Chapter 304 (Patreon)

They moved like a storm that refused to slow.

Four dungeons in a single hour. Two mid-level, one mid-low, one low-high. Each one fell in quick succession, their monsters barely given time to understand what had entered their domain before they were cut down and reduced to drifting motes of light.

Boris and Suri leveled up once each, the faint surge of growth barely enough to keep up with the pace Kana was setting. Suri was close now. One more level. Just one, and she would reach lvl 30.

Kana didn’t stop.

Even after the potion’s effect faded, even when the rush of accelerated growth ebbed into something more ordinary, she pressed forward. Low-level dungeons, mid-level, anything along their path toward the port city. If it stood in their way, they cleared it.

She didn’t skip a single one. By the third day, the nearby dungeons had begun to feel… empty. Not because they lacked monsters, but because nothing inside them felt like a challenge anymore.

Boris stumbled slightly as they stepped out of another dungeon, the cold cave air giving way to the softer breath of the outside world. He bent forward, hands on his knees, dragging in a deep breath like a man who had been underwater too long.

“Kana…” he managed between breaths, “can we take a break?”

Kana’s head had already turned toward the next dungeon, its entrance visible in the distance like a dark wound in the earth. Her eyes lingered there for a moment.

Then she paused and looked back.

Boris was drenched in sweat, his shoulders rising and falling heavily with each breath. Suri stood beside him, quieter than usual, her face pale, strands of hair sticking to her forehead. Even her usual sharp expression had dulled under the weight of exhaustion.

On Boris’s head, Thorne sagged dramatically, her tiny body slumped forward as if she had personally carried the entire journey on her back.

Kana watched them for a moment longer.

Then she nodded.

“Alright.”

They didn’t go far. Just enough to find a small clearing near a narrow creek, its water running softly over smooth stones, reflecting the dim light of the evening sky. The air there was cooler, calmer, untouched by the constant clash of battle.

Kana gathered wood without a word and lit a small fire. The flames flickered to life, casting warm light that danced against the nearby trees and the surface of the water.

She cooked quietly. Meat skewered over the fire, turning slowly, the scent rising into the night air. It was simple, almost routine, her movements steady despite the long day behind them. For a while, the only sound was the crackle of burning wood and the soft rush of the creek.

Then Kana glanced back.

Boris and Suri were already asleep.

Boris had collapsed onto the ground, one arm thrown over his face, his breathing deep and heavy. Beside him, Suri leaned slightly against his shoulder, her usual tension gone, her expression softened in sleep.

Under normal circumstances, she would have complained. Probably hit him. Tonight, she didn’t even bother. They were too tired. Even Thorne had stopped pretending, curled into a small ball atop Boris’s head, fast asleep.

Kana turned back to the fire. The meat was done. She left it there for them.

The night deepened, wrapping the clearing in quiet darkness broken only by firelight and the distant chorus of insects. Kana sat still, the warmth of the flames brushing against her skin, though it did little to match the restless energy coiled inside her.

She wasn’t tired.

Not really.

Her body felt light, her senses sharp. If anything, she always felt more awake now than she had during the day. She looked up. The sky stretched wide above them, the full moon hanging heavy and bright, bathing the world in pale silver light. The breeze carried a faint chill, brushing past her hair, whispering through the trees.

Kana exhaled slowly.

“I might be pushing them too far…” she murmured.

The words drifted into the night, unanswered. Her gaze lingered on the moon for a moment longer before her expression hardened, just slightly.

“I guess…”

She stopped herself and shook her head.

“No.”

Her eyes shifted, distant now, as if looking far beyond the quiet clearing, beyond the forests and roads ahead.

“All of this…” she said softly, “our survival in the empire depends on it.”

The fire crackled. The creek flowed. And under the silent watch of the moon, Kana sat awake while the others slept, already thinking of the next dungeon waiting for them at dawn.

….

It took them more than a week to reach the port city again.

Not because the road was long, but because they refused to let it be simple. Every night, while most travelers rested and let the dark pass quietly, the trio plunged into dungeons instead. One after another. Clearing, fighting, pushing forward as if time itself was chasing them. The journey stretched, slowed not by distance, but by raids.

And now, finally—

They arrived. The sun stood high in the sky, bright and unapologetic, giving light across the entire harbor. The sea greeted them first, its endless stretch shimmering beneath the sunlight, waves rolling in steady rhythm. A salty breeze swept through the streets, cool and alive, carrying with it the scent of water, wood, and distant ships.

The city itself felt sturdier than most.

Roofs were built sharp and angled, designed to cut through the violent winds that came from the sea. Buildings leaned into their foundations like seasoned fighters, worn but unyielding. People filled the streets, moving with purpose. Merchants called out their goods, sailors hauled cargo, and the occasional adventurer passed through, armor clinking softly with each step.

It was lively. Boris guided the wagon through the streets, reins in hand, his posture slouched more than usual. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, his usual energy dulled into something slower, heavier.

He glanced back over his shoulder and frowned.

“This is so unfair.”

His voice carried the weight of someone who had been personally wronged by the world.

“She’s the one forcing us to raid all night,” he continued, gesturing vaguely behind him, “and now she’s the one sleeping like she doesn’t have a care in the world.”

Suri sat nearby, arms crossed, her expression tired but composed. She followed his gaze, watching Kana curled up at the back of the wagon.

