The Land of Eternal Day (1)
Kargon fell deep into thought after hearing my proposal.
He stroked his chin, hidden beneath his helmet, with a gloved hand, then slowly turned his gaze toward me.
"It'll be pretty tough if you're sticking with me. You sure you're okay with that?"
"No problem."
I'll stick with him no matter how tough it gets.
I have to.
The clear condition for the 4th floor is to stay with him for 168 hours—what am I supposed to do if we get separated?
Whether it's to stop him from becoming a catastrophe in the future or to clear this floor first, I have no choice but to stay by Kargon's side.
Kargon let out a small grunt at my casual reply and nodded slowly.
"Do as you wish."
"Looking forward to it."
I smiled up at him.
Kargon looked down at me, still wearing his helmet.
I wonder what expression he's making under there.
Is it the same as mine?
Hard to say yet.
Remaining Time: 167.8 hours
"Ready to move out right away?"
"Yeah, fine by me."
Right after agreeing to travel together, he said we should get going immediately.
"Fill up on water."
"Got it."
I nodded, pulled an empty water bottle from the depths of my bag, and headed to a tree.
Then I swung my hand lightly at it.
"Huh?"
The trunk cracked deep, but no water came out from inside.
It looks just like the one from before—what's different?
That's when Kargon, who had been watching me with arms crossed from behind, clicked his tongue.
"Not like that. Use mana."
"Mana? How?"
"I told you, didn't I? Berdin is barren land. The environment here is so harsh that even the earth has no mana left in it."
Instead.
He pointed curtly at the stagnant water behind him with a finger.
"Water and trees hold mana. The trees of Berdin react sensitively to mana."
"So?"
"Scatter mana lightly to find the ones that react strongly. Only the trees rich with water inside won't respond to you."
I nodded and calmly dispersed my mana.
"If the mana concentration is too thick, all the trees will sense you as a threat, so keep it as faint as possible."
Following his advice, I spread my mana as thinly as I could.
Man, this is trickier than I thought.
I've only ever used mana aggressively until now, so intentionally leaking it this weakly is a first.
I squeezed my eyes shut and focused every nerve. Gradually, the trees around me started reacting one by one.
Among them, I spotted the one tree that didn't respond to me at all and opened my eyes.
"There you are."
I placed my hand on the slimmest trunk.
This was the only one that ignored me.
I coated my hand in mana and sliced open the trunk.
Clear water flowed from the split.
As I filled the bottle, Kargon spoke up.
"In Berdin, it's best not to stop scattering mana. You can detect enemies that react to it, and find oases like this."
"Got it memorized."
The first try was rough, but now it feels a bit more natural.
Though Kargon probably meant to do it unconsciously, like second nature.
I capped the full bottle tightly.
"Water's packed. Let's move."
With that, Kargon turned and started walking away from the oasis.
He tells me to pack water but doesn't grab any himself?
'He wouldn't be planning to steal mine again, would he?'
I muttered inwardly, stowed the bottle in my bag, and followed behind him.
"Ugh..."
The moment we pushed through the crowded trees, my skin started heating up.
I'd gotten used to the oasis relief and forgotten—this is one of the five great wastelands, scorched under eternal sunlight.
I exhaled steadily and stepped firmly on the hard ground, keeping pace with Kargon.
"You alright?"
"Piece of cake."
You can't judge stamina honed by manual labor by normal standards.
"So, where we headed?"
"...To hunt orcs."
"Orcs?"
"Aye. I've been keeping the orcs of this place from venturing out, and culling the ones that go berserk now and then."
I see.
I nodded, then a thought struck me and I asked,
"So you've been here a long time, then?"
"Far longer than you imagine."
"...Then you heard that roar earlier too?"
"..."
Kargon bowed his head silently, gripping tight.
"Any idea who—or what—that roar belonged to?"
"...The Orc Lord. That was the roar of the Orc Lord."
Orc Lord?
The Orc Lord I knew was the type to smash orc skulls to keep discipline.
Seems like this place's Orc Lord is something else entirely.
'Even regular orcs here are insanely strong...'
As I thought that, Kargon's heavy voice rumbled down from above.
"Never, ever encounter the Orc Lord."
"That bad?"
"...The Orc Lord is a monster. An uncontrollable monster."
There wasn't a hint of jest in his voice.
Just pure seriousness.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't stand against an Orc Lord consumed by madness."
"..."
"I wish someone would put the Orc Lord down."
He muttered bitterly, then lifted his head to gaze into the distance.
"Orcs ahead."
"You can sense them?"
"As I said, keep mana deployed constantly and you can detect them. Give it your best."
His tone suddenly playful, he strode forward briskly.
I followed behind.
Drip. Drip.
Thick blood soaked the parched earth.
I stared ahead silently, not even breathing.
'...Insane.'
Orc flesh scattered across the wasteland.
The owner of the jet-black armor stood tall atop it, wrapped in overwhelming aura.
'What the hell just happened?'
It was in an instant.
Something green caught the edge of my vision.
The moment I opened my mouth to say there were orcs...
Kargon beside me vanished in a flash.
And now...
"Ah, you're here."
He'd turned every orc in the distance into meat chunks with a single blow.
