Chapter 160 : The Headstrong Elf
Chapter 160: The Headstrong Elf
A four-story building stood upright even within the thick fog that surrounded it on all sides.
Two men pushed open the doors of the building bearing the mark of the Adventurers’ Guild and entered.
“Khahaha! You got scared of a Wraith?”
“If you saw it yourself, you’d piss your pants too.”
“This bastard should have his adventurer badge stripped!”
Dozens of people were chattering noisily.
Bright lights illuminated the hall, and appetizing dishes filled the tables.
Unlike how it had looked from outside, it was full of life.
“Aelin! Serena! Come out!”
When Sigbard shouted at the top of his lungs, the rowdy adventurers fell silent and stared.
“Has anyone seen a woman in a helmet and a black-haired woman?”
The silence that settled lasted only briefly.
Robin’s polite question was buried under mocking laughter.
“What? What the hell is that guy saying?”
“This is a Rest Stop, not a brothel!”
Sigbard tried to add another remark, but Robin stopped him.
Naturally, everyone here was at least a Silver-Ranked Adventurer.
Pressing them rashly would not be a wise choice.
“Did you say Serena?”
A slender man approached.
The noisy adventurers cleared a path for him as he passed.
Robin immediately realized he was the manager.
“If you mean Spirit Mage Serena, she has never come here.”
“…I see.”
“And who are you to be looking for Serena?”
“I am her companion.”
The manager folded his arms and alternated his gaze between Robin and Sigbard.
His eyes swept over them from head to toe, as if measuring their skill.
As though he had a guess about something, the manager asked,
“Did something happen?”
“We encountered a Lich. We evacuated our two companions first and agreed to meet at the Rest Stop… but they haven’t arrived.”
Unease gradually spread among the adventurers who had been eavesdropping nearby.
Because he had mentioned a Lich.
“A Lich? Why would a monster that hasn’t appeared recently show up?”
“Damn it. Isn’t this place dangerous too?”
“That thing that doesn’t die is nearby?”
Regardless, the manager showed no particular change in expression.
Could he deal with a Lich?
If he was the manager of a Rest Stop in a Dangerous Area, he was at least Gold-Ranked.
On par with Raymond. Or perhaps even stronger.
“You two are lucky. If you stay here, you’ll be safe, so relax and rest before you go.”
“Are you acquainted with Serena?”
“I am. Why?”
“Please help us. Light a signal so they can locate this place from afar.”
The manager shrugged.
“It must be your first time in Fog Canyon. No one can find this place just because we light it up.”
“Then is there any other way?”
“There isn’t.”
At the overly firm reply, Robin’s throat tightened.
“Sigbard, let’s go.”
As they turned to search for the two, the manager grabbed them.
“You said a Lich appeared. What do you think you two can do?”
“We may not be able to defeat it, but we at least have to search.”
“If you want to throw your lives away, I won’t stop you.”
Their eyes met.
Perhaps because he knew Serena, there was a hint of goodwill in his gaze.
Robin took two deep breaths.
“Don’t worry too much. If it’s that Serena, she’ll find her way here just fine.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“I’ve seen it myself. When that monstrous eagle flaps its wings, the fog clears in an instant.”
“…This isn’t a situation where she can handle a spirit.”
At those words, the manager looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it literally. She used a lot of Ether while dealing with spirit-type monsters.”
“So that was it. In that case, it might indeed be dangerous. Even so……”
The manager did not release his grip on Robin.
“If at least one side stays put, the chances of meeting again increase.”
“Why are you showing me such kindness?”
“Because Serena has contributed no small amount to the Guild.”
Without another word, Robin sat down in an empty chair.
Sigbard also took a seat at the table and looked at the manager.
He gestured, and three adventurers approached.
“Go take a little walk. If you find Serena, bring her back. She’s with a woman wearing a helmet too, so keep that in mind.”
“Understood.”
The three adventurers immediately left the Rest Stop.
“If we’re lucky, those guys might find them, but don’t expect too much.”
“Thank you. You are a good manager.”
At Sigbard’s gratitude, the manager gave a faint smirk.
He returned to the bar table, waving his hand.
“Do you really think it’s fine if we don’t go ourselves?”
“The manager isn’t wrong. If we rush out and get lost, it’ll only cause a bigger problem.”
“How frustrating. But we will wait. That is reasonable.”
For what reason had Aelin and Serena failed to come to the Rest Stop?
Pushing aside negative thoughts, Robin stared intently at the entrance.
Hoping the two of them would arrive as soon as possible.
Aelin repeatedly erased and redrew the map in her head.
She had moved while considering her stride, the number of steps, and direction, yet the Rest Stop did not appear.
“Let’s rest for a moment.”
“We can’t do that.”
“You can’t even see ahead, so what do you think you’re going to do?”
“There are monsters nearby……”
“We’ll just sprinkle Holy Water, so stop for now.”
Only after Serena firmly pressed her did Aelin halt.
“Take off your helmet.”
Normally she would never listen, but she obediently removed it.
Unlike the wound at her side, her face was unharmed.
However, her eyes were unfocused.
“You’re under a curse. That’s a relief, at least.”
“…Sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“Just. I should have done better.”
Serena took out Holy Water and slowly let it flow over Aelin’s eyes.
A refreshing breeze seemed to wash away the dust that had settled in them, purifying her vision.
“How is it? Can you see better?”
“Only the outlines. It’s still blurry.”
“It’ll improve with time.”
She ended up using an entire bottle of Holy Water.
She was relieved it was not permanent blindness.
Serena held up her index and middle fingers.
“We have two choices now.”
“Do we try to find the Rest Stop like this, or wait until you recover?”
“You’re quick. Which do you think is better?”
The former depended on whether Aelin could find the way.
