Chapter 31 – Chapter 4: Awakening #6
It was immediately after the battle and their defeat, so everyone was exhausted. However, there was no time to delay.
Chris distributed health potions to In-gong, who handed them over to Carack. In-gong then ate a few pieces of jerky and headed to Felicia’s tent.
Caitlin had already arrived at the tent of Felicia, who was the captain of this ruins exploration.
There weren’t many people gathered in the tent because the operation needed to be carried out secretly. Additionally, in the first place, not many people were actually needed for it.
In-gong brought Carack, who was carrying a large bag on his bag, while Caitlin was accompanied by Seira.
Delia, who had been introduced by Felicia, and another nameless dark elf were present.
He wanted to ask who she was, but Felicia seemed to have no intention of introducing her. Caitlin was silent, so In-gong also stayed quiet.
“Okay, let’s get started.”
However, Felicia just swaggered out of the tent like she was going to face the enemy right then.
“Heok, don’t tell me that we are walking?”
Carack’s aghast voice entered In-gong’s ears. Carack, who had always been disgruntled, was weary after the long battle.
‘What did he say?’
Should he ask Felicia?
While In-gong was troubled over this, Felicia looked over. Her long ears pricked up as she laughed,
“Don’t worry. We are flying. Delia, Katuin.”
After Felicia called out, Delia and a dark elf called Katuin chanted a spell with her. Out of reflex, In-gong looked above the heads of the three people.
‘Magic power is gathering!’
However, it was different from attack or recovery magic. Black smoke emerged from their united magic power and formed a shape.
‘Phantom steed!’
A flying ghost!
Seven ghosts shone with a green light as they stood in front of Felicia.
“Wouldn’t it be trouble if we had to bring a lot of people? Let’s hurry.”
Felicia winked at everyone before climbing on the back of a phantom steed. Carack hesitated while Caitlin’s eyes shone as she stroked the mane of a phantom steed.
‘I often rode this when I was playing Zephyr.’
He felt a cold chill as he climbed on the back of the ghost.
‘Well, isn’t it natural?’
There wasn’t just attack magic and recovery magic. Moreover, summoning magic like the one for a phantom steed required a catalyst.
Once all the party members were on the phantom steeds, Felicia looked back and said.
“I will lead on the phantom steed. However, be careful. Are you ready? Depart!”
Since there was almost no gap between getting ready and departing, Carack had no choice but to grab onto the phantom steed’s neck tightly.
In-gong lowered his body on the back of the phantom steed. The phantom steed’s four legs sprang into the air and the wind started to blow.
It was a dark hour and the party that rose on the back of the phantom steeds naturally became one with the darkness.
The wind that blew was cold and sharp, so In-gong looked at the mini-map with his head bowed. The blue dots, which symbolised In-gong and his companions, were headed towards the edge of the Jishuka Mountains at a terrific pace.
‘Red Lightning tribe!’
Red dots gathered at a corner of the mini-map but they disappeared quickly. In-gong stared at the mini-map for a while but he couldn’t see the Red Lightning tribe anymore.
The phantom steeds landed on the ground after almost an hour. They were at the edge of the Jishuka Mountains, at the location that Felicia had pointed to on the map.
As soon as they landed, Carack jumped off the phantom steed like he was rolling. In fact, he actually was rolling down.
Felicia called out to the spirits of light to brighten the surroundings and said to everyone,
“Everybody, dismount carefully. I’ll send the phantom steeds back. We will have to move on feet from here on.”
She confirmed the location through research, but she had never visited it herself. Rather than flying on the phantom steed, it was better to look at the mountainside with their own eyes.
However, In-gong cried out just before Felicia dismounted from the phantom steed.
“Wait, wait a minute Noona.”
“Huh? Why?”
Felicia raised her head with a dubious expression and asked him why. In-gong moved his phantom steed close to her and asked.
“Is the entrance to the ruins near here?”
“Probably, there is a very high possibility.”
It was a somewhat ambiguous answer, but her eyes and voice were confident. In-gong swallowed his saliva and said straight to Felicia’s face,
“Then can you follow my lead here? In my opinion, there is no need to search for the entrance.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Right. What does that mean?”
Carack, who regained his stability thanks to having two feet on the ground, asked urgently. He didn’t want to ride the phantom steed again.
He was speaking informally and Delia and Katuin’s expressions darkened. In-gong spoke quickly before Felicia pointed out Carack’s disrespect.
“While I was opening the dwarf portal, I looked closely at the map in the cave. The dwarves already knew of this place.”
Of course, it was a lie. He never looked closely at the map or found anything related to these ruins but he needed to say something plausible.
“Considering the characteristics of this terrain and the dwarf cave, as well as the story that I heard, I think I know the approximate location.”
“Location? The location of the room that holds the light?”
Felicia corrected her posture on the phantom steed and asked with confusion. In-gong nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. I don’t think we need to go to the entrance when considering the terrain.”
Felicia’s expression became even stranger. Delia and Katuin maintained their expressions, but he could see incredulity in their eyes.
Additionally, Carack didn’t stay silent.
“Prince, what does that mean? Instead of going through the door, are you going to make a hole in the wall to enter?”
