CH 144

I only recalled triggering Mayer’s trauma… How could I have improved his mood? I stared at Axion uncomfortably, and reading the look on my face, he asked confusedly, “You didn’t… talk about anything?”

“No, I did. But… It was all mood-ruining things for the captain, you see. Which was why I thought he’d be feeling worse…”

“Haha, that’s not the case. Just earlier, he came to say he looks forward to my performance in the dungeon tomorrow.”

Axion didn’t seem to be lying as his face was bright. What in the world? Mayer had been feeling bad for some reason, then he felt better after that conversation we had? I couldn’t fathom his thoughts at all. Really, how difficult and hard-to-please the man was…

* * *

Furka dungeon was nestled between the Furka Cliffs deep in the forest. In other words, we had to climb the mountain. As there was a limit to how far our horses could go, we tied them up and headed for the cliffs with the help of a forest keeper.

“Haah, haah…” I gasped for breath. I gained a lot of stamina lately, but it still wasn’t easy climbing while matching the pace of the Dark Knights. Embarrassed, I wondered if I was the only one having such a hard time and glanced around sneakily. The ones donning heavy armor were dashing through the forest as if they were moving on flat ground. Meanwhile, against all expectations, those wearing light clothes or robes were lagging behind. Such was the stamina of priests and mages. Naturally, it didn’t need to be said that I was having the most trouble even among them.

Of course, there were some who were figuratively flying around even with robes on. Namely, the muscle priest August, and the archer and forest-born Sevi. Maybe it was because the boy was raised in the forest, but his footsteps were quick. Usually, dungeon gates in such sparsely populated locations were discovered by forest keepers. They would then report these through a communication channel from a nearby village. Fortunately, the Furka dungeon was discovered barely before it opened completely. Of course, fortune didn’t always favor us like in this case.

Sometimes, tragedies like Sevi’s hometown during the Veron Forest incident occurred. The problem with that incident had less to do with discovering the dungeon late and more with not having enough time to deal with it. The higher the dungeon’s level, the stronger the mana it harbored, and the time it took for the gate to open was proportional to the size of the fellspawn. In short, a dungeon’s gate would open faster the lower its level was. And the problem here was that no matter how low the level of fellspawn, ordinary people were still no match for them, sadly enough.

I watched Sevi’s back as he energetically pushed through the forest. Surely he had to be reminded of his hometown, coming into a forest after so long, but he didn’t show anything on the outside. He and Mayer… They were both getting sick on the inside. The things I tried not to notice, dismissing it all as a game, popped out like thorns catching my eye, one after another. I let out a tired breath to hide the bitterness in my mouth. “Haah…”

But it seemed I had sighed louder than I had thought. Mayer, who was in front of me, suddenly turned around and asked, “Shall I piggyback you?”

“Are you mad?” I barked. What was up with him again? Actually, no. Thinking about it, Mayer Knox was the kind of person to say something like that.