“He must have cheated us!” one of the party members, the archer, accused, pointing directly at Broken.
“That accusation is baseless,” Broken shot back.
“So, who else should we blame? You’re the only outsider here. Are you saying we should accuse one of our own?” the archer pressed.
“I came here alone, in secret. You all saw that, didn’t you?” Broken reasoned, trying to keep his voice calm.
“Enough!” Marlene barked, cutting off the argument. Her gaze snapped to Broken, frustration clear in her eyes. “Broken, are you absolutely sure no one followed you?”
“You saw it yourself,” he replied firmly.
Broken’s mind raced. Could this really be his fault? No. He had used his stealth skills to slip out of the city unnoticed, keeping his identity hidden. Polly had moved too fast for anyone to have tailed him without being detected. Though he couldn’t prove anything with certainty, he knew deep down he had no part in this intruder’s arrival.
“Damn!” Marlene swore, scanning the area. She knew full well someone had slipped into their ranks, snatching up one of the valuable portal slots.
“Marlene, are you just going to let this go?” the archer demanded. “He’s been an outsider from the start-he’s from the opposition. It’s obvious he betrayed us.”
Subaru awkwardly laughed, trying to ease the tension. “Hey, everyone, haha, let’s take a breath. I’m sure we can figure this out.”
“This is ridiculous,” the archer snapped. “We’ve been betrayed right under our noses, and we’re just standing here doing nothing.”
A woman with short brown hair and glasses, a healer, spoke up with a trembling voice. “What should I do? My healing skills won’t cover everyone if we’re short one tanker. I’m afraid of messing everything up. I’m so sorry…” she said, visibly shaking.
“We can still manage if we position ourselves correctly; we’ll be safe,” reassured the tanker, a man in his forties.
“We’ve lost a key player. This isn’t going to go well,” another member muttered anxiously. Subaru chimed in again, trying to stay upbeat. “Come on, everyone. We’ll stay cautious. We’ll be alright. And remember, we’ve got Broken with us-his skills are pretty versatile.”
“I’m not trusting my life to some stranger,” one of them shot back.
“Especially if he’s the reason we’re stuck in this mess,” another added, stoking the growing distrust.
Broken remained silent, not bothering to respond to the accusations. He had his own objective, and their opinions didn’t really matter to him. Clearly, they had their own agendas in this place, which explained their growing concern. He turned to Marlene.
“Do you have a specific mission that needs a full party, Marlene?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “We’re planning a raid boss hunt, which is why this kind of issue seriously throws off our plans.”
Broken nodded. He understood now-they had bigger objectives than just helping him hatch the demon egg. But their mission wasn’t his problem. After all, their initial agreement hadn’t involved him assisting Marlene with her raid.
“We will talk about this later,” Marlene said decisively. “Let’s head to the nearest town to gather some information and gather resources.” She then took the lead, and the others followed closely behind her.
“We need to stick to the plan,” she declared as they walked through the forest. Although the trees were of a different kind, they were still in a forest just like the one they had left.
“This is the alternate world of Yunatea,” she explained. “Only demon species live here. From those with humanoid forms and some intelligence to monstrous demons, demon beasts, and even Named demons inhabit this world.”
Broken nodded slowly, intrigued by what they might encounter in this very forest or in the town Marlene had mentioned earlier.
The group continued their trek through the forest. There were no signs of monsters, suggesting that this particular area might be relatively safe.
“The intruder must have used a stealth skill,” one of them said.
“I will find that person,” Marlene added. “I’m certain they’ll be close when we return to Yunatea. I plan to kill them and avenge this deceit,” she said with steely determination. “They were foolish to try and pull this off right under my nose.”
“They must be an assassin class,” another added.
“Someone with a stealth skill should have been detected by me,” Marlene said, without elaborating on how she could do that. “They must have used a high-tier stealth skill,” she continued in a flat tone.
“There’s only one person I can think of who could pull off something like that,” another member chimed in.
Who? Broken wondered, though he kept his question to himself. The only assassin he knew was Charmelyn. Could she have infiltrated this place? He decided to reach out to Freya to be
certain.
He quickly sent her a message: “Freya, is everyone from the team at their respective posts? Maylock, Elincia, and the others?”
“Blade Phantom,” someone said aloud. “He’s the only assassin with the skill to pull off something like this.”
Blade Phantom? Broken pondered.
“No way. You’ve got to be kidding. He’s a contract killer, hired by the rich to take out targets. No one knows who he really is, and he always completes his jobs without leaving a trace.”
“Are you suggesting that Blade Phantom is here to take out one of us?”
Their attention shifted back to Broken, suspicion lingering in the air. It was clear they believed someone had hired Blade Phantom to infiltrate their group, possibly to eliminate a specific target. That must be this damn blacksmith, some of them thought, their distrust of
Broken growing deeper.
“Everyone… hahaha…” Subaru interrupted the tense conversation, distributing something to each member of the party. “This is the type of currency used here, and it has a value similar to what we use in Yunatea, just with a different appearance.”
Subaru then nudged Broken and handed him several coins-silver and gold, but in darker hues with unfamiliar symbols.
“You can use this money to buy whatever you need. Consider it your initial payment for this expedition. Use it wisely, as we’ll need it to survive here for the entire month,” Subaru
continued.
“Subaru,” Broken called out to the mage.
“Yes?”
“How much do I owe in Yunatea currency for these?”
“Ah, hahaha, no need to worry, Broken. You can keep it, hahaha,” Subaru replied with a laugh.
Broken turned to Marlene. frёewebnoѵēl.com
“That’s a small amount, don’t stress about it.”
Broken studied the 10 silver coins and 2 gold coins in his hand. If their value matched that of Yunatea’s currency, this was a significant sum-real money. These wealthy players were clearly invested, pouring serious resources into the game to secure their success.
As they walked, the trees began to thin, allowing more light to filter through. The landscape ahead shifted into a dry plain, reminiscent of the terrain around Slumdon Town. After some time, they passed through the final line of trees and stepped into a vast, barren expanse dotted with dry shrubs. The ground wasn’t like the desert they’d seen before; it was cracked and parched, with dark smoke occasionally rising from deep fissures.
“We’ll need to walk a bit further from here to reach the nearest town,” Marlene announced.
But in the distance, they noticed several humanoid figures moving as a group-heading straight toward them.