Chapter 158 : Panic
Chapter 158: Panic
The monster Wraith, commonly referred to as a ghost.
A few months ago. He had encountered them on the road from Runeberg to Narvik.
He had confirmed that they could be dealt with using Fighting Spirit, but the effectiveness had not been good.
In short, the exchange rate was unfavorable.
At the time, he had used a bandit as bait to lure them away and shake them off.
“Kihehehehe.”
“Aelin! We have to get to the Rest Stop!”
Aelin, running at the very front, worked her mind furiously.
On the map she had drawn in her head, the distance between their current location and the Rest Stop shrank moment by moment.
She focused on gauging direction and finding the path.
The monster’s chilling laughter and the sound of her companions following behind pierced her ears.
“How about just using holy water.”
“Unless it’s truly urgent, it’s better to endure.”
Serena, carried on Robin’s back, stared intently at the Wraiths.
If she manifested a spirit and made it fight, they were not a difficult opponent.
It would consume Ether, but she still had a bit of leeway.
“Put me down.”
Robin pretended not to hear and kept running, but Serena was stubborn.
“I can handle it.”
“How.”
“I’m a Gold-Ranked Adventurer. Do you think I’ve never encountered spirit-type monsters?”
Hearing her confident voice, he decided to trust her once.
When he slowed down and set her down, Serena lightly raised her staff.
The soil on the ground clumped together, forming a bear-shaped spirit that blocked the Wraiths’ path.
“Grrrrr!”
The bear swung its forepaw fiercely, but Wraiths were monsters immune to physical attacks.
As if slicing through empty air, the bear’s attack amounted to nothing.
“What are you doing! It’d be better if I handled it!”
“Wait.”
She firmly stopped Sigbard from charging out.
The Wraiths circled around the bear spirit as if mocking it, but before long, something unusual occurred.
The bear’s forepaw suddenly turned translucent.
Thwack.
The Wraith that had not been hit even once until now was struck by the forepaw and burst apart.
“Kihehe…?”
The Wraiths’ laughter subsided, and they revealed their confusion.
“Have a taste of a spirit.”
Serena exaggeratedly swung her arm, and as if responding, the bear attacked the nearby Wraiths indiscriminately.
The now-translucent spirit could strike spirit-type monsters.
With their advantage of immunity to physical attacks gone, the Wraiths were nothing more than flying minor monsters.
They absorbed vitality if one approached them, but that meant as long as distance was maintained, it was fine.
The dozens of Wraiths that had been chasing them were surprisingly quick at assessing the situation.
Acknowledging that this was an opponent beyond them, they fled in an instant.
“Pretty useful, right? It’s a technique I put a lot of effort into, despite how it looks.”
“If that was the case, there was no need to run.”
“Ahem, this is the dignity of a Gold-Ranked Adventurer….”
Rumble.
The soil forming the bear spirit crumbled like sand.
Fortunately, there were no Wraiths left nearby.
Serena swayed, unable to keep her balance.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m just a little dizzy.”
Whoooosh.
The wind that had been clearing away the fog stopped.
Aelin, who had been at the front, hurried back.
Serena awkwardly adjusted her bangs.
“It’s a technique that momentarily connects to the Spirit Realm, so it’s a bit difficult.”
“Is it bad?”
“Bad? I’ll be fine if I rest.”
“How long do you think it’ll take before you can handle spirits again?”
“Well. About an hour?”
Fortunately, it was not a serious injury.
She had not overexerted herself to the point of losing consciousness.
“Aelin, do you know where we need to go?”
“Yeah. If we walk for 30 minutes, we’ll reach the Rest Stop.”
“That’s good news.”
“Let’s go.”
After tying themselves together with a rope so they would not be separated in the fog.
The four walked closer together than before.
As visibility shortened, their steps grew cautious.
Even the smallest sounds set their nerves on edge.
Aelin, whose hearing was innately sensitive, was especially so.
She had to filter out dangers in advance and find the correct path.
The other three seemed to notice the change, as there was no conversation while they moved.
“Huuuuuaaaa…….”
An eerie sound, like a wolf howling, brushed past from behind.
Aelin stopped walking and spoke quietly.
“It’s a Banshee.”
“As long as it doesn’t attack first, it’s fine.”
