Ch.136135. Journey (4)

# 135. Journey (4)

A pitch-black aura suddenly appeared before us.

I smiled as I gazed at the true nature of that aura.

“Orc.”

That was the name of the monster that looked similar to the C-rank monster, goblin.

It had skin and pupils almost identical in color to a goblin’s.

However, it was much larger than any ordinary goblin.

“Still as disgusting as ever…”

Crooked eyes and an abnormally large nose.

The combination with its mouth, stained with some creature’s blood, was so revolting that it was almost impossible to look at.

I glared at the monster with such an appearance while gripping my sword tightly.

-Woong!!-

Though I hadn’t activated [Mortal’s End] yet, those monsters were looking at me with fearful, anxious eyes.

I quickly approached them and swung my sword.

-Uwaah!!! Uwaaak!!-

The screams of the orcs.

Even their screams were unsettling, but as they were sliced down one by one, they became excellent nourishment for my sword.

“Indeed… this is useful.”

It was definitely a useful place.

For someone like me who could hunt relatively weak monsters without any variables, it was perfect.

“That’s because it’s Alber.”

She had been picking up magic stones from the ground for a while now.

She handed those magic stones to me.

“Oh… thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I should at least do this much.”

She seemed a bit dejected.

She had been following behind me, picking up magic stones I hadn’t noticed and synthesizing them, which was probably why she was reacting that way.

“I can hunt so comfortably thanks to you, so please don’t think like that.”

It wasn’t just a nice thing to say—it was the truth.

Thanks to the detection ability from [Bitter Cold], we could avoid monsters we couldn’t handle, allowing us to move around comfortably like this.

“Oh come on… aren’t you giving me too much credit?”

“I’m serious.”

If I had been alone, I might have ended up in quite dangerous situations, but I wasn’t, and she was always by my side.

As we helped each other navigate through rough and strange terrain, she, looking slightly tired, asked me:

“By the way, do you know the exact location?”

“Not exactly, but we’ll know when we get there. There’s something that anyone would recognize immediately.”

The country of the elves.

The Kingdom of Persia refers to the space inside a massive tree that emits an enormous amount of magical power in all directions.

Of course, given its small population and the space created using storage magic, it might be relatively modest in size to be called a kingdom.

‘Still, a country is a country.’

And in terms of magical technology, it was unrivaled.

They could even put the entire massive tree into a state of invisibility.

Of course, there were ways to find it even though it was invisible, so there was no problem.

“I feel reassured when Alber says it like that.”

“Don’t trust me too much though, it might not be the case.”

Even if something happened in the past, there’s no guarantee it would happen again, and even if it was that way before, it might not be the same now.

“I know that much…”

“That’s good then.”

“Anyway, it seems to be getting quite late.”

As she said, the sun was gradually disappearing.

Because of that, the forest where we were currently located was also getting darker.

“Let’s find a suitable place.”

In situations like this, it was dangerous to move carelessly because we didn’t know what variables might exist.

So we were looking around for a place to spend the night.

“There’s a good spot… over there.”

While scanning the surroundings, there was a place that caught our attention.

Where both our gazes simultaneously turned, about 100 meters away from here, there was a large cave.

“Let’s go there.”

Since the sun had almost set, nocturnal monsters were appearing, making things a bit chaotic, but it was fine.

The cave had been guarded by monsters, but not anymore.

-Slash!! Crunch!-

Since they were weak monsters, it was easy to clear them out, and naturally, we were able to claim the cave.

‘It’s quite dark in here.’

Instead of using our phone flashlights, we illuminated the dark cave with real flashlights we had prepared in advance.

Only when the flashlight was turned on could we see the appearance of the cave.

I couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement at the sight.

“Wow…”

A giant snake’s shed skin, skeletons scattered nearby, and crimson blood caked on the floor.

It was a bizarre scene straight out of a horror movie.

I moved a bit closer to observe the scene in detail.

“Hmm… so that’s what it is…”

These skeletons probably belonged to people who entered the forest and got lost.

