
A week after leaving Litty alone in the Devil's Forest, the Yggdrasia find themselves in front of the Galadea Cave, located in the kingdom's northernmost mountains.
The atmosphere was not very good as they were camping at the mouth of the cave, which they planned to attack tomorrow. One reason is, the stew prepared by Bandera, who was in charge of the evening meal, did not taste good.
Aldis does not eat the rest of the bland and tasteless stew.
“Hei, Bandera, are you sure to use the right seasoning?”
“Nutritional value is balanced.”
“That's not what I asked, it's about the taste! Are you trying to feed the sick?
“Good if it settles in your stomach.”
Bandera is indifferent to everything but magic, and cooking is no exception.
Clarine and Dorland both barely touched the stew, but Zhul was the only one who swallowed the stew wholeheartedly.
“Oh Boy! This is so good! With a sprinkling of salt, it gets even better!”
“Zhul, stop exaggerating.”
“Try Aldis. It's very nice, okay? ”
“I'd rather eat salty soup than this.”.
Bandera stared coldly at Aldis, who reluctantly sprinkled salt on his food. Aldis, noticing Bandera's gaze, returned his gaze.
Aldis, however, ultimately said nothing, as Bandera was not really looking for a fight.
Yggdrasia is a party with amazing talent, and they are the best of the best. That's why they didn't want the Party to disband because of a minor dispute.
Even Aldis is aware of this.
“Aldis, this Galadea cave has been taken care of. This is not an unexplored area.”
“Are you asking me, Dorland?”
“We won't get any experience here, so why did we stop by?”
“I just want to do it.”
“.... feel like doing it, you say?”
Dorland growled at Aldis' carefree response. He was a man who honed his skills to challenge those at the top. That's what he's doing in unexplored areas.
He did not care about the mysterious resources. A challenging battle was what he was looking forward to.
Yggdrasia was also a source of interest. He also wanted to challenge them in the future. To do so, he had to stay close to Yggdrasia.
Dorland believed that in this vast world, there was no guarantee that they would meet again if separated. Usually, for others, this type of attention would be excessive, but for Dorland, it was big enough to ponder.
“We need to break free from this gloomy atmosphere, right? Let's have fun hunting the weak this time.”
“For that you came here?”
“Haah, you're the most boring person I've ever met.”
“It's nice to take a break once in a while, right, Clarine?”
“Ya, but..”
“Fun to tear apart the playground of those painstaking adventurers, isn't it?”
Aldis finds everything worthless other than Yggdrasia whose talent rivals his.
“Haah, very annoying..”.
“Ck..”.
Dorland clicked his tongue and Clarine rolled her eyes in lethargy. He was willing to follow Aldis, the leader, but he could not hide his dissatisfaction.
Bandera understood what Aldis wanted to do, but he had a different view of things. This was the first time he was interested in something unrelated to magic.
“If you are looking for something to entertain yourself, why did you leave that girl?”
“That girl?”
“She's the girl you took under your wing. You dumped him in the Demon Forest not long ago.”
“I used him for entertainment, you know? But he's not that funny.”
“Because he's your student, you should have given him a sword or something to train, at least he can get a general idea.”
Although it is terrible that he did not do so, Bandera's question is still a reasonable and valid point.
Aldis could not answer Bandera. She had a vague idea why, but she herself was unwilling to admit it, so she simply said.
“How can such a child hold a sword? He's not even a good toy.”
“If he can't use the sword, then you will use that as an excuse to kick him. So, why don't you ever let him hold the sword?”
“It is certainly not unusual for you to discuss something unrelated to magic. What's wrong with you?”
“You're the one who should really know about that, right?”
“Know what?”
“You're afraid of him.”
Bandera gave a provoking cold smile to Aldis. If anyone other than the person from Yggdrasia mentioned it, he would be killed right then and there.
Of course, Aldis' anger reached the top of his head. He stood up hard, but did not pull his weapon.
“Haah, if you are looking for a quarrel, say it clearly..!”
“Are you really going to fight? With me?”
“Aldis, Bandera, relax! What's the point of fighting here?”
“Zhul, stay away from this.”
If they were facing each other, no one would be able to get out of it completely.
Aldis knows this, which is why he doesn't attack directly.
Bandera was not the least bit intimidated by Aldis.
“The girl fled to the safe zone to avoid getting caught up in my magic, or from the annoying Dorland air bullets, or from your techniques, even unconsciously avoiding the traps that Zhul had set around her. If he was a normal person, he would have long since died.he could barely sleep, yet he did not rest. Didn't you notice this?”
“Please note what?”
