<h4>Chapter 1346 Chapter 1346 Treasure Hunting Questions! </h4>


    ?--- Lily ---


    Marigold was the first to ask a question, "So what exactly do you mean by ''damaged''? Like, if I use on of the treasure swords and they get a slight scratch on the de does that count?"


    "Absolutely anything counts as damage," said Thyme firmly. "If it gets a scratch? Damaged. A chip? Damaged. A hairline crack? Damage. You sneeze on it and the snot is visible? Damaged. Of course, you can clean off thatst one, but that''s the thing isn''t it? If you can repair any of the items before they are presented to me then they don''t count as damaged.


    "Hand off will be IMMEDIATELY after the timer runs out. So you''ll need to ensure that everything is in working order and spotless before the buzzer goes out if you want full points for the treasure,"


    Nell quickly put her hand up and Thyme nodded in her direction. "Staying on the ''damaged'' thing, I just want to rify that there''s no sliding scale? As long as it still works it''s still worth half a point?"


    Thyme let a small smile grace their face as they nodded. "Indeed. If something is already damaged then you don''t need to worry about it too much as long as it''s notpletely broken. Just keep in mind what constitutes ''broken''. Something that only sort of works might still be broken depending on its function,"


    Marigold raised her hand up and waited for Thyme to call on her so she could ask another question… but instead Thyme motioned to Romilda who also had her hand raised. "You mentioned there were transformation items. How do they interact with other treasures?"


    Thyme shrugged and said, "That''s a surprise you''ll have to figure out yourself. Perhaps they will react well with some and poorly with others. Who can say. All I''ll give you is that none of the transformations are toggleable. You should be able to change back and forth. Perhaps not easily, but it''s certainly possible if you can figure it out,"


    Green threw up her hand and Thyme visibly looked between Green and Marigold as if deciding who to go with before whipping around and pointing at Blue instead. "Do we need to wear that cor?"


    Thyme made a ''so-so'' gesture and answered, "I mean, no you don''t have to but I''m also quite sure that it''s safe. Any issues caused by the cor I am happy to fix. It''s meant to be a purely useful item that helps you breathe underwater. Still, there is no punishment for taking it off. Though, it would be near impossible for you to remove it from someone else. Only the person who put it on can take if off you see. Unless you can cheat like me,"


    *That''s a bit interesting. Should I get you to put it on me so that I can''t even take it off myself?*


    [Um… maybe? Isn''t that a bit dangerous?]


    *In general? Yes. With Thyme watching? I''m going to lean on the side of ''no''. I''m sure that any issues will be addressed, though I doubt there will be any despite Thyme''s worries. The reason I want you to put it on is so that I can''t be coerced or mind controlled into taking it off. Sure nobody has that power, but a treasure might. I''m not immune to illusions like you.*


    After a few moments of thought Kat decided to relent. [If Thyme allows it I will.]


    Meanwhile, Thyme had finally decided to take pity on Marigold and let her ask her second question, "Can we mix and match transformation items?"


    Thyme shrugged and said, "You can certainly try but I won''t promise that it will work. Some mightbine, but others might just override the first transformation with the second. I will only guarantee that any major medical issues that are caused by using two transformation artifacts at once will be fixed by me… but you will still need to wait for the thirty minute medical evacuation timer to finish up,"


    Marigold pouted at this as Thyme turned to Green and gestured for her to ask the next question. "What actually constitutes as having a treasure? Do you just need to touch it? Do you need to have it on your person… what exactly counts?"


    Thyme once again made a ''so-so'' gesture as they began to exin. "I''m not going to be too pedantic about ensuring you are physically holding the item. If you store it in something you''re carrying that''s fine. As long as it''s clearly within your possession in some noticeable way I''ll consider it to be ''your treasure''. Of course, if someone else is contesting ownership in a physical or magical manner as the time runs out then… actually let me check the rules for that one,"


    Thyme spun around and pulled out a waterlogged book and flicking through the pages. "No, not that one. Hmm… not that one either… AH here it is! In the event of contested ownership of a treasure priority is as follows: Physical possession, magical possession, original finder, one the held it the longest, andstly, if all of those do not decide, then the person with the greater surface area of the item under their im gets it,"


    "Wait," said Nixilei before realising what she''d just done and closing her mouth. Asteodia gave her a pat on the head as Thyme looked over and gestured for her to continue. "Um sorry, I was just surprised that you had a physical rulebook that went into such details, then I realised I didn''t wait to speak, and THEN I realised that you might have just been doing this as a visual gag,"


    Thyme shook their head as they shut the book and exined, "No, no. The book isn''t actually as wet as it looks but otherwise this is the real rulebook. I have to submit it ahead of time so that the council knows what I n to do, including all sorts of little contingencies for breaking ties and what not. I''m allowed a little bit of leeway. Like for example the event you and Asteodia participated in. I specifically allowed for a tie if two people work together, but I didn''t specify how many points that should get out. Two each? First and Second ce, 3 points, divided by two? One point each, and then one for second?


    "It''s a bit of a push and pull. I can do little things without opening myself up for review, because I''m not perfect. I''m good, but not perfect, so when there''s something I didn''t ount for I can make a judgement without fearing reprisal… but at the same time, if the change is too big or it directly contradicts a rule as written in the rulebook then I can be in all sorts of trouble. Nothing too serious for me, but a massive pain to deal with. So I don''t!"


    Thyme looked around for the next person and Lily was surprised to note it was Kat. Lily shot Kat a confused look but the demon just smirked back until Thyme pointed in their direction. "What happens to the treasures that you have on you when you''re removed for medical reasons?"


    "They will drop in ce where the person was swimming when they were transported away. Other contestants are free to pick them up if they want. Of course, thepetitor that has just been removed can also pick them back up when they''re returned to the arena," exined Thyme.


    This prompted Marigold to raise her hand again, which got a chuckle out of the dryad. "Where do other people get sent back in if they get removed from the arena?"


    Thyme''sugh double in volume when they heard the question in full. "That''s some confidence there. Everyone going back in will have the chance to pick from a few options. The first is right where they were removed, or in the case of a-out, as close as possible to that spot but within the. The second option is to be ced in a random section of theted area, and the final option is to be ced in the exact centre between all other contestants.


    "Though a word of warning. You''ll be going into all of these locations blind and only the random option guarantees that you won''t immediately end up in a fight. While random, it sets you at least two hundred metres away from all otherpetitors if possible. If that isn''t possible it checks the five furthest spots from everyone and choses on of those at random.


    "If you pick the centre point, you could be dropped right into the middle of a fight, and if you chose to go back to where you were removed, you could be walking right into an ambush. Unlikely perhaps, but very possible,"


    That though gave Lily an idea so she raised her hand. When she was called on Lily asked, "So, is it possible to build like a sort of… nest of items and guard that? Would that count as being in your possession?"


    "Yes it definitely would," said Thyme. "Though other people can contest that im and your im to those items would require at least some level of proximity. If you were removed from the arena, or your hiding spot was no longer inside the arena then it wouldn''t still be your items,"