However, they weren’t eaten by this giant snake.

‘If they were, it would have swallowed the bones too.’

Considering the owner of this massive shed skin, which seemed to be about 10 meters long, one couldn’t help but think so.

She also seemed to know the identity of the skin’s owner, as she spoke the monster’s name in a low voice.

“King Snake.”

“It seems like it ate all the monsters that were originally here.”

That’s why there didn’t seem to be any monsters inside the cave.

With this shed skin and traces still quite visible, they probably couldn’t come back in.

“But the main body isn’t here, right?”

“No, it’s not.”

A monster like the King Snake would emit an aura that even ordinary people, not just her, would notice.

However, since that wasn’t the case, it seemed certain that it had shed its skin here and left for somewhere else long ago.

“Then we can rest with peace of mind.”

Relieved by that fact, I took out a lighter I had secretly packed from my bag.

She was looking at it with a surprised expression, so I quickly explained the reason.

“Oh… that?”

“Just in case you’re wondering, I don’t smoke. I just brought it in case we needed it.”

“Oh… okay… but are you going to light a fire?”

“Yes.”

Even with the flashlight on, it was too dark, and there was no reason not to light a fire.

“Most monsters are afraid of fire, and if not, we can just kill them, right? And the flashlight battery is precious.”

“That’s true.”

I handed her the lighter I was holding and said:

“I’ll go find some firewood.”

“Let’s go together…”

“Just stay here.”

“Okay…”

She responded with a dejected expression as she put her bag down on the ground.

Then she looked at me with a pitiful gaze as I went outside to find firewood.

‘What’s going on…’

I felt a bitter emotion in a corner of my heart as I left the cave.

‘It’s completely night now…’

It had become so dark that there was no trace of sunlight.

That eerie atmosphere created by darkness.

I set out to find firewood in that atmosphere I hadn’t felt in a long time.

And while gathering logs to use as firewood, a question came to mind.

‘I wonder what those people are doing now…’

***

About 5 hours after Alber and Elizabeth had disappeared.

They too had set up a large tent near a small valley and were resting inside.

“Ahh~~ I finally feel alive.”

“I know, right~”

There were people like Merlin and Kyle who had no worries, but there were also those who did.

“Will they be okay?”

“Who?”

“Who do you think!?”

“Who?”

“Those two!”

Annoyed by the continuous questioning, Riel asked Aelin, who was unnecessarily worried.

“Since when did you start worrying about your brother like that…”

“Well… it’s worth worrying about…”

Still, Aelin admitted her concern, perhaps because Alber wasn’t here.

Riel said to her:

“Don’t worry, those two will manage well on their own. I think they might even enjoy it…”

“That’s exactly it!!!”

Suddenly, a loud voice assaulted their ears.

Startled by the Emperor’s outburst, Riel rubbed her ears and muttered:

“You scared me…”

“Riel!”

“Yes?”

“Can we trust that kid?”

“Well… I’m not sure, Your Majesty.”

Aelin wasn’t the only one worried; the Emperor was also concerned about them, though in a different way.

The Emperor was anxiously pacing back and forth, and the Empress said to him:

“What’s wrong with them doing that? Now is the perfect time.”

“B-But!? She’s still too young… and I can’t allow…”

“What will you do if you can’t allow it?”

The Empress continued with her usual gentle smile:

“Having already given permission then, all we can do is stay put.”

“…”

“If you’re that anxious, just believe that Alber won’t do anything.”

Watching that scene—the mighty Emperor rendered helpless—Riel thought:

‘They’re quite different from those two… I thought they were similar.’

While the Empress had the upper hand in conversations here, it was almost equal between the other two, and if anything, Alber had the advantage.

Of course, things might change over time, but that’s how it was for now.

Persuaded by the Empress, the Emperor was praying with his hands clasped, though to whom was unclear.

And Riel, Aelin, and the Empress, watching him, all had the same thought:

‘But I don’t think he’ll do nothing…’