EP4. The journey begins (5)
The merchant regrets starting this adventure. Well, nothing like adventure.
He wondered why he was such a fool, he chose the smoothest road to go around, but this place was in the mountains.
The environment was too harsh for a wagon to pass through. Even though the size of the wagon must have been small, it was so hard. I wondered if it would have been better to just wait for the rocks to be removed from the valley.
Can we get to Laes on time? He was a merchant who only worried. As if the horses were also annoyed by this rugged mountain road, he stopped several times along the way even though he begged for it.
The merchant glanced back. Two children could be seen following behind the wagon, talking to each other.
The merchant suggested that it was okay to get on the carriage and take a rest, but the boy named Sean refused, saying that the carriage would be slower than walking because it was in the mountains anyway, and he would be wary of the surroundings while walking.
To think that there are still such good children in this land. I don’t know the details, but the girl wearing that robe must be a good girl, although shy. For some reason, the merchant felt that the two of them were clean, untainted beings in this world.
On the contrary, the young man in charge of escorting the carriage was sleeping peacefully in the carriage. Even more irritating was the occasional snoring. Come to think of it, that kid asked me to come to this mountain. Why are you going through so much trouble because of that guy?
Haa, what are you going to do by blaming others like this? Anyway, the decision is yours. The merchant sighed and looked around him again.
After realizing that the sun was setting, the merchant stopped his horses and got out of the carriage.
As the carriage ahead stopped, Shaun and Levy stopped talking and looked at the merchant approaching them.
The merchant said with a smile.
“It’s getting dark today, so let’s start the next morning. It’s dangerous at night.”
At that, Sean and Levy nodded. The merchant pondered for a moment whether he had to tell Cren about this, but he decided to wake him up anyway since he was also in the party.
When I got into the carriage, I saw him sleeping comfortably as if he had no worries.
“Hey, get up.”
Obviously, when I saw the handsome young man, I used to use a polite tone, but before I knew it, the merchant’s tone was back to normal.
“Look! Wake up and see!”
“・・・・・・Um, uh, uh hello.”
Haa, sighs keep coming out. Said the merchant, clutching his throbbing head.
“I’m thinking of stopping moving and camping today. I want to have a simple meal, so you can come too.”
It’s a meal, just as I was starting to feel hungry. More than anything else, Kren liked the fact that he could eat a pretty good meal while riding in this wagon.
Anyway, this wagon is going to sell groceries.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Okay, so let’s get out.”
Kren noticed the merchant’s chilled tone and hurriedly came out. When Cren came out, Shawn greeted him with an awkward smile.
“Ah, did you sleep well?”
“Ah, hahahaha. Yes, I didn’t mean to sleep, I just happened to…”
Levy looked at him, lowered his head slightly, and stepped back as if to hide behind Shawn.
How long did the awkward silence pass? The merchant brought the ingredients out of the wagon.
“Alright, it’s a bit late, but let’s have dinner. Everyone.”
As the saying goes, the sun was setting little by little and it was getting dark. The ingredients brought by the merchant were bread and beef jerky. He brought out a portion of simple things that did not require special cooking.
The four sat around and started eating a simple dinner.
The merchant started talking naturally.
“So Shawn and Levy. Where are you two from? I heard it’s a rural village, but…”
Sean said slowly while eating bread.
“Our village doesn’t have a special name. It’s such a small town.”
Normally, even a small town might have a simple name. The merchant said, surprised by Sean’s words.
“No name?”
From noble mtl dot com.
Sean smiled embarrassed at that comment.
“Yes. In the first place, a name is meant to be called by someone else, right? Since our village is so small, there is no need for other people to come, so the villagers say they just called it our village.”
Cren also asked, puzzled by Sean’s words.
“No, but I think there will be times when you need a name, right?”
“Of course, people come from the lord’s castle to collect taxes once a year, but even then, they usually just call it the lakeside village. It doesn’t have a special name.”
Yes. At least, when calling a village specifically, it was just a lakeside village. Unlike the small size of the village, the lake was quite large.
When Shawn said that, neither of them said much. It’s just that there are so few people. I just thought about it and moved on.
The merchant said as if it was his turn.
“I am from Naihun, a city. It’s a city at the tip of the southern border here, but it’s a city that borders on the desert, so it’s a city with nothing but sand. Still, I just really miss it.”
All of a sudden, the merchant’s eyes filled with nostalgia for his hometown.
“Haa, I desperately want to go home soon. Especially when I think of my daughter who is waiting for me…”
The merchant couldn’t continue his words.
Because his head was completely pierced. By the arm of something.
The arm that had pierced his head slid back, and the merchant fell helplessly to the floor.
He died without even being able to scream. And the three who saw it in real time were unable to react and froze.
It was Sean who came to his senses first. Shawn immediately stood up, drew his sword, and hid Levi behind him.
“Reveal!”
Levi also managed to come to his senses and created fire through magic. It was only then that the surroundings became brighter, and she was able to identify the culprit in it.
“·····Monsters···?”
Overall, he had dark skin close to black, and his fingertips were as sharp as awl. The merchant’s head was probably pierced with that.
Kren, who came to his senses belatedly, crawled out of his seat and went behind Sean before finally opening her mouth.
“That’s In Umbra!”
“In Umbra?”
Sean was the first monster I ever heard of. In the first place, Sean didn’t know much about the types of monsters. At most, the fairy tales his grandmother told him were all Sean’s knowledge of monsters.
