“Lady Savior, now!”
The claws of the creature hurtling down from the sky collided with Hakon’s spearhead.
[Level 14 Craig Eagle]
An eagle with a massive body reminiscent of a light aircraft, and the ruler of the skies with likely the highest level in Area 2, Raptor.
It was so powerful that Hakon’s arms trembled violently.
He was barely maintaining his balance, but it wouldn’t have been strange if he were sent flying at any moment.
At that instant, a black wind swept past Hakon’s side.
Ian.
The girl sprinting with a sword in hand.
Like a meteor across the night sky, a long trail of blue light rushed toward her foe.
Basic Swordsmanship Skill, Third Form.
A two-hit slashing technique.
“Double Axel!”
Ian’s skill erupted.
“Kieeeek!”
Blood gushed from the eagle’s two deep gashes.
But even after Ian’s sword strike, the eagle did not fall.
The ruler of the skies beat its enormous wings with all its might.
The eagle’s body soared into the air, and a fierce wind and rough cloud of dust swallowed the two of them.
“Urgh!”
While the two of them were unable to move, the eagle escaped beyond their range and circled around them.
It was trying to recover from the wound Ian had inflicted and wait for an opportunity.
However, the creature did not know.
“Lady Savior, if you would.”
“I know.”
That Ian’s staff was already aimed at it.
Her mana filled the staff, and wind swirled around it.
“Wind Cutter!”
A blade of wind rushed toward the eagle.
Ian’s magic struck the eagle’s wing before it could even perceive the attack.
“Kieek!”
The eagle screamed in agony and plummeted.
It needed time to recover its injured wing.
“Now!”
But for the two of them, this was the perfect chance.
At Ian’s shout, Hakon’s body shot forward like a bullet.
“Drive!”
The Great Warrior’s spear pierced through the eagle’s torso, timed perfectly with its fall.
And then.
“Sword Rush!”
Ian’s sword followed, digging into the eagle’s neck.
Thud!
The ruler of the skies collapsed helplessly after losing its head.
Before the spoils of the day, Ian and Hakon bumped fists.
“That was good timing.”
“That’s all thanks to me matching your pace.”
“Hm? Something about the way you said that annoys me.”
“My apologies, but I’m not in the habit of listening to the opinions of losers.”
“No, seriously, how long are you going to milk that?”
“Hmm… I hear a mosquito whining somewhere.”
And so the two of them bickered again today.
At this point, it felt empty without each other’s voices.
Looking out at the horizon where the sun was setting, Hakon said,
“Lady Savior, shall we return soon?”
“Yeah. That’s enough for today.”
Dragging the eagle’s corpse with them, the two returned to Rundel.
A week had passed since Ian began exploring Baltor.
***
Over the course of a week, Ian had looked all over the Baltor Mountains.
However, following Hakon’s guidance, she had gone to the settlements that had existed ten years ago, visited places where water had once flowed, and even explored the altars where the god of the earth had supposedly been worshiped in the past, but there had been no results.
Still, thanks to running around busily, Ian’s level had risen by leaps and bounds.
[Status Window]
Name: IAN
Gender: Female
Level: 14
Stats: Strength 16+3 | Agility 20+5 | Stamina 15+3 | Magic 12
Proficiencies Held: Basic Swordsmanship (127/1000), Basic Magic (43/1000)
A staggering level 14.
Considering she had been level 9 just a week ago, it was an absurd speed.
‘At this point, wouldn’t I be the highest-level player right now?’
The highest-level enemy in Baltor was the level 14 Craig Eagle.
Excluding the boss that had yet to be discovered, that enormous eagle was her only match in Area 2.
Of course, she knew leveling up would become harder from now on, but as she looked at the number 14, Ian found herself straightening for no reason, confidence welling up inside her, and a smile formed on her lips.
But Ian knew very well.
If she had been alone, she would never have been able to reach such numbers.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Lady Savior.”
“Yes. Get some good rest.”
Hakon.
Rundel’s Great Warrior and the man who had formed a party with Ian.
It was because of his help that she had been able to achieve such explosive growth.
Of course, her equipment and the changes in her hunting style had also helped with leveling up.
But having someone beside her who could take attacks from the front when needed and deal just the right amount of damage so she could finish enemies off gave her a sense of psychological stability.
Although NPCs were treated as party members, meaning she could only obtain half the experience, she could hunt at twice—no, more than three times—the speed compared to hunting alone, which made rapid leveling possible.
So now, it would be truly great if she could just find the boss.
“Where on earth could it be?”
In front of Ian’s lodging.
Before a modestly burning campfire.
She chewed on the tough, gamey eagle meat they had hunted today while checking the map of the Baltor Mountains.
‘I really miss Kate.’
