Chapter 50
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Guardian's Path
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Excited, Abel wanted to scout the surroundings right away, but he couldn't even take a few steps before collapsing again.
It was because his physical condition was at its absolute worst.
“Ugh......”
May stared intently at Abel as he groaned and slumped down, then spoke.
“Don’t push yourself. The others should be fine, right?”
“Huh?”
“Right before we got swept away, I heard a Gigant approaching from far off.”
“Oh......”
It seemed May thought Abel was overexerting himself out of worry for the others.
In reality, Abel had confirmed through the messages that the Gigadeus was already down, but it was a misunderstanding he saw no need to correct, so he simply nodded.
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Yeah.”
May gave a curt reply and fell silent again.
An awkward atmosphere hung in the air. Or rather, it was probably just Abel feeling that way.
It wasn’t like he had no rapport with May.
In fact, among his classmates, he spent more time with her than most.
But being alone together like this was a first.
‘To begin with, May’s not much of a talker.’
Even in the game, May didn’t speak much.
To be precise, she found everything bothersome and was always dozing off, so there weren’t many chances to hear her talk.
‘It’s because of her backstory, in her own way.’
As those thoughts crossed his mind, May spoke to Abel again.
“What’s the plan?”
“Huh?”
“We can’t stay here forever.”
She was right—the spot where they were was far too exposed.
It was an environment where they’d be spotted all too easily.
“You’re right. We don’t know how long we’ll have to wait, so let’s move to somewhere safer for now.”
“We’ll have to leave the Gigants behind. Both are too damaged to even move.”
Not just Abel’s, but May’s was in bad shape too.
The core had been damaged during the sudden teleportation.
It looked like exposure to that intense energy had caused an overload.
“Then let’s look for a cave nearby or somewhere to hide.”
“Yeah.”
May nodded.
Abel needed rest right now too.
‘Ideally, I’d find the ruins first and rest there.’
Still, since they’d teleported near the ruins, there was a bit of leeway.
Their original goal had been to find the ruins by the end of the day anyway.
“Alright then...... Ugh.”
Abel staggered as he tried to stand.
He’d been so deep in thought that he’d momentarily forgotten about his poor condition.
He lost his balance and wobbled badly, but thankfully, he didn’t fall flat in an unsightly heap.
It was because May had come over and grabbed his arm.
“Ah, thanks.”
“Can you walk?”
“If I go slow, I should be okay.”
Abel said that and carefully took a step.
But he winced immediately from the sharp pain.
Seeing this, May suddenly tugged on Abel’s arm.
As he looked at her in surprise, May said calmly,
“I’ll support you.”
“You don’t have to......”
“It’s more efficient to find a safe spot and rest quickly.”
Abel shut his mouth at that.
He agreed it would be much faster than limping along alone.
“......Thanks.”
“Yeah.”
With May’s support, Abel began walking.
The height difference made it a bit uncomfortable, but it was still far better than going solo.
‘Soft.’
The thought slipped into Abel’s mind unbidden, and as he glanced down at May, their eyes met.
“Uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all.”
Abel hurriedly turned his head and started scanning the surroundings.
Partly to avert his gaze, and partly hoping to spot clues about their location—but unfortunately, there was nothing.
‘They all look pretty much the same.’
The only things around were massive trees. Nothing distinctive.
As they kept walking, the pain grew worse, and Abel focused solely on putting one foot in front of the other.
How much time passed?
Just as he was thinking they might as well climb a tree and rest, May spoke.
“Abel.”
“Yeah?”
“Look over there.”
May pointed to one side.
There was a small hole, just big enough to crawl into on their stomachs.
“Hmm. Worth checking out.”
If the inside was that size too, resting would be tough, but things weren’t always what they seemed.
May nodded at Abel’s words.
“I’ll go first.”
“Yeah.”
May carefully propped Abel against one side, then slipped inside.
Leaning against the hard stone wall, Abel thought.
‘Mana exhaustion...... Scarier than I thought.’
He’d known intellectually that mana exhaustion wrecked your body, but experiencing it firsthand was something else.
If he’d failed to land that finishing blow at the end, he might have died right there.
He’d blacked out immediately after.
‘Next time, I need to be more careful.’
In that situation, he still thought it was the best choice, but reflection was in order.
“Abel.”
As his self-reflection was wrapping up, May poked her head out from inside the cave and called him.
“The inside’s bigger than it looks. Can you make it in?”
“Yeah. I’m good.”
May gave a slight nod and ducked back inside.
Abel waited a moment, then bent down and crawled in on his belly.
‘This is brutal.’
His body was already wrecked, and crawling made it agony, but there was no choice.
Staying outside risked running into Gigadeus fragments—and that really would be the end.
Fortunately, the passage widened after a few minutes, enough to crouch.
Abel waddled forward, and soon he could stand to waist height.
“Over here.”
May came into view soon after.
Abel replied as he slowly advanced.