“He enjoys raiding from hiding in the shadows! f*ck, we’re all dead now!”
Perhaps it was because she went out of her mind, Kren forgot how much respect she had ever given her, and spoke in her casual language and cursed at her.
Sean noticed that even in the midst of his urgency, but he didn’t bother to say it.
Umbrara, can you win? That thought soon ceased. I’m sure you can win.
Because he knows that there is a stronger supporter than anyone else behind him anyway.
Sean didn’t particularly look behind her, but he believed her behind her. That’s how Sean and the monster confronted for a while.
It was Sean who moved first. Because he is enlightened. That the jewel-like part that seemed to be embedded in that chest was that guy’s weakness.
As Sean sprinted forward, In Umbra stabbed Sean with her arm. Shawn narrowly dodged the attack by ducking his head and aimed straight at the monster’s chest.
But a monster that blocks the attack with its other arm. As if swords were facing each other, swords and arms were facing each other. I could feel it. In terms of strength, Sean is pushed.
The monster retrieved the arm it threw out and was ready to swing it at Sean. A fireball suddenly flew at the monster, who was aiming for Shawn’s head with his free arm.
It was Levi’s magic. Taking advantage of the monster’s momentary reluctance from the sudden attack, Shawn slashed his foe across the chest. The attack went in and the monster let out a painful roar, but the jewel-like part did not break.
When the fight seemed to be going to be quite long, Shawn put one foot behind him and called out to Kren, who was watching the fight blankly.
“Help you too!”
At that, Kren stood dumbfounded before speaking in a creeping voice.
“Eh…? But, I’ve never used that sword before…”
Sean was frustrated and questioned.
“Yes? You say you’re a mercenary? You fought the bandits earlier!”
No sh*t, this is my first time working as a mercenary, and I’m just saying that I’m no different from a normal person. And it seemed like the fight would be lost, so I tried to show off…
I couldn’t get those words out of my mouth. What do you mean by bragging about this?
When Kren didn’t answer, Shawn looked back. Confused by Levy’s magic and Sean’s attack, the guy finished taking care of his body as time passed.
Levi muttered in the back.
“Hmm… Fire magic doesn’t work very well…? Then·····,”
Levy flipped the palm of the hand she was extending in front of her. And her thumb and forefinger collided, making a clicking sound. Then, with a crackling sound.
A yellow lightning bolt was fired at Umbra.
The monster hit by the lightning magic convulsed for a while. Hmm, it seems to be more effective than before…
When Levy was thinking such carefree thoughts, Sean and Kren were amazed to see him. Kren: Is that a magician…? And Sean was in awe of the magic every time he saw it, even though he had actually seen it a few times before.
In spite of that powerful blow, Umbra did not die. Sean thought he had to break a jewel in his chest to kill the monster. However, its durability was stronger than expected, so it was unclear whether the battle could be completed without any casualties.
But we can’t go on like this. Sean glanced at the merchant’s corpse. Of course, the merchant said that death is common and that he didn’t need to be treated with respect, but Sean wanted to send the end of that slightly affectionate uncle well.
Sean catches his breath and is ready to fight again. He said that Levi’s attack would tire the monster if he could just draw the monster’s attention. And when the opportunity comes, he targets his weakness and that’s it.
After coming up with such a simple strategy, Shawn charged forward once more. The monster’s response was different from before. Is to pull yourself back. Yin Umbra stepped back and was trying to completely get away from the range of the fire that Levi had revealed.
Kren saw it and exclaimed urgently.
“You want to hide in the shadows! If you miss it now, you won’t see it!”
In the dark, that guy seems to be getting stronger. Certainly, considering that even the pretty intuition Sean didn’t realize it when he first assassinated the merchant, that was a dangerous undertaking.
But Levy was calm. She said it as if it was no problem.
“Then can it be done without shadows?”
“·······Uh, maybe…?”
Levy closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to concentrate, then she pressed her palms together as if supporting something on her. After a while, a bright light began to form on Levi’s palm.
The light seemed to be shaped like a ball. Then Levi opened her eyes and held her hand up as if to blow out her light. With him, the light left her palm and went up into the air, and for how long did it rise?
The light stopped in the air and stayed still for a while, then the light spread in all directions like a bomb exploding.
The whole place was filled with light.
Shaun looked at the monster, frowning at the sudden bright light. The monster was struggling without even covering its face properly, as if it were distracted by the bright lights.
Shaun immediately jumped at the monster and thrust his sword through his chest. Was it because I was defenseless? This time his attack worked well. He had completely pierced the monster, including the jewel.
The monster roared and limp. It is dead.
He won the battle abruptly, but Sean felt it was quite dangerous. Especially when he first attacks the merchant What if he wasn’t a merchant? What if Levi was attacked…?
Sean was giddy just thinking about it. The magic light emitted by Levi faded, and only then did Kren, who had closed her eyes, grasp the situation.
Catching Umbra with only two people at night. Of course, the number one contributor to this battle would be the magician girl. However, the boy showed off his outstanding skills as well. Children who are obviously younger than themselves.
Cren is finally over. That his life was safe, he gave thanks to a god he did not believe in.
But the night isn’t over yet.
Levi’s flash magic was so effective that it caught everyone’s attention.
Even to the king in the mountain.
A low growl of a monster resounds before you know it and covers the mountain.
Kren realized he was very, very f*cked up.