Chapter 226 - Days DCLXXXI - DCLXXXIII

Those two days, which separated me from finally going to the canyon, felt like the longest two days of my life. I ended up spending a lot of time with Tam, and even more with Will. We drank and talked, but I still felt this hole in my life. The hole left by Nadia.

I needed to find something to fill it because I knew that it can't continue this way for much longer. I could distract myself with hunting, but I lacked the drive that I had before. Why? Because there was no immediate danger before me.

There was The Great One, and Xuvi hiding somewhere, but because I couldn't see them, I had no idea where they are, and wasn't feeling threatened by them, they didn't really feel real. There was nothing to go and fight against. Although I knew that their existence is not to be ignored, because one or even both, were a threat to our existence.

On the third day, everything picked up to speed though. We all gathered around the device very early in the morning, before other hunters. The carts were gathered, and grand shopping started. Not for all of us, as few actually already came prepared.

- Can't wait to finally fight alongside you - said Will, as we were waiting for our turn.

- Same. I'm curious about the progress you have made.

- Oh, I'm sure it's nothing compared to yours, but I got a bit better.

The smirk on his face told me, that the 'bit' was actually way bigger than he was trying to make of it.

- What are you guys talking about? - asked Nil.

He just finished his shopping, and stepped away, to make room for the next person.

- They are arguing who has a bigger penis while being weirdly polite about it - said Alice.

She was already done and was just waiting for departure, leaning on her cart.

- What? - Sanders clearly found it funny, as a big smile showed up on his face.

- She is bullshitting you. We were just talking about how much better we got since the last hunt - explained Will, glaring at her.

- Oh, so it is about ego after all.

- It's curiosity about our progress. I haven't seen Will battling anything since... Wel quite a while. Actually, I haven't seen any of you fight for quite a while. I'm curious.

- Trust me, you will be surprised - said Sanders, and kissed his own bicep. - I'm a beast now. I would be the heavyweight champion of the century back home. I can punch a bear down now.

- We can actually test that sometime later. I know a place.

Will smiled.

- That's something I want to see. A bear wiping the floor with him.

They started to argue a bit, although it was just the usual bickering of good friends. I tactically retreated and came closer to Alice.

- How about you? It has been even longer since I saw you in action.

- Well... I'm the weakest around, but I'm holding on. I'm not gonna pretend that it's easy but definitely manageable. Every time a little bit easier. With you around probably way easier...

- Maybe. I want to go deeper, all the way to the boss.

She immediately looked at me, with a shadow of fear on her face.

- Don tell me you want to fight that thing?

- No. All the way to the door, though. I'm not ready yet.

She nodded slowly and returned back to her original position.

- You scared me for a moment.

- I have to keep you on your toes.

She snorted.

- Peter! Your turn! - shouted Martin.

I immediately went to do my shopping and filled a single cart with provisions. I was not gonna take only one, but several ones, as there was a whole army waiting for us underground. If cleared completely, there were possibly more points to get there than from bear den, which was kinda interesting.

I was the last one, so the moment I finished, we departed, but first I summoned my shadows, to take care of the pulling. We heading straight towards the gate, leading to goblin territory. At this point, more hunters made it to the city center, and we actually had a silent farewell from them, as they stopped to observe for a moment.

It felt funny.

- We are like movie stars - said Nil.

- Better. Superheroes - said Boris.

- Yeah. I never thought I'm gonna be a superhero. Damn, that's a nice feeling.

- We should stay focused - said Nobuo. - We need to have a clear vision of our goal to achieve it. We are not going there for a vacation, but to get stronger.

- That girl really spurred your ambition - Will pointed out.

- She merely reminded me how important discipline is, and how easy it is to allow weakness to corrupt everything one achieved with hard work.

A few hours later we reached the goblin cave, clearing the monsters on the way with ease, but not taking the crystals. We pushed further, taking some short breaks, and by the night managed to reach the neighborhood of the cliff.

Then we set up for camp. I did the usual ritual of putting up the barriers, to make sure everybody will get a full night's rest. We had to preserve our energy as much as we could. I knew I can take what was waiting for us out there, a few more of us could, but definitely not all.

We ate silent dinner. Although it was not the first time, since the invasion, humanity in this world was about to face the greenskins, this time was different. We were about to go to the boss's door, the furthest that anybody ever went. It was like starring the dragon straight in the eyes, and all of us knew that very well.

You could feel the tension in the air, and we were still at least a day of travel away. Probably two considering our tempo. The changes were coming. I suddenly remembered the first days filled with fear and grief after I woke up post the boss battle. It was the time for revenge. The time for us to conquer not only the canyon but the rest of the territories around, so history would never repeat itself. That's what I felt. Maybe others felt the same.

The last thing I did, before going to sleep, was to get closer to the cliff, past the tree line. I didn't see any signs of Ki'rei through the whole day, but something was telling me she is around. I left the knife there, on the ground, and went back to the camp.

The last day came to an end with 9 695 550 points remaining on my account, and forty-two class points.