Chapter 190: Ch 190: Shelly’s Might
The monster was tough, but it stood no chance against Shelly. She moved her sword around inside the monster’s shell until she found its weak spot, and then she pressed hard against it.
The monster let out a pained yell and thrashed around in an attempt to shake Shelly off.
But Shelly’s grip was tight, and she managed to maintain her balance while using her powers to injure the monster even further.
"Stay down, you big idiot. Can’t you see that we are trying to get out of here?"
Shelly complained while stomping her foot on top of the monster. It finally gave in and kicked the bucket. But Shelly did not pull her sword out immediately.
Instead, she waited to see whether the monster was faking its death before pulling her sword free and walking toward Rin’s side.
"Rin, I did it. I took that monster down. Can you tell me that I did a good job?"
Shelly asked while snuggling against Rin. She looked satisfied with what she had done, and Rin was too shocked to do anything other than reach out and pat her head affectionately.
"You did a good job, Shelly. You should rest while you can and not push yourself too hard. We still have no idea what kind of monsters we will face from here on."
Rin told her, but Shelly only half-heard him as she kept a tight hold on his arm.
He ignored Albus’s exclamation of "Holy hell!" while he focused on the next task at hand—finding the other shards.
"Now we have the map as well as the locations of the monsters on it. But we are still missing the shard that tells us where the other shards are. We will have to get lucky to find the remaining ones."
Rin sighed as he came to that conclusion.
"Hmm, my gamer intuition is telling me that we should head this way. The monster formation looks a little weird, almost as if they are trying to protect something in the middle. I bet it’s another shard."
Albus pointed toward the other side of the map and nodded.
It would be a long and exhausting walk if they followed Albus’s intuition and went there. But they did not have another option either. After all, it was not like they knew where the other shards were hidden.
"I guess we have no choice but to start walking. Tell me if anyone gets tired so we can take a break. Don’t try to push yourselves too hard."
Rin reminded everyone, but then he recalled that he was the one with the worst stats there. If anyone was going to get tired, it was likely going to be him.
...
’Fuck it! If I knew I would get tired this easily, then I would have asked everyone to search for a shard closer to the last one.’
Rin let out a sigh as he followed the group, but his legs were starting to hurt. He could also feel himself slowly falling behind before the others slowed their pace to match his.
He did not say anything because he was embarrassed, and the others also did not point out that he was lagging behind at times.
The only thing that helped him save face was the fact that he was not the only one struggling.
Amelia was also finding it hard to keep up with the group’s pace, and her face was red from exertion. But in her case, it was because she had never had to push herself this hard physically before.
Still, she gave Rin an excuse to stop and rest for a bit. So he clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention.
"We should rest for a bit now. There is a cave nearby with no monsters around it. We can rest there for a while before continuing."
The system clock told Rin that they had been there for about sixteen hours already. No one was openly showing their fatigue, but everyone had to be feeling at least some exhaustion. So it would be nice to sit down and have some food.
[You are far too fragile, Rookie. This senior is worried about your stamina. How will you be able to work long hours in the future if you cannot even keep up with this much?]
[But I am sure you will manage somehow and not disappoint the system.]
Rin ignored the system and led the group toward the cave shown on the map.
It was a decent place with a soft floor and clear walls. There was nothing there that felt threatening, and everyone immediately relaxed.
"We should take turns sleeping. I will take the first watch, so you all can go to sleep. And yes, that includes you as well, Shelly."
Shelly pouted to show that she did not want to sleep. But she did not want to go against Rin’s words either, so she closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep.
But she must have been more tired than she let on because she fell asleep almost immediately.
Amelia and Albus were not far behind, and they quickly drifted into a deep sleep as well.
Teressa closed her eyes too, but it was hard to tell whether she was actually asleep or not. Still, Rin chose to believe that she could take care of herself and left her alone.
That only left Serena, who closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. But unlike the others, she did not seem to fall asleep.
"Serena, you should sleep as well. We don’t know how long the journey ahead will be. You will be too exhausted to do anything if you don’t rest."
Rin pointed out, and Serena nodded to show that she understood before finally closing her eyes. Her breathing eventually evened out, and Rin let out a sigh as he watched her fall asleep.
He relaxed against the wall as well and closed his eyes. But he immediately jolted awake when he felt himself starting to drift off.
’I cannot let myself fall asleep. I am on guard duty, and I need to make sure I keep an eye out for monsters.’
Rin was beyond tired, but he still had a duty to perform. But his body felt so heavy, and all he wanted to do was rest.
[You can go to sleep, Rookie. This senior will keep an eye on you and inform you if you are in danger.]
