Chapter 8

"Haaah... Hah..."

I gasped roughly.

It was just a simple move, blocking an attack and delivering one, yet my breathing was as ragged as if I had run 100 meters at full sprint.

Sweat poured down like rain.

In front of me lay a White Soldier, eyes still open, as if their hollow gaze was whispering sins to me.

In movies, you sometimes see characters who kill someone and then panic, floundering.

Usually, that panic leads to further incidents.

Whenever that happened, I used to pound my chest, wondering why they included such frustrating characters and situations, but now that I was the one experiencing it, I understood.

It wasn't frustrating; it was just that the director's subtlety and expressive power were exceptional.

"Ryan! Look ahead!"

A heavy shout reached me.

It was Teo's shout, as he struggled against another White Soldier.

Following his words, I looked forward and saw a White Soldier who had already closed in, about to swing his axe.

He charged at me, trampling the chest of the soldier I had just defeated.

'...Too late.'

At the very least, defeating him without injury was impossible.

In that case, I had no choice but to take a blow to inflict one.

Just as I decided that and was about to extend my left arm, Lirisa, who should have been behind me, dashed forward and threw herself into the soldier's arms.

"Graaah!"

The soldier screamed, then fell, crushing Lirisa's small body beneath him.

"Huh?!"

I caught Lirisa's collapsing body and pulled her back.

Her two hands, awkwardly extended forward, were stained red, and a blood-stained dagger fell beside the fallen soldier.

It was Lirisa's secondary weapon.

Lirisa, who had been alternating her gaze between her stained hands and my face, managed a shaky, awkward smile.

"...Thank you."

Perhaps due to guilt for making an archer who should have been in the rear come to the front, it was hard to meet her eyes.

Thanks to her, I was able to regain my composure.

I checked the distance to other enemies, then scavenged the shield that the axe-wielding soldier, who had just fallen, had been using and put it on my left arm.

In doing so, I discovered the wound from the first engagement.

The forgotten pain rushed over me all at once, and my left arm trembled.

Blood was still flowing, but I had no time to stop the bleeding.

"Uwaaah!"

I blocked a swiftly closing soldier's sword swing with the shield.

Surprisingly, the scavenged shield was far more durable than my original one.

It was a considerably heavy blow, but the shield only suffered a small scratch.

I, too, swung my sword.

The soldier, closing his eyes tightly, reflexively raised his left arm's shield, which luckily blocked my attack.

However, the soldier fell weakly.

Not because his legs gave out or anything, but literally, he collapsed, unable to withstand the difference in strength.

"...Huh?"

The soldier seemed to not understand the current situation.

Since my physique and the soldier's were similar, he probably thought our strength was similar too.

I had no intention of giving him an answer.

I kicked the soldier's jaw.

Then, I plunged my sword into the center of the soldier's completely exposed chest.

I retrieved the sword, now stained crimson from hilt to blade, and surveyed my surroundings.

At this rate, we'll be completely surrounded.'

At this point, Lirisa and I had defeated four White Soldiers, including the archer.

Two soldiers had fallen before Teo's axe.

However, nine White Soldiers still remained, and they weren't just blindly charging; they were trying to cut off our retreat.

The situation was not good.

Teo had even more injuries than I did.

Most importantly, the White Hero still hadn't moved.

It was clear that the opposing player cherished their hero immensely.

But they wouldn't just stand by and watch their soldiers die forever.

I finished my calculations in my head.

"Teo."

"...I'm listening."

As I whispered softly, covering my mouth with the shield, Teo responded in a low voice, half his face hidden by his axe blade.

He was a man of good sense, after all.

"At this rate, we'll be wiped out. Our objective has already been achieved, so there's no need to risk our lives fighting. It might be better to seize an opportunity and escape."

"...They're weaker than I thought. Can't we handle them?"

I subtly shifted my gaze to Teo's profile.

A smile lingered on his lips.

I could tell he was completely intoxicated by power.

It was a phenomenon I had often observed in my subordinate heroes when playing D&K.

