Vortex Hill (3)

The basilisk had to expend a great deal of effort just to turn itself to attack Gregory. During that interval, Gregory was preoccupied with watching his companions' movements.

Since even the slightest mistake could lead to a fatal injury, he intended to swiftly slay the basilisk and provide support if things became dangerous.

'This should be enough, I think.'

Gregory thought that any further hesitation could spell disaster. The strategy that Ernest and Adrian had proposed—to buy time.

In truth, expecting Ernest and Adrian alone to face three basilisks was nonsense. Dodging the attacks was their only chance at survival; mounting a counterattack was out of the question.

But could Elisabeth, Brea, and Alessandro defeat a basilisk by themselves as a trio?

In reality, that too was an unreasonable proposition.

Gregory had believed he had given them enough time to awaken their senses, so he decided to finish it off quickly.

'You're exhausted now, aren't you...?'

The basilisk, worn down by Gregory's constant evasions, could do no more than menace him; to conserve its strength, it moved sluggishly.

Gregory stared at the basilisk and then dashed at it. Startled by his sudden switch to aggressive tactics, the basilisk recoiled.

However, unable to retreat, the basilisk used all the strength it had been reserving, making a desperate charge at Gregory.

Everything proceeded as planned. Responding as the basilisk had intended, Gregory instead leapt high to aim for its vital spot and climbed onto the basilisk's back.

Alarmed, the basilisk thrashed in panic, but Gregory barely managed to keep his balance and channeled his strength into his sword.

If one only knew the method, it was not hard to bring down a basilisk, yet its strength remained formidable.

'How dare you look down on us? Die, you creature!'

A basilisk has two main weaknesses. As with any serpent, a powerful strike or stab to the head results in instant death or severe injury.

But their heads are protected by thick, hard scales, making them hard to pierce.

What Gregory targeted was the second weak point—the spine.

Serpents have long, flexible spines, but a powerful blow to the spine can paralyze or greatly hinder their movement. That was why he had climbed onto its back.

He mercilessly stabbed its vital spot to save his companions.

Shhhiiiik-!

The basilisk thrashed in even greater agony than before at his fierce attack, but already fatally wounded, it could no longer move.

Thud-!

At last, it collapsed on the spot, spewing excessive amounts of blood. As it fell, sand scattered everywhere, and the other basilisks could not help but sense the vibrations.

Abandoning the enemies before them, the other basilisks hastily changed course and rushed toward Gregory.

"Alright, I'll take you all on too."

Gregory muttered to himself, provoking the approaching basilisks.

But when blinded by vengeance and panic, even what usually goes well turns awry.

The basilisks, thrown into confusion by the sudden death of their leader, swarmed toward Gregory, their bodies entangling with each other.

Panicked, they tried to disentangle themselves, but having lost all reason, their struggles only had the opposite effect.

As a result, they became even more entangled, and Gregory stared intently at them. Afterward, Gregory called out to his companions.

"The battle isn't over yet. Everyone, grip your swords tightly and come to me!"

The Dawn Knight Order, summoning their remaining strength with trembling limbs, succeeded in fending off the basilisks and, completely exhausted, had to fall into sleep.

Nonetheless, having faced such formidable foes, they could not fall asleep easily, tossing and turning throughout the night.

***

Once more, a scorching morning arrived. Heat shimmered everywhere from the sun reflecting off the desert, and their throats dried out quickly.

Except for sleep, they had to keep moving forward, so they climbed onto the cart and stayed in the shade to avoid the sunlight.

Alessandro grumbled.

"How long do we have to keep this up...? It's only the second day, and this is already so tough..."

Gregory grinned broadly at the half-asleep Alessandro.

"I don't think the hard part has even started yet."

Alessandro, sensing danger, bristled.

"W-what are you planning?"

Then, Gregory discussed with Alessandro in depth the methods of dealing with basilisks and the development of swordsmanship from the day before.

Growing bored, Brea stood up.

"I don't want to hear anymore..."

Gregory didn't care. He firmly believed that if he kept sharing his experiences and know-how with his companions like this, they would one day gain insight and their skills would improve dramatically.

Back in his previous life, he had shone only after pushing himself through harsh adversity. Believing his training methods were sound, he spoke without holding back.

Though Alessandro had grumbled until now, he listened intently to Gregory. He had felt something both during yesterday's basilisk encounter and when Elisabeth and Adrian had sparred.

Adrian's rapid improvement in skill had become evident—especially after Gregory and Adrian had that secret conversation.

He thought that if he worked hard as Gregory advised, even he, lacking as he was, could become an asset to the Dawn Knight Order.

"Do you have anything more to say?"

"Hm... That's enough for today."

"Come on. I want to know more."

Gregory waved him off, stopping Alessandro, and, unlike when he told the story, shed his smile as he spoke.

"If you take in too much information at once, you can't absorb it all. Be satisfied with today's lesson. Once your foundation is solid, I'll tell you more then."

Alessandro was disappointed but steeled his resolve.

"Alright. I'll try my best."

After their long conversation, they arrived at Vortex Hill faster than expected. They had encountered monsters on the way, but Gregory had dispatched them quickly, judging that water would soon be in short supply due to the harsh conditions.

Vortex Hill was a massive hill rising from the center of the desert—but it was not a simple sand dune. It was the source of monsters, a focal point where powerful mana currents gathered.

Surely, monsters should have been swarming the area, but since they weren't, it seemed they had been lucky enough to avoid them on their way here.

'Is that Vortex Hill...?'

Gregory climbed down from the cart and took out his dowsing rod to search the surroundings. Dowsing rods come in L and Y shapes; this time, needing to find an underground water vein below the ruins, he used the L rod.

Gregory handed the L rods to his companions.

"Everyone, hold onto these."

They all looked puzzled. It made no sense for Gregory to hand them these metal rods in the desert, where danger could lurk at any moment.

Normally, Elisabeth would have followed the order without question, but pure curiosity led her to ask back.

"What are we going to do with these?"

"We're going to find the ruins now."

At that, everyone was stupefied. Gregory's apparently unprepared action left them flustered.

Searching for ruins in this vast desert—how was that any different from searching for a needle in a haystack?

Brea, flustered, approached Gregory.

"Ru-ruins? You're saying we're going to find ruins in this huge place? Did you receive some orders? Or not?"

Gregory nodded nonchalantly.

"Is something wrong? Did you think we came here for a vacation?"

Her face reddened as she vented her anger.

"A vacation?! Wasn't this supposed to be training? What's this got to do with our training?!"

Adrian echoed Brea's words.

"Yeah, what training is this if it's just manual labor? Did you forget how much we suffered yesterday?"

Gregory recited calmly, unfazed by his companions' reactions.

"So, do you all think that training only means physical exercise? This sort of mental training will be a great strength someday. If you don't want to do it, just sit in the cart and rest."

No one could object to Gregory's brusque reply. Partly due to the knight order's rules, but also because they believed Gregory must have a reason for insisting on such orders.

Ernest tried to calm everyone.

"Alright now, calm down. Gregory, what's your reason for exploring this area? You should tell us that before we can follow. If it were an ordinary investigation, you wouldn't have given us these tools, would you?"

Alessandro looked uncertainly at Gregory, but Gregory still didn't care much. In any case, whether he handed Alessandro a weapon or had them train, everything followed the natural order.

Since everyone sought to grow stronger, and small things accumulated into great gains, Gregory believed his companions would eventually come to understand.

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