The latter if she could not.
“Let’s wait until I recover.”
“Then we’ll need to find a place to hide.”
Privately, Serena had hoped she would choose the former.
With both of them injured, their combat strength had dropped drastically.
The latter was a choice that relied on luck.
“There’s a tunnel nearby that Moltra dug.”
A monster that looked like a fist-sized mole enlarged to the size of a bull—Moltra.
If it was a tunnel dug by Moltra, a human could enter it as well.
In the ground Aelin pointed to, there was a large hole.
“Let’s go.”
Serena took Aelin’s hand and led her.
She went in first to check whether it was safe, then called Aelin inside.
Once they moved slightly away from the entrance, they could no longer be seen from outside.
Of course, that was only from a human perspective; to a monster’s senses, they could likely be discovered with ease.
If even a Wraith passed by outside, their vitality might be drained.
If Moltra caught their scent deep within the tunnel and crawled up, their bodies might be shredded by its sharp claws.
Even so, the two women crouched and leaned against the earthen wall.
“Let’s stay like this for just 30 minutes. As soon as our Ether recovers, we’ll head out.”
“What if we run into a spirit-type monster?”
“We run.”
At the answer without a moment’s hesitation, Aelin let out a small laugh.
Serena also smiled faintly.
“Pfft, what’s that. Ahk…….”
While snickering, Aelin clutched her side.
The clothes she had used to staunch the bleeding were stained red.
“…Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing.”
The atmosphere that had briefly relaxed tightened once more.
Both of them fell silent.
Five minutes, ten minutes…….
Fortunately, no monsters came searching for them.
That did not mean they could relax.
As time passed, Aelin’s complexion grew pale.
Both of them knew their current situation was dire, yet neither showed it.
They knew that lamenting a problem without a solution would only make it worse.
Crk. Crk-crk.
The vibration traveling through the tunnel shattered the silence.
The two locked eyes, and without words, they knew what to do.
Moltra had returned.
They had to get out of here.
Serena leaned past Aelin and peeked outside.
“Let’s go.”
Without removing the hand pressed to her side, Aelin stepped out.
“I’ll take the lead.”
“Do you know where to go?”
“Yes. My vision’s slightly back, and I kept thinking about what went wrong.”
Despite her injury, she had not neglected what she could do.
She reassessed their direction and redrew the map step by step.
Rather than pinpointing the destination directly, she eliminated the places they should not go and estimated the Rest Stop’s location.
“Follow me.”
Serena’s shoulder had improved considerably.
She was able to keep up with Aelin’s somewhat quick pace without difficulty.
“Huff… huff…….”
The problem was that Aelin’s condition was visibly worsening.
Even so, Aelin kept moving forward.
Because a guide must lead her companion to the destination.
Though her expression could not be seen beneath the helmet, the weight of her labored breathing conveyed everything.
“Huuuuuaaaah.”
Unfortunately, a monster appeared to block Aelin’s path.
The mournful wail of a Banshee could be ignored, but the Wraiths around it were a different matter.
With unpleasant grins, they surrounded the two.
“Damn it…….”
Serena ground her teeth.
There were still 15 minutes left before she could handle a spirit “properly.”
If she endured the aftereffects, escaping would be possible.
But if they encountered another afterward, it would be even more difficult…….
“Get on my back.”
“What?”
Aelin gave Serena no time to respond and hoisted her onto her back.
Then she bolted forward.
Whether a Banshee stood there or Wraiths blocked the way, she charged straight through the path she had to take.
“Kihihihihit!”
The Wraiths were not ones to simply watch.
They clung to Aelin, greedily draining her vitality.
Tatata-tat!
Serena gasped in shock, but Aelin only increased her speed.
She ran at a pace that did not seem possible for someone injured.
Faster than usual—so fast it made one wonder if she had truly been hurt at all.
“Haa… haa…….”
“Aelin!”
“Huk…….”
“That’s enough, stop running. They’re not chasing anymore.”
Serena told her to slow down, but Aelin did not listen.
The words that entered her ears passed straight through.
Half out of her senses, she continued running toward a single goal.
“Stop! I said stop!”
Even when Serena struck her shoulders, Aelin’s legs did not cease moving.
The blood seeping from her side had gone beyond soaking her clothes and was now dripping down.
The barely scabbed wound had split open again.
“You’ll die at this rate!”
“…I did.”
“Listen to me!”
“…We’ve arrived.”
Serena lifted her head, but the fog made it impossible to see anything.
She worried Aelin might be seeing things.
Hallucinations were one of the symptoms that appeared in someone gravely injured.
“Is someone there?”
An unfamiliar man’s voice heightened Serena’s vigilance.
Their situation was already dire; if they ran into bandits now, there would truly be no hope.
“A black-haired woman and a woman wearing a helmet. We’ve found you.”
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Please calm down. Don’t you remember me?”
Looking more closely, she recognized his face.
An adventurer whose life she had saved during a monster subjugation.
“The manager sent us. He told us to just look around the vicinity, but I didn’t expect we’d actually find you.”
Thud.
Without even setting Serena down, Aelin collapsed.
As if she had accomplished all she needed to.
“Help.”
“Of course. And your companion over there…….”
“Can’t you see? She’s on the verge of dying, so move her quickly!”
Though she raised her voice, the man obeyed without the slightest displeasure.
He was accustomed to situations where lives hung in the balance.
Piiiii—
When he whistled, the two adventurers who had dispersed appeared.
“Please rest assured. We’ll escort you immediately.”
“I’m fine, take Aelin first.”
The man carrying Aelin ran off into the fog.
“If you try to take off her helmet, you’ll regret it.”
Only after giving that final warning did she finally feel a weight lift from her chest.
They had survived.
Thanks to the headstrong elf.