"Teo. They aren't weak. You've become stronger due to the benefits of the cultivation system."

"Is there a difference?"

"Our cultivation system was originally from the White Faction. Naturally, they would also have heroes who benefit from the cultivation system."

"......"

That explanation was enough.

Teo, convinced, calmed his excitement and nodded.

"Alright, Ryan. You give the signal. Lirisa. When Ryan gives the signal, run without looking back. There's a gap over there. Did you see it?"

"Yes!"

Lirisa answered energetically.

Even at this moment, the encirclement was daringly closing in.

If we delayed any longer, even the remaining gap would disappear.

"Three."

Lirisa's body tensed.

"Two."

Teo lowered his stance, ready to spring out at any moment.

"One."

I took a deep breath.

"Now!"

Without anyone going first, we all bolted simultaneously.

Perhaps surprised by our sudden action, the White Soldiers' reactions were slow.

"Get out of the way!"

Teo, who charged out the fastest, swung his axe like he was chopping wood, splitting a soldier's waist in two.

I desperately averted my gaze from the spilling entrails and put more force into my legs, pushing off the ground.

The White Soldiers, realizing the situation belatedly, began to pursue us frantically.

And then.

"Commander. I will pursue the enemy!"

Finally, the White Hero appeared.

A woman in her mid-twenties with long blonde hair tied up with a beautiful ornament.

Both her face and overall appearance were flawless; it was hard to find any fault.

I understood why the White Commander had been so protective and doting on her.

She pursued us, her eyes glowing faintly, a characteristic of White Heroes, even at night.

'Her legs are quite fast for a level 1 hero.'

Even among level 1 heroes, not all stats are the same.

She probably had a more favorable cultivation state than us.

'Her weapon... I can't see it.'

Her hands were empty, and no apparent weapon was visible on her back or waist.

In such a situation, an ordinary person would be flustered and unable to react properly.

However, my experience accumulated through D&K immediately provided the answer.

'Daggers. And an assassin class that primarily uses thrown weapons.'

I involuntarily clicked my tongue.

The opponent was a hero from a class skilled in both tracking and pursuit.

In the current situation, bad luck seemed to be piling up.

It was impossible to outrun her at our current speed.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, Lirisa's speed slowed.

Even though she should have been running forward, she was looking down at the base of a tree trunk to her right.

What on earth could have captured her attention in this urgent situation?

I involuntarily turned my gaze in the direction Lirisa was looking.

"......"

My brow furrowed.

There was the blonde woman whom I had thought died in Duke Lemming's bombardment.

I quickly put it together.

The bombardment hadn't hit her precisely but had fallen close to her, and the blonde had been thrown to this spot by the impact.

Naturally, her physical condition was not normal.

She was bleeding profusely all over, and she barely managed to roll her eyes, seemingly lacking the energy to even shed her trademark tears.

Those eyes desperately pleaded for help.

"That..."

Lirisa's speed slowed even further.

Being the kind-hearted Lirisa she was, she couldn't just pass by the blonde.

It would have been better if she hadn't found her.

I lightly clicked my tongue, sped up, and grabbed Lirisa's wrist.

The blonde was not worth risking danger for.

"Ryan...!"

"......"

I heard her call my name but pretended not to.

Realizing what my intentional disregard meant, Lirisa said nothing more.

The last glance I caught of the blonde's eyes was filled with despair and a sense of betrayal.

But what could I do? We couldn't all risk death for just her.

It sounds harsh, but even if we risked our lives to save the blonde here, she would only become a hindrance again someday, putting us in danger.

"Aargh!"

A shriek rang out. It was Lirisa's.

A throwing dagger from the White Hero had grazed Lirisa's thigh.

It wasn't a major injury, but Lirisa staggered violently, causing me to lose my grip on her hand.

As a result, I gained some distance.

Furthermore, perhaps due to her injury, Lirisa's running speed decreased even more.

The White Hero was explicitly focusing her attacks on Lirisa.

