Chapter 55 (2/2)
”Uwaaaahk!!” (Hugo)
Hugo cried out again as if the emotions he couldn't control rushed in, and his face showed a mixture of excitement, pure joy, and extreme happiness.
Seol Ji-Hu stared like an idiot at Hugo as the big guy energetically grasped his axe that had been hanging on precariously until now. The youth then suddenly felt someone tightly hugging his neck next. It was Alex.
”Well done!! You really did well!!” (Alex)
Alex shouted with a highly elated voice, and at the rate he was going, he might even start kissing the youth as well.
”Seol put his life on the line and created this opportunity for us.” (Dylan)
Dylan spoke, failing to disguise his own excitement.
”There are only a few of them left. Kill them all!!” (Dylan)
Wuoooooooohhh!!
Seol Ji-Hu's good fight encouraged the members of the expedition, and they all pounced forward with renewed fighting spirit.
Soon enough, the Forest of Denial was filled with the sounds of weapons clas.h.i.+ng and the cries of the Lioners.
The battle had come to an end pretty soon after that. It was correct to say that the outcome of the battle had been decided the moment the female Lioner's sneak attack had failed.
The Lioner leader schemed to have both the Sorcerer and the Priest killed and thus turn the battle in their favour, but the interference from Seol Ji-Hu was not within its calculations.
Although none had died, the expedition didn't have any time to enjoy the well-earned rest. As soon as the battle came to an end, Ian spent yet another ‘Motus Stabilitatem‘ spell he had ‘Memorised', and then, they all had to drink one more bottle of that unknown medicine as well.
Only after they got to calm themselves down from the excitement of the battle did the members of the expedition find some time to organise themselves properly. Alex basically stayed next to Hugo, who had received the most injuries out of all of them, and continued to chant divine magic; meanwhile, the others simply made do with healing potions.
While Dylan, Samuel, and Ian exchanged opinions with grave faces, others went around retrieving the armaments Lioners had dropped.
Lioners tended to never leave the area they designated as their homes. So, the incident of a pack containing a leader-cla.s.s and a female to boot making their way this far into the Forest of Denial was not something they could overlook.
Of course, the problem was that, they couldn't figure out the reason why these creatures that usually lived at the mountain range beyond the forest decided to come this far in the first place.
Ian thought for a while, before slowly opening his mouth.
”It's like reading about the Barbarian invasion during the Migration Period back on Earth.” (Ian)
”Pardon me?” (Dylan)
Dylan replied in confusion at the sudden mention of the European history. Ian just shook his head.
”No, don't mind me. It's nothing but speculation at this point anyway. Right, I'll take full responsibility and report this matter to the royal family as soon as we get back.” (Ian)
It was unwise to delay a problem they couldn't solve. Ian thought like that and s.h.i.+fted his gaze over to Samuel.
”And, as for the expedition….” (Ian)
”I'd like to continue on if it's okay with you.” (Samuel)
Samuel spoke as if he was waiting for this moment.
”It's definitely nearby. As it's not a tomb shrouded in secrecy, the chances of it being hidden is really low. If I fail to find it in one hour, no, 30 minutes, then we'll stop right away and go back.” (Samuel)
Rather than him being blinded by greed, he sounded far more desperate than anything else. Ian sighed out softly and looked at Dylan.
”What are your thoughts, my man?” (Ian)
Dylan organised his thoughts first and spoke.
”How many times can you cast that spell?” (Dylan)
”Two more times. I still have somewhat enough of the potions, however.” (Ian)
”In that case, maybe one hour is doable. Since we have taken care of the Lioners, there are no immediate dangers facing us, too. And more importantly, no one died today. But, with Alex having lost his artifact and Seol's main weapon now broken, we have to consider our weakened overall fighting force as well.” (Dylan)
”Mm? That friend's weapon did what?” (Ian)
”Well, yes. It did break.” (Dylan)
Dylan s.h.i.+fted his gaze and it landed on Seol Ji-Hu, who was dispiritedly picking up the shards of his shattered spear from the ground, and Cho Hong was doing her best to console him while following him around. As soon as the fight ended and he withdrew his Magic Power, cracks formed on the spear shaft and it shattered into hundreds of small pieces.
”Well, it did receive some serious impact back then, didn't it.” (Ian)
Ian muttered to himself and then tilted his head slightly. Something felt odd here. If it snapped in half, sure, but for the spear to shatter apart like that? But, when he thought about it, it was already beyond the realm of common sense for the spear and its wielder to defend against, and overwhelm, the female Lioner, albeit only for a brief moment.
”If it wasn't for that friend over there, I would be dead meat by now.” (Ian)
”M-my apologies. I didn't expect another one to appear from behind us.” (Samuel)
Samuel hurriedly offered his apology, prompting Ian to chuckle out in a jovial manner.
