. It's not that their bodies would turn into dirt and stones, but it definitely looked like the case for others seeing it. Even Divine Sense was hard to detect them, let alone when Divine Sense wasn't allowed. It's just as Latros mentioned. Luck was part of one's strength. Brao just so happened to be part of the right race for this test.

With the last kid given back to its guardians, Latros finally ended the exam. "Congratulations to the kids who passed the test. Since the last three were not found in the end, all of them will get one hundred Rank Two Divine Stones." Soon after, Latros threw several spatial rings in several directions, which fell into the kids who passed the test hands. "Be sure to come to the Mercenary Guild later so that your badges can be crafted."

There wasn't much else to be said after that. Latros and the elders simply thanked everyone who participated in the test, and the people dispersed right after. The majority, of course, headed straight to the Mercenary Guild to have their badges crafted. Roan's group was no exception.

Meanwhile, Rean finally found a chance to meet with Tuvaru, who was quite busy after the appearance of the Sacred Undersea Kingdom's expert. "Oh, Rean. Sorry for making you wait so long even though I was the one who called you."

Rean didn't really mind it. "It's fine. It's fine. Say, Senior Tuvaru. Do you think I can talk with that expert from the Undersea Kingdom?"

Tuvaru nodded, much to Rean's surprise. "In fact, you just so happen to fulfill the requirements stated by him."

"Requirements?" Rean was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Tuvaru then explained, "The Sacred Undersea Kingdom's expert is a Pristine Jade Dolphin who was put in charge to verify the issue in the Under Desert Sea. He said he needed a Formation Master at the Golden Peak-level to help him with it. As to how a Formation Master can help, that I don't know." He then added, "I have four Formation Masters in Utari island at this level, and you are one of them. If you decide that you don't want to do it, I'll simply call some of the others. It's just that you said you wanted to try to talk with them, so I thought about you first. It could also be said to be my thank you for the new runes you taught me about."

Rean was obviously happy to hear that. "Definitely! Where can I meet him?"