“Sigh, just in case, let us do a vote to make sure the majority of you are on the same page,” Deka said as she stood up again. Even though it was clear that everyone decided on what they wanted, she still wanted to see how many of them were with her and how many were against the idea.
Sergi simply clicked his tongue and looked away, still displeased with the outcome. He knew that this idea was as foolish as his idea if not worse. But, what can he say against the majority?
“Those who want to make the trip down to the Akora River… Raise your hands.” Deka said.
The silence took over the entire squad again as the wind whistled in their ears, beckoning them to make a choice very quickly. It didn’t take long for that to happen as the first hand rose up in the air.
“I’m in.” One mercenary said. The rest looked at him curiously before they all got the courage and started raising their hands one by one. Eventually, every single mercenary had their hand in the air.
Sergi and Deka watched the scene in a tense mood. The decision has been made right before their eyes.
“… What about you, Arthur?” Seeing that, Deka turned to Arthur who didn’t seem to have any intention of choosing. He just stood to the side, watching everything unfold with an amused look on his face.
“Me? I really don’t care. You guys can choose. I have no knowledge of this floor.” He shrugged. In reality, Arthur wasn’t in as much of a threat as these mercenaries. If things came down to it, he was ready to swim his way back to the settlement.
His body was strong enough not to get crushed by the current and with some effort, he was certain that he could at least make it out of the forest in one piece.
However, now that he had heard about the Akora River, he was far more curious about it than about going home. After all, his entire trip into the tower was to get stronger and this river could perhaps be the perfect place to meet strong foes.
‘I still have some trauma from large bodies of water. But… It’s still worth trying.’ He shook his head.
“Understood. It’s set. We are heading to the Akora River and then we will take the ship down the stream till we reach the settlement. This trip isn’t going to be easy and the chances are frankly not looking good. But, I believe we still have a chance to make it back if we work together and keep our will strong.” Deka clenched her fist strongly. “Let’s do it!”
“YES!!!”
The entire squad cheered loudly, firing up their spirit. Everyone knew the sheer difficulty of this task, but if it was necessary to make it back then they had to simply do it.
Then, Deka approached Sergi and tapped his shoulder. “I know you aren’t satisfied with this decision, Sergi. But, we have to do this… We have to make it back.” She spoke to him quietly.
The latter stared at her for a second before he nodded with a displeased expression. “It is what it is… I won’t argue with you anymore.”
Then, he walked away to pick up his stuff. The others also started drying themselves and fixing their gear to make sure everything was working properly. The trip wasn’t going to be easy or short.
“How long will it take us to reach the river?” Arthur approached Deka and asked.
“If we hurry… Then, we should be there by midnight.”
“Midnight… Huh?” Arthur muttered. He immediately remembered the warning about moving in the dark on the first floor. “Is that really viable?”
“There is no other option… Once we reach the ship, we should be safe from the land monsters.” Deka replied as she strapped her bag tightly around her waist and wiped the blood off her face and arm.
‘And then we will have to deal with a completely different type of monster.’ Arthur added in his head.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes. We didn’t have much to prepare anyway.”
Seeing that her team was ready, Deka nodded her head and looked ahead. “Well, let’s move then.”
With that, the group finally resumed their journey, this time with a target in mind. The Akora River, the divine river descending from the very sky above their heads.
‘I wonder how that place looks.’ Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire
***
Meanwhile, far away behind the forest, back at the settlement. Isla opened her eyes slowly as the light finally seeped through her lids. She looked around, blinked, and then adjusted her vision.
The sudden change in the weather surprised her, but she already heard enough about the tower from Arthur so she was ready for what she was about to see.
“Interesting…” She muttered to herself. “So this is Frozen Peak. It’s a completely different environment.”
The atmosphere this place had was separated from the outside world, like a pocket dimension of its own. It felt rather odd to her.
Still, she decided to quickly shake that feeling away and focus on her task. ‘I need to find Arthur. His map isn’t showing me where he is exactly.’
Her entire point of coming to the Divine Tower on her own was to get her friend back. She wanted to apologize for everything she said and tell him the truth. She wanted to apologize again and again till he forgave her.
She didn’t want to lose Arthur. The idea alone made her heart clench tightly in pain. The feeling was perhaps the strongest she ever experienced. All her instincts simply wanted Arthur to be back next to her as usual.
She wanted to discover this world with him and share long adventures together. That feeling was perhaps the most happiness she felt in her entire life and she only wanted more and more of it like an addict.
“Where are you, Arthur?” She muttered as she was about to walk. However, at that moment, she heard a loud noise coming from ahead that disrupted her mind.
“Get the mana potions, hurry!!”
“The water is flooding the area! We need to stop it!!”
“Where is the chief?!”
Isla was immediately caught by the noise as she hurried to the spot where it came from. On the way, she saw many mercenaries horrifying back and forth as if they were facing some sort of disaster.
Eventually, she found herself near the settlement gates and there, she witnessed the source of the distress.
“… What?”
A large flood of water was coming her way. Massive waves of water swept through the snowy fields, rendering it completely barren. The sheer pressure of the flood made her take a step back warily.
Meanwhile, outside, many mercenaries were continuously casting spells, trying to build ice walls to contain the flood. But, it was clear they were far from enough. The water was easily passing through them and entering the settlement.
“We need more help!! Call the guild! The entire settlement is about to be flooded!”
‘… What kind of time did I arrive at?’
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!