“Bigger than I expected.”
“Yeah.”
He’d wondered how much bigger it could get, but upon reaching the end, he realized he’d underestimated it.
The inner chamber was larger than a typical living room.
The floor was flat, the ceiling high enough—perfect for resting.
“This should be fine for holing up a day.”
“Yeah.”
May nodded without a change in expression.
Silence returned.
Abel casually moved to one side, sat down, and said to May,
“I’m gonna meditate for a bit.”
“Yeah.”
He wanted nothing more than to flop down, but in his current state, he needed to focus on recovery through meditation.
With his mana depleted, restoring even a little would accelerate his physical healing.
Abel crossed his legs fully and closed his eyes.
Normally, he’d focus right away, but the pain brought stray thoughts.
‘Since the teleport happened, no one’s entered the ruins yet.’
The ruins in this forest “summon” those nearby who meet the qualifications.
Not through any intelligence selecting them, but by teleporting those with special qualifications.
‘And that qualification is Sync Rate.’
In the game, it triggered for anyone with A-rank Sync Rate or higher.
But if even one person was inside the ruins, it wouldn’t happen.
Meaning, at the moment Abel was teleported, the ruins were empty.
‘So, there’s still some time buffer.’
The ruins couldn’t be cleared in just one or two hours.
Minimum six hours—and that was for players.
In the game, the Prophet group took an average of over twelve hours to get through.
‘Subtracting various factors, that leaves at least eight hours of leeway.’
Abel finished his mental calculations and suppressed the urge to peek around impatiently.
Recovery first.
Rushing would only botch things.
Haste makes waste, as they say.
“Huuuuuh.”
Letting out a long breath, Abel cleared his mind and began the breathing technique he’d only recently learned.
Slowly, very slowly, he sank into deep meditation.
* * *
“......Bel.”
Hearing a voice from somewhere, Abel slowly emerged from meditation and furrowed his brow.
“Abel!”
He opened his eyes upon clearly hearing his name.
The first thing in his vision was pale skin and long eyelashes framing striking eyes.
“May?”
“Shh. Quiet.”
Abel flinched.
May was so close he could feel her breath.
In a small voice, he asked her,
“What’s going on?”
“This place. It’s not just any cave.”
“What do you......”
May pointed to one side as she spoke, and Abel started to ask what she meant but clamped his mouth shut.
There was a wide-open passage where she pointed.
It had been a solid wall before he meditated.
It was astonishing, for sure.
But it didn’t explain why May was pressed so close.
“Why are you......”
“Shh!”
Abel tried to ask, but May pressed a finger to her lips, urging silence.
May’s warmth seeped into him from her closeness.
But what caught Abel’s eye more was the cold sweat trickling down her forehead.
Looking closely, May was rigid with tension.
And the mystery resolved itself soon enough.
Thud-! Thud-! Thump-!
With heavy footfalls, a massive figure appeared at the far end of the passage.
It walked on two legs like a human, clad in thick armor covering its entire body.
Nothing odd so far—but the problem was its height, easily over two meters.
Thud, thump, thud-!
It glanced around briefly before moving on, and only then did May speak.
“It’s a Guardian. You know what that is, right?”
“Yeah.”
Abel nodded.
It looked human, but it wasn’t.
A Guardian.
A “war machine” occasionally found in ruins like these. Meaning, that passage led to the ruins.
For Abel, it was thrilling news.
Of course, he couldn’t show it.
Ruins were notoriously dangerous, and now they’d confirmed a Guardian’s presence.
Tensing up like May was the normal reaction.
Pondering how to suggest heading in, Abel said,
“What do we do?”
“We can’t go back outside.”
“Huh?”
“While you were meditating, I checked. The area’s crawling with Gigadeus fragments.”
May furrowed her pale brow as she spoke.
“Better to look for another exit deeper in. What do you think?”
“Smart call. I’m all for it.”
Abel agreed readily.
May gave him an odd look at his immediate response.
“You sure?”
“Outside’s more dangerous, right? So we go in.”
“Well...... true. How’s your condition?”
“Oh.”
Abel belatedly checked himself.
Come to think of it, he was much better than before meditating.
Pain lingered, but he no longer needed support to walk.
The breathing technique had helped restore his mana effectively.
“Way better.”
“Good. Still, just in case, I’ll take point.”
“Got it.”
May nodded and stood.
As Abel followed, he thought.
‘Come to think of it, she seems totally different from usual.’
He’d noticed her acting out of character in the game lately, but this was another level.
It wasn’t just talking more.
Even accounting for the situation, she exuded an oddly strong sense of responsibility.
She felt like a different person.
That line of thought brought May’s backstory to mind.
‘Maybe it’s overlapping with memories from her past......’
“Abel.”
Snapping out of it at May’s call, Abel saw her beckoning him to hurry.
He shelved the thought for now and followed her.
There were more pressing matters at hand.
Time to explore the ruins.