Chapter 45

I couldn't help but put some distance between us and brace myself.

Seeing my stance, Reshid sighed.

"Hey, what's with the sudden hostility? Are you that kid from last time?"

Then, he frowned and looked at Mr. Gustav.

"What's going on? Old man, are you trying to ambush us?"

"It's not like that. Raven, calm down. I'm the one who called you this time."

Mr. Gustav called us?

Now that I think about it, Reshid mentioned an "emergency request" earlier. So, is it really that serious?

"…There doesn't seem to be any hostility, right?"

"Of course not. I haven't taken any jobs targeting you."

Mr. Gustav started talking without paying attention to our conversation.

"There might be some lingering resentment, but this time, I need you two to work together."

"Work with him?"

Personally, I don't have any grudges against Reshid, but it feels awkward after the last time I beat him up.

"Sure thing. So, what do we need to do?"

Reshid didn't seem to mind at all and had no objections to working with me.

"The light we saw earlier was a 'Mountain Penetration.'"

"Mountain Penetration!? Man, I saw something amazing!"

Reshid burst out laughing, clearly excited. So, what exactly is a Mountain Penetration?

"The use of Mountain Penetration means something significant happened. You two need to find out what happened and the cause."

"That's fine… but it depends on the reward."

Nii and Reshid laughed and urged Mr. Gustav. He didn't flinch and replied.

"Ten silver coins as an advance. Additionally, fifteen silver coins for the one who brings back the information."

"One gold coin in total. That's a pretty good deal."

Reshid seemed motivated and clenched his fists in front of his chest.

"Plus, if you both return, I'll give each of you one gold coin."

"Both of us… what do you mean?"

Is there a possibility that one of us won't return? Then, it means…

"It's a safety measure."

Reshid answered for me.

"To prevent either of us from using the other as a sacrificial pawn, this old man is setting it up."

"Using each other as sacrificial pawns… so it's that dangerous a mission?"

Reshid sighed and frowned.

"Of course. We're dealing with someone who can use Mountain Penetration. Anything could happen."

"I haven't understood this from the beginning, but what exactly is a Mountain Penetration?"

That's why I've been left behind this whole time.

"It's a technique used by an explorer. It's a shot with the power to create a hole in a mountain."

"Was it done by an individual!?"

That's disaster-level power!

If it had hit the ground, it probably would have wiped out the surface for several kilometers.

"Right, that's what I've been saying. Something happened in Nerg."

Finally, I understood the situation.

"The minimum we need to know is where and what it was used against. Ideally, we should also find out the cause. Just investigate."

"Should we go and see it for ourselves?"

Mr. Gustav nodded in response to my confirmation.

"Use a carriage or something."

"Running would be faster than that."

"…I guess so."

Where did the tools of civilization go?

"Please do it as quickly as possible."

"Understood."

We'll go, see, and come back. That's all.

"Alright, let's go."

"Let's go."

Grabbing the pile of silver coins on the counter, Reshid headed outside.

I can't be late. I chased after his back.

"Raven."

Mr. Gustav's voice called from behind. Did I forget something?

"What is it?"

"It's a warning for you."

"Is it about this mission?"

"It's about exploration missions in general."

That's a broad warning, but why now?

"Listen, as an explorer, prioritize your mission. Use anything you need, whether it's money or items."

"I was planning to do that if necessary."

"Even your life?"

I was taken aback by the sudden serious words. This must be important.

"Use anything—money, items, even your life—to achieve your goal. If you can't do that, you can't call yourself a proper explorer."

"That's a harsh statement."

He's never said anything like this during my usual material collection or monster hunting missions. What's changed?

"Also, don't die."

"Does that mean don't use your life?"

It seems different from what he said earlier.

"No, I believe you can do it without risking your life."

"You're overestimating me. I can't do that much."

I fell silent and looked down. He couldn't see my face.

"That's all the advice I have. …Sorry."

"What's going on? You seem different."

Even when I smiled, Mr. Gustav didn't move.

