When inside a crack, Michael only knew one way to open the exit: killing one-third of the original creatures within.
A third of the monsters is calculated from the moment someone first sets foot into the crack after the previous group has exited through the exit.
Without meeting this requirement, it was difficult for the average supernatural to leave.
According to some of the posts Michael had read on the forum about corrupted-type cracks, it wasn't uncommon for people to find themselves trapped without any way to escape. This was where the crack's Supervisor came into play.
The time allocated to supernaturals inside cracks wasn't just to manage the crack but also served as an indirect signal of when rescue would arrive if they were trapped.
While the people inside the crack couldn't leave without killing the required number of monsters, this limitation didn't apply to those outside.
However, once someone entered the crack, they would be considered part of the group inside.
From that point onward, they would also need to kill one-third of the total monsters in the crack to leave, regardless of when they arrived.
This was why the Supervisors assigned to these cracks by the Association were always individuals capable of singlehandedly clearing the cracks themselves. If they lacked the strength to handle such situations, they would only endanger themselves and others.
Supervisors, therefore, needed to meet a high standard of power to be entrusted with overseeing a crack.
Of course, being rescued by the Association from within a crack was not free. The Association had a reliable way to 'extract' value from rescued supernaturals.
Because of this, most people tried to leave within the designated time if they could help it.
However, Michael didn't think they'd need to worry about extending the time limit—they had a full day to spend inside the crack.
Before entering, Michael immediately summoned his spear. The sight of the weapon in his hand surprised the two girls beside him, especially Lilian.
"A-Aren't y-you a necromancer?" she stammered.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" Michael replied naturally, not finding anything odd about it. For some reason, even as a mage, he didn't feel out of place wielding a weapon like that.
"N-no, n-nothing," Lilian said, her voice faltering. Mira, too, chose not to comment. She was the group's weakest link and didn't feel it was her place to question how the strongest member chose to fight.
As the team of three prepared to enter the crack, the old woman in charge decided to leave them to their own devices.
She walked out of the room where the crack was located, casually pointing out the button they should press to summon her once they were done.
All in all, it was no different from what Old Man Liu had done for Michael.
After the old woman left, Lilian also drew her weapon: a long katana that made Michael's eyes glint for a moment.
Slowly, Michael was starting to appreciate weapons.
Unfortunately, there was nothing particularly special about the katana itself. It was of the same grade as Michael's refined iron spear.
It made sense for Lilian to use a weapon like a katana, given that her class was Martial Artist. Michael still clearly remembered that.
He wondered about the specifics of her class and how it differed from his own, Necromancer.
However, the person who caught Michael's attention the most out of the two girls was Mira.
Unlike him and Lilian, what Mira pulled out of her storage space wasn't a weapon. Instead, it was a set of bright red potions and a strap to secure them around her body.
The sight puzzled Michael, and he couldn't help but entertain a few curious thoughts.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he addressed Mira just as she finished strapping the last potion onto herself.
"What's your class?" Michael asked.
Since he had openly shared his own class with them, he figured it wouldn't be a big deal to ask in return—at least, as long as it wasn't something too personal, like whether they had a talent and, if so, what it was.
Of course, he could have just used {Detect} on Mira, but ever since his incident with Brian, Michael had been hesitant to use the skill on humans, reserving it mostly for monsters.
"Alchemist," Mira answered truthfully. There wasn't much point in hiding it, especially since she knew the method she had used to peek at Michael could just as easily be used on her. Besides, it wasn't a big deal to share.
Michael was a little surprised at her class—it didn't sound like a general one. Judging by the way she carefully arranged her potions, he figured this was likely a rare one, and perhaps even a… special class.
Michael wanted to know more about it, but unfortunately, that would be getting into personal matters.
Still, since they were teammates, he assumed she'd eventually reveal a few details.
While he couldn't ask about the specifics of her class, he figured it wouldn't hurt to inquire about the potions hanging across her chest.
"What are those?" Michael asked, gesturing at them.
"Bombs!" Mira suddenly replied, a bit too enthusiastically, while fondly patting the potions as though they weren't the explosives she had just claimed them to be.
Instinctively, Michael took a step back.
Even Lilian, who seemed to have some prior knowledge about Mira's potions and her class, followed suit and stepped back as well.
"Hey, hey, you both don't have to worry. The bombs won't just go off the way you think they will," Mira reassured them with a smile.
For some reason, her words brought no relief to either Lilian or Michael.
Instead, they both took another step back. After a brief moment of thought, they each took one more step, finally feeling slightly safer.
However, their unease lingered.
The mischievous smile on Mira's face gave the distinct impression that she was itching to blow something up, which only heightened her teammates' nerves.
"Is this a specialty of your class?" Michael couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, it is! This is the red mushroom potion—your number one choice for blowing something up!"