The aura that kept even me at bay was gone, and Kargon approached casually, as if he'd never exuded such menace.
As he drew near, the red blood staining his armor evaporated away.
By the time he stopped in front of me, not a trace remained.
"To think you'd walk right up here. You've got guts."
He laughed heartily and stomped lightly.
The dry earth surged up, swallowing the orc corpses.
"Return to the land and atone."
As if nothing had been there.
The risen ground sank back with the orcs, leaving the surface pristine.
The scattered flesh.
The splattered blood.
All of it.
Gone with his casual gesture.
"Did you see what I did?"
"...Couldn't follow it."
"Haha! No need for formalities. I like it when you don't treat me so stiffly."
I clamped my mouth shut and stared at Kargon in confusion.
Even when we first met after his fall, I knew he wasn't ordinary.
Who falls from that height looking as relaxed as if they're in their own bedroom?
Even a flying bird would panic crashing from there.
Not Kargon.
He'd been utterly composed, even cracking jokes.
I'd sensed he was no ordinary guy from then.
But this is beyond imagination.
He was far stronger than I'd pictured.
Even with my Black Dragon eyes, I couldn't track his movements perfectly.
Kargon smacked his lips at my frozen form.
"Went a bit too flashy, huh."
"...Yeah, overly so."
"Been wandering looking for your bag to return it, so I haven't culled many orcs. Got overeager when I saw them and botched the power control."
Kargon chuckled lightly, like it was a throwaway joke.
"That power in your right hand looks nothing to scoff at. Or am I wrong?"
"Spot on."
"Yet you couldn't follow me? Means your overall strength doesn't match that right hand."
His unseen gaze from under the helmet scanned my body.
No visible eyes, but somehow I could feel exactly where it lingered, in real time.
From head to toe.
After appraising me once, he nodded.
"You've got a long way to go, kid."
His voice laced with amusement, Kargon patted my shoulder lightly with a massive hand.
"Guess I'll have to train you into a warrior who can handle more than one man's share myself."
"...Huh? What're you talking about?"
"What else? This."
Boom!
Kargon stomped hard.
Powerful mana rippled across the ground like waves.
"..."
Something feels ominous.
A bad premonition bubbled up wildly.
As I stiffened awkwardly, Kargon flashed a thumbs-up.
"Nothing beats real combat for forging a warrior."
"Wait, no—hold o—."
"Handle hundreds of orcs solo."
Kargon vanished from sight in an instant.
Left awkwardly reaching at empty air, I jerked my gaze around.
"...Ha."
Dust clouds rising from all directions in the distance.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
[Kargon imposes a trial upon you.]
📍 Objective: Defeat all incoming orcs single-handedly.
⚠ Warning: Violating this condition resets your companionship time with Kargon.
This basically means no using the Register of the Dead either.
I let out a hollow laugh and clenched my fist, assuming a stance.
"Well, it's not like it'll kill me."
I smirked crookedly and hurled my bag far away.
Then kicked off the ground, charging the nearest orc.
"Die!"
The second round against the orcs had begun.
Far in the distance.
Kargon, wrapped in black mist and looking like a mere dot to the tiny human figure, watched quietly.
"..."
Despite the vast distance, his eyes saw everything as if up close.
"Oh."
Han Mir blocked an orc's club with his left arm and thrust his right hand forward.
The orc exploded without blocking, but Han Mir's left arm shattered too.
Time to bail him out.
As Kargon shifted into position...
"...!"
Han Mir's arm regenerated in a flash, as if it had never been destroyed. He whipped his leg, unleashing a black slash at the orc.
"To think a non-orc has regeneration surpassing theirs."
Already, a quarter of the swarming orcs lay fallen.
Honestly, I was surprised.
I'd figured him for a kid with immense power but no foundation.
But his fundamentals were solid, and his combat talent flawless.
Except for one thing.
"Lacking battle experience."
Exceptional power?
He's got it.
Fundamentals?
Not perfect, but there.
Yet he still took a clean hit like that.
That means one thing.
Overwhelmingly deficient combat experience.
"He's probably one-shot most foes with that mighty right hand until now."
That insane power seems exclusive to the right hand.
And he's had it from the start.
"Never built proper experience because everything died in one hit."
Look at that.
Staggering from another orc attack.
His durability's impressive, though—he just reels briefly before countering instantly.
Even then, other orcs swarm if he succeeds.
"He's relied on talent and raw power all this time."
His talent so obvious at a glance.
In battle, that talent's been a stronger weapon than even his right hand.
"A side effect of the right hand being too strong."
Chucking softly, he watched Han Mir eat another hit.
Despite taking so many blows, no fear showed on Han Mir.
Kargon knew this type well.
"...Not afraid of death, eh."
Only those who don't fear death fight that way.
"As a warrior, he's prime material."
How long since he last saw a kid like that?
A fleeting memory of the past surfaced, and Kargon clenched his fist hard.
The past held only memories he wished to forget.
His right hand trembled from gripping too tight.
"..."
He frowned and looked at it.
A hole had pierced the gauntlet encasing his right hand.
"Gotta repair this before the kid's fight ends."
Muttering, he removed the gauntlet.
The revealed bare hand...
"...This armor's been on a while too."
Glowed a vivid green.