Arthur closed his eyes for a moment and felt the immense power coursing through his pained, exhausted body. Due to his condition, it wasn’t fully palpable, but he knew when he completely recovered, he would feel like he was born again.
‘This much evolution and the first day isn’t even over yet. I might be doing far more than I expected, what the hell?!’ Arthur laughed to himself as he closed the window and exhaled a steamy breath.
“So, what are we going to do now?” He asked. Looking at the mercenaries, their mood was frankly down in the gutter. He could almost visibly see a dark aura looming around everyone. They have lost one of their comrades and they were all injured and tired while still having to deal with a terrifying journey.
Nothing could be said to uplift their spirit but at the same time, nothing could truly push them down anymore. They have reached rock bottom and it was only up from there. Nobody seemed unwilling to try and survive even though it had hit them hard multiple times.
“Well, we will rest for some time and then start moving again. This battle had wasted our time and we can’t waste anymore. We have to keep going.” Deka said.
“You’re right… I wonder how much is left before reaching the river.”
“At least several more hours,” Deka replied. “Then several other hours to reach the port of the settlement.”
Just saying that made Deka feel like giving up on everything and taking a long nap. But, she had to shake off that exhaustion and do what she had to do.
Around 30 minutes later, she finally stood up and clapped her hands. “Ok, this is enough of a break, guys. We have to move again, time is against us.”
Hearing that, all the mercenaries groaned tiredly before they stood up and started picking up their stuff.
“Arthur, can you move?” She asked.
Looking to the side, she noticed that Arthur was stretching his limbs and checking his injuries. Even though he still looked horrible, he seemed to be able to move his limbs in full motion.
‘It has been barely an hour since he got injured… And he already can move as if nothing happened. What kind of monstrous recovery speed does he have?’ Deka thought to herself.
“Is that bastard coming with us, Deka?” Sergi asked at that moment.
“… Obviously.” She replied.
“What if he turns into that demon again and kills us all?”
Sergi’s question made the mercenaries stop their work and look up curiously. Sergi was clearly hinting at leaving Arthur here and not letting him join them on their trip back.
“Sigh, we’ve already discussed this, Sergi. Arthur is the main reason this trip is even possible. If he wasn’t here, you would be buried six feet under snow by now. We all would be goddamn dead!”
“And so what? What’s the point of having a monster with us even if he killed other monsters?”
“It’s-“
“Don’t worry, mercenary guy.” At that moment, Arthur spoke. “If I want to kill you, I won’t need to transform to do that. I can frankly cut all your heads before you can even blink. I have no intention of doing that yet.” The boy winked with a mischievous smile.
It was clear that he was joking, but nobody could laugh at that joke as they had no doubt it wasn’t an exaggeration. Their expressions paled slightly, including Sergi’s.
“…” Deka stared, dumbfoundedly at the boy.
“Anyway, I also want to go back to the settlement as much as you all do. I have other stuff I need to do. So, I won’t kill you because that will only make my trip back even harder.”
“… A-As, ehem, as you heard him, he won’t be a threat to us. Arthur will be a huge asset for our survival chances. We’ve already lost enough people, let’s not jeopardize ourselves even more.”
“… Understood.”
“Got it.”
“Well, if he can help us, we won’t say now.”
Slowly the mercenaries started agreeing with Deka. They frankly don’t know how they can even survive if that kid isn’t with them. He proved to be the most critical part of this trip in a matter of hours.
“Tsk…” Sergi clicked his tongue and continued gathering his stuff.
The group finished work a few minutes later and then they took their route again. Their speed was considerably slower than before, but they still didn’t stop again. Their target was far away and time was ticking down rapidly. Pain can be ignored, but death can’t.
An hour passed, then two hours, and then three, and the group was still walking as if their lives depended on it. The storm was reaching unbearable degrees and the cold weather was destroying their bodies from inside out. However, there was no time for a break anymore.
On top of that, the sun started setting in the distance and the darkness was looming over their heads. So, they quickly activated their oil lamps for better vision.
“Are we close?!” One mercenary screamed.
“Not yet!! It could be anywhere nearby!” Deka yelled back.
“I genuinely can’t feel my limbs anymore. I really hope we are close!”
Arthur used his mask to cover his face from the horrifying temperatures and the strong wind. He still could see extremely well in the darkness, but he wasn’t having fun walking through this storm.
‘This where some actual fire would help. I need to find a good fire skill for such temperatures.’ He shuddered.
The group walked blindly through the darkness while keeping an eye on the forest for any possible ambushes. However, luckily, nothing approached them during that time. This storm made most wildlife hide and remain inactive since it was dangerous for them.
Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
The danger of the night never comes from the wildlife. Instead, it was from the world itself. The darker it was, the worse the situation became and the group was experiencing the full extent of that.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!