Chapter 209: Side Story Chapter The occupants of the adjacent room were in the throes of passion. Loud moans and whiffs of sweat and other bodily fluids wafted in through the open window. As Riftan lit a candle and closed the shutters, the voice of the woman who had tried to seduce him earlier echoed in his ears. I can show you a good time. Riftan scowled in disgust at the feeling of slugs writhing in his stomach. After reaching puberty, it sometimes felt as though his body burned with a yearning for something. There would be a tingle in his lower abdomen for no apparent reason whenever he lay in bed alone. For a time, he also experienced the distinct discomfort of waking up with an erection every morning. Despite these sensations, his blood would run cold at any seductive look or coy advance. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his forehead. Though the relentless sexual overtures he received were partly to blame for his lack of interest in the opposite sex, the biggest reason was the horrific memories he had of climbing a mountain with his mother’s body on his back. No matter what he did, he could not erase the feeling of her corpse against him. The weight of her cold breasts pressed to his back, her limp arms dangling at his sides, the ghastly sensation of her disheveled hair sticking to his damp nape – it was all engraved in his very bones. He cursed under his breath and collapsed onto the bed. There was a possibility he might never be able to share his bed with a woman. Ever since that day, he found he could not stand any form of physical contact. Not only was he uninterested in women, but growing up in a world where people betrayed each other for a pittance made it hard to get close to anyone. As Riftan woefully stared at the flickering candlelight, the illusion from the healing session flashed through his mind. The thought that he might never be able to feel such fondness for someone again made his heart ache. *** The rain dragged on longer than expected. Large-scale battles erupted one after the other as goblins, having multiplied throughout the winter, crawled out of their dens in endless hordes. To make matters worse, trolls emerged from hibernation and began attacking nearby villages. In the end, the landed nobles of Northern Livadon were forced to hire more mercenaries, and Riftan was unfortunately reunited with Ruth. He glared menacingly at the mage, who shrieked in an aggrieved manner, “I’m not here by choice! The company ordered everyone to join the raid, so I had to come!” Riftan clicked his tongue and spun on his heel. “Just stay out of my way.” “You really are heartless. If it weren’t for me, you’d be-” Startled by his own slip of the tongue, Ruth cut short his outburst and glanced around. Riftan thought the Mage Tower mad for having taught forbidden magic to such an idiot. “Instead of worrying about me ratting you out, why don’t you sew your lips shut first?” Riftan said, shooting daggers at Ruth. He then mouthed, Unless you want to face the Holy Tribunal. Grasping the silent warning, Ruth pursed his lips. Riftan left the sullen mage and retrieved his weapons before taking his place at the head of the scout party. His task for today was to search a dark cave up on a rock face. It was a goblin den, and the whole place reeked of feces and decaying animal remains. After half a day of scouring the inner tunnels for kidnapped women while suppressing the urge to hurl, Riftan lit a blaze in front of the entrance. Sucklings could still be lurking inside, so any monster lair had to be completely destroyed. “Hell, I’d rather fight an ogre than search any more of these stink holes,” Samon complained as he sniffed the stench clinging to his clothes with visible displeasure. Riftan tossed branches into the fire to keep it burning and said apathetically, “Didn’t you say you’d rather not take jobs that use brute strength? That hunting monsters isn’t even profitable?” “Well, it’s better than poking through a goblin’s muck hole. Fighting a giant at least makes you look good.” “Says the man who’d be the first to retreat in front of an ogre,” Riftan rebuked. He turned his attention to chopping firewood. Before he knew it, the sky was growing dark, and the task of burning all the goblin carcasses was almost complete. Paying no mind to the revolting sight of charred monster remains, the raid party ate a light meal next to the pile of ashes before packing their belongings. The raid had stretched on for nearly two months, and they had finally begun to see