Chapter 1011: Tension Rising

Chapter 1011: Tension Rising



While this was happening, Jin-Sil's party was waiting for her to snap out of it, standing guard inside the hidden room while her body lay on the ground, immobile.

"She hasn't been moving in a while. Is she still alive?" David asked, his face showing nothing but boredom.

"Hey, have a little respect," Ri-Chū snapped at him, his tone venomous.

"Woah. Calm down, love bird. I'm just trying to see if she's okay," David replied, raising his hands in surrender.

Rì-Chū clicked his tongue at the blatant lie but elected to stay quiet.

There was no point in arguing with the necromancer. He'd been nothing but an annoyance ever since Jin-Sil collapsed, insisting they carry her forward, as time was a resource they seldom had.

But Kary and Alexander had forced him to shut his mouth on that subject, refusing to budge from here as long as it was safe.

"Seriously, this is taking too long. With every second wasted here, the enemy might be getting stronger. Or that freaking dragon egg might hatch. Do you have any idea what kind of damage a dragon does when it breaks out of its dungeon?" David complained.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"At least let me turn that corpse into an undead. That way, we'll be ready to leave as soon as sleeping beauty wakes up," he added, pointing at the dead harpy queen.

The urgency in his voice all but hid his true feelings about their situation, and Alexander could understand him, which is why he hadn't already chewed him up for it.

"Stop asking. A surge in mana that strong would almost certainly paint a target on our location. Until Jin-Sil wakes up, we wait."

"Of course. All you think about is her safety. What about the safety of the ones outside?" David grumbled in a low voice.

"What was that?" Alex asked, having understood every word perfectly.

"Nothing. Let's just hope she isn't unconscious for days. We didn't bring rations to be stuck in a dungeon for a week. Neither did we bring camping equipment, and I'd hate to sleep on a slab of stone," he grumbled audibly this time.

"Have some faith in her strength, you freaking morale drain," Alex replied to him, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Both of you shut up," Kary said, raising her hand.

"A group of kobolds is passing by," she added, her face filled with worry.

The arguing abruptly stopped, and everyone suddenly went deathly quiet as faint footsteps echoed around them.

Jin-Sil could feel her body getting heavier and heavier as more time passed. At this rate, she would exhaust herself before ever catching the damned thing, and her chances would hit rock

bottom.

'Are you ready to give up, foolish child?' the voice nagged in her mind for the umpteenth

time.

"You wish!" Jin-Sil replied in a seething tone.

'Your tenacity is nothing, if not commendable. But you do not have the patience of a hunter, child. Your drive, if only fueled by your anger, is wasted in here. What is it that you truly want,

child?'

"You can see inside my head, can't you?" Jin-Sil replied, trying to force out the voice, to no avail.

'Unfortunately,' the voice mocked.

"Then you know damned well what is driving me. And you can rest assured. Once I catch that damned deer, you'll be my next target. And when, not if, when I find you, you are in for one hell of an ass-kicking," Jin-Sil growled, closing her eyes to focus on shutting her mind to the

voice.

It worked when she put all her concentration into it. But the price of it was that the deer she was hunting stopped and mocked, bleating or happily hopping in her peripheral vision,

taunting her.

"Calm down, Jin-Sil. You've hunted more elusive beasts than this before, and dangerous monsters. Don't let a gloating deer get the best of you," she whispered to herself for the

umpteenth time.

With a deep breath, she focused on pushing back the rage in her heart, and she felt it around

her.

The hunting grounds had changed again.

Opening her eyes, a grin appeared on her lips. She was back in the forest.

"I'll get to you, you obnoxious ruminant."