“He often observes our fights. All the time, until it gets creepy.
“Most likely, even Rank 1 or 2 adventurers will lose confidence if they see us fighting. But not the boy, he observed everything too calmly, despite not having any fighting experience.”
Dorland nodded in silence. He was also unaware of the girl's strangeness.
But his interest was only in the power that was refined. No matter how many qualities he had, if he lacked even the slightest bit, he was not interested in her.
Hence, his dissatisfaction towards Litty was not entirely unfounded. That was because it was true that he lacked experience.
The girl held everything back, gritted her teeth, and did not even try to test her own choices. This regret to Litty also prompted him to spout harsh words at her.
“Enough.”
“Bandera, where do you think you're going right now?”
Bandera stood up and was about to leave, making Aldis' mood finally turn gloomy.
“Ag somewhere. Ah, don't worry, I won't be back.”
“Hah? Stop messing around.”
“What? Are you going to stop me by force?
Bandera's magic spread throughout the surrounding area, enough to make even Aldis realize how threatening he was.
Aldis grabbed the hilt of his sword, but could not pull it out. Zhul again interrupted the impasse between the two.
“Bandera, you're not serious, are you?”
“I'm serious. Very serious.”
“Wait wait! Are you really sure about this?
“Because I don't think I'm going anywhere with you guys anymore.”
This time, without looking back, Bandera disappeared at night, leaving Aldis unable to do anything but kick the pots and pans placed around the camp.
Dorland began to meditate and Clarine was finally able to sleep. Zhul, feeling astonished, held his head.
Aldis is so angry that he wants to kill Bandera but he also knows that he has to control himself.
“Aldis, I'll ask you one more time. When will you challenge the ceiling of the world?
“Wait a minute…. And we lost one member, remember?”
“OK, I'll wait a little longer.”
“I have received more than my fair share of credit for conquering the bottom of the world. I have all the wealth that anyone can ask for. No woman can resist my seduction.
What else does he want?
Maintaining a sense of superiority, he wandered and was respected in many places. He earned a great reputation at such a young age because he was always so talented in whatever he did.
What else can he not do? The ceilings of the world, the ends of the world, and this unexplored zone, conquering those places will only make it more famous.
No one can compete with him. No one can chase him. And that was good enough for him.
But deep down, Aldis was not satisfied.
“You are not afraid of challenges, right?” (Dorland)
“What?” (Aldis)
“Nothing.” (Dorland)
It was as if Dorland had shot him in the heart. Aldis knew those words implied two things.
If he challenges the “ palate of the world” and fails, all the fame he accumulated will be lost. All the royal family will turn their backs on him.
In fact, “basis dunia” is not an easy task. Satan, ecology, and traps are incomprehensible. They are ready to die not once, but twice.
It was the first time in his life he regretted diving into a dungeon. The fact that he was able to conquer and also survive the dungeon was partly due to luck.
That's why he's scared.
“Why should I be afraid of anything!?”
“If that's the case, then I can let go of my worries.”
There was another reason he didn't want to admit. The girl, Litty, who tortured Aldis to no end.
Initially, it was only a way to vent his frustration, but slowly, his frustration started to pile up
He kicked him, hit him, starved him. Even sleeplessness is not enough to destroy it.
The stress was magnified by the fact that when he was recruited in Ruiz Village, it was just due to a fad.
He was also aware that he had been observing their battle.
This is exactly what he did not want to admit.
Aldis was only slightly surprised by the sharp look and calmness on his face.
It felt as if he was looking at his prey.
He wondered if one day this girl would catch up with him. Subconsciously, he felt that possibility.
He was even afraid to touch her directly.
“Aaaaah! Damnit!”
He unsheathed the sword he was carrying and swung it towards the entrance of the cave. The horizontally connected explosion destroyed the entrance of the cave attached to the cliff.
An Arc Knight could use Magic Swords, a sublimated skill from a magic swordsman skill, a higher level position.
The magic swords did not consume much magic power, but were powerful enough to make even high-ranking Magicians run away screaming for their lives.
Since they could use this skill for every attribute, it was inevitable that they would be feared as someone extraordinary.
“Aahh, very good. That nice. There's no way I'm losing. As expected of me.”
Dorland did not stare directly at Aldis, who muttered this to himself. Without a word, he lay down and went to sleep.
Clarine is awakened by a cave explosion, which is a disaster, but when she realizes that Aldis did it, she closes her eyes again.
“...Ck.”
Was he angry that his sleep was disturbed, or was it his true feelings of dissatisfaction towards Aldis?
It seems that I, Clarine, the angel who lost her temper, was also upset.