I nocked a stick onto the bowstring and pulled as far as I could until the bow creaked. Rachel’s scream soon followed after the stick pierced through the air.
“This is amazing…”
I couldn’t help but mutter in awe.
Indeed, the [Black Lotus Bow] seemed like the perfect weapon.
[Black Lotus Bow] [Legendary] [Spirit Attribute] — A masterfully crafted bow engraved with a black lotus. — Lotus: Arrows shot from this bow will strike their targets. (Limited to visible targets.) — Black Sun and Moon: The user’s vision will be enhanced and the user may move without a sound. — Spirit Eradication: Possesses the power to eradicate the dead.
This bow’s creator only left behind five letters, dwarf. However, it featured unbelievable abilities like a guaranteed bull’s eye as long as the target remained in my vision. This simple ability seemed almost otherworldly. I took full advantage of it to make fun of Rachel right now.
“One more time.”
I shot another stick and she failed to dodge again as it struck her pinky toe. I couldn’t take any pride in this one-sided beating.
I recalled her words from before.
Even an evil person is a person. You can’t kill someone just because they’re evil.
She was right by a hundred, no, a thousand times. I still treated this world as a novel and felt like an outsider without a way to leave.
“One… more… time…” Rachel muttered.
I set aside my troubling thoughts and shot at Rachel again. I only did this for her sake.
I somewhat understood why the kings of olden days hated to be admonished. Just kidding. I closely watched Rachel and felt something was off.
A heavy burden seemed to be hindering her. A burden from her convictions and past mistakes on top of limitations she placed on herself.
However, the Rachel I designed in my novel had been completely different. I wanted her to become that Rachel again by standing on her own two feet.
I wanted to repay her for Evandel at the very least.
“I’ll keep going then.”
I chose to use her anger.
Anger and sadness always turned out to be the most cliché methods for someone to awaken.
“Eu… Ugh!”
Rachel lost her cool after another barrage of sticks struck her and she wildly swung her sword in every direction. However, she didn’t swing purely out of desperation. Her sword grew sharper the more she swung and formed a sword screen.
I shot another stick that ignored Rachel’s sword screen thanks to my bow’s ability.
“Argh!”
She retreated by a step after getting hit on the forehead. Her body trembled before she sat on the ground.
“It… It hurts…”
“You don’t plan on using your spirits?” I sighed and lowered my bow.
I could tell she held back. Rachel’s abilities shined most when she used her sword and spirits together. She knew that, but consciously limited herself.
“Did your teacher tell you not to use them together?”
“…” Rachel bit her lips and didn’t respond.
I couldn’t tell if she was being kind or stupid. Anyways, her silence frustrated me.
“Why do you even bother listening to a teacher like that?”
“Don’t badmouth my master!” Rachel fiercely retorted.
However, she looked quite awkward because she never made a scary face before. She resembled a cat meowing while thinking she was a lion roaring.
Her awkward expression only looked cute.
“Sure, then continue your futile attempts as long as you want. Let’s see if you can catch me.”
“I plan to do that without you telling me!”
I raised my bow again.
Rachel seemed quite offended when I badmouthed her teacher. She got worked up and continued getting hit by my sticks until five in the morning.
***
The march continued early in the morning. The guild members seemed in good spirits. Perhaps last night refreshed them, but they even had the luxury to yawn and chat while walking.
“Oh! It’s quite vast!”
A plain appeared and seemed so wide that they could run to their hearts' content. The guild members’ eyes sparkled while looking towards the horizon.
“Will this place be alright?”
Rachel asked Xtra and he reassured them. She nodded at the others and they tightly grabbed their reins.
Rachel summoned Windy and created a stream of wind for the horses to run with.
“Ahhhh, I can feel my stress flying away.”
“I think we just passed 200 km/hr.”
“That’s the end of it. Look, it’s uphill from here.”
Around an hour passed since they rode their horses to their heart’s content. The ground slowly inclined and grew narrower. Unfortunately, another series of steep hills interrupted their joy.
“Hmm? Vice Leader, you have a scar there.”
Clop… Clop… Clop… Clop…
Fermin spotted a small bruise on Rachel’s forehead and her words attracted everyone’s attention.
“I think a mosquito bit me. It’s nothing serious.”
Rachel nonchalantly passed it off and covered it with her hair.
“Huh? No way, that doesn’t look like a mosquito bite.”
“I’m fine.”
“Still, we should—“
“I said I’m fine!”
“Yes ma’am.”
Fermin shut her mouth after Rachel’s somewhat scary response.
Rachel had just experienced humiliation like never before. That mercenary one-sidedly beat her and continuously taunted her. She burned with the desire for redemption after what happened last night. Of course, she knew Xtra was miles ahead of her. However, it wouldn’t be impossible to surpass him.
“Oh, the road forks up ahead. What should we do, Vice Leader?” Fermin asked while pointing ahead.
— To the right.
Xtra suddenly told them.
“To the right.”
Rachel relayed his words to the guild members, who moved without a question.
Xtra couldn’t help but smirk after watching her.
— You sound like a parrot. Heh.
“…”
Rachel bit her lips and tried her best to feign ignorance while looking at the scenery around them.
Three paths appeared after they walked for a while.
— Take the path on the left.
“The first path from the left.”
They took the leftmost path and marched for around 20 minutes. Then the path split into four this time.
— Continue straight.
“The middle. We’re going straight.”
Rachel began to slightly alter his words. The mercenary couldn’t help but laugh at her extreme pride.