”It's fine, I say. Even I didn't expect the female to jump into the fray, you see.” (Ian)
”Even you, Sir Ian?” (Samuel)
”The ratio of s.e.xes among Lioners greatly favours males. That is why the pack would protect every female born among their midst with everything they have. They may be born with amazing combat prowess, but they rarely partic.i.p.ate in battles…. Well, in any case.” (Ian)
Ian rubbed his beard before forming a refres.h.i.+ng smile.
”If you agree to do me a favour, I shall agree to continue on as well.” (Ian)
”A favour, you say?” (Samuel)
Ian lowered his voice and whispered. Samuel smiled brightly and nodded his head.
”Alright, let's do that. I was actually thinking the same thing.” (Samuel)
”Well, then. Let's go.” (Ian)
The three men approached Seol Ji-Hu. Ian bent down and picked up a piece of the shattered spear on the way and a flash of understanding flickered in his eyes.
”Oho. This spear was loaded with magic, huh?” (Ian)
Seol Ji-Hu looked behind him. He was trying his best to look not too dejected, but he still failed to fully disguise his disappointment.
”Did you buy this back in the Neutral Zone? It wasn't an outstanding magic or anything, but looks like it can reduce the impact force by a bit…. Was that the reason why you were able to withstand the attack?” (Ian)
Actually, it was more correct to a.s.sume that the spear was damaged from inside after it couldn't withstand Seol Ji-Hu's Magic Power that he managed to drag out from the very pit of his being. But, Ian made an incorrect a.s.sumption because he did not know of Seol Ji-Hu's Magic Power stat being the freakish level of Mid-High, even though he was only a level 1.
Whatever the case may have been, it was a big matter to Seol Ji-Hu. He bought the most expensive spear available in the Neutral Zone after giving it so much consideration, yet he couldn't even use it properly before it broke. He was doing his best to suppress his emotions because of the Forest of Denial, but seriously speaking, he was feeling really embittered at the moment.
As just Seol Ji-Hu's shoulders drooped further on, Ian coughed to clear his throat and signalled with his eyes. Samuel took a step closer and lightly patted the youth on his back.
”Don't be too depressed, okay? I'm bringing you two pieces of good news, so cheer up!” (Samuel)
”For now, we decided to carry on with the expedition. If my thoughts are correct, then we should find the tomb pretty soon.” (Samuel)
”Okay.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”And well, there might be an excellent spear waiting to be found inside that tomb, you know. No, wait. It doesn't matter even if that's not the case. If we sell a couple of grave goods we find inside, you'd be able to buy several great spears, you see!” (Samuel)
Seol Ji-Hu nodded his head while stewing in great confusion. A porter had no right to demand the rights to possess any artifact found during an expedition. In other words, from his perspective, there was not much difference whether the expedition went ahead or not. So, what could be the good news, then?
”And also….” (Samuel)
Samuel picked up the bag next to the youth and called out to the local residents. He was already feeling rather unhappy at the two of them not doing anything and dumping all the luggage on Seol Ji-Hu's shoulders anyway. Samuel ‘entrusted' the bag to the two porters and looked back at Seol Ji-Hu with a wink.
Seol Ji-Hu stared at this with a dazed expression, before his complexion brightened noticeably. He finally figured out the reason behind Samuel's actions, that was why.
”For real?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Of course! Not only me, but both Sir Ian and Dylan agree, too. More importantly, if we don't acknowledge the Warrior who managed to defend against a female Lioner as one of the members of the expedition, then how can we even think about acknowledging anyone else?” (Samuel)
He wasn't just saying those things. He actually meant them. What Seol Ji-Hu had achieved was something even Grace, a level 3, would not be able to do.
”But, you gotta prepare yourself, fella.” (Samuel)
Samuel wrapped his arm around Seol Ji-Hu's shoulders and formed a teasing smile.
”Since we're still in the middle of an expedition, we're holding ourselves back, but as soon as we get out of this place, you'll definitely be bombarded by our questions. There are so many things we're curious about, you see.” (Samuel)
Seol Ji-Hu didn't mind stuff like that. For the time being, he was just really happy about being recognised as a member of the expedition, something he so wished for ever since this whole thing started. Of course, he couldn't express that happiness, as they were still inside the Forest of Denial.
Shortly afterwards, Samuel announced the level 1 Warrior as the new partic.i.p.ant to the expedition and came up with a new formation. However, nothing major had changed. The only difference being, Seol Ji-Hu's position now had been s.h.i.+fted to the left, right next to Cho Hong.
Once they were done with preparations, the expedition resumed their march.
And around 20 minutes later, Samuel found the spot where the tomb was, as he promised.
< 55.=”” can=”” be=”” done,=”” can't=”” be=”” done=”” (2)=””> Fin.
(TL: Another chapter to follow soon. As well as a piece of announcement….)