My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 103

#103

Escaping the Mountains (1)

Four days after Harley and his party entered the northern mountains.

After another battle, Harley brought the magic stone he had just picked up to his mouth.

-Let’s destroy everything, tear it all apart, and kill them all!

Crack! I chewed

and swallowed it diligently, ignoring the maddening impulses ringing in my head as usual.

I’ve been taking magic stones consistently for a while, and now I’m seeing some significant results.

Metabolism became more active, and physical ability also increased.

As a side effect, changes were expressed externally, such as bloodshot eyes and excessively swollen veins, but

these were nothing to Harley, who could control her entire body through “physical transformation.”

If he didn’t have this ability, he would have been showing the same symptoms as the monsters that spread across the mountain range by now.

“Damn, you really don’t give me a chance to rest. “How many times in a row has this happened?”

“Kahaha! Excuse me while I’m complaining, but there’s another group approaching! “I don’t think we found this place thanks to the veil of shielding, but if we keep quiet like this, we’ll run into each other soon.”

“…I really don’t have time for maintenance anymore.”

The deeper you go, the more likely you are to encounter monsters, and the level rises, making it increasingly difficult to move forward.

This time, the party had no choice but to remove the scent of blood from their bodies with a magic cleaning tool and then quickly move on.

Ranger Charlton of the Steel Citadel was behind the scenes, trying to erase as much of the traces of their movements as possible, but this was a very dangerous move… It was

inevitable as they would be surrounded by monsters from all directions as soon as the magic was lifted.

To avoid an endless fight, the best thing to do is to leave the place as quickly as possible.

“I think there are quite a few in that direction too. The distance is…”

“…Then it would be better to go back this way. “Everyone follow carefully.”

Even so, we wouldn’t have been able to get this far without Harley’s sensing ability and guide Marcus’ skillful guidance.

“Mr. Marcus, is it still far to your destination? “I think you said earlier that we were almost there, but now the day is slowly getting closer.”

Fabiella screams as she dies, her face disfigured by the continued forced march.

No matter how much he trained, as a magician, he was bound to have weaker physical strength than others, and it was not unreasonable since he began to lack magical power due to frequent use of magic.

Then Marcus, who had been silently leading the way, took out a magic tool that looked like a pocket watch, looked inside, and then looked back at the group with a slightly brightened expression.

“It’s around here. “There really isn’t much left now.”

“Whew… I can finally see that handsome face. “No matter how many dwarves in the world, this many people would be mobilized to rescue one craftsman.”

Mikel raised his crossbow and whispered softly as he watched his surroundings.

As she said, although only a small number were mobilized due to the nature of the mission, the ransom of those here was by no means cheap.

They were all the best talents in the Tarak mercenary world.

However, in addition to that price, they offered all kinds of additional allowances, and weren’t even the knights of the territory mobilized?

‘Well, I did say that Robin was from a commoner background.’

The group, who had overcome adversity together and became close friends with the client, were able to talk about many things while camping.

He didn’t go into detail, but thanks to that, I was able to understand the general situation…

‘Did you say he was the chief craftsman of the territory with whom he had a relationship since the previous lord? Well, in that kind of position, this kind of request fee would be nothing.’

Isn’t the price of a weapon usually rising sharply as its level increases?

In that respect, he was a precious person who could not be compared to even a small amount of money or a commoner knight.

Perhaps, if the problem of stopping the monster had not been more urgent, there would have been a more extensive rescue operation.

In the first place, the dwarves were isolated because of the uproar.

“Arrived. “It’s here.”

And finally, they were able to arrive at the place indicated by the magic tool’s signal.

“Hmm….”

A brief moment of silence follows.

The group was alert to their surroundings and patted the floor.

“…It’s a cave and there’s nothing there, so where are you hiding? First, we have to find the entrance…”

That moment.

Shaking –

I heard that the roots of the tree growing on one side were shaking.

Jump up!

“oh! It’s already here! “It came earlier than expected.”

The floor opened and a shaggy face popped out.

***

“I came here to explore minerals and suddenly there was an uproar! “I have been in and out of the mountain range several times in the past, but this time it was impossible to get out on my own!”

The party who followed the dwarf into the cave could not help but be surprised to encounter an underground space that was more cozy than expected.

‘I think I heard you’ve only been isolated for about a week.’

The spacious space that remained even after they all entered was neatly trimmed, and there were even several pores in the ceiling where the tree roots were tangled.

In addition, there are dirt beds on one side, a workbench, and other miscellaneous items.

“Oh this? I had nothing to do while waiting, so I tinkered with this and that, and this is what happened! It was a good thing I expanded in advance! Hahaha—!”

Dwarf Zaonic Steelstone bursts into laughter looking at their surprised expressions.

The interior was already sealed with a high-level barrier with the magic tools he had brought with him, so he didn’t have to worry about being caught by the monsters outside if he made a little noise.

‘They must be quite expensive, so much so that they deceive my senses.’

Even though Harley knew that it was hiding nearby, he only sensed a slight sense of strangeness and was unable to immediately determine its exact location.

Perhaps if he had been given more time, he would have been able to notice, but monsters that know nothing would not even notice and would just pass by.