The fact that she had to eat the meat of beasts she caught herself was one thing, but the gamey smell tormenting her nose and the dry, tough texture were quite an ordeal.
But if she didn’t eat, she would be too hungry to use her strength properly, and since this was the only kind of food available, Ian had no choice but to swallow the meat against her will.
At that moment, a familiar voice reached Ian’s ears.
“There you are, Ian.”
“Emily? You’re back already?”
“No. I was only in Rundel today.”
Emily, the shield user who had partied with her in the Area 1 boss battle.
She sat down beside Ian.
Seeing the eagle meat on Ian’s lap, she made a disgusted face.
“How on earth do you eat that?”
“There’s nothing else to eat, so I just eat it.”
“I mean, that’s true, but I really can’t stomach it.”
“But we can’t just eat nothing.”
“That’s why Naira and Mugi went to Staria to buy some food for our side.”
It wasn’t just them.
If one were to ask the clear teams currently exploring the Baltor Mountains what the hardest thing was, the very first answer would be food.
They had grown accustomed to fresh ingredients, even if they hadn’t been abundant, so meat without even any spices was a serious hardship.
That was why some people, like now, would stop exploring and go to Staria to procure food.
Truthfully, Ian also wanted to go down the mountain for a bit if she could.
‘Why the hell am I the only one with this restriction?!’
The price for using Hakon as a party member was far too great.
Emily, unaware of that fact, looked at Ian with sincere awe.
“In that sense, you really are amazing, Ian. How does that even go down your throat?”
“Don’t even get me started. I feel like I’m dying too.”
“As expected of our Savior. Your willpower is incredible.”
“Please don’t call me that.”
The fact that Ian had become Rundel’s savior was already widely known.
Even if it hadn’t been Shaura and her group, whom she had first encountered, there was no way she wouldn’t know when every villager expressed respect by calling her Lady Savior.
Though the person herself was so embarrassed she felt like dying.
Still, no one complained that she was receiving special treatment.
After all, everyone had received quests similar to Ian’s.
“By the way, what are you looking at?”
“The map. I was wondering if there’s anything I’m missing.”
And she had provided all the players going out to explore with the map of the Baltor Mountains she had uncovered and information on the beasts.
In Arcadia, which had turned into a death game, information was that valuable an asset.
In truth, she had only provided it to the players because the NPCs of Rundel weren’t much help.
Ian did not bother mentioning that fact.
Emily leaned her head over Ian’s shoulder and checked the map with her.
“It’s true, most of it has been revealed.”
“Yes. What comes next is the problem.”
It would be one thing if there were still completely dark areas.
Now that most of it had been uncovered, Ian found it difficult to decide what direction to take next.
All she could do was stare holes into the map like this.
It felt as though she were blocked by a solid wall.
That was when it happened.
“But isn’t this a little strange?”
“What is?”
“Well, there’s no road to Area 3.”
Emily showed her the Area 1 map she had and said,
“If you look here, Area 1 has a road connected to Area 2.”
“You’re right.”
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we found the boss thanks to this. We found it while combing through the area around this path. But here, no matter where you look, there’s no road leading to Area 3. Then, Ian, what do you think that means?”
There was no road on the map leading to Area 3.
The same was true from what they had confirmed with their own eyes.
After organizing her thoughts for a moment, Ian realized what Emily was trying to say.
“Underground?”
“Exactly.”
Emily nodded.
“My long-honed gamer instincts are telling me this. Somewhere around here, there’s going to be a passage leading underground. And considering the distribution of the beasts, the most likely place is here.”
Looking at the spot Emily’s fingertip touched, Ian cast her a questioning gaze.
“That’s a valley, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. A valley. And the beasts that mainly appear around here are bats. Where do bats live?”
“In caves?”
“Exactly. Caves.”
In the world of Arcadia, the ecology of beasts was quite similar to reality.
In that sense, Emily’s guess could be considered fairly reasonable.
However.
‘If there were a cave, wouldn’t Hakon have told me?’
When she had gone there, Ian had never heard anything from Hakon about there being a cave.
The Hakon she had observed over the past week was not someone capable of hiding something.
He could be annoying at times, but he was the very image of an honest and upright warrior.
‘Still, just in case, I should ask.’
But since there was no suitable method other than following Emily’s guess.
“I guess I’ll have to check tomorrow.”
If it was there, great. If not, it would be the same as usual.
Having roughly finished tomorrow’s plan, Ian closed the map.
At that moment, Emily lightly pinched the back of Ian’s hand.
“Because of that, I have a favor to ask you, Ian.”
“…What is it?”
The pressure carried by the word favor made Ian’s throat bob visibly.
“Can I come with you tomorrow?”
Without even a single second of hesitation, Ian smiled warmly.
“No.”