Vortex Hill (5)

Just as their companions suspected, Brea and Elisabeth got lost along the way and failed to quickly return, unable to keep their promise to their companions.

"Where on earth are we!"

When their destination was still nowhere in sight after a long time, Brea lost her temper.

Elisabeth quietly surveyed their surroundings and spoke calmly.

"Hm, I'm certain it was this way."

Brea scoffed at Elisabeth, meandering about carelessly.

"What, you came without even checking that? Amazing, just amazing."

"Is this funny to you? We could both die in this situation."

Brea did not take the situation seriously. Nevertheless, Elisabeth diligently set out to find the way.

Before long, the sun had set, and a sandstorm brought a severe chill upon them.

Fortunately, thanks to Elisabeth, they soon spotted a faintly visible wagon in the distance, and, after numerous complications, finally arrived at the place they were supposed to have checked.

Elisabeth muttered quietly to herself.

"Did we arrive too late?"

There was no one at the wagon. It was just piled up with goods, with not a shadow of a person to be seen. However, there was something odd.

There were traces of dug-up earth below, shaped almost like letters.

Elisabeth read the letters out loud.

Brea, taking a seat on the wagon, reacted with disinterest.

"So we went through all that to return, and there's no one here? Hmph, whatever. They'll come on their own."

Seeing that, Elisabeth shook her head as if appalled at Brea, and tried to gently persuade her.

"It looks like they went to search for us. I think we should also leave a sign that we've arrived here."

Her gaze landed on the firewood. Just as Gregory and his companions had thought, if they wandered around like this, they would only keep missing each other, but if they lit a fire, it would be visible from afar.

Brea pretended not to hear her words, so Elisabeth was left to focus on tending the campfire alone.

Elisabeth blamed herself for this as well and silently kept the flames going.

***

As night fell and the chill set in, Gregory, Alessandro, Adrian, and Ernest wrapped themselves tightly and carefully looked around.

Gregory and his companions kept moving in the direction Elisabeth and Brea had gone.

But in the profound silence, all they could hear was the wind whispering past their ears; there was not a trace of any person to be found.

Unable to stand the cold any longer, Alessandro spoke through chattering teeth.

"G-Grego, gory, sh-sh-should we h-head back n-now?"

Gregory had no choice but to make a bold decision. If he left his companions exposed to this cold, they might die of hypothermia.

And yet, they still had no way of knowing whether the two had returned or not, and couldn't just keep wandering about, risking frostbite for the rest.

Ernest exhaled a cloud of frosty breath and said,

"Gregory, let's head back for now."

Adrian agreed.

"Yeah... This doesn't feel right. For all we know, they may have come back already."

Gregory, too, resolved to return and warm themselves up. Though he was worried about the strange pair that was Elisabeth and Brea, he figured they wouldn't just stand around shivering in the cold.

So they turned back and began retracing their steps.

At that moment, a tiny light appeared in the far distance. Alessandro, seeing the light, grew excited.

"G-Gregory, c-c-could that be Elisabeth and Brea?"

Adrian tried to keep his excitement in check, worried he might be disappointed.

"It might not be. Let's go check it out first."

The closer they drew, the larger the light grew. Alessandro shouted from afar.

"Elisabeth! Brea!"

Adrian, suspecting there might still be monsters about, tried to stop Alessandro.

"Hey! Keep it down. You never know what could be around."

Ernest, wearing a gentle smile, waved his hand dismissively.

"It's all right. I don't think there are any monsters around here."

Alessandro objected to Ernest's words.

"Huh... Really? But I heard there were lots of monsters around Vortex Hill...."

And perhaps having heard their voices, Elisabeth and Brea began walking toward Gregory and the others.

"Who is it?"

As they drew closer and their faces became illuminated by the campfire, their identities became clear.

With excitement in his voice, Alessandro exclaimed,

"We're here!"

Thus, Gregory and his companions were able to regroup with no casualties or injuries.

Adrian asked,

"Where on earth have you been? We almost died looking for you."

Elisabeth said nothing. She felt the reason they got lost was because she was careless with Brea, unable to focus.

In the meantime, Brea jumped in,

"Isn't that my line? We had a hard time waiting, you know?"

Just as Alessandro was about to reply, Gregory stepped in, thinking that if they paid Brea any mind, she would continue acting this way.

Such behavior would only cause problems when they needed to work together in the future. That's why he felt it was necessary to address it now.

"Think whatever you want."

Gregory spoke indifferently.

Again, Brea adjusted her posture with a dissatisfied expression, but the companions' lack of attention quickly settled the matter.

Gregory was simply relieved that none of his companions were hurt. Another evening passed that way, with the group sensing nothing unusual and falling asleep in comfort.

Neither the monster attack nor the clues about the Legendary Sword had been resolved that day.

***

Morning dawned. Today, they had no choice but to push themselves for progress. Their food supplies would soon run out.

Gregory had boasted to Walter, but if they returned with nothing to show for it, Walter would think they'd only been training.

But right now, they lacked both real combat experience and any trace of the Legendary Sword.

Gregory wanted so badly to find it, hoping that giving the Legendary Sword to Alessandro would greatly increase his combat strength, so he pressed harder.

"We need to move more efficiently."

Gregory planned to explore a different direction, excluding the area they had searched yesterday.

Rumble—!

Then, suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. Everyone, startled by the sudden event, struggled to keep their balance.

Alessandro shouted loudly,

"Wh-what's happening!!"

Sensing something abnormal, Gregory warned everyone,

"Everyone, watch your footing!"

Upon hearing his command, the companions quickly moved away from the area. For a long while, the sandstorm continued, accompanied by a powerful tremor that wouldn't cease.

When the sand began to settle, a gigantic shadow appeared in the sky ahead.

'Of course....'

Gregory tensed, and his companions froze, unsure how to react.

A giant worm, at least seven times a person's height and thick enough that ten people could not encircle it, emerged. An earthworm turned monster, further mutated into a grotesque form from ingesting impure mana.

"Everyone, form up!!"

It became clear why there had been no monsters around, and why the basilisk had attacked so suddenly yesterday.

At first, Gregory had thought the basilisk had simply attacked for the purpose of hunting, but in fact, it had been driven from its habitat by the Giant Worm.

In the end, the sudden appearance of the Giant Worm served as a warning that these creatures were everywhere.

'Damn it, did you eat everything up....'

The Giant Worm writhed, kicking up another sandstorm as it dove underground again. Their vision blurred. Flying grains of sand lashed at their skin.

"Damn it, is this because of me again?"

Its skin was hard as steel. Gregory thought that no matter how much power they mustered, it wouldn't be enough to pierce it.

Without a six-star knight, taking down a Giant Worm was practically impossible. Only if Gregory risked using red mana despite the side effects, and all the companions combined their efforts for a single strike, would it be barely possible.

But Gregory believed he could not back down. The Giant Worm's speed, swimming through the desert, would easily outpace a human running.

If they failed to defeat it here, it would eventually threaten a village. No, they wouldn't even be able to escape in the first place, so there was no use in worrying about that.

All they could do was give it their all at this moment.

"Everyone, scatter and take positions!"

Gregory shouted loudly, rousing his companions to vigilance.

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