Chapter 93

Part 18: I'm Coming to Save You (3)

In the deep forest, where darkness was beginning to fall.

After sending a monster flying with her shield, Katrin turned around.

"Is everyone okay?"

In response to Katrin's question, Leonel, who was pinned against a tree, waved his hand.

"Ah, I'm still alive. If the monsters hadn't left just now, I would have definitely died."

Despite being injured, Marisa and Jesus were still alive.

Leonel, whom they thought was dead or severely injured, also seemed to be able to move.

Just a moment ago, they thought everyone would die here, but fortunately, some of the monsters left, allowing them to survive.

However, the situation was still not very hopeful.

Many monsters remained.

When some of the monsters left, they paused their attack but were now preparing to attack again.

Although their numbers had decreased, it still seemed difficult for this group to fend off the remaining monsters.

Most of the students looked too exhausted to fight, and Katrin was also tired.

Katrin checked her waist. Blood was flowing from a gash on her side.

It was a significant wound. The more she moved, the more it would open up, making it even harder to fight.

However, if she didn't move, she would die here.

Katrin gritted her teeth.

Pain swept over her entire body, but she had to protect the students behind her.

They had already lost one student. She couldn't afford to lose any more.

Grrrr.

The monsters started moving again.

Katrin steeled herself. Even though the situation was still dire, a glimmer of hope had emerged.

If she sacrificed herself, perhaps the remaining students could survive and return.

Even if the way back was uncertain after defeating these monsters, she decided not to think about it.

With this thought, Katrin raised her sword and shield.

Clang!

The monster at the front charged at Katrin.

And then,

Something jumped down from above.

Crack!

A thick sword plunged deep into the monster's head.

The monster fell, and the other charging monsters were startled and stopped.

Katrin looked up in surprise at the person who had jumped down.

I pulled the sword out of the monster and looked at Katrin.

"Did I come in time?"

* * *

There were more monsters left than expected, and many people were injured, making it difficult to deal with the remaining monsters.

However, by putting up a strong defense, the monsters eventually gave up and retreated.

Fortunately, they were able to end the fight without further injuries.

It was already after sunset, and they were in the middle of the forest, but it was difficult to move immediately.

I first checked Katrin's wound.

When I saw Katrin earlier, I was shocked to see blood flowing from her side.

I was worried that I had arrived too late, but fortunately, the wound could be treated with a potion.

"It will hurt a bit."

"Ouch."

I poured the potion on the wound and wrapped her waist with a bandage.

Katrin winced but endured it well.

After treating the most severe wound, I checked on the students.

Fortunately, no one had major injuries.

Everyone had survived, but their expressions were not good.

This was because Laid had gone missing.

Everyone was worried about Laid, but no one asked the relatively unharmed me to search for him.

He had disappeared near the monsters' nest. Given that they had been attacked by the monsters, it would be difficult to ask someone to go back to the nest to search for him.

I might have considered a cursory search if asked, but at the moment, I needed to protect the people here.

After enduring the pain and deep in thought, Katrin seemed to have made a decision and forced herself to stand up.

"It's dangerous here. We need to find a safe place."

"It's not a good idea yet. Your wound is severe. Moving now would be dangerous."

I tried to stop her, but she shook her head.

"The wound is fine. I wanted to wait a bit longer for Laid, but it's too late. It will be more dangerous with the darkness."

Darkness had descended on the Forest of Bonginji.

I couldn't stop her any longer. As she said, it would be difficult to spend the night here.

"There's a place I saw on the way. Let's go there first."

Katrin nodded at my suggestion.

I called Briah to help support Katrin.

Briah, along with the other students, seemed surprised by our conversation, as it appeared that Katrin and I were much closer than they thought.

I led the group from the front.

Now, I was the only one in the group who could fight properly.

I heightened my senses and carefully observed the surroundings.

The number of monsters was increasing. I couldn't tell where they were coming from, as I hadn't seen them during the day.

I moved cautiously, trying to avoid the monsters. We made large detours to the left and right, and sometimes moved backward before advancing again.

The students were unhappy with the constant changes in direction, but since Katrin didn't say anything, they silently followed me.

It took us more than twice as long to reach the cave where we had stayed before.

At least we could be safe for a day, so this was the best place to take refuge for now.

I laid Katrin down inside the cave and, as before, started covering the cave entrance with branches and foliage.

The other students, exhausted, lay down inside the cave, but Briah helped me carry the branches.

After a while, we successfully covered the cave entrance with foliage and branches, making it almost invisible from the outside.

"You've worked hard."

"Lord Alex has worked hard."

After exchanging words of appreciation, we entered the cave.

