Chapter 166

166 Caution with the hot springs temperature, please! part The party advanced slowly following the pathway towards the sound of falling water that could be heard in the distance. It wasn’t far, yet it took them about fifteen minutes because they were forced to walk in an awkward position because they were tied to each other.

Fortunately for them, there were still a couple hours of sunlight left and they didn’t encounter a single beast while being inside the mist.

Beasts had a more developed sense of smell and they disliked anything new in their environment. As soon as the mist appeared, most ofthe beasts that inhabited the place left to seek for a safer place to live.

The steam became even denser as they closed in and the smell got so strong everyone was able to feel it.

“It smells like rotten eggs”

“Don’t be silly, this is the smell that our hot springs usually have, only a lot stronger”

“Ouch! why did you hit me Anne?”

“And you have the guts to ask! you just grabbed my ass!”

“Actually, I think that was me, I’m sorry”

.....

Hana apologized sincerely as she blushed

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped, we can’t see anything anyway”

“So, when you thought it was me you jumped in to hit me, but now you know it’s Hana you just shrug it off?”

“What can I say Ryu, she’s a lady and you’re a pervert. Don’t think for a second I forgot the time you slapped my butt back at Ironwoods”

As that conversation unfolded Hana made a completely wrong idea about Ryu’s character, while it was true he did something like that in the past it was only because he had been tempted many times by Anne and he felt the need to exact a little revenge from her.

“Ouch!”

Another yelp of pain was heard, this time it was no other than Bob.

“It wasn’t me!”

Ryu hurriedly said as if someone would have blamed him for something.

“Don’t come!”

Bob managed to say just a second too late, Risa and Luke fell right on top of him and they slid in a muddy slope. Since everyone was tied to each other and Bob was so heavy, they dragged everyone along and they ended up sliding almost all the way down what seemed to be a crater.

“Is everyone ok?”

“Yes, but I still think this idea of tying to each other was stupid”

“You should have said something a bit earlier don’t you think missy? So far you’ve been nothing but a nuissance, if you don’t shut up I’ll fix that mouth of yours”

Risa was getting tired of her negative attitude and she was the first one to speak up. Before she could even complain about the way Risa treated her, a hand was placed on her hand.

“Everyone quiet”

Anne said in a soft voice, yet everyone went silent. They weren’t used to be together in the same party and they haven’t seen each other for a long time, but they knew how to behave when things got serious.

Anne concentrated on her hearing and was able to sense a sizzling sound that came from the bottom of the crater.

Everyone stood up and attempted walking down the slope. Heat was rising up in all directions and the sizzling noise became louder the closer they got. Now not only they were unable to see, they couldn’t hear each other either.

Being forced to focus on his other senses, Ryu managed to feel something he was so accustomed he ignored it most of the time, It was his mana sense.

A strong and unfamiliar energy flowed from the middle of the crater and filled up the steam that surrounded everything. It allowed him to somehow get an idea of what the terrain looked like and after a couple minutes he was able to sense everyone’s location by their mana alone.

It was entirely different from his sense presence skill, not only was Ryu able to tell where everyone was located, but he was also able to tell exactly their pose, movements, even their breathing. He felt just a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information, but just like with sense precense he was able to adjust the range by concentrating.

Just when he thought he had the hang of it, he felt the source of the mana that filled everything around it. It was as big as Mochi, it had an oval shape and it was located at the center of what Ryu could now tell was a dry lake.

All the water that fell from the waterfall evaporated as soon as it touched the source of the mana and that was causing the mist and the heat.

“I think I found the cause of the mist and may be able to stop it, but I need everyone to untie from the rope so I can move around freely”

Before Ryu even finished speaking most of the party had already untied from the rope. They clang to it and helped Ryu climb down the crater to the bottom.

“Stop! pull me back!”

Ryu shouted because it got so hot it was becoming unbearable. Everyone tried their best to pull the rope as fast as they could, with such bad luck that it ended up snapping making everyone fall on their butts in the slippery mud and Ryu falling feet first right into the oval shaped stone.

>Heat resistance +1

A message appeared inside his mind and on the display, yet he paid no heed to it as he felt as if he was being cooked alive and his new resistance skill proved to be too weak to actually make a difference.

Ryu filled his lungs with the hot air to shout, but he got burned from the inside. It was so painful and despairing that he felt helpless.

His thoughts drifted from one possible solution to another, but he couldn’t keep himself from getting closer and closer to the very source of the heat that was killing him. It was a situation that most people couldn’t survive, the pain was almost unbearable to the point that remaining conscious was a feat on its own. His body wanted to fall into shock but his strong will prevented it.

Ryu didn’t let his will falter and closed his eyes as he tried to slow his descent by burrowing his hand in the hot mud, although his hand couldn’t feel the texture of the mud because of it’s temperature, he was able to sense it’s mana flow.

There was a faint connection in all the dirt that surrounded him and he could sense some pathways that could be controlled by him should he pour some mana into them.

Left with no other choice but giving his all to overtake the natural flow of mana in the dirth bellow he poured as much mana as he could until he could feel the mana veins as if it was an extension from his body.

A dome was formed right on top of the source of the heat and the bottom of the lake started to fill with water that quickly cooled down everything. The sound of water boiling stopped and before Ryu was covered by the huge amount of water that came down from the waterfall Risa and Anne picked him up and dragged him up to where the others were located.

Without the source of heat altering the environment, the mist started dissipating in the surroundings and they were able to see a bit further away allowing them to climb up to solid ground.

“Geez Ryu, how do you always end up unconscious like that!? can you please be more cautious?”

Ryu was able to listen to Anne’s words but he couldn’t reply. His lungs expanded and contracted but he wasn’t able to breathe any oxygen into his bloodstream. His lungs were completely burned from the inside and they didn’t work like they were supposed to.

“Hurry up and give mister Ryu a potion! he’s dying!”

“It’s just a little burn, he won’t die from that”

Hana pointed at Ryu’s red skin that was seconds away from becoming charred meat. It was true, however, that his external injuries were nothing even for a regular F rank adventurer.

Fortunately for Ryu, Luke used consider on him and he was able to tell how bad the situation was. Ryu’s usually small health amount of health points was so slim that he was already on the verge of dying, that alone was worrisome but Ryu’s status effect wasn’t just the expected (burned) but it also included (asphyxiated)

“Hurry up and give him a potion already, he needs to breathe!”

Luke’s words made Anne realize just how bad Ryu’s condition was. If even Luke, who she thought held no love for Ryu, was worried about him it could only mean that it was serious.

Anne patted Ryu’s pockets and then checked his backpack, but besides everything being hot to the touch she couldn’t find any potions.

“He doesn’t have any potions on him!”

Anne cried and Sera ran towards Ryu and wordlessly took a pill from Ryu’s pocket and popped it into his mouth.