the fruits of their labor. The frequency of goblin attacks had noticeably dwindled. At this rate, Rifan was certain they would be done with the commission within a week. He sighed as he rubbed his stiff neck. It was no surprise that fatigue had built up after months of living outside. Though he was tired of sleeping on a sheet over the bare ground, what he wanted more than anything was a bath. Glancing down at his monster blood and waste-covered tunic, Riftan heaved another sigh. Since they barely had enough drinking water, he had not been able to wash his face for nearly half a month, let alone his clothes. The situation was so dire it even made him miss his dingy room at the inn. He was massaging his stiff shoulder while descending the mountain with the others when a loud cry rang out behind them. “Ey, hold up!” Riftan turned to see two of the mercenaries who had gone to scout the northeast area rushing forward. “What’s the matter?” Samon said, looking surprised. Panting, the mercenaries cried, “Another goblin den! We need reinforcements now.” The timing could not have been worse. Curses erupted around them as everyone abandoned all thoughts of a long night’s rest. Grumbling, the men retraced their steps back up the mountain. About twenty minutes into following the two mercenaries, a cave on a steep rock face emerged through the trees. Pointing to the opening, one of the mercenaries said, “Everyone’s in there, stuck. The goblins have them surrounded. We were the only ones who escaped.” “Did you count the beasts?” “No, but there were at least fifty.” Riftan lit a makeshift torch and peered into the cave. It was large and quite deep. After probing the darkness with his eyes, he strode inside. The path wound around like an ants’ tunnel, and it seemed to stretch on and on. Fourteen other mercenaries trudged behind him. They had been making their way through the dark for a while when the angry snarls of a goblin echoed down to them. Riftan immediately sprinted toward the sound. Before long, he reached the area where the mage and eight mercenaries were surrounded by dozens of goblins. Riftan drew his sword. “Master Calypse!” the mage cried in relief. As if taking the noise as a call to arms, the goblin horde charged. What ensued was closer to chaos than a battle. The monsters shot into the air like small balls and came at them from all sides. They yanked at the mercenaries’ hair, clawed their faces, and wildly brandished their chipped hatchets and rusted sickles. Scowling, Riftan ruthlessly slew a goblin that latched onto his leg. Goblins were agile creatures that could see in the dark. In such a narrow space, even their small size worked to their advantage. Swinging his sword, Riftan cried out to the trapped men, “We’ll open a path! When you see it, run straight out!” Following his instructions, the mercenaries that entered the cave with him swiftly secured an escape route. The rescued men seized the opportunity and bolted toward the cave’s entrance. Riftan cut down the goblins that gave chase before following the others. He cursed as the creatures kept appearing from every direction. Fifty, my foot. There were well over a hundred. There was a reason this area of the mountains was devoid of any game. He blocked the narrow path to give the others time to escape. Just then, the ceiling began to cave in. “Master Calypse!” The mage raced forward in what appeared to be an attempt to rescue him. Riftan grabbed the lunatic and crammed both of them into a crevice in the wall just as a torrent of dirt and rock came crashing down from the fractured ceiling. He covered his face with his clothes to protect his eyes from the clouds of debris. Eventually, everything grew still. Riftan fumbled over the rubble. Though they had narrowly avoided being crushed under a pile of stone, they now found themselves trapped in a cramped space with no room to move. “Dammit. We’re trapped.” “Y-You mean, we’re stuck here?” said the mage, freezing. He gulped. Of all the people he could be trapped with, it just had to be the runt. Grumbling, he tried pushing the blockade of rocks. Dirt and rock fragments crumbled down from the ceiling. “I think the ceiling will fall in if we use force to break through.” ... “Th-Then, what should we do?” “Don’t just look to me for answers,” Riftan shot back irritably. “Use your head, think of something as well.” The mage clamped his mouth shut. Yet again, Riftan decided it would be best not to expect anything from the runt. Clicking his tongue, he was busy searching