"You must be tired. Get some rest."

Briah bowed deeply.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, we survived."

Her voice echoed in the cave.

'Did she say it loudly so everyone could hear?'

It seemed everyone had heard.

The students, who had been lying down, got up and expressed their gratitude.

"It should be to the professor. The professor protected everyone."

I heard Katrin's voice, thinking she was asleep.

"No, protecting our group members is my duty. The one who deserves gratitude is Alex, you."

I had no choice but to accept everyone's gratitude.

Although I accepted the gratitude, I secretly thought it would be better if they gave me money or artifacts instead of thanks.

Lying down, the pain seemed to subside a bit.

Katrin frowned and asked me.

"By the way, how did you find us? You didn't get left behind, did you?"

In response to Katrin's question, I told her about what had happened today.

When she heard that I had come at the princess's request, Katrin sighed.

"It's a kind gesture, but power shouldn't be used like that..."

Even while suffering from her injuries, she was worried about the princess.

"I'll apologize on her behalf. Since I risked my life to come here, I'll make sure to get some compensation."

Indeed, Katrin was an excellent professor who understood my thoughts.

Katrin then worried about the search party.

"The search party must be looking for us..."

I had forgotten about it, or rather, I had pushed it out of my mind.

It would have been difficult to rescue Katrin while also thinking about the search party.

Feeling guilty, I responded to her.

"Should I go look for them?"

"No. It's difficult to find the search party at night, and it's dangerous for you too."

I nodded in agreement with Katrin.

Although I felt sorry for the knights searching, it would be difficult to find the search party in the dark.

Katrin's voice grew softer.

The students had already fallen asleep.

Unlike before, they seemed less shocked.

Katrin continued to worry, almost inaudibly.

"And we need to keep watch..."

"I'll take the watch tonight."

"And..."

After answering her concerns one by one, she finally fell asleep.

Once everyone was asleep, I climbed over the branches at the entrance.

I leaned against the cliff next to the cave and looked out into the dark forest.

It was indeed impossible to leave the people in the cave and go search for the search party.

I put aside my guilt and took out a pouch from deep in my bag.

The pouch I had taken from Laid.

In the rush, I hadn't had a chance to check its contents.

It looked like an empty pouch, but Laid had carried it diligently. It couldn't be just an empty pouch.

I opened the pouch and looked inside.

The inside of the pouch was pitch black.

Even with the moonlight and mana infused in my eyes, the inside of the pouch was completely dark.

It seemed to be no ordinary pouch.

I widened the opening of the pouch and carefully inserted my hand.

'These are coins, and there seem to be rings and some folded papers too.'

Indeed, it was no ordinary pouch.

When I inserted my hand, the items inside the pouch appeared in my mind. Although they were only rough shapes, it was enough to retrieve them.

I first took out the coins. When I visualized the coins in my mind, they appeared in my hand.

I took the coins out of the pouch.

The coins glowed yellow in the moonlight.

"Gold coins?"

Unfortunately, they weren't ancient gold coins but kingdom gold coins. Still, they were gold coins.

"There are still many!"

I eagerly took out gold coins from the pouch.

One handful, two handfuls, three handfuls...

The number of gold coins on the ground far exceeded the size of the pouch.

"About a hundred, I guess."

Seeing the pile of gold coins, I felt satisfied.

In this world, a gold coin was roughly equivalent to a month's living expenses for an average family. A hundred gold coins would cover ten years of living expenses.

In my previous life, it would be worth about 300 to 400 million.

When Katrin and I went to the dungeon, we found some decent treasures, but unfortunately, we couldn't exchange them and had to hide them deep in the room.

This time, it was gold coins. With this amount of money, I could live comfortably during my time at the academy.

"Should I send some to my mother?"

I smiled and put my hand back into the pouch.

Next, I visualized a ring-like object.

'Please let it be an expensive gemstone ring.'

Unfortunately, the ring I took out had no gemstones.

"A ring-shaped seal, or stamp?"

Instead of a gemstone, there was an inscription on the front of the ring.

"It can't be a family seal, can it?"

Not knowing what it was, I moved on to the next item.

I visualized paper, but my hand grabbed something that felt like leather.

"Is it papyrus?"

The old, folded papyrus had a map-like drawing on it.

"Tsk, not a treasure map."

Feeling disappointed, I immediately moved on to the next item.

This time, it was also paper.

"This is just paper. Or is it a letter?"

I unfolded the folded paper and read the letter.

As I read, my eyes widened and my mouth opened.

It was hard to believe.

I looked at the ring and map I had taken out first.

"Could they all be real?"