"Hey, Raven! Hurry up! We need to go together!"

Reshid's angry voice echoed from outside.

Not good, I've kept him waiting for quite a while.

"Alright, I'm going."

I said and ran out.

"…I hope this isn't the last time…"

As I closed the door, I heard a small voice from behind.

"You're late! I can't leave you behind, so hurry up!"

"I'm sorry. I was having a conversation."

I apologized, and Reshid looked away, facing east.

"Let's go. I'll run, can you keep up?"

"Yes, please go easy on me."

Should I run or fly?

I hesitated for a moment but decided to match his pace.

I'll run for now.

We dashed through the trees, sometimes using them as stepping stones.

"Did you hear any new information!?"

"No, nothing. Just mental preparation!"

We conversed while running, almost shouting.

Reshid, with his red cape flowing behind him, was leaping.

He's fast.

I thought the same during the chase in the city last time. It's hard to compare, but on flat ground, he's probably faster than me.

I might be able to catch up if I use magic, but not with just ki.

However, I'm more familiar with the forest, so I can keep up using the trees. This is also training.

I thought and ran alongside him using only ki.

"So, when was the Mountain Penetration used!?"

"Aah!?"

"When was it used against what kind of enemy!?"

It's hard to have a conversation while shouting. I want to use magic to project my voice, but I don't want to accidentally hurt him.

"Ah! You didn't know!? About fifteen years ago, a huge monster appeared from Nerg!"

As he said this, Reshid seemed to have an idea and used a tree to jump into the air.

I was quite far ahead, but when I looked back, he was surveying the area from above.

He then spotted something, focused on a point, and dropped down.

He kicked off a tree and accelerated towards me.

He probably wanted to talk. I slowed down a bit.

"Hey, come over here!"

"Why!?"

We're in a hurry to get to the next town, so detours are not good.

"Just do it!"

Reshid pointed and shouted.

"There's a place nearby where Mountain Penetration was used in the past!"

That piqued my interest. It's a detour during the mission, but I'll follow the bad wolf.

I jumped to a nearby large rock.

From there, I could see over the trees, as it was slightly higher than the surrounding forest.

I looked in the direction Reshid pointed, but all I saw was forest.

"There's nothing there."

"Look closely. The rock mountain in the distance."

I squinted and looked at the area. Indeed, something seemed to be sticking out. However, it was too small to see anything.

"You can use ki. You should be able to enhance your vision, right?"

"Oh, right."

I realized I could do that. I rarely enhance my senses, so I didn't think of it. But using magic for a telescopic view might be faster.

"Try enhancing your vision if you can't see anything."

"Okay."

It's a valuable lesson. I nodded and immediately tried it.

It was a strange rock mountain.

It seemed to be part of a mountain range, one of several connected horizontally.

However, its shape was peculiar.

"Is that… a circle?"

"That's the mark where Mountain Penetration hit. It pierced through a monster approaching Iralin and hit there."

Reshid answered calmly.

Can he say that so easily!?

The rock mountain had a large, circular hole. It looked like a crescent moon because part of it was missing.

Through the hole, the sky on the other side was visible.

Although I can't be sure, the mountain is probably over 1 km tall. And about a third of it was gouged out, like a mouse had gnawed a hole in it.

"Amazing, right? If that much is gouged out, even a mountain would collapse."

"Is there no risk of landslides?"

"That's how hard the rock mountain is."

I was speechless.

A hole in a rock mountain, so it's called 'Mountain Penetration.'

The power is incredible. It's hard to imagine an individual using such a technique.

"What kind of person was it?"

"Regarding Mountain Penetration, I don't know much. But apparently, he was an amazing archer."

"Even his name?"

"His name isn't well-known because 'Mountain Penetration' became so famous."

He must have been an incredible person.

"Well, that's the end of the detour. If it was used somewhere, the person might be around this time."

Reshid stretched and said. I could hear the cracking of his joints.

"Right."

I also re-focused my ki.

I feel like this mission just got more interesting.

We started running again.