Chapter 413: Dilemma (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 413: Dilemma (5)
"Um... to be honest, ever since I was a kid, I've had really good intuition..."
When I shot him a disbelieving look, Goblin provided examples. His explanation was all over the place, to the point where I wondered if he even knew what he was saying right now, but there was one thing he said that left an impression.
"The same thing happened on the day the pillars of fire appeared! I was supposed to go into the labyrinth that day, but felt the same thing I'm feeling today..."
At first, I thought he might be a bit off his rocker, but if he'd genuinely experienced all the things he just listed, that was tough to ignore. After all, Sixth Sense was a real stat that existed in Dungeon and Stone.
"Okay, go back to your position."
"A-Are we leaving then?"
"I can't force a march based on groundless anxiety."
"...I-I guess that's true, huh?"
"Yes. But I will think about it."
Goblin left with an expression that said, Okay, I've done the best I can do.
Only then did my comrades say something, starting with the healer Old Didi. He settled on a politer version of, Is that guy right in the head? "What an interesting fellow."
The wizard Ashed spoke up in his defense. "Perhaps he received a revelation. Since he's a paladin who serves god."
Erwen, for her part, looked somewhat peeved. "Who is that guy? He's ruining everyone's break when we're all tired."
"Now, now, let's calm down."
As I was encouraging Erwen to relax, Amelia came up to me as well. "Schuitz, what are you thinking? It doesn't seem like you dismissed what he said as nonsense."
"There's a reason why adventurers believe in superstitions."
"So you intend to heed his warning?"
"Well..." I'd have to think about it. To be honest, I'd started having a bad feeling too as soon as I heard what he had to say.
Slide.
With that in mind, I glanced down at the Traffic Light Ring on my finger. It still wasn't glowing, but I couldn't let down my guard based on that alone.
This ring doesn't predict everything.
The Traffic Light Ring had been like that in the game too. Even if there was an event in the area, it wasn't like it had a 100 percent probability of activating. Instead, it turned on randomly. If there was a green light, there was definitely something good in your vicinity. But just because the light didn't turn on didn't mean there weren't any good things nearby. And vice versa.
What should I do?
Just as my worries were reaching a boiling point, the ring activated and began to shine.
[The ring has detected your destiny.]
Shaaaaaaa.
I hurriedly looked down and saw that the color of the light was a very vivid red.
"Mister...?"
I stood up quickly, leaving behind a confused Erwen. "Everyone get ready to move!" I ended the short break and got the group moving again.
"...We haven't even been stopped for ten minutes yet."
"The squad members are having a hard time."
The team leaders expressed concerns but there was nothing I could do. A little exhaustion was better than going through a red-light-worthy event, right? "In formation! We're leaving now!"
We started marching again. About thirty minutes later, the light on the ring went out.
Shaaaaa.
There was no way to know what kind of negative force had been approaching us. I was dazed but also dumbfounded.
Sven Parav, who the hell is that bastard? Is this just a coincidence? No matter how good someone's Sixth Sense may be, their radius can't be wider than the Traffic Light Ring's, right?
Even as I was thinking that, I kept remembering the look on Sven's face as he earnestly tried to convince me that he had good instincts. So while we traveled, I fell back for a moment to march by Goblin's side.
"What about now? Do you feel fine?" If he still felt anxious, I figured the incident could just be dismissed as a coincidence, since he didn't know about the Traffic Light Ring or the fact that its light had already gone out.
"Ah, yes... I-I feel more at ease now."
What the hell...?
***
On the seventh floor's Dark Continent, a human man with a body as stocky as a barbarian bent down and touched the ground. "Baekho, there are tracks here!"
"Really? How many people?"
"I think over twenty but I can't be sure! But it's clear they didn't leave too long ago!" he shouted, his voice as loud as you'd expect from a man of his large stature.
"It might be them," said the old man, barely able to hear himself through the ringing in his ears.
"Them?"
"You know. The people who destroyed the Eye of the Sky and fled."
"Ah, those guys..."
"Do you plan to follow them? If it really is them, we'll be able to demand a fair amount of payment from Noark this time."
"Hmm." The blond man stroked his chin and thought it over. Then he chuckled and turned to the other member of their team. "Kitty, what do you think we should do?" he asked in a playful tone.
The beastwoman at the receiving end of the question only frowned in displeasure. She didn't answer.
"Well, I can tell just by your expression. That's a no, right?"
"...It's a waste of time," she said.
"Waste of time? I know you just don't want to harm anyone from the city. How boring."
