<h4>Chapter 167: The Final Prize</h4>


    The Thyme reached down into their dress. Their hand continued to sink into the top of the dress. Kat watched in confusion as Thyme''s hand bent and the whole arm sunk into the opening in the front.


    *Ok, how does that even make any sense.* There was a snap, and suddenly the sparkly Thyme pulled out a small red gem. To Kat''s untrained eyes it looked like a ruby, or something of the sort.


    The gem itself was strange though, despite its red hue it was dark and slightly cloudy. Even as the light tried to catch the edges it only seemed to make the gemstone darken slightly. Their insides seemed to be shifting slightly, as if it contained a ck fog.


    "This" boomed Coat Thyme "Is called a tarnished ruby. They are both exceptionally rare, and exceptionally useless"


    *Um? What?* Kat stared at the gemstone with a raised eyebrow in confusion.


    "However," Coat Thymes voice shook the ground. "I suspect this might not be the case for you Kat. If my test fails, then please feel free to return it to me and I will give you a more suitable reward for your efforts.


    "The reason, many believe this ruby to be useless, or ''tarnished'' in this case, is because unlike other simr gemstones and even other rubies, it doesn''t conduct mana at all. Trying to force the issue will only cause the gem to crack or explode if sufficient mana is applied.


    "On top of this, despite its rather unimpressive looks, a number of individuals took to wearing this as jewellery in various ways. This turned out to be a horrible mistake"


    Dress Thyme took over "What these people found is that if it was anywhere near other pieces of jewellery charged with mana, that mana would be forced out over time. Quite thoroughly defeating the purpose of having such mana stored for extended periods of time like gems are normally used for.


    "On top of this, if left touching, or in contact with metal that was in contact with skin, and there was no other jewellery present, it seemed to corrupt the skin, forck of a better word.


    "Oh the horror that it was. It would slowly cken the skin around the area, until it was as dark as pitch and then the area in question would start to ke off. One poor fool who wanted to push the limits of the effect had all of his finger wilt away until it hit bone, which was starting to show simr effects before, they stopped the experiment"


    *Um…? Why the hell would I want a demon gem? Oh wait… is that actually the answer? Is it that simple?*


    "Ah I see, you may have picked up on our train of thought" said Coat Thyme "If it is as we believe, this gemstone can store demonic energy. Likely an extremelyrge amount, though obviously we can''t test as such. If you arefortable with it, please, take this gift"


    Kat went to reach out but stopped instantly. *I should ask the system first. Just in case something absolutely horrible would happen.*


    User Kat made the correct call to contact D.E.M.O.N.S. Entity Thyme is correct in most assumptions. The gem in question seems to contain old Demonic Energy. However User Kat should not touch the item in question until User Kat has regenerated at least half of User Kat energy reserves.


    *Um, can I ask what happens if I do touch it?*


    User Kat requires a higher Rank for that information. Gem in question is a ss 4 Restricted item.


    *What the hell does that even mean?*


    But Kat got no further response. Looking up at the Thyme''s she spoke "Yes, I somewhat know what this is. It''s very valuable to a demon like me but at the moment I can''t touch it. I need to regenerate properly before I do so"


    The sparkly Thyme nodded in understanding and reached back into its cleavage. Somehow moving the arm around, after a few seconds they pulled out a in wooden box with a lid. Carefully they ced the Tainted Ruby in the box and closed the lid.


    "Is that sufficient protection dear? We aren''t really sure what else you might need. It''s just a normal wooden box" asked Dress Thyme


    Kat pretended to be thinking on it as she through the question to D.E.M.O.N.S


    Entity Thyme has provided sufficient protection. It is not just a wooden box. Entity Thyme has provided a Cursed Elden Oak Tree box. It is sufficient to prevent contact with the gem.


    *Do I want to know what a Cursed Elden Oak Tree is?*


    User Kat required a higher Rank to obtain that information.


    *Why would I expect anything less?*


    "That box should be fine" said Kat


    The sparkly Thyme gently handed over the box and Kat received it with cautious hands before cing it on herp. The sparkly Thyme nodded and stepped back.


    *I wonder what exactly this is going to do. The system declined to answer me the first time, but is that because it won''t tell me while I have no energy or because it won''t tell me at all.*


    While Kat was pondering this, the sparkly Thyme and the butler Thyme both bowed to the audience and started to sink into the ground. Grace''s team let out some small ps. Nixilei and Skye gave Kat a nod, and Green… well she was still asleep.


    The God Crushers seemed to still be in good cheer, as Dress Thyme spoke up. "Now that you have your more interesting winnings it''s time to distribute the boring prizes. I know, I know, it''s what you werepeting for, but I quite frankly find it inordinately boring"


    With a p of the giants hands a sealed envelope appeared in the hands of Kat and the rest of the Unfortunate Four. "Contained within those envelopes is your prize money as well as the location of the next leg of the journey. I do wish I could give you something more worthwhile then just a promissory note for the bank, but rules are rules, even if I do stretch them as much as possible" said Coat Thyme.


    Kat examined the in envelope in her hand. It was a basic soft green andcking in embellishments. Looking around she saw that everyone had one in their hands, even Green, who''d hers slipped into her hands while she slept.


    Coat Thyme pped his hands together twice. Both of the giant Thymes stood up at this queue. This was followed by all of the Thyme''s in the stands. Once they were standing, they all bowed forward at a perfect 90-degree angle as they started to sink into the ground.


    Kat watched with some sadness as the numerous Thymes vanished into the dirt signalling the end of thepetition. Once the Thymes had vanished the strange and crazy seating that everyone had started to change into basic wooden chairs, and Green was lowered down to the ground safely.


    Kat took a long look around at everyone who was now standing up and stretching, as she watched her own strange chair start to change into a basic wooden construction. Even Kress'' disrepaired chair on an unstable tform was fixed, and the tform lowered.


    *Huh, I guess this is really it.* Kat looked down at the envelope in her hands and the box on her knees. Despite only being a few days of effort, it also felt like a ratherrge time had passed, like she''d spent three months hanging out with Thyme and the other contestants.


    "A bittersweet sight isn''t it" whispered Thyme beside her. Flinching a little but turning she saw Thyme in its more basic form leaning against a fake tree they''d sprouted for the purpose. "I''ve had my fun, and I enjoyed setting this up for you all. Congrattions on winning, and I hope to see more of you all"


    And with one final bow, that Thyme too disappeared. At the same time all of the contestants were covered in the tell-tale green light and transported. Kat was even able to ignore the standard feeling of disgust as she let everything sink in.


    After a short hop they were released back to the original clearing they''d met Thyme in. Looking around, the other teams were still there, and Kat was now standing next to the rest of The Unfortunate Four.


    "Well, I guess that''s about it then" said Kat


    The other groups all started to bunch together and started talking. Kat deliberately tuned them out as she turned to face the others. Green stood up groggily and fell onto Gareth who nodded to Kat. "It does seem so. We still have some things to discuss, if you''d like toe back to the manor with us, we can work them out there"


    Kat was about to nod in eptance with Gareth''s suggestions when behind her Kress spoke up. "Oh yeah? Well, I''ve got a few things, to discuss and I''d like to do them here"