Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Catching a Scent
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The vast Erin's Gorge, where harsh winds blew. The person I met at its peak.
As I was about to close the remaining distance to her, an alarm bell rang in my head.
A woman I knew.
Dangerous.
Why?
After barely managing to placate Chris, I couldn't afford to be seen playing around with another woman. Especially since I knew her. My connection with Skada had ended when our alt raid team disbanded. We had no reason to get involved again.
I stopped in my tracks.
I turned around, intending to leave the area. But atop a high, rocky mountain in the wide-open gorge, there was no way she wouldn't notice me.
Skada turned her head, looked my way, and wore a surprised expression.
"...Huh? Rain?"
"Eek."
I scrambled away.
Like a mountain goat descending a slope, I clambered down the steep canyon rocks, heading toward the basin of Erin's Gorge.
I'm sorry, Skada.
I can't add any more women to the list.
Chris will break.
"...Rain-! Wait, it's dangerous!"
Thud.
"Ah."
Skada's urgent voice came from behind me, and as I ran down the rocky slope with my eyes squeezed shut, my foot finally caught on a stone, sending me flying.
This place, while not as steep as the cliff on the opposite side we climbed, was still quite precipitous and dangerous.
I might really die this time.
This is all Chris's fault.
Whenever Chris is involved, I can never seem to act rationally.
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swirled around me, and my light body was swept up into the air.
Aerial, a Mage class skill from the Ice Crystal Tower.
Positioned in the eye of the storm, I could see Skada with her staff raised toward me.
Seeing me floating in the center of the whirlwind, Aerial, she sighed in relief.
"Phew."
I was on the verge of tears.
"Hiii...."
"Rain, why did you run away?"
"......."
I walked silently beside Skada. I didn't run away since she had saved me, but I couldn't afford to casually chat with another woman.
Thank you for saving me.
But our little connection ended when the alt raid team disbanded.
And I'm not supposed to talk to other women.
Chris seems to have some kind of sixth sense for when I'm messing around with other girls.
Skada laughed awkwardly and scratched her head. She must have felt embarrassed because I'd completely ignored her question.
Feeling unnecessarily guilty, I decided to answer her, at least a little.
She did save me, after all. Chris would understand this much.
"...Thank you for saving me."
"Ah! Haha, don't mention it."
Skada smiled brightly. She really was beautiful. Though, not as much as Chris, of course.
"But I'm not supposed to talk with other women for too long."
"...What are you talking about?"
"It's, uh, just a thing."
How could I possibly explain this situation where I was acting all guilty and making a fuss on my own?
"Actually, I've had a lot to ask you since the day of the banquet. But we're not registered as friends in A-ON, and you usually play alone, so we never run into each other. The other day, I heard from Puhuhu of my raid team that you were in the wilds, but by the time I got there, you had already vanished. Did you go to the Forest of Orcs? I ended up just going hunting that day, anyway."
She chattered away like a machine gun as she walked beside me down the edge of the gorge. I was taken aback.
I never realized it because we'd never spoken one-on-one, but this woman, more than I expected...
"...You talk a lot, don't you?"
"Ah, do I? Haha, I guess I'm not exactly the serious type."
The two great pillars among the vanguard raid leaders of 'Astria Online'.
'Chris' of the Alpharion Empire and 'Skada' of the Betarion Empire.
Before the launch of the 'Land of Severe Cold' expansion pack, during the battle for the World Boss, the 'Green Dragon', in Verbeia Forest, the raid team that 'Gyuam Jo Hyeon-su's' Plan B Attack Squad intended to send in as the second wave was none other than Skada's.
Living up to their reputation as a raid team composed of the best players in the Betarion Empire, Skada's team achieved the third kill on the first raid dungeon, the 'Tree of the Abyss'. Excluding the bizarre existence known as 'Rain', and the Red and White Attack Squad who had received information from that Rain, their clear speed was overwhelming.
If not for the existence of Rain, who was far from being an ordinary player, Skada's team would have had a good rivalry with the Red and White Attack Squad.
If this game had been run only by actual players, the spotlight of this world would have been on the two main characters, Chris and Skada. They would have been the ones offered modeling contracts for the game ads. Unlike a shorty like me, they were both tall and beautiful.
In a way, I had stolen her spot as the protagonist. I felt a little sorry about that.
She looked at me and continued.