It wasn't just because she was an easy target.

'What they're after are the tree fruits... They must have confirmed that Lirisa collected the fruits and stored them in her bag.'

From their perspective, Teo and I were inconsequential if we escaped, but Lirisa was a prey they absolutely had to secure.

If I ignored Lirisa here, Teo and I could safely return.

Of course, Duke Lemming would rage like a mad foal over our failure to achieve the objective.

But I could think about that when the time came.

If I just hardened my heart a little, my survival would be guaranteed.

Just as I had turned away from the blonde, I could turn away from Lirisa. ...But it wasn't easy.

"...Tsk."

Lirisa's smile, desperately forced even as she trembled after plunging a dagger into the enemy's heart for my sake when I was in danger, wouldn't leave my mind.

While my life was indeed most precious, I didn't want to become a monster.

Whether it was a favor or a grudge, I felt compelled to repay what I had received.

I matched Lirisa's speed.

Then, without time to explain, I snatched Lirisa's bag.

"Huh? R-Ryan?!"

Leaving a stumbling Lirisa behind, I ran at full speed.

If I kept running straight, Teo and Lirisa, who were running on the same line, would be in danger, so I made a sharp turn.

"That...!"

The White Hero, who had been enthusiastically throwing daggers at Lirisa, changed her target to me.

Daggers narrowly whizzed past me several times, embedding themselves in nearby trees.

Every time I heard a dull thud, my heart sank.

However, the frequency of incoming daggers rapidly decreased.

After all, there would be a limit to the number of daggers a person could carry at once.

"How long do you plan to keep running away?!"

"If it's too hard, why don't you give up and go back?"

"You damn Black Dragon's hound...!"

The White Hero, deciding to aim for a sure timing rather than pointlessly expending daggers, stopped throwing them.

Instead, she intensified her running speed.

However, I wasn't just blindly running either.

After all, I knew that the opponent's speed was faster than mine, so I wouldn't make such a foolish choice.

I had one plan in mind.

It was a card I had saved in case my life was in peril, and its high risk had kept it on the back burner, but I only pulled it out for Lirisa's sake.

"Haaah... Hah..."

Just before my stamina bottomed out, I barely reached my target destination.

I leaned my hands on my knees and took a moment to catch my breath.

Soon after, the White Hero stopped, standing about 10 meters away from me.

Her stamina wasn't limitless either; though not as bad as mine, her breathing was quite ragged.

Her expression clearly showed bewilderment.

"This is... what is this? A cave?"

An area with numerous old footprints, its entrance cleverly hidden among dense bushes.

The cave where one could obtain the hidden 'Sculpture Cave Rose' fragment of Stage 1-1 was my destination.

And the White Hero did not have any lighting, such as a torch.

Originally, no player would ever think of bringing a torch to Stage 1-1.

"...Hmph!"

The White Hero swept back her flowing bangs and scoffed.

"Black Dragon's dog. Was this all you could come up with? Did you think you could do something using the darkness of the cave?"

"......"

I remained silent.

The White Hero toyed with a dagger in her hand, laughing mockingly.

"Foolish... I'm an assassin. And typically, assassins have at least one power that allows them to see through darkness.It seems you've chosen the wrong battlefield, haven't you?"

She seemed very confident.

And just as she said, it was a common cultivation method to give assassin-type heroes a power like 'dark vision'.

But the throbbing in my left eye, which had started a little while ago, was telling me otherwise.

Name: Lucid Rone.

Level: 1.

Attribute: Darkness.

Strength: 12 Agility: 15

Mentality: 12 Endurance: 10

Dexterity: 15 Resistance: 6

Magic Power: 0+12

Potential: Unknown.

Powers possessed:

Bleeding Poison: Imbues the blade with an odorless, colorless poison. The poison significantly increases bleeding at the wound site and inhibits hemostasis.

Throwing: Power bonus for throwing daggers.

Her words about the dense darkness inside the cave being her stage were all a bluff.

It was revealed without any concealment.