Chapter 207: Instant (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 207: Instant (3)

Most of the taverns in the city doubled as inns.

"Do you want to see my special ability upstairs quick?"

She was offering to grab a room to show me her ability. This had happened once before so it wasn't all that strange. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠However...

"That won't work."

"...Pardon?"

To Erwen's bewilderment, I firmly refused the offer. "It's late. I have to get home." I had a cat waiting for me. "Show me later when you get a chance."

"Oh... okay!"

I knew myself well. As a gamer more interested in this world than anyone else, if I saw that special ability now, I'd spend all night experimenting with it.

"Ah, you're herrre?" When I parted with Erwen and arrived home, Missha walked over from where she was reading a cookbook in the living room and sniffed me. "Smells like you didn't drrrink that much."

"I didn't feel like it."

"Hmm, is that so?"

I hadn't committed a crime or anything, but for some reason, it was hard to meet her eyes. Was it because I hadn't told her I was meeting Erwen? Hmm, that was probably the reason. But if I told her she wouldn't have liked it... I had no choice.

I smoothly changed the subject. "Anyway, where's Ainar?"

"Sleeping in her rrroom."

"...I see. You should sleep too."

As I ended the short conversation and was about to head upstairs, Missha stopped me. "Wait, go sit over there." Had I been caught? "It's good to let your stomach digest beforrre bed. I'll boil some stew for you."

"Ah... thanks." As instructed, I sat down at the kitchen table. Missha put on an apron and started cooking, and I silently watched her back. Her tail was moving.

Swish, swish.

It felt like I had done something wrong. I didn't have to think for long. "I met Erwen today." I decided to confess it before I missed the golden opportunity.

"...Rrreally?" she answered a beat later but she didn't seem too surprised.

"Are you mad?"

At my question, Missha chuckled. "Why would I be? Stuff like that is rrreserved for those who actually stand a chance." With that, Missha tossed the pot full of stew in the trash. Her words did not match her actions.

"Why did you...?"

"Oh, it didn't taste rrright."

"I-I see?"

"Wait, I'll cook you another one."

Soon, Missha boiled up a new pot of stew and served it on the table. Then she went up to her room, saying she was tired.

What was that just now?

Despite the strangeness, I ate the stew in the bowl. As always, it felt perfect on my taste buds and went down easily. Yet the other one didn't taste right?

No way.

After finishing my meal, I cleared the table a bit and opened the trash can. I froze in a daze, holding the lid.

...Good thing I decided to be honest.

The stew in the trash was full of carrots. She already knew, from the moment she came up to sniff me, who I had met with today.

***

Time was like flowing water. You couldn't stop it with your hands, and what flowed through your fingers slipped downstream, impossible to get back. We had only one option—to get on this boat called life and row toward our goal, whatever it took.

Yes, let's start another day.

Getting up from bed, I studied the mirror for a moment to motivate myself. This was a bit of know-how that came with being a gamer. You had to do things like this so you didn't get tired of all those repetitive quests.

"Bjorn... Oh, you're awake? Then go wake Ainar for me."

"Okay."

And as this was a repetitive quest, my life these days was exactly the same every day. Wake up at 7 a.m., wake Ainar, have a meal that Missha cooked for us, and get ready to go out.

"Librarrry again?"

"Why, do you want to come with me?"

"No, that's okay. I'm going to take Ainar to the trrraining center later."

Once breakfast was over, Missha and Ainar headed to the training center where they'd bought a monthly pass to stretch their legs, and I headed straight to the library.

"Are you here to read that book again?"

"It was more interesting than I thought."

"Haha, be grateful. I thought that would be the case, so I took it out in advance."

Recently, I was reading an ultra-long novel series. It was a recommendation of Ragna's and it was more interesting than I expected. Since it was set in the labyrinth, the worldbuilding was rich too.

Though, the characters are all too nice, so it's not realistic at all.

Still, as a novel, it wasn't unbearable. If I were being honest, this was good entertainment. Aside from drinking, there weren't too many hobbies to enjoy in this world, which was a problem.

"Have a nice day."

As always, around 1 p.m., I closed the book I was reading, left the library, and had lunch. The menu was a meat-filled lunchbox that Missha had prepared. Once I finished eating it at the fountain, the time soon came for me to meet with Rotmiller.