When their conversation ended, the warrior who first discovered the tracks prodded Baekho for an answer. "So what are you going to do? Follow them?"
"No. Why bother?" The blond man shrugged. "We're not sure it's them anyway, right? What if we go and then realize we followed some random bastards hunting in the area?"
"It'd admittedly be a waste of time. But isn't it also a waste to let them go without checking? If we follow them now, we might be able to catch up quickly," said the old man.
"Eh, whatever. It's not like we'll get anything amazing for catching them." The blond man waved his hand in annoyance and pulled a chair out from the sub-space. "If we ran into them here by coincidence, then maybe. But there's no need to follow them and check. Let's do our own job. Don't worry about the others. They'll figure it out."
"If that's what you want, okay."
"Okay, then let's shelf that and take a break to eat before we get moving again. Hey, Aures!"
"Haha! Just a moment! I'll cook up some delicious meat in no time!"
Before long, the smell of grilling meat began to waft around them.
We started marching again. About thirty minutes later, the light on the ring went out.
Shaaaaa.
There was no way to know what kind of negative force had been approaching us. I was dazed but also dumbfounded.
Sven Parav, who the hell is that bastard? Is this just a coincidence? No matter how good someone's Sixth Sense may be, their radius can't be wider than the Traffic Light Ring's, right?
Even as I was thinking that, I kept remembering the look on Sven's face as he earnestly tried to convince me that he had good instincts. So while we traveled, I fell back for a moment to march by Goblin's side.
"What about now? Do you feel fine?" If he still felt anxious, I figured the incident could just be dismissed as a coincidence, since he didn't know about the Traffic Light Ring or the fact that its light had already gone out.
"Ah, yes... I-I feel more at ease now."
What the hell...?
***
On the seventh floor's Dark Continent, a human man with a body as stocky as a barbarian bent down and touched the ground. "Baekho, there are tracks here!"
"Really? How many people?"
"I think over twenty but I can't be sure! But it's clear they didn't leave too long ago!" he shouted, his voice as loud as you'd expect from a man of his large stature.
"It might be them," said the old man, barely able to hear himself through the ringing in his ears.
"Them?"
"You know. The people who destroyed the Eye of the Sky and fled."
"Ah, those guys..."
"Do you plan to follow them? If it really is them, we'll be able to demand a fair amount of payment from Noark this time."
"Hmm." The blond man stroked his chin and thought it over. Then he chuckled and turned to the other member of their team. "Kitty, what do you think we should do?" he asked in a playful tone.
The beastwoman at the receiving end of the question only frowned in displeasure. She didn't answer.
"Well, I can tell just by your expression. That's a no, right?"
"...It's a waste of time," she said.
"Waste of time? I know you just don't want to harm anyone from the city. How boring."
When their conversation ended, the warrior who first discovered the tracks prodded Baekho for an answer. "So what are you going to do? Follow them?"
"No. Why bother?" The blond man shrugged. "We're not sure it's them anyway, right? What if we go and then realize we followed some random bastards hunting in the area?"
"It'd admittedly be a waste of time. But isn't it also a waste to let them go without checking? If we follow them now, we might be able to catch up quickly," said the old man.
"Eh, whatever. It's not like we'll get anything amazing for catching them." The blond man waved his hand in annoyance and pulled a chair out from the sub-space. "If we ran into them here by coincidence, then maybe. But there's no need to follow them and check. Let's do our own job. Don't worry about the others. They'll figure it out."
"If that's what you want, okay."
"Okay, then let's shelf that and take a break to eat before we get moving again. Hey, Aures!"
"Haha! Just a moment! I'll cook up some delicious meat in no time!"
Before long, the smell of grilling meat began to waft around them.
***
It was our sixtieth day in the labyrinth. In other words, there were fifteen days left until the seventh floor closed.
"We somehow ended up all the way over here." We arrived at the western zone of the Dragon Pit, the loser's resting place.
Shaaaaaaaaaa.
A black fog filled the surrounding area, refusing to disperse despite the strong winds. Through it, we could see tens of thousands of rusted swords embedded in a seemingly endless field. This place gave off a spooky vibe but no one commented on it. No one had the time to indulge in such sentiments.
"Schuitz, we have to keep moving. If we stop and end up surrounded—"
"I know, shut up."
Hmm, was that too harsh? The thought came to me afterward but I didn't offer an apology. I didn't have the luxury to.
"Schuitz, don't be such a worrywart. If the commander falters, everyone else is bound to falter too."