The mournful wailing alone drained one’s strength just by hearing it.
It was not imagination—her muscle strength truly decreased.
‘A curse.’
There were monsters that harassed Adventurers without directly attacking.
Inducing drowsiness, disturbing one’s sense of direction.
The Banshee was one of them.
“Ignore it. We’re almost at the Rest Stop, right?”
“…….”
“Aelin?”
Aelin, who had not answered for a moment, swallowed dryly.
She clenched her fist to hide the slight tremble in her hand.
And conveyed what she had sensed.
“It’s not just one Banshee. There’s something else.”
“I know. A Lich, right?”
‘What?’
“In that case, getting to the Rest Stop isn’t the problem.”
Unlike Serena’s calm demeanor, Robin’s face showed distress.
Among the undead, Liches were classified as high-tier, making them difficult to hunt.
The last recorded case of a Lich being hunted had been more than ten years ago.
In truth, one could say there were virtually no Adventurers who hunted Liches.
“Let’s increase our speed.”
Without anyone saying more, they broke into a run.
Aelin ran through the fog, thinking without pause.
The enemy’s location, presences approaching from all directions, the remaining distance, the Banshee’s wail….
Amidst all that, she also had to avoid obstacles that suddenly popped up when she least expected them.
Crack.
Sigbard smashed apart the rock he nearly tripped over.
It was not because he was slow.
It was for Robin and Serena following behind.
“Robin, hang in there.”
Still carried on Robin’s back, Serena encouraged him flatly.
Their light jog had already turned into a sprint.
However, since the four were tied together with a rope, matching their speed was crucial.
If even one of them fell behind, their momentum would surely break.
“That’s it. Just a little more!”
There was not much distance left to the Rest Stop she had marked in her mind.
When she turned back to inject hope and lift their spirits—
“Get behind me.”
Sigbard dashed to Aelin’s side.
It happened so quickly that there was no chance to stop him.
The reason for his sudden action became clear at once.
Smash.
Sigbard, struck by something, flew through the air in a parabolic arc.
Robin, Serena, and Aelin were dragged along with him.
Robin held Serena tightly to keep her from getting hurt and rolled across the ground.
Aelin was no different.
The impact was immense—enough to shove all four of them back.
“Cough! Cough!”
Sigbard, who normally did not budge at most attacks, spat onto the ground.
Thick blood mixed in.
“Urgh… Is everyone alright.”
Robin and Aelin had only bruises, and Serena’s hair was merely disheveled.
All four were safe.
“Who is it! Show your face!”
Sigbard planted his rod into the ground, stood up, and shouted thunderously.
“Sigbard, it’s not something you can handle.”
“What do you mean, Serena.”
“Not just you. It’s a monster none of us can handle.”
Footsteps approached steadily from beyond the fog.
The Lich was coming.
Now was the time to decide.
There were two choices.
Head for the Rest Stop, or leave Fog Canyon.
Their current position was in the early-middle section of Fog Canyon.
Heading to the Rest Stop was the rational option.
‘If the opponent weren’t a Lich.’
The manager of the Dangerous Area Rest Stop was a Gold-Ranked Adventurer.
Yet Serena, who was of the same rank, had declared, ‘We can’t handle it.’
That made it uncertain whether the manager could guarantee everyone’s safety.
Robin quickly asked Serena.
“Can we shake off the Lich?”
“It’s difficult.”
One concern was eliminated.
Pouring a potion over Sigbard, Robin made his decision.
“Let’s go to the Rest Stop.”
‘Please let there be a Priest.’
He turned his back to carry Serena again, but she only shook her head.
Planting her staff into the ground with both hands, she summoned a spirit in the form of an eagle.
“Keep your eyes wide open. It’ll only be for a moment.”
Before anyone could respond, a house-sized eagle soared upward.
Each beat of its wings stirred up gusts of wind, and as if a typhoon had struck, the fog cleared rapidly.
“There!”
The place Sigbard pointed to was a solitary building on a steep slope.
“The distance…….”
The Rest Stop looked as small as a fingernail.
At least 1 kilometer away.
Moreover, towering rock formations like trees were scattered throughout, making it seem far from easy to reach.
“…Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”
As if in a panic, Aelin repeated the same words.
Wondering what was wrong, Robin tried to turn his head toward where she was looking, but Serena stopped him.
