Early morning the next day, Compass Carburettor wore a simple tracksuit, equipping himself with the rest of the trekking gear.
He was only going for a trek and not mountain climbing. So, the necessary gear wasn't much. It would only seem odd if he brought too much. After all, he only looked like a college youth in appearance.
And even middle-aged people and older ones didn't bring beyond some basic items. He then slung a hip bag, placing his two Armaments within it while carrying a backpack that contained some water, food, and some plastic bags that he had brought over to collect anything of value.
There was also a basic first aid kit that everyone was told to mandatorily bring.
All twenty of the trekking group assembled in the lobby as Schlovk faced everyone, saying, "The bus will take us towards the end of the mountain road. We'll begin trekking from that point onwards."
It was simple, without any flowery words. The group then boarded a bus that had arrived at the hotel's entrance.
As the hotel was frequented by members wishing to trek Mount Craire, they already had the necessary arrangements in place.
The bus plied on the road, soon travelling upslope as it began to proceed through the winding paths. Twenty minutes later, it stopped at a large open space where a couple other vehicles had been parked.
Those that wished to trek the mountain arrived at the place, parked their vehicles before beginning to trek the mountain.
Even though Mount Craire was pretty tall, climbing it wasn't as difficult when compared to the other steep mountains part of the Eastern Range. So, it was rather popular with the trekking enthusiasts, especially the middle-aged populace that wished to perform some physical activity to remain fit.
Once they got down from the bus, Schlovk split the members into groups of four each, segregating them based on their physical prowess. This was to ensure everyone won't travel alone and in times of need, there would at least be a couple around to help them.
And since they were split based on their physical prowess, they'll be travelling at more or less the same pace. This way, they'll be with their group and won't miss out on the fun.
As they looked the youngest of the lot, Compass Carburettor, Rhizen, Krager and one another were made into a group.
The remainder of their group consisted of people there were older and were not as fit.
Compass Carburettor did like the arrangement, 'I can monitor both Krager and Rhizen this way. Perfect!'
It pretty much came as a surprise when Compass Carburettor noticed Rhizen too had arrived to trek. It assured him of the fact that something would indeed happen in Mount Craire. And that something would hold considerable importance.
So, he mentally prepared himself, 'He's pretty much the main character of this world. So, things would revolve around him. And…'
He didn't talk much as their group of four began to proceed up the mountainous path. A lot of vehicles were just arriving at the parking area. And those that had arrived hadn't begun trekking yet.
Most were somewhat averse to be the first group to proceed up, despite the fact that Mount Craire was one of the safest mountains to trek.
And, upon seeing the group of four—including Compass Carburettor—being the first to proceed up the path, they slowly began to follow.
"We'll proceed a bit faster." Krager said after ten minutes, noticing that everyone in his group didn't even seem bothered with the gentle slope of the place, "Tell me if it gets difficult."
Upon seeing that none one had any objections, all of them raised their pace, increasing their distance from the other groups trailing behind.
They had begun trekking at the break of dawn as the mist was only now beginning to evaporate upon the arrival of the sun.
After they had travelled enough distance, Compass Carburettor activated Info Scanner, sighing mentally, 'So, it has begun.'
[#*&*^%: @#^%^##]
[Directional Misalignment (Level 1): 64 Mental Energy]
[Beast Form ($%^&): #%^$##]
'The first should be the Coincidental Luck System.' Compass Carburettor sighed, feeling a headache. After all, in their group of four, three of them were System Hosts. And, two of them were enemies, having arrived to kill Rhizen.
After all, this should be the first incident that Rhizen personally experiences to kickstart his journey into the apocalypse. So, since they are targeting him, they would of course try to either kill him or ensure he wouldn't reap benefits from this journey.
As long as the treasure/power/experience he would experience from this journey was stolen in advance, it would cause a setback to his power growth. And, after this was done enough times, he wouldn't become strong enough to face future threats.
At that time, even if he wasn't killed by the Systems, he naturally wouldn't be able to survive the apocalypse.
Krager took the lead in the trekking. Thanks to Info Scanner, Compass Carburettor determined that he was the Host to the Beast Form System. As to the level of the System, he wasn't able to determine since it exceeded the level of his Info Scanner.
Trailing behind Krager was him, laughing along as he made jokes from time to time, causing everyone to laugh along.
Walking behind him was Rhizen, rather talkative as he engaged in hushed discussions with everyone, looking like he had come to enjoy the trip. But, his eyes subtle observed his surroundings, on the lookout for any changes or clues.
Walking at the end of the group was Neena, a lady in her late twenties, also a trekking enthusiast and had participated in almost all the treks on Mount Craire. She practically knew everything there was to know about Mount Craire, having trekked it whenever she was bored.
After all, she hailed from the town situated at the foot od the mountain.
She strolled through the path like she was taking a walk in her garden. But all along, her eyes were trained onto Rhizen's back.
And whenever Rhizen talked to her, she acted normal, laughing in response as she detailed the places from time to time, acting as a tour guide. She was the Host to the Directional Misalignment System.
On the surface, they seemed like an amicable group. But, all of them had arrived with an objective—Rhizen!