"You are late today. About thirty seconds. To become a great scout, you have to know just how important time is. Since you were late, let's start class right away."

It had already been over a year since I'd started scout training with Rotmiller. To be honest, I thought it would be over in a month or two. But Rotmiller's knowledge was like the sea—the more I learned, the more I realized there was yet to know.

"Now that you seem to know all the basics, let's move on to the intensive course."

"Before that, what happened to the thing I mentioned yesterday?"

"You mean setting up a school?"

"Yes."

It was Rotmiller who had first mentioned the idea of setting up a school, but the more training I received from this man, the more I thought the school would be a huge hit. Even if you didn't have hearing as great as an elf's, a nose as good as a beastperson's, or an inherent talent for navigation, it was possible to acquire the skills of a scout with his help. The master of hard work—that was the essence of who Rotmiller was. This alone was attractive enough, but having started from the bottom himself, even the man's teaching skills were first-class.

But he doesn't know his own worth yet.

Honestly, it was a wonder why he still hadn't done it. Unlike the dwarf's forge, he didn't even need any initial capital to get started.

***

Time was like flowing water. You couldn't stop it with your hands, and what flowed through your fingers slipped downstream, impossible to get back. We had only one option—to get on this boat called life and row toward our goal, whatever it took.

Yes, let's start another day.

Getting up from bed, I studied the mirror for a moment to motivate myself. This was a bit of know-how that came with being a gamer. You had to do things like this so you didn't get tired of all those repetitive quests.

"Bjorn... Oh, you're awake? Then go wake Ainar for me."

"Okay."

And as this was a repetitive quest, my life these days was exactly the same every day. Wake up at 7 a.m., wake Ainar, have a meal that Missha cooked for us, and get ready to go out.

"Librarrry again?"

"Why, do you want to come with me?"

"No, that's okay. I'm going to take Ainar to the trrraining center later."

Once breakfast was over, Missha and Ainar headed to the training center where they'd bought a monthly pass to stretch their legs, and I headed straight to the library.

"Are you here to read that book again?"

"It was more interesting than I thought."

"Haha, be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grateful. I thought that would be the case, so I took it out in advance."

Recently, I was reading an ultra-long novel series. It was a recommendation of Ragna's and it was more interesting than I expected. Since it was set in the labyrinth, the worldbuilding was rich too.

Though, the characters are all too nice, so it's not realistic at all.

Still, as a novel, it wasn't unbearable. If I were being honest, this was good entertainment. Aside from drinking, there weren't too many hobbies to enjoy in this world, which was a problem.

"Have a nice day."

As always, around 1 p.m., I closed the book I was reading, left the library, and had lunch. The menu was a meat-filled lunchbox that Missha had prepared. Once I finished eating it at the fountain, the time soon came for me to meet with Rotmiller.

"You are late today. About thirty seconds. To become a great scout, you have to know just how important time is. Since you were late, let's start class right away."

It had already been over a year since I'd started scout training with Rotmiller. To be honest, I thought it would be over in a month or two. But Rotmiller's knowledge was like the sea—the more I learned, the more I realized there was yet to know.

"Now that you seem to know all the basics, let's move on to the intensive course."

"Before that, what happened to the thing I mentioned yesterday?"

"You mean setting up a school?"

"Yes."

It was Rotmiller who had first mentioned the idea of setting up a school, but the more training I received from this man, the more I thought the school would be a huge hit. Even if you didn't have hearing as great as an elf's, a nose as good as a beastperson's, or an inherent talent for navigation, it was possible to acquire the skills of a scout with his help. The master of hard work—that was the essence of who Rotmiller was. This alone was attractive enough, but having started from the bottom himself, even the man's teaching skills were first-class.

But he doesn't know his own worth yet.

Honestly, it was a wonder why he still hadn't done it. Unlike the dwarf's forge, he didn't even need any initial capital to get started.

"Seriously consider it. You've been screwing around for months since then."

"I'm not screwing around, I'm taking advantage of the free time I didn't have before to train."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you do even more of this? Sometimes teaching can help you learn."