for a way to remove the barricade when the mage spoke. “We might be able to get out if I cast a barrier to prevent the ceiling from collapsing. We can slowly break through.” Riftan looked doubtful. “Are you sure you can do that?” “Of course! Don’t you know I’m a first-rate mage? It would be child’s play!” Ruth’s confidence only deepened Riftan’s misgivings, but they had no other option. He obligingly stepped out of the way. “Fine. We’ll try your idea.” “Please, come closer. I must keep the barrier as small as possible to conserve mana.” Riftan moved into position close behind Ruth, who stretched his hands toward the cave wall. Soon, a bluish light enveloped them, and the barricade of rocks slowly began to melt away. Ruth shot a smug look over his shoulder and started opening a path. Riftan cautiously trailed behind him. Judging by how long it was taking them to make their way out – a lot longer than Riftan had expected – the whole cave must have collapsed. ... “I wonder if the others managed to get out,” Ruth muttered, his tone heavy. Riftan remained silent. Almost the entire path to the entrance had crumbled. It was highly probable that the others were buried under the rubble. Even so, he did not want to dishearten the mage by stating his assumption out loud. They slowly made their way forward in heavy silence until Ruth sank to the ground in exhaustion. “No more. I don’t think I can keep going. I need to rest for a moment.” Riftan nodded. It would be nightfall by now. They had been caught in this wreckage after spending the whole day scouring the mountainside, so it was understandable that the mage was spent. Untying the bag on his shoulder, Riftan pulled out a few pieces of jerky. “Here,” he said, handing them to Ruth. “Eat. Try to conserve your energy.” “Thank you. A goblin snatched my bag with all my provisions.” Ruth fumbled as he accepted the jerky. They ate facing each other in the cramped space and downed a few gulps of water. Riftan felt as if he had turned into a ground mole. Leaning his head against the wall, he shifted his weight around, trying to get comfortable. “Why don’t you get some sleep?” Ruth said abruptly. “I know you haven’t had proper rest over the past few days. Master Samon told me you were on watch for more than ten days straight.” “I did rest my eyes here and there.” “Three hours a night?” The ensuing silence was answer enough. Ruth sighed deeply. “There is no risk of us getting attacked here, so try to sleep. I’ll wake you if anything happens.” “Stop worrying about me and get some rest yourself.” “You’re only sixteen. It would do you good to rely on adults from time to time.” Riftan blinked, unable to process what he had just heard. Had the idiot just treated him like a child? “Who are you calling an adult?” “I told you, didn’t I? One of my ancestors was an elf. I may look like a pitiful young man with an angelic face, but I am much older than you might think.” Riftan’s brow creased. “Are you actually an old man of eighty?” “How rude!” Ruth cried, leaping to his feet and bumping his head on the ceiling. Riftan clicked his tongue. Ruth’s outburst continued, interspersed by whimpers of pain. “I may be slightly older than you, but I’m not old! I’ll have you know I am still in my prime!” The mage’s vehement reaction only made Riftan more suspicious, but he did not pry further. He was not particularly interested in knowing Ruth’s age. “Quiet down, and go to sleep. You’ll need to recuperate if we’re to continue digging out of here.” “Can’t you just listen to me for once and get some rest?” Ruth said with an exasperated sigh. “You know your body isn’t made of steel, don’t you? You really must listen to people occasionally.” Riftan scowled. He was about to retort that it was none of the mage’s business when the built-up fatigue seemed to bear down on him all at once. Looking up through the darkness, Riftan mumbled, “How much mana do you have left?” “More than enough. It’s my body that’s exhausted. If anything happens, I’ll deal with it with magic, so don’t worry. Get some sleep.” A breath involuntarily wheezed from Riftan’s chest. He had never heard such an unconvincing assurance before, but the fact remained that he was alive thanks to the runt. Moreover, would it be so terrible to die here? His shoulders drooped in exhaustion. “That spell you cast on me...” The mage flinched. “The forbidden spell?” “No, not that... The illusion.” Hesitating, Riftan pulled off his glove to briefly touch his lips. Finally, he asked, “Could you cast it on me again?”