Chapter 623 (2/2)

Randidly cleared his throat. “...Azriel, now seems like a poor time to sharpen your spear. Maybe we should just wait until we ashore to finish this discussion up.”

“...hmmm. Perhaps.” Even in the rain, her needle-like spear gleamed dangerously as she polished it with an unhealthy amount of vigor. Randidly was torn between feeling slightly bad about the crash and her obvious fury and feeling amused by adorable her resemblance to a cat tossed into a bathtub was.

Luckily, their moment of tension was interrupted as a large way buoyed the boat up past the point it had run aground on and smashed it into another nearby rock. Skarch’s laughter was clear over the sound of the storm. She leaped lightly off of the boat and landed on a stone that sat relatively shallowly in the water.

The boat was flipped over, with Silo in it. Randidly sighed.

Thirty minutes later, Randidly had moved some of the short trees into a basic shelter so the group could gather up in a shivering mess. It was strange. Physically, their bodies were obviously cold, but their Vitality and Endurance should more than make up for it. They were in no danger of dying of hypothermia, or anything. But physiologically, this was not an area that the System benefitted them.

Apparently, the Nexus amused itself watching the shivers of someone who is mildly cold.

Still, Randidly couldn’t complain too much. He had gained three Levels in Child of Rain already.

“Based on my calculations,” Silo began, looking around at the group. It was difficult for Randidly to take him seriously because they happened to make their shelter over a stump that would serve as a basic table and Silo was standing with one leg up on it. He leaned over onto his raised knee with sparkling eyes. “We should be on one of the small islands around Kragjist- that’s the big one where Sergeant Platton is operating.”

“The island chains are huge,” Skarch pointed out with a shake of her head. “The wights infest the area like fleas, sure. But with it raining like this, we won’t know whether we are walking into an enemy base or not until it’s too late. I dearly wish for a good placement in this tournament, but we will simply lose our lives if we act foolishly.”

As if to underscore her statement, thunder rumbled overhead with enough volume to block out the volume of the rain on the shelter around them. Azriel tapped her spear against the wall, not looking at Randidly. Her weapon looked wicked sharp. It made Randidly feel somewhat helpless; sure, he was at fault for their abrupt crash, but hadn’t the rain-soaked her to the skin regardless?

Randidly opened his mouth. “I-”

“I think-”

Randidly paused and looked at Silo, who was looking at him in surprise. After waiting a half second, Silo continued. “...I think we should risk it and press forward. Like you pointed out, visibility will be low. And we are all aware these rain storms might last days. It is too much to wait it out. Besides… we are elite compared to most of the opponents on the front lines. The low visibility is a boon to us.”

“We might run into a squad of Zeitguard or even one of the Witch Kings,” Azriel said evenly. Her eyes slide from Silo to Skarch, and then back. Even though she didn’t look at Randidly, he knew it was because she already knew what his answer was going to be. There was no point in asking. “Can we handle that?”

“A Witch King? Obviously not,” Silo scoffed. Then his hands clenched into fists. “Well… perhaps we could buy enough time for the others to flee. Since this was my idea, I will take responsibility if the worst happens. But the Zeitguard… they should be similar in strength to us. It is entirely possible to handle a few quickly if we work together.”

“... I came here for glory. I will not turn away if it is thrust upon me.” Skarch said abruptly. “I simply wished to confirm you were all aware of the risks.”

“Alright then,” Randidly said slowly, looking around at the group. His eyes were brilliant lime green in the strange twilight of the rain-shrouded island. “Then let’s begin.”