"That's... hard to argue with. I actually have learned a lot while teaching you."

"So, your answer?"

"I still don't feel like it."

I quietly clicked my tongue. It seemed Rotmiller didn't want to officially retire from the adventuring profession yet. "Really? Let me know when you decide. I will help."

"Thanks for the sentiment, at least."

"They're not empty words. I'm being sincere."

In fact, I already had a rough plan in place. First, he could rent out a training center, in the beginning, to use as a classroom and market the class toward human kids who hoped to become adventurers. Once he established that, he could advertise to the Adventurers' Guild and operate a separate, adventurers-only class. That would make more money, anyway. Of course, it'd take considerable time for him to reach that point.

But Rotmiller is human.

Humans paid fewer taxes. If he secured a job and got a certain amount of profit, he wouldn't have any problem putting food on the table for the rest of his life.

All of that means nothing if he says no, though.

If capital was an issue, I was willing to invest to some extent. The concept of a stock market was still new in this world, but it was not completely nonexistent. It was a perfect way to manage my money, too.

"Today's lesson is finished."

Anyway, after receiving training for a few hours after that, today's class reached its end. It was about 8 p.m. Maybe it was because this was an intensive course, but the explanations were longer than usual, so we ended an hour late.

"Then tomorrow... No, I won't be able to come tomorrow," said Rotmiller.

"Let's say three days to be sure."

"Let's do that. Take care of yourself this time around too."

Anyway, my structured daily routine ended there. In the evenings, I normally had a drink with other adventurers introduced to me by the dwarf or Mr. Bear and listened to industry trends, or met with the rest of the team to socialize, but I had no one to meet up with today. Since I'd already completed my own special routine that occurred every midnight on the 15th, my schedule was completely empty. It had been a long time since I had free time to myself.

Should I go to the library again? Or go warm up at the training center?

I debated it, but I just went into a tavern I saw on the way home and ordered a drink by myself. Yes, there needed to be days like this once in a while.

Clink.

Tossing back the lukewarm beer, I organized the thoughts floating around in my head.

There really isn't anything going on these days.

These kinds of repetitive days weren't boring to me. To be honest, they were comfortable and enjoyable. But on the other hand, my anxiety grew and grew because I knew these dream-like days wouldn't last forever.

Still, maybe it won't end yet. I didn't hear anything at the Round Table, either.

The Round Table I attended two weeks ago didn't indicate any big signs of change. I offered up information and acted tough as usual, the others all looked at me with awe, and I pretended to be bored while actually focusing on the news the members were sharing. That was all that happened that day. There wasn't any information that intrigued me, and the gathering itself ended after two rounds.

"Seriously consider it. You've been screwing around for months since then."

"I'm not screwing around, I'm taking advantage of the free time I didn't have before to train."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you do even more of this? Sometimes teaching can help you learn."

"That's... hard to argue with. I actually have learned a lot while teaching you."

"So, your answer?"

"I still don't feel like it."

I quietly clicked my tongue. It seemed Rotmiller didn't want to officially retire from the adventuring profession yet. "Really? Let me know when you decide. I will help."

"Thanks for the sentiment, at least."

"They're not empty words. I'm being sincere."

In fact, I already had a rough plan in place. First, he could rent out a training center, in the beginning, to use as a classroom and market the class toward human kids who hoped to become adventurers. Once he established that, he could advertise to the Adventurers' Guild and operate a separate, adventurers-only class. That would make more money, anyway. Of course, it'd take considerable time for him to reach that point.

But Rotmiller is human.

Humans paid fewer taxes. If he secured a job and got a certain amount of profit, he wouldn't have any problem putting food on the table for the rest of his life.

All of that means nothing if he says no, though.

If capital was an issue, I was willing to invest to some extent. The concept of a stock market was still new in this world, but it was not completely nonexistent. It was a perfect way to manage my money, too.

"Today's lesson is finished."

Anyway, after receiving training for a few hours after that, today's class reached its end. It was about 8 p.m. Maybe it was because this was an intensive course, but the explanations were longer than usual, so we ended an hour late.

"Then tomorrow... No, I won't be able to come tomorrow," said Rotmiller.

"Let's say three days to be sure."

"Let's do that. Take care of yourself this time around too."

