It was the beginning of a new day, it felt especially so after last night's near-death experience that the group had. The morning breeze grazed upon their bloodied and pale faces, each tending to his wounds and fatigue while riding on the wolf's back.
They rode from the south, going from the valley toward the periphery of the mid-tier area before they went east. Hazel wondered why they traveled so much, but she was in, albeit only physically, a better condition than the rest.
"Are you hungry?" The slightly tired voice of Arthur rang in her ears, startling her greatly. She felt her stomach turn just by being next to him, hearing his concern. Now that she was out of that situation, her feelings were not the same.
She felt guilt and ugliness. Even at this moment, she still resented him slightly. When things were dire, she so easily hated someone who saved her life, even if 'she' was the one who brought him to the camp. She couldn't look him in the face, as she would be reminded by her selfishness.
Hazel knew she wasn't that much of a good person, as she has overlooked the injustice of others when it would hurt her to intervene. However, she still had principals to live by, one of them was repaying those who help her.
Yet, in her first encounter with helplessness and weakness, while being clawed by the neck having herself threatened, she was fast on abandoning those principals.
Greeted with her silence, she saw how awkward and downcast Arthur's face was for a brief moment. She felt even worse, so she had to squeeze out the words.
"No…"
A short silence ensued before a rumbling stomach was heard. Usually, such a sound was not that noticeable in normal people, but awakeners had higher metabolism than others. It was Hazel's stomach.
She wanted to die.
***
Arthur jumped from Kira's back as he began to inspect the surrounding with his rune. He used his pockets to use the rune without being seen, a method he thought of just now. From the outside, he only looked like he had his hand in his pocket. With the light of day to cover it, he also didn't need to worry about the glow.
They were near a hill that overlooked a stream of water, an ideal place for camping. However, Arthur didn't want to stay outdoors like this, so he had been using his rune to look for underground caves. The hill they stopped at was one such place, as Arthur had sensed that it had a hollow space inside it.
Arthur used his new skill to open up a path for them, draining all of his mana just to soften the soil and move it away enough for them to get in. There was a brick wall inside of it, and Arthur had Miko break through it as he was still too wounded even with the constant healing rune.
Inside was revealed to be an old building, with a statue of a woman inside of the hall that the group entered. It seemed this temple has been abandoned and buried, barely surviving the weight of the dirt on top of it.
The reason he didn't go to the pub was simple, as it was on the periphery of the world. It was surrounded by unranked and primitive monsters only, and he had to go out of his way to search for mid-tier monsters. He didn't want to run into Erin again after the last time with Miko.
"This should be enough as a hideout," Arthur said, taking out his supplies. It was roasted meat and some fruit he had saved. They had retrieved the supplies he took from the pub after fleeing the camp.
The others started eating without a word, and Arthur doubted any one of them was in a suitable condition for chitchat. Jin was mummified by bandages as his wounds were too severe. Hazel refused to look at him, only staring blankly at the ground. Miko kept silent since she didn't know the other two.
'This… was not how I expected it to be.' Arthur imagined their reunion and team to be cheerful, ambitious, and without Jin. The last one was something Arthur didn't expect to happen.
"You…" Miko broke the silence as she stared at Hazel with her poker face back. "Did you tell them Arthur's name?" She was colder than Arthur would have liked for the current situation, but this was an essential question.
Hazel slightly trembled as she was faced with this question. However, she took a deep breath and shook her head. After a lengthy silence, she answered the question.
"I told them a different name."
Miko nodded and went back to silently eating her meal. Arthur was grateful for the concern she showed for his safety and even grateful that Hazel didn't give them his real name.
"Thank you." He sincerely said, but the reaction came unexpectedly and from someone else.
"Shut up." Jin moved closer toward him and Miko stood up from her seat. She held her dagger as she glared at Jin. The latter stood in front of Arthur as he continued, "This is all because of you!"
"Jin, it's not!" Hazel shouted, feeling hypocrite because that's also what she felt at one point. "Arthur saved me," Her own words chocked, reminding her of her ugliness. "It was I that… I…" Tears began to pour down.
***
"Is there something wrong?" Fey asked, to which Yuran simply shook his hand. He stood up from his seat by the river and looked at the monk, Qin, feeding the fishes. This gentle scene was a stark contrast to the killing he talked about yesterday.
Seref Silvera. Yuran knew about him most unexpectedly, as he searched up the young man who saved while being a non-awakener. He didn't realize this information would benefit him in his search of a Saint.
His conscious pricked at him, as he felt his morals conflicting with his dream. He looked at his palm and the scar it had, memories flashing back.
'Mother…'
He resolved his heart. If he needed to betray people, he'd betray them. If he needed to be the devil and slay gods, that he would. His eyes flickered with determination and wistfulness.
Arthur was someone who saved him, someone Yuran looked at like a little brother. But if he needed to betray him to get what he wants, then he would.
"I'll look into the surrounding," He told Fey before he jumped and started running up the tree. With another jump, he stood at its highest point surveying the area. Mana gathered in his eyes as it enhanced his vision.
Down the stream, he noticed a hill where a giant wolf slept next to. He decided to change his way to avoid the monster, and he descended the tree before leaving with the other two toward the north. He heard that there were many injuries there because the summoned beast attacked them.
***
[New rune has been learned through modification.]
[Detection-II: Use mana to detect the surrounding life-forms.]
It was a lot different from Detection-I, as the only restrain was the mana Arthur was willing to invest. This message was the one that had appeared after he used the detection rune back at the camp.
That was all. He gained no other runes and no more stats points. Even so, Arthur felt pleased with this as he could now direct his detection by will. He used his rune and searched deep underground, and there were some monsters here and there. He even felt the presence of a powerful life-form, probably one of the monsters that would be summoned later.
His thoughts went back to the Dark Queen. He grabbed the dagger he kept by his side and examined it. It looked rather ordinary except for one characteristic. It was hallowing the surrounding like some divine artifact.
He kept it away as he stood up. The rest were sleeping, resting after yesterday's battle. It was nighttime and Arthur couldn't sleep. There were so many things on his mind that he didn't even want to shut his eyes to think about them.
He walked outside and found Kira to be asleep. He patted it gently as he watched it sleeping soundly. He sat by his side as he took out some mana cores he had gathered. He split the cores with Miko after their hunts and he was left with 3 mid-tier mana cores.
His mana increased by 10 after absorbing them all. His aching body felt slightly better, but his mind was tired. He was tired of staying here, trying to survive no matter what, and having to put up with these crazy people.
'Well, I also made some friends.'
Arthur smiled to himself as he lied on Kira's soft fur, as he remembered the people he met. Hazel, Yuran, and Miko. These people could be considered his friends, bound by helping each other. Jin was also not bad, after seeing how he defended Hazel. There was also the beautiful Fey, but she was aloft except for her interaction with Yuran.
Every person he met was unique in their way. He was making friends for the first time in years, and he couldn't help but smile as he remembered Yuran's kind face. He wondered what he was doing now.