“Don’t look. Nothing good will come from meeting its eyes.”
‘Does it corrupt the mind just by eye contact.’
Hearing Serena’s words, Sigbard also hurriedly lowered his head.
Whoooosh.
The eagle spirit vanished, and the fog that had been pushed away swiftly filled the empty space.
“Damn it. Damn it… Huh……?”
With the Lich gone from sight, Aelin regained her senses.
The fog that distorted one’s sense of direction paradoxically erased her panic.
“I said it’d only be for a moment. You remembered the location, right?”
Aelin swallowed her embarrassment and nodded.
“Let’s move.”
As if whipped by a coachman’s lash, Aelin reacted at once.
Hearing Robin’s calm voice strangely reassured her.
“Serena, just in case—if we throw holy water directly at a Lich, would it work?”
“It would have some effect.”
“So it wouldn’t kill it.”
“Fighting undead without a Priest is foolish.”
He closed his mouth, recalling how he had once used a bandit as bait to lure Wraiths.
“A Lich is similar to the Demon Tribe, but it’s different. In some ways, it’s even more dangerous.”
Everyone present understood what she meant.
An energy similar yet different from the Demon Tribe’s demonic energy crept closer little by little.
It was equally eerie and unpleasant, yet somehow—
It felt one step closer to death.
“It’s coming.”
Sigbard slowed and moved to the rear.
This time, he clearly saw what was hurtling toward them.
A boulder the size of a barrel.
A stone that gleamed as if plated with steel flew at them.
To his accelerated perception, it was not particularly fast.
Sigbard could have dodged it if he wanted to.
He merely raised his rod to protect the companions behind him.
‘Sigbard gets pushed back again.’
The rope binding them together to prevent getting lost in the fog.
The very method meant to help them cross the Dangerous Area together now held them back.
‘I have to cut the rope.’
If he wanted to increase their chances of survival even a little, this was the answer.
Even if it meant someone might be left behind.
Shing.
He instantly drew his sword and cut his own rope first.
‘The rest—after we block that!’
Clang-clang-clang.
Even with Fighting Spirit wrapped around it, the rope did not slice cleanly, but he managed to sever it.
Sigbard knocked away the slowed boulders one by one.
“I’ll cut the ropes. Be careful not to lose your way—”
Whoosh.
Before he could finish speaking, something fell from the sky.
It was too fast to see clearly, leaving an afterimage, but if he had to describe it, it was like an arrow.
“Ugh……!”
A long skewer, as if made of white bone, pierced Serena’s shoulder.
Her shoulder blade was dyed red.
Rip.
Sigbard tore off the rope that still connected him and spun his rod rapidly.
His eyes met Robin’s, and both shared the same thought.
“Aelin, take Serena and go first.”
“What?”
“Sigbard and I will buy time. Go quickly.”
Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhk.
Dozens of arrows like the last one rained down.
Sigbard spun his rod fast enough to create wind pressure, shielding Serena.
Serena avoided further injury, but Sigbard’s body suffered shallow cuts instead.
“What are you waiting for? Go!”
Aelin no longer hesitated and hoisted Serena onto her back.
The Elf’s swift steps quickly carried them away from the battlefield.
“Robin, do you remember when I said I would become a great warrior.”
“Of course. You’re already great enough as it is.”
Sigbard raised one corner of his mouth and nodded.
“And that the Uncharted Area would be the perfect place to build achievements?”
“Of course. That wasn’t wrong either.”
“That’s right. But I was reckless.”
Breaking through the fog, the Lich revealed itself.
Just as he had heard, its entire body was bone, draped in a robe that added to its gloom.
With its hooded attire, it almost resembled a monk at a glance.
Without meeting its eyes, Sigbard gripped his rod tightly.
“Achievements can only be built while alive. But looking at that thing, I can’t think of a proper method.”
“I agree.”
It was the first time the ever-combative Sigbard had lost his fighting spirit before even exchanging blows.
And Robin was no different.
Those who had not faced it directly would never know.
That the aura the Lich exuded evoked death itself.
“Ten minutes. Just hold out for ten minutes.”
“We can only hope Aelin escapes safely.”
Two swords emitted a faint red glow.
Toward the undead whose expression could not be read as laughter or tears, Robin crossed his blades.