Anyway, my structured daily routine ended there. In the evenings, I normally had a drink with other adventurers introduced to me by the dwarf or Mr. Bear and listened to industry trends, or met with the rest of the team to socialize, but I had no one to meet up with today. Since I'd already completed my own special routine that occurred every midnight on the 15th, my schedule was completely empty. It had been a long time since I had free time to myself.

Should I go to the library again? Or go warm up at the training center?

I debated it, but I just went into a tavern I saw on the way home and ordered a drink by myself. Yes, there needed to be days like this once in a while.

Clink.

Tossing back the lukewarm beer, I organized the thoughts floating around in my head.

There really isn't anything going on these days.

These kinds of repetitive days weren't boring to me. To be honest, they were comfortable and enjoyable. But on the other hand, my anxiety grew and grew because I knew these dream-like days wouldn't last forever.

Still, maybe it won't end yet. I didn't hear anything at the Round Table, either.

The Round Table I attended two weeks ago didn't indicate any big signs of change. I offered up information and acted tough as usual, the others all looked at me with awe, and I pretended to be bored while actually focusing on the news the members were sharing. That was all that happened that day. There wasn't any information that intrigued me, and the gathering itself ended after two rounds.

Oh. I guess there was one strange thing that happened.

If I had to pinpoint something from this gathering, there was one thing.

"Then see you next month. Hehehe."

At the end of the meeting, Clown said goodbye for the first time—not to me but to the other members, and in a somewhat mysterious tone of voice too.

Does that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean something interesting will happen next time we meet?

Well, I didn't know about that. It could have been a simple whim on his part. That was Clown's personality, after all. It wasn't like I was a prophet or a mind reader, either.

I should get going.

After sitting alone in the bar for about an hour, looking pathetic, I got up and headed home. When I got there, the melee sisters were already back from the training center and bickering. Well, it was closer to a one-sided scolding, to be honest.

"Ainar! Didn't I tell you to keep your laundrrry in one place?! Do you think you'll be able to become a great warrior like this?"

"That... I was going to do it later! I really was! I wasn't being lazy, I swear!"

"This is the last time. If you do this again, you can do your own—Oh, Bjorn. When did you get back? Did you have dinner?"

"Not yet." Although I drank, I didn't order any food on the side on purpose.

"Really? I'll prrrepare some soon, so go wash up. Hey! Ainar! Where do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you!"

"Tsk! You caught me!"

Ditching Ainar, who was being scolded by Missha, I went to the bathroom to wash up. When I got back, the table was set with a generous spread. Since it was going to be hard to eat like this tomorrow, I guessed she was being more liberal than usual.

"Thanks, as always, Missha."

"It's nothing new..."

After the meal, we played a card game that Missha bought at the market, and spent time together until late into the night. That was because it was better to sleep late today.

"The sun is starting to rise."

"We should invite Urakburak and Aruru next time!"

"That again? I don't know about Aruru, but Abman should stay home. He has a wife."

"Then we can ask his wife to come too!"

What was this kid talking about? This was bound to turn into a pointless argument if I left them alone, so I stepped in and sorted it out. "Okay, okay. Let's go to bed. Wake up as late as possible."

Tomorrow night, the labyrinth would open.

***

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

It was hard to see even an inch ahead in the darkness. Considering we had just entered the labyrinth, this was an anomaly, but no one on my team was startled. Since that first time, we'd been through this several times already.

"Leait."

A dim sphere of light floated up above our heads, illuminating the surrounding area. The first thing we saw was the headstone located on the wall of the dead end.

"We arrived at the right place again. At this rate, it seems like this isn't a special phenomenon but something you can think of as a rule."

To be more accurate, it was a dimensional instability bug with a 100 percent success rate. As always, Raven stepped forward first and put her hand on the stone. The way the magic flowed when the portal was activated was so unique that she hadn't been able to get a good sense of it after only one or two tries. Of course, I didn't know where she planned to use this information, either. Was there any use for it?

[You are the first to open this portal. EXP +2]

Anyway, when we entered the portal, we were greeted by the flat air and ground unique to one particular area. God damn it.

[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]

Why this, of all places?

"Mr. Yandel, what are you going to do?"