Indeed, Carack’s comprehension wasn’t common for an orc. In-gong said with a smile,
“Yes, that’s right. The cave was used by Enkidu’s treasure keepers, so it is virtually like a dungeon. There might be traps or guardians still moving. It is much better to make a gap than to break through the entrance.”
In-gong’s voice was confident and he believed firmly in his own words.
It was because he actually did that when he played Locke.
The event to destroy the Thunder Light Anvil had been a necessary event to take over the Demon World.
After playing Locke five times, he remembered clearly where and how to break through.
However, he couldn’t tell everyone that he knew about it from a game. That’s why In-gong was forced to think up reasons to explain it.
Felicia stared at In-gong. Her eyebrows raised like she was worried and she opened her mouth.
“No, no matter how much sense it makes…”
“It is possible. Shutra can tell.”
Caitlin interrupted Felicia’s words. She placed her hands on her waist and spoke firmly to the surprised Felicia.
“Shutra’s ability to grasp the terrain is really amazing. So, Shutra will be able to do it. Isn’t that right, Seira?”
She was perplexed by Caitlin’s sudden call but she nodded quickly. It was because In-gong had already proven his skill. It wasn’t simply memorization.
“Yes, that’s right. I believe in him.”
Caitlin looked at Felicia with a look that said, ‘Do you hear me?’
In-gong said determinedly,
“Felicia noona, trust me once.”
Although he didn’t intend to do so, he had a pleading expression on his face. For the first time, he seemed to be benefiting from Shutra’s good looks.
Felicia looked between In-gong and Caitlin and sighed.
“Okay, I will try it once. Where do you think we should go?”
“Thank you, just wait.”
In-gong jumped down from the phantom steed, picked up a branch and started drawing a map on the ground. His Map Reading skill had reached level two. so it wasn’t just a scribble on the ground.
“Our position is here and this is where we need to go.”
Caitlin, Seira and Carack nodded as In-gong pointed to their position, but Felicia was skeptical.
However, Felicia knew how to keep her word. Since she had already decided to believe him, she prepared for the phantom steeds to leave instead of talking any longer.
“Give me the directions. I will drive the phantom steeds.”
“I understand, thank you, Noona.”
In-gong laughed and Felicia eventually said,
“I must be crazy.”
Felicia mumbled as she controlled the phantom steeds and flew back up into the sky.
&
There was quite a considerable distance toward the place where In-gong had pointed to. Moreover, the surroundings were dark, so it was hard to find the way when looking down from the sky.
However, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that In-gong’s mini-map was a fraudulent system. He checked their current location with the mini-map and acted as Felicia’s navigator.
At first, Felicia followed In-gong’s directions with an uncertain face, but she soon became speechless. Caitlin saw Felicia’s expression and smiled.
They arrived at the destination without much difficulty but the atmosphere was different from before. Their current location wasn’t far from the swamp where the swamp mammoths and lizardmen resided in the Jishuka Mountains.
“Okay, it probably isn’t around here. They pushed us back, so now it is our turn to push them. Even if the swamp is close, it is quite far on the map.”
In-gong didn’t know if Carack was a mind-reader or just thought about it properly, but Carack said what he was thinking.
Felicia agreed and called light to the surroundings, but the light was weaker than before.
“Shutra, where should we go?”
“Just wait a moment.”
In-gong enlarged the mini-map while pretending to be concentrating. He checked the boundaries of the terrain and found the coordinates.
Of course, he hadn’t memorized every feature that appeared in Night Saga. He just remembered this because it was a famous and bad event.
“This way.”
In-gong confirmed the coordinates and moved through some bushes. A large wall soon appeared in front of him.
Felicia stared up at the cliff with wide eyes. There was a large crack on the wall like someone had split apart the mountain with a giant knife.
‘What is going to happen here?’
In-gong smiled mischievously at the question in Carack’s eyes. This was the reason why he argued that Caitlin should come with them.
“Yes, Caitlin noona. It is Noona’s turn.”
“Huh?”
“Smash that cliff and break it down. Can you do that?”
As a wolf lycanthrope, Caitlin could smash a gate with one blow. It was four years earlier, so Caitlin was weaker. However, In-gong had no hesitation after seeing her in battle. That’s why anticipation was in his eyes.
“Eh? Ah… Eh… Yes.”
Caitlin couldn’t ignore the anticipation in In-gong’s eyes and looked up at the cliff with clenched fists. A cold wind was blowing but she was sweating.
“Please take care of it!”
In-gong cheered Caitlin on and Carack also looked at her with admiration. Delia and Katuin were affected by the mood and became excited.
In front of all the gazes, Caitlin swallowed her saliva. She had no choice but to try.
At that moment, Felicia clapped In-gong’s back.
“Hey, do you think that Caitlin is a siege weapon? How can she smash it with a punch?”
“Uh, smash it?”
In-gong made a confused expression. Felicia stared incredulously at In-gong while Caitlin bowed her head with a gloomy expression.
“Sorry.”
She was sad that she couldn’t meet her younger brother’s expectations.
Felicia sighed and stepped forward.
“Get out of the way. This Noonim will demonstrate her skills.”
Felicia clapped her hands and two different spirits appeared in front of the cliff.
