Ch.124Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.

# 124. 4-1

It’s hard to breathe. Like my face is being pressed down by a pillow. But it doesn’t quite feel like a pillow—it’s softer and fluffier, almost like Danya’s fur…

“Mmph.”

“Nyaaah!”

[Kyaaaang!]

I was enjoying a deep sleep when I opened my eyes to find Danya lying on my face. Startled, I let out an accidental fart as I sat up, and the cute sound from Danya that I hadn’t heard in weeks instantly woke me up.

“Danya?”

Danya was looking down at me with a dignified posture as if nothing had happened… but when I reached out my hand, she didn’t run away.

‘Did something happen last night? I don’t think so.’

Stroking Danya’s soft fur after so long felt healing to my soul.

‘I wonder what change of heart made her approach me again.’

I was about to ask after petting her a bit, but Danya silently pushed her head toward me. A gesture asking for more petting.

Heh—I couldn’t help but smile, swallowing my question and continuing to stroke her for a while.

After a few minutes, Danya, who had been lazily swishing her tail back and forth on the floor, subtly snuggled closer. Sensing the right moment, I asked:

“Do you still feel a wall between us?”

“…Nyah.”

[…Yes.]

“That’s unfortunate.”

“…Nyaang. Nya nyaang.”

[But. Staying like this isn’t good either.]

Danya placed her front paw gently on my chest.

“Nyah. Nya nyah. Nya nya nyah.”

[I’ve spent quite some time alone, and also… when there’s a wall, cats want to climb it and get over it.]

“You’ve really become a complete cat, haven’t you?”

“Nyaang!”

[That’s just a figure of speech! Though it’s half true!]

Danya started kneading my chest. Unable to resist her fatally cute behavior, I hugged her tightly.

“Nyaat!”

[Can’t breathe!]

“You made me suffocate too, so we’re even.”

She complained about not being able to breathe and feeling uncomfortable, but she didn’t push me away. As I held the soft, warm Danya in my arms, she meowed.

“Nyaaang… nya nyaang.”

[Thanks to your growth, I’ve regained some of my power too.]

“Oh. How much?”

“Nya nyaang.”

[I can return to my original form for several tens of minutes. And using my powers, about 20-30% for a few minutes.]

Twenty to thirty percent of the legendary Ayor’s power.

“How much is that exactly?”

“Nya nyaat!”

[I can easily handle a few people!]

It doesn’t sound that impressive… or does it? Is 20-30% too harsh a standard?

Still, it’s only just 20-30%, and I had absolutely zero intention of prematurely cashing out my Danya investment.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Nyah.”

[Yes. I’ll be helpful.]

I nodded with a smile at her desire to be of help to me.

The Danya coin is definitely on an upward trajectory.

**

“Check.”

“Check.”

After eating a hearty breakfast, we passed through the portal. As soon as we entered, everyone confirmed their own safety and each other’s, surveying the surroundings while maintaining vigilance. Despite the long break, everyone acted like veterans. Even Arang, for whom this was the first time.

“No monsters or enemies in the vicinity.”

“We’re definitely near Benas.”

The raid members reported back in sequence after checking the surroundings in pairs. After compiling the information, I gave my first order on floor 4-1.

“21221.”

[Seyeon][Danya]

[Yehyun]

[Soyu][Subin]

[Me][Yuri]

[Arang]

This was one of the regular formations we had agreed upon after becoming a complete team. 21221 was the most versatile formation that allowed for various responses, with the following intentions:

First, Danya with her good instincts and Seyeon, our sturdiest member, would detect or block dangers at the front line, with the versatile Yehyun supporting them from just behind.

In the center, our artillery Subin and our pure healer and non-combat member Soyu would receive protection from both front and back, while I positioned slightly behind them to observe the overall situation and coordinate.

Yuri, beside me, would guard the central trio (me, Subin, and Soyu) while being able to dash to the front line at any moment.

Finally, at the very rear, Arang with her exceptional observation skills and ability to detect killing intent would prevent ambushes from behind and could act as a free-roamer if necessary.

“Move out.”

“Move out!”

In the game, this kind of formation was unnecessary. You could teleport across cities, ride mounts much faster than walking in non-teleport areas, kill trash mobs with a few clicks, and even if you died by bad luck, you could just resurrect. There was absolutely no reason to form such elaborate formations just for movement.

But this place was different. Combined with my almost obsessive level of preparation, we had created these formations to ensure we could always respond optimally, even while moving. And not just one formation, but several.

As we advanced maintaining the 21221 formation…

Swoosh—

“Attack! Three o’clock!”