"...Let's head down again."

Although I'd been taking Rotmiller's classes for over half a year, this place was hopeless. There were too many crossroads and complicated rules to remember. It was so bad that even Rotmiller only ever managed to clear this area with his enhanced olfactory stats and had advised me it was better to just give up.

"So Goblin Forest again?"

Did I even need to say it? Once we were back on the first floor, we headed to Goblin Forest, which we tended to use the most. Finding the way to the Land of the Dead or the Rock Desert wasn't too difficult, but still, this route was the fastest.

"We might earn portal opening achievement points there. We're going to move quickly, so follow close behind."

I pulled out my compass and started to find the way in earnest. We got out of the dark zone without getting lost once, and after that, we crossed the border between the dark zone and the central area and traveled down the shortest route. I didn't have to ask Mr. Bear for the direction of the portal once. That was because I'd mastered the Crystal Cave by now.

Trudge.

A little over two hours had passed since we had entered the labyrinth.

"Mr. Yandel." Raven, who was on Ainar's back, suddenly stopped me. "S-Something's weird."

"...Weird?"

"Mana is swirling in the center of the cave, almost as if dozens of people are casting a joint spell..."

Joint spells were when wizards used high-ranking magic or linked their unique manas to amplify the force of a certain spell. For reference, the technique was often used in large-scale raids. But it was not often that it was used on the first floor.

"...Black magic. I can also sense cursed mana."

To think they'd even use black magic. This was starting to look serious. "Must be Noark, right?"

"Yes. It's common knowledge that there are many dark wizards on Noark's side."

"No wonder they were so quiet. This is a headache."

"W-What are you going to do?" Scared by the current situation, Raven looked uncharacteristically shaky. Yeah, it seemed I needed to be the vigilant one here.

"This changes nothing. Let's speed up some more. We're getting off of the first floor as fast as possible."

Quickly giving orders, I got us moving again. And about five minutes later...

"Something is coming at us from behind!" Raven suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.

Voom!

A red cluster of light rushed past us from the back of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the passageway and disappeared down the other side in a flash. There was no time to avoid or react to it.

"...What on earth was that just now?"

"I-I don't know. I think it was mana, but..."

That was ridiculously ominous. A type of magic that even Raven didn't know about?

"Hey, Bjorrrn... Shouldn't we keep moving?"

As per Missha's advice, I took the lead in paving the road again and tried to figure out what was going on. There was no clear answer. Maybe that was why...

"We... are okay, right?"

Even knowing the leader's role in a situation like this, I couldn't answer that question. At this moment when everything was murky and confusing, there was only one thing that was clear. Those times that felt blessed, and felt all the more fleeting because of it... Those peaceful days had come to an end starting now.

Oh. I guess there was one strange thing that happened.

If I had to pinpoint something from this gathering, there was one thing.

"Then see you next month. Hehehe."

At the end of the meeting, Clown said goodbye for the first time—not to me but to the other members, and in a somewhat mysterious tone of voice too.

Does that mean something interesting will happen next time we meet?

Well, I didn't know about that. It could have been a simple whim on his part. That was Clown's personality, after all. It wasn't like I was a prophet or a mind reader, either.

I should get going.

After sitting alone in the bar for about an hour, looking pathetic, I got up and headed home. When I got there, the melee sisters were already back from the training center and bickering. Well, it was closer to a one-sided scolding, to be honest.

"Ainar! Didn't I tell you to keep your laundrrry in one place?! Do you think you'll be able to become a great warrior like this?"

"That... I was going to do it later! I really was! I wasn't being lazy, I swear!"

"This is the last time. If you do this again, you can do your own—Oh, Bjorn. When did you get back? Did you have dinner?"

"Not yet." Although I drank, I didn't order any food on the side on purpose.

"Really? I'll prrrepare some soon, so go wash up. Hey! Ainar! Where do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you!"

"Tsk! You caught me!"

Ditching Ainar, who was being scolded by Missha, I went to the bathroom to wash up. When I got back, the table was set with a generous spread. Since it was going to be hard to eat like this tomorrow, I guessed she was being more liberal than usual.

"Thanks, as always, Missha."

"It's nothing new..."

