Ch.1023-2+

## 102. 3-2+

About 45 minutes later, we gathered back at the original location. Since we’d already traveled this path once and needed to return as quickly as possible, we arrived 15 minutes earlier than the agreed time. Team 2 arrived shortly after.

“Is this it?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Hmm.”

And we weren’t the only ones who had found traces.

“Looks identical.”

“Even though we searched in almost opposite directions within an hour’s distance, similar traces were found at similar distances…?”

Subin raised a question. It was a reasonable doubt.

“Subin unni. Are you saying the Hyeomseong guys deliberately left these behind?”

“It’s strange, even if they were fleeing. Besides, if they managed to escape this far, they must be among the more capable ones.”

For reference, the trace we found was a slightly broken arrow. The reason we didn’t immediately think it was the aftermath of battle was because there were no signs of combat near where the arrow was found.

“It’s plausible they dropped it while fleeing in a hurry, but I don’t know. Wouldn’t the Hyeomseong we know act all arrogant but resort to pathetic tactics when cornered?”

“So you think it’s a trap?”

“I’m not certain. It just feels off because of the week-long gap.”

Assuming Quest 2 went well like this time, in the original game’s Quest 3, the Hyeomseong who couldn’t make it all the way to Albrant would flee deep into the Ansila Mountains and hold out while calling for reinforcements from Albrant.

Then, if the player and Ayor alliance seemed manageable, they’d test the waters a bit before crawling back out for revenge against the “arrogant beasts.” If they judged themselves to be at a disadvantage, they’d desperately flee by any means necessary, leaving things frustratingly unresolved—all while making sure to irritate Ayor and the players.

In response, the player’s side, along with the remaining Ayor soldiers, would track and surround them, either eliminating the Hyeomseong stragglers or cutting off their reinforcements before they arrived from Albrant.

But perhaps because considerable time had passed, despite searching a wide area, we couldn’t see any Ayor or Hyeomseong nearby.

“Looks like we need to go deeper.”

“Shouldn’t we find the Ayor people first?”

“I’d like to, but there are no clues around here. Originally, we’d be with the Ayor people as soon as the quest started. Whether we moved together or split up would be our choice, but now they’re nowhere to be seen from the beginning, so we have no choice but to find something.”

I put the arrow—whether accidentally or deliberately dropped by the Hyeomseong—into my inventory and pondered for a moment.

‘Things have already diverged significantly from the original. Still, should we check the original locations first?’

It was difficult to decide. My raid members seemed to feel the same way, as they were all looking at me.

“Let’s head toward where the traces were found. In the direction we went.”

“Forced breakthrough?”

“Forced breakthrough. But this time, we stick together.”

When information is lacking, you have to gain it through action.

We started moving again. We reached the spot where we’d found the traces in about 50 minutes, and from there, we slowed our pace again.

“Hey, raid leader.”

“Yes, noona.”

“If I summon a wind spirit, would that help?”

“Of course! It would definitely help. Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

While carefully searching for traces, Yehyun noona approached me quietly and said something encouraging.

“It wasn’t intentional. I just contracted it last night, so its level is still quite low.”

“The more options we have, the better. Wow, you already have a wind spirit? That’s great. Can you try summoning it?”

“Sure! I’ll give it a try.”

A translucent baby bird—more cute than agile at this point—popped out from Yehyun noona’s chest.

“Please help us!”

– Peeee-

The baby bird rubbed its head against Yehyun noona’s hand, chirped cutely, and soared high into the sky. Since her empathy level and other skills were still low, requiring concentration to maintain the connection, I temporarily took on the role of her guard.

‘Yehyun noona’s spirit will be much more helpful than me walking around a bit more.’

Not just me, but the other raid members who were a bit ahead also watched the wind spirit flying energetically and looked at Yehyun noona with expectant eyes.

In reality, wind spirits were perfect for reconnaissance with their wide field of vision and speed. Seeing Yehyun noona squeezing her eyes shut and sweating, it seemed like the mapping from the game was happening inside her head.

‘But her expression…’

It didn’t look like she was just struggling to maintain the connection. I knew it wasn’t good to break someone’s deep concentration, but she looked like she was in danger. Just as I was about to forcibly break her concentration—

“Ugh…”

“Noona!”

Yehyun noona collapsed with blood flowing from her eyes and mouth. Fortunately, I was beside her and quickly supported her, but her condition looked serious.

There was only one reason why noona would suddenly be like this.

Forced desummoning.