Yuri, who was walking beside me, drew her axe with lightning speed and swung it through the air while shouting.

Of course, she wasn’t just swinging at empty air, as became clear a second later.

The first floor after Benas.

Terrain typical of Benas surroundings—barely enough to call a forest, but not completely devoid of hiding spots.

An attack occurring less than an hour after our entry.

And a pathetic-looking, completely shattered arrow lying on the ground.

‘Tsk. Nomadic Tribe?’

My thoughts were instantaneous, and my actions just as immediate. At Yuri’s shout, the raid members had already taken defensive positions before I could even give the order.

Assuming the attackers were from the Nomadic Tribe, I calculated the optimal response.

“Arang.”

“Yes.”

“Can you track them?”

“Yes.”

“Do it.”

Arang, who had been sweating profusely taking her first steps just weeks ago, now darted away like lightning as if she had been waiting for my order.

“Danya and Yuri, secure the perimeter. Everyone else, standby.”

At the standby order, Arang’s mom—I mean, Yehyun—wore an expression dripping with concern, but she quickly summoned her spirits and gave them various instructions.

‘This is going to be troublesome.’

No message had appeared yet, probably because we hadn’t identified the target, but if this was an attack from the “Nomadic Tribe” as I suspected…

“Arang will be back soon. What are we going to do?”

“What else?”

I answered Subin’s question with a sigh, as she seemed to have identified the attackers just like me.

“We’ll do what we always do.”

As Subin predicted, Arang returned a few minutes later. Her sudden, silent appearance was quite impressive, but judging by her expression, she had failed to track them as expected.

“The tracking?”

“…Sorry. I lost them.”

“Tell me what you found out.”

Arang, clearly frustrated at losing the attacker, quickly listed everything she had observed.

Hearing this, not just Subin and I, but the other raid members also sighed as they realized the identity of the attackers.

“Based on Arang’s information, there’s about a 99% chance our attacker was an Alb from the Nomadic Tribe. And as you know, the Nomadic Tribe is extremely troublesome to have as an enemy.”

The Nomadic Tribe.

Even the name reeked of exceptional mobility.

“The Nomadic Tribe is supposed to be neutral, right? They don’t seem like the type to shoot arrows and run…”

“This is after the Half-Alb quest. Albrant is automatically hostile, and Albs in the Nomadic Tribe also have a chance of being hostile.”

In the game, this would have been merely annoying—you could avoid them or, if things went wrong, just defeat them. But for us who needed to clear each floor to ascend the tower, this was an unfortunate situation.

The Nomadic Tribe was a group that never abandoned their members and moved with a single mind and purpose.

“So. What’s the next order?”

“For now, we follow the trail. It was only one arrow, so it’s definitely a solo act, and we don’t need to fight the entire Nomadic Tribe yet. Arang.”

“Yes.”

“Can you guide us?”

“Yes.”

Moving to the front, Arang led us to the place where she had lost the trail.

“Th-th-this.”

“Arang?”

“…This.”

But upon arriving, Arang discovered something that made her grind her teeth and tremble with anger. Seeing what she was holding, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

A branch pierced by an arrow without an arrowhead.

This was nothing less than the toxic version of “You’re such a noob.”

**

“Hmm, hm-hm-hmm~”

“What’s up, Eril? What’s got you so happy?”

“Ah~ I was on patrol today and ran into some humans~ They looked so detestable that I shot an arrow at them and ran!”

“What?! Hey! How many days has it been since the captain scolded you, and you’re causing trouble again! Are you crazy?”

“Come on, I didn’t kill anyone. Anyway, one of them chased after me, and they were pretty fast, but not as fast as me. They seemed a bit clumsy moving between trees too~”

“Skip the chitchat!”

“Tch. Well, nothing much happened after that. I erased my tracks and came back.”

Ileon, who was paired with Eril, grabbed Eril’s head and shook it violently.

“Hey! When you cause trouble, me and the others get scolded too, you know!!!”

“Aaaah! I erased the tracks! I told you I did!”

“Summon your spirit and tell me straight! Did you erase them or not?!”

“I said I did!!!”

After shaking Eril’s head as if about to tear out her hair, Ileon confirmed that Eril was telling the truth and sighed in relief.

“Hehe. I’m right, aren’t I? You won’t tell anyone?”

“Good grief. Just hurry up with your patrol report and let’s eat.”

“I’ll finish quickly, so don’t start eating without me!”

Ileon decided to bury Eril’s troublemaking incident. She had definitely erased her tracks, and reporting it would only get them both scolded.