After the meal, we played a card game that Missha bought at the market, and spent time together until late into the night. That was because it was better to sleep late today.

"The sun is starting to rise."

"We should invite Urakburak and Aruru next time!"

"That again? I don't know about Aruru, but Abman should stay home. He has a wife."

"Then we can ask his wife to come too!"

What was this kid talking about? This was bound to turn into a pointless argument if I left them alone, so I stepped in and sorted it out. "Okay, okay. Let's go to bed. Wake up as late as possible."

Tomorrow night, the labyrinth would open.

***

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

It was hard to see even an inch ahead in the darkness. Considering we had just entered the labyrinth, this was an anomaly, but no one on my team was startled. Since that first time, we'd been through this several times already.

"Leait."

A dim sphere of light floated up above our heads, illuminating the surrounding area. The first thing we saw was the headstone located on the wall of the dead end.

"We arrived at the right place again. At this rate, it seems like this isn't a special phenomenon but something you can think of as a rule."

To be more accurate, it was a dimensional instability bug with a 100 percent success rate. As always, Raven stepped forward first and put her hand on the stone. The way the magic flowed when the portal was activated was so unique that she hadn't been able to get a good sense of it after only one or two tries. Of course, I didn't know where she planned to use this information, either. Was there any use for it?

[You are the first to open this portal. EXP +2]

Anyway, when we entered the portal, we were greeted by the flat air and ground unique to one particular area. God damn it.

[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]

Why this, of all places?

"Mr. Yandel, what are you going to do?"

"...Let's head down again."

Although I'd been taking Rotmiller's classes for over half a year, this place was hopeless. There were too many crossroads and complicated rules to remember. It was so bad that even Rotmiller only ever managed to clear this area with his enhanced olfactory stats and had advised me it was better to just give up.

"So Goblin Forest again?"

Did I even need to say it? Once we were back on the first floor, we headed to Goblin Forest, which we tended to use the most. Finding the way to the Land of the Dead or the Rock Desert wasn't too difficult, but still, this route was the fastest.

"We might earn portal opening achievement points there. We're going to move quickly, so follow close behind."

I pulled out my compass and started to find the way in earnest. We got out of the dark zone without getting lost once, and after that, we crossed the border between the dark zone and the central area and traveled down the shortest route. I didn't have to ask Mr. Bear for the direction of the portal once. That was because I'd mastered the Crystal Cave by now.

Trudge.

A little over two hours had passed since we had entered the labyrinth.

"Mr. Yandel." Raven, who was on Ainar's back, suddenly stopped me. "S-Something's weird."

"...Weird?"

"Mana is swirling in the center of the cave, almost as if dozens of people are casting a joint spell..."

Joint spells were when wizards used high-ranking magic or linked their unique manas to amplify the force of a certain spell. For reference, the technique was often used in large-scale raids. But it was not often that it was used on the first floor.

"...Black magic. I can also sense cursed mana."

To think they'd even use black magic. This was starting to look serious. "Must be Noark, right?"

"Yes. It's common knowledge that there are many dark wizards on Noark's side."

"No wonder they were so quiet. This is a headache."

"W-What are you going to do?" Scared by the current situation, Raven looked uncharacteristically shaky. Yeah, it seemed I needed to be the vigilant one here.

"This changes nothing. Let's speed up some more. We're getting off of the first floor as fast as possible."

Quickly giving orders, I got us moving again. And about five minutes later...

"Something is coming at us from behind!" Raven suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.

Voom!

A red cluster of light rushed past us from the back of the passageway and disappeared down the other side in a flash. There was no time to avoid or react to it.

"...What on earth was that just now?"

"I-I don't know. I think it was mana, but..."

That was ridiculously ominous. A type of magic that even Raven didn't know about?

"Hey, Bjorrrn... Shouldn't we keep moving?"

As per Missha's advice, I took the lead in paving the road again and tried to figure out what was going on. There was no clear answer. Maybe that was why...

"We... are okay, right?"

Even knowing the leader's role in a situation like this, I couldn't answer that question. At this moment when everything was murky and confusing, there was only one thing that was clear. Those times that felt blessed, and felt all the more fleeting because of it... Those peaceful days had come to an end starting now.