Huh, I didn't expect to be the one getting consoled. I let out a bitter huff of laughter and sighed.
Isn't it too much to tell me not to worry?
My plan had already gone sideways. We headed north into the enemy's sphere of influence, not south where our allies were. I thought if I chose this place, we'd be able to survive. After all, as the saying went, you often couldn't see things when they were right under your nose. But in reality?
Stubborn bastards.
Whenever we slowed down for even a moment, our pursuers quickly caught up with us. Because of these guys, we'd been forced to march for days on end without rest, let alone sleep.
"I just don't understand. How are they finding our exact location every time?" Kaislan questioned how Noark's troops were able to follow us without fail but I knew the answer. I'd experienced this once before.
"If we didn't cut off another arm, we might've missed it."
In the Labyrinth of Larcaz, the Dragon Slayer used a priest of Karui to track us down. He was probably using a similar method this time since these guys were willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their goals.
"Parav. How are you feeling now?"
"I-I think I'm okay for now..."
Goblin had played a big role in avoiding any deaths up to this point. Somehow, he always sensed when our pursuers were nearby every time we took a break. And every time we were moving and he meekly asked if we could go in another direction, it always turned out that the enemy was lying in wait to ambush us up ahead. Once I realized that, I started making him walk beside me even as we were moving.
"Then we can rest a bit longer. Tell me right away if anything feels off."
"Okay."
All at once, he dropped to the ground. If he was acting like that, that meant that our surroundings really were safe. Frankly, I wanted to collapse on the spot as well and close my eyes for even a mere moment.
But I can't do the same.
Shoving aside my weak thoughts, I gathered the team leaders for a meeting. "Calla, Kaislan, Jun, Akurava, let me start by saying I'm sorry. I thought we could hide out until closing day here but I was wrong."
Was the apology a bit out of character? The other team leaders looked rather startled and offered words of comfort one by one.
"I don't think that's something you need to apologize for," said Calla.
"Yes. Just look at our pursuers. Even if we waited for the rescue team back there, we wouldn't have lasted even a day," Jun added.
"If it weren't for you, more people would've died," said Akurava.
"I'm embarrassed to say this, but when things turned out the way they did, I was glad I wasn't the commander. As I said before, the commander is someone who can never falter..." said Kaislan.
Oh, that takes a bit of weight off my shoulders.
I'd actually been thinking a lot about that lately—that maybe we should've waited in Deadwood for rescue. Or perhaps we should've headed south and fought to escape enemy territory even if it meant sacrificing a lot of lives along the way. What if everyone died because I'd made the wrong call here?
Boom.
It felt like living with a mountain-sized rock on my chest, but that didn't mean I could ignore my responsibilities. Even if that meant adding an even bigger rock to my chest.
"Ahem."
"You look embarrassed."
Whatever.
Tap, tap.
I tapped my knee and said to the leaders, "Anyway, that's why I called you here. To ask for your thoughts."
"Looks like you've already made a decision," said Akurava.
Oh, that's true.
Still, I was just thinking about it—I hadn't fully made the decision myself yet. "I'm sure you're all well aware of this already, but we won't be able to last long hiding here." Before getting to the point, I covered the basics. "If we don't keep moving, the enemy will catch up with us soon and we'll be surrounded."
We were like sharks that could only breathe as long as we kept swimming forward. Slipping up or stopping meant game-over. If we gave the enemy time to organize a full-scale siege against us, our tired troops wouldn't be able to hold out.
"Then where do you plan on going?"
I looked at the curious team leaders and bit my lip ruefully.
"From what you're saying, it looks like you have a place in mind."
It was as they said. I did have a place in mind. Actually, it was a place I'd had in mind during the planning stage—not one I'd thought of since arriving here. Put simply, this was Plan B—an option I hadn't wanted to go with unless things were extremely dire.
"I'm curious. Where on earth do you plan on leading us in a situation like this?" asked Akurava.
Ultimately, I voiced the option out loud. "We're going back to Ice Rock." A tiring journey for us would be a tiring journey for the enemy as well.
Let's see how far they can follow us in there.
***
It was our sixtieth day in the labyrinth. In other words, there were fifteen days left until the seventh floor closed.
"We somehow ended up all the way over here." We arrived at the western zone of the Dragon Pit, the loser's resting place.
Shaaaaaaaaaa.
A black fog filled the surrounding area, refusing to disperse despite the strong winds. Through it, we could see tens of thousands of rusted swords embedded in a seemingly endless field. This place gave off a spooky vibe but no one commented on it. No one had the time to indulge in such sentiments.