"You're really amazing, Rain. I'd only heard rumors, but is it true you cleared the Tree of the Abyss all by yourself? Just seeing your spar with Eleonora was... Still, how on earth... Ah, you don't have to answer if it's difficult! ...Haha, I hope one day I can be in the same raid team as you, tackling new content as part of the vanguard."
What's this? A recruitment offer?
Even though Skada's team already has that slick main tank Swordsman, 'Park Jeong-gwon'.
She looked at me with a friendly smile, then asked about Chris.
"Your relationship with Chris... you don't seem to be blood sisters."
Why is she so curious about everything?
I gave a vague answer.
"Yes. We're not blood sisters."
"Really? I thought so, you two have a slightly different feel. ...Oh, Rain, there's sand on your cloak."
*Pat, pat.*
I flinched a little. She was brushing the dirt off the back of my cloak.
She's quite forward with her touch. Still, she seems like a good person.
I gave her a small smile.
"You're a good sister, Skada."
"...Sister? Haha, are you calling me sister? Thank you."
"Yes. Skada, you seem like a good sister."
The only people I call sister right now are Beimerung and Chris, but calling Skada 'sister' feels more comfortable than using an honorific. After all, we did spend about a month farming together.
"A good sister, am I? ...I don't think so, though."
Suddenly, the atmosphere around Skada shifted.
She gazed into the distance, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions.
Though not obvious on the surface, the most dominant emotion was...
Undoubtedly a negative one.
During my first exploration with Skada, we encountered a few monsters. However, hunting here was highly inefficient. In fact, for my Swordsman class, fighting in a canyon area dominated by flying monsters was a distinct disadvantage.
The wilds were relatively flat, making combat much easier.
It seemed more efficient to just explore the gorge and do my leveling in the wilds.
Naturally, I ended up partying with Skada to hunt.
I'm sorry, Chris.
I'm not playing around with another woman.
We're just partying for today.
I'm a melee class, so it's hard to fight flying monsters, you know?
You understand, right?
After about an hour of exploring the entrance area of Erin's Gorge with Skada, we came across a basin surrounded by rocky mountains, and I stepped in front of her.
Of course, I can't directly sense demonic energy now. Not unless it takes a visible form. Back when I was the Hero, I could, since I controlled the mana within my body. It wasn't about identifying the energy precisely, but more like distinguishing it by its sticky and unpleasant feel.
Still, I have instincts honed over my years as the Hero.
A familiar feeling.
There's something exuding demonic energy inside.
"Hold on."
I stopped Skada from entering the path and took the lead. Then, I placed my hand on the passage between the cliffs that led into the basin.
Vmmm.
The entrance to the basin resonated with a hum, pushing my hand away.
"It's a barrier."
"A barrier?"
"It's familiar, right? Just like the elite dungeons we've seen before, waiting to be entered, with the entrance sealed."
"Ah."
I wonder if it's the type of barrier that disappears over time, or one that opens after completing a specific quest.
I'll have to pay a visit to Duke Eleonora's estate tomorrow.
At the entrance, an interface window appeared.
[Required Level: 53]
[Elite Dungeon (4-Player Party Recommended)]
[Celestial Basin]
The new expansion pack, 'The Endless Gorge'.
Its first elite dungeon had been discovered.
* * *
After logging out, I showered, changed into my pajamas, and manually operated my wheelchair so the sound of the electric motor wouldn't wake Chris.
Creeak.
Then, I carefully entered Chris's room.
Breathing softly.
Chris was sleeping on the right side of the large queen-sized bed. The left side was my spot.
"Oof."
Parking my wheelchair near the bed, I lay down on Chris's left. She was sleeping with her head turned to the left.
Before falling asleep, I admired beautiful Chris's face.
"Mmm, Rain...."
Fwump.
"Hah!?"
She suddenly reached out her arms and pulled me into an embrace.
My sleepiness vanished.
Thump, thump.
My head was buried in Chris's soft chest. By my ear, I could hear the distinct sound of her heartbeat.
As I lay in her arms, my face flushing.
"...*Sniff, sniff.*"
"...?"
"*Sniff, sniff.* Mmm... the smell of another woman..."
Chris's expression soured slightly as she talked in her sleep.
"Gasp..."
I held my breath in Chris's embrace.
A scent?
But I washed up thoroughly.
No, more importantly, we're in different bodies.
How in the world did she smell it?