Mist Ruins

The three figures didn't bother searching for traces this time. The two people clinging to the mountainside were impossible to miss. They exchanged a glance, then hurried toward them.

Rhode was quick, too.

He flashed into motion and slid diagonally down the mountainside. At the sound of his sharp whistle, the Soul Bird that had been circling overhead seemed to receive a command and swooped down toward the three men in black.

"—!!"

The three men didn't panic when the Soul Bird attacked without warning. They quickly formed a counterattack: one charged forward, swinging the twin swords in his hands, while the other two continued straight toward Lize and Mace. Their division of labor was clear, and they were professionals. They wouldn't let a minor distraction slow them down. If their opponent had been an ordinary bird, it wouldn't have been able to stop them.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn't corporeal.

The green-blue bird showed no sign of dodging the cold blades. It flew straight at them. A flash of delight crossed the black-clad man's eyes, but the next instant, his expression turned to horror. He clearly saw the bird pass right through the sword and hurtle straight toward him!

An elemental creature!

The man was shocked. He hurriedly twisted his body, barely dodging the attack. Even so, the Soul Bird passed through his shoulder. He felt half his body plunge into an ice cellar and go numb. His body, which had been trying to stay balanced, faltered in midair before crashing to the ground. The short sword flew from his hand.

The other two fared no better. They paid no attention when the Soul Bird swept past them, but a moment later, a bone-chilling wind followed in its wake and blew across their bodies. They felt themselves go numb and stiff, and had no choice but to stop.

Though the strange discomfort soon faded, those few seconds had given Lize and Mace enough time to reach the white stone. Seeing this, the black-clad leader frowned, signaled to his men, then drew a crossbow from his waist.

"W-what's going on?!"

With Lize guiding him, the fat merchant stumbled up to the white stone, utterly exhausted from the climb. He braced one hand against the rock wall and panted heavily, but before he could complain again, several dark shapes shot past him and struck the wall nearby.

"Whoa!"

Mace hurriedly crouched, clutching his head. Lize instinctively shrank back, but she didn't forget to grab the merchant and pull him into the shadows, shielding him from another attack.

"We have to hurry."

Rhode arrived right behind them. He glanced at the three dark figures not far below and spoke.

"W-who are they? What's going on? Why are they attacking us?"

"Probably spies."

They weren't very far away, and the clear weather let Rhode make out their standard spy uniforms. The spies who served the various nations under the protection of the Dragon Soul of Light all wore much the same thing. The only way to find out which country these men came from was to kill them first. But Rhode wasn't strong enough to do that yet. The Soul Bird's special ability had only frozen them for a few seconds. It wasn't that they were highly resistant to soul-element attacks; his own level was simply too low to inflict more damage.

There was no point in lingering.

"As for why they're attacking us, you can ask them yourself. If you're lucky, they might tell you before you die."

Rhode had made a rare joke, but the fat merchant couldn't laugh. He'd been in business on the road for years, and knew spies were not to be trifled with. Just imagining what might happen if he fell into their hands—and recalling the unpleasant rumors that circulated among his fellow merchants—left him pale and sweating. His legs were trembling with exhaustion, but he forced himself to stand and followed Rhode toward the narrow path hidden behind the white stone.

The Zenar Mountain Path had once been a prosperous trade route, wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side. But now it had been completely abandoned. Rocks that had tumbled from the cliffs on either side piled across the road, leaving it rough and extremely narrow. The three of them stumbled forward, none daring to stop. Rhode kept glancing behind them, but things were only getting worse. The footsteps of their pursuers grew louder and louder. If the terrain hadn't restricted them, they would have been surrounded by now.

"Mr. Rhode! The road's blocked!"

Lize's shout made Rhode turn around. Sure enough, up ahead the mountain path was completely blocked by fallen boulders. They couldn't climb over them or break through.

Just as I thought.

Rhode shook his head slightly. He'd originally thought the blockage in the game was there to force players along the route set by the system, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. Whatever. This hadn't been his original destination anyway.

"Go right."

"Right?"

At Rhode's command, they both froze. They looked toward the path on the right, but hesitated.

The main road was blocked, but there was a narrow path nearby. The strangest thing was that, despite the cloudless sky, thick fog blanketed the trail. Sunlight filtering through it only made the scene more eerie. Just looking at the place made it seem like something was wrong—and now Rhode wanted them to go in there?

"Quickly. We're running out of time."

At Rhode's urging, they hurried into the fog. Soon, it swallowed them completely, and they disappeared from sight.

Once they'd entered, Rhode let out a sigh of relief. He looked behind him again, then raised his right hand.

"Cage!"

The card that appeared in the center of his palm shifted from green to white. A snowy blade appeared, and Rhode gripped the long sword before abruptly swinging it toward the cliff.

A gleaming blade of light shot from the sword and struck a huge boulder that hung precariously above them. Soon, with a tremendous rumble, broken rocks and dust came tumbling down. By the time the three men in black arrived, Rhode had already vanished into the depths of the fog, concealed by the dust and falling stones.

"Damn it!"

One of the men in black clenched his teeth and cursed at the chaotic mountain path before them. The way ahead was completely blocked by rubble, making it impossible to pass. To make matters worse, Rhode's slash had triggered a chain reaction. The cliffs on both sides of the path were now trembling. Forcing their way forward could be even more dangerous.

"What do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do."

Another man stared at the path, now completely sealed off.

"We can only go back and report to the captain. Have people watch all the nearby villages and towns. They must be planning to leave by another route. I didn't expect those people to be so capable."

"An elemental creature. Could one of them be a mage?"

"If they really are mages, that wouldn't be surprising. But from what we've seen, there doesn't seem to be a mage among them."

As the two men exchanged opinions, the third, who had been silent and studying the marks on the cliff, spoke up.

"One of them is a highly skilled swordsman."

After saying this, the man turned away.

"Let's go. Those three targets aren't simple, but we haven't lost yet. Send word to watch the nearby villages and towns at once. I doubt they'll stay in the mountains forever."

For Rhode and the others, the danger was far from over.

"Where... are we?"

The fat merchant stared blankly at the scene before him. He'd always thought that after so many years traveling far and wide, he'd seen everything there was to see. But the past few days had shown him just how much there was in the world that he didn't know.

Beyond the dense fog, they found an abandoned town, shrouded in thick mist. Almost everything was blurred beyond recognition. Even when they looked up at the sky, all they could see was a hazy gray. The bright, clear weather they'd left behind was gone. The world was dim and lifeless, as if they'd stepped into a completely different plane.

"This is the Mist Ruins."

Rhode answered casually as he came up behind them.

"Once we pass through here, we'll reach Aragak Pass, and then we can leave."

"But is this place... dangerous?"

Anyone with eyes could see that it wasn't safe.

"Of course it's dangerous."

Rhode didn't explain everything. In the game, the Mist Ruins had been the first ten-level, five-player dungeon, and the first dungeon players encountered. It wasn't particularly difficult, but it wasn't easy, either. For their group of three, though, it was a real problem. Rhode was only level eight, and Lize was only level six. The merchant, whose combat strength was a mere five, didn't even count. In the end, this amounted to an eight-level Summon Swordsman and a support-class character attempting to clear a ten-level, five-player dungeon alone. In the game, people would have called them idiots.

Rhode wasn't an idiot. In fact, it was only after seeing Lize that he'd thought of this risky plan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen this route—and as it happened, it was now the safest path.

At least, when compared by the odds of danger.

"But as long as you follow my instructions, you'll be fine. So..."

As he spoke, Rhode turned to the blonde girl beside him.

"Lize, I'm counting on you here."