"Schuitz, we have to keep moving. If we stop and end up surrounded—"
"I know, shut up."
Hmm, was that too harsh? The thought came to me afterward but I didn't offer an apology. I didn't have the luxury to.
"Schuitz, don't be such a worrywart. If the commander falters, everyone else is bound to falter too."
Huh, I didn't expect to be the one getting consoled. I let out a bitter huff of laughter and sighed.
Isn't it too much to tell me not to worry?
My plan had already gone sideways. We headed north into the enemy's sphere of influence, not south where our allies were. I thought if I chose this place, we'd be able to survive. After all, as the saying went, you often couldn't see things when they were right under your nose. But in reality?
Stubborn bastards.
Whenever we slowed down for even a moment, our pursuers quickly caught up with us. Because of these guys, we'd been forced to march for days on end without rest, let alone sleep.
"I just don't understand. How are they finding our exact location every time?" Kaislan questioned how Noark's troops were able to follow us without fail but I knew the answer. I'd experienced this once before.
"If we didn't cut off another arm, we might've missed it."
In the Labyrinth of Larcaz, the Dragon Slayer used a priest of Karui to track us down. He was probably using a similar method this time since these guys were willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their goals.
"Parav. How are you feeling now?"
"I-I think I'm okay for now..."
Goblin had played a big role in avoiding any deaths up to this point. Somehow, he always sensed when our pursuers were nearby every time we took a break. And every time we were moving and he meekly asked if we could go in another direction, it always turned out that the enemy was lying in wait to ambush us up ahead. Once I realized that, I started making him walk beside me even as we were moving.
"Then we can rest a bit longer. Tell me right away if anything feels off."
"Okay."
All at once, he dropped to the ground. If he was acting like that, that meant that our surroundings really were safe. Frankly, I wanted to collapse on the spot as well and close my eyes for even a mere moment.
But I can't do the same.
Shoving aside my weak thoughts, I gathered the team leaders for a meeting. "Calla, Kaislan, Jun, Akurava, let me start by saying I'm sorry. I thought we could hide out until closing day here but I was wrong."
Was the apology a bit out of character? The other team leaders looked rather startled and offered words of comfort one by one.
"I don't think that's something you need to apologize for," said Calla.
"Yes. Just look at our pursuers. Even if we waited for the rescue team back there, we wouldn't have lasted even a day," Jun added.
"If it weren't for you, more people would've died," said Akurava.
"I'm embarrassed to say this, but when things turned out the way they did, I was glad I wasn't the commander. As I said before, the commander is someone who can never falter..." said Kaislan.
Oh, that takes a bit of weight off my shoulders.
I'd actually been thinking a lot about that lately—that maybe we should've waited in Deadwood for rescue. Or perhaps we should've headed south and fought to escape enemy territory even if it meant sacrificing a lot of lives along the way. What if everyone died because I'd made the wrong call here?
Boom.
It felt like living with a mountain-sized rock on my chest, but that didn't mean I could ignore my responsibilities. Even if that meant adding an even bigger rock to my chest.
"Ahem."
"You look embarrassed."
Whatever.
Tap, tap.
I tapped my knee and said to the leaders, "Anyway, that's why I called you here. To ask for your thoughts."
"Looks like you've already made a decision," said Akurava.
Oh, that's true.
Still, I was just thinking about it—I hadn't fully made the decision myself yet. "I'm sure you're all well aware of this already, but we won't be able to last long hiding here." Before getting to the point, I covered the basics. "If we don't keep moving, the enemy will catch up with us soon and we'll be surrounded."
We were like sharks that could only breathe as long as we kept swimming forward. Slipping up or stopping meant game-over. If we gave the enemy time to organize a full-scale siege against us, our tired troops wouldn't be able to hold out.
"Then where do you plan on going?"
I looked at the curious team leaders and bit my lip ruefully.
"From what you're saying, it looks like you have a place in mind."
It was as they said. I did have a place in mind. Actually, it was a place I'd had in mind during the planning stage—not one I'd thought of since arriving here. Put simply, this was Plan B—an option I hadn't wanted to go with unless things were extremely dire.
"I'm curious. Where on earth do you plan on leading us in a situation like this?" asked Akurava.
Ultimately, I voiced the option out loud. "We're going back to Ice Rock." A tiring journey for us would be a tiring journey for the enemy as well.
Let's see how far they can follow us in there.