“We know Kana,” Suri said after a moment. “If anything, she probably hated every second of it.”

She paused, then added more quietly, “But she still did it.”

Boris grunted. “Yeah. I know.”

His eyes lingered on Kana for a moment longer.

Kana lay undisturbed, completely at ease despite the chaos of the streets around them. The sunlight poured down freely, brushing against her face, yet she didn’t even flinch. Her breathing was steady, her expression peaceful in a way that didn’t quite match the intensity she carried at night.

Boris frowned deeper.

“How does she even sleep like that?” he muttered. “If that were me, I’d be blind by now.”

Suri tilted her head slightly, thinking.

“We weren’t exactly better before sunrise,” she admitted. “We were barely standing.”

Her gaze softened just a fraction.

“But she…” Suri hesitated, then shook her head. “It’s strange. She fell asleep the moment the sun came up.”

Boris let out a quiet huff. “Yeah. Strange is one way to put it.”

The wagon rolled to a stop.

“Oh. We’re here.”

The Adventurer’s Guild stood before them, one of the largest buildings in the port city. Its wide doors were open, though the inside looked quieter than expected. Only a handful of people lingered within, the usual noise of requests and chatter replaced by something calmer.

Boris hopped down first, stretching his stiff limbs before walking to the back of the wagon.

Kana hadn’t moved. Not even a little.

“Seriously?”

He reached down and lifted her carefully, adjusting her weight across his arms. She didn’t stir. Not a twitch, not a sound. It was as if she had completely surrendered to sleep, trusting the world to carry her for a while.

Boris glanced at Suri.

“She’s not waking up, is she?”

Suri shook her head.

“Not a chance.”

Boris sighed, shifting Kana slightly so she wouldn’t slip.

“Great. So we came all this way,” he muttered, “and we don’t even know what we’re here for.”

Suri stepped forward, pushing the guild doors open as a faint breeze followed them inside.

“Then I guess,” she said, glancing back at Kana briefly, “we’ll find out when she wakes up.”

And with that, they stepped into the quiet hall, carrying both their exhaustion… and whatever purpose Kana had dragged them here to chase.

They settled at a table near the edge of the guild hall, where the noise thinned into a low murmur and the light from the windows stretched in long, quiet lines across the floor. Kana lay slumped forward against the wood, her head resting on her arm as if the world had gently pressed pause just for her. She hadn’t stirred once since Boris set her down.

Boris nudged her shoulder.

Nothing.

Suri tried next, a little firmer, tapping her arm with growing impatience. Kana didn’t even twitch. Before either of them could try something less gentle, a shadow drifted over their table.

“Is that little lady still alive?”

The voice was deep, the kind earned from years of standing between danger and everyone else. They looked up to find a broad man with a shield nearly as large as his back, his posture relaxed but grounded, like someone who didn’t need to prove he could take a hit.

Suri smiled politely. “She’s alive. Just sleeping. We’ve had a long few days.”

He studied Kana for a moment, then shrugged. “Then let her sleep.”

Suri’s smile held, though just barely. “We would. Unfortunately, she’s the only one who knows why we’re here.”

That seemed to click. The man gave a knowing nod, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “Ah. I’ve dealt with that before. Every party’s got one. Sleeps through storms, screams, maybe even death itself.”

He stepped closer, tapping his chest with a thumb. “Braz. [Knight]. Copper class, high rank. I can wake her up. Easily.”

Boris and Suri exchanged a glance. It was brief, but it said everything. A shared memory. A warning. Boris rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Suri nodded. “Really. We’ve already—”

“Cover your ears,” Braz said, already planting his feet.

There was no stopping him. Boris and Suri immediately obeyed, hands snapping over their ears like it was second nature now.

“We warned you,” Suri added, her voice muffled.

Braz only smirked. He drew in a deep breath, his chest rising as if he were about to challenge the air itself.

“[Knight Roar]”

The sound didn’t just fill the room. It struck it. A thunderclap made of voice, slamming into walls, tables, and bones alike. Conversations shattered. Chairs scraped. People flinched, some clutching their ears as the echo rolled outward and spilled through the open doors into the street beyond.

And Kana—

Moved. Not with the sluggish confusion of someone dragged from sleep, but with the precision of a blade already in motion. Her eyes snapped open, clear and sharp. Her body reacted before thought had time to catch up. Her hand went to her sword—

Nothing.

A flicker. Adjustment. Her other hand found the dagger at her thigh.

Then she was gone. The space she’d occupied emptied in an instant, her movement so clean it barely disturbed the air. One moment she was slumped on the table, the next she was already there, crossing the distance in a heartbeat that felt stolen from time itself.

The dagger followed.

Braz didn’t see the whole motion.

He felt it. A cold spike shot through him, sharp and absolute. His instincts roared louder than his own voice had moments ago, every part of him tightening, screaming at once.

Danger.

No—

Death.

The same feeling he’d known once before, deep in a dungeon, when something stronger than him had decided he was within reach. The same icy certainty that came just before everything ended.

The hairs along his arms rose. His breath caught.

Kana’s blade was already descending to his head.

Post note:

Will Kana get imprisoned? 😂

Update-> I decided to go with the previous plan, which is potion exp, will now stack up when you’re in a party. From 1.5x to 3.5x additional.(short duration so i think its okay)

Sixth chap of the week.

Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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