“Anyway, are you okay? “I didn’t know that such a big friend would come, so I didn’t do much work on the entrance passage.”

“Hmm—my skin isn’t so weak that it barely scratches the dirt wall. never mind! Hahahaha—!”

Zaonic said worriedly as he looked at Harley, but it really was nothing more than forcing his way through a narrow passage.

Rather, the tightly packed passageway was scratched by his body and dug up.

“ah! Bordeaux Hans. “You’re both alive!”

At that time, Ranger Charlton, who had been quietly following the group, looked pleased and headed towards the place where the dirt bed was.

Of course, Zaonic did not enter the mountain range alone.

Two more Rangers from the Steel Citadel who accompanied him were also in this space.

“ah! “Senior Charlton is here!”

“Senior…”

But one of them didn’t look very healthy…

Unlike the one who welcomed Charlton happily, the ranger with his body bandaged only struggled to get up from the bed.

“I was the first to react when something unexpected happened and I got injured in the shoulder.”

As the party looked towards the rangers, Dwarf Zaonic scratched the back of his head and explained the situation.

“I gave him the potion I had and took action right away, so it’s not that serious. “If I just take a few months to heal, I can shake it off and wake up without any aftereffects.”

But that was assuming this was a safe place.

This is something that is impossible in these northern mountain ranges, which can be said to be the center of the monster madness incident.

In the current situation, injuries that made it difficult to move were a serious threat to one’s life.

“Hans! Are you okay? “Can you move?”

“Yes, I didn’t hurt my leg. Climbing a mountain is no problem. “Don’t worry.”

Ranger Hans nods his head seriously with an expression full of determination that he will never become a burden.

And Harley, who was looking at them… was lost in thought with her arms crossed and a somber expression on her face.

‘Hansra…’

No, I knew it was a common name.

In fact, I have encountered it several times while living in Outerica.

He looked at Hans, an ‘extremely ordinary soldier 1’, sitting on the bed again.

‘…I guess that won’t work either.’

And I was convinced again.

The name of the immortal king recorded in history should not be Hans!

The village youth, the village chief, the carpenter, the blacksmith, the farmer, etc., were the only Hans I knew so far whose number was in double digits.

Excluding the Immortal King Hans, who can be said to be the best output among them, the injured Ranger Hans is currently in the most extraordinary situation.

‘It’s not bad to be the best Hans among Hans, but it’s also not very impactful.’

While Harley was looking at the rangers like that, and interpreting Harley’s gaze in serious agony, Zaonic extended his arm high and patted Harley’s waist.

“Well, Hans can move at least, and he is a member of the elite rangers. And with such great warriors coming to help, wouldn’t something work out? Hahaha—!”

“hmm? iced coffee! yes. If you’re Hans, you should be able to overcome this level of hardship! Pahahaha—!”

“Hahaha… Huh?”

“Hahahahaha—!”

As the slightly off-topic conversation and laughter continued, the group decided to take a day’s rest here and leave the next day, and each prepared their own beds.

Because it was an underground cave protected by all sorts of high-level barriers, unlike usual camping, only one person could stand on watch.

‘No matter how much of a barrier there is, you never know what might happen, so staying alert is a must.’

Still, no one was complaining because it was a much better situation than when two people, excluding the wizard Fabiella, were on watch for three shifts.

After such a peaceful night.

The day of the great escape finally dawned.

***

Duke Bright of Thalia Kingdom.

Today, King Heinz II was looking at documents uploaded from various places to understand the situation on the continent.

This time, Hans acquired Banshee Queen Olivia and added a new route to acquire information, but that didn’t mean Heinz’s work had diminished.

In the first place, low-level undead ghosts, incapable of higher thinking, only moved as instructed and were unable to obtain complex information.

Olivia’s ability to process advanced information based on fragmentary facts gathered by the ghosts under her command is impressive enough, but it still has its limits.

Although she was extremely capable of understanding real-time information on the battlefield, movements of military units, and movements of shadowy forces, it was much easier to rely on the power of the Brokoslak Clan when it came to the national situation and political situation.

‘Well, each has its own pros and cons. ‘It’s my job to synthesize all the information and make a decision.’

To ensure the reliability of information, cross-verification of facts received from various sources was basic.

Around the time he was sorting out the newly acquired information.

“Mr. Heinz.”

Mulo Brokoslag’s voice was heard along with the knock.

“Come in. “What’s going on?”

When Heinz took his eyes off the documents and raised his head, he entered the office, bowed politely and opened his mouth.

“It is a report that the monsters began to stir up a little while ago.”

“Hmm… I guess that’s what happened in the end.”

Mulo commanded the vampires scattered around the world using blood magic, while also disseminating urgent information from them.

This time, it seems that related information was received from those dispatched to the Forest of Monsters.

“Since two Jinhyeols are gone, it won’t be that dangerous. “Tell the army guarding the outside of the forest to intervene only to the extent that it does not cause too much damage and not to overdo it.”

“Yes, I understand. But not only there…”

“Hmm?”

Even under Heinz’s puzzled gaze, he continued speaking in a calm tone.

“It is said that monsters have begun to move south in earnest even in the northern mountains.”

It was the beginning of planned chaos.