“Hmph! What’s so funny?”
Rachel scoffed in response.
— Nothing, I just found your attitude cute.
“Ahh! You!”
She almost blurted a curse word when her temper flared. Rachel tightly gripped the communication crystal while shaking.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I have no idea.”
The guild members tilted their heads while watching Rachel’s bizarre actions. Fermin took things a bit more seriously than the rest.
Actually, something had been bothering Fermin since last night. She couldn’t understand why a skilled mercenary like Xtra would give them a discount and work for them. She continued watching from the sidelines and planned to immediately bring up anything suspicious.
“I guess you can’t have it all.”
Fermin grumbled and sighed as she looked at the Vice Leader.
***
The march reached its fourth day.
The English Royal Court progressed quite far into Central Asia without any skirmishes or casualties. Of course, the real journey had only just begun. However, the guild members didn’t worry at all because of their dependable pathfinder.
“Haa… Haa…”
The English Royal Court followed a simple routine. They marched from sunrise to sunset. Then they set up camp at a suitable location to rest at night.
Meanwhile, Rachel picked up another task in her daily schedule.
“Not yet…” she muttered.
Her bet to catch a stick continued. It sounded like a kid’s game, but she was currently lying on the ground drenched in sweat.
— What do you mean by not yet?
Rachel used every method she could think of for the past four days, but none of them worked.
— You won’t be able to without your spirits.
She lay defeated on the ground when Xtra threw a stick that perfectly struck her forehead. He also threw sand, mud, pebbles, dried leaves, and all sorts of other stuff that piled on her head.
Rachel clawed at the ground and her nails dug into the mud.
Could she really not win without her spirits? She thought about how to use her spirits out of desperation, but Shin Yeohwa’s face popped up whenever she did. Her duties as a disciple held her back.
— You’re quite pitiful.
“Haa…”
Rachel sighed because the mercenary’s pity angered her. She felt something snap in her head.
Rachel slowly stood with her eyes closed. Her flaring anger burnt away and she instinctively called out a spirit that enveloped Galatine.
— So it’s the wind spirit.
Rachel raised her spirit sword and focused all her senses on it. She swung it down and a blast of wind shot out.
Then she closed her eyes and silently waited for Xtra’s attack. She judged that her eyes would only hinder her since she couldn’t see the sticks anyways.
Tak—
Something struck her forehead again as she waited.
“What was that?”
Did something pass by just now?
Rachel blankly stared at her sword with the wind spirit still enveloping it.
I still couldn’t achieve anything after disobeying my master's command? No way, there must be more. I must be mistaken.
She thought to herself in denial.
Rachel refused to accept it and almost burst into tears. She wanted to forget about everything and just throw a tantrum like a child. She wanted to ask that damn mercenary to go easy just once, to reduce the stick’s speed by just a little.
— Don’t get discouraged.
Hiccup!
Rachel hiccupped without realizing it, but Xtra didn’t laugh like he usually did. He spoke in a serious tone this time.
— There’s no way you can do it on the first try. It’ll take some time since you haven’t used it in a while. That’s how spirits work.
“…?”
Rachel tilted her head at Xtra’s words.
It sounded as if he knew everything about spirits. He could be bluffing, but she thought otherwise.
“What do you know about— Bleugh!”
A pile of sand shot into Rachel’s mouth as she spoke.
— We’re starting again. Don’t lose the wind surrounding your sword.
Another stick flew and their training continued as Rachel spat out sand from her mouth.
She swung her sword infused with the wind spirit, but Shin Yeohwa’s face kept popping up. However, she decided not to think about that for now.
Rachel felt an odd sense of relief after making her decision.
***
“That looks quite vicious.”
The guild members finally came face to face with the stark reality in Central Asia the following day. The blue sky turned red as they marched and the ground also turned black. Their lungs felt hot as if breathing in fire.
They wore their masks and mantles, which were all top-of-the-line products from the anonymous donor.
“Vice Leader, don’t you feel nervous about this?” Marcus carefully asked.
Rachel’s expression hardened and anxiety crept up on her.
— You’ll have to pick up the pace from now on. Continue forward.
An encouraging message came from the communication crystal.
“Alright.”
Whiiiiiiish!
They saw an infamous mana storm in front of them and the wind blew right into their faces.
Rachel stood at the front and passed a magitech rope to the back.
“Everyone! Stop for a second and wrap the rope around your waist!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Do a roll call while you’re tying yourself to the rope!”
The roll call started with Rachel, Fermin, Marcus, Caron, Dale… They confirmed that no one went missing and formed a line all tied to the rope. The storm completely blinded them with dust everywhere.
However, Rachel navigated through thanks to Xtra’s guidance. Then they came to a dead-end for the first time.
“The path is…”
— Stand back. I’ll open a path for you.
Something flew out before Rachel could think. A small projectile dug itself into the rock wall and exploded. Surprisingly, the projectile triggered a chain of huge explosions.
It drilled a round path through the rock wall. This sight truly surprised everyone, but they didn’t have the luxury to stand around and admire it.
— Hurry up. You have hostiles from behind and vipers in the sky.
Kieeeeeee!
They could hear monsters shrieking in the distance. It would be best if they could avoid the high-intermediate rank poisonous flying monsters known as vipers.
— I’ll cover you, so run in a line. Now!
“Everyone! Run!” Rachel quickly shouted and the guild members ushered their mounts forward.
They could feel an unstable mana behind them followed by consecutive explosions.
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