This happens when a spirit suffers fatal damage from external factors, not when the spirit summoner voluntarily releases the summon.

I heard that in the game, you couldn’t resummon that spirit for a while, your current HP would be reduced by a certain percentage, and your spirit skill efficiency would be decreased as a penalty…

I immediately fed her a potion, and Soyu noona, who came running belatedly, cast Healing Shower. Thankfully, Yehyun noona stabilized.

“Sob, Barang…”

“Noona.”

“Barang… Barang suddenly died…”

“N-noona?”

Yehyun noona was shedding bloody tears mixed with the blood she had already spilled. Though she staggered, she broke free from my arms, clenched her fists tightly with her mouth shut.

She roughly wiped away her bloody tears with the back of her hand and turned her head sharply to look at me. Her eye area was already red, and with bloody tears smeared across her face, she looked quite terrifying.

Rage.

The rage of a spirit summoner who had cruelly lost her baby spirit—one she had just contracted yesterday—while still connected to it.

“Raid leader!”

“Yes!”

“I’m not good with directions, so I can’t explain well. But I think I can follow the path Barang took.”

“I’ll follow you.”

I signaled to the raid members to form a formation with Yehyun noona in the center. Whether she trusted us or was just that angry, Yehyun noona began to move forward without hesitation, and we followed, protecting her.

Along the way, Subin signaled that she wanted to talk, so I fell back a little with her.

“It’s good that we found out one way or another, but is this okay?”

“It’s not just because of noona’s momentum. Even though the wind spirit was low level, Yehyun noona said it ‘suddenly’ died. That means she doesn’t know the cause. What could it be?”

“A wind spirit wouldn’t have missed seeing an arrow. Even if it was sniped, she should have known what killed it.”

“Right. Even considering that this is Yehyun noona’s first real battle.”

A magic circle, or a higher-level spirit with a significant gap in power. I was considering one of these two causes.

“Maybe the wind spirit triggered a concealment magic circle.”

“Yeah. That’s why we’re going. And as we go, Yehyun noona’s anger might subside a bit.”

“…She looked a bit terrifying when I briefly saw her.”

As I returned to my position, I thought about Yehyun noona’s mental state. Of course, since I’m not a spirit summoner, I can’t presume to understand her pain and feelings, but…

In the game, noona really adored and cherished her spirits, so she probably saw them as friends or even her own children, to exaggerate a bit.

Since spirits exist half in reality, death isn’t permanent, but that doesn’t mean it’s not death, and the pain must be considerable.

‘If it is a concealment magic circle, those guys are definitely in full defensive mode. The Ayor forces must have suffered significant damage too, not enough to drive them out on their own.’

Perhaps the Ayor forces couldn’t find any traces of the Hyeomseong because of the concealment magic circle and had already retreated to Ayord. Or maybe they were regrouping somewhere until they could bring in a shaman.

All possibilities seemed plausible. But seeing Yehyun noona’s anger after discovering something with her wind spirit, something specific came to mind.

‘It was impossible to do this in the game, but…’

Though it’s a bit crazy, is there a more effective strategy against enemies hiding in a corner out of fear?

I whispered to Subin first.

She immediately called me insane.

But she didn’t object.

**

“We must return to Albrant immediately!”

“Didn’t we decide to hold out until reinforcements arrive?”

“They’re coming, I’m sure of it!”

“It was just one weak wind spirit! And there was no spirit summoner among those crazy humans! Act like an Alb!”

Maybe others from their group had joined them. Are you going to retreat shamefully without even exacting punishment after suffering like this?

Dying like this outside of Albrant is more shameful. The spirit might not even belong to those crazy humans—aren’t you overreacting?

The very fact that the spirit wasn’t ours means someone has discovered us, and natural spirits don’t move that way. Even if we retreat, who will take responsibility if we miss the reinforcements coming this way?

The impact of one small wind spirit on the Albs was tremendous.

Those crazy humans who suddenly appeared, unleashed disaster, and vanished without a trace. The Ayor forces who persistently tracked them, forcing the Albs to use all their resources to create a concealment magic circle.

They had just requested reinforcements and were finally catching their breath when this chaos erupted. Was this truly befitting the noble Albs?

The commander leading the unit grabbed his throbbing head and tried once more to control the situation.

“We are Albs! Although we were caught off guard last time, with reinforcements and a proper confrontation next time. Then—”

*Sniff sniff*

*Sniff, sniff sniff*

“Is that… something burning?”