Chapter 69

Episode 69

The morning dawned.

“Hmm…”

Beatrice stood up, clutching her throbbing head.

The events of yesterday came back to her dazed mind.

“Ah…”

Her face turned red.

I was drunk and spoke without knowing what to say or not to say.

“Oh why did I do that?”

She hit the blanket hard.

I remembered the masked man I met in front of the inn yesterday.

And his wife and siblings who were next to him.

Thinking of them made me smile, but for a moment I shook my head and sighed.

“I can’t believe I’m partying with someone I’ve never met before…”

I couldn’t bear it after hearing the story of Red Mill, the masked man.

I felt so sorry for him and also felt amazing.

Although he was older than me.

Rather, because he was older, I couldn’t just look at him.

Although I couldn’t see his expression because it was covered by a mask, he must have had a sad face when he was telling his story.

“Haa…”

The mood he gave off was so sad that it brought tears to my eyes.

How can we just watch him miss his parents and regret his actions?

‘Why am I suddenly thinking of my brother?’

I could see the nostalgic side of him taking care of his group.

My brother is unable to even talk to me right now.

I don’t know why.

I just saw him taking care of the group’s needs, and it was my first time seeing him.

The atmosphere was very similar.

“I can’t help it.”

There were two reasons why she came to the North.

To obtain practical experience and magic materials.

I felt so pathetic for receiving help from Raymond during the banquet.

No matter how much I tried to focus on my studies and forget, I couldn’t forget.

In fact, the more I did it, the more I felt like I was running away.

That’s why I came to the north to erase my pathetic appearance.

To change his behavior, which hardens when he is in front of monsters.

‘It might actually be okay.’

If you move alone and can’t do anything with a monster in front of you, you will die.

Therefore, it would not be a bad idea to team up with someone who seems to be skilled in this work and proceed step by step.

I opened the door and came out.

“You woke up quickly.”

Her face turned red again as Red Mill greeted her with a wave of her hand.

***

Beatrice sat in front of me hesitantly.

As I was looking at her, I couldn’t help but smile.

In the future, I have the opportunity to travel with her and get to know her.

It would be better if I revealed myself. If that happens, I’m not even sure she’ll team up with me.

You will be alert to your surroundings.

This can be annoying in many ways.

There will be minnows clinging to get something.

So I must not reveal that I am Raymond, at least until the work in the North is over.

Time passed.

In the meantime, I got a little closer to Beatrice.

Now I can talk to her comfortably.

She treated me with the same respect.

If I were older, it would be impossible for me to use informal language.

That’s what we did when we first introduced ourselves, so now we can’t say we’re the same age.

I decided to just leave it alone.

Although it is a man’s face, the expression is not obscured.

Maybe that’s why I was able to see quite a lot of emotional expressions while spending time with her.

I decided to be satisfied with that for now.

“Now let’s go out quickly.”

When I left the inn, the streets of the city, which were always crowded with people, were quiet.

The door to the north has been opened. Most of the people in the city had come to go to the north.

It was natural for it to be empty like this.

“Business has been slow for a while now.”

“How many people will come back alive this time?”

There was only one entrance to the wall that divided the northern and central parts, which was thousands of meters long.

A city bastion called the last hope.

Only through there can you travel to and from the North.

“Please write your name here.”

There was a tired man next to the door.

And the names of countless people were written on the paper he handed over.

Write it down to figure out how much went out and how much came back.

“I hope you come back alive.”

A security guard speaks to us as we write down our names and leave.

It was like some kind of ritual.

Don’t die, come back alive.

Woooooo –

The door closes.

Now I have to stay in the north for half a year.

That door will never open even if a survivor returns and shouts for help.

Until the day comes when the doors have to open again.

“Use this for everything.”

I handed the cloth to the group.

The entrance to the north was like that of the desert. If you go further after that, you will reach mountain ranges and the sea.

There are vehicles that can only be ridden in the desert, but they are very difficult to obtain.

“This is the North… there’s nothing.”

“It’s hot…”

Mahol and Reina covered their necks and mouths with a thin cloth.

Desert sand is so small that it easily gets into your mouth or nose.

So it’s a good idea to cover your mouth with a magically cooled cloth.

“But where are those people going, why are they moving so quickly?”

“There aren’t that many monsters you can catch here. That’s why I’m trying to go to the mountain range at the end of the desert. Above all, it’s not hot there.”

But running like that is a loss. It takes three days to travel from the desert to the mountains.

If you have a vehicle, you can go faster than that, but otherwise, you need to save as much stamina as possible while moving.

If you exhaust yourself in a place like this, you will die.

And they won’t know that.

‘The desert is dangerous.’

The desert was very dangerous in many ways, not just because of its environment.

Even if you lack stamina, it is better to enter the mountain range quickly.

Hehehe.

“It’s scary to say…”

I felt a vibration under my feet.

The group seemed to be startled by the vibration.

“Ta land…!”

They looked back at me urgently.

I told Mahol to take care of Rayna and held Ellis in my arms.

Beatrice had already been enchanted.

“Hmph!”

As soon as the ground split, he kicked the ground and rolled to the side.

Mahol had already run away with Reina in his arms.

Beatrice… you don’t have to worry.

Kkieeeek!

Something rising high shook its long body and screamed.

That’s it.

The reason people who come to the North are busy

is because there are sandworms.

Because of the tough leather that is impervious to most swords.

A desert predator that even veteran mercenaries had no choice but to give up on catching.

It was a huge individual boasting a body length of a whopping 22m.

Dealing with this guy was suicidal.

And more than anything else.

“Tsk. “This is why I don’t like sandworms.”

Charrrrrr –

There was a monster that always followed the sandworm around.

“It’s the most annoying thing to deal with because there are always leeches attached.”

The monster, also known as the sand shark, resembles a shark in the sea.

The only difference is that its mouth resembles that of a sandworm and its size is similar to that of an adult male.

Sandworms are sandworms, but sand sharks are the most annoying.

He was quick and clever, so he never walked alone.

There are always at least three of them, and they always travel together with sandworms.

Their other nickname is desert scavengers, as they feed on the remains left behind after sandworms hunt.

“Beth. “There is no need to hunt, so just be cautious.”

I handed Alice over to her and took a quick look at her condition.

Although his hand was shaking as he held the cane tightly, fortunately he was calm and aware of the situation.

That was it.

Her excessively pale face showed that she was having a hard time hunting monsters.

So I didn’t ask her to hunt.

“I’m enough on my own.”

Because we can win without her.

As long as the safety of the group was confirmed, there was no reason why I couldn’t go on a rampage.

The only thing I was worried about was whether the sword would hold up.

The sword the crown prince gave me was kept separately, and now in my hands was the long sword I bought in the city.

Because you can’t break the crown prince’s sword and eat it.

Okay.

I cut my hand.

Blood flowed and fell onto the sand.

One of the characteristics of sandworms and sand sharks is.

Kieeeeek!

The smell of blood made him crazy.

Even from tens of kilometers away, if even a single drop of blood falls on the sand, they smell it and come to visit.

Therefore, it was forbidden to get hurt in the desert where sandworms exist.

“I guess this is enough.”

You only need to bleed enough to smell the blood.

If you spill too much, more sandworms will come in addition to the one in front.

Wrap your hand with a cloth to stop the bleeding.

I swung my sword.

Sigh!

The body of the sand shark that rose from the ground was split in half.

Ugh!

The sword was stained blue.

I felt the power getting stronger in real time.

My body was filled with a sense of fulfillment that I could do anything.

Kieeek!

The sand shark, smelling the blood of its compatriot, became enraged and rushed towards it.

The ground shook beneath us.

Puhwaak!

I threw myself to the side, and a sandworm soared underneath me.

Phew!

A sword was stabbed into the body.

Only half of the sword went in.

It was so tough that even though it was surrounded by an aura, I couldn’t pierce it all the way through.

Kieeeeek!

The sandworm seemed enraged by the sword stuck in its body and dug into the ground.

I drew my sword and dodged.

Okay.

He went down to the ground and cut off the sand shark’s head.

I climbed on the body, stepped on the blood, and slipped.

“Uh…”

Another sand shark approaches, taking advantage of that gap.

The teeth look like protrusions and are ugly.

The sand shark’s mouth swallows me.

“Red Mill!”

Beatrice screamed at that sight.

And then he hurriedly tried to use magic.

But something is strange. Unlike himself, his group with her is overly calm.

It’s a dangerous situation where anyone can die.

I just watched quietly as if this was normal.

As she felt something strange, she saw the sand shark’s body exploding.

Quaaaaa!

I clenched my fist and swung my fist at his head.

My fist filled with aura crushed its teeth and exploded its entire head.

“Ah…”

Blood and flesh poured down the body.

When I wake up frowning at him.

Ugh!

Before I knew it, the sandworm came and swallowed me up.

That’s not it.

Beatrice looked at Raymond blankly and missed the timing to use magic.

And when he saw him being swallowed by a sandworm, he urgently used magic.

“Fire Lance!”

Spears of fire appeared around her and attacked the sandworm.

However, the fire spear she created did not properly hit the sandworm.

It only created a little bit of smoke.

She bit her lip and prepared for a bigger magic.

However, there was something strange about the sandworm’s condition.

The body that had been digging into the ground began to shake.

Kieeeeek!

The body of a sandworm screaming as if in pain.

Patter.

It turned